Gutiérrez to Direct the Next Installment of “The Ring”

F. Javier Gutiérrez is preparing to bring a popular horror film franchise back to life.

Paramount Pictures has hired the Spanish filmmaker, one of the most awarded and lauded fantasy genre filmmakers his native country, to direct the third installment of its The Ring series.

F. Javier Gutierrez

It marks Gutiérrez’s second studio genre franchise film after Relativity Media and The Weinstein Co. chose him to helm the reboot of The Crow in another hotly contested director search.

The Ring threequel is the latest installment of the $400M-grossing horror franchise first launched in the U.S. by Gore Verbinski in 2002 with The Ring and its sequel The Ring 2, both starring Naomi Watts as a woman caught in the clutches of a cursed video tape.

The Ring

The Japanese original Ringu, directed by Hideo Nakata and adapted from the novel by Kōji Suzuki, spawned its own series of prequel/sequels and spin-off films and led a wave of J-horror Hollywood remakes throughout the 2000s.

Gutiérrez earned genre cred on the international scene with his shorts Braziland La habitacion de Norman, followed by his 2008 debut feature Before the Fall (Tres días).

Salazar to Star Opposite Shailene Woodley and Theo James in the “Divergent” Sequel “Insurgent”

It looks like Rosa Salazar has ties to insurgent groups…

The Canadian-born Latina actress, best known for her role on NBC’s drama series Parenthood, has joined the science fictionaction film Insurgent, based on the novel of the same name by Veronica Roth.

Rosa Salazar

Salazar will portray Lynn in the sequel to the Divergent and the second installment in the Divergent film series.

Summit’s follow-up to the blockbuster hitsees the return of Shailene Woodley and Theo James as citizens in a world where people are divided into factions based on certain values.

Robert Schwentke is directing the sequel — currently shooting in Atlanta — from a script by Brian Duffield and Akiva Goldsman.

The sequel, set for release March 20, 2015, sees most of the cast returning, including Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Kate Winslet, Jai Courtney and Zoe Kravitz. Among new additions are Octavia Spencer, who will play Johanna, Suki Waterhouse, Naomi Watts, Daniel Dae Kim and Jonny Weston.

The story follows Tris (Woodley) and Four (James), now fugitives on the run, who must find out what Tris’ family sacrificed their lives to protect, and why the Erudite leaders will do anything to stop them.

Lynn is one of the Dauntless-born initiates, and, in Veronica Roth‘s books, she’s described as beautiful and sporting a shaved head. She’s good friends with Uriah and Marlene (Waterhouse) in the books.

The first film based on Roth’s popular YA series, Divergent, opened in March, going on to earn $267 million worldwide.

In addition to Parenthood, Salazar also appeared on the first season of American Horror Story.

Her film credits include voicing a character in Epic and appearing in the 2014 film Jamesy Boy. She’ll next be seen in the upcoming films Search Party, Night Owls, Submerged and May the Best Man Win.

Leyva Promoted to Series Regular on Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black”

Forget red! Selenis Leyva is seeing orange

The 41-year-old Cuban-Dominican American actress has been promoted to series regular on Netflix’s hit prison comedy Orange Is The New Black, which was recently picked up for a third season well-before its second-season premiere.

Selenis Leyva

Leyva plays the quick-witted and sharp-tongued Gloria Mendoza in the series, which also stars Taylor Schilling, Jason Biggs, Laura Prepon and Kate Mulgrew.

“Gloria is sassy, there’s a fierceness about her and you know that eyebrow, when it goes up, you know she means business,” Leyva told Huffington Post in an interview. “And that’s like my thing [laughs]. When I’m a little bit upset, my eyebrow goes up and that is a trait that my beautiful mother passed down to me [laughs]. We always knew in the house ‘mommy’s upset, her eyebrow just went up.’”

Selenis, who has appeared on Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Girls, will next be seen opposite Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy and Naomi Watts in the feature film Saint Vincent de Van Nuys.

Season 2 of Orange Is The New Black premieres on Netflix on June 6 with all 13 episodes available at launch.

González Iñárritu’s Black Comedy “Birdman” to be Released in October

Alejandro González Iñárritu’s next project will be migrating to theaters in October…

Fox Searchlight co-president Stephen Gilula has announced that the 50-year-old Mexican filmmaker’s Birdman will open in theaters on Friday, October 17.

Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman

The film isn’t expected to complete post-production until late May or early June, with producers it eyeing fall festivals for its premiere.

It’s González Iñárritu’s first black comedy, following the Academy Award-nominated director’s dramatic films Amores perros (2000), 21 Grams (2003), Babel (2006) and Biutiful.

