Santa Maria: Last News

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentPablo and Juan de Dios Larrain’s Chile-headquartered Fabula (“Spencer,” “A Fantastic Woman”) and Fremantle have tapped Argentina’s Eduardo Sacheri, co-writer of the Oscar-winning “The Secret in Their Eyes,” to write “Santa María,” an eight-part high-end series.Part of global producer-distributor Fremantle’s multi-year first look deal with Fabula, Fremantle will co-produce “Santa María” and handle its international distribution.Now in development, “Santa María” is set to be presented at this month’s Conecta Fiction & Entertainment in its highly select High-End section of five projects, weighing in as one of Conecta Fiction’s 31 titles which is sure to fire up most interest at the TV forum. An expansion of narrative reach for Fabula in line with its Prime Video series “El Presidente,” “Santa Maria” will be produced out of Fabula’s Mexico production beachhead.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large MANILA — Anyone who lived in Hawai’i in the early 1990s remember the story of the pint-sized Elvis impersonator in a Waikiki revue named Bruno Hernandez. He wasn’t even in grade school yet when he appeared on the cover of the local Midweek newspaper (which we all still remember), dressed fully as the King, and it soon landed him a role as an Elvis impersonator in the film “Honeymoon in Vegas.” In Hawaii, local fame is a big deal. And before he even hit 10, Bruno was a bit of local celebrity. The cute kid already had the kind of style, performing chops and showmanship that some spend a lifetime trying to attain. Definitely not the kind of thing that even crossed my mind when I was in elementary school, living in the Philippines. Coincidentally, that’s where I was on Sunday night, watching Bruno Mars perform so effortlessly on stage at the Philippine Arena (in Santa Maria, Bulacan, about 30 km north of Manila, and about 75 km away where I once lived).

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterA judge in Santa Maria, Calif., on Tuesday dismissed a rape case against film producer David Guillod, weeks after another judge threw out most of the charges against him.Guillod was accused of raping or sexually assaulting six women, including actress Jessica Barth. But after a 10-day preliminary hearing in May, Judge James K. Voysey found that the accusations of four of the women were not credible enough to go to trial.Voysey took note of text messages in which one alleged victim said, after the alleged rape, that she was looking forward to “dinner and some cuddles” with Guillod.

Fabula-Fremantle’s “Santa Maria,” Leticia Dolera’s “Puberty” and “Fata Morgana,” a Western thriller executive produced by Béla Tarr, all feature at this year’s vastly expanded Conecta Fiction & Entertainment.In further news announced Monday, Conecta Fiction will also stage the European premiere of Star Plus’ “Santa Evita,” executive produced by Salma Hayek Pinault and José Tamez, starring Natalia Oreiro, Ernesto Alterio, Darío Grandinetti and one of Disney’s most anticipated titles Spanish-language titles.“Santa Evita” tells the true events-based and extraordinary story of the odyssey of Argentine First Lady Eva Perón’s embalmed body over three decades, her elevation to near sainthood saying much about Argentina and Latin America at large.