Spanish Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor London- and Paris-based production, finance and sales company Film Constellation is launching sales on the remake rights of Spanish thriller “Fatum.” Directed by Juan Gualinanes and produced by Vaca Films, the outfit behind box office successes “Sky High” and “Cell 211,” “Fatum” was released in Spain by Universal Studios on April 28. Film Constellation has already reported sales to 50 territories on the original Spanish version. A compulsive gambler and an elite sniper’s destinies meet on a fateful day when the local betting house gets robbed. When a single gunshot is fired, the next 24 hours will set them on a race against time that will define their lives forever.

A Scots finance worker was found dead in a Spanish villa next to his unconscious wife after a broken fridge caused a carbon monoxide leak. Jaime Carsi, 40, tragically lost his life while on holiday with Mary Somerville in Majorca on Saturday, May 6.

Callum McLennan In the lead-up to Cannes, Spanish film sales continue to show resilience despite shifting market trends and global challenges. The market signals suggest an enduring preference for genre movies and high-concept films, while the sale of arthouse fare remains tough. Antonio Saura, director general of Latido Films, tells Variety, “The trends we are seeing confirm the trends we identified last year — movies with a strong concept, genre in general, generate interest, [whereas] drama and ‘art house’ is more complicated and requires a different type of attention and positioning.” While there are signs of interest for movies with top talent attached, smaller films without a significant festival presence face an uphill battle.

Holly Jones Cannes Docs highlights Spain as part of its Docs in Progress program, featuring four documentaries that range from the avant-garde to the introspective. Spain’s doc filmmakers have labored to establish international footing — battling the stigma that the category is made up of dry narratives, productions strive for the robust funding granted to fiction. “There’s still a negative connotation that the documentary’s something purely informative, expository or boring. It’s a state of mind that affects the public, but more importantly the distribution and exhibition. We’ve the great challenge of explaining that yes, the documentary has a cinematographic, narrative and emotional treatment comparable to ‘real cinema,’” says Rafa Molés of Suica Films.

Veteran Spanish actor Ana Torrent (Thesis, The Other Boleyn Girl, El nido) was around five-years-old when she was cast in her first movie, the landmark drama The Spirit of the Beehive, by maverick filmmaker Víctor Erice.

EXCLUSIVE: Filmax has acquired international rights to Spanish-Argentinian animated feature Robotia and will present the pic to buyers at the Cannes market.

A woman in need of a change of scenery took a week-long trip to Spain without using any annual leave - and now she's encouraging others to do the same.

TelevisaUnivision has officially entered the big game. For the first time ever, the network has secured the Spanish-language rights to the next Super Bowl, which is supposed to take place in Las Vegas on Feb. 11, 2024.The network will partner with NFL and CBS Sports on the event.

TelevisaUnivision has sealed a deal with CBS and the NFL to carry Spanish-language broadcasts of Super Bowl LVIII next February.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor TV’s Spanish-language Univision network will broadcast Super Bowl LVII next year, adding a new entrant to the usual coterie of English-language outlets that show the game. The deal was struck in partnership with the NFL and CBS Sports, which has the rights to show the game in English. The details were released as part of TelevisaUnivision’s annual “upfront” presentation, when U.S. networks try to sell the bulk of their commercial programming ahead of their next programming cycle. The company also disclosed that its ViX streaming outlet has more than 30 million monthly active users globally, with Pierluigi Gazzolo, the CEO of ViX noting that ” 80% of consumption on VIX is content no one else has and, importantly, 63% of users on ViX are incremental to the massive audience we serve on linear, which means greater cross-platform reach for all of you.”

EXCLUSIVE: FilmSharks has acquired world rights to the Spanish horror pic The Boogeyman: The Origin of the Myth (El Hombre Del Saco) and locked a series of key international deals out of Cannes.

