Gina Rodriguez Officially Signs on to Star in the Remake of Mexican Film “Miss Bala”

Posted on May 16, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Gina Rodriguez has landed a royal role…

The 32-year-old Puerto Rican actress and Jane the Virgin star has officially signed on to star in Sony Pictures’ Catherine Hardwicke-directed drama Miss Bala, a remake of the Mexican entry for the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 2011. Rodriguez was considered a frontrunner for the role.

Rodriguez stars Gloria Meyer who, after her friend Suzu goes missing in Tijuana, finds herself a pawn in a dangerous game being played by the CIA, the DEA and a charismatic young crime boss.

Cordova will play Lino, a master manipulator and highly charismatic survivor who has gotten as far as he has through ballsy plays for power.

Meanwhile, Ismael Cruz Córdova has landed a role as Lino, a master manipulator and highly charismatic survivor who has gotten as far as he has through ballsy plays for power.

Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer is on board to adapt the script, which was written by original director Gerard Naranjo and Mauricio Katz.

Rodriguez recently wrapped the third season to her hit CW telenovela Jane the Virgin, which is set to return for a fourth. The Golden Globe winner is set to lend her voice to Netflix’s cartoon reboot Carman Sandiego, and will next be heard in Fox’s children’s story adaption Ferdinand and Sony’s animated Christmas film The Star, both slated for release this year.

Cordova’s credits include Ang Lee’s war drama Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk and recurring roles on Season 4 of Showtime’s Ray Donovan as well as ABC’s The Catch.

Rodriguez Being Courted to Star in Catherine Hardwicke’s “Miss Bala” Remake

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Gina Rodriguez may have found her next crowning project…

Catherine Hardwicke is in talks to direct Miss Bala, the remake of the Mexican film co-written and directed by Gerardo Naranjo, with the 32-year-old Puerto Rican actress and Jane the Virgin star being courted for the leading role.

Miss Bala, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Film, centers on a beauty pageant contestant who witnesses the brutality of a drug gang and is dragged into their dangerous business.

Kevin Misher and Pablo Cruz are producing, Andy Berman is executive producer. Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer is adapting the script by Naranjo and Mauricio Katz.

Rodriguez, who earned a Golden Globe for her performance in Jane the Virgin, rose to acclaim after starring the indie film Filly Brown. Her other film roles include Deepwater Horizon and Enter the Dangerous Mind.

Naranjo Rounds Out the Cast for His Untitled English-Language Debut Film

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Gerardo Naranjo is rounding out the cast for his next project…

The Mexican Miss Bala filmmaker has cast Dakota Fanning, Harry Potter’s Frank Dillan and Shameless’ Jeremy Allen White, as well X-Men: First Class’ Zoe Kravitz and Caleb Landry Jones, for his untitled English-language debut.

Fanning will star in the music-based film as Viena, a roadie on a journey of self-discovery while on tour with a punk band in the 1980s.

The project was first announced in November at the Baja International Film Festival where the deal came together in Los Cabos, Mexico.

The film will be produced by Verisimilitude’s Hunter Gray and Alex Orlovsky with Lola Pictures’ Chris Ramirez.

Naranjo is directing the film from his own script.

Filming gets underway in Nevada late next month.

Naranjo May Direct Dakota Fanning in His English-Language Debut

Posted on November 17, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Gerardo Naranjo may soon be directing Dakota Fanning in his English-language debut.

The 19-year-old actress has been attached to star in the Mexican filmmaker’s untitled coming-of-age story, which Naranjo will direct from his own screenplay.

The film, Naranjo’s English-language debut, is set to begin filming in February.

It centers on Viena (Fanning), a roadie who’s on a journey of self-discovery and survival as part of a punk band’s convoy, traveling through America circa the 1980s.

Alex Orlovsky and Hunter Gray will produce and co-finance the film through their Verisimilitude production banner. The new film re-teams the pair with Naranjo after the trio collaborated on the helmer’s Voy a explotar.

Naranjo rose to acclaim after directing the critically acclaimed Spanish-language film Miss Bala, starring Stephanie Sigman.

He most recently shot the pilot for FX’s Texas-Mexico border-based series The Bridge, starring Demian Bichir.

FX Release Mysterious Teaser Videos for its Bichir-Starrer “The Bridge”

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Demián Bichir’s first starring role on American television is gaining plenty of buzz…

FX recently released the first footage for its upcoming drama series The Bridge, which stars the 49-year-old Mexican actor.

The four mysterious teasers — titled “Ember,” “Escape,” “Red” and “Crossroads” — showcase little more than haunting imagery from the drama about two detectives (Bichir and Diane Kruger) who must work together to hunt down a serial killer operating on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.

The series, set on the border between El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico, is an adaptation of the international hit Bron, which took place at the Denmark-Sweden border and kicks off when a body is dumped on the bridge that spans the El Paso-Juarez border and follows Ruiz (Bichir) and his American counterpart, Detective Sonya Cross (Kruger) as they tackle the case together.

The 13-episode series hails from Homeland writer/executive producer Meredith Stiehm and Hawaii Five-0 producer Elwood Reid.

The pilot, which was shot in Los Angeles and El Paso, was directed by Miss Bala helmer Gerardo Naranjo.

Production is under way for a July premiere.

FX Orders 13-Episodes of “The Bridge,” Starring Demián Bichir

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Following his impressive recurring roles on Showtime’s Weeds, Demián Bichir will headline his American television series.

