“300” star Rodrigo Santoro joins Will Smith in “Focus”August 20, 2013 - 11:51 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Rodrigo Santoro, who stars as Xerxes in 300: Rise of an Empire, will play the foil to Will Smith in Focus, the Warner Bros. heist movie being directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, The Hollywood Reporter said. Focus follows a con man (Smith) who becomes romantically involved with a novice, being played by Margot Robbie. He is then thrown off his game when the former flame shows up just as he’s staging an elaborate con in Buenos Aires. Santoro, who was born in Brazil, will play the magnetic and powerful owner of an international auto racing team who is vying for Robbie’s affections. He also hires Smith to gain a competitive edge for his racing team. Denise Di Novi is producing the picture, which will begin shooting in October in New Orleans and Buenos Aires. Courtenay Valenti is overseeing for the studio. Santoro just wrapped the much-talked-about Western Jane Got a Gun with Natalie Portman and is currently in Brazil starring in Carlos Saldanha’s segment of Rio I Love You. He is also lending his voice for Saldanha’s animated film Rio 2, which opens May 14, 2014. He was last seen in the indie feature Heleno, a black-and-white Portuguese-language film Santoro starred in and produced based on the life of one of Brazil’s greatest soccer players, Heleno de Freitas. Warners releases Rise of an Empire, in which he reprises his role of the mad Persian monarch Xerxes, on March 7, 2014. Top stories The creative crew of the Public TV had chosen 13-year-old Malena as a participant of this year's contest. She called on others to also suspend their accounts over the companies’ failure to tackle hate speech. Penderecki was known for his film scores, including for William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”. The festival made the news public on March 19, saying that “several options are considered in order to preserve its running” Partner news | Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Macron says France commemorates 109th anniv. of Armenian genocide Today France commemorates the 109th anniversary of the Armenian genocide of 1915, Macron says. Freedom House concerned by mounting reports of police violence in Armenia Freedom House urged Armenian authorities to investigate this pattern of excessive force and inhumane treatment. |