Darlene Caamaño
Encyclopedia
Darlene Carolynne Caamaño (born 17 November 1970) is a film producer
, who has been involved in the production of such films as Dan in Real Life
(2007), In the Valley of Elah
(2007) and The Air I Breathe
(2008). She has been president of NALA Films
since 2005, for which role she was named 6th on the Hispanic
Women "Power 25" list in 2007.
also studying at Fordham University
and under the "media communications program Big deal." She married Mark Stephen Loquet on October 14, 2000, and the two have a daughter, Chloe Katherine Loquet, born on January 18, 2007 in Pasadena
.
, Canal 34 in Los Angeles
, "research[ing] and wr[iting] daily news storys (sic) for the evening news casts." Leaving news to work in film, she assisted producer Jay Polstein at Trimark Pictures on the 1997 Samuel L Jackson-starring Eve's Bayou
, and the two were instrumental in the early development of Frida
with Salma Hayek
, before the project was bought by Miramax.
She then became Vice President of Production at Sandra Rabins and Penny Finkelman Cox's Dreamworks
production company Patchwork Productions, for whom she helped develop the animated features Chicken Run
, Antz
and Shrek
, as well as developing a project for Jennifer Lopez
called Mi Corazon, which was sold to New Line Cinema
, for which company Caamaño next served as Senior Vice President of Production, for New Line-based El Norte Productions, founded by director Gregory Nava
. With El Norte, she developed and sold Nava's Bordertown ("with Jennifer Lopez
, Antonio Banderas
and Martin Sheen
") and a co-production with Dreamworks and Paramount Pictures
: Killing Pablo by Mark Bowden. While with El Norte, she also supervised production of Nava's PBS series American Family.
, the only black man "ever to win an Olympic medal for fencing."
D-No sold several projects by Latin writing team Lalo Lopez (Lalo Alcaraz
) and Esteban Zul (of Pocho Productions) and both Caamaño-Loquet and Rosen shared executive producer credits on the 2007 film Dan in Real Life
, which they developed and sold to Walt Disney Pictures
. Starring Steve Carell
and Juliette Binoche
, the film was released by Touchstone
.
s "and those discovering Latin culture through distribution vehicles ranging from broadband and wireless to broadcasting and DVDs." At Voy, she worked with Emilio Diez Barroso
(the great-grandson Televisa
-founder Emilio "el Tigre" Azcarraga
) who joined the company as CEO of Voy Pictures and co-founder/president of its holding company, before founding NALA Films.
. NALA Films was co-founded by Caamaño-Loquet with Emilio Diez Barroso, as a subdivision of NALA Investments (founded in 1999), in 2005.
Caamaño Loquet is President of NALA Films, her role entailling "develop[ing], supervis[ing] and produc[ing] the financing/production company's feature film and television slate." Diez Barroso and NALA financed their first film - The Air I Breathe
- with money raised from private investors, "state subsidies" and "film subsidy programs" such as the fund run by the Mexico film institute Imcine. In addition, NALA took "a relatively conservative tack by shooting most pics in Mexico," where it "has fostered relationships with local state authorities." Diez Barroso, Caamaño-Loquet and Paul Schiff
- who brought the production to NALA - produced, in association with Paul Schiff Productions, (whose Tai Duncan co-executive produced with Christopher Pratt).
NALA's remit to produce works with Latin American talent attempts "to finance three to four English-language pics per year in the $6 million to $12 million range." Ultimately, the first film to be released (in association with Warner Bros.
) was the Oscar-nominated In the Valley of Elah
, starring Tommy Lee Jones
and Charlize Theron
. Dan in Real Life
(which Caamaño-Loquet developed earlier with Noah Rosen and their D-No Entertainment
) followed the same year, in association with Buena Vista
, while ThinkFilm
released The Air I Breathe at various film festivals throughout late 2007, and debuted in the USA on limited release in January 2008, with After Sex (starring Jane Seymour
) following a similar pattern.
), Open Grave (to be directed by Eduardo Rodriguez
), Night of Light (set to star Jason Patric
, and be directed by Norberto López Amado) and Only Ever You (to be directed by Griffin Dunne
). Also in production are La Magdalena - the company's first Spanish language production - and a more expensive project ($22m - $25m): the already-controversial "supernatural horror thriller" Shelter, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Julianne Moore
.
