Alice Braga 'La Reina Del Sur' Remake: USA Finds 'Queen Of The South' Star For Telemundo Telenovela Adaptation
By Armando Tinoco |
Oct 23 2014, 07:16PM EDT
Teresa Mendoza will live once again, but this time Alice Braga will be 'La Reina Del Sur' in the U.S. remake. Reuters
Alice Braga has been cast as the lead of USA's remake of "La Reina del Sur," according to The Hollywood Reporter. The 31-year-old Brazilian actress that was born in São Paulo will give life to Teresa Mendoza in the "Queen Of The South" adaptation of the Arturo Pérez-Reverte best-seller. The novela had been succesfully adaptated by sister network Telemundo as a 63-episode telenovela with Kate del Castillo as the titled character.
The story follows Mendoza, who after her drug-dealing boyfriend is unexpectedly murdered in Mexico, is forced to go on the run and seek refuge in America. There, she teams with an unlikely figure from her past to bring down the leader of the same drug trafficking ring that has her on the run. In the process, she learns the tools of the trade and strategically positions herself to become the leader of the cartel.
The script for "The Queen Of The South" will be written by M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller and executive produced alongside David Friendly ("Little Miss Sunshine") and Pancho Mansfield ("Damien"). "We are excited to bring this global best-selling thriller to our viewers,” USA president Chris McCumber said. "'Queen Of The South' is a suspenseful twist on a dramatic tale of love and betrayal that examines the desperate choices people make when lives are on the line."
News of this comes months after NBC and USA announced they would be developing adaptations of "El Señor De Los Cielos" and "Señora Acero," respectively. The former finished off a successful sophomore season on the Spanish-net, with a third season already underway. The latter series just premiered this with with Blanca Soto as the star, and has had a healthy launch.
Latin Grammy Performances 2014: Ricky Martin, Jesse & Joy Among Performers
First Posted: Oct 23, 2014 03:51 PM EDT
(Photo : Instagram/Va Por Ti)
The 15th Annual Latin Grammy awards is quickly approaching, and as such, more details have been released about the event.
Ricky Martin, Pablo Alboran, Camila, J Balvin, Jesse & Joy, La Arrolladora Banda El Limon De Rene Camacho and La Original Banda el Limon de Salvador Lizarraga are all set to perform at the awards.
Organizers are planning a big show for its 15th go around, or its quinceañera.
There will be a year-long celebration, said Gabriel Abaroa Jr., the CEO and president of the academy, notes Voxxi.
"We're thinking about beginning beginning the festivities on the day of the awards and continuing to celebrate them during the entire year up to the 16th anniversary," Abaroa said. "Just a while ago, [the gala] was a little girl whom we were carrying and whose diapers were were changing, and suddenly 15 years is before us."
This year the ceremony won't be held in its usual location, The Mandalay Hotel in Las vegas. Instead, it will take place at the MGM Grand Arena, which is a bigger venue. Eugenio Derbez will serve as the host.
"We are seeing what we will do to have the best Latin Grammy possible," Derbez said.
J Balvin, who will be performing and is nominated for the show, recently opened up about his nomination.
He said that he found out early, at around 6 a.m., and that he was just overcome with feeling.
"I've dreamt about this for many, many years -- I think since I decided to become an artist," he said. "It's one of my biggest dreams, and well, we'll have to see what happens. We're still working. That's what important, to work and keep moving."
He's already thinking of his next dream, such as singing to a sold-out crowd in Madison Square Garden in the next couple of years.
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Martin Scorsese to Exec Produce Grateful Dead Doc
4:10 PM PST 10/23/2014 by Seth Abramovitch
Timed for the band's 50th birthday, director Amir Bar-Lev ('The Tillman Story') will weave archival footage with new interviews
The Dead are rising.
A new documentary from executive producer Martin Scorsese about landmark psychedelic rock group the Grateful Dead is headed our way.
