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We’ve got your exclusive first look at the monstrous, practical effects-driven terror at the heart of Pacifico, the highly anticipated elevated creature feature from visionary Latin filmmaker Gonzalo “Gg” Gutiérrez (Giants). The film, which was revealed at the Cannes Film Market, is reported to be the largest science-fiction production in Latin American history, and features a notable cast of Latin stars.

The horrifying images, shown below, depict a moment of pure survival horror—a confrontation with the ancient evil at the heart of the story. We’re told the project was shot with visceral realism, and the creature’s practical design does indeed promise a return to tactile monstrosities.

Directed by Gutiérrez, Pacifico hails from Buenos Aires-based outfit FilmSharks, produced by Mauricio Brunetti (Corazon de Leon) and Guido Rud (Lobo Feroz; No Dormiras), and executive produced by Florencia Lemoine (Giants). Gutiérrez is known for his bold visual style and roots in high-end visual effects.

Bat Hen Sabag is ready, willing and able to defy expectations with her new eight-episode Israeli horror comedy series Soul Sucker, which she created, wrote and stars in. The show is also a detective mystery and family drama and was inspired, in Sabag’s words, by her “very crazy” family.

Sabag, who was behind the award-winning Israeli series Dumb (remade in Germany as Rampensau), worked on the show with co-creator and director Daphna Levin (In Treatment), who co-created, directed and executive produced Euphoria. Prominent Israeli genre filmmaker Aharon Keshales served as script editor.

Dori Media Group, the company behind the likes of Dumb, Losing Alice, Lalola, Rebelde, and The New Black that is led by president and CEO Nadav Palti, hosted a premiere screening of Soul Sucker, set to launch on cable outlet Hot in Israel later this year, at Mip London on Tuesday.

“The inspiration is from my family,...

Karla Sofía Gascón is a trailblazer in entertainment. Recently, she made history as the first openly transgender performer nominated for an Academy Award for Emilia Pérez. However, her accomplishments go far beyond this groundbreaking role.

Gascón’s journey from soap opera star to international icon is inspiring. She’s shared her personal transition story and released a memoir. Her on-screen roles are potent, but her real-life expedition is even more irresistible.

Karla Sofía Gascón (Credits: Instagram/@karsiagascon)

Curious about who Gascón really is? From her Spanish roots to her rise in Mexican entertainment, from her family life to the challenges of taking on Emilia Pérez, we’re plunging into the 10 most intriguing facts about her. By the end, you’ll see why she’s not just a star but an inspiration.

1. Karla Sofía Gascón studied at Ecam Karla Sofía Gascón (Credits: Instagram/@karsiagascon)

Karla Sofía Gascón was born on March 31, 1972, in Alcobendas,...

French writer-director Jacques Audiard has proven himself a genre-spanning talent. He’s helmed such diverse features as 1994’s thriller See How They Fall, 2009’s Academy Award-nominated gangster film A Prophet, 2012’s devastating romance Rust and Bone, and 2015’s Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or-winning portrait of refugees escaping war, Dheepan. His work is united by the fierce pursuit of his singular visions. For his latest project, Emilia Pérez, Audiard set out to combine elements of musicals, film noir, and crime dramas, and he recruited a troupe of gifted performers and artisans all committed to realizing his ambitious tale of a woman on a quest to live as her truest self. The result is a provocative fever dream, a feat of cinematic fearlessness.

Karla Sofía Gascón (Rebelde) stars in the title role of the Spanish-language film as a menacing cartel leader looking for someone to discreetly assist her in seeking gender-affirming...

TelevisaUnivision will be taking legal action against the people who leaked sensitive information from Quién Es La Máscara, the Mexican version of The Masked Singer.

The Spanish-language entertainment giant produces the show alongside EndemolShineBoomdog, with the most current sixth season airing simultaneously in Mexico and the U.S. on Univision.

Earlier this week, some reports said panelist Anahí and her manager, Danna Vázquez, were given the list of the identities of the celebrities competing on the show, which they have both denied. After an investigation, TelevisaUnivision cut ties with the people involved in the leak and said they would pursue legal action.

