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This April, Prime Video is bringing you a lot of entertainment, from the release of the highly anticipated action horror series The Bondsman to the much-anticipated streaming release of Conclave. However, for the purposes of this article, we are only including the films that are coming to Prime Video this month and have a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score. So, check out the 10 best films that are coming to Prime Video in April 2025 with a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score.

Annie Hall (April 1) Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97% Credit – United Artists

Annie Hall is a satirical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Woody Allen, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Marshall Brickman. The 1977 film follows Alvy Singer, a comedian who ponders why his relationship with his ex-girlfriend Annie Hall ended so abruptly. Annie Hall stars Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts,...

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This January, Prime Video is bringing you a lot of entertainment from the Will Ferrell comedy film You’re Cordially Invited to the beloved romantic action comedy film The Fall Guy. However, for the purposes of this article, we are only including the films that are coming to Prime Video this month and have a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score. So, check out the 10 best films that are coming to Prime Video in January 2025 with a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score.

Boogie Nights (January 1) Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94% Credit – New Line Cinema

Boogie Nights is a drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The 1997 film is set in Los Angeles’s San Fernando Valley, and it follows Eddie Adams, a high school dropout working as a dishwasher as he becomes one of the biggest adult film stars,...

Civil War is a fictional war drama film written and directed by Alex Garland. The A24 film is set in the near future in a dystopian future suffering from a civil war. We follow the story of a group of journalists racing against time to get to Washington D.C. so that they can interview the President before the rebel factions take over the White House and kill the President. Civil War stars Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Nick Offernman, Sonoya Mizuno, Jefferson White, Nelson Lee, Evan Lai, Jesse Plemmons, Karl Glusman, Jin Ha, and Juani Feliz starring in supporting roles. So, if you loved the war drama and a story about journalists in Civil War here are some similar movies you could watch next.

Madras Cafe (Netflix & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Viacom 18 Motion Pictures

Madras Cafe is a political action thriller film directed by Shoojit Sircar.

Exclusive: History is teaming with Bonnie & Clyde executive producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron on a new four-hour miniseries. The network has bought a script for the project, from Sony TV and Zadan and Meron’s Storyline Entertainment, which tracks the origins of the mystic medieval Christian order known as Knights Templar. Written by Keir Pearson, an Oscar nominee with Terry George for Hotel Rwanda, the mini tells the true story of three brothers, all knights, during the first Crusade, as they make the long journey through the Holy Lands to recapture Jerusalem, ultimately bringing rise to the Knights Templar. Zadan and Meron executive produce, with Pearson co-executive producing and Storyline VP Development Mark Nicholson, who brought in the project, serving as a producer. Like the Knights Templar mini, Zadan and Meron’s Bonnie & Clyde, also from Sony TV where Storyline has a longform deal, was originally set up at...

Now in theaters the film Cesar Chavez, starring Michael Peña, and directed by Diego Luna , has sparked an alliance between The Equitable Food Initiative (Efi) and Participant Media on a campaign called “Follow Your Food,” aimed at keeping food safe, and families healthy starting in the fields where the food is grown.

With the mission of implementing safe food practices, providing education and training to farmworkers, and a fair wage, the initiative is crucial for the Efi, a group representing food retailers, growers, NGOs and farm worker organizations. Participant Media is supporting Efi’s efforts through the “Follow Your Food” action campaign aimed at building awareness and support for equitably-sourced food.

“Just as Cesar Chavez raised awareness of the conditions of farmworkers by organizing a boycott that millions of Americans supported, we believe that consumers today can advance Chavez’ groundbreaking achievements by supporting the concept of equitable food. We are proud to join forces with Efi on this natural extension of Chavez’ work,” said Chad Boettcher, Participant’s Evp Social Action & Advocacy.

“The Equitable Food Initiative is delighted to collaborate with Participant Media to spread the word about our ‘responsibly grown, farmworker assured’ certification,” says Peter O’Driscoll, Project Director of Efi. “Participant has repeatedly demonstrated a capacity to mobilize movie-goers to act on the issues that move them on the screen. We look forward to helping the audience of ‘Cesar Chavez’ follow their food and support the farmworkers, growers and food companies who are working together to make our produce better for all of us.”

The “Follow Your Food” campaign invites consumers to take the pledge at takepart.com/chavez to support the initiative and promote responsibly, ethically-harvested produce. The program launches with a video, “This is Your Food,” that elucidates the work of Efi and the benefits of equitable food certification. Sharable infographics and other collateral are featured to illustrate the issues related to responsibly grown, farmworker assured food, and the American Farmworker and Food Safety. In addition, consumers can learn more about equitable food by visiting Participant’s website www.TakePart.com/chavez.

In coming months, Efi will introduce a new food label trustmark that will certify that the produce is “responsibly grown and farmworker assured.”

The “Follow Your Food” campaign is part of a broader effort celebrating the release of Participant and Pantelion’s film Cesar Chavez, which includes an initiative urging the President to declare a Cesar Chavez National Day of Service Here

About The Film

Chronicling the birth of a modern American movement, Cesar Chavez tells the story of the famed civil rights leader and labor organizer torn between his duties as a husband and father and his commitment to securing a living wage for farm workers. Passionate but soft-spoken, Chavez embraced non-violence as he battled greed and prejudice in his struggle to bring dignity to people. Chavez inspired millions of Americans from all walks of life who never worked on a farm to fight for social justice. His triumphant journey is a remarkable testament to the power of one individual's ability to change the world.

