[June 17, 2013, Update] More details were revealed about the film's cast, which will also feature Luis Gerardo Méndez as comedian Shilinsky, Ilse Salas as Cantinflas' ex-wife Valentina Ivanova, Roberto Sosa as musician Agustín Lara, Joaquín Cosío as filmmaker/actor Emilio El Indio Fernández, Julio Bracho as actor/singer Jorge Negrete, Bárbara Mori as American actress Liz Taylor, Ana Layevska as actress Miroslava, Adal Ramones as comedian Fernando Soto Mantequilla, and Ximena González Rubio as Mexican diva María Félix. According to the production team, the cost of the film will be over $3 million USD.
After many attempts, production delays, and different names tied to the project, several news agencies have confirmed the start of the shooting of the biopic of the late Mexican legendary comedian Mario Moreno 'Cantinflas' (pictured).
The Mexican-Spanish co-production film under the title Cantinflas will be directed by Mexican director Sebastián del Amo, and as it had previously been announced, will star Spanish actor Óscar Jaenada in the leading role.
Among the names that had been linked to the project were Mexican actor Diego Luna and director Alejandro Monteverde (Bella). Del Amo's debut feature film El fantástico mundo de Juan Orol / The Fantastic World of Juan Orol was also a biopic, it tells the story of the half-forgotten B-movie master.
Born in 1975, actor Jaenada (pictured right) has starred in many Spanish films, and is best known for his role in Sylvain White's The Losers. He appears in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides as The Spaniard. He won the Goya Award for Best Actor for his performance as flamenco legend Camarón in the film of the same name.
The Cantinflas biopic will star production in Mexico City on June 24. Born in 1911, Mario Moreno 'Cantinflas' became Mexico's greatest comedian whose popularity expanded well beyond Mexican borders.
