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Immigrantly Media is excited to announce the launch of the trailer for their new limited-run podcast series, Nationly, set to debut in June 2024.

Nationly, co-hosted by J.D. Ramirez and Sara Sadhwani, will discuss the “Why?” behind political issues that really matter to minority communities—immigrants and communities of color—specifically in the battleground states at the heart of this year’s election season. Focusing on minority communities—specifically, immigrants and communities of color—'Nationly' uncovers the issues that truly matter to these voters, ranging from global events like the situation in Gaza to local races such as the showdown between Kari Lake v. Ruben Gallego.

The podcast asks: Who's spearheading the uncommitted movement in Michigan? What key issues are driving Latino support in Arizona? Why is Gen Z stepping up to run for office in Georgia? Delving into the "why" behind political issues, each episode explores key defining moments...

Related: See Every Dressed-to-Impress Arrival From the 2022 Billboard Latin Music Awards

Nicky Jam received more than just the Hall of Fame Award at the 2022 Billboard Latin Music Awards on Thursday evening. His own father, José Rivera, took the stage to do the honors of presenting the award to him - talk about a sweet and unexpected surprise! Nicky broke down in tears as his dad presented the award and walked over to give him a big hug. The two embraced for a few minutes before the reggaeton artist gave his acceptance speech.

"Wow, I was not expecting this," he said in Spanish. "I thought another artist would give me this - not my dad. But dad, you look beautiful. Thank you, Billboard, Leila Cobo for bringing my dad. I want to thank everyone that helped me get to where I'm at. Thank you to everyone who shared their studios with me.

The visitation of the Virgin Mary in a small town in Mexico and the subsequent push by a humble man named Juan Diego to get a temple erected in her name is being brought to the big screen, courtesy of screenwriter Joe Eszterhas and Roma Downey and Mark Burnett’s LightWorkers Media. Known as the Virgen de Guadalupe or Our Lady of Guadalupe the story is well-known and the site is revered throughout the world as sacred, but especially in Mexico and Latin American countries…...

"O Theos Agapaei To Haviar" or in the previous English title "God Loves Caviar" is Greek history movie about the Greek pirate legend  Varvakis. The movie was one of the official selections that debuted in "2012 Toronto Film Festival" In 2013 The Pirate was the highest grossing film in Greece. In Russia the movie was released as "Pirates of the Aegean Sea". In England the movie got re-released in 2015 as "The Pirate" but don't let the pirate title fool you, the movie is more about Varvakis life when he discovered caviar then his pirate life. Story: Ioannis Varvakis (Sebastian Koch) is an adventurous pirate, famous and loved by the Greeks, fared and hated by the Turks,  one day he get assigned by Count Lefentarios (Juan Diego...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Ernst Lubitsch: The movies' lost 'Touch.' Ernst Lubitsch movies on TCM: Classics of a bygone era Ernst Lubitsch and William Cameron Menzies were Turner Classic Movies' “stars” on Jan. 28, '16. (This is a fully revised and expanded version of a post published on that day.) Lubitsch had the morning/afternoon, with seven films; Menzies had the evening/night, also with seven features. (TCM's Ernst Lubitsch schedule can be found further below.) The forgotten 'Touch' As a sign of the times, Ernst Lubitsch is hardly ever mentioned whenever “connoisseurs” (between quotes) discuss Hollywood movies of the studio era. But why? Well, probably because The Lubitsch Touch is considered passé at a time when the sledgehammer approach to filmmaking is deemed “fresh,” “innovative,” “cool,” and “daring” – as if a crass lack of subtlety in storytelling were anything new. Minus the multimillion-dollar budgets, the explicit violence and gore, and the overbearing smugness passing for hipness,...

Stars: Tomas Lemarquis, Alex Brendemuhl, Juan Diego, Ramon Fonsere, Derek De Lint | Written by Juan Carlos Medina, Luiso Berdejo | Directed by Juan Carlos Medina

In the 1930s, a group of Spanish children are found to have somehow contracted a disease which makes them unable to feel pain. For the safety of the general public, they are kept locked up. Intersecting with this story, a talented doctor, David (Alex Brendemuhl) is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and while enquiring about the possibility of a bone marrow transplant, goes on a search to find out the truth behind his heritage.

