del Castillo’s Netflix Series “Ingobernable” to Film in the U.S.

Posted on May 5, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Kate del Castillo’s latest project is heading north of the border…

Ingobernable, Netflix’s new original series toplined by the 43-year-old Mexican actress and telenovela star, is heading to production with a twist.

The series, whose star was a key player in the El Chapo saga, was originally slated to film in Mexico.

It will now shoot in the United States. According to Spanish-language reports citing del Castillo’s personal trainer, Ingobernable is expected to film in San Diego.

del Castillo, who recently became an U.S. citizen, lives in California and told ABC News in March that she is afraid to go to Mexico for fear of being arrested and prosecuted.

del Castillo has been under scrutiny by the Mexican government over her connection to notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, which led to her and actor Sean Penn’s infamous secret meeting with El Chapo while he was on the run following his daring escape from a Mexican prison.

“It’s a telenovela within a telenovela. It’s a strange turn of events for sure,” Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said at the height of the controversy in January, reaffirming the company’s commitment to film the series this year.

Ingobernable was picked up to series in summer 2015, long before del Castillo’s El Chapo ties were revealed. It was originally slated to begin shooting in early 2016, but production was delayed.

del Castillo to Discuss “El Chapo” Scandal with Geraldo Rivera on Fox News Channel

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Kate del Castillo is headed to Fox News Channel to talk about notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman…

The 43-year-old Mexican actress and telenovela star will sit down with Geraldo Rivera to discuss her relationship with Joaquin Guzman, better known as the head of the Sinaloa Drug Cartel, “El Chapo.”

The one-hour special, entitled Fox News Reporting: Beauty & the Beast – When Kate met Chapo, will air this coming Saturday.

del Castillo goes in-depth on how the two became pen-pals in addition to the secret meeting they later had with Sean Penn.

Also during this special, Rivera reports on Chapo’s pending extradition to the United States, the drug lord’s fascination with Donald Trump, the role the Mexican government has played, as well as the potential impact his incarceration will have on the drug epidemic in the United States.

Rivera also talks with former assistant special agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Special Operations Division for the Americas, Carl Pike.

Saturday’s 8:00 pm ET/PT special will be repeated Sunday at 9:00 pm ET/PT.

del Castillo to Portray Mexico’s First Lady in Netflix’s New Original Series “Ingobernable”

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Kate del Castillo is ungovernable…

The 42-year-old Mexican actress and telenovela star will star as Mexico’s First Lady in Netflix’s new original series Ingobernable.

del Castillo will portray Irene Urzua, the wife of Mexico’s president. A woman with a strong personality, conviction and clear ideas, Urzua is capable of “creating a president, leaving a president and killing a president.”

The 20-episode series, produced by Argos and directed by Jose Luis Garcia Agraz and Pedro Pablo “Pitipol” Ibarra, will begin shooting in Mexico early next year and will be available exclusively on Netflix later in 2016.

del Castillo played Teresa Mendoza in the USA pilot Queen of the South, an English-language adaptation of Telemundo’s blockbuster 2011 telenovela La Reina del Sur. Alice Braga took over the role of Teresa when the pilot was picked up to series. del Castillo’s other television credits include Weeds, Killer Women and Dallas.

Ingobernable comes on the heels of Club de Cuervos, Netflix’s first Spanish-language series set to premiere August 7, and it’s a clear signal that the streaming service is making regional footprints a steady part of its global expansion.

Madera to Star in the USA Network’s Drama Pilot “Queen Of The South”

Posted on December 26, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Hemky Madera’s next role is taking him south…

The 37-year-old Dominican American actor has landed a role opposite Alice Braga in the USA Network’s drama pilot Queen Of The South.

The project is an English-language adaptation of Telemundo’s blockbuster 2011 telenovela La Reina Del Sur, starring Kate del Castillo.

Based on the best-selling book by Arturo Perez-Reverte, Queen Of The South centers on Teresa Mendoza (Braga), who’s forced to go on the run when her drug-dealing boyfriend is unexpectedly murdered in Mexico. She seeks refuge in America, where she teams with an unlikely figure from her past to bring down the leader of the very drug trafficking ring that has her on the run. In the process, she learns the tools of the trade and strategically positions herself to become the leader of the cartel.

Madera will portray violent cartel henchman Pote Galvez.

His previous credits include appearances on Weeds, New Girl, The New Normal, Burn Notice, Luck and My Name is Earl.

USA Network Looking to Adapt Telemundo’s “La Reina del Sur”

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Telemundo’s La Reina del Sur is about to get an English-language makeover…

The USA Network has given a pilot order to The Queen of the South, an English-language adaptation of the blockbuster 2011 telenovela starring Kate del Castillo.

Frequent USA collaborator Fox Television Studios (White Collar, Graceland) is set to produce the project. In his television debut, feature producer David T. Friendly (Little Miss Sunshine), who brought the project to the studio, is executive producing.

Based on the best-selling book of the same by Arturo Perez-Reverte, Queen of the South is a serialized crime drama that centers on Teresa Mendoza. When her drug-dealing boyfriend is unexpectedly murdered in Mexico, Teresa is forced to go on the run and seek refuge in America, where she teams with an unlikely figure from her past to bring down the leader of the very drug trafficking ring that has her on the run. In the process, she learns the tools of the trade and strategically positions herself to become the leader of the cartel.