Set to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the legendary jam-band led by Bob Weir and the late Jerry Garcia, the career-spanning retrospective will be directed by Amir Bar-Lev (2010's The Tillman Story). Bar-Lev has been trying to get the film off the ground for the better part of a decade.
The yet-to-be-titled documentary will pull from a half-century's worth of footage collected by longtime band archivist David Lemieux, who also serves of the film's music supervisor.
Vintage interviews, backstage color and live concerts will interweave with new interviews with surviving Dead members Weir, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Phil Lesh, as well as other trippy characters from the Haight-Ashbury scene of late-1960s San Francisco.
Read more HBO, Martin Scorsese Prep... TV Series
“The Grateful Dead were more than just a band," Scorsese says in a statement. "They were their own planet, populated by millions of devoted fans. I’m very happy that this picture is being made and proud to be involved."
The band couldn't be happier that Scorsese is driving the project. "From The Last Waltz to George Harrison: Living In The Material World, from Bob Dylan to the Rolling Stones, he has made some of the greatest music documentaries ever with some of our favorite artists and we are honored to have him involved," Weir, Hart, Krueutzmann and Lesh said in a joint statement.
Alex Blavatnik is financing through his AOMA Sunshine Films. Eric Eisner, Nicholas Koskoff and Justin Kreutzmann will serve as producers. Executive producers are Scorsese, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Andrew Heller, Sanford Heller and Rick Yorn.
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Courtney Love Joins Fox's 'Empire'
11:00 AM PDT 10/23/2014 by Michael O'Connell
The singer's recurring gig comes on the heels of a 'Sons of Anarchy' appearance
Courtney Love has been bitten by the TV bug. The Hole singer and sometimes actress has booked a role on Fox's upcoming hip hop drama Empire.
Considered a recurring guest star, Love takes on the role of hard rocker Elle Dallas — part of the titular record label's stable of musicians.
This marks Love's second TV gig after booking a recurring role on the final season of FX's Sons of Anarchy earlier this season. Her previous acting credits are all in film and include '90s flicks 200 Cigarettes and Basquiat.
Set for a midseason bow, Empire comes from The Butler's Lee Daniels and counts Terrence Howard, Taraji P. Henson and Gabourey Sidibe among its stars.
Love is repped by UTA.
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AFM: Ethan Hawke to Play Chet Baker in 'Born to Be Blue'
6:00 AM PST 10/23/2014 by Scott Roxborough
Austin Hargrave
Ethan Hawke
The ‘Boyhood’ star is ready to get lost in the jazz trumpeter biopic
Ethan Hawke has signed on to play Chet Baker in a new biopic about the legendary jazz trumpeter.
Born to Be Blue picks up with the Baker story late in the musician’s life, when, after years of drug abuse, he stages a comeback.
Robert Budreau (That Beautiful Somewhere) is directing Born to Be Blue from his own screenplay. Hawke has worked closely on the development of the project, which will largely shoot in Sudbury, Ontario. Born to Be Blue is the second big jazz biopic to hit the market, following Don Cheadle's Miles Davis project Kill the Trumpet Player, which co-stars Ewan McGregor and Zoe Saldana.
Carmen Ejogo (The Purge: Anarchy) and Callum Keith Rennie (Fifty Shades of Grey) co-star in Born to Be Blue. Producers are Jennifer Jonas and Leonard Farlinger of New Real Films; Jake Seal of Black Hangar Studios and Budreau through his Lumanity Productions. Executive producers include Andrew Chang-sang of Productivity Media, William Santor, John Hills, Adam Moryto, Stefan Jacobs, D. Matt Geller and Gurpreet Chandhoke.
Read More Ethan Hawke on 'Boyhood' Children
K5 International has picked up world sales rights for the project and will be pitching it to buyers at the American Film Market next month. eOne has acquired the Canadian rights.
Hawke is repped by CAA, The Schiff Company and attorney George Sheanshang. Ejogo is repped by ICM and Authentic. Budreau is repped by Brooke Ehrlich Artist Management.
