Kate del Castillo Starring in Womanhunt Thriller “Cold, Dead Hands”

The chase is on for Kate del Castillo

The 48-year-old Mexican actress and telenovela star has teamed up with former Netflix VP Erik Barmack to produce and star in the womanhunt thriller Cold, Dead Hands (working title).

Kate del Castillo

The film is set up at del Castillo’s Cholawood Productions, Barmack’s Wild Sheep Content and Top Dead Center Films, headed by Gary and Julie Auerbach, creators of the film.

Gary Auerbach directs the film, which went into production on January 4, shooting in Utah.

The film opens with del Castillo’s character waking up in a log cabin in deep forest, having been drugged and abducted. A message on a stereo tells her to press play.

“I’m a hunter,” a voice says, explaining she’s been placed there because she’s a “worthy prey.” There’s a snow mobile five miles from the cabin. If she makes it to that, she wins. There’s no civilization around and nothing in the cabin of value to her, the voice warns. But he’ll give her a couple of minutes heads start.

Co-starring Marc Blucas, the film naturally packs multiple twists and a backstory about why del Castillo’s character is such worthy prey and the moral choices she had to make to escape the first time round.

The movie is written by Julie Auerbach, as well as Kevin Tavolaro and co-written by Blucas.

This is “the story of a woman who lives through unspeakable hardships in her life yet she identifies as a survivor, not a victim,” del Castillo tells Variety, adding that her character shows “a tremendous amount of strength, courage, intelligence and compassion, all admirable traits innate to our culture” and that she “personally relates to this character particularly in how she overcomes her fears and refuses to let her past define her.”

The movie catches del Castillo coming off Bad Boys for Life, where she stars opposite Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, and del Castillo’s starring role on Season 2 of La Reina del Sur.

During its transmission, ending July 2019, the sophomore season kept Telemundo broadcast network among the top three networks in the U.S. regardless of language in the adults 18-49 and adults 18-34 demos in the 10 p.m. Monday-Friday berth.

Ciro Guerra Executive-Producing Netflix’s First Colombian Original Series

Ciro Guerra is (net)flixing out about a Colombian first…

The 36-year-old Colombian filmmaker and screenwriter is set to executive produce Netflix’s first Colombian original series.

Ciro Guerra

Guerra, who received an Oscar nomination for his film Embrace of the Serpent, will work with Narcos producer Dynamo on the project, which will debut worldwide in 2019.

Written by Carlos Contreras, the as-yet untitled series will follow a young detective and her partner deep into the Amazon, on the border of Brazil and Colombia, to investigate a series of bizarre murders. They soon realize that there’s more mystery to the jungle than the deaths, as they encounter an enigmatic indigenous tribe with an incredible secret that they will take great risks to protect.

Composed of eight hour-long episodes and shot entirely in 4K, the series will showcase the country’s geographic diversity and magnificent landscapes, as well as the region’s complex social and environmental climate.

“We are thrilled to be launching our first Colombian original, featuring great Colombian filmmakers and producers,” said Erik Barmack, Vice President of International Originals. “From 2011, we have been committed to providing a great service in Colombia, and this show, with local talent, will add to our incredible slate of originals throughout Latin America.”

“This is a great opportunity to expand the reach of our local stories and share them with global audiences. Netflix is an extraordinary platform that we are thrilled to collaborate with, and we think this new show will be a great first step in that direction,” added Guerra.

The new series joins a growing slate of original productions being filmed in Latin America, including Ingobernable, Club de Cuervos, La Casa de las Flores, Edha, Narcos, Samantha!, O Mecanismo, O Matador, 3% and Coisa Mais Linda, among others.

Production is slated to begin summer 2018.

Caro Bringing 13-Episode Dark Comedy Project to Netflix

Manolo Caro has landed a high-profile project…

Netflix has set an untitled half-hour dark comedy from the Mexican filmmaker.

Manolo Caro

Shooting will begin in Mexico early next year with the 13-episode series later available across all 190 Netflix territories.

Shot in 4K, the comedy revolves around a seemingly successful and idyllic family-run flower business full of dysfunctional secrets. When the patriarch finds out his longtime mistress has suddenly passed away, he decides to bring their children into the household alongside his current wife and family who didn’t know they existed.

The series explores the need to protect and forgive loved ones, no matter how uncomfortable.

Erik Barmack, Netflix vice president of international originals, cites the success of Club De Cuervos in Mexico and in other countries as reaffirming “our bet on Mexican talent and productions like the upcoming Ingobernable, and this new project with Manolo.”

Caro is best known for such films as Tales of an Immoral Couple, Elvira I’ll Give You My Life But I’m Using It, Love of My Loves, and I Don’t Know Whether to Slit My Veins or Leave Them Long.

This project will be part of the Netflix Original productions slate filmed in Latin America including Narcos, Club de Cuervos, Ingobernable, 3%, Edha, O Matador and the untitled project from Jose Padilha based on current events in Brazil.