Father Geek here with your regular Tuesday Morning Latin-AICN column... except... this weeks column is anything but regular. LOBO has turned up a handful of wonderful pictures direct from the STAR WARS EPISODE 2 shoot in Spain that should interest all you fans. When you add those to all the fantastic info our Latin-AICN crew has dug up for you on Kidman's THE OTHERS and del Toro's THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE plus their special reports from Argentina and Brazil this week, it equals one hell of a great column for you movie geeks with a Latino film industry interest...

LOBO'S report...

Que pasa CineLocos..bienvenidos one more time to LATIN-AICN the Latin side of AICN for all of you who are interested in the Latin Film industry. This time I have news from Spain from two CUATES, EL CHANGO and Jose Antonio Ceballos who's got "El matador" as a nickname, and a lot more so... Vamos a lo bueno !!

QUICKIES / RAPIDINES

*** Bridget Fonda and the master of martial arts Jet-Li will be working together on a movie called "KISS OF THE DRAGON"...For sure this one will be better than "Romeo must Die".

*** "Cine Mexicano del 2000" will start on September 20 in Venezuela and will show 6 films from Mexico including "Todo el Poder"(Gimme the power) and "Amores Perros"(Love is a Bitch)...Can we get something like this here in Austin..??!!

*** The movie from CHILE "Campo Minado"(Mined Field) will be release on the net on September 20th... If you have a chance to check this flick do it, it is a good flick.Here's the address of the site where the movie from chile "Campo Minado" will play, so here it is; The address of that site is Right Here

*** The movies "Todo el Poder"(Gimme the power) , "Un Embrujo" and "La Otra Conquista"(The other conquest) are already on video..so look for them in your nearest videostore and if you can not find them...Demand those stores to get them for you..

HEART OF A CHAMPION

Well I've heard about Paulina Rubio, Thalia, Sofia Vergara going to Hollywood and make their first movie but this time it is Patricia Manterola known as a singer in Mexico who is now going to Hollywood. That's right this cool chick who has been living in California for about 2 years and using that time to study acting, has now a great opportunity to make her dreams come true. She mentioned some time ago that she would like to be an actress in Hollywood and now she got her chance to actually do it. Patty will star in a movie called " Heart of a Champion" which is being shot in L.A. and it seems that has something to do with boxing but I am not real sure about this yet..but I will be checking it out since I really want to see Patricia's acting skills. I hope everything goes fine for Patty and that she actually makes an acting career like Salma did...Good luck Patty.!

This is something really cool I got from Sevilla, Spain about the scenes of Episodo II that where shot there..Let's go to what "Jose Antonio Ceballos" aka ( El matador) sent...

Hi, Lobo:

Last Wednesday George Lucas filmed material for only ten seconds of final screen time in Seville. It was a brief conversation between Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen, walking from a fountain to one of the towers of the square and passing by a little bridge. You can see some of these elements in the enclosed pictures.

There were three well known members of the cast (Portman, Christensen, Ahmed Best) and a few local extras. Lucas and Best did a brief visit with the people, one thousand fans from Sevilla, Málaga and Madrid who were watching the filming from behind the security barriers.

And here's one of Miss Portman...

Here's a different shot of her...

Lucas (with his children and a woman companion) were in Sevilla last summer, a week before the Spanish premiere of "The Phantom Menace". Nobody could suspect he was searching locations for his next movie.

I've sent you a few pictures from the local newspapers. There has been good media coverage, with tv reports, but I think these are the more revealing images.

Keep up the good work, compadre.

José Antonio Ceballos (El Matador)

Sevilla (Spain)

PD: The Plaza de España image you put up last week was a damn good detail.

¡Ole tus huevos!.

Here's a bunch of cool stuff from our Mexican spy EL CHANGO who is also in Spain right now....

Que pasa LOBO!

The one and only EL CHANGO, the mexican drunken monkey, is still in Spain and has this great news for you...

MEXICO

Antonio Serrano is also getting ready to shoot his second film, LA HIJA DEL CANIBAL (The Cannibal’s Daughter). It’s an adaptation of the best selling Spanish novel. No word on the cast, but Serrano has expressed interest on having Alek Syntek again on board to do the musical score on the film, and will probably have a small part on the film. His first film, ‘SEXO, PUDOR Y LAGRIMAS’ is still among the top box office earners on Mexican film history, and will be realeased soon in Spain.