The idea of what could be done with a bunch of kids who can’t feel pain is one which is explored pretty well through the first half of Painless. Doctors performing experiments and the almost inevitable entrance of Nazis is not entirely original but certainly interesting stuff and is...

Stars: Tomas Lemarquis, Alex Brendemuhl, Juan Diego, Ramon Fonsere, Derek De Lint | Written by Juan Carlos Medina, Luiso Berdejo | Directed by Juan Carlos Medina

In the 1930s, a group of Spanish children are found to have somehow contracted a disease which makes them unable to feel pain. For the safety of the general public, they are kept locked up. Intersecting with this story, a talented doctor, David (Alex Brendemuhl) is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and while enquiring about the possibility of a bone marrow transplant, goes on a search to find out the truth behind his heritage.

Having been someone who has attended both FrightFest and Lff in the past, I have to say that location aside, there are few similarities, and even less when it comes to the films themselves. Painless is the exception which proves the rule however, it feeling like a film which legitimised its place,...

Ramon Novarro: Mexican-born actor was first Latin American Hollywood superstar Mexican-born actor Ramon Novarro, the original Ben-Hur and one of MGM’s biggest stars of the late ’20s and early ’30s, has his Turner Classic Movies’ "Summer Under the Stars" day on Thursday, August 8, 2013. First, The Bad News: TCM will not be presenting any Ramon Novarro movie premieres. And that’s quite disappointing. (Photo: Ramon Novarro ca. 1925.) There’ll be no The Midshipman (1925), the first time Novarro was billed above the title (back then the official recognition of True Stardom) and featuring one of Joan Crawford’s earliest film appearances, or Forbidden Hours (1928), a vapid but great-looking The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg redux, with the always charming Renée Adorée as the commoner loved by His Majesty, Michael IV — that’s Novarro. Excellent prints of The Midshipman and Forbidden Hours can be found in the Warner Bros. film...

From the press release:

Are you ready for a spine-chilling global avalanche of Indian zombies, Israeli oldboys, vengeance-crazed Vikings, Swedish mesmerists, Irish telekinesis, Argentine undead, Aussie bone-crushers, murderous Mormons and Chilean assassins?

Film4 FrightFest 2013, returning for its 4teenth year, has unveiled its biggest line-up in history. From Thurs 22 August to Monday 26 August, the UK’s leading event for genre fans will be at the Empire Cinema in London’s Leicester Square to present 51 films on three screens. Empire 1 will house the main event while the Discovery strands will play in Empires 2 & 4. The new FrightFest Xtra strand, also in Screen 2, will allow fans to catch up with sold-out performances of the most popular attractions.

This year there are eleven countries representing five continents with a record-breaking thirty-three UK or European premieres and ten world premieres.

The world premieres include our opening night attraction The Dead 2: India from the Ford Brothers,...

Superhero impersonators threw punches on Hollywood Boulevard today. Costumed superhero characters, two Captain Americas and a Spider-Man, threw punches at each other right on the main tourist part of the famouse Boulevard in front of Madame Tussauds kiosk, feet away from the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. .All of a sudden, two Captain Americas and Spider-Man started circling around me. Captain America just hit one of them and Spider-Man started bleeding,. said Vernardo Stroud to the CBS local affiliate. .I was stunned at the moment. Then all of a sudden, it just got to me.I got to get them out of the way. The tourists just looked around like they were enjoying the moment,. he said. Juan Diego, a...

The tension between the costumed characters who parade Los Angeles' Hollywood Blvd. begging for tourist tips is getting super-charged.

On Wednesday, two people dressed as Captain America and another in a Spider-Man getup allegedly threw punches at each other in front of the Madame Tussauds kiosk, feet away from the Dolby Theatre, according to an eyewitness.