“After launching an internal investigation into an improper leak of information related to the sixth season of Quién Es La Máscara that aired between October and December 2024, we have terminated the working relationship with this production’s ‘community manager.’ Various legal actions are being carried out against this and other people,...

Exclusive: Azul Guaita has signed with Afa Prime Talent Media, a division of Kenan Thompson’s Artists for Artists company, for representation in all areas.

Guaita can currently be seen in Netflix’s Rebelde in the role of teen star Jana Gandía Cohen. Season 2 of the series, a sequel to the 2004 Mexican telenovela of the same name, was released in July. Additionally, she stars in La Mujer del Diablo, an original series from TelevisaUnivision’s new streaming service Vix+, as Daniela Beltrán.

Guaita has also starred in several projects produced by the biggest production companies and studios in Latin America including Soltero con Hijas from Televisa, La Negociadora from Claro Video, and Subete a mi Moto, an Amazon prime original series about the Latin boy band Menudo.

The actress has expanded her social media footprint in the Latin-American market thanks to the success of Rebelde. She currently boasts 1.4 million followers across multiple social platforms,...

Exclusive: Starzplay has cast Tessa Ía (De Brutas), Martín Saracho (Who Killed Sara?), and Lizeth Selene (Rebelde) as the leads for the Spanish-language dramedy series Yellow (w/t). Production officially kicked off on the project in Mexico City on Thursday.

Ía will portray “Dan” who is described as someone who is extremely competitive and who thinks winning by cheating is worth twice as much. Dan finds “Nico”, played by Selene, to be her impossible love. Nico is described as sincere to the point of being abrasive, someone who has the heart of a child, and who lives without constraints.

Saracho will play Richie, a failed former Formula 1 driver whose promising career ended after a catastrophic accident forced him to stop racing and is now a taxi driver.

From Sofía Auza and Silviana Aguirre, Yellow tells the story of Dan and Nico, two female fugitives who steal a stick-shift taxi to escape from the authorities.

In our Q&a series Last Call, we get down to the bottom of every last thing with some of our favorite celebs - from the last time they were starstruck to the last song they listened to. This week, Avantika takes our call.

Avantika didn't get the traditional American high school experience, but she did get to dabble in parts of it while filming her new Netflix film, "Senior Year," in Atlanta last summer. "I never went to prom," she tells Popsugar. "So it was just so, so amazing and so, so fun to be able to live that out in this movie."

"Senior Year" stars Rebel Wilson as Stephanie Conway, a former high school cheer captain who suffers a head injury and ends up in a coma for 20 years. When she wakes up, everyone else in her life has moved on. She heads back to high school to...

Exclusive: Actor, singer, and producer Diego Boneta and his production company Three Amigos have signed an overall deal with Prime Video.

As part of the deal, Boneta will produce and star in a full slate of shows in development while also creating movies, series, and reality shows coming to the streaming service beginning in 2023.

All new productions launched as part of this partnership will join Prime Video’s growing slate of Mexican Amazon Originals, along with the thousands of TV shows and movies from Hollywood and around the world in the Prime Video catalog.

“We are excited to expand our relationship with Diego Boneta and the entire Three Amigos team,” said Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, in a statement to Deadline. “We can’t wait for our customers to see what’s in store from Diego and Three Amigos as we work...

A week after announcing its official selections, the 2022 Cannes Film Festival has added 17 new films, in the process increasing the number of films directed by women in its main competition from three to five.

The addition of “Un Petit Frere” by French director Leonor Serraille and “Le Otto Montagne” by the Belgian team of Charlotte Vandermeersch and Felix Van Groeningen means that this year’s competition lineup contains five films from female directors, one more than the record of four that was set in 2011 and equaled in 2019 and 2021.

The section now includes 21 films, which means that female-directed films still make up less than one-fourth of the competition lineup at a festival long criticized for its paltry representation of films by women.

The other new competition title is “Tourment Sur les Iles” by Spanish director Albert Serra. Other additions to the festival lineup include Dominik Moll’s “La Nuit du 12” and...