The popular Mexican Writer/Director Guillermo del Toro (who now lives in Texas) finished shooting ‘THE DEVIL’s BACKBONE’ on August 22 in the outskirts of Madrid, Spain. He has personally told me that he think’s this intense thriller (with Gothic Horror overtones) set at the time of the Spanish Civil War is ‘his best film yet’. The film stars Federico Luppi, Eduardo Noriega, and Marisa Paredes. It was shot by Cinematographer Guillermo Navarro for Executive Producer Pedro Almodovar and will be appearing on screens in the USA this Spring. He (del Toro)is now preparing for his production of the vampiric superhero tale BLADE 2, which he will begin shooting with Wesley Snipes in February.

‘EL SUEÑO DEL CAIMAN’ is Mexican filmmaker Beto Gómez’s new film. This co-production between Mexico and Spain is the story Iñaki (Daniel Guzman), a vasque that travels from Spain to Mexico looking for the father he has never met. Once they get together they make plans to rob a bank. Patricia Reyes Spindola, Roberto Cobo and Rafael Velasco also star.

An independent group of filmmakers in Monterrey, México have just finished shooting their first film. It’s a romantic comedy called ‘INSPIRACION’, with Barbara Mori (a soap opera star) as the lead.

Maria Novaro’s new film QUE NO QUEDE HUELLA with Tiare Scanda and Aitana Sanchez Gijon will finally be released this fall in Spain.

Salma Hayek will begin filming IN THE TIME OF THE BUTTERFLYS this month in Veracruz, México, directed by Mariano Barroso. This film is produced by MGM and ShowTime. LA GRAN VIDA, a film she shot in Spain earlier this year, will debut in theatres this October.Mexican film continues to resurface. There are a lot of projects in the works; one is Jose Luis Garcia Agraz’ new movie, his first since ‘Salon Mexico’. He’s getting ready to start shooting in November, but there’s no word on the cast and the story yet.

SPAIN

Spanish director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is getting ready to start shooting his first major film this October, ‘INTACTO’, with Argentinean Leonardo Sbaraglia (Plata Quemada) and Eusebio Poncela (Martin Hache, Sonambula). I’ve read the script and it’s a great thriller about chance… it’s not going to be easy to pull it off, but it should be an interesting film.

TORRENTE ATTACKS MARBELLA is the title of the sequel to TORRENTE, EL BRAZO TONTO DE LA LEY, the most successful film in Spanish history. Santiago Segura will return as Torrente and will direct the film; Tony LeBlanc will be Torrente’s father again –never mind that the character died in the first one- and Gabino Diego is the new addition to the cast.

Carlos Saura (GOYA IN BURDEOS) is working in his new project, ‘BUÑUEL Y LA MESA DEL REY’, which will start shooting this month in Spain. The story places Buñuel (played by El Gran Wyoming), alive in the year 2000, playing with the idea of making a movie about his youth and his friendship with Salvador Dali and Garcia Lorca. The young Buñuel, Dali and Lorca will be played by Pere Arquillue, Ernesto Alterio and Adria Collado respectively. Antonio Resines (ACCION MUTANTE, EL PORTERO) is currently shooting ‘X’ in Madrid, a thriller directed by Javier Marías. It’s has a great script, with wild twists and turns.

‘NAUFRAGOS’ is a science fiction film that will start shooting in Spain in October. It will be directed by Luna, and is about a joint mission between NASA and the ESA (European Space Agency) to put five astronauts in Mars.

Nicole Kidman is still in Spain shooting her new film, THE OTHERS, directed by Alejandro Amenabar (TESIS, OPEN YOUR EYES). Tom Cruise is producing the film. The story, set in the 1940's in the Channel Islands, is about a group of kids that suffer from a strange disease that makes them very sensitive to sunlight. Their mother (Kidman) protects them, keeping them inside their house, which has double doors and closed windows.