“All of a sudden, two Captain Americas and Spider-Man started circling around me. Captain America just hit one of them and Spider-Man started bleeding,” Vernando Stroud told CBS Los Angeles. “I was stunned at the moment. Then all of a sudden, it just got to me…I got to get them out of the way. The tourists just looked around like they were enjoying the moment,” he said.

A Batman costumed bystander, whose real name is A.C. Simmons, felt the fight might defuse the mounting friction.

"I think it was just hostility that had to be let out,...

Jim Sturgess and Kirsten Dunst are lovers from two worlds, literally, in the new film Upside Down.  

In this strange world of Upside Down, twinned worlds with gravities that pull in opposite directions keep lovebirds Adam and Eden from each other. In the trailer, the two meet as kids, but a forced separation keeps them apart for ten years until Adam breaks the rules and searches for Eden. Eden belongs to a world for the privileged while Adam's world is a working-class society.

Directed by Argentinian director Juan Diego Solanos, Upside Down clearly another Romeo and Juliet love story with beautiful imagery.  The film is scheduled to open March 15, 2013.

Read more...

Raul Esparza, Jose Feliciano, Juan Diego Florez, Melanie Griffith, George Lopez, Mario Lopez, Rita Moreno, Chita Rivera, Robert Rodriguez, Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner, Ballet Hispanico, Coral Contigas, Coro de Ninos de San Juan, the Esperanza Azteca Youth Orchestra, and the Pan American Symphony Orchestra headlined 'In Performance at the Kennedy Center,' an event that honored the presidential inauguration and Latino arts and culture last night, January 20. You can watch the full concert below, which included performances from a slew of Broadway favorites. Click below to check it out...

Actress Eva Longoria, San Antonio philanthropist and business leader Henry R. Munoz III and San Juan attorney and activist Andres W. Lopez, in partnership with the nation's leading Latino organizations, announced today that Raul Esparza, Jose Feliciano, Juan Diego Florez, Melanie Griffith, George Lopez, Mario Lopez, Rita Moreno, Chita Rivera, Robert Rodriguez, Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner, Ballet Hispanico, Coral Contigas, Coro de Ninos de San Juan, the Esperanza Azteca Youth Orchestra, the Pan American Symphony Orchestra and other entertainers will headline 'In Performance at the Kennedy Center,' an event honoring the presidential inauguration and Latino arts and culture tonight, January 20, at 700 p.m.

Fernando Guillén dies: Pedro Almodóvar Collaborator, Goya Award winner for Don Juan in Hell Fernando Guillén, a Spanish acting legend whose film, stage, and television career spanned close to six decades, died of cancer earlier today at a Madrid hospital. The Barcelona-born Guillén was 81 according to the daily El Mundo. (As per the IMDb, he was 80; born on Nov. 22, 1932.) Curiously, Fernando Guillén became more active in Spanish cinema in the last three decades. Among his movies are three directed by Pedro Almodóvar: Law of the Desire (1987), in which Guillén plays the police investigator; the Academy Award-nominated Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988), as Carmen Maura’s jerk ex-boyfriend; and the Oscar-winning All About My Mother (1999), as the Doctor featured in the play A Streetcar Named Desire starring Marisa Paredes as Blanche DuBois. (Correction: Penélope Cruz’s father is played by Fernando Fernán Gómez.) [Photo: Fernando Guillén.] Other Guillén movies include...

Actress Eva Longoria , San Antonio philanthropist and business leader Henry R. Munoz III and San Juan attorney and activist Andres W. Lopez , in partnership with the nation's leading Latino organizations, announced today that Raul Esparza , Jose Feliciano , Juan Diego Florez , Melanie Griffith , George Lopez , Mario Lopez , Rita Moreno , Chita Rivera , Robert Rodriguez , Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner , Ballet Hispanico, Coral Contigas, Coro de Ninos de San Juan , the Esperanza Azteca Youth Orchestra, the Pan American Symphony Orchestra and other entertainers will headline 'In Performance at the Kennedy Center,' an event honoring the presidential inauguration and Latino arts and culture on Sunday, January 20, at 700 p.m.

