Peña to Lifetime
Elizabeth Peña is slated to co-star with Emmy-winning actor Charles S. Dutton in an upcoming Lifetime original movie, Racing for Time, based on the true story of Noel Chesnut, a prison guard who created an unconventional sports program for some of the most violent female prisoners at a juvenile facility, while breaking down racial barriers in the process. Dutton is also directing the film, which will premiere in early 2008.
Telenovela Controversy
New NBC-TV co-chairman Ben Silverman is already leaning in an appropriately Latin-centric direction. Silverman, who, as a producer, tried to get NBC to pick up Ugly Betty (the network wanted it to be a half-hour sitcom so Silverman went to the more understanding ABC), has bought the rights to the hot Colombian telenovela, Sin tetas no hay paraiso (Without Breasts There is No Paradise) and is developing it as a probable new primetime series. The show has already created an uproar in its native country, and groups have been protesting its depiction of women and the culture: the storyline involves a young woman who is convinced that augmenting her breasts will help her escape poverty, but instead she ends up working as a prostitute amongst Colombia drug dealers. Simultaneously, NBC subsidiary Telemundo is producing a Spanish-language version with a different cast and script.
Caressing Univision
Caress, the maker of beauty products, has teamed with Univision to jointly produce a groundbreaking interactive novela entitled Mi Adorada Malena (My Beloved Malena), which offers viewers two alternate endings to vote on. It’s the network’s first novela ever to air on www.univision.com, where it premiered on July 10, and the six episodes will also air on primetime on the network itself. It’s also the first show to fully integrate the Caress brand (most notably Exotic Oil Infusions) into a storyline that, according to spokespeople, “celebrates strong and enchanting Latinas.”