Updated, April 21: The Cannes Film Festival has added competition titles and additional screenings in the Midnight, Un Certain Regard, and Out of Competition sections. They are:

Competition

“The Eight Mountains,” Charlotte Vandermeersch, Felix Van Groeningen

“Un Petit Frère,” Leonor Serraille

“Tourment Sur Les Iles,” Albert Serra

Cannes Premiere

“Don Juan,” Serge Bozon

“La Nuit du 12,” Dominik Moll

“Chronicle of a Temporary Affair,” Emmanuel Mouret

Midnight Screenings

“Rebel,” Adil Arbi, Bilall Fallah

Un Certain Regard

“More Than Ever,” Emily Atef

“Mediterranean Fever,” Maha Haj

“The Blue Caftan,” Maryam Touzani

Out of Competition

“L’Innocent,” Louis Garrel

Special Screenings

“Mi Pais Imaginario,” Patricio Guzmán

“The Vagabonds,” Doroteya Droumeva

“Riposte Feministe,” Marie Perennes, Simon Depardon

“Restos do Vento,” Tiago Guedes

“Little Nicholas,” Amandine Fredon, Benjamin Massoubre

Earlier, April 14: The 2022 Cannes Film Festival is upon us and once again taking place in person this spring from May 17 through May 28. The lineup for...

As the TV production industry slowly recovers, with testing now the industry standard, there are still series cancelations due to 'Covid-19' variants previously affecting both cast and crew:

ABC

100,000 Pyramid, The (renewed for Season 5)

20/20 (renewed for Season 43)

American Housewife (canceled; five seasons)

American Idol (renewed for Season 5; Season 20 overall)

America's Funniest Home Videos (renewed Season 32)A Million Little Things (renewed Season 4)Bachelor, The (renewed for Season 25)

Bachelorette, The (renewed for Season 16)

Bachelor in Paradise (renewed for Season 7)

Baker and the Beauty (canceled; one season)

Big Sky (renewed for Season 2)Black-ish (canceled; after Season 8)Bless This Mess (canceled; two seasons)Call Your Mother (canceled; one season)Card Sharks (renewed for Season 2)

Celebrity Family Feud (renewed for Season 6)

Conners, The (renewed for Season 4)

Dancing With The Stars (renewed for Season 29)

Don't (canceled; one season)Emergence (canceled; one season)

For Life (canceled; after Season 2)

Fresh Off The Boat (canceled; six seasons)

Good Doctor,...

Concordia Studio, the award-winning executive producers of this year’s Academy Award-winning Summer Of Soul, has announced four new exceptional filmmakers selected as part of the studio’s 2022 class of fellows for their signature program, The Concordia Fellowship.

The chosen recipients of the Fellowship are creators with the commitment to reshape the future of storytelling. Within the bespoke artist development program, each fellow receives a plan tailored to meet their specific creative goals, financial backing to develop a new project of their choosing, focused guidance and tools to build a sustainable career, and access to professional resources, use of the studio’s state-of-the-art facilities, and mentorship from Concordia executives.

Concordia fellows are the next generation of powerful storytellers and come from diverse racial, religious, and regional backgrounds. This year’s selected fellows who are recognized for their excellence in documentary filmmaking are Giselle Bailey,...

Exclusive: Four years after Judith Sheindlin, CBS and others were sued by a producer from the early seasons of the Judge Judy series and the estate of another producer over profits from the big bucks sale of the show’s library, the almost lucratively esoteric dispute looks to have come to the end of the legal road, at least for now.

“The Court, having taken the matter under submission on 02/15/2022 for Hearing on Motion for Summary Judgment, now rules as follows: The Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Judith Sheindlin, Big Ticket Pictures, Inc., Her Honor, Inc., CBS Studios Inc. on 03/19/2021 is Granted,” said a one-page ruling yesterday by LA Superior Court Judge Kristin S. Escalante. (read it here).

First filed back in January 2018 by Kaye Switzer and the trust of the late Sandi Spreckman, this particular dust-up over profits from the long running and now shuttered Judge Judy was...

Good afternoon Insiders and it’s Max Goldbart here with your weekly dose of the biggest headlines across the film and TV world.