Millennium Entertainment has acquired domestic rights to Juan Diego Solana's Upside Down sci-fi romance, starring Kristen Dunst and Jim Sturgess. Variety reports that the company is set to send out a 2D and 3D version in 2013. Upside Down tells of a universe where two Earths exist. There's one on top which is a paradise packed with the wealthy and the other below with the poor trying to make ends meet. The parallel planet co-exist, but robberies taking place on upper Earth by those on lower Earth force border control security to tighten. The romance comes in as Adam (Sturgess), who fell for Eve (Dunst) will do anything to see her, playing in a story of rich and poor romance. Sounds like Romeo and Juliet but in upside down worlds, opposing the relationships between the two worlds.

Millennium Entertainment has acquired domestic rights to Juan Diego Solana's Upside Down sci-fi romance, starring Kristen Dunst and Jim Sturgess. Variety reports that the company is set to send out a 2D and 3D version in 2013. Upside Down tells of a universe where two Earths exist. There's one on top which is a paradise packed with the wealthy and the other below with the poor trying to make ends meet. The parallel planet co-exist, but robberies taking place on upper Earth by those on lower Earth force border control security to tighten. The romance comes in as Adam (Sturgess), who fell for Eve (Dunst) will do anything to see her, playing in a story of rich and poor romance. Sounds like Romeo and Juliet but in upside down worlds, opposing the relationships between the two worlds.

Toronto – On July 31st, the 37th annual Toronto International Film Festival announced its second wave of features and documentaries to be added to this year’s already promising lineup.

The ‘Midnight Madness’ programme, which showcases up and coming genre films, will return for a second year, with The Raid winning the inaugural audience choice award in 2011.

Tiff Programmer Colin Geddes says that the audience should expect “everything from outrageous horror comedies to mock-doc-eco-apocalypse thrillers, featuring trans-dimensional bugs, lewd Catholic priests, meat monsters and dog-snapping psychopaths that will animate the Ryerson Theatre when the clock chimes 12.”

Returning for its fourth edition this year is the ‘City to City’ programme, which puts a spotlight on filmmakers working and living in a certain city, introducing audiences to local independent films from around the world. This year’s city of choice is Mumbai.

Artistic Director Cameron Bailey says, “Mumbai’s cinema today is entirely...

Toronto – On July 31st, the 37th annual Toronto International Film Festival announced its second wave of features and documentaries to be added to this year’s already promising lineup.

The ‘Midnight Madness’ programme, which showcases up and coming genre films, will return for a second year, with The Raid winning the inaugural audience choice award in 2011.

Tiff Programmer Colin Geddes says that the audience should expect “everything from outrageous horror comedies to mock-doc-eco-apocalypse thrillers, featuring trans-dimensional bugs, lewd Catholic priests, meat monsters and dog-snapping psychopaths that will animate the Ryerson Theatre when the clock chimes 12.”

Returning for its fourth edition this year is the ‘City to City’ programme, which puts a spotlight on filmmakers working and living in a certain city, introducing audiences to local independent films from around the world. This year’s city of choice is Mumbai.

Artistic Director Cameron Bailey says, “Mumbai’s cinema today is entirely...

Spanish documentary filmmaker Chema Rodríguez will shoot parts of his first feature film in India in October. The project is titled Night is Falling in India. It is a road movie about a journey from Spain to the river Ganges.

The film is currently being shot in Romania and will then move to Turkey and Sevilla until the end of July. The second half of filming is scheduled for October in India and Almería.

Rodríguez has made over 50 documentaries for television and three for the cinema.

The film, based on the real story told in “Night is falling in Katmandu” written by Rodríguez in 2003, tells the story of Ricardo (Juan Diego), who back in the day used to take hippies to India in his van. But he has spent the last ten years of his life in a wheelchair because of a terminal illness that has reached its final phase.