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, who has been involved in the production of such films as Dan in Real Life
Dan in Real Life
Dan in Real Life is a 2007 American comedy-drama film directed by Peter Hedges, starring Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche.-Plot:Dan Burns is a newspaper advice columnist, a widower, and a controlling father to his children Jane, Cara and Lilly in the New Jersey suburbs. His column is in...
(2007), In the Valley of Elah
In the Valley of Elah
In the Valley of Elah is a 2007 film written and directed by Paul Haggis, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, and Susan Sarandon. The film’s title refers to the Biblical valley where the battle between David and Goliath is said to have taken place....
(2007) and The Air I Breathe
The Air I Breathe
The Air I Breathe is the 2008 directorial film debut of Korean-American filmmaker Jieho Lee, who co-wrote the script with Bob DeRosa. It stars Kevin Bacon, Julie Delpy, Brendan Fraser, Andy Garcia, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Emile Hirsch, and Forest Whitaker...
(2008). She has been president of NALA Films
NALA Films
NALA Films is a film production and financing company, the production arm of .-Foundation:NALA Films, LLC was founded in 2005 by Emilio Diez Barroso , as the production arm of NALA Investments , an investment vehicle with a portfolio of holdings...
since 2005, for which role she was named 6th on the Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
Women "Power 25" list in 2007.
Biography
Caamaño was born on 17 November 1970. She gained a B.A. in Communications ("with an emphasis in journalism") from Azusa Pacific UniversityAzusa Pacific University
Azusa Pacific University is a private, inter-denominational, evangelical Christian university located near Los Angeles in suburban Azusa, California. It was founded in 1899, with classes opening on March 3, 1900 in Whittier, California. It began offering degrees in 1939...
also studying at Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
and under the "media communications program Big deal." She married Mark Stephen Loquet on October 14, 2000, and the two have a daughter, Chloe Katherine Loquet, born on January 18, 2007 in Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
.
Early career
Caamaño's earliest entertainment role was as an assignment editor at UnivisionUnivision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
, Canal 34 in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, "research[ing] and wr[iting] daily news storys (sic) for the evening news casts." Leaving news to work in film, she assisted producer Jay Polstein at Trimark Pictures on the 1997 Samuel L Jackson-starring Eve's Bayou
Eve's Bayou
Eve's Bayou is a 1997 American drama film written and directed by Kasi Lemmons, who made her directorial debut with this feature. Samuel L...
, and the two were instrumental in the early development of Frida
Frida
Frida is a 2002 biographical film which depicts the professional and private life of the surrealist Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. It stars Salma Hayek in her Academy Award nominated portrayal as Kahlo and Alfred Molina as her husband, Diego Rivera....
with Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek
Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez de Pinault is a Mexican film actress, director and producer. She received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role as Frida Kahlo in the film Frida.-Early life:...
, before the project was bought by Miramax.
She then became Vice President of Production at Sandra Rabins and Penny Finkelman Cox's Dreamworks
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...
production company Patchwork Productions, for whom she helped develop the animated features Chicken Run
Chicken Run
Chicken Run is a 2000 British stop-motion animation film made by the Aardman Animations studios, the production studio of the Oscar-winning Wallace and Gromit films...
, Antz
Antz
Antz is a 1998 American computer animated action adventure film produced by DreamWorks Animation. It features the voices of well-known actors such as Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Jennifer Lopez, Sylvester Stallone, Dan Aykroyd, Anne Bancroft, Gene Hackman, Christopher Walken, and Danny Glover as...
and Shrek
Shrek
Shrek is a 2001 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, featuring the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow. Loosely based on William Steig's 1990 fairy tale picture book Shrek!...
, as well as developing a project for Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
called Mi Corazon, which was sold to New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
, for which company Caamaño next served as Senior Vice President of Production, for New Line-based El Norte Productions, founded by director Gregory Nava
Gregory Nava
Gregory Nava is a film director, producer and screenplay writer, of Mexican and Basque heritage.-Education:...
. With El Norte, she developed and sold Nava's Bordertown ("with Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
, Antonio Banderas
Antonio Banderas
José Antonio Domínguez Banderas , better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish film actor, film director, film producer and singer...
and Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
") and a co-production with Dreamworks and Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
: Killing Pablo by Mark Bowden. While with El Norte, she also supervised production of Nava's PBS series American Family.