Lionsgate, Pantelion,Televisa Cine and Canana present in association with Participant Media, Image Nation, Dream Management & Entertainment, Mr Mudd with the support of El Gobierno del Estado de Sonora Cesar Chavez. A Canana Production starring Michael Peña, America Ferrera, Rosario Dawson, Jacob Vargas, Yancey Arias, Wes Bentley, John Ortiz and John Malkovich. Executive producers are Emilio Azcárraga Jean, Haim Saban, Jeff Skoll, Jonathan King, Gael García Bernal, Julián Levin, Lianne Halfon, Russell Smith, John Malkovich. Producers are Diego Luna, Lawrence Meli and Keir Pearson. Produced by Pablo Cruz, the story is by Keir Pearson. Screenplay by Keir Pearson and Timothy J. Sexton. Directed by Diego Luna.

About Participant Media

Participant (ParticipantMedia.com) is a global entertainment company founded in 2004 by Jeff Skoll to focus on feature film, television, publishing and digital content that inspires social change. Participant's more than 45 films include Good Night, And Good Luck, Syriana, An Inconvenient Truth, Food, Inc., Waiting For ‘Superman’, The Help, Contagion and Lincoln. Through its films, social action campaigns, digital network TakePart.com and Pivot, its new television network for Millennials, Participant seeks to entertain, encourage and empower every individual to take action.

About The Equitable Food Initiative

The Equitable Food Initiative (Efi) is a new project that brings together workers, growers and retailers in the effort to produce better fruits and vegetables. As produce farms comply with the Efi Standard—for improved working conditions, pesticide management, and food safety—the entire food system sees benefits, all the way from farm workers to consumers. Current members of Efi include Andrew and Williamson Fresh Produce International, Bon Appétit Management Company, Calvert Investments, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Consumer Federation of America, Costco Wholesale Corporation, Farmworker Justice, Farm Labor Organizing Committee, National Farm Worker Ministry, Oxfam America, Pesticide Action Network North America, Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste, United Farm Workers.

From those that focus on singular defining events in a subject’s life, to those that aim to encompass an entire existence from birth to death in a matter of a couple hours, biopics are tricky feats to carry out successfully. After all, the life of a prominent individual is anything but ordinary, thus merits being translated into film. The chosen approach will determine whether the work serves as respectful homage or if it falls short. Unfortunately, Diego Luna’s Cesar Chavez fits in the second category, and not because of inadequate direction or issues with casting. Its problems are deeply rooted in the screenplay and the way in which it quickly summarizes Chavez’s struggle to deliver a satisfactory conclusion by Hollywood standards.

Structured like a bullet point-driven school presentation, the film appears as a succession of crucial events that in the end amount to a significant victory, but which also dismiss the darkness experienced by the Mexican-American leader throughout his fight. Chavez served as the voice of thousands of farm workers whose conditions were below acceptable, and for whom he felt great appreciation and respect. He felt for their suffering as he had been one of them growing up in Arizona. In the film, this is rapidly covered via voice over and the viewer is thrown into the history class-worthy facts forgetting to really give depth to Chavez as a man.

Played by Michael Peña, the Chavez portrayed here appears genuine, assertive, and honest, but it is rarely shown with the emotional complexity that person in his position must have felt. Having said this, this in no way diminishes Peña’s heartfelt performance. He is on point, and because of his great talent and commitment it is a shame the material did not provide him the challenging character that it should have. There is no denying Chavez deserves endless praise for his relentless labor, but in a film like this, straightforward glorification leaves no room for exploring the man and not simply the icon. Trying to make up for the lack of nuance written in the screenplay, the film makes a point of Chavez distant relationship with his oldest son Fernando (Eli Vargas). This never fully works with sufficient emotional weight.

As the marches, the boycotts, and other landmark protests against the greedy California growers roll out one after another, everything increasingly seems like a list of items being checked off to reach a happy ending. At the same time, the supporting characters fail to add any type of edge or interesting conflict to the story. America Ferrera as Helen Chavez only has a couple scenes where she gets to give life to the activist’s wife. A role that could have turned out enthralling settles for being generic, once again not for lack of talent from the performer but because of the genesis of the project. Rosario Dawson, as fellow activist Dolores Huerta, is equally forgettable and tragically underexploited. There is no point in expanding on the film's plot since all major occurrences are included and easily resolved, it is the lack of humanity that it is troublesome. It is sad to see such a lukewarm depiction of a passionate figure.

Cesar Chavez is Mexican superstar Diego Luna’s second feature in the director's chair - his first being the small scale Spanish-language drama Abel – and it is overall well-crafted and well-intentioned, but it certainly looks like it could have been directed by anybody else. Luna's voice as an artist has no resonance given that the screenplay by Keir Pearson forcefully wants to package all the societal and internal struggles into a formulaic piece. One that would be better suited to help teachers introduce students to the Ufw movement than to be an artistic interpretation of a man conflicted between his cause and his family. Hopefully both Luna and Peña will get a better chance in the future to create valuable work instead of didactic classroom material.

Chicago – How can one man bring down a ruthless industry? By building a union that never backs down, because he never backed down. ‘Cesar Chavez’ depicts the United Farm Workers union organizer in the 1960s who sought justice against virtual slave conditions for immigrant labor, assuring his place in history.

Rating: 3.0/5.0

The film doesn’t do much for the inner character of Chavez, realized in a contained performance by Michael Peña. It chose to go over the step-by-step history of the core of his vital work over a ten year period. This decision makes the story a bit starchy, and goes over a lot of material in a short amount of time. It provides for the heroism of what Chavez was able to accomplish, but the man himself is not revealed within this accomplishment.