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'Archie' TV Adaptation Lands at Fox
12:09 PM PDT 10/23/2014 by Philiana Ng
One-hour drama hails from 'Arrow's' Greg Berlanti
Courtesy of Archie Comic Publications, Inc.
Archie may be coming to TV.
Fox is getting into business with Archie Comics, putting into development the modern-day one-hour drama Riverdale based on the popular Archie characters from prolific TV producer Greg Berlanti (Arrow, The Flash).
Riverdale follows the main crew of Archie, Betty, Veronica and their friends, as they explore the surrealistic twists of small-town life, in addition to the darkness and weirdness bubbling beneath Riverdale's wholesome facade. Set in the fictional town of Riverdale, N.Y., the drama will focus on the love triangle of Archie Andrews, girl-next-door Betty Cooper and rich socialite Veronica Lodge.
The entire cast of supporting characters, including Reggie Mantle, Archie's rival; Jughead Jones, Archie's best friend; Kevin Keller, a popular gay character; and Josie and the Pussycats, also will be featured.
Warner Bros. TV-based Berlanti Productions will produce the project, with Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Glee, Looking) writing.
For Aguirre-Sacasa, who serves as chief creative officer at Archie Comics, this marks his first sale this development season. He spent three seasons as a writer on Glee for Fox and has experience re-adapting popular titles as he did with 2013's Carrie remake and the Broadway-bound American Psycho.
Berlanti, a self-proclaimed fan of the Archie comics, has been busy this development season, executive producing The CW's Arrow and The Flash as well as NBC's The Mysteries of Laura. News of the Archie adaptation comes on the heels of Berlanti's Supergirl project, which is at CBS with a series commitment. Berlanti also has supernatural procedural The Things They Left Behind at CBS, based on a Stephen King story, and FBI thriller Blindspot at NBC.
"This is a historic moment for Archie Comics, and we couldn't be happier to partner with Fox, Warner Bros. and Greg Berlanti to bring our characters to television," said Archie Comics publisher/co-CEO Jon Goldwater. "Greg and Roberto are experts when it comes to making great, compelling television and bringing beloved comic book creations to life on the screen. They're the perfect team to welcome viewers to Riverdale."
"This is something we've been working on for awhile now, figuring out the best way to bring these characters to life for what will be, essentially, the first time," Aguirre-Sacasa said. "The entire team working on Riverdale is as passionate about Archie as Jon and I are, so it feels like the stars have finally aligned for Archie and the rest of the gang."
Comic book adaptations continue to be a big bet, with producers crediting built-in brand equity and technological advancements with visual effects to enable the telling of fantastical storylines on a TV budget.
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Cheech Marin Talks About Working With El Rey's Robert Rodriguez, 'Book of Life'
First Posted: Oct 22, 2014 03:36 PM EDT
Cheech Marin and Robert Rodriguez (Photo : Cheech Marin and Robert Robert Rodriguez/Facebook)
Many people know comedic actor Cheech Marin for his stoner comedy "Cheech & Chong" films in the '70s and '80s, but he's also made his mark as a director, writer, musician and a Chicano advocate and art collector. He's starred in feature film comedies and animated movies and has made bestselling bilingual children's music albums.
Marin recently spoke to Latin Post about his role in the animated fantasy-adventure "The Book of Life," directed by Jorge Gutierrez and produced by Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro, who Marin said "was a part of that Mexican cadres of filmmakers that were coming up."
During the Latin Post exclusive interview, Marin also reminisced about his early days in the industry and recalled other Latino trailblazers in film, including filmmaker and fellow Mexican-American, Robert Rodriguez.
Marin and Rodriguez have been collaborating for years and have worked together in several films, including the "Spy Kids" trilogy, "From Dusk Till Dawn," "Machete," "Desperado" and "Once Upon a Time in Mexico."
Marin has seen Rodriguez evolve from aspiring filmmaker to become a founder of his own English-language El Rey Network (which features the popular TV series "From Dusk Till Dawn," "Matador" and "El Rey Network Presents: The Director's Chair").
