‘Birdman’s Alexander Denelaris and Resident Scripting New Film ‘Puerto Rico’
Exclusive: Academy Award winner Alexander Denelaris (Birdman, Revenant) is teaming up with multihyphenate Rene Perez Zogler, known professionally as The Resident, to co-write the new film. Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico A historical drama based on the life of Puerto Rican revolutionary José Maldonado Roman, known as Aguila Blanca (White Eagle), who settled on the island in the late 19th century. Maldonado fought against colonialism by leading a group of ex-convicts to recognize Roman Puerto Rico as it sought its identity as a country.
“It was amazing working with Alex,” Residente said in a statement about the screenwriter he met with Alejandro Gonzalez-Iñárritu. “It took me a while to find a great writer because I was looking for someone who was not only talented, but connected to the subject matter. I found both in Alex, an amazing writer who is very good at dialogue, as was evident. Birdman,” she added.
The Resident and Denelaris find that they share a special cultural connection through Puerto Rico, the island where both the Resident and Denelaris’ grandmothers were born. Danelaris’ passion for his ancestral land helped cement the partnership.
“When Renee and I met, I knew about her but wasn’t familiar with her work. When he sent me a treatment of his idea Puerto Rico, I was immediately hooked,” Dinelaris said. “My grandmother was from Ponce but I never got to visit my family there. I’ve always felt a connection to Puerto Rico, where I often get away—and where I wrote. Birdman And Still life. I enjoy the opportunity to explore its history, my history.”
Along the way, Dinelaris familiarized herself with the resident and her music, which helped her make the “easy decision” to partner with the artist. He said, “He and his work are defined by his courage, conviction and artistry; That’s what I admire about Alejandro, who has been my mentor, brother and partner.”
He continued, “I think we have an opportunity to tell a unique story and shed light on a corner of history that has so far been unexplored by a large part of the world. It is a story of spectacular courage and resilience of someone who refused to bend the knee at any cost. I I think it’s a story that deserves to be told now more than ever.”
The duo is already working on the screenplay with plans to share more big development news in the near future. Meanwhile, The Resident has shared an update on how the story is shaping up.
“The writing sessions have been amazing so far, says Resident. “We’re taking our time shaping the story and not just focusing on being clever or catchy but writing dialogue that creates an emotional connection, like I do music.”
Residente is a multi-award-winning Puerto Rican rapper, writer, filmmaker, and activist who has won more Latin Grammys than any other artist as of 2022. Apart from music, he has achieved recent success as a screenwriter and director. His projects include a self-titled documentary released in 2017 and the following doc Ruben Blades is not my name After a year. He was remade by CAA.
Dinelaris is best known for his award-winning work as a screenwriter Birdmanand as co-producer of the Academy Award-winning film, Revenant. Additional credits include the film Benjamin Millepied Carmen As well as writing and directing film adaptations of his plays, Still life. He is repped by CAA and Anonymous Content.