Conditions for the 50,000 farms workers in California during the early 1960s were akin to slavery – workers...

There is no doubt that when Diego Luna took the stage to introduce the world premiere of his film "Cesar Chavez" at this year's SXSW, he was honestly moved by the entire experience of getting the film made, and it is obviously important to him. It was an emotional introduction to a film that took him a long time to get made, and I would never begrudge him that genuine sense of accomplishment. Unfortunately, "Cesar Chavez" has the same problems that plague many biopics, and it is a reminder of just how problematic the genre is as a whole. Just because someone did something that was important doesn't mean their life is suitable for a motion picture. Like many biopics, "Cesar Chavez" offers up a very specific point-of-view on the labor organizer and his accomplishments, and the respect that Luna has for his subject is clear in every moment of the film.

Cesar Chavez Pantelion Director: Diego Luna Screenplay: Keir Pearson, Timothy J. Sexton Cast: Michael Peña, John Malkovich, America Ferrera, Rosario Dawson, Wes Bentley, Michael Cudlitz Screened at: Dolby 88, NYC, 3/12/14 Opens: March 28, 2014 Union days appear over in America, where only nine percent of workers are members of organized labor. This certainly does not mean that the working classes and middle classes that were formerly active in such groups are ecstatic about their wages: quite the contrary. Bosses have found ways to work around militant organizations by exporting jobs to China, Vietnam and quite a few other countries with much lower standards of living than our own. And  [ Read More ]

The post Cesar Chavez Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Sundance just ended, and we are already preparing for the next big film festival, South By Southwest. Not too long ago, the festival announced a few of the films premiering this year, but now they’ve announced the main slate. The midnight selections and some inevitable late-breaking additions are still to be announced, but this should be more than enough to get you excited. Along with many World Premieres, and Sundance favorites like Richard Linklater’s Boyhood and Gareth Evans’ The Raid 2, the line up also includes an anniversary screening of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and an extended Q&A screening of The Grand Budapest Hotel with Wes Anderson. SXSW 2014 runs March 7 through 15 in Austin, Texas. Check out the line up after the jump.

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Narrative Feature Competition

Eight world premieres, eight unique ways to celebrate the art of storytelling. Selected from 1,324 films submitted to SXSW 2014. Films screening in Narrative...

Today the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival announced a diverse features lineup for this year’s Festival, the 21st edition and running March 7 – 15, 2014 in Austin, Texas. The 2014 program expands on SXSW tradition of embracing a range of genres and span of budgets, featuring a wealth of vision from experienced and developing filmmakers alike.

For more information visit http://sxsw.com/film.

Listed in the announcement are 115 of the features that will screen over the course of nine days at SXSW 2014. The lineup below includes 68 films from first-time filmmakers, and consists of 76 World Premieres, 10 North American Premieres and 7 U.S. Premieres. These films were selected from a record 2,215 feature-length film submissions composed of 1,540 U.S. and 675 international feature-length films. With a record number of 6,482 submissions total, the overall increase was 14% over 2013. The Midnighters feature section and the Short Film program will be announced on February 5, with the complete...

After announcing earlier this month that Jon Favreau’s Chef and the Veronica Mars movie will be making their world debuts at SXSW this year, the festival has revealed its full line-up, including further very promising world premieres, alongside appearances from some of the year’s most high-profile films.

The Midnight programme will be announced early next month, along with the Shorts line-up, and the complete Conference slate a little later as well.

Led by Seth Rogen and Zac Efron, Nicholas Stoller’s anticipated R-rated comedy, Neighbors, will be making its world debut at the festival, notably marked out as a ‘work-in-progress’ ahead of its theatrical release in May.

David Gordon Green’s acclaimed Joe will make its Us premiere, having bowed at Venice and then Toronto last year. Early reviews have Nicolas Cage giving one of the finest performances of his career, with Tye Sheridan (Mud) excellent alongside him.

Not sure if there is a Short Term 12 equivalent in this year’s Narrative Feature Comp, but on paper SXSW programmers are serving up a mean (and the usual lean group of 8 out of a whopping 1,324 film entries) for the upcoming competitiuon of eight which includes notable entries (that we’ve been tracking for a good time now) such as Zachary Wigon’s The Heart Machine, John Magary’s The Mend, Leah Meyerhoff’s I Believe in Unicorns and Lawrence Michael Levine’s Wild Canaries. Undoubtedly one of the most anticipated docs of the year, on the non-fiction side we find Margaret Brown’s The Great Invisible. Below you’ll find a breakdown of the other sections (notable world preems in We’ll Never Have Paris and Faults (see Mary Elizabeth Winstead above), some Sundance items with Texan connections and other nuggets.

Narrative Feature Competition

Eight world premieres, eight...

In a move that is surely going to get everyone involved with the project a first class ticket to Heaven, a biopic of Mother Teresa is in the works. Titled I Thirst — really, if they had gone with I, Thirst it would have made the I, Frankenstein comparison jokes so much easier — the biopic isn’t so much a look at the charitable nun’s life from birth to death, but rather a focus on her rise to notoriety in Calcutta during the 1950s. Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta after hearing a call from the Lord to start helping the poorest citizens of India. Naturally, one doesn’t ignore a message from God when they receive it, so she got to work right away tending to the sick and needy. The film will center upon this portion of her life, when she started the order. Making a movie about this time will prove...

The first authorised Mother Teresa biopic I Thirst has been announced.

Oscar-nominated Hotel Rwanda screenwriter Keir Pearson has been hired to work on the script.

Flame Ventures's Tony Krantz - who has served as executive producer on shows including 24, Sports Night and Felicity - is also attached to the project.