D-No Entertainment
In September 2001, Caamaño-Loquet founded (with Noah Rosen) D-No Entertainment as "a management/production company dedicated to the representation of Latin talent, and the production of their material." The company represented several writers and filmmakers and developed a number of projects, including one for Disney about Peter WestbrookPeter Westbrook
Peter Westbrook is a former American sabre fencing champion, active businessman and founder of the Peter Westbrook Foundation....
, the only black man "ever to win an Olympic medal for fencing."
D-No sold several projects by Latin writing team Lalo Lopez (Lalo Alcaraz
Lalo Alcaraz
Lalo Alcaraz is an Mexican-American cartoonist. He is most known for being the author of the comic La Cucaracha, the first nationally syndicated, politically themed Latino daily comic strip. Launched in 2002, La Cucaracha has become one of the most controversial in the history of American comic...
) and Esteban Zul (of Pocho Productions) and both Caamaño-Loquet and Rosen shared executive producer credits on the 2007 film Dan in Real Life
Dan in Real Life
Dan in Real Life is a 2007 American comedy-drama film directed by Peter Hedges, starring Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche.-Plot:Dan Burns is a newspaper advice columnist, a widower, and a controlling father to his children Jane, Cara and Lilly in the New Jersey suburbs. His column is in...
, which they developed and sold to Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
. Starring Steve Carell
Steve Carell
Steven John "Steve" Carell is an American comedian, actor, voice artist, producer, writer, and director. Although Carell is notable for his role on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he found greater fame in the late 2000s for playing Michael Scott on The Office...
and Juliette Binoche
Juliette Binoche
Juliette Binoche is a French actress, artist and dancer. She has appeared in more than 40 feature films, been recipient of numerous international accolades, is a published author and has appeared on stage across the world. Coming from an artistic background, she began taking acting lessons during...
, the film was released by Touchstone
Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures is an American film production label and is one of several film labels of the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. Established in 1984, its releases typically feature more mature themes and darker tones than those that are released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner.Touchstone...
.
Voy
After D-No Entertainment, Caamaño-Loquet ran development and production for Voy LLC - "a digital media company focused on delivering culturally relevant entertainment" to English-speaking LatinoLatino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
s "and those discovering Latin culture through distribution vehicles ranging from broadband and wireless to broadcasting and DVDs." At Voy, she worked with Emilio Diez Barroso
Emilio Diez Barroso
Emilio Diez Barroso is Co-Chairman and Founder of a private investment holding company, and founder and CEO of one of its subsidiaries: NALA Films.-Biography:...
(the great-grandson Televisa
Televisa
Televisa is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate, the largest mass media company in Latin America and in the Spanish-speaking world. It is a major international entertainment business, with much of its programming airing in the United States on Univision, with which it has an exclusive contract...
-founder Emilio "el Tigre" Azcarraga
Emilio Azcárraga
Emilio Azcárraga is the name of three members of the Azcárraga family:*Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta*Emilio Azcárraga Milmo, son of Vidaurreta*Emilio Azcárraga Jean, son of Milmo...
) who joined the company as CEO of Voy Pictures and co-founder/president of its holding company, before founding NALA Films.
NALA
NALA Films, LLC is a "film development, production and financing company that leverages Latin American talent, resources and incentives to efficiently produce English language motion pictures and facilitate their worldwide distribution," based in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. NALA Films was co-founded by Caamaño-Loquet with Emilio Diez Barroso, as a subdivision of NALA Investments (founded in 1999), in 2005.
Caamaño Loquet is President of NALA Films, her role entailling "develop[ing], supervis[ing] and produc[ing] the financing/production company's feature film and television slate." Diez Barroso and NALA financed their first film - The Air I Breathe
The Air I Breathe
The Air I Breathe is the 2008 directorial film debut of Korean-American filmmaker Jieho Lee, who co-wrote the script with Bob DeRosa. It stars Kevin Bacon, Julie Delpy, Brendan Fraser, Andy Garcia, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Emile Hirsch, and Forest Whitaker...
- with money raised from private investors, "state subsidies" and "film subsidy programs" such as the fund run by the Mexico film institute Imcine. In addition, NALA took "a relatively conservative tack by shooting most pics in Mexico," where it "has fostered relationships with local state authorities." Diez Barroso, Caamaño-Loquet and Paul Schiff
Paul Schiff
Paul Schiff is a film producer. His films include Mona Lisa Smile, Young Guns and its sequel Young Guns II, Epic Movie, and My Cousin Vinny....