The production has made an incredible effort to keep all information as secret as possible, and only little details are known. I heard from a good source that Alejandro Amenabar's intention to light the whole film just with candles was abandoned at the last minute after Tom Cruise was unhappy with the tests of this technique.

The shoot will end in a month or so. Here's the first page of the script:

THE OTHERS

By Alejandro Amenabar

Over a black and white illustration showing a star-studded sky, a rising sun, a lake, palm trees, a fawn and two children holding hands, we hear the persuasive, dulcet tones of a woman's voice.

GRACE'S VOICE (reading)

Now, children, are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin. "This story started many thousands of years ago, but it was all over In just seven days. All that long, long time ago, none of this things we can see now. the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, the animals and plants. not a single one existed. Only God existed, and so only He could have made them. And He did."

The drawing dissolves into other similar ones while the credit titles are introduced. The illustrations show scenes from the film, but sufficiently modified so as to suggest the essence of the story without giving away the key facts of the plot.

1. THE HOUSE. FAÇADE. EXT./DAY. Dawn breaks.

Long distance shot of an enormous Victorian style house. A dense wood spreads out around it. A thin, wispy layer of fog covers the ground.

Only the whisper of the breeze can be heard and perhaps the distance screaming of a seagull.

A subtitle reads: Jersey, the Channel Islands, 1945

EL CHANGO...Out.

Pachito Rex

LOBO back with an additional late breaking report...

This is is a project seeking to experiment with the multiplicity of possibilities to tell a story.

The film will be formed with three independent stories; VISITA GUIADA, EL CUERPO DEL DELITO and PACHITO REX.

This is just a little bit about this movie since I will have more images and info on this film next report because it really deserves alot of space. This movie sounds and looks really cool for what I have seen. The three stories have different stories that take place in different times and in different places. So this movie is going to have alot of that traveling thru the movie from present to past and future. The movie itelf is about the assassination of a singer and TV conductor called PANCHITO RUIZ who at the moment of his assasination he is the leader in the presidential elections of a imaginary country in Latin America. This movie has also alot of cool places and in a part of the movie shows alot of science fiction stuff, like robots, the sets are really cool looking and listen to this ..there is a jail, a morgue, a court and a lot of material made with digital equipment and using a lot of abstract art and you will have alot of questions in your mind after watching this film and the cool thing is that it is an interactive motion picture.

So make sure to check my next report because it is going to have alot about this movie..and I mean alot... things with more description and more detail. But for now I am going to give you a little poster pic on this one to wet your interest...

Well folks that above was all I had for you this week... hoping you liked the stuff.. and I want to thank "EL CHANGO" and "El Matador" for their colaboration..Thanx guys..and don't forget to send me any stuff that has to do with the Latin Film industry, or your comments to my Cave. JUST E-MAIL HERE

Nos Vemos later...LOBO.

Ulysses from Argentina...

Hey central¦Ulysses reporting.

A young Argentine fellow arrives at the Falkland Islands with a very singular plan: to impregnate every beautiful woman around in order to breed a generation that carries argentine blood in it´s veins.

Okay. I think I caught your attention.

The name of this thing is " Fuckland " , a parody not precisely subtle. It has a Dogme certificate and it was shot during one week in the aforementioned Islands.

How did the crew manage to get in? you may ask. Well, they carefully planned a farce to get inside without any authorization. They all travelled in a single plane, acting as complete strangers. They were just seven, so the task wasn´t all that difficult. Two of them simulated being fishing aficionados, other two passed as being two cameramen interested in filming the penguins in their natural habitat. When they were finally assembled, they started shooting immediately, because they just had seven days to complete it. It was filmed in the typical " Blair Witch " style, with the lead actor carrying a digital camera and improvising his dialogues according to the situations that popped up. Late in the night, the director would meet with him in his hotel room and they would check the raw material.

Of course, this whole business is indeed quite murky and the film has been the subject of a very strong controversy. But it has caused more discussions over here than in the UK, where they probably just don´t care. Even more, it was selected to open the London Film Festival. I have also heard that some people are saying that it is just a plain exercise of hate and banal nationalism. Could be, I haven´t seen it. I have also heard some people say that it is Misogynistic and somewhat Fascist. Again, this could also be true.