"Keir's presentation and his Oscar-nominated script of Hotel Rwanda and his sensitive script for Chavez made him the perfect choice," said Krantz in a statement.

"I Thirst is the first and only authorised film about the life of Mother Teresa on the big screen. We couldn't be more excited for this movie about a woman who stood for total commitment, faith, charity and love."

Mother Teresa - who has been set on the path to sainthood but also remains a controversial figure - died in 1997 at the age of 87.

Hotel Rwanda screenwriter Keir Pearson must be very pleased that he got tapped to write the Mother Teresa biopic I Thirst, and we're all proud of him, but let's cut to the chase: Who is going to portray Mother Teresa? Who can you see as a deeply religious Albanian Nobel Peace Prize recipient? Of course, casting will depend on the tone of the film. Sir Richard Attenborough directed what most consider the definitive Mother Teresa film, but there is still plenty of room for interpretation.

Keir Pearson has been hired to pen the script for "I Thirst," the first exclusively authorised biopic of Mother Teresa.

Flame Ventures, Origin Entertainment and The Mother Teresa Center are producing the project which aims to begin filming later this year for a 2015 release.

Pearson is expected to complete his research trip in Kolkata, India, and Tijuana during the next month and begin writing by the end of February.

Source: Screen...

Tony Krantz’s Flame Ventures has partnered with Origin Entertainment and The Mother Teresa Center on “I Thirst,” the first-ever authorized biopic of Mother Teresa, which will be written by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Keir Pearson (“Hotel Rwanda”), it was announced Thursday. “Keir’s presentation and his Oscar nominated script of ‘Hotel Rwanda’ and his sensitive script for ‘Chavez’ (the upcoming movie about Cesar Chavez) made him the perfect choice,” explained Krantz. “’I Thirst’ is the first and only authorized film about the life of Mother Teresa on the big screen. We couldn’t be more excited for this movie about a woman who stood for.

Tony Krantz, the former head of Imagine Entertainment's television division and executive producer on shows such as 24, has teamed up with Origin Entertainment and the Mother Teresa Center to bring the story of Mother Teresa to the big screen with a biopic titled I Thirst. Keir Pearson, the Oscar-nominated scribe who co-wrote Hotel Rwanda, has been tapped to pen the script telling the story of the Albanian-born Catholic sister whose work with the poor in India made her a worldwide icon. Krantz, whose credits also include NBC's Dracula, Felicity and Sports Night, will produce the project

read more...

Flame Ventures, Origin Entertainment and The Mother Teresa Center have hired Keir Pearson to I Thirst, the first exclusively authorised biopic of Mother Teresa.

Pearson is expected to complete his research trip in Kolkata, India, and Tijuana, Mexico, during the next month and begin writing by the end of February.

The producers said the goal was to commence shooting by the end of 2014 in time for global release in spring or summer 2015.

We've seen an initial trailer for the biopic on labor activist Cesar Chavez, and the film was given the somewhat self-important title of Cesar Chavez: An American Hero. However, it seems the marketing department found out that title was doing too well, because the film is now just going by Cesar Chavez in the new trailer. It's Crash and American Hustle star Michael Pena in the lead as the famed civil rights leader and labor organizer torn between life as a husband and father and a commitment to getting a living wage for farm workers. John Malkovich, America Ferrera and Rosario Dawson also star in the film. Here's the new trailer for Diego Luna's Cesar Chavez, originally from Yahoo: Cesar Chavez is directed by Diego Luna (director of Abel, star of The Terminal, Y Tu Mamá También) and written by Keir Pearson (Hotel Rwanda). Michael Peña (Crash) leads the...

The new trailer is now online for the upcoming biopic about civil-rights activist and labor organizer Cesar Chavez, titled Cesar Chavez. The film stars Michael Pena, America Ferrera, Rosario Dawson, John Malkovich, Jacob Vargas, Michael Cudlitz, John Ortiz, Wes Bentley, Julian Sands, Gabriel Mann, Kevin Dunn, Yancey Arias, and Mark Moses.

Chronicling the birth of a modern American movement, Cesar Chavez tells the story of the famed civil rights leader and labor organizer torn between his duties as a husband and father and his commitment to securing a living wage for farm workers. Passionate but soft-spoken, Chavez embraced non-violence as he battled greed and prejudice in his struggle to bring dignity to people. Chavez inspired millions of Americans from all walks of life who never worked on a farm to fight for social justice. His triumphant journey is a remarkable testament to the power of one individual’s ability to change the world.

I originally included this in last year’s predictions’ list, but the team took their time in the post-production phase which might, in the end, make for some better packaging as with this pre-buzz NYTimes piece. During that time, Lionsgate nabbed the title, loaded this on their Pantelion Films label for a possible April rollout and gave the film a bulkier title (Cesar Chavez: An American Hero). While this no longer becomes a high value acquisition title, Luna’s association with the fest is strong (he presented his debut film Abel at the fest in 2010) and Participant Media’s has a strong rapport with Park City previously supplying the fest with socially conscious docs.

Gist: Written by Keir Pearson, the inspirational story of Cesar Chavez (played by Michael Peña), the celebrated Mexican American activist who, at great personal cost, put the shameful treatment of his fellow field workers on the map.

