News

Exclusive: Wanda De Jesus (Sons of Anarchy) is set for a major recurring role on Fatal Attraction, Paramount+’s series reimagining of the classic 1980s psychosexual thriller film.

Written by Alexandra Cunningham from a story she co-wrote with Kevin J. Hynes, the Paramount Television Studios and Amblin Television series explores the timeless themes of marriage and infidelity through the lens of modern attitudes towards strong women, personality disorders and coercive control.

2022 Paramount+ Pilots & Series Orders

Lizzy Caplan, Joshua Jackson and Amanda Peet star, along with Alyssa Jirrels, Toby Huss, Reno Wilson and Brian Goodman.

De Jesus will portray Marcella Leyva, an accomplished lawyer and political animal, who is comfortable in her position as District Attorney. As Dan’s (Jackson) boss, she has to at times be the bearer of bad news.

Cunningham serves as showrunner and executive produces alongside Hynes as well as Amblin Television presidents Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey.

Music manager Daniel Field and Kathy Nelson, former head of filmed music at Universal, have signed on to produce Franc. Reyes’ feature A Boy and the Mirror Ball, which is based on his own novel. It’s a coming-of-age film that follows Robbie, a teenager in 1970s New York who finds himself in the whirlwind glitter train that ultimately became known as "disco.” Robbie and disco find their place in the world during the decade, but both lose their innocence by the time it…...

Cinematographer Frank Byers ("Boxing Helena") is set to direct, and screenwriter Franc. Reyes ("Empire") is set to pen an indie remake of Jean-Luc Godard's 1965 film noir "Alphaville" for Studiocanal and Ville Productions.

The story follows Lemmy Caution, who is sent to a dystopian city on a series of missions by the Outerlands. These include finding a missing agent, capturing the creator of the city Professor von Braun, and destroying von Braun's sentient computer system which controls the city and the minds of its citizens.

The remake is said to bring a fresh take on the story that reflects what’s happening in today’s political climate.

Source: The Wrap...

That Godard is so hot right now. I don’t even need to write his first name in the lead-in. His recent 3D film, Goodbye to Language, was named the best picture of 2014 by the National Society of Film Critics, and when that sort of thing happens you can bet Hollywood will come calling. Never mind that Godard has been around and considered one of the masters of cinema for more than half a century, and never mind that there’s not really anything the American studios could do with the material in that acclaimed new film (nor have they optioned any of the other foreign films the Nsfc have honored in the top slot, as far as I can recall). They don’t need to remake Goodbye to Language, anyway, because Godard has decades worth of output to mine from. His most famous, Breathless, has already been recycled, but Alphaville is apparently up for the taking...

Veteran cinematographer Frank Byers (“Twin Peaks,” “Boxing Helena”) is set to direct an indie remake of Jean-Luc Godard’s 1965 film noir “Alphaville,” TheWrap has learned.

Studiocanal and the director’s Ville Productions are teaming on the project, which was written by Franc. Reyes (“Empire”).

Also Read: ‘Goodbye to Language’ Wins Top National Society of Film Critics Award

“Alphaville” follows Lemmy Caution, who is sent to the titular dystopian city on a series of missions by the Outerlands. He searches for the Outerland’s missing agent Henry Dickson and he’s also there to capture or kill the creator of Alphaville,...

Legendary Rock Impresario John Diaz has chosen ‘Empire’ helmer Franc. Reyes (Alumbra Films) to write the screen adaptation to his manuscript “Caught Up In The Fable”.

A native of Louisiana, Diaz started his career in the 1970’s as a promoter for the legendary Rock concert hall The Warehouse in New Orleans, known as The Fillmore of the South, and booking such acts as The Allman Brothers, Zz Top, The Doors, The Grateful Dead, and every other major artist of the era. His career went on to include staging arena and stadium shows for the biggest acts of the 70’s. In the 1980’s and 90’s with the rise of MTV John Diaz produced music videos and live Concert events for Elton John, Billy Idol, Cyndi Lauper, Concert For Amnesty International with Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Peter Gabriel and Tracey Chapman”, “Bob Dylan’s 30thAnniversary Show at New York’s Madison Square Garden...

Production Weekly has been burning the midnight oil with all sorts of casting updates over twitter in the past few days. Amongst the news revealed:

Billy Crudup and Toby Jones have joined the cast of Bruce Beresford's Ada Lovelace biopic "Enchantress of Numbers".

Sam Mendes is the front runner to direct and Robert Downey, Jr. is circling to play 'The Wizard' in the Mitchell Kapner-scripted "Oz The Great And Powerful", Disney's planned prequel to "The Wizard of Oz" which Joe Roth will produce.