“It’s the heart of the fall, and a great time historically for us with films like Sideways, 12 Years A Slave, and historically Slumdog Millionaire and Black Swan,” Gilula tells Deadline.com. “We’ve had great success launching films at festivals, but this hasn’t been screened for anyone, despite the speculation. Alejandro is famous for his meticulous work in post-production, and this film is unusual for him in that is has some visual effects, and an unusual sound design. The most important thing is to make sure that the film is right.”

The film has an all-star cast that includes Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Emma Stone and his muse Naomi Watts, who appeared in the director’s Babel and 21 Grams.

Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman

Keaton plays a washed up actor who once played an iconic superhero who tries to mount a stage play despite his dysfunction and the dysfunction of others in his repertoire.

Inarritu wrote the film with Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. and Armando Bo.

González Iñárritu Casts Edward Norton in “Birdman”

Alejandro González Iñárritu has found the foil for his first comedy film

The 49-year-old Mexican filmmaker, known for dramatic films like 21 Grams, Babel and Amores perros, has cast Edward Norton in his dark comedy Birdman.

Alejandro González Iñárritu

From Fox Searchlight and New Regency, the film will center on a former actor ( played by Michael Keaton) who once played a superhero who puts together a play on Broadway based on a short story by Raymond Carver. Unfortunately, the ex-superhero’s plans to soar again are threatened by his egotistical lead stage actor portrayed by Norton.

Along with Norton and Keaton, the cast includes Emma Stone, Naomi Watts and Zach Galifianakis.

The film will be shot in a Broadway theater in New York beginning mid-April.

Pablo Berger’s “Blancanieves” Wins Big at the Goya Awards

Pablo Berger’s Blancanieves has proven to be the belle of the ball at this year’s Goya Awards…

The 49-year-old Spanish director’s silent, black-and-white film, a retelling of the Snow White story, earned 10 statues, including the top prize for Best Film, at the Spanish Film Academy‘s annual awards show, Spain’s equivalent of the Academy Awards.

Blancanieves

Maribel Verdu, who said she’s “grown to enjoy playing the bad guy,” won her second Goya for her role as the evil stepmother in Blancanieves. The 42-year-old Spanish actress edged out Naomi Watts, Penélope Cruz and Aida Folch for the award.

Blancanieves’ re-imagined Snow White, Macarena Garcia, was named New Actress. It’s the 24-year-old Spanish actress’ first starring role.

Paco Delagado, currently nominated for an Oscar for his costume design work for Les Miserables, won the Goya for his work on Blancanieves, which included the creation of 18 different costumes for Verdu’s character.

Meanwhile, Juan Antonio Bayona’s dramatic The Impossible, which has broken box office records in Spain, scored five awards, including the Goya for Best Director.

Bayona brought down the house when he left the stage after receiving his Goya to present it to Maria Belon, the mother of the real-life family that survived the 2004 tsunami upon which the film is based.

Here’s the complete list of winners:

Film
Blancanieves

Director
Juan Antonio Bayona for The Impossible

Actor
Jose Sacristan for The Dead Man and Being Happy

Actress
Maribel Verdu for Blancanieves

Original Screenplay
Pablo Berger for Blancanieves

Adapted Screenplay
Javier Barreira, Gorka Magallon, Ignacio del Moral, Jordi Gasull and Neil Landau for Tad, the Lost Explorer

Supporting Actor
Julian Villagran for Grupo 7

Supporting Actress
Candela Pena for Una Pistola en Cada Mano

Honorary Goya
Concha Velasco

Production Design
Sandra Hermida Muniz for The Impossible

Artistic Director
Alain Bainee For Blancanieves

Photography
Kiko de la Rica for Blancanieves

Special Effects
Pau Costa and Felix Berges for The Impossible

Wardrobe
Paco Delgado for Blancanieves

Editing
Bernat Vilaplano and Elena Ruiz for The Impossible

Sound
Peter Glossop, Marc Orts, Oriol Tarrago for The Impossible

Original Score
Alfonso Villalonga for Blancanieves

Original Song
No Te Puedo Encontrar from Blancanieves

New Actor
Joaquin Nunez for Grupo 7

Makeup and Hair
Sylvie Imbert and Fermin Galan for Blancanieves

New Actress
Macarena Garcia for Blancanieves

New Director
Enrique Gato for Tad, the Lost Explorer

Animated Feature Film
The Adventures of Tadeo Jones

Documentary Film
Sons of the Clouds, The Last Colony

European Film
Untouchable (France)

Ibero-American Film
Juan de los Muertos (Cuba)

Animated Short
Jaime Maestro for El Vendedor de Humo

Fiction Short
Esteban Crespo Garcia for Aquel no Era Yo

Documentary Short
Sergio Oksman for A Story for the Modlins

Bayona to Helm Space Film for Warner Bros.

