Eva Longoria will direct an adaptation of Xochitl Gonzalez’s novel “Anita de Monte Laughs Last” with the spotlight, reuniting the multi-hyphenate Hollywood star with the studio that released her directorial debut “Flamin’ Hot.”
Gonzalez’s 2024 novel tells the story of a first-generation Ivy League student who discovers the genius work of a female artist decades after her suspicious death. Searchlight describes it as “a propulsive and witty examination of power, love, and art, daring to ask who is remembered and who is left behind in the rarefied world of the elite.”
Gonzalez will write the screenplay for his novel and produce with Longoria, the latter of whom is producing his hyphenate track. Cris Abrego and Jada Miranda are also producing.
Senior Vice President of Production Taylor Friedman and Creative Executive Daniel Yu will be overseeing the project for Search, reporting to Co-Heads of Production and Development Dantram Nguyen and Katie Goodson-Thomas.
Longoria, who most recently hosted the CNN Travel Shows “Looking for Spain” and “Looking for Mexico,” is set to host a third season of the France-set series and is also set to direct the Netflix comedy “The Fifth Wheel.” She is represented by WME, Linden Entertainment, and Yorn, Levine, Barnes, Krintzman, Rubenstein, Kohner, Endlich, Goodell & Gellman.
Gonzalez, a Pulitzer Prize finalist for the Atlantic, adapted her 2022 debut novel “Olga Dies Dreaming” into a pilot for Hulu. She is represented by CAA, Entertainment 360, and Granderson Des Rochers, LLP.
