Pedro Almodóvar to Receive San Sebastian Film Festival’s Donostia Award

It’s another career honor for Pedro Almodóvar

The San Sebastian Film Festival will fete the 74-year-old Spanish Oscar-winning filmmaker with its prestigious Donostia Award at its 72nd edition, running September 20-28.

Pedro AlmodóvarPresentation of the honorary award, which the festival said recognizes “extraordinary contributions to the world of cinema”, will take place in the Kursaal Auditorium before a screening of his latest movie, The Room Next Door.

The film is Almodóvar’s first in English and stars Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore.

The Room Next Door will debut at Venice. Swinton will present Almodóvar with the award in San Sebastian.

Almodóvar first screened at San Sebastian with his second feature, Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón / Pepi, Luci, Bom, competing in the New Filmmakers section.

He competed in the Official Selection with his next film, Laberinto de pasiones / Labyrinth of Passions (1982).

Almodóvar has also previously handed out Donostia Awards in San Sebastian. Over the years, he presented the honorary award to Al Pacino, Woody Allen and Antonio Banderas.

“My career began in San Sebastian in the year 1980 and since then I have returned to the festival often, with or without a film,” Almodóvar said.

“I have always immensely enjoyed myself. I have given the Donostia Award to Al Pacino, Woody Allen and Antonio Banderas. This year they are giving it to me, and I am delighted and grateful. I mean it, it’s an honor. San Sebastian is one of the cities where the cinema is celebrated with enormous enthusiasm. More than ever, at these times, we need the complicity of the spectators, and their presence in the film theatres. It is a dream to attend a festival like this, where the cinemas are always full.”

Last year, the Lifetime Achievement Award was handed to Javier Bardem. Other previous filmmakers to have received the Donostia Award include Francis Ford Coppola, Woody Allen, Oliver Stone, Agnès Varda, Hirokazu Koreeda and Costa-Gavras.

America Ferrera to Serve as Presenter at This Year’s Oscars

Win or lose, America Ferrera will be taking the Oscars stage…

The 39-year-old Honduran American actress, who earned her first-ever Academy Awards nod this year for her performance in Barbie, will serve as a presenter at Sunday’s Oscars.

She’s part of a roster of new presenters that includes Emily Blunt, Cynthia Erivo, Sally Field, Ryan Gosling, Ariana Grande, Ben Kingsley, Melissa McCarthy, Issa Rae, Tim Robbins, Steven Spielberg, Mary Steenburgen, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlize Theron, Christoph Waltz and Forest Whitaker.

They join previous announced presenters Bad Bunny, Chris Hemsworth, Dwayne Johnson, Michael Keaton, Regina King, Jennifer Lawrence, Kate McKinnon, Rita Moreno, John Mulaney, Catherine O’Hara, Octavia Spencer and Ramy Youssef, Mahershala Ali, Nicolas Cage, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brendan Fraser, Jessica Lange, Matthew McConaughey, Lupita Nyong’o, Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ke Huy Quan, Sam Rockwell, Michelle Yeoh and Zendaya.

The Oscars will be broadcast live on March 10 ceremony from the Dolby Theater in Hollywood.

Jimmy Kimmel is returning to host the ceremony for a fourth time.

ABC, which has aired the Oscars since 1976, is televising the show live starting at 7:00 pm ET/4:00 pm PT — an hour earlier that usual. The network, which has begun to use the Oscars as a lead-out to showcase its top programming, will follow its coverage of the live ceremony with an original episode of Abbott Elementary.

ABC’s time tweak also means that its annual pre-show will now run for 30 minutes — instead of the usual 90 — beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT. As per usual, the main Oscar telecast will be rebroadcast in the Pacific Time zone in primetime after the live presentation.

Raj Kapoor will serve as showrunner and executive producer of the 96th Oscars, with Molly McNearney and Katy Mullan executive producers. Hamish Hamilton is directing.

Bad Bunny to Serve as Presenter at This Year’s Academy Awards

Bad Bunny has a date with Oscar…

The 29-year-old Puerto Rican Grammy-winning superstar has been added to the list of presenters for this year’s Academy Awards show.