Kurt Russell, Adrien Brody and Sharon Stone are attached to a film about the Davidian religious cult's 51-day siege in Waco, Texas. Rupert Wainwright ("Stigmata," "The Fog") will direct from a script he co-wrote with James Hibberd.

Pam Grier is set to play Julia Roberts's best friend in Tom Hanks's "Larry Crowne" currently filming.

Ethan Hawke is in talks to star in low-budget...

Eva Longoria Parker will star in the supernatural horror film Tenement, to be directed by Franc. Reyes ("Empire", "Illegal Tender", "The Ministers"). A quick peek at Alumbra Films' blog spot yielded a quote from Reyes about the film: "If I had to point to one film that had the full impact of story, writing and genius directing, on me it has to be The Exorcist. Telling the story of Tenement fuses The Exorcist, Amityville Horror and Rosemary's Baby." Alumbra was formed by the multi-hyphenate Reyes (he's a director, producer, songwriter). Filming is scheduled to begin next month in New York....

· Coming Soon has got the teaser poster for The Sorcerer's Apprentice, featuring a pre-blond Nicolas Cage. Head there for the bigger version.

· Eclipse may be going in for reshoots, but director David Slade will stay in the director's chair, despite rumors to the contrary.

· Eva Longoria Parker will star in the supernatural horror film The Tenement, directed by Franc. Reyes (yes, that's how he punctuates his name).

· Vera Farmiga has booked another project;, this one a revenge western called A Thousand Guns.

· Is George Stephanopolous a shady Scrabble player? Only when he's trying to take down a couple of kids on national television.

Eva Longoria joins the cast of Tenement It seems that Eva Longoria Parker is heading into the horror genre with a new film project. Production Weekly is reporting that Longoria Parker has been set to star in Tenement.

Franc. Reyes (Empire, Illegal Tender, The Ministers) is writing and directing the film, which was said to be in the same vein as The Exorcist.

The film is scheduled to start shooting in New York next month.

By Jeff Sneider 

"Desperate Housewives" star Eva Longoria Parker will star in writer-director Franc. Reyes' supernatural horror film "Tenement," reports Production Weekly.

The story follows five potential buyers who lose more than they bargained for when they attend an open house in a haunted tenement building in the Bronx. Reyes has described the film as a fusion of "The Exorcist," "The Amityville Horror" and "Rosemary's Baby.&...

Franc. Reyes is embarking on a supernatural thriller called Tenement that's beginning to shoot next month in New York. And, according to Production Weekly, Eva Longoria Parker is set to star. A quick peek at Alumbra Films' blog spot yielded a quote from Reyes about the film: "If I had to point to one film that had the full impact of story, writing and genius directing, on me it has to be The Exorcist. Telling the story of Tenement fuses The Exorcist, Amityville Horror and Rosemary.s Baby," he says. Alumbra was formed by the multi-hyphenate Reyes (he's a director, producer, songwriter). We'll keep digging for plot details on this one!

Eva Longoria Parker will star in the supernatural horror film Tenement , to be directed by Franc. Reyes ( Empire , Illegal Tender , The Ministers ). A quick peek at Alumbra Films' blog spot yielded a quote from Reyes about the film: "If I had to point to one film that had the full impact of story, writing and genius directing, on me it has to be The Exorcist. Telling the story of Tenement fuses The Exorcist, Amityville Horror and Rosemary's Baby." Alumbra was formed by the multi-hyphenate Reyes (he's a director, producer, songwriter). Filming is scheduled to begin next month in New York.

Not much has been heard about indie thriller The Ministers, even though it looks pretty cool And it has Harvey Keitel doing what he does best. So here's a chance to catch up. The film from Empire helmer Franc. Reyes follows the quest of a lady cop played by the gorgeous Florencia Lozano who believes her father was gunned down by a pair or mysterious Boondock Saints-like vigilantes known as The Ministers, twin brothers who look like John Leguizamo. If that guy tends to get on your nerves,...

Check out the trailer and poster for” The Ministers“, starring John Leguizamo, Harvey Keitel, Diane Venora and Florencia Lozano.

“The Ministers” features Keitel, as senior detective Joe Bruno, who takes police detective Celeste Santana under his wing. Celeste (Lozano) links the recent murders with the murder of her police detective father. Celeste’s investigation and the twins’ vigilante actions begin to converge. Detective Santana is restrained by her chief, Captain Diaz (Wanda De Jesus). But the will to solve these crimes and find the link to the death of her father is too great and leads to an inevitable confrontation with the twins.

“The Ministers” is claimed to be inspired by true events. It is shot on location in Bronx with Franc. Reyes (Empire, Illegal Tender) serving as writer and director. It is due to open in limited theaters across the U.S. in October.

The Ministers poster...

