Shubhabrata Dutta
Gabriel Beristain will wear a feature filmmaker’s hat after over two decades! The Cinemaholic can reveal that the director will helm the action movie ‘Defenders’ next. Clint Cadinha wrote the screenplay. The plot centers on five high school seniors from Norman, Oklahoma, who secretly train in a unique system of kung fu. With their inherent supernatural abilities and skills to don disguises, they fight against a gang of bullies taking over their school. The cast and filming details of the project remain under wraps.
Beristain is best known as a cinematographer who shot several high-profile projects, the latest being Jason Statham‘s action thriller movie ‘The Beekeeper‘ and Zachary Levi’s comedy movie ‘Harold and the Purple Crayon.’ He also has been a frequent collaborator of Marvel Studios, having shot ‘Black Widow’ and worked on projects such as ‘Thor: Ragnarok,’ ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’ ‘Agent Carter,’ ‘Hawkeye,’ ‘Thor: The Dark World,’ ‘Iron Man 3,’ and ‘The Avengers.’
Beristain was part of the crew of several David Ayer films before serving as the DOP of ‘The Beekeeper,’ including the superhero movie ‘Suicide Squad,’ the war drama ‘Fury,’ and the crime drama ‘Street Kings.’ His other notable credits include Michael Caleo’s comedy film ‘The Last Time,’ starring Michael Keaton, Wesley Snipes’ ‘Blade II’ and ‘Blade: Trinity,’ and Frank Darabont’s crime fantasy drama ‘The Green Mile,’ starring Tom Hanks.
Beristain’s last feature directorial work dates back to a 2000 thriller titled ‘El Grito,’ starring Olivia Hussey and Steven Bauer. The film centers on a woman named Estela, who takes up a reporting job and writes about the gruesome murders of rich men’s mistresses for the titular tabloid. The filmmaker gained experience as a director by helming episodes of television shows like the drama series ‘Eleven Days in Hell,’ which centers on the life of the Mexican-American druglord Fred Gomez Carrasco, and CBS’ crime drama series ‘Hawaii Five-0,’ which focuses on a special task force led by a United States Navy officer.
Beristain worked extensively on the action-adventure drama series ‘MacGyver,’ shooting over twenty episodes and directing three. The series follows a young Angus “Mac” MacGyver, who works for a clandestine government unit and uses unconventional problem-solving skills to save lives. The filmmaker’s latest directorial venture is the documentary ‘Fidel Up Close,’ based on the life of Cuban politician Fidel Castro, which he co-directed with Roberto Chile and Eduardo Flores Torres.
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