Limelight announced today that Eugenio Derbez (CODA, Instructions Not Included), Eva Longoria (Sylvie’s Love, Overboard), Max Pelayo (Marisol), Reese Gonzales (“White Shoe”), Veronica Falcón (“Ozark”), Isabella Gomez (“One Day at a Time”), Luna Blaise (“Manifest”), and Kevin Alejandro (“Arrow”) have boarded Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. Aitch Alberto will make her directorial debut and wrote the script, which is adapted from the acclaimed YA novel of the same name by Benjamin Alire Sáenz.
The film is being financed by Limelight, who will also produce alongside 3Pas Studios and Big Swing Productions, in association with Boies Schiller Entertainment. Valerie Stadler, Kyra Sedgwick, Ben Odell, Eugenio Derbez, Lin-Manuel Miranda and 5000 Broadway Productions, Dylan Sellers and Chris Parker will produce. David Boies and Zack Schiller are executive producing, with CJ Barbato co-producing. Limelight, Boies Schiller Entertainment and 3Pas Studios recently collaborated on Spanish language comedy Cuando Sea Joven, a remake of the Korean hit movie, Ms. Granny, being released at Christmas.
Alberto said: “At its core, Ari and Dante tells a story of self-discovery and acceptance. My own journey helped me realize there is nothing more important than standing up and fully embracing who we are and being seen for it. I’m motivated to place a lens on male vulnerability that includes a more empathic and compassionate gaze that helps redefine masculinity specifically for the Latino/a/e/x community. To say this is a dream come true is an understatement.”
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe centers on the friendship between Aristotle “Ari” Mendoza and Dante Quintana, two Mexican American boys on the cusp of manhood who form a life-changing bond after a chance meeting at an El Paso pool in the summer of 1987.