Fernando Tejero, Salma Hayek, As Luck Would Have It No Rest For The Wicked, The Artist, Un Cuento Chino: Goya Award Winners Pt.1 Best Actor Daniel Brühl, Eva Antonio Banderas, The Skin I Live In Luis Tosar, Mientras duermes * José Coronado, No Rest for the Wicked Best Actress Verónica Echegui, Katmandu: un espejo en el cielo * Elena Anaya, The Skin I Live In Inma Cuesta, The Sleeping Voice Salma Hayek, La Chispa de la vida / As Luck Would Have It Best Supporting Actor Juan Diego, 23-f: la película * Lluís Homar, Eva Juanjo Artero, No Rest for the Wicked Raúl Arévalo, Cousins Best Supporting Actress Goya Toledo, Maktub Maribel Verdú, De tu ventana a la mía Pilar López de Ayala, Intruders * Ana Wagener, The Sleeping Voice Best New Actor José Mota, As Luck Would Have It * Jan Cornet, The Skin I Live In Adrián Lastra, Cousins Marc Clotet, The Sleeping...

Read our exclusive interview with actor Jon Gries, who plays Murry in the fantasy drama ‘Around June.’ The movie, which was directed and co-written by James Savoca, is set to hit select theaters on February 24, 2012. The title character, played by Samaire Armstrong, leads a quiet life in the shadow of the San Francisco shipyards. June lives under the care of her much adored Uncle Henry, played by Brad William Henke, and Murry, her controlling father. Her life changes when she meets a penniless illegal immigrant, Juan Diego, portrayed by Oscar Guerrero. Juan’s unconditional love gives her the insight and courage to finally express herself and follow her dreams....

The Skin I Live In (La piel que habito) and the other nominations for the 2012 Goya Awards (Premios Goyas) have been announced. The 26th Annual Goya Awards (Premios Goyas), presented by the Academia de las Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas de España (Spanish Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences), is “Spain’s main national film awards, considered by many in Spain, and internationally, to be the Spanish equivalent of the American Academy Awards.” The awards will be handed out on February 19, 2012 in Madrid, Spain.

The full listing of the 2012 Goya Awards (Premios Goyas) nominations is below.

Film

La piel que habito (The Skin I Live In), Pedro Almodovar

No habrá paz para los malvados (No Rest for the Wicked), Enrique Urbizu

La voz dormida (The Sleeping Voice), Benito Zambrano

Blackthorn. Sin destino (Blackthorn), Mateo Gil

Director

Pedro Almodovar, La piel que habito (The Skin I Live In)

Benito Zambrano, La voz dormida...

Benoit Jacquot's historical drama Les Adieux a la reine to open Berlin. Farewell My Queen starring Diane Kruger, Lea Seydoux and Virginie Ledoyen, adapted from the award-winning novel by Chantal Thomas, will open this year's Berlin Film Festival, reports Variety. Benoît Jacquot directs as well as scripting alongside Gilles Taurand. The film is set during the final days of the French Revolution and looks at the relationship between Marie Antoinette and one of her readers. Farewell My Queen aims for the Berlin Golden Bear award in Competition, with releases like Stephen Daldry's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, starring Thomas Horn, Sandra Bullock, Tom Hanks and Max von Sydow, Brillante Mendoza's Captive, starring Isabelle Huppert, Katherine Mulville and Marc Zanetta, Antonio Chavarrías' Childish Games (Dictado) starring Juan Diego...

Benoit Jacquot's historical drama Les Adieux a la reine to open Berlin. Farewell My Queen starring Diane Kruger, Lea Seydoux and Virginie Ledoyen, adapted from the award-winning novel by Chantal Thomas, will open this year's Berlin Film Festival, reports Variety. Benoît Jacquot directs as well as scripting alongside Gilles Taurand. The film is set during the final days of the French Revolution and looks at the relationship between Marie Antoinette and one of her readers. Farewell My Queen aims for the Berlin Golden Bear award in Competition, with releases like Stephen Daldry's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, starring Thomas Horn, Sandra Bullock, Tom Hanks and Max von Sydow, Brillante Mendoza's Captive, starring Isabelle Huppert, Katherine Mulville and Marc Zanetta, Antonio Chavarrías' Childish Games (Dictado) starring Juan Diego...