Highway To The Palais

Need for speed: Tom Cruise will bring some star power to Cannes Film Festival this year when he heads to the Riviera to premiere his upcoming movie Top Gun: Maverick. Rumored for a while, Deadline’s Mike Fleming Junior had the exclusive on the details this week, revealing that the film will debut in Cannes on May 18, with Cruise taking part in an in-conversation event on the same day before receiving a special tribute ahead of the screening.

The King’s in town: Deadline also revealed this week another high-profile title that is set to bow at Cannes: Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley biopic Elvis. The movie stars Austin Butler as the King of Rock and Roll, with Tom Hanks as his manager Colonel Tom Parker.

Saturday Night Live alum and comedian Leslie Jones is about to flip the script and get serious for Bmf.

Jones is joining the Starz crime drama’s Season 2 in a recurring role as Federal Agent Tracy Chambers, the network announced Thursday. Her character is described as formidable, smart and calculating. Agent Chambers knows how to “maneuver the bureaucracy that comes with carrying a badge” after spending years on the streets going up against treacherous criminals and drug dealers. She also uses her razor-sharp wit as both a defense mechanism and a survival tactic.

More from TVLineBMF's Eric Kofi-Abrefa Reflects on Finale,...

Women in Film and Google have set Kameishia Wooten and Robin J. Hayes (Choices), Patricia Seely and Alexandra Clayton (Please In Spanish), and Katarina Zhu (Silverlake Cleaners) as the fellows for the inaugural Wif Shorts Lab supported by Google.

As part of the program, fellows will benefit not only from Wif’s years of expertise in nurturing creatives, but also from funding support courtesy of Google, including grants to complete production on their short films. Additional production and post-production support is being provided to the filmmakers by Warner Chappell Music, Picture Shop, and Cinelease. The films will be completed by this summer and will be owned by the filmmakers, who will look to submit them to festivals and for award consideration.

The fellows were selected by a jury of industry leaders and veteran producers, including Stephanie Allain, Lake Bell, Margie Moreno and Talitha Watkins. They will be mentored in the...

Exclusive: Dorian Missick (Shirley), Pamela Reed (Outside In), Amanda Warren and Jim Klock (The Underground Railroad) will round out the cast of Prime Video’s The Burial, which is currently in production.

They’re set to star alongside previously announced cast members including Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones, Jurnee Smollett, Mamoudou Athie and Bill Camp.

Based on the New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr, The Burial follows a charismatic personal injury lawyer famous for his impressive track record and loudly unconventional approach who decides to help a funeral home owner save his family business from a predatory corporate behemoth. In a move to bring emotional resonance to a dry contract law case, the lawyer digs up an unexpected and complex web of race, power and oppression that forces everyone to examine long-buried prejudices they didn’t know they had.

Maggie Betts is directing from a script by Doug Wright.

The TV production industry continues being hit with more cancelations due to 'Covid-19' variants affecting both cast and crew:

ABC

$100,000 Pyramid, The (renewed for Season 5)

20/20 (renewed for Season 43)

American Housewife (canceled; five seasons)

American Idol (renewed for Season 5; Season 20 overall)

America's Funniest Home Videos (renewed Season 32)A Million Little Things (renewed Season 4)Bachelor, The (renewed for Season 25)

Bachelorette, The (renewed for Season 16)

Bachelor in Paradise (renewed for Season 7)

Baker and the Beauty (canceled; one season)

Big Sky (renewed for Season 2)Black-ish (canceled; after Season 8)Bless This Mess (canceled; two seasons)Call Your Mother (canceled; one season)Card Sharks (renewed for Season 2)

Celebrity Family Feud (renewed for Season 6)

Conners, The (renewed for Season 4)

Dancing With The Stars (renewed for Season 29)

Don't (canceled; one season)Emergence (canceled; one season)

For Life (canceled; after Season 2)

Fresh Off The Boat (canceled; six seasons)

Good Doctor, The (renewed for Season 5)

Grand Hotel (canceled; one season)

Goldbergs,...

Exclusive: Macro Television Studios has tapped Bad Boys For Life directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah to direct the pilot episode of its action-adventure drama Cordoba. The filmmaking duo also will serve as executive producers of the potential series, which is currently being shopped.

