“Half Brothers” Feature Starts Production In New Mexico For Focus Features

New Mexico Film Office Director Todd Christensen announced that the feature film “Half Brothers,” a moving comedy with heart in the vein of “Little Miss Sunshine,” “Green Book,” and “Rain Man,” will start production in New Mexico on July 15. The film is being directed by Luke Greenfield (“The Girl Next Door,” “Let’s Be Cops”) and produced by Jason Shuman (“Role Models,” “Lone Survivor”) and Eduardo Cisneros (“Instructions Not Included,” “The Obituary of Tunde Johnson”), from a screenplay written by Shuman and Cisneros. Focus Features will distribute the movie domestically, and Universal Pictures International will handle foreign distribution.

Luis Gerardo Méndez will executive produce and star in “Half Brothers.” Méndez can currently be seen in the film “Murder Mystery” opposite Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, and will appear this fall in the upcoming “Charlie’s Angels” reboot opposite Kristen Stewart. He previously starred in and executive produced the popular Spanish-language series “Club de Cuervos.”

In “Half Brothers,” Méndez stars as Renato, a successful Mexican aviation executive who is shocked to discover he has an American half-brother he never knew about, the free-spirited Asher, played by Connor Del Rio (“Unfriended: Dark Web,” “Level Up”). The two very different half-brothers are forced on a road journey together masterminded by their ailing father, tracing the path their father took as an immigrant from Mexico to the US. They are joined by Juan Pablo Espinosa (“El Secretario”), portraying a man whose history isn’t as simple as it seems.

Also serving as executive producer is Udi Nedivi (“Wedding Crashers,” “Creed ll”), with Jason Benoit (“Safe House,” “The Last Airbender”) as co-producer. Other key members of the production team are director of photography Thomas Scott Stanton (“Take Me to the River,” “Benji”), production designer RA Arancio-Parrain (“Odd Thomas,” “Safe Haven”), and costume designer Daniela Moore (“The Last Stand,” “Gamer”).

Based in Albuquerque, “Half Brothers” will film in New Mexico from mid July until late August, shooting on location in and around Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Cedar Crest, Los Lunas, and Hatch. The movie will employ approximately 150 New Mexico crew members, 30 New Mexico actors and stunt performers, and 300 background players. Background talent will include numerous Hispanic males, females, and children ages 1-12. Individuals wishing to be cast as background talent should send an email with their photograph and phone number to Robert Baxter at: [email protected].