Bad BunnyBut the “Monaco” singer is not the only Puerto Rican artist set to take the stage.

West Side Story star Rita Moreno, an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar & Tony Award) winner, will also serve as a presenter.

Bad Bunny and Moreno are among the list of recently added presenters for the March 10th Oscars telecast that includes Chris Hemsworth, Dwayne Johnson, Michael Keaton, Regina King, Jennifer Lawrence, Kate McKinnon, John Mulaney, Catherine O’Hara, Octavia Spencer and Ramy Youssef.

Moreno won an Oscar in 1962 for West Side Story. In 1977, she became the first Latina (and just the third person overall) to complete the EGOT.

In 2022, Bad Bunny made history when Un Verano Sin Ti became the first Spanish-language album to top Billboard’s year-end chart and to receive a Grammy nod for album of the year. His acting credits include Bullet Train, Narcos: Mexico and Cassandro,

Earlier this week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced that another popular Latin star, Becky G, would perform the nominated “The Fire Inside” from Flamin’ Hot on the telecast.

Previously announced Oscars presenters are Mahershala Ali, Nicolas Cage, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brendan Fraser, Jessica Lange, Matthew McConaughey, Lupita Nyong’o, Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ke Huy Quan, Sam Rockwell, Michelle Yeoh and Zendaya.

The 96th Oscars will air live on ABC and broadcast to outlets worldwide on Sunday, March 10, at the new, earlier time of 7:00 pm ET/4:00 pm PT.

Jimmy Kimmel is hosting the show for the fourth time. It will be held at its usual home, the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.

Raj Kapoor is executive producer and showrunner for the 2024 Oscars. Molly McNearney and Katy Mullan are also executive producers. Hamish Hamilton is directing. Rickey Minor is music director.

Xolo Maridueña to Star in the Eif Rivera-Directed Film “Killing Castro”

Xolo Maridueña is killin’ it in Hollywood 

The 22-year-old Mexican, Cuban and Ecuadorian American actor and Blue Beetle star will star in the film Killing Castro.

Xolo MaridueñaEif Rivera will direct the film from a script by Leon Hendrix, Thomas DeGrezia and Colin Bateman. This will be Rivera’s first feature film.

In addition to Maridueña, who rose to acclaim in Cobra Kai, will star alongside

Al Pacino, Mexican superstar Diego Boneta, KiKi Layne, Alexander Ludwig, Ron Livingston, Kendrick Sampson, Nicole Beharie, Logan Marshall Green and Titus Welliver in the film.

Based on true events, the film is set in 1960. Shortly after winning the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro travels to New York City to deliver his first speech to the United Nations. When met with hostility at his original hotel, Castro meets Malcolm X who invites him to stay at famed Hotel Theresa in Harlem. With the eyes of the world watching, a rookie undercover FBI agent originally assigned to investigate Malcolm X suddenly becomes the FBI’s most valuable asset, and is tasked with keeping Castro from being eliminated by the CIA and the Italian mafia, by any means necessary.

Killing Castro will be produced by Romulus Entertainment’s Brad Feinstein, along with Christina Weiss Lurie of Fourth and Twenty-Eight Films. Romulus will also finance. Principal photography will take place in Newark, NJ.

“I am honored to be part of telling such an important story that is a piece of history which was largely unknown,” said Feinstein. “Killing Castro perfectly encapsulates the type of stories we strive to tell at Romulus Entertainment, stories that do more than entertain audiences, but create thought-provoking diverse content that bring to light the complexities of real life. We are looking forward to working with the incredible cast led by the inimitable Eif Rivera.”

Rivera is known for directing BMF, and TV shows including Force and Power Book III: Raising Kanan.

“I am excited to bring to life this compelling true story with the help of my remarkable cast and formidable producing team at Romulus Entertainment,” Rivera said.

AMC Developing Latinx Family Drama “Queen of the Jungle” From Michal Zebede

Michal Zebede has landed a royal-size project… 

AMC is developing Queen of the Jungle, a Latinx family drama created and executive produced by the Costa Rican and Panamanian American writer and producer.

