‘Mucho Mucho Amor’ Directors Talk Walter Mercado Impersonation on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorPulitzer Prize winner Quiara Alegría Hudes is set to write “Life Is a Carnival,” a Latin music-infused new film for Warner Bros.The movie will mark her second collaboration with “In the Heights” producers Scott Sanders and Mara Jacobs after Hudes wrote the book for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway musical as well as the screenplay for the Jon M.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorDavid France, the director of “Welcome to Chechnya,” can’t say for sure that his documentary played a role in pushing the U.S. government to place sanctions on the country’s leader, but it certainly looks that way.The film, about the Chechen government’s sanctioned arrests and torture of LGBTQ people in the autonomous Russian region, premiered less than a month ago on HBO.

If you thought this year’s Drag Race deluge would dry up once “RuPaul’s Drag Race” season 12, “RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race”, “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 5″ and “Canada’s Drag Race” had aired their final episodes, then you don’t know RuPaul.

season 12,, and had aired their final episodes, then you don't know RuPaul.Set to debut on VH1 in August, the six-episode docuseries  will follow legendary alumni Asia O’Hara, Derrick Barry, Kameron Michaels, Naomi Smalls, Vanessa «Vanjie» Mateo and Yvie Oddly as they set up shop on the strip for the  residency.Judging from the first teaser,  will be full of stunts and shenanigans, hot-and-heavy makeouts and just a little bit of backstage melodrama: «All of drag is depending on us to turn it

Mercado’s practice drew from , including Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity. “I respect the biblical God, but my God is love.

What’s the story?Even as a child Walter was regarded as a healer in his community, and somehow the shy farm boy from Ponce, Puerto Rico managed to transform himself into the flamboyant showman that everyone grew to love.A natural performer, Walter was cast in telenovelas including Una Sombra and La Intrusa before becoming an on-air astrologer in 1969, after comedian and producer Elfin Ortiz asked him to fill in for another act.He was an instant hit and went on to appear on the Puerto Rican news

Walter Mercado was a giver of hope. The Puerto Rican astrologer blessed the homes of many Latinx families for decades with enriching daily horoscopes on the small screen.

Puerto Rican astrologist Walter Mercado, who died last year on Nov. 2, is one of the most recognizable figures in Latinx culture — for his horoscope breakdowns, his bedazzled capes, and above all, his unwavering positivity.

Mucho Mucho Amor (★★★★☆).A staple in millions of households since the late ’60s, the star vanished from public view after airing his final broadcast in 2006. Cristina Costantini, who made the equally uplifting 2018 documentary Science Fair, and her co-director Kareem Tabsch find Mercado living comfortably, though not extravagantly, at his home in San Juan, Puerto Rico, attended to by his longtime assistant, Willy Acosta, as well as a family of nieces, and his beloved pooch Runo.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorSara Gilbert admits she misses “The Talk,” the show she created in 2010 and co-hosted for nine years before leaving in August.She’s fine no longer broadcasting her opinions and views to millions of people each day, but on Thursday’s episode of the Variety and iHeart podcast “The Big Ticket” she said, “I loved seeing those women every day and connecting with them, and the producers and the crew and staff.

iconic television astrologer Walter Mercado are hoping to adapt the film into a scripted biopic.Cristina Costantini, who directed “Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado” with Kareem Tabsch, tells Variety that they asked Mercado who he wanted to play him. “I suggested Gael García Bernal and he said, ‘Too old,’” Costantini said.

Latin astrologer Walter Mercado is the subject of Netflix’s brand new documentary film, Mucho Mucho Amor, and fans are loving every minute of it.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorThe co-directors and producer of a new Netflix documentary about the life of iconic television astrologer Walter Mercado are hoping to adapt the film into a scripted biopic.Cristina Costantini, who directed “Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado” with Kareem Tabsch, tells Variety that they asked Mercado who he wanted to play him. “I suggested Gael García Bernal and he said, ‘Too old,’” Costantini said.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorDocumentary “Mucho Mucho Amor,” from Latinx filmmakers Cristina Costantini (“Science Fair”) and Kareem Tabsch (“The Last Resort”), focuses on the legacy of Walter Mercado, the iconic gender-nonconforming Hispanic astrologer who disappeared from the public eye, choosing to live off the grid in Puerto Rico, before resurfacing to prepare for the opening of a late-in-life exhibition at the HistoryMiami Museum. Cinematographer Peter Alton had worked with Costantini on

cafe con leche and bistec empanizado (breaded steak).But those cultural hallmarks were also marred by immeasurable trauma: , I witnessed various types of normalized abuse (substance, physical, emotional) while my parents worked hard to make ends meet and build a better life in a country foreign to them. From an early age, I searched for an escape from the realities of growing up poor, a way to protect my mental health before doing so was part of the vernacular.

Walter Mercado enamored audiences with his astrology readings, positivity and words of wisdom for many years. Now audiences will get an intimate look at the iconic Puerto Rican, gender-nonconforming astrologer's life in Netflix's documentary, streaming July 8.The doc captures Mercado's final two years, when he grappled with aging and his legacy, and prepared for one last star-studded spectacle.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorMatt Bomer already knew Derek Simonds, the creator and showrunner of “The Sinner,” before being approached about starring in the third season of the USA Network series.“I had met with Derek years ago when he was involved in ‘Call Me by Your Name,’ and we’d hit it off creatively and had a great conversation,” Bomer, 42, says from his home in Los Angeles during an appearance on Tuesday’s episode of the Variety and iHeart podcast “The Big

Every Tuesday, discriminating viewers are confronted with a flurry of choices: new releases on disc and on-demand, vintage, and original movies on any number of streaming platforms, catalog titles making a splash on Blu-ray or 4K. This weekly column sifts through all of those choices to pluck out the movies most worth your time, no matter how you’re watching.

Margot Robbie is enjoying a day out with a friend!