FX has put in a 13-episode order for The Bridge, the drama pilot starring the 49-year-old Mexican actor and Academy Award nominee and Diane Kruger.

Based on the Scandinavian series Bron, which was set on the border of Denmark and Sweden, The Bridge takes place on the border between El Paso and Juarez. It centers on two detectives — one from the United States, Detective Sonya Cross (Kruger), and one from Mexico, Marco Ruiz (Bichir) — who have to work together to hunt down a serial killer operating on both sides of the frontera.

“For years networks having been trying develop a drama series set on the U.S.-Mexican border without any success,” said FX president John Landgraf. ”I’m thrilled to say that Meredith Stiehm and Elwood Reid have become the first to crack that creative code and they have done so magnificently. There have been great films set in that world — No Country for Old Men and Lone Star come to mind — but never a great TV series. This one is special. The setting, the writing, the direction, and the way it is brought to life by Demián Bichir, Diane Kruger and the rest of the cast makes for truly riveting drama.”

The Bridge co-stars Ted Levine, Annabeth Gish and Thomas M. Wright; with Matthew Lillard guest-starred in the Gerardo Naranjo-directed pilot.

Filming on the series will begin in April for a July 2013 premiere.

Bichir’s Border Drama “The Bridge” May Be Added to FX’s 2013 Lineup

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Demián Bichir could be crossing the bridge into the world of primetime television…

Last October, the 49-year-old Mexican actor signed on to star in FX’s U.S./Mexico borderdrama pilot The Bridge, helmed by noted Mexican director Gerardo Naranjo.

FX plans to add a new drama series later this year; and the network’s president John Landgraf hopes The Bridge will be that show after seeing encouraging early footage from the pilot, which was just shot.

The project, an adaptation of the Scandinavian series Bron, centers on two detectives from the United States and Mexico – El Paso Police Homicide Detective Sonya North (Diane Kruger) and Marco Ruiz (Bichir) — who must work together to hunt down a serial killer operating on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Bichir’s character is described as a family man and one of the last good men in a corrupt and apathetic police force that is outgunned by the powerful drug cartels.

Meanwhile, Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro’s vampire drama The Strain could potential air in 2014, according to Landgraf. In anticipation of potential series orders, the network has ordered backup scripts from the project, including putting a small writing staff together.

Sigman Lands the Lead in Untitled USA Pilot…

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Stephanie Sigman has caught Hollywood’s attention…

The 25-year-old Mexican actress, the breakout star of Gerardo Naranjo’s critically acclaimed Mexican film Miss Bala, has been cast in USA’s untitled hourlong pilot from Numbers creators Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton.

Sigman would star opposite former How To Make It In America star Bryan Greenberg in the pilot, which will likely begin filming in Miami this January.

Directed by Kevin Bray, the project – originally developed for NBC last season – is based on a short story entitled When The Women Come Out To Dance. It centers on a Miami businessman (Greenberg) who, contemplating a run for political office, tries to increase his chances of being elected by marrying a Colombian woman (Sigman) on the run from her troubled past. What starts as a marriage of convenience quickly escalates into much more as his new wife proves to be more resourceful at “fixing” any problem the corrupt South Miami political scene throws her husband’s way.

This marks the American television debut for Sigman, who has had roles in Spanish-language projects like Cambio de vida, Los Minondo, and Rio de oro.

Rios to Appear in FX’s “The Bridge” Pilot

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Emily Rios is making a run for the border…

The 23-year-old Mexican American actress has been cast in FX’s drama pilot The Bridge.

The Bridge pilot, to be directed by Mexican filmmaker Gerardo Naranjo, will star Oscar-nominated actor Demián Bichir.

The project, an adaptation of the Scandinavian series Bron, centers on two detectives from the U.S. and Mexico – El Paso Police Homicide Detective Sonya North (Kruger) and Marco Ruiz (Bichir) — who must work together to hunt down a serial killer operating on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Rios, who most recently appeared in a recurring role on Breaking Bad, will play the recurring role of Adrianna Perez, a young, diligent reporter who works at the El Paso Times.

Rios’ television credits include Men of a Certain Age, Friday Night Lights, House and The Closer. She also appeared in the films Big Mommas: Like Father Like Son and Quinceañera.

Bichir to Star in FX’s Drama Pilot “The Bridge”

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Demián Bichir could be returning to American television in the near future…

The 49-year-old Mexican actor, who had a recurring role on Showtime’s Weeds, will star as the male lead opposite Diane Kruger in FX’s drama pilot The Bridge, which is being helmed by noted Mexican director Gerardo Naranjo.

The project, an adaptation of the Scandinavian series Bron, centers on two detectives from the United States and Mexico – El Paso Police Homicide Detective Sonya North (Kruger) and Marco Ruiz (Bichir) — who must work together to hunt down a serial killer operating on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Bichir’s character is described as a family man and one of the last good men in a corrupt and apathetic police force that is outgunned by the powerful drug cartels.

It’s the latest project for Bichir, who was nominated for an Oscar this year for his lead role in A Better Life.

He most recently signed on to appear in Dom Hemingway with Jude Law, as well as The Heat with Sandra Bullock.

He most recently appeared in Oliver Stone’s Savages opposite Benicio del Toro and Salma Hayek, and will next appear in Robert Rodriguez’s Machete Kills.

The Bridge is set to begin production this fall in El Paso and Los Angeles.

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