Benoit Jacquot's historical drama Les Adieux a la reine to open Berlin. Farewell My Queen starring Diane Kruger, Lea Seydoux and Virginie Ledoyen, adapted from the award-winning novel by Chantal Thomas, will open this year's Berlin Film Festival, reports Variety. Benoît Jacquot directs as well as scripting alongside Gilles Taurand. The film is set during the final days of the French Revolution and looks at the relationship between Marie Antoinette and one of her readers. Farewell My Queen aims for the Berlin Golden Bear award in Competition, with releases like Stephen Daldry's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, starring Thomas Horn, Sandra Bullock, Tom Hanks and Max von Sydow, Brillante Mendoza's Captive, starring Isabelle Huppert, Katherine Mulville and Marc Zanetta, Antonio Chavarrías' Childish Games (Dictado) starring Juan Diego...

Columbia is now tossing its hat into the horror arena with filmmaker Juan Diego Escobar's latest tale of blinding terror, Eyes to See or (Ojos Para Ver for you purists out there). We've got your very first look at some stills, two pieces of artwork, and even the trailer!

Dig on all of the goods below. Jean Carlo Posada and \Linda Carreño star. Look for the film which is now in development. More as it comes.

Synopsis

Eyes to See tells the story of a collector of rare artifacts who abandons his home in search of a precious object, located on a map that he stumbled upon many years ago. Our adventurer hunts the object for days, until finally, deep in the Colombian jungle, he finds a hidden civilization. As he converses with the residents, he gets to learn their culture, their rituals, and their concepts of black magic. The...

#53. Upside Down Director: Juan Diego SolanasWriter(s): Santiago Amigorena and SolanasProducers: Claude Léger, Dimitri Rassam, Aton Soumache, Jonathan Vanger and Alexis VonarbDistributor: Rights Available. The Gist: Adam is a seemingly ordinary guy in a very extraordinary universe. He lives humbly trying to make ends meet, but his romantic spirit holds on to the memory of a girl he met once upon a time from another world, an inverted affluent world with its own gravity, directly above but beyond reach... a girl named Eve. Their childhood flirtation becomes an impossible love. But when he catches a glimpse of grown‐up Eve on television, nothing will get in the way of getting her back... Not even the law or science!....(more) Cast: Kirsten Dunst and Jim Sturgess List Worthy Reasons...: You can say that filmmaking is in his blood, and while I haven't seen Juan Diego Solanas' debut film,...

Principal photography began on 23-f - the latest feature by Sud Express director Chema de la Peña. Produced by the production company Lazona (Concursante), the film will be the first cinematographic reinterpretation of the coup d´état that took place in Madrid February 23rd 1981. Paco Tous (Alatriste) will play famous Lieutenant Coronel Antonio Tejero, the mastermind behind the event, Juan Diego (Lope) will play General Armada and the quite busy Fernando Cayo (The Orphanage and Pedro Almodóvar's The Skin I Live In) will play Spain's King Juan Carlos I. The film will be the chronological re-telling of the seventeen hours of the vent that marked history. The film will premiere in Spain February 23rd 2011, coinciding with the 30º anniversary of such historical moment. From Wiki: 23-f is the name given to an attempted coup d'état in Spain that began on 23 February 1981 and ended on the following day. It is also...

After burning through a few days' worth of room service on a train from Paris to Zurich, Chuck and Sarah confront the necessity to make a decision regarding their future, arriving at the conclusion that they should quit the spy life. The iPhone goes out the train window and the reinstated Casey immediately gets his first new assignment from Beckman: use Morgan to locate Chuck. As the lovebirds discuss where to begin their new free-wandering life, Chuck flashes on one of three very suspicious-looking men who seat themselves in the dining car: Juan Diego Arnaldo, a Basque Eta terrorist. Sarah...

Keep on reading: Chuck Season 3 Episode 14: Chuck Versus the Honeymooners...

It was a home from home for screenwriters visiting Hollywood in the 20s. Now, this elegant cottage has been given a 21st-century overhaul

In Tinsel Town, where impressing friends is as routine as litigation or elective surgery, David Francis threw caution to the wind in 1992 when he bought his first home in a dilapidated pocket of Hollywood. "It was a real ghetto, full of transvestites, graffiti and gang members," says Francis, a novelist and lawyer. "Friends were afraid to visit in case their cars were stolen."