A poster and trailer have been released for The Ministers, the film is written and directed by Franc. Reyes and stars Harvey Keitel, John Leguizamo and Florencia Lozano.

Thirteen years after his father was slain and the only evidence left at the crime scene was a pamphlet for a secret shrouded religious order known as The Ministers, a New York City homicide detective sets out to discover the truth behind his father’s gruesome death, but unwittingly becomes involved with one of his killers.

The Ministers is scheduled for a U.S. release in October 2009, a U.K. release date has yet to be confirmed. Check out the new trailer and poster below and let us know what you think:

© Filmshaft.Com, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us...

Months away from its limited theatrical release in the U.S., "The Ministers" lets out a sneak peek through its trailer. Less than two minutes long, the promotional video for the drama thriller takes a look at the performances of John Leguizamo as twins Dante and Perfecto Mendoza, Harvey Keitel as senior detective Joe Bruno and Florencia Lozano as Celeste Santana.

Promising a gritty look at the unforeseen ramifications of race, religion, revenge and ethnic politics, this movie revolves around Celeste Santana, a NYPD detective whose father was murdered in the line of duty. One clue about her father's killer left on the crime scene was a pamphlet from a mysterious religious group known only as "The Ministers".

13 years after her father's death, The Ministers begins to kill again. While she is desperate to avenge her father's death, she is taken off the case and ordered to stay away from the investigation.

Dear Latin HORRORphiles:

We are delighted to have the opportunity to be the very first venue to present an exclusive "first look" of Franc. Reyes' hot new trailer for his latest feature film, The Ministers, starring John Leguizamo and Harvey Keitel. View the film's one-sheet below.

The trailer will screen as part of "The HORRORphiles #3 - Summer Scream" taking place tomorrow (July 2, 2009) at Anthology Film Archives in New York City. Trailer courtesy of Maya Entertainment and Alumbra Films.

http://www.latinhorror.com/theministers/

Please join us for a full night of Rum & Coke cocktails during reception, Latin horror films, exclusive trailers, and a Q&A session with the filmmakers in attendance immediately following the screening.

Full program lineup at -

http://www.latinhorror.com/horrorphiles3/

There will be Sangre!

Edwin Pagan

Founder-In-Chief

Latin Horror

http://www.latinhorror.com/...

Earlier today, we pointed you to an interview with M. Night Shyamalan posted over at Cinematical, and I just stumbled across an interview over at LatinoReview with John Leguizamo, who stars alongside Mark Wahlberg in the mystery thriller “The Happening,” which opens this Friday.

In the interview, Leguizamo talks mainly about how he got involved in the project and what role he’s taking on. He also chats about his upcoming flick “The Ministers,” which is directed by Franc. Reyes.

Here’s a quick excerpt from what Leguizamo had to say to LatinoReview about being cast:

“Night said that after he wrote the character he thought of me, but then he asked me to audition too [laughs], I guess, just to be sure, just in case. I auditioned for him through a video-phone and I emailed it to him and he called me that Night and said, 'John, that was great.

Harvey Keitel is in final negotiations to join the cast of The Ministers, a crime thriller being directed by filmmaker Franc. Reyes.

Written by Reyes, the story follows a female NYPD detective whose father was murdered years ago by a group known as the Ministers. She learns that the group has begun to kill again, and in her attempt to avenge her father, she unknowingly becomes romantically involved with a member of the group.

Newcomer Florencia Lozano is the detective. John Leguizamo, who starred in Reyes' 2002 hit actioner Empire, and Diane Venora also are in the cast.

Keitel would play a good cop who has an unfortunate incident that changes the course of his life.

Reyes is producing along with Jill Footlick, who produces via her Grow Pictures.

Aaron Ray of the Collective, and Glenn Stewart, Steffan Aumuller and Claus Clausen of Sherzade are exec producing.

The Collective structured the financing for the sub-$10 million film and will handle all domestic sales.

John Leguizamo's rebuilding his empire. Production Weekly reports that the actor will reunite with Franc. Reyes, the writer-director behind his 2002 sleeper hit Empire, for the crime thriller The Ministers. Written by Reyes, the film follows a female cop who suspects her father was killed by a mysterious religious order. She's taken off the case, but finds herself involved again when she unwittingly hooks up with one of the cult's followers. No word on who will play the avenging heroine. Shooting is scheduled to begin this December in New York. Leguizamo is currently filming Love in the Time of Cholera for director Mike Newell.

Director John Singleton's latest hustle will be the indie drama Illegal Tender according to Variety. The Hustle & Flow producer is backing Empire writer-director Franc Reyes' current project about a young Latino on the run with his mom from his father's killer. Rick Gonzalez, Zoe Saldena and reggaeton artist Tego Calderon are all in talks to star in the pic, which begins filming May 9 in Puerto Rico.

