Tag Archives: American Family

Esai Morales in Negotiations to Star in the Action Thriller “Shadow”

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Esai Morales could be preparing for a little shadow play soon…

The 60-year-old Puerto Rican actor is in talks to star in the action thriller Shadow, which XYZ Films has boarded.

Esai MoralesXYZ acquired world sales — minus select territories — to the film, which is inspired by true events.

Colombian filmmaker Antonio Negret is directing from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Daniel Negret.

The film will begin production in the fall in Colombia.

The plot follows a real-life Colombian police dog named Sombra, who, after piling up hundreds of arrests, became the cartel’s public number one enemy. As a result, a bounty is put on her head. After the cartel’s new leader sets a trap to abduct the dog, Sombra’s once reluctant handler must risk his life and career to save his partner.

The cast features Colombian actors Juan Pablo Raba and Natalia Reyes alongside Kate Del Castillo.

Previously sold territories include Latin America (CDC), Brazil (CDC), Mexico (CDC), Russia (Volga), Middle East (Selim), Korea (Noori), and Indonesia (PT Amero).

“After having spent a great deal of time in Colombia, I became incredibly passionate about and committed to telling important and inspiring stories from a regional perspective with local stars like Juan Pablo & Natalia,” said Sentient president Renee Tab. “I’m looking forward to once again teaming up with long-term collaborators Pierre Morel, and Antonio Negret (as well as his brother Daniel) to shape this true story into an action narrative inspired by a drug-sniffing German Shepherd named Sombra.”

Morales’ previous credits include La Bamba, American Family, Resurrection Boulevard, Ozark and Titans.

Negret is best known for his debut film Towards Darkness, starring America Ferrera, which premiered in competition at Tribeca. His follow-ups Seconds Apart, a supernatural horror/thriller, was released by Lionsgate, and thriller Transit starring Jim Caviezel, was released by Silver Pictures/Dark Castle.

Kate del Castillo Signs with Buchwald

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Kate del Castillo has new representation…

The 49-year-old Mexican actress and telenovela star has signed with Buchwald.

Kate del Castillo

del Castillo stars in Telemundo’s hit drama La Reina del Sur.

One of the highest rated Spanish-language series in the world, La Reina del Sur adapts the bestseller by Spanish novelist Arturo Perez-Reverte. In the crime drama, which recently wrapped filming for Season 3, del Castillo plays Teresa Mendonza, a woman from Mexico who becomes the most powerful drug trafficker in southern Spain.

Castillo recently completed a two-series deal with Telemundo. Her production company, Cholawood, has a first-look development deal with Boomdog, the Mexico City-based division of Endemol Shine North America.

The actress starred opposite Will Smith as the villain in Sony’s Bad Boys for Life, also recently featuring on NBC’s sitcom Mr. Mayor, from creators Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, and the Netflix animated series Maya and the Three, created by Jorge R. Gutiérrez.

She rose to acclaim in America with her performance in Fox Searchlight’s Under the Same Moon, which is one of the highest-grossing Spanish-language theatrical releases in U.S. history, and has also featured in such films as Bordertown, No Good Deed and All About Nina.

del Castillo has also appeared in series including PBS’ Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated drama American Family, The CW’s Jane the Virgin and Showtime’s Weeds, among others. Her one-woman Off-Broadway show, The Way She Spoke, made her the first Latina actress to earn Drama Desk, Drama League and Lucille Lortel Award nominations.

A philanthropist and outspoken global activist, del Castillo was appointed Ambassador for the Mexican Commission on Human Rights to combat human trafficking in 2009.

Esai Morales to Star in Paul Schrader’s Film “Master Gardener”

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Esai Morales is taking up gardening…

The 59-year-old old Puerto Rican actor will star in Paul Schrader’s film Master Gardener.

Esai MoralesLed by Joel Edgerton and Sigourney Weaver, the film is now shooting in Louisiana.

In addition to Morales, recently added cast members include Quintessa Swindell, who will play Maya, the wayward and troubled great-niece of Mrs Haverhill (Weaver), who is taken on as a new apprentice by the titular gardener Narvel Roth (Edgerton).

Morales will play Roth’s Witness Protection Officer.

Amanda Crittenden of KOJO Studios and Scott LaStaiti are producing together with David Gonzales, Schrader’s manager. Luisa Law, KOJO Studios’ Linda Ujuk and Dale Roberts are executive producers.

Morales previous credits include La Bamba, American Family, Resurrection Blvd., NYPD Blue and Ozark.

Esai Morales to Star in Sony Pictures’ “Superfly” Remake

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Esai Morales’ career is soaring to new heights…

The 55-year-old Puerto Rican actor will star in the Director X-helmed Superfly remake from Sony Pictures, which will debut in theaters June 15.

Esai Morales

Morales will portray play Adalberto.

The Alex Tse-penned script is based on the 1972 original blaxploitation crime drama, which followed an African American cocaine dealer who tries to secure one more deal before getting out of the business.

Morales joins a cast that includes Trevor Jackson, Jason Mitchell, Lex Scott Davis, Andrea Londo, Jacob Ming-Trent, Omar Chapparo, and Allen Maldonado.

Joel Silver is producing the film with rap star Future, who is also putting together the film’s soundtrack.

Morales, who currently stars on ABC’s How To Get Away With Murder, rose to acclaim in the Richie Valens biopic La Bamba. He’s also appeared in PBS’ American Family, Showtime’s Resurrection Blvd., NYPD Blue and Caprica.

Barerra to Guest Star on Grimm’s La Llorona-Themed Episode

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This upcoming pre-Halloween weekend is looking pretty grimm for David Barerra…

The Mexican American actor is set to guest star on a NBC’s supernatural crime drama Grimm, which takes place in a world where characters inspired by Grimms’ Fairy Tales exist.

David Barrera

Barrera will appear on the show’s Halloween-themed episode, which will feature an appearance by telenovela star Kate del Castillo as a mysterious detective from Albuquerque searching for a child abductor.

The episode, titled “La Llorona,” is loosely based on the Latin American legend of a woman who drowned her children. According to legend, a beautiful woman named Maria kills her children by drowning them; in order to be with the man she loves. When he rejects her, she kills herself. Challenged at the gates of heaven as to the whereabouts of her children, she isn’t permitted to enter the afterlife until she finds them. So Maria is forced to wander the earth for all eternity, searching in vain for her drowned offspring, with her constant weeping giving her the name La Llorona.

Barrera will portray a resident named Luis Alvarez, whose son is taken by La Llorona.

“The detectives and I spend the rest of the episode searching for him and trying to catch La Llorona,” says Barrera of his guest role. “It’s a really creepy episode, especially if you grew up with the legend of La Llorona.”

The deeper Grimm’s main character Nick (David Giuntoli) digs into the case, the more he realizes the pattern of the kidnapping matches those in the famed “La Llorona” legend, a story with its roots intertwined with his own family’s Grimm history.

Barrera – whose television credits include appearances on Heroes, CSI: Miami, Boston Legal, Medium, Nip/Tuck and 24 – enjoyed sharing screen time with his fellow guest star del Castillo.

“Kate was a really nice and approachable person,” says Barrera. “I had met her once before on the set of the PBS series American Family. She was really easy to talk to and is a very talented lady.”

The spooktacular episode featuring Barrera and del Castillo will air 9:00 pm on NBC. Friday, October 26 at 9:00 pm on NBC.