Hypnotic.” “Ben speaks super good Spanish, like, impressively good,” Braga told TheWrap. “I never knew that! I was like, ‘You speak Spanish?'” In the film, Braga and Affleck play a couple thrown together when Affleck’s cop character, Roarke, is drawn into a shadowy world involving hypnotic suggestion that might connect to the disappearance of Roarke’s young daughter. Braga said the revelation that Affleck could speak Spanish came during a quiet moment on set when her and Affleck got to talking.

These women are backing buzzed-about Spanish projects, many of them co-productions. With noteworthy titles — Goya-nominated “Advantages of Travelling by Train,” Locarno standout “The Sacred Spirit” — proud Basque Country native Apellaniz has grown step by step.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Buenos Aires-based FilmSharks has nabbed worldwide rights to Spanish filmmaker Chiqui Carabante’s black-comedy whodunnit “The Fortress” (“La Fortaleza”) and is debuting its trailer ahead of the Cannes Film Market. The film centers on the death of Arturo Viaplana and its aftermath as his offspring, hoping to inherit a great fortune, discover that instead of leaving them the estate, their father has devised a macabre, posthumous game in which his children must first locate his body and bury it themselves in a specified location. Working together to carry out their father’s instructions and pass a series of tests, the siblings are forced to come to terms with a deeply hidden family secret.

Zoe Saldaña is going through a Latina rite of passage. The actress shared a video of herself sporting a new haircut, one that’s familiar for Latinos all over the world.Zoe Saldaña shares what’s more difficult - learning Klingon or Na’viSelena Gomez and Zoe Saldaña to start filming new crime comedy in ParisZoe Saldaña makes history as the first actor to have four movies grossing over $2 billionA post shared by Zoe Saldana (@zoesaldana)In the video, Saldaña sports a short hairstyle and speaks to the camera in Spanish, as she sits in a make up chair and someone laughs in the background. “Blessings to all of my aunts and all of my grandmas.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Animayo, Spain’s leading animation festival, is celebrating its 18th edition with the help of Disney legend Andreas Deja who will be presenting his independently-produced short, “Mushka.” “Having Deja choose Animayo to debut his film in Spain is the greatest honor,” said Damian Perea, founder-director of the festival, which unspools May 3-6 on the island of Gran Canaria. A hand-drawn 2D animated story about an unlikely friendship between a young girl and a Siberian tiger in 1970s’ Soviet Union, “Mushka” is Deja’s directorial debut. His lauded Walt Disney Animation Studio credits include “The Lion King,” “Aladdin,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.”

The Spanish have a particular word to describe British tourists - and its origins suggest that it may not be a complimentary one. If you've ever been on a trip to Spain, you'll have likely heard the word 'guiri' uttered in relation to English speaking holidaymakers.

Prime Video is reviving classic Spanish talent gala format Operación Triunfo and has unveiled its latest slate of scripted shows, films and doc series from the nation along with a local version of Takeshi’s Castle.

Dani Rovira, star of “Spanish Affair” and Eva Soriano, a comedian with her own show on Movistar+, “Showriano,” will dub main characters in the awaited Japanese reboot of the hit Takeshi Kitano-hosted 1980s adventure variety show “Takeshi’s Castle.” This technique, where Spanish comedians produced a laughably spoof dub which often had little to do with events happening on screen in the original Japanese show, yielded a cult TV show on Telecinco in the 1990s. In all, Prime Video’s new slate in Spain can be read several ways. It is tapping top movie talent for movies which, though maybe long in development, seek to capitalise on the huge audience and branding success of the Oscar-nominated “Argentina, 1985.”  Though titles range widely, many involve either true crime or action, broad prime audience drivers in an OTT world.  Amazon’s Prime Video is unveiling key steps in Spain in its transformation from a movie-TV service into a broad entertainment broadcaster.  