Juan Antonio Bayona has reportedly landed his next Hollywood project…

The 37-year-old Spanish filmmaker, who earned rave reviews for directing Naomi Watts to an Oscar nomination in The Impossible, has been set to helm the still-untitled space film from Forrest Gump scribe Eric Roth for Warner Bros., according to Deadline.com.

Juan Antonio Bayona

Bayona previously earned a Goya Award for Best New Director for helming The Orphanage.

He’s currently nominated for the Goya Award for Best Director for helming The Impossible, which was based on the true story of one family’s experience during the 2004 tsunami.

Cannavale Starring in “Movie 43”

He may be reportedly dating actress Rose Byrne, but Bobby Cannavale still has plans for a little speed dating later this month…

The 42-year-old half Cuban actor, nominated for two SAG Awards this year for his recurring roles on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire and Showtime’s Nurse Jackie, will appear in Movie 43,  a series of interconnected short films that follow three kids as they search the depths of the Internet to find the most banned movie in the world.

Bobby Cannavale

Cannavale appears as Fake Superman in the segment called “Super Hero Speed Dating,” opposite of Uma Thurman as Fake Lois Lane.

The cast of Movie 43 includes Kristen Bell, Halle Berry, Gerard Butler, Josh Duhamel, Richard Gere, Terrence Howard, Hugh Jackman, Emma Stone, Jason Sudeikis, Naomi Watts and Kate Winslet.

The film’s segment directors include Steven Brill, Peter Farrelly, Griffin Dunne and Brett Ratner.

Movie 43 opens January 25.

“Blancanieves” Earns 18 Goya Award Nominations

Pablo Berger‘s silent black-and-white reinterpretation of the Snow White fable, Blancanieves, is this awards season’s Goya darling.  

The 49-year-old Spanish director’s film, hailed as an homage to 1920s European silent films, leads the pack with 18 nominations for the Spanish Film Academy‘s Goya Awards, Spain’s equivalent to the Oscars.

Blancanieves

Blancanieves, which recently debuted in the U.S. at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, received nominations in the best picture, best director, best original screenplay and best editing, best original music and best original song categories.

In addition, six of the films stars earned nods, including Maribel Verdú in the Best Actress category, Daniel Giménez Cacho in the Best Actor field and Macarena García in the Best Actress Revelation category.

“We are very, very happy. We ran for 18 possible nominations and we got 18,” said Blancanieves producer Ibon Cormenzana. “We’ve sold to many territories and in two weeks we’ll release in theaters in France. I think we’ve benefited from the success of the The Artist.”

Meanwhile, Alberto Rodriguez’s Unit 7 earned 16 nominations, Juan Antonio Bayona’s The Impossible received 14 nods and Fernando Trueba’s The Artist and The Model picked up 13 nominations.

The Impossible’s Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor will compete for lead actress and supporting actor thanks to a change in the Spanish Academy’s rules that allows non-Spanish speaking actors who participate in Spanish productions to compete for acting honors. That translates to Watts vying for the lead acting nod against Verdu’s evil step-mother from Blancanieves, Penelope Cruz from Volver a nacer and Aida Folch‘s muse-like performance in The Artist and the Model.

Blancanieves’ Cacho, Model’s Jean Rochefort, Unit’s Antonio de la Torre and veteran actor Jose Sacristan from The Dead Man and Being Happy will compete for the lead actor statue.

In Spain, Bayona’s film has broken box office records, where it is just about to hit the 42 million euro mark at the box office.

“Our objective is to sell more than 6 million tickets,” said Impossible producer Ghislain Barrois.

The Spanish academy will dole out the awards on February 17 at a gala ceremony in Madrid.

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Bayona’s “The Impossible”

The anticipation is building for Juan Antonio Bayona’s heart-wrenching film The Impossible

The 37-year-old Spanish director’s film, a serious Oscar contender, tells the story of a family separated during the terrifying Tsunami in Thailand in 2004 and their efforts to survive and find each other, despite horrific injury and unspeakable devastation at the resort area where they were vacationing.

Juan Antonio Bayona

Starring Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor and Tom Holland, the film has already broken box office records in Spain. Summit will be releasing The Impossible  on December 21 in the United States.

Here’s a look at the making of The Impossible, in a featurette that includes an interview with the real-life wife and mother who fights against all odds to be reunited with her children and husband again.