Fernando Meirelles to Direct an Episode of Drama Series “The Sympathizer”

Fernando Meirelles is sympathizing

The 67-year-old Brazilian film director, producer and screenwriter and Marc Munden will direct episodes of The Sympathizer, a drama series adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.

Fernando MeirellesProduced by and co-starring Robert Downey Jr., the HBO/A24 series is an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his resulting exile in the United States.

Described as a “blistering exploration of identity and America, a gripping spy novel and a powerful story of love and friendship,” the novel is hailed as a new classic of war fiction and has been compared to the works of Kafka, Orwell, and le Carré.

Munden will direct episodes 5,6, and 7 and Meirelles will direct episode 4.

The main cast also includes Sandra Oh, Kieu Chinh, Ky Duyen, Hoa Xuande, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Vy Le  and Alan Trong.

The series is currently in production, with filming in Los Angeles and Thailand.

The series is a co-production between HBOA24 and Rhombus Media in association with Cinetic Media and Moho Film.

Meirelles received a Best Director Academy Award nomination for his renowned film City of God. He most recently directed The Two Popes, which earned Academy Award, Golden Globes and British Film Academy nominations.

Mark Consuelos Developing “Pine Valley,” the Primetime Version of ABC’s Beloved Soap Opera “All My Children”

Mark Consuelos is returning to his soap opera roots…

ABC is in early development on Pine Valley, a primetime version of the network’s beloved daytime drama All My Children, with the 49-year-old half-Mexican actor and his wife Kelly Ripa executive producing alongside Andrew Stearn and filmmaker Robert Nixon, son of the late AMC creator Agnes Nixon.

Mark Consuelos

In the All My Children followup, written/executive produced by Leo Richardson, a young journalist with a secret agenda comes to expose the dark and murderous history of a town named Pine Valley only to become entangled in a feud between the Kane and Santos families. The series explores all the secrets that come with the Kane and Santos family names.

Kane was one of AMC’s founding families, with Erica Kane (Susan Lucci) becoming one of television’s most popular characters. Ripa and Consuelos, who played Hayley & Mateo Santos on the original series, executive produce via their Milojo Productions alongside the company’s Albert Bianchini. Stearn executive produces through his Andrew Stearn Productions. The company is based at ABC Signature, which is the studio on the project.

Mark Consuelos & Kelly Ripa, All My Children

Pine Valley will feature a new generation of characters and some old favorites. There are currently no deals in place with original cast members, but the plan is to invite a number of them to make an appearance, with Ripa and Consuelos also possible making a cameo.

Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children aired for 41 years on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011, originally in a half-hour format before expanding to hourlong episodes in 1977. The series was set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictional suburb of Philadelphia, which is modeled on the actual Philadelphia suburb of Rosemont.

Pine Valley plans to continue the original series’ legacy of tackling difficult issues and being inclusive. AMC was the first series to comprehensively address the Vietnam War and to have a character undergo a legal abortion. The soap also featured a transgender storyline a decade and a half ago.

As it will be in primetime, Pine Valley will have a heightened tone and will wink to the daytime soap genre similar to how the CW’s Jane the Virgin paid homage to telenovelas.

Raba to Star in History Channel’s Military Action Drama Series “Six”

Juan Pablo Raba has six reasons to celebrate…

The 38-year-old Colombian actor has signed on for the History Channel’s military action drama series Six.

Juan Pablo Raba

Written by Oscar-nominated screenwriter and Vietnam War veteran William Broyles and his son David Broyles, a military special operations veteran, Six follows a Navy SEAL Team Six, whose 2014 mission to eliminate a Taliban leader in Afghanistan goes awry when they uncover a U.S. citizen working with the terrorists.

Raba will play Ricky “Buddha” Ortiz, one of the veterans on SEAL Team Six.

Raba is currently shooting the feature 7 Years in Madrid, Spain. He recently was seen in Narcoand The 33 and next appears in the indie drama Shot Caller.

Miranda’s “Down Argentine Way” and “The Gang’s All Here” Added to the National Film Registry

Carmen Miranda is a national (registry) treasure…

The late half-Brazilian actress, singer and dancer’s work will now be preserved for all time.

Carmen Miranda

The Library of Congress has added 25 films to the National Film Registry, including two of Miranda’s most memorable projects.