Mark Wright has given fans a glimpse inside his new Spanish apartment which is set to become a heavenly abroad base for him and his wife Michelle Keegan. The new abode in Mallorca comes after the couple created their dream home from scratch in Essex

Guy Lodge Film Critic “Carmen” didn’t begin life as an opera: French Romantic writer Prosper Mérimée conceived this tale of Spanish passion and tragic jealousy in 1845, thirty years before his compatriot Georges Bizet brought it into its best-known, aria-rich form. But it’s a story that thrives on operatic delivery, hinging on emotions so large and loud they beg to be sung at the top of one’s lungs. That makes it the opera that filmmakers can’t leave alone, even as they tend to switch out the music: Its screen interpretations range from Otto Preminger’s Broadway-rooted “Carmen Jones” to Jean-Luc Godard’s daring, Beethoven-infused “First Name: Carmen” to Robert Townsend’s Beyoncé-starring “Carmen: A Hip-Hopera.” With the plainly titled “Carmen,” ballet star and first-time feature director Benjamin Millepied joins that club, mostly eschewing song in an attempt to conjure the material’s intensity through dance. He is only intermittently successful.

Roku is teaming up with Jennifer Lopez, Jaime Camil and Juanpa Zurita as it expands its Roku Originals in Spanish.

Charna Flam Roku expanded its slate of Spanish originals, adding six new unscripted series from Latino voices and creatives including Jennifer Lopez, Juanpa Zurita and Jaime Camil. The six new original series — “Carpe DM with Juanpa,” “Desde la Raíz,” “Serenata De Las Estrellas,” “La Divina Comida,” “Batalla en Abuela’s Kitchen,” “Un Millón de Gracias”— feature stars including Wilmer Valderrama, Belinda, Sofia Reyes and Michael Peña. “The deep engagement we have seen within the Spanish-language content category on The Roku Channel in the U.S., as well as the exceptional growth of the service in Mexico, are all signs of the strong appetite for free ad-supported streaming amongst Spanish-speaking and bilingual audiences,” said David Eilenberg, head of content, Roku Media. “We’re committed to delivering high-quality, culturally relevant original programming to tens of millions of viewers, and we are thrilled to welcome such an exceptional new group of on-camera and off-camera creative voices to our Roku Originals lineup.”

Vogue Williams, wife of Spencer Matthews, has revealed that she will not be attending the second wedding of Made in Chelsea's Sophie Habboo and Jamie Laing when it takes place in Spain next month. Sophie, 29, and Jamie, 34, officially tied the knot at Chelsea Registry Office in London, before they travel to Seville, Spain for their second nuptials, which is thought to be taking place very soon.Two people visibly absent from their London wedding was Jamie's best pal and supposed best man for his wedding, Spencer Matthews and his wife, Vogue Williams.

Welcome to Global Breakouts, Deadline’s fortnightly strand in which we shine a spotlight on the TV shows and films killing it in their local territories. The industry is as globalized as it’s ever been, but breakout hits are appearing in pockets of the world all the time and it can be hard to keep track… So we’re going to do the hard work for you.

Spanish Screenings Goes to Cannes,  a selection of five pix in post which underscores the ever broadening compass – in genre, setting, protagonists, production bases and models – of film production in Spain. “Sima’s Song,” for example, is set in 1979 Kabul, “Jumping the Fence” on the Morocco-Spain border in Africa.  Many titles, though still in post production, come laden with prizes as projects, prestige deals or rich talent. “Sima’s Song,” from Afghan director Roya Sadat, whose “A Letter to the President” was shortlisted for an Oscar, won the Taicca Award at Busan’s Asian Project Market and the IFI-Pas Award at Mumbai’s Film Bazaar. Its producer, Alba Sotorra, was nominated for an International Emmy as a director for “The Return: Life After ISIS.”

Ex TOWIE star Elliott Wright is said to be "heartbroken” following the death of a doorman who was killed trying to break up a fight at his restaurant in the Costa del Sol.

EXCLUSIVE: Studiocanal has sold Spanish drama The Vow into Italy and the show has been commissioned for a second season.

Ana de Armas jumpstarted the April 15 episode of Saturday Night Live with a bit of Spanish!

Ana de Armas made her debut as the host of Saturday Night Live and started off the monologue in Spanish.