Following supporting turns in films like Crash, End of Watch, The Lincoln Lawyer and Gangster Squad, Mexican-American actor Michael Peña is taking the lead in Cesar Chavez: An American Hero. As you might guess, in the film, Peña plays labor activist Cesar E. Chavez as he organizes the largest non-violent protest in U.S. history for farm workers' rights. Actor Diego Luna directs the film backed by Canana Films, the company behind Miss Bala (which was on our list of the 19 Best Movies You Didn't See in 2011). It looks like a great performance from Peña, but since it's arriving next spring, it isn't in the Oscar race. Watch it! Here's the first trailer for Diego Luna's Cesar Chavez: An American Hero from YouTube: Cesar Chavez: An American Hero is directed by Diego Luna (director of Abel, star of The Terminal, Y Tu Mamá También) and written by Keir Pearson...

Lauded character actor Michael Peña looks to be getting his turn in the spotlight in a recently released trailer for the Diego Luna-helmed "Cesar Chavez: An American Hero." Chronicling Chavez's efforts to stage the largest non-violent protest in U.S. history in order to obtain labor rights for 50,000 farm workers in California, the film co-stars America Ferrera, Rosario Dawson and John Malkovich. The material, from an original script by Keir Pearson, should prove extra timely given the immigration debate that's been waging in Congress for months on end. Though we seem to be in the throes of biopic season--running the gamut from "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" to "Diana"--"Cesar Chavez: An American Hero" won't hit theaters till April 4, 2014. In the meantime, enjoy the trailer below.

Tremendously talented, but also unfortunately underrated, Michael Peña is the kind of presence we always enjoy in a movie, but he's usually found in a supporting role. But thankfully, Diego Luna has recognized that the actor has more than enough skill and charisma to carry a picture, and he's doing just that in his biopic "Cesar Chavez: An American Hero." And now, we have a taste of how it turned out in the first trailer for the film.  But we have to admit, we sorta forgot about this movie. First announced well over a year ago, and without any presence on the festival circuit this year, it has been flying under the radar, but now it's definitely back on our mind. Keir Pearson ("Hotel Rwanda") penned the movie that will tell the tale of the '60s and '70s labor activist Cesar E. Chavez, the man who organized the largest non-violent protest in U.

The trailer is now online for the upcoming biopic about civil-rights activist and labor organizer Cesar Chavez, titled “Cesar Chavez: An American Hero”. The film stars Michael Pena, America Ferrera, Rosario Dawson, John Malkovich, Jacob Vargas, Michael Cudlitz, John Ortiz, Wes Bentley, Julian Sands, Gabriel Mann, Kevin Dunn, Yancey Arias, and Mark Moses.

Cesar Chavez chronicles the birth of a modern American movement led by famed civil rights leader and labor organizer, Cesar Chavez. Torn between his duties as a husband and father and his commitment to bringing dignity and justice to others, Chavez embraced non-violence as he battled greed and prejudice in his struggle for the rights of farm workers. His triumphant journey is a remarkable testament to the power of one individual’s ability to change the system.

Film is directed by Mexican-born actor Diego Luna from a screenplay written by “Hotel Rwanda” co-scribe Keir Pearson.

I Feel...

Diego Luna may have traveled into the future for his role in the sci-fi action movie “Elysium” but the Mexican actor recently also went back in time to direct “Chavez.”

The 33-year-old star sat down with HuffPost Live’s Alyona Minkovski on Tuesday to chat about his latest projects, including his first English-language feature film based on the life and work of American civil rights activist Cesar Chavez.

Despite being born and raised in his native Mexico, Luna said he learned more about the Mexican-American activist during the time he was was living in the United States.

“The idea behind the film is to talk about a community that now I have a strong connection with,” the actor, whose first son was born in the U.S., told Minkovski. “And I found out that no one has done a film about him and I don’t think it has been celebrated enough.

#38. Diego Luna’s Chavez

Gist: Written by Keir Pearson, the inspirational story of Cesar Chavez, the celebrated Mexican American activist who, at great personal cost, put the shameful treatment of his fellow field workers on the map. He took their cause to the powerful Californian land-owners, the state government and beyond. A complicated man with a mission, Chavez never gave up. His extraordinary journey changed the history of unionism, labour conditions and the civil rights movement forever. The mostly English language project features Rosario Dawson, Gabriel Mann, America Ferrera and Michael Peña as Chavez.

Prediction: Filming began in April of 2012, and neither Sundance or Berlin became the lieu for the world premiere screening. Seeing that Luna did showcased Abel at the fest in an out of comp slot back in 2010, perhaps an Un Certain regard scenario is in the cards for the actor-producer-filmmaker.

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Michael Peña (Crash, Shooter, End of Watch) has joined the cast of David O. Russell’s next film (still untitled) which already stars: Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Jennifer Lawrence.

The film tells the story of the real-life FBI “Abscam” sting operation, conducted during the late 1970′s to early 1980′s, which uncovered a deep corruption scandal on Capitol Hill and led to several convictions. Read more about it here.

No word yet on who he will play, however Peña announced his involvement this past Easter Sunday with this Tweet:

Happy Easter my friends. Just landed in Boston for the new David ORussell movie!!!!

— Michael Pena (@realmichaelpena) April 1, 2013

Back to Peña’s Oscar talk.

David O. Russell’s last two films (The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook) had a combined 7 Oscar nominations in the acting categories and three Oscar wins (Christian Bale, Melissa Leo for The Fighter and...

With a docu J.C. Chavez (2007), a short Revolución (2010) and his feature film under his belt – Abel (Sundance ’10), full fledged actor-filmmaker-producer Diego Luna’s sophomore, $10 million production began filming in April and is will most likely be in distributor Participant Media’s wishes to release the film at a socially conscious festival. Park City happens to be the lieu where Luna premiered Abel and countless other items as an actor, so we’re thinking an early fest 2013 premiere is in the cards for Chavez. The mostly English project features Rosario Dawson, Gabriel Mann, America Ferrera and Michael Peña in the lead role (see pic above).