"It has been wonderful, man. I have known him from the very beginning. He had just come from the University of Texas, and he had made a student film, called 'Bedhead.' It was a little short, and he made it with his brothers and sisters. It was about adventures of this little kid," Marin told Latin Post. "You saw the visual style that he was working on -- and it was fully formed already."
"Bedhead," a 16mm short, went on to become an award-winning "family-comedy-fantasy film" that "chronicles the amusing misadventures of a young girl whose older brother sports an incredibly tangled mess of hair that she cannot tolerate."
When Marin was working on his children's music album, "My Name is Cheech, the School Bus Driver," someone suggested he work with Rodriguez. At the time, Marin said he initially thought, "What? Are you nuts! He's about blood and guts," since Rodriguez is known for his campy, grindhouse style and cult-like film following. "But they said, 'No, he has this kids thing.' And then 'Spy Kids' came out."
Rodriguez had another side to him and a child-like thrill for adventure. "Spy Kids" became so successful and well-received that it spawned two sequels. "When 'Spy Kids' came out, it was like, 'That's what I'm talking about, you morons!'" Marin said.
"Robert and I were friends from the beginning. He would come over the house with his wife and stay with me, he's like family. He knew that he could always call on me if he needed this or that," he said. "We have this direct communication. ... He's looking through the lens, the viewfinder and he's talking to me."
Also a longtime friend and collaborator of Quentin Tarantino, Rodriguez reportedly grew up shooting action and horror short films on video and editing on two VCRs. In the fall of 1990, his entry in a local film contest earned him a spot in the film program at the University of Texas (where he made "Bedhead").
"[Rodriguez] was the first digital director. He wasn't afraid of it. ... He had this reverence for film, because it came from when he was in high school and he had a job in a camera store. When the first digital cameras first came out, the store owner said, 'Well you're going to be selling this, so here's the camera, take it home for the weekend and use it.'" Once he saw what Rodriguez could do, according to Marin, he said, "'You have talent, don't be afraid of digital technology,'" so he used it, and he was much better right away."
Marin Behind the Mic, Lens and Animation:
In "The Book of Life," which hit theaters Oct. 17, Marin voices the hysterical Pancho Rodriguez, one of Manolo's (voiced by Diego Luna) mariachi friends, the "Rodriguez brothers" (also voiced by Gabriel Iglesias and Ricardo "El Mandril" Sanchez). In the film, they sing "fun, though hardly romantic versions of Rod Stewart's 'Do Ya Think I'm Sexy' and Biz Markie's 'Just a Friend' -- the latter to the accompaniment of a toy piano."
The film's themes include a love triangle, the strength of the human spirit and the celebration of Mexican culture, including its vibrant holiday, the Day of the Dead (el Dia de Los Muertos).
In addition to his other roles, Marin also provided his voice for several Disney animated films. In addition to "Oliver & Company" (1988), he voiced roles as Banzai in "The Lion King" (1994) and Ramone in "Cars" (2006) and "Cars 2" (2011). He also reprised the Banzai role in "Kingdom Hearts II." He also appeared in "Ghostbusters II" and the hit TV series "Lost" as Hurley's father.
Marin has released two bestselling, bilingual albums for kids:, "My Name is Cheech, the School Bus Driver" (1992) and "Coast to Coast" (1997). In July 2007, Marin added children's book author to his list of accomplishments with the release of "Cheech the School Bus Driver," which was illustrated by Orlando L. Ramirez. In 2005, Marin appeared as the character Juan Bobo in Nickelodeon's Dora the Explorer series in an episode titled "A Crown for King Bobo."
As mentioned, Marin was part of the wildly successful comedy duo Cheech & Chong. While he and Chong went their separate ways, Marin is still close friends with Chong, who is currently starring on "Dancing with the Stars." According to Marin, there is a new "Cheech & Chong" film in the works, but they are still finalizing the details.