But he turned a blind eye to the seediness because he was taken with the house's history: it was one of a complex of eight houses built in the 20s by Paramount Studios for visiting screenwriters. And he was charmed by the traces of English and French cottage architecture, with fake beams, elegant, panelled windows, a 20ft glass-paned living room ceiling and a rustic...

News is trickling out that Joe Eszterhas, who has penned such silly-sexy-hackle raising films as Basic Instinct and, yes, Showgirls, is writing a script about the Virgin of Guadalupe. The famous religious icon and patron saint of Mexico appeared in 1531 to a Mexican man named Juan Diego, just one of many of Marian apparitions around the world. A church was built where she appeared; you can read more about Diego's vision and the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City here.

So, what is someone like Eszterhas going to write about the Virgin Mary? Has the Hollywood Animal found Jesus? As MovieWeb pointed out, Eszterhas also wrote Crossbearer: A Memoir of Faith after he's diagnosed with throat cancer and forced with a total upheaval of his personal life. And the producer company Mpower Pictures is behind a mixed bag of titles, from the critically acclaimed movie The Stoning of Soraya M.

New York -- He may have sanded his jagged edge, but Joe Eszterhas still, apparently, has the basic instinct.

The polarizing scribe, who hasn't had a film released theatrically in the U.S. in more than a decade, has signed on to a project about the mystical sighting of a virgin in 16th century Mexico.

Eszterhas will write the screenplay about the virgin of Guadalupe, a vision that appeared to the Aztec peasant Juan Diego in 1531. While some scholars question Diego's existence, the event is credited with helping to spread Catholicism at a time of economic and social turmoil in the country. Earlier this decade, Diego was canonized as a saint by the Roman Catholic church.

Eszterhas, sounding like someone other than the man who gave the world hard-r potboilers like "Basic Instinct," noted that the Guadalupe project was a "labor of love" and that he had been "hoping for...

"The Met: Live in HD" is once again teaming up with local movie theaters to present an encore presentation of another opera by Rossini. Rossini's "Il Barbiere Di Siviglia will be shown on Wednesday, July 29 at 7:00 pm in select movie theaters across the country.

"The Barber of Seville" is one of the most beloved operatic comedies of all time. It stars tenor Juan Diego Florez as Count Almaviva, along with mezzo-soprano Joyce Didonato as Rosina and Peter Mattei as the Barbara. The presentation is subtitled in English.

For more information and to see a listing of participating theaters, go to www.fathomevents.com.

Madrid -- The 12th Malaga Spanish Film Festival will stay true to its roots as the premiere showcase for the Spanish film industry, offering a bevy of directorial debuts, when it runs April 17-25, organizers said Tuesday.

But as new festival director Carmelo Romero takes the reins from Solomon Castiel for the first preview of this year’s Spanish film production stressing continuity, he also has added some ingredients to spice things up.

Native son Antonio Banderas will attend the festival for the first time to present the Malaga Award to Juan Diego, whom he directed in his Spanish-language, Malaga-based film “Summer Rain.” The festival will offer a “making of” section dedicated to Banderas’ “Rain.”

Cult director Alex de la Iglesia will preside over the official jury, comprising director Sergio Cabrera; actors Jose Manuel Cervino, Ruben Ochandiano and Emma Suarez; as well as writers Lucia Etxebarria and Juan Madrid.

But the meat of the festival,...

The Metropolitan Opera presents a free open dress rehearsal on February 27 of Mary Zimmerman's new production of Bellini's La Sonnambula, starring Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Fl?rez. The third in a series of open rehearsals this season supported by Agnes Varis, a managing director of the Met's Board of Directors, and her husband, Karl Leichtman, the dress rehearsal begins Friday, February 27 at 11:00 am; the doors will open at 10:00am.

Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Fl?rez, who created a sensation last season in La Fille du R?giment, star in a new production of Bellini's La Sonnambula opening March 2, directed by Mary Zimmerman and conducted by Evelino Pid?. Dessay takes the role of the sleepwalker Amina, with Fl?rez as her betrothed Elvino, and Michele Pertusi as the Count who almost ruins their wedding. Performances run through April 3, with Barry Banks singing Elvino at the final performance. Zimmerman returns with the creative team that collaborated on her hit production of Lucia di Lammermoor, which opened the 2007-08 season: Daniel Ostling, set designer; Mara Blumenfeld, costume designer; T.J. Gerckens, lighting designer; and Daniel Pelzig, choreographer.

Pedro Almodovar's Volver picked up five honors at the Goya Awards in Madrid, Spain last night, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress for Penelope Cruz. The movie, which had received 14 nominations, also won Best Original Soundtrack for Alberto Iglesias. On collecting her Best Actress award, Cruz said, "This award is very important, very special for me. I am going to try not to cry because I'm a disaster, and these 30 seconds are not going to be enough." Pan's Labyrinth, which is nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at next month's Oscars, collected the most awards - seven in total, including Best Original Screenplay for Mexican writer/director Guillermo Del Toro. Del Toro said, "My relationship with Spain as a filmmaker is one of profound admiration and respect... that began with the hand of Pedro (Almodovar)." Elsewhere, Juan Diego won Best Actor for Vete De Mi, while Stephen Frears' The Queen won Best European film.

Pedro Almodovar's Volver and Agustin Diaz Yanes' Alatriste are the leading contenders for Spain's Goya Awards, taking 14 and 15 nominations respectively. The two movies will go head-to-head at the end of January in the Best Film and Best Director categories. Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth - which picked up 13 nominations - and Manuel Huerga's Salvador - with 11 nominations - are also up for Best Film and Best Director. Volver and Pan's Labyrinth - Spain and Mexico's respective entries for next year's foreign-language Oscar - are both up for Best Script, alongside Daniel Sanchez Arvalo for Darkbluealmostblack and Jorge Sanchez Cabezudo for The Night Of The Sunflowers. Penelope Cruz is nominated for Best Actress (Volver) alongside Maribel Verdu (Pan's Labyrinth), Marta Etura (Darkbluealmostblack) and Silvia Abascal (La Dama Boba). American-born actor Viggo Mortensen and German Daniel Bruhl are named in the Best Actor category for Alatriste and Salvador respectively, alongside Sergi Lopez (Pan's Labyrinth) and Juan Diego (Leave Me).

• Volver dominated the noms for Spain's Goya Awards taking in 14 nominations, but it is Alatriste the Viggo Mortensen starrer that picked up an impressive 15 noms. The Goyas will be presented the last weekend of January. Here are the noms: Major Category 2007 Goya Nominations Film"Volver," Pedro Almodovar"Alatriste," Agustin Diaz-Yanes"Salvador," Manuel Huerga"Pan's Labyrinth," Guillermo del ToroDIRECTORAgustin Diaz-Yanes, "Alatriste"Guillermo del Toro, "Pan's Labyrinth"Manuel Huerga, "Salvador"Pedro Almodovar, "Volver"ACTORDaniel Bruehl, "Salvador"Juan Diego, "Vete de mi"Sergi Lopez, "Pan's Labyrinth", "Alatriste"ACTRESSMaribel Verdu, "Pan's Labyrinth"Marta Etura, "Darkbluealmostblack"Penelope Cruz, "Volver"Silvia Abascal, "The Silly Lady"New DIRECTORCarlos Iglesias, "Crossing Borders"Daniel Sanchez Arevalo, "Darkbluealmostblack"Javier Rebollo, "What I Know About Lola"Jorge Sanchez Cabezudo, "The Night of the Sunflowers"Original SCREENPLAYDaniel Sanchez Arevalo, "Darkbluealmostblack"Guillermo del Toro, "Pan's Labyrinth"Jorge Sanchez Cabezudo, "The Night of the Sunflowers"Pedro Almodovar, "Volver"Adapted SCREENPLAYAgustin Diaz-Yanes, "Alatriste"Antonio Banderas,

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