Gist: Written by Keir Pearson, the inspirational story of Cesar Chavez, the celebrated Mexican American activist who, at great personal cost, put the shameful treatment of his fellow field workers on the map. He took their cause to the powerful Californian land-owners, the state government and beyond.

This is a political film. No could not be more political as it deals with the cynical referendum of Pinochet which allowed for opposition parties to air a 15 minute TV show in the wee hours of the morning for one week urging voters to vote No as opposed to Yes for Pinochet to continue to rule Chile with his iron fist. The savvy adman played by Gael Garcia Bernal creates a campaign which actually toppled his regime. This is the third part of Pablo Larrain's trilogy including Tony Manero and Post Mortem as it chronicles the fall of the dictatorship of Pinochet.

Distributed in U.S. by Sony Pictures Classics and sold internationally by Funny Balloons, No just had its North American premiere today at Tiff after its world premiere in Cannes' Directors Fortnight. It played in Locarno, Telluride and will play in the BFI London Film Festival and the New York Film Festival.

Most remarkably, this film was exec produced (partially financed) by Participant's Jonathan King and Jeff Skoll. Participant Media’s modus operandi, financing and producing feature and docu films about change, is all the more commendable because this is a Spanish language film. After backing Pablo Larraín’s No they’ve now partnered once again with the Bernal’s Canana Films for Diego Luna’s Chavez (Cesar not Hugo) which is currently being lensed in Mexico, written by Keir Pearson (Hotel Rwanda) with a cast that includes Michael Pena in the lead role, America Ferrera, Rosario Dawson, Wes Bentley, Michael Cudlitz, Gabriel Mann and a small part for Bernal.

Our site truly appreciates Participant Media’s Modus operandi: financing and producing feature and docu films about change. After backing Pablo Larraín’s No – the Directors’ Fortnight selected winner featuring Gael Garcia Bernal, they’ve now partnered once again with the actor’s Canana Films for Diego Luna’s Chavez which is currently being lensed in Mexico with a cast that includes Michael Pena in the lead role, America Ferrera, Rosario Dawson, Wes Bentley, Michael Cudlitz, Gabriel Mann and a small part for Bernal.

Gist: Written by Keir Pearson (only screen cred is Hotel Rwanda) this is a biopic about Cesar E. Chavez which focuses mainly on the time period where he organized the largest non-violent protest (one that lasted almost five years and had the support of many Americans including Bobby Kennedy) in U.S. history to aid more than 50,000 farm workers in California. See docu below on just that.

From a freaky directorial debut to an indie thriller to a true story about a labor activist and a new Miyazaki film, here’s a round-up of movies that have secured distribution...

David Cronenberg's son Brandon Cronenberg proudly stepped into his own as a filmmaker, premiering his feature-length debut "Antiviral" at the Cannes Film Festival last month. Starring Caleb Landry Jones, Sarah Gadon and Malcolm McDowell, the film is a full on body horror freak fest that, while a bit uneven, will nonetheless fill your creep quota. The story takes place in a near future in which celebrity obsession has leaped to the next level, where fans infect themselves with the diseases of their favorite stars. Jones plays a worker at a clinic who also deals in black market viruses but gets caught up in a scheme that could cost him his life. IFC Midnight recently scooped up the rights,...

Participant Media has acquired all North American rights to the biographical drama “Chavez,” directed by Diego Luna and starring Michael Peña as labor organizer Cesar E. Chavez. The Canana Films project is currently filming in Sonora, Mexico. The film, written by “Hotel Rwanda” scribe Keir Pearson, depicts Chavez’s successful efforts to organize farm workers in California to obtain basic human rights. America Ferrera, Rosario Dawson, Wes Bentley, John Malkovich, Michael Cudlitz, Gabriel Mann, Jacob Vargas, Yancey Arias and Mark Moses co-star. Canana Films principals Pablo Cruz, Gael Garcia Bernal and Luna are producing along with Mr. Mudd’s John Malkovich, Lianne Halfon and Russell Smith, and Pearson and Larry Meli. Participant execs Jeff Skoll and Jonathan King are executive producers. The company recently co-financed Canana’s 2012 Cannes Film Festival entry “No,” which stars Bernal. “This film provides...

Participant Media has acquired all North American rights to Diego Luna's upcoming Chavez , the distributor announced today. The film stars Michael Peña ( Battle: Los Angeles , Crash ) as famed labor organizer Cesar E. Chavez. The screenplay arrives from Keir Pearson ( Hotel Rwanda ) and focuses on Chavez.s fearless determination in organizing the largest non-violent protest in U.S. history to accomplish his ultimate goal of obtaining basic human rights for over 50,000 farm workers in California. The film reunites Participant with Mexico's Canana Films following their triumphant Cannes Directors' Fortnight launch for Pablo Larrain's No , which won the Art Cinema Prize. Chavez is being produced by Canana principals Pablo Cruz ( Miss Bala ), Gael Garcia Bernal (who has a cameo...

Oscar-nominated writer Keir Pearson will be making his directorial debut with an adaptation of Mara Leveritt‘s non-fiction novel, The Boys on the Tracks. Variety also reports that the scribe will be producing the project alongside Elizabeth Fowler.

The novel depicts the “true story of Linda Ives’ journey to learn the truth about the murder of her teenage son, which thrusts her into the largest cocaine smuggling and gun-running operation in U.S. history.” The project will also deal with “CIA-related conspiracy theories and ultimately concerns the Iran-Contra Scandal.” This will be the first feature film dealing with this subject matter.

