Anna Castillo Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Top Spanish Titles brought to market at MipTV: “Dating in Barcelona,” (Filmax) Produced by Filmax’s Arca, Catalan public broadcaster 3Cat and Prime Video in Spain, a first season of “Dating in Barcelona” bowed last year in Spain to big ratings, both on its first-window debut on 3Cat and on Prime Video, where it became one of the streaming service’s most-watched debuts. A modern take on romance and sex in an online age, “Dating in Barcelona” also reflects a swing in TV towards a lighter, more episodic fare, whether in crime thrillers or other categories.

Movistar Plus+ original film and the awaited next feature from Spain’s Iciar Bollaín (“Take My Eyes,” “Maixabel”), has closed its earliest pre-sales, struck by Film Factory Entertainment, including a bellwether deal in France. The deals come as “I’m Nevenka” has wrapped production, shooting in the Basque city of Bilbao before transferring to rural Zamora, western Spain.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Two Spanish female stars who have broken out to huge global audiences in Netflix hits – “Nowhere” and “A Perfect Story” lead Anna Castillo and Ester Expósito, highly prominent in “Elite” in early seasons – are set to star in dramedic vampire thriller “Death to Love,” (“Que muera el amor”), the first series created by “Piggy” director Carlota Pereda, who will also serve as its showrunner. “If there are two actresses you can believe are immortals, with their out-of-this-world allure and talent, it’s Anna and Ester. I can’t wait to explore this world of darkness, joy and Eternal Love with them,” Pereda told Variety.

Anna Marie de la Fuente As 2023 hits its final straights, Spain’s “Nowhere,” a mother-baby survival thriller, rates as the most-viewed non-English title – film or series – of 2023, with 77.9 million views. It also ranks as Netflix’s second most-watched non-English movie of all time, currently punching 141.6 million hours, bettered only by Norway’s “Troll.” “Nowhere” also has legs: No other non-English Netflix movie has punched 1.6 million views on its seventh week of release.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Martin Scorsese is executive producing “Escape,” the next film from Spanish writer-director Rodrigo Cortés, who burst onto the international scene directing Ryan Reynolds in the 2010 Sundance hit “Buried.” Set to go into production at the end of May, Cortés’ first Spanish-language film since his debut feature, 2007 madcap dark comedy “The Contestant,” “Escape” stars Mario Casas, a Spanish Academy Award Goya winner for 2020’s “Cross the Line.”  One of Spain’s biggest film-TV stars, Casas leads a top-notch Spanish cast in “Escape” which takes in Anna Castillo (“The Olive Tree,” “Holy Camp!”), José Garcia (“Bastille Day”), Guillermo Toledo (“I’m So Excited”), Josep Maria Pou (“The Realm”), Blanca Portillo (“Maixabel”), and Jose Sacristán (“Velvet”).

Holly Jones Cementing their place as auteurs of the absurd, Spanish writer-directors Juan González and Nando Martínez, of creative outfit Burnin’ Percebes, presented their latest feature “The Fantastic Case Of The Golem,” to audiences at the Malaga Film Festival.  A sci-fi caper that embodies the duo’s freeform, standalone filmmaking style, it competes alongside further buzz titles “20.000 Species Of Bees,” from Spanish director Estíbaliz Urresola, and Gerardo Herrero’s,“Under Therapy.” After a night of heavy drinking, quintessential bachelor Juan and his friend David play a game of charades on the roof. During a highly-animated round, David falls from the ledge and shatters into a million ceramic pieces. The event sets off a fiendishly ludicrous odyssey through Juan’s daily affairs as he seeks to uncover the truth behind his ruptured relationship.

BreAnna Bell “Blood & Treasure” won’t be returning for a third season at CBS or Paramount+, Variety has confirmed. The action-adventure drama followed an antiquities expert Danny McNamara and a cunning art thief Lexi Vaziriwho teamed up to catch a cold-blooded terrorist who funds his attacks through stolen treasure. “When terrorist Karim Farouk absconds with a priceless artifact and kidnaps Danny’s mentor Dr. Anna Castillo, Danny recruits Lexi to help him bring Farouk to justice and rescue Anna. As they chase down Farouk, they encounter unscrupulous individuals who may either be useful allies or dangerous enemies, including Aiden Shaw, an arms dealer who acts solely in his self-interest, and Simon Hardwick, an expert at procuring pilfered artifacts,” reads the official series description.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Continuing to tap top series from Spain, Munich-based Beta Film has snapped up international distribution rights to “Simple,” the new dramedy by Anna R. Costa, the co-creator of Movistar Plus+‘s most-binged series, “Arde Madrid.” Costa’s directorial debut, “Simple” world premiered earlier this week in San Sebastian as a Movistar Plus+ world premiere. Produced by Movistar Plus+ in collaboration with Destrucción y Salvación, “Simple” turns on four young women in their twenties and thirties, who have reached a milestone in their lives: Sharing an apartment as truly independent adults. The series follows the flat mates, all of whom have disabilities, as they navigate the pressures of adulthood and the absurd norms imposed on them by society.

Brush past the terrible English title (also sometimes written as “That Was Life” which is marginally more comprehensible but still needlessly generic) and David Martín de los Santos‘ debut feature, titled in Spanish “La Vida Era Eso,” awaits to unfurl its superbly performed, constantly surprising, deeply moving series of everyday miracles on you.