The great Oscar Wilde once said : " Art´s aim is to conceal the artist ". I hope this is the case and this film is savage but responsible, outrageous but thoughtful. I don´t want to prejudge or dismiss something without even seeing it, but come on, can a film called Fuckland possibly be respectful?

A political figure by the name of Mike Summers stated in the Sunday Express that " The film is extremely vulgar. It was done by an enraged producer and it´s content won´t be of any help in improving the relationship between both countries´. Meanwhile, a minister with residence in the islands, tried to diminish the relevance of the whole matter telling " The Express " that " The film was done by an individual and it doesn´t represent the Argentine government´s point of view. This is entirely true, but as the lead is a civilian, I would add that the people who live in this country don´t abide these extremist ideas either.

Anyway, the issue surrounding this film is too heavily political and I am of the belief that art and politics don´t mix, that they are chemically repulsed, sort of like oil and water. After all, art should be universal and not appeal to a certain elite with specific ideas. Film is not propaganda. Let´s leave that to rap. Fuckland. Isn´t that an appropriate title for a rap song?

Lastly, the marketing campaign continually emphasizes the fact that it is an Argentine movie shot in a clandestine way in the Malvinas islands. And really, all this stuff about shooting secretly in a unforgiven land is merely a publicity stunt. I mean, it could have been done very easily in some selected area of our territory like, say, Tierra del Fuego or Bariloche. But they chose to trespass in order to create some sort of shock and to arouse controversy and discussion. To make it shorter, they just want to sell some more tickets. Obviously, these guys are trying to emulate " The Blair Witch Project ". They want to build some sort of phenomena. If you don´t believe me, check their website By Clicking Right Here .

To conclude, I think all of my rumblings could be reduced to a single question. And that is: Will this film be a biting satire of the Argentine way of life or will it be a cheap, extremist and vulgar attack?

From the southern pampas¦Ulysses out.

Coffin Joe from Brasil...

Hello there , Coffin Joe is back for another week of spooky fun ! Not really but anyway , here´s this week´s column with my review of the movie " O Auto da Compadecida " .

-Hey I told you guys last week about this one so now I´ll try to give you my two cents on the TV mini-series turned movie " O Auto da Compadecida " . I´ll be honest I missed this when it aired on TV Globo here in Brazil a few years back , and I got to tell I wasn´t exactly jazzed up about watching this . It´s set in the countryside , deals with these two weasels ( Chico and João Grilo ) and who keep getting themselves into all sorts of stupid situations and it ends on a trial between Satan , Jesus and Saint Mary , after the main character dies along with some of the supporting players such as the owners of bakery where our two anti-heroes worked .

The humor is good , kinda like HK kung-fu style of dumb humor , if that´s your cup of tea then you´re in for an entertaining two hours , and that´s what I got . It´s not by all means a great film , but a good one for a few laughs . The ending , unlike the rest of the movie , is dead serious . There´s even a bit of social commentary ! ( hey this is Brazilian cinema , they HAVE to make a statement somewhere in the movie , most of the time with the nuance of a hammer hitting you in the head . Really smooth . ) , and that in my humble opinion stops the movie cold . You can feel the awkward feeling all over the theater , that chilly silence all over . It´s too bad since the rest of the movie is really funny .

" Central Station " cast member Mateus Nachtergaele is pretty good as the clever and annoying João Grilo who dies and goes through the trial at the end , Selton Melo as Chico also gives a decent performance , mainly reacting to what is thrown at him by the rapid-fire delivery of Mr.Nachtergaele as João Grilo . Fernanda Montenegro has a brief cameo in the ending sequence as Saint Mary trying to save João Grilo´s soul . She shines even in this small role . What can I say the woman kicks booty all over the place . My only other complaint is the editing which seemed a bit rushed sometimes ( some dialogue scenes were cut so fast I felt dizzy , Michael Bay would have gone easier on some of these scenes . Geez . )

All in all , a fun , mindless movie with some cool make-up FX for the devil and neat cgi in the ending , a good story , cool characters , but with a few bugs here and there .

I´m outta here creepy fellas , see you next week .

Coffin Joe says : bye .