- who brought the production to NALA - produced, in association with Paul Schiff Productions, (whose Tai Duncan co-executive produced with Christopher Pratt).
NALA's remit to produce works with Latin American talent attempts "to finance three to four English-language pics per year in the $6 million to $12 million range." Ultimately, the first film to be released (in association with Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
) was the Oscar-nominated In the Valley of Elah
In the Valley of Elah
In the Valley of Elah is a 2007 film written and directed by Paul Haggis, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, and Susan Sarandon. The film’s title refers to the Biblical valley where the battle between David and Goliath is said to have taken place....
, starring Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones is an American actor and film director. He has received three Academy Award nominations, winning one as Best Supporting Actor for the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive....
and Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron is a South African actress, film producer and former fashion model.She rose to fame in the late 1990s following her roles in 2 Days in the Valley, Mighty Joe Young, The Devil's Advocate and The Cider House Rules...
. Dan in Real Life
Dan in Real Life
Dan in Real Life is a 2007 American comedy-drama film directed by Peter Hedges, starring Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche.-Plot:Dan Burns is a newspaper advice columnist, a widower, and a controlling father to his children Jane, Cara and Lilly in the New Jersey suburbs. His column is in...
(which Caamaño-Loquet developed earlier with Noah Rosen and their D-No Entertainment
D-No Entertainment
D-No Entertainment is a small film production company founded in 2001.-Before D-No:D-No Entertainment founders producer Darlene Caamaño and manager Noah Rosen have worked individually in the entertainment industry for several years, and played a role in the sale, development and/or production of a...
) followed the same year, in association with Buena Vista
Buena Vista (Walt Disney Company)
Buena Vista is a brand name frequently used for divisions of The Walt Disney Company, whose primary studios and offices are located on Buena Vista Street in Burbank, California. It was originally created by Walt Disney in 1953 after the release of Peter Pan to distribute his film and television...
, while ThinkFilm
THINKFilm
THINKFilm is a privately held production and distribution company founded in September 2001. It has been a division of David Bergstein’s Capitol Films since 2006. Bergstein also serves as the company’s chairman...
released The Air I Breathe at various film festivals throughout late 2007, and debuted in the USA on limited release in January 2008, with After Sex (starring Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour (actress)
Jane Seymour, OBE is an English actress best known for her performances in the James Bond film Live and Let Die , East of Eden , Onassis: The Richest Man in the World , and the American television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman...
) following a similar pattern.
Up-coming films
Caamaño Loquet is currently producing a number of NALA Films projects, including Mr. Burnout (set to be directed by Paul DinelloPaul Dinello
Paul Dinello is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, and an alumnus of Chicago-based The Second City, Improv Institute, and Annoyance Theatre...
), Open Grave (to be directed by Eduardo Rodriguez
Eduardo Rodríguez
Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé is a former president of Bolivia; prior to that appointment he was the chief justice of the Supreme Court.-Background:...
), Night of Light (set to star Jason Patric
Jason Patric
Jason Patric is an American film, television and stage actor. He may be best-known for his roles in the films The Lost Boys, Sleepers, Your Friends & Neighbors, Narc, The Losers and Speed 2: Cruise Control. His father was actor/playwright Jason Miller...
, and be directed by Norberto López Amado) and Only Ever You (to be directed by Griffin Dunne
Griffin Dunne
-Personal life:Dunne was born Thomas Griffin Dunne in New York City, New York, the son of Ellen Beatriz Dunne and Dominick Dunne. His mother founded the victims' rights organization Justice for Homicide Victims and his father was a producer, writer, and actor...
). Also in production are La Magdalena - the company's first Spanish language production - and a more expensive project ($22m - $25m): the already-controversial "supernatural horror thriller" Shelter, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore is an American actress and a children's book author. Throughout her career, she has been nominated for four Oscars, six Golden Globes, three BAFTAs and nine Screen Actors Guild Awards....
.
Quotes
Caamaño Loquet's "Key to success":- "I don't take anything personally... Hollywood's tough, and you have to have your eye on the ball, and you have to keep that belief in yourself that you're here for a reason and you're going to succeed regardless of what's being thrown at you and the obstacles."