Judging by his past work on Hotel Rwanda, the touchy subject matter shouldn’t be a problem for Pearson. Fowler gushed about the scribe stating, “Keir wrote a very powerful script and he is absolutely the best person to bring this incredible true story — that plays out like a Grisham thriller — to life.

Villain

"The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" and "30 Days of Night" director David Slade will helm the psychological thriller "Villain" at Wayfare Entertainment.

Josh Zetumer ("Robocop") penned the script which follows two brothers as they confront their dark past in an unforgiving wilderness. Ben Browning, Sarah Shepard and Jeremy Kipp Walker will produce and shooting will take place in Alaska. [Source: Deadline]

Raze

Josh C. Waller is set to helm the horror tale "Raze" at Quincy Pictures and Cosmic Toast Studios. Shooting is slated to begin in June.

The story follows two abducted women (Zoe Bell and Rachel Nichols) and fifty other women who are forced to fight each other using their bare hands, all for the sadistic enjoyment of an elite, voyeuristic society. [Source: Variety]

Dear Satan

Fox has acquired Dan Ewen's spec script "Dear Satan" which the Farrelly Brothers will direct for Conundrum Entertainment.

The story follows a seven-year-old girl who accidentally misspells "Santa...

The Tracks adaptation of Mara Leveritt's book The Boys on the Tracks, sets Keir Pearson as helmer. Pearson is also on board as producer, alongside Devil's Knott's Elizabeth Fowler, to bring the non-fiction book to the bigscreen. Variety reports that the true story follows Linda Ives' struggle to learn the truth about the murder of her teen son, pulling her into the biggest cocaine smuggling and gun-running operation in the history of the U.S. The Tracks looks at conspiracy theories involving the CIA and concerns the Iran-Contra Scandal. Producer Fowler stated that "Keir wrote a very powerful script and he is absolutely the best person to bring this incredible true story -- that plays out like a Grisham thriller -- to life." Pearson nabbed an Oscar nomination for his work on his first script Hotel Rwanda...

The Tracks adaptation of Mara Leveritt's book The Boys on the Tracks, sets Keir Pearson as helmer. Pearson is also on board as producer, alongside Devil's Knott's Elizabeth Fowler, to bring the non-fiction book to the bigscreen. Variety reports that the true story follows Linda Ives' struggle to learn the truth about the murder of her teen son, pulling her into the biggest cocaine smuggling and gun-running operation in the history of the U.S. The Tracks looks at conspiracy theories involving the CIA and concerns the Iran-Contra Scandal. Producer Fowler stated that "Keir wrote a very powerful script and he is absolutely the best person to bring this incredible true story -- that plays out like a Grisham thriller -- to life." Pearson nabbed an Oscar nomination for his work on his first script Hotel Rwanda...

The Wes Bentley comeback train keeps on going! The "American Beauty" star whose life was nearly ruined by his own overnight success/drug addiction is building on the momentum of "The Hunger Games" and has joined Diego Luna's next directorial effort with Mark Moses ("Mad Men"), Michael Cudlitz ("Southland"), Jacob Vargas ("Traffic") and Yancey Arias ("Legion") also on board for the story of labor-activist Cesar E. Chavez.

"Chavez" will see Michael Peña star as Chavez in the Keir Pearson-scripted tale that will follow the man as he organizes the largest non-violent protest in U.S. history to accomplish his goal of obtaining basic human rights for over 50,000 farm workers in California. American Ferrerra and Rosario Dawson co-star as Chavez's wife Helen and political aide Dolores Huerta, respectively. 

Bentley, meanwhile, joins as fearless attorney Jerry Cohen, who became the backbone of the United Farm Workers' legal efforts with...

Wes Bentley ("The Hunger Games"), Michael Cudlitz ("Southland"), Jacob Vargas ("Traffic"), Yancey Arias ("Legion") and Mark Moses ("The Killing") have all joined the cast of Diego Luna's indie drama biopic "Chavez" reports Variety.

Keir Pearson's script follows Cesar E. Chavez (Michael Pena) who organised the largest nonviolent protest in U.S. history to obtain basic human rights for over 50,000 farm workers in California.

Bentley will play fearless attorney Jerry Cohen, Cudlitz will play a sheriff who lets his personal opinions cloud his judgment, Vargas will play Cesar's older brother, Arias will play the United Farm Workers Union secretary-treasurer Gilbert Padilla, Moses will play seasoned organizer Fred Ross who mentors Chavez.

America Ferrera and Rosario Dawson also star as Chavez's wife and top aide respectively. Luna, Gael Garcia Bernal, Pablo Cruz, John Malkovich, Lianne Halfon, Russell Smith and Larry Meli will produce. Shooting began this week in Mexico.

If it were up to us, Wes Bentley would sport that stylish Hunger Games facial hair in every project moving forward. Alas, it probably won.t be used for Chavez, a biopic about famed labor organizer Cesar E. Chavez that will be directed by Diego Luna from a screenplay by Keir Pearson. According to Variety, the independent film will focus on Chavez.s efforts to organize a sizeable protest in hopes of obtaining improved rights for thousands of farm laborers in California. And Luna already has an impressive cast on the books. Michael Pena, supporting player in memorable films like The Lincoln Lawyer and Observe & Report, has a chance to establish himself as a leading man with his turn as Chavez. America Ferrera has been cast as Chavez.s wife, while Rosario Dawson will play his trusted aide, Dolores Huerta. Bentley has been hired to play attorney Jerry Cohen, who...