Cordoba revolves around Tariq Ibn Ziyad, a soldier in the Moorish army scarred by years of war, who rises up to conquer medieval Spain, creating one of the most advanced and diverse societies in the world. But, as enemies emerge on all sides he’s forced to make a choice; defend what he created or destroy it.

Run creators Daniel Fajemisin-Duncan and Marlon Smith will serve as showrunners and executive producers. Kevin Jordan will also executive produce along with Macro Television Studios’ Charles D. King and Marta Fernandez. Greta Talia Fuentes and Khalid Jordan will oversee for Macro Television Studios.

El Arbi and Fallah directed...

Almost Paradise is getting another shot at life.

IMDb TV, Amazon’s free streaming service, announced today the Season 2 pickup of the action series, created by Dean Devlin and Gary Rosen, who will also serve as co-showrunners.

The popular drama follows Alex Walker, a former U.S. DEA agent who, after his partner’s betrayal and a life-threatening battle with hypertension, is forced into early retirement and relocates to a small tropical island in the Philippines.

Almost Paradise Season 1 is exclusively available to stream on-demand on IMDb TV in the U.S.

"Once the DEA’s most resourceful undercover operative, Walker now runs the gift shop in the island’s luxury resort hotel," reads the official description of the series.

"While he manages to transition from top DEA agent to laid-back islander, the luxury resort has attracted the rich, powerful—and sometimes criminal—elite from around the world, often on a collision course with Alex.

Ben Silverman and Howard T. Owens’ Propagate continues to expand its Spanish-language production slate with the launch of Propagate Fuego, a new content division for both scripted and unscripted Spanish-language programming.

The label will be run by Propagate Chairman and Co-CEO Silverman and Isabel San Vargas, President, Global Productions, who was recently elevated to Equity Partner. Catalina Ramirez, VP of Propagate International, Rodney Ferrell, EVP of Scripted Content, and Cyrus Farrokh, President of Propagate International, will also be involved in the new line of business.

Propagate Fuego will produce and develop original scripted and unscripted content and formats for the Spanish-language markets around the world with a specific focus on the Americas.

“As a Mexican-American partner in Propagate, I’m so pleased we are creating a division dedicated to Spanish-language content,” said San Vargas. “The Spanish-language market is vibrant and diverse and appeals to global audiences. We are so excited...

“The Witcher,” “Stay Close,” “Cobra Kai,” “Emily in Paris,” and “Manifest” all retained their dominion on Netflix’s English-language TV Top 10 list for the second full week of 2022, while the sixth season of makeover show “Queer Eye” fell through the cracks, leaving room for newcomers “Cheer” (Season 2) and “Archive 81” to join the ranks.

“Cheer” was No. 5 on the list with roughly 29.1 million hours viewed, and horror drama “Archive 81,” from showrunner and executive producer Rebecca Sonnenshine, landed in the seventh slot with 22.2 million hours viewed. The suspenseful series stars Dina Shihabi, Mamoudou Athie, Matt McGorry, Ariana Neal, Julia Chan, Evan Jonigkeit and Martin Donavan, and involves a deadly mystery involving a cult, arson and a disappeared director. “Stay Close,” the limited thriller series based on the Harlan Coben novel of the same name, climbed to the No. 1 spot with 53.72 million hours viewed.

On the non-English Top 10 list, the Colombian...

Netflix’s ties with Latin America and the region’s much-loved telenovela format go back to the company’s first steps in original production outside of the U.S., when the streamer picked, as its first international original, Gary “Gaz” Alazraki’s “Club of Crows,” a soccer-themed soapy drama about a dynastic sports ownership family.

Since then, there have been several further incursions into the world of the novela, including some of the streamer’s most popular ever series such as “Who Killed Sara,” currently filming its third and final season, and “Café con Aroma de Mujer,” “Rebelde” and “The Queen of Flow,” the top three non-English language series on Netflix globally at the time of this article’s publishing, sure to be joined by the second season of “Dark Desire” when it launches on Feb. 2.

“Who Killed Sara” creator and showrunner José Ignacio “Chascas” Valenzuela’s next project “Donde...