Franc. Reyes has been hired to write and direct the remake of Beyond a Reasonable Doubt for Regency Enterprises. The original film was one of the last English-language films from writer-director Fritz Lang. It starred Dana Andrews, Joan Fontaine, Sidney Blackmer, Arthur Franz, Philip Bourneuf and Ed Binns. The story centers on a newsman who intentionally frames himself for a murder he didn't commit in order to point out the dangers of circumstantial evidence and to expose an overzealous district attorney who has manipulated evidence in the past to gain convictions. Everything is going as planned until his friend, the one person who can exonerate him, is killed.

Franc Reyes, who helmed Empire, the highest-grossing film to come out of the Sundance Film Festival in 2002, has signed on to rewrite and direct a remake of RKO's boxing drama The Set-Up. Robert Wise directed the 1949 original with a cast that included Robert Ryan as over-the-hill boxer Stoker Thompson along with Audrey Totter and George Tobias. The story revolves around Thompson's battle to get back into the ring and winning form despite complaints from his wife, played by Totter. The redo has been in the works for some time, with a series of writers -- from Sidney Lumet and Tony Lee to Mardik Martin -- turning in drafts during the past several years. In fall 2002, Lumet also was set to direct James Gandolfini, Halle Berry and Benjamin Bratt in the pic, but that package fell apart.

Making note of the fact that a mere 10 geographical miles separate the boogie-down South Bronx from button-down Wall Street, the creators of "Empire" have set out to show what happens when those seemingly diverse worlds collide.

It's an intriguing premise, and perhaps one day somebody will make a movie that actually tells that story.

In the meantime, we'll have to settle for writer-director Franc. Reyes' version, which tries to pass off a scattered, cliched approximation of the real deal.

Fronted by the charismatic John Leguizamo and attracting such icons as Isabella Rossellini and Sonia Braga to supporting roles, this debut offering from Latino-driven Arenas Entertainment certainly held some highly charged promise.

But this "Empire" will likely strike out with its target audience, which can get the same dose of melodrama for free from the average telenovela.

Gifted comic actor Leguizamo locks himself into dramatic mode as respected gangster Victor Rosa, a Little Cezar in the street pharmaceutical business who commands a significant chunk of urban turf with his customized blend of heroin, sold under the name "Empire".

Rosa's definitely at the top of his game, with a loyal posse and gorgeous fiancee Carmen (Delilah Cotto) at his side and an omnipresent gold chain with an enormous letter "G" (once belonging to his murdered Big Brother) dangling around his neck, but it's all going to seriously unravel after Carmen's new friend Trish (Denise Richards) introduces him to her investment banker boyfriend, Jack (Peter Sarsgaard).

Enticing him with a swank SoHo loft and some more "legitimate" off-shore investment opportunities for his millions in drug money, the smarmy Jack is about to play Victor in one of the oldest con games around and, as orchestrated by filmmaker Reyes, Rosa's the only person in the theater that didn't see it coming.

Perhaps he was distracted by all the glare caused by that giant "G."

A former dancer-choreographer-songwriter, Reyes tries to plug the picture's many plot holes and inconsistencies with wall-to-wall Leguizamo voice-overs and music video flourishes that contribute to its all-over-the-place style.

While Leguizamo keeps it together as best he can, it's pretty much safe to say he and the rest of the cast, including Braga as Cotto's mother and Rossellini as a powerful drug "queenpin" with a Bride of Frankenstein hairdo, have done more impressive work elsewhere.

That would also extend to the Ruben Blades score, which seems to have been broken up into little sound bites in order to make room for the arsenal of Latin pop and hip-hop tunes that have been squeezed in to boost the sagging street credibility.

EMPIRE

Universal

Arenas Entertainment and Universal Pictures present a Daniel Bigel/Michael Mailer production A Franc. Reyes film

Credits:

Director-screenwriter: Franc. Reyes

Producers: Daniel Bigel, Michael Mailer

Executive producer: Robert B. Campbell

Director of photography: Kramer Morgenthau

Production designer: Ted Glass

Editor: Peter C. Frank

Costume designer: Jacki Roach

Music: Ruben Blades

Music supervisor: Kathy Nelson

Cast:

Victor Rosa: John Leguizamo

Jack Wimmer: Peter Sarsgaard

Trish: Denise Richards

Jimmy: Vincent Laresca

Rafael Menedez: Nestor Serrano

Carmen: Delilah Cotto

Iris: Sonia Braga

La Colombiana: Isabella Rossellini

Chedda: Treach

Tito Severe: Fat Joe

Running time -- 100 minutes

MPAA rating: R...