The annual selection helps to ensure that the movies will be preserved for all time. This year’s list brings the number of films in the registry to 650.

Down Argentine Way (1940), which established Betty Grable’s as the pinup queen, features the actress’ character traveling to South America and falling in love with Don Ameche.

Miranda, who was popular from the 1930s to the 1950s, made her Hollywood debut in the film, and her exotic clothing and Latin accent became her trademark.

The Gang’s All Here (1943), featured showgirl Alice Faye being romanced by a soldier who uses an assumed name and then turns out to be a rich playboy.

Miranda, nicknamed the “Brazilian Bombshell” is noted for her outrageous costume and signature fruit hat, which was highlighted in the legendary musical number “The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat.”

But Miranda isn’t the only one being immortalized in the National Film Registry…

Efraín Gutiérrez’s Please Don’t Bury Me Alive! (1976)
has also made the cut.

He wrote, directed and starred in the independent film, which is set in the San Antonio barrio in the early 1970s and tells the story of a young Chicano man questioning his and his people’s place in society as thousands of his Latino brethren return from the war in coffins during the turbulent days near the end of the Vietnam War.

Meantime, Felicia (1965), a 13-minute short subject, marketed as an educational film, has been included in the National Film Registry this year.

It centers on an unassuming-yet-articulate teenager Felicia Bragg, a high-school student of African-American and Hispanic descent. Felicia’s first-person narrative reflects her hopes and frustrations as she annotates footage of her family, school and neighborhood, creating a time capsule that’s both historically and culturally significant.

Here’s a look at the films featuring Latino talent that made the final cut:

2014 National Film Registry

Down Argentine Way (1940)
  Betty Grable’s first starring role in a Technicolor musical happened only because Alice Faye had an attack of appendicitis, but Grable took advantage of the situation and quickly made herself as important to 20th Century-Fox as Faye. Released just over a year before America entered World War II, this film and others starring Grable established her as the pinup queen. The title explains much, with Grable traveling to South America and falling in love with Don Ameche. Carmen Miranda makes her American film debut, and the Nicolas Brothers’ unparalleled dance routines dazzle.

The Gang’s All Here (1943)
 Although not remembered as well today as those put out by MGM, 20th Century-Fox’s big Technicolor musicals stand up well in comparison. Showgirl Alice Faye, Fox’s No. 1 musical star, is romanced by a soldier who uses an assumed name and then turns out to be a rich playboy. Carmen Miranda is also featured and her outrageous costume is highlighted in the legendary musical number “The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat.” Busby Berkeley, who had just finished a long stint directing musicals at MGM and an earlier one at Warner Bros., directs and choreographs the film.

Please Don’t Bury Me Alive! (1976)
 The San Antonio barrio in the early 1970s is the setting for writer, director and star Efraín Gutiérrez’s independent piece, considered by historians to be the first Chicano feature film. A self-taught filmmaker, Gutiérrez not only created the film from top to bottom on a shoestring, he also acted as its initial distributor and chief promoter, negotiating bookings throughout the Southwest where it filled theaters in Chicano neighborhoods. He tells his story in the turbulent days near the end of the Vietnam War, as a young Chicano man questioning his and his people’s place in society as thousands of his Latino brethren return from the war in coffins. Chon Noriega, director of the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, wrote, “The film is important as an instance of regional filmmaking, as a bicultural and bilingual narrative, and as a precedent that expanded the way that films got made. …” Cultural historians often compare Gutiérrez to Oscar Micheaux, the pioneering African-American filmmaker who came to prominence in the 1920s.

Felicia (1965)
This 13-minute short subject, marketed as an educational film, records a slice of life in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles prior to the rebellions of 1965. Filmmakers Trevor Greenwood, Robert Dickson and Alan Gorg were UCLA film students when they crafted a documentary from the perspective of the unassuming-yet-articulate teenager Felicia Bragg, a high-school student of African-American and Hispanic descent. Felicia’s first-person narrative reflects her hopes and frustrations as she annotates footage of her family, school and neighborhood, creating a time capsule that’s both historically and culturally significant. Its provenance as an educational film continues today as university courses use “Felicia” to teach documentary filmmaking techniques and cite it as an example of how non-traditional sources, as well as mainstream television news, reflect and influence public opinion.