Michal ZebedeMichael London is executive producing the project via his Groundswell Productions banner. The project is in the works for AMC and its sister streamer AMC+.

The series follows the estranged granddaughter of the Cortez family, which has the largest eco-luxury hotel real estate empire in Costa Rica. When her grandfather dies, she pulls the thread that unravels her family’s dark past, as descendants and rivals fight to the death for control of the lucrative Cortez empire.

Queen of the Jungle tackles themes of power, machismo, greed, family betrayal, Latin American classism, ancestral wounds, and modern colonialism.

“At a time when our world is in crisis, Queen of the Jungle offers the escapism we all crave, while addressing through the microcosm of one family the wounded societal patterns which no longer serve us,” said Zebede in a statement to Deadline. “In a sense the entire Cortez family is the show’s underdog, as it battles against the far more powerful Western hotel families colonizing Costa Rica and neighboring countries. But at its heart, this is the story of one heroine’s quest to escape the demons of her ancestors as she transforms her family business for generations to come,” she added.

Zebede is best known for her screenplay The Humbling, starring Al Pacino and Greta Gerwig, and her teleplays, including Freeform’s Party of Five.

Salma Hayek to Star in MGM & Scott Free Production’s Feature “House of Gucci”

Salma Hayek is House-bound…

The 54-year-old Mexican Oscar-nominated actress has joined the cast of House of Gucci, the feature film from MGM and Scott Free Productions currently in production.

Salma Hayek

Hayek joins an all-star cast that includes Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Jared Leto and Jack Huston, with Ridley Scott directing.

“So happy to have my good buddy Salma join our wonderful cast,” said producer Giannina Scott. “I’ve been talking with her about this Gucci project for 20 years. Now it’s happening and she is a part of it. Rid and I are thrilled.”

Ridley and Giannina Scott will produce via their Scott Free Productions banner.

The film tells the story of how Patrizia Reggiani (Gaga), the ex-wife of Maurizio Gucci (Driver), plotted to kill her husband, the grandson of renowned fashion designer Guccio Gucci. Hayek will play Pina Auriemma, who was a clairvoyant friend of “Black Widow” Reggiani, who was sentenced to 26 years in prison after her trial in 1998.

Roberto Bentivegna penned the script. House of Gucci will be released in the U.S. via MGM’s distribution joint venture United Artists Releasing on November 24. The film will be distributed internationally via Universal Pictures.

Hayek next can be seen in Lionsgate’s The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguardwhich will bow on June 16. She also has Marvel’s The Eternals coming out on November 5 and recently was seen in Amazon’s Bliss. 

Pilar Palomero’s “The Girls” Wins Big at the Goya Awards

Pilar Palomero is celebrating a Girls night like no other…

The 40-year-old Spanish film director and screenwriter’s coming-of-age story The Girls has taken home the top prizes, including best picture, at the 35th annual Goya Awards.

Pilar Palomero

The annual Spain awards show, hosted by Antonio Banderas, also saw Palomero’s drama win the prizes for new director, original screenplay and cinematography.

The 35th Goya Awards adopted a hybrid format due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and featured talent presenting and receiving awards virtually or on-site at an audience-less Teatro del Soho CaixaBank.

Pilar Palomero, The Girls

Among the Hollywood names presenting the event’s various awards were Pedro Almódovar, Penélope Cruz, J.A. Bayona, Alejandro Amenábar and Paz Vega.

The ceremony also featured pre-recorded messages from a number of Hollywood names including Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Benicio del Toro, Laura Dern and Charlize Theron.

1492: Conquest of Paradise and Broken Embraces actress Angelina Molina took home the ceremony’s Honorary Goya award.

Here’s the full list of winners at the 35th annual Goya Awards:

FILM
The Girls (Pilar Palomero)

DIRECTOR
Salvador Calvo (Adú)

NEW DIRECTOR
Pilar Palomero (The Girls)

ACTRESS
Patricia López Arnaiz (Ane)

ACTOR
Mario Casas (No matarás)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Nathalie Poza (Rosa’s Wedding)

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alberto San Juan (Sentimental)

NEW ACTRESS
Jone Laspiur (Ane)

NEW ACTOR
Adam Nourou (Adú)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Pilar Palomero (The Girls)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
David Pérez Sañudo, Marina Parés Pulido (Ane)

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Ana Parra, Luis Fernández Lago (Adú)

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Daniela Cajías (The Girls)

EDITING
Sergio Jiménez (The Year of the Discovery)

ART DIRECTION
Mikel Serrano (Akelarre)

COSTUME DESIGN
Nerea Torrijos (Akelarre)

MAKEUP AND HAIR DESIGN
Beata Wotjowicz, Ricardo Molina (Akelarre)

SOUND
Eduardo Esquide, Jamaica Ruíz García, Juan Ferro, Nicolas de Poulpiquet (Adú)

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Mariano García Marty, Ana Rubio, (Akelarre)

ORIGINAL MUSIC
Aránzazu Calleja, Maite Arroitajauregi (Akelarre)

ORIGINAL SONG
“Que no, que no,” (María Rozalén for Rosa’s Wedding)

ANIMATED FEATURE
Turu, the Wacky Hen (Eduardo Gondell, Víctor Monigote)

DOCUMENTARY
The Year of the Discovery (Luis López Carrasco)

IBERO-AMERICAN FILM
Forgotten We’ll Be (Fernando Trueba, Colombia)

EUROPEAN PICTURE
The Father (Florian Zeller, U.K., France)

LIVE-ACTION SHORT FILM
A la cara (Javier Marco)

DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Biography of a Woman’s Corpse (Mabel Lozano)

ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Blue & Malone: Casos imposibles (Abraham López Guerrero)

HONORARY GOYA
Angela Molina

Jared Leto In Talks to Star in Ridley Scott’s Next Project “Gucci”

It looks like Jared Leto could be landing a fashionable new role…

Ridley Scott is reportedly in talks with the 48-year-old part-Spanish American Oscar-winning actor/singer to star in his next project, MGM’s Gucci.

Jared Leto

Leto forms part of Scott’s all-star cast wish list that includes Adam Driver, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Jack Huston and Reeve Carney

Lady Gaga is already attached to star as Patrizia Reggiani, the ex-wife of Maurizio Gucci, who was tried and convicted of orchestrating his assassination on the steps of his office in 1995. She served 18 years in jail before being let out in 2016.

Maurizio had two daughters with Reggiani, but he left her for another woman. She’d had a brain tumor removed, and her children blamed it for her actions; the media took a darker view of her during a sensationalized affair, depicting her as a hot-blooded woman scorned and dubbing her “Black Widow.” She was originally handed a sentence of 29 years.

It’s Gaga’s first starring role since her Best Actress Oscar nomination in 2018’s A Star Is Born. She won an Academy Award for writing the song “Shallow.”

MGM landed the rights to the film back in April with plans to go into production after Scott finishes shooting his current project The Last Duel.

Scott’s partner Giannina Scott long has been passionate about the cinematic prospects for a film about the tumultuous Gucci family’s fashion dynasty and the murder of the grandson of founder Guccio Gucci.

The Gucci murder tale is scripted by Roberto Bentivegna, based on Sara Gay Forden’s book The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed.

Leto, who won multiple awards, including an Oscar, for his role in Dallas Buyers Club, will next appear in Sony’s Morbius.

STXtv Developing Chicano-Themed Series “Once Upon a Time in Aztlan” to Star George Lopez

George Lopez has a little Timeon his hands for an ode to California’s Chicano culture…

STXtv is developing Once Upon a Time in Aztlan, a new television series anchored by the 59-year-old Mexican American actor/stand up comedian.

George Lopez

The project includes the participation of  famed photographer Estevan Oriol and iconic Los Angeles-based artist Mister Cartoon aka Mark Machado.

Michael Connolly, under his Mad Hatter Entertainment banner, brought the elements together. 

Lopez is in final talks to star and executive produce the project through his Travieso Productions, with Javier Rodriguez writing the pilot. Oriol and Cartoon will executive-produce.

“I’m thrilled to be teaming up with Cartoon, Estevan, Jada and Michael for this series and developing a show with STXtv,” Lopez said. “Cartoon and Estevan are the DaVincis of our community; they have been the street chroniclers of our uniquely Chicano story … our American story. I’m looking forward to working with them and the rest of the team to expand their canvas to capture the diverse stories and people that make our culture and community so amazing, colorful and vibrant.”

This authentic L.A.-based series examines a family coming to terms with the falsehoods of the American Dream and their ability to defy expectations.

“I want to create a vision of Los Angeles inspired by my tattoos and murals that enriches and showcases the culture, opening it up to new audiences,” Cartoon said. “Putting together the dream team of Latino street culture and a collection of creative minds headed up by George Lopez, who is born and raised in L.A. and is an icon of our community. George’s experience and sense of humor acts as a foundation for this team.”

The pilot will be directed by Ricardo de Montreuil, who helmed Eva Longoria and Demián Bichir in the Blumhouse/Imagine East L.A.-set drama, Lowriders.During that production, he worked closely with Oriol and Cartoon, who were also involved in the production. 

Oriol and Cartoon’s longtime collaborators Mark Suroff and Marco Valadez, who produced LA Originals, also will serve as executive producers with Connolly.

“I’m looking forward to developing this with Cartoon, George, Jada and Michael,” said Oriol. “STXtv truly gets what it takes to develop a real show that can only be made in LA. This is the dream team. Period. It doesn’t get more authentic than this and I’m proud and privileged to be invited on this ride.”

Lopez recently released his first Netflix comedy special

He previously starred in Lopez for TV Land and Saint George for FX. And he had a talk show that ran from 2009-11. While his hit comedy George Lopez, whichended in 2007, ran on ABC, STXtv will zero in on buyers in the cable and streaming markets.

Cartoon is L.A.’s legendary tattoo artist, designer and cultural icon whose stylish and influential global work has been featured on countless celebrities including Kobe BryantEminemDr. Dre50 CentBeyoncéLewis HamiltonSnoop Dogg and many others. Cartoon also designed the logos for Cypress Hill and Eminem’s Shady Records, and his résumé includes cutting-edge designs for Nike, the LA Clippers and T-Mobile and others.

Oriol is an internationally celebrated photographer, director and urban lifestyle entrepreneur. Beginning as a tour manager for Cypress Hill and House of Pain, he developed a passion for photography as he documented life on the road to become hip-hop’s best-known chronicler; his work has been showcased in bestselling books, select galleries, and institutions, including the Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives,Mesa Contemporary Art CenterPetersen Automotive Museum, and The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles’ and New York’s Art in the Streets exhibit. He has photographed Eminem, Kim Kardashian, Cypress Hill, Dennis HopperBlink-182Forest Whitaker, Robert De NiroAl PacinoKendrick Lamar, 50 Cent, and Danny Trejo, among many others. He most recently executive produced the film Lowridersand directed the hit Netflix documentary L.A. Originals.

L.A. Originalswas critically acclaimed and extremely successful, introducing new fans to the world to Oriol and Cartoon.

Lorenza Izzo to Star in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time In Hollywood”

Lorenza Izzo is heading to Hollywood

The 28-year-old Chilean actress and model has landed a role in the Quentin Tarantino-helmed film Once Upon a Time In Hollywood.

Lorenza Izzo

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, the film visits 1969 Los Angeles, where one-time TV star Rick Dalton (DiCaprio) and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Pitt) make their way in an industry they hardly recognize anymore. The plot features multiple storylines in a tribute to the final moments of Hollywood’s golden age.

The large ensemble cast also includes Margot Robbie, Timothy Olyphant, Luke Perry, Damian Lewis, Dakota FanningAl Pacino, Emile Hirsch, Clifton Collins Jr., Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Scoot McNairy, Keith Jefferson and Nicholas Hammond.

Tarantino,David Heyman and Shannon McIntosh are producers on the film, which is slated for release July 26.

Izzo recurs in the final season of Hulu’s Casual series and appears in Universal Pictures’ The House with a Clock in Its Walls.