The Hunger Games and Terrence Malick‘s new film have solidified Wes Bentley‘s comeback trail, but Variety says he has yet another promising effort in the waits. (And I don’t mean Catching Fire, though that should do him a lot of good, too.) It would happen to be Chavez, the Michael Peña-led, Diego Luna-directed biopic of labor rights activist Cesar Chavez, which also stars Rosario Dawson and America Ferrera; shooting on the film began this week.

Written by Luna and Keir Pearson (Hotel Rwanda), it focuses on the period in which Chavez led “the largest nonviolent protest in U.S. history to accomplish his ultimate goal of obtaining basic human rights for over 50,000 farm workers in California.” He’s one of several new faces in the project’s fray; Jacob Vargas (Jarhead, Traffic), Mark Moses (Mad Men‘s Duck Phillips), Michael Cudlitz (Southland), and Yancey Arias (Legion,...

Online film competition SeeFlik has awarded $27,500 to David Jibladze for his short film "Beholden."  Second place went to "Cadet," with Ryan Steiner earning $7,500.  Jibladze and Steiner will also meet with SeeFlik partner David Greenblatt to prepare for industry showcases at agencies and studios.  The films' jurors included producer Michael London ("Sideways"), writer-director Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), writer-producer Angelo Pizzo ("Rudy"), Oscar-nominated screenwriter Keir Pearson ("Hotel Rwanda"), screenwriter Robert Kamen ("The Karate Kid"), producer Suzanne de Passe ("Lonesome Dove") and actor Luis Guzman ("How to Make it in America"). Runners up included "The Man Who Never Cried" by Bradley Jackson and Christopher Meyers' "Injuns," which each won $5,000; Winston Tao's "Wash Me" and Bhanu Chundu's "Camp...

Los Angeles, CA – (March 12, 2011) — SeeFlik, the creator of online film competitions for emerging filmmakers to showcase their work, is bringing 20 short films from student filmmakers on Comcast’s Xfinity On Demand, XfinityTV.com and through the Xfinity TV app. The short films from the top 20 competition finalists, who participated in its online student film competition — The Competition 2011 – are available to 20 million Comcast’s Xfinity TV homes through March 31, 2012 as well as on www.seeFlik.com. The 20 student film finalists (complete list below) were selected from more than 400 entries from more than 80 colleges and universities. The short films ranged from comedy, drama, thrillers and romance to social issues, current challenges, political satire and the comically absurd. “Our competition gives emerging young artists a platform to reach many that may not have had the chance to see these engaging shorts,” said Lawrence R. Meli, CEO, Seeflik. “By expanding viewers’ access to these films on Xfinity TV,...

Not to be hyperbolic, but this is the kind of role that earns Oscar nominations. Iconic public figure? Check. Oscar nominated screenwriter? Check. An actor capable of pulling off a rounded, difficult role? Triple check. Variety is reporting that Diego Luna has hired Michael Peña to star as Cesar Chavez for Chavez – the story of the celebrated labor rights advocate and the guy that 489 streets in the southwest are named after. The man is an idol, and Peña may be the perfect choice to play him. The actor has been all over the map, proving to be versatile and powerful no matter the genre or the role. Plus, the Academy apparently loves it when people play real people – regardless of whether they’re minority figures or old white leaders. But the awards talk is way too early, and it’s secondary because this project sounds like a fantastic movie no matter the gold potential. Keir Pearson...

Michael Pena has landed the lead role in a biopic of César Chávez. Pena will portray the iconic activist, who was known for campaigning around the American labor movement and Latino civil rights during the 1960s and 1970s, reports Variety. Ugly Betty's America Ferrera will star as Chavez's wife Helen, while Rosario Dawson will play Dolores Huerta, who was Chavez's partner in activism and co-founder of United Farm Workers. The film is being developed by actors Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal, along with producer Pablo Cruz. Written by Hotel Rwanda's Keir Pearson, the biopic will be directed by Luna, who (more)...

Fast forward this 1979 interview with Tom Waits to the 2:22 mark and hear an uncanny similarity to Heath Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight. Sofia Coppola has added several names to her upcoming feature film The Bling Ring including Leslie Mann, Taissa Farmiga, Israel Broussard, Katie Chang, Claire Pfister and Georgia Rock. Mann will play a mom of two of the girls from the Bling Ring, Broussard is the male lead of the movie. The six join previously cast Emma Watson with shooting expected to begin this spring in Los Angeles. [source] Andrew Stanton's Ted Talk, "The clues to a great story" from February 2012 can now be viewed online. [source] The Cabin in the Woods director Drew Goddard spoke about the possibility of a Cloverfield 2 after writing the first one and he said, "I'm in, I'm ready to do it...Someone call J.J. and tell him to get moving, but...

Despite the fact that Michael Pena has shown tremendous skill across the board both as a dramatic actor in Crash (the Best Picture winner from 2004) and comedies like Observe and Report and 30 Minutes or Less, the actor hasn't yet landed a lead role. All that changes as Variety reports Pena has landed a "dream role" as Cesar E. Chavez, the labor organizer of the 60's and 70's. In addition, actor Diego Luna (Y Tu Mamá También) will be in the director's chair again with the film that depicts Chavez organizing the largest non-violent protest in U.S. history to get basic human rights for over 50,000 farm workers in California. In addition, Luna's longtime friend and frequent co-star Gael Garcia Bernal will produce the aptly titled Chavez, written by Keir Pearson (Hotel Rwanda), through Canana Films, the company behind Miss Bala (which was on our list of the 19 Best ...