The Andy Garcia starrer -- the most expensive film ever produced in Mexico -- is the first local project to tap a generous new film fund.
Newland FilmsMEXICO CITY — The period piece Cristiada, Mexico’s most expensive production ever, is heading to U.S. theaters.
ARC Entertainment will release the Andy Garcia/Eva Longoria-starrer on June 1 with 700 prints stateside, according to producer NewLand Films. Here in Mexico, 20th Century Fox will go out with about 500 copies on April 20.
Cristiada is a studio-style English-language production that chronicles Mexico’s Cristero War in the 1920s. Boasting an international cast assembled by Spider-Man 2 casting director Dianne Crittenden, the film also features Peter O’Toole, Bruce Greenwood, Catalina Sandino (Maria Full of Grace) and singer-songwriter Ruben Blades.
It marks the directorial debut of Dean Wright, visual effects supervisor on two installments of The Chronicles of Narnia. Other notable technical credits include The Shawshank Redemption editor Richard Francis-Bruce and Avatar composer James Horner.
Shot in seven Mexican states last year, the production enjoyed an enormous budget by Mexican standards, where the average feature film runs about $2.5 million; Cristiada cost at least $20 million, according to industry sources.
Given the size of the project, businessman-turned-producer Pablo Jose Barroso told The Hollywood Reporter in an earlier interview that landing a U.S. distribution deal was crucial.
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