Cast (Interview)
Hector Elizondo | Jacqueline Obradors | Elizabeth Peña | Tamara Mello
Nikolai Kinski | Paul Rodriguez | Raquel Welch
Constance Marie | Joel Joan

Crew
María Ripoll| Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. | John Bard Manulis | Vera Blasi
Tom Musca | Ramón Menéndez

Soundtrack

Trailers
Real Player, Hi-Res
Real Player, Med-Res
Real Player, Lo-Res

Review

HECTOR ELIZONDO - Martin

A versatile actor with credits in television, film, and theatre, Hector Elizondo is considered by director/producer Garry Marshall to be his "good luck charm" and as such is offered a role in each of his movies.

A native New Yorker, Elizondo first gained recognition on the New York stage for his portrayal of God in "Steambath," which earned him an Obie Award. High praise followed for his Broadway roles in Neil Simon's "Prisoner of Second Avenue," "The Great White Hope," and "Sly Fox," for which he received a Drama Desk Award nomination.

Elizondo won the raves of critics and the hearts of the public as the acerbic, but warm-hearted hotel manager in Marshall's mega-hit Pretty Woman. Another role equally satisfying to him was as Dr. Walters in the David E. Kelly hospital drama "Chicago Hope." Hector's other film and television credits include: American Gigolo, Nothing in Common, Beverly Hills Cop III, Runaway Bride, The Flamingo Kid, The Other Sister, Frankie and Johnny, "All in the Family," "Maude," "The Rockford Files," "Picket Fences" and "Hill Street Blues."

JACQUELINE OBRADORS - Carmen

Who knew that the simple question "paper or plastic?" could result in a starring role opposite Harrison Ford in a major studio film? Certainly not Jacqueline Obradors, who was discovered by a producer when she was a checker in a grocery store. This occurred in 1998 when she starred alongside Ford, David Schwimmer and Anne Heche in Six Days, Seven Nights for Touchstone Pictures.

The San Femando Valley native's transition from clerk to leading lady, however, did not happen overnight. Known to friends as "Jackie 0," Obradors began her film career in 1993's Red Sun Rising. Other film roles include Deuce Bigalo: Male Gigolo, The Waiter co-starring David Schwimmer, Crossing Over, Soldier Boyz, and The Last Bachelor.

Television credits include "Vanishing Son," "The People," "Battery Park," "Jesse," and "Silk Stalkings."

ELIZABETH PEÑA - Letitcia

Raised in Cuba, Elizabeth Peña began performing as a child. In 1969, she moved with her parents to Manhattan, where her father established himself as an actor, director, and writer. Her mother became the administrator of the Latin American Theatre Ensemble. Peña made her movie debut, El Super, directly after graduating from the High School of the Performing Arts.

Other films credits include: Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Batteries Not included, Jacob's Ladder, The Waterdance, Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home, Lone Star, Rush Hour, and Strangeland.

Television appearances include: "Hill Street Blues," "Dream On," "L.A. Law," and "The Outer Limits." Peña currently stars in the cable drama "Resurrection Blvd."

TAMARA MELLO - Maribel

Though born and raised in Southern California, Tamara in her early years had no inclinations toward the entertainment industry. She began auditioning for roles as a hobby during her first year of high school. During a production of "Agnes of God," Mello caught the eye of a talent agent who asked her to sign on as a client.

She soon began appearing in guest starring roles on various television series, which led to her role in the ABC-TV comedy "Nothing Sacred" as a series regular. Tamara was most recently in the ensemble cast of the WB series "Popular" as Lily.

Film roles include She's All That, The Spanish Judges, and the forthcoming Carlo's Wake with Rita Moreno.

NIKOLAI KINSKI - Andy
Born in Paris to the late great actor Klaus Kinski, Nikolai trekked around the globe for four years with his French-Vietnamese mother before finally nesting in Northern California.

His cinematic debut was in his father's 1989 production of Paganini, a character that Klaus identified very closely with. Nikolai's next film was Jamila, a WWII drama shot in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan that co-starred F. Murray Abraham and Jason Connery. Nikolai has also performed in the multimedia production of "Nosferatu," a film role made famous by his father in the 1979 remake.

PAUL RODRIGUEZ - Orlando

Rodriguez, who was born in Mazatlan, Mexico, moved to East Los Angeles as a young boy. In 1977, after a stint in the Air Force, he entered Long Beach City College on the G.I. Bill, obtaining an Associate Arts degree.

He then went across town to California State University, intent on becoming an attorney. During an elective theatre course, he worked behind the scenes on a production of "The Glass Menagerie." Rodriguez' comic wise-cracks prompted his acting teacher to take him to the Comedy Store in Los Angeles for "amateur night." The club's owner offered Paul the job of working the door and the opportunity for nightly stints on stage.

His first big break came while doing comedy warm-ups for "Gloria," a Norman Lear-created show. Lear ultimately wrote and developed a weekly series for Paul called "a.k.a. Pablo," which focused on the life of a Mexican-American family. Rodriguez went on to star in two other series, "Trial and Error" and "Grand Slam." His film credits include D.C. Cab, Miracles, The Whoopee Boys, Quicksilver, Born in East L.A., and A Million to Juan, which he also directed. Rodriguez has also appeared on the cable series "Resurrection Blvd." with his TORTILLA SOUP co-star Elizabeth Peña.

RAQUEL WELCH - Hortensia

Born Jo Raquel Tejada in Chicago, Illinois, actress Raquel Welch became an instant icon when she burst onto the movie scene in the science fiction classics, Fantastic Voyage and One Million Years, B.C. From this unforgettable beginning, Raquel went on to create several film heroines in such films as The Three Musketeers (Golden Globe "Best Actress" award), 100 Rifles, Hannie Colder, and Mother, Juggs and Speed. Appearing in over forty films, Raquel has shown remarkable versatility - from roller derby queen in Kansas City Bomber to seductress in Bedazzled, to the outrageous Myra in the underground classic Myra Breckinridge. She currently has a role in Legally Blonde starring Reese Witherspoon.

Her unprecedented record-breaking triumph in Broadway's Woman of The Year was followed by much praise and nightly ovations when she replaced Julie Andrews in Victor/Victoria.

Raquel's television credits include Central Park West, Seinfeld, and Spin City. Her next tv role will be in PBS' forthcoming debut into series programming, American Family. Raquel portrays Edward James Olmos' sister who aspires to be an actress. Again as in Tortilla Soup, she is living next door and part of a winning ensemble that includes Sonia Braga and Constance Marie.

She is the recipient of this year's Imagen Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award, which honors positive representations of Latinos and Latin culture. Raquel became a role model for women with the publication of Raquel: Total Beauty and Fitness. In addition to The Raquel Welch Wig Collection, she will be offering fans Raquel Timeless Beauty, a skincare line to be launched in September.

CONSTANCE MARIE - Yolanda
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Marie's first entry into entertainment was as a dancer in David Bowie's Glass Spider Tour. When she returned to the U.S., she won the role of a series regular on the CBS series "Dirty Dancing."

Her first film role was in Gregory Nava's 1995 film My Family/Mi Familia. She re-teamed with Nava in Selena, portraying Jennifer Lopez' mother. After seeing her in Selena, producer Gary David Goldberg cast her as Michael J. Fox's love interest in "Spin City." She recently starred opposite Edward James Olmos in Gregory Nava's one-hour pilot "An American Family" on CBS.

JOEