Radius-TWC Acquires North American Rights to del Toro’s Pablo Escobar-Film “Paradise Lost”

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Benicio del Toro’s Paradise Lost will find itself in theaters in North America in the near future…

Radius-TWC has just closed a $2 million deal with Pathé for the North American rights to the 46-year-old’s Paradise Lost.

Directed by Andrea Di Stefano, the film stars The Hunger Games’ Josh Hutcherson as a young surfer who visits his brother in Colombia and falls in love with the country, especially when he meets and marries the gorgeous girl of his dreams.

He then he finds himself thrust into the family business. She’s the niece of notorious drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, portrayed by del Toro.

The film also stars Brady Corbet and newcomer Claudia Traisac.

“We have been tracking this project for months and could not be more energized by Benicio’s outstanding performance, Josh’s extraordinary turn and Claudia Traisac’s star-making role,” said Radius presidents Tom Quinn and Jason Janego. “Di Stefano has delivered the goods and we feel privileged to be working alongside him on this fantastic film.”

Trailer Released for del Toro’s Drama “Jimmy P.”

Posted on January 7, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Benicio del Toro is going native (and psycho) in his next project…

The 46-year-old Puerto Rican Oscar-winning actor is starring in Jimmy P., Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian.

del Toro stars as a Native American riddled with postwar mental trauma Mathieu Amalric portrays the Hungarian Jewish doctor bent on solving the mystery locked in his patient’s mind.

Writer-director Arnaud Desplechin (A Christmas Tale, Kings & Queen) adapted Jimmy P. from real-life psychotherapist Georges Devereux‘s study of a Blackfoot Indian who’d served in World War II. The case is cited as prime example of dream interpretation and the “talking cure,” a verbal therapy utilized by Sigmund Freud.

Reviewing from the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, where Jimmy P. debuted in competition, The Hollywood Reporter praised the film for avoiding cliches and capitalizing on its two stars: “The whole project is saved largely thanks to the subtext of ethnic discrimination that runs through the film, and two riveting central performances, which overcome a wobbly start to find emotional balance by the final reel.”

IFC Films will release Jimmy P., Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian in theaters on February 14 and through VOD Feb. 20.

First Photo Released for Saldaña “Guardians of the Galaxy”

Posted on January 1, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Zoë Saldaña’s next role will have you seeing green and red…

The 33-year-old half-Dominican/half-Puerto Rican American actress is starring in Marvel’s new superhero film Guardians of the Galaxy, which saw the release of the first official photo from the film.

In the image, Saldaña’s red-hair and green-skinned character Gamora is featured in a line up alongside Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), leader Star-Lord a.k.a. Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Rocket Raccoon and Groot, voiced by Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel respectively.

Gamora’s powers include superhuman strength and agility and an accelerated healing factor.

An action-packed, epic space adventure, Guardians of the Galaxy expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe.

To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits – Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer.

But when Peter discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand – with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.

Directed by James Gunn, the tentpole project will hit US theaters on August 1, 2014.

Along with the main cast, the film also stars Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, Benicio del Toro, John C. Reilly and Glenn Close.

IFC Films Acquires US Rights to Del Toro’s “Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian”

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Benicio Del Toro’s latest project will play in more places than the Plains…

IFC Films has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to the Arnaud Desplechin-directed Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian.

The film, which stars Del Toro and Mathieu Amalric, premiered at Cannes and was just screened at the New York Film Festival.

Desplechin, Kent Jones and Julie Peyr adapted the script from the George Devereux book Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian.

The series is about the author’s relationship and multidisciplinary study of Jimmy Picard, a Blackfoot Indian, who fought in World War II and suffered from psychological distress.

IFC is expected to release the film in early 2014.

Del Toro to Star in Marvel Studios’ “Guardians of the Galaxy”

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Benicio Del Toro has landed a galactic role…

The 46-year-old Puerto Rican actor has joined the cast of the James Gunn-directed Marvel Studios franchise launcher Guardians Of The Galaxy.

Del Toro’s role is being kept under wraps, but he’s said to be playing a character built to be part of future Marvel films, which means he’s signed a deal with options that put him into multiple movies.

