Fox has greenlit "Papi Chulo" for a July 1 production start, reports Variety.
"Papi Chulo" is set to be the first major-studio romantic comedy aimed squarely at Hispanic moviegoers.
The cast is relatively anonymous, but not to the target audience. Eduardo Verastegui stars in the title role, with Roselyn Sanchez ("Rush Hour 2"), Sofia Vergara ("Big Trouble") and singer Jaci Velasquez rounding out the quartet.
The film revolves around three women -- a lawyer from Chicago, a cocktail waitress from Miami and a wealthy New Yorker -- who discover a womanizer has been three-timing them. They decide to teach this "papi chulo" (literally "handsome daddy") a lesson, which leads them on a series of comic misadventures.
Verastegui came to prominence in Mexico with the boy band Kairo, and then became a staple of Mexican TV soaps before becoming a top-selling solo artist. By chance, he sat next to Fox head of casting Christian Kaplan on a plane ride to L.A. and was invited to audition for the film. The actresses in the film are also familiar to Hispanic audiences.
"There have been films like 'Selena,' but never a pure fun, bright comedy driven by Latinas, one which reflects the Hispanic cultural experience in America," said 20th Century Fox co-chairman Tom Rothman. "This is the first from a studio, targeted to what is the fastest growing moviegoing demographic nationwide. Giving them a big, glossy Hollywood movie that reflects their lives, culture and humor is a big opportunity for us."
The film is to be directed by Linda Mendoza, while actor/director Forest Whitaker is one of the producers.