Eva Longoria (Flamin’ Hot) is re-teaming with Searchlight Pictures to direct Xochitl Gonzalez’s film adaptation of her own novel Anita de Monte Laughs Last. Longoria will also produce through Hyphenate Media Group, her prodco with Cris Abrego, and with Jada Miranda.
The New York Times bestseller tells the story of a first-generation Ivy League student who uncovers the genius work of a female artist decades after her suspicious death. Anita de Monte Laughs Last is a propulsive examination of power, love, and art, daring to ask who gets to be remembered and who is left behind in the rarefied world of the elite.
The book was on Reese’s Book Club Pick and listed as Best Book of 2024 by Kirkus, TIME, NPR, Goodreads, Electric Lit and more.
Longoria and Searchlight last teamed on the 2023 feature Flamin’ Hot, which served as the multihyphenate’s feature directorial debut. Based on the novel A Boy, a Burrito and a Cookie: From Janitor to Executive by Richard Montañez, the feature stars Jesse Garcia, Annie Gonzalez and Tony Shalhoub. The Yvette Chávez and Lewis Colick-written dramedy received multiple awards and nominations, including an Oscar nod for Best Original Song.
SVP of Production Taylor Friedman and Creative Executive Daniel Yu will be overseeing Anita de Monte Laughs Last for Searchlight Pictures, reporting to Co-Heads of Production and Development DanTram Nguyen and Katie Goodson-Thomas.
Gonzalez published her debut novel Olga Dies Dreaming, in 2022, which became a New York Times Best Seller and was ordered to pilot by Hulu, which Gonzalez adapted. She is a staff writer at The Atlantic and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for her work there. She is repped by CAA, Entertainment 360 and Granderson Des Rochers, LLP.
Longoria’s recent work also includes Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain, an eight-part CNN Original series chronicling her immersive gastronomic journey across Spain, following the success of her previous Searching for Mexico. It was also recently announced that Longoria will expand the “Searching For” franchise with Searching for France, which is currently in production. Through her company, Hyphenate Media Group, Longoria champions creator-led stories for global audiences. She has a history of directing over the last decade, with past credits including the boxing documentary La Guerra Civil for DAZN. Up next, she will also direct the Paula Pell-penned Netflix comedy The Fifth Wheel with Gloria Sanchez producing. Longoria is repped by WME, Linden Entertainment, and Yorn, Levine, Barnes.