Del Toro joins a cast that includes Glenn Close, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, John C. Reilly and others in the cast.

Del Toro most recently joined the cast of Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice. He’ll next appear in Jimmy P, the film that made its world premiere in competition at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

He’s also set to star in an untitled film directed by Terrence Malick.

Worldview Entertainment Acquires Rights to del Toro’s “Jimmy P”

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Benicio del Toro’s latest project will be heading to American theaters…

Worldview Entertainment has acquired the U.S. rights to Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian, which stars the 46-year-old Puerto Rican actor as the titular Native American character.

The film is directed by Arnaud Desplechin and adapted from Georges Devereux‘s 1951 study Reality and Dream: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian.

The drama will make its debut at the Cannes Film Festival, where it has been selected to compete for the Palme d’Or.

The website Ioncinema.com rates the film favorably; judging it potentially the best film at Cannes and the second-most anticipated film of 2013.

The film also stars L.A. Law alumn A Martinez, Mathieu Amalric and Gina McKee.

del Toro’s “Paradise Lost” to be Filmed in Panama

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

It looks like Benicio del Toro’s Paradise Lost will be found in Panama…

As previously reported, the 46-year-old Puerto Rican actor will be starring in Paradise Lost, a romance-thriller involving the niece of late Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. And now official sources that the film will be shot in Panama.

del Toro will portray Escobar, who is the subject of several projects including the film Silver or Lead and a drama series from Netflix.

The source didn’t go into detail about when the shooting would begin or at what precise locations, saying the production company has asked for “maximum discretion.”

But media outlets say some technical staff had begun arriving in Panama, while del Toro will be in the Central American country next week when filming starts in the western province of Chiriqui, which borders Costa Rica, and Cerro Azul, a mountainous area outside Panama City.

The film will be the directorial debut of Italy’s Andrea Di Stefano, who also wrote the screenplay.

Paradise Lost tells of the romance that develops between Pablo Escobar’s niece, Mary, and a surfer named Nick (Josh Hutcherson), who falls in love with the young woman during a trip to Colombia.

del Toro to Appear in Prada’s Fall/Winter 2013 Campaign

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

The Devil Wears Prada… And apparently so does The Wolfman.

Benicio de Toro has been cast by Prada’s designer and owner Miuccia Prada as one of the fashion house’s latest models.

The 45-year-old Puerto Rican actor, who starred in 2010’s The Wolfman, will appear in Prada’s fall/winter 2013 ad campaign.

In addition to del Toro, Prada has cast Harvey Keitel, as well as young actors Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who appearswith del Toro in Oliver Stone’s Savages and Dane DeHaan, who will star in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Getting acclaimed film actors to appear in her ads and on her runways is par for the Prada course. Earlier this year, she selected a diverse cast including Gary Oldman, Jamie Bell, Willem Dafoe and Garrett Hedlund to star in the brand’s autumn/winter 2012 men’s ad campaign.

And at the Milan fall/winter collections in January, Oldman, Adrien Brody and Jamie Bell were among the Hollywood A-list celebrities who walked in the Prada menswear show.

del Toro Starring as Drug Lord Pablo Escobar in “Paradise Lost”

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Don’t blame Benicio del Toro if he gets a little lost in his new role…

The 45-year-old Puerto Rican will be starring as notoriousdrug lord Pablo Escobar in Paradise Lost. And it looks like The Hunter Games’ Josh Hutcherson could be del Toro’s co-star. He’s currently in negotiations to join the cast.

Directed/written by Life of Pi scribe Andrea di Stefano, the film isn’t exactly an Escobar biopic, but is instead being compared to The Last King of Scotland.

Hutcherson would actually be the principal character in the fact-based tale. He’d portray Nick, a young Irish surfer who visits his brother in Colombia. There he meets the love of his life — until he meets her uncle Pablo.

The film will begin production in Panama in March.

del Toro most recently starred opposite Salma Hayek and Blake Lively in Oliver Stone‘s Savages, where he played the henchman to Hayek’s drug-dealing character.

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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