M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller (The Final Girls) wrote the script and will also executive produce the series with Pancho Mansfield.

La Reina Del Sur is not a typical telenovela, with critics noting that is feels closer to Breaking Bad than One Life To Live, and Telemundo giving it a major Emmy campaign. It was Telemundo’s most expensive telenovela ever with a budget of $10 million and became the highest-rated program in the Spanish-language network’s 19-year history, averaging nearly 4.2 million total viewers and more than 2.8 million viewers adults 18-49. Its May 30, 2011 series finale was the No. 1 broadcast program of the night, of any language.

Queen of the South joins USA’s other pilots Stanistan, Mr. Robot and Colony.

Trailer Released for Saldaña’s CGI Romantic Comedy “The Book of Life”

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

It’s the Day of (the Dead) reckoningfor Zoe Saldaña…

The first trailer for 20th Century Fox and Reel FX’s The Book of Life, featuring the voice of the 35-year-old half-Dominican/half-Puerto Rican American actress, has been released.

Saldaña voice the character of Maria in the Guillermo del Toro-produced film, which isdescribed as the journey of Manolo (voiced by Diego Luna), a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart. Before choosing which path to follow, he embarks on an incredible adventure that spans three fantastical worlds, where he must face his greatest fears.

In addition to Saldaña and Luna, the voice cast also includesKate del Castillo as La Muerte, Cheech Marin, Héctor Elizondo, Plácido Domingo, Ana de la Reguera, Eugenio Derbez and Danny Trejo.

The CGI romantic comedy, which is set during the Mexican holiday of the Day of the Dead, is directed by El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera creator Jorge Gutierrez. It was co-written by Gutierrez and Disney veteran Doug Langdale.

The Book of Life is scheduled to hit theaters on October 17.

del Castillo Lending Voice to Animated Film “El Americano 3D”

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Kate del Castillo is about to get animated…

The 41-year-old Mexican actress and former telenovela star has joined the voice cast of El Americano 3D, which is being billed as the first major U.S.-Mexican animated co-production.

The film will be released in the first quarter of 2015, according to Variety.

Former Friends star Lisa Kudrow heads the ensemble voice cast that also includes Modern Family star Rico Rodriguez, Cheech Marin, Erik Estrada and Mexican-American actor and director Edward James Olmos, who also serves as a co-producer.

El Americano is the fourth film – and first CGI movie – made at the Animex Producciones animated studio in Puebla, Mexico. Burbank, California-based Olmos Productions also has co-production credits.

The film will premiere in both Mexico and the United States in the first three months of 2015, including an initial 1,200-screen U.S. theatrical release.

Deals also have been reached at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival to distribute the film in Russia and in Asian countries.

Variety describes the movie as a “revisionist take on the U.S. as a country of role models for young Mexicans.”

The film “makes us realize that the answers to our struggles are right there in our own hearts,” Olmos was quoted as saying.

It tells the story of Cuco, a young Mexican parrot who embarks on an epic quest to persuade an American crime-fighting TV celebrity to help defend his family from bullies, the magazine said.

Cuco learns, however, that he can become a hero without anyone else’s help.

Saldaña Joins the Voice Cast of Guillermo del Toro’s Animated Film “Book of Life”

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Zoë Saldaña will be sharing the Book of Life with moviegoers…

The 35-year-old Dominican and Cuban American actress has joined the voice cast of 20th Century Fox Animation‘s Book of Life, which is being produced by Guillermo del Toro and directed by Mexican animator and filmmaker Jorge R. Gutierrez.

Originally titled Day of the Dead, after the famous Mexican celebration, the movie’s title is now Book of Life.

Guiterrez’s credits include Nickelodeon‘s award-winning animated television series El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera.

Along with Saldaña, the voice cast includes Channing Tatum, Diego Luna, Christina Applegate, Ice Cube, Kate del Castillo and Ron Perlman, along with Cheech Marin, Hector Elizondo, Placido Domingo, Ana de la Reguera (Nacho Libre, Eastbound and Down), Eugenio Derbez (Instructions Not Included), comedian Gabriel Iglesias (Stand-up Revolution) and Danny Trejo.

Fox will open the film in October 2014.

del Castillo to Participate in Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race for Charity

Posted on March 16, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Kate del Castillo will be revvin’ her engine for a good cause soon…

The 40-year-old Mexican actress and former telenovela star will take part in a charity auto race next month to benefit children battling serious illnesses, according to organizers.

del Castillo, who will be joined by fellow Latino luminaries Cristian Castro and Michelle Rodriguez, will climb inside a 200-horsepower Scion FR-S sports car during the 10-lap Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race, which will take place in downtown Long Beach, California.

The event, which is being held on April 20, will raise funds for the Racing for Kids organization, a national program that benefits children’s hospitals throughout the United States.

Ex-marine and Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer; journalist and former Entertainment Tonight host Mark Steines and the winner of the previous edition of the race, comedian Adam Carolla, will also be among the competing celebrities, who will undergo intense training sessions prior to the race.

The professional drivers who’ll compete against the celebrities include freestyle motocross champion and star of the MTV program Nitro Circus, Andy Bell; and National Hot Rod Association driver Melanie Troxel.

The celebrities receive a 30-second head start against the professionals.

The funds raised will be donated to organizations like the Children’s Hospital of Orange County and Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach.

Since 1991, Toyota has donated more than $2 million to the Racing for Kids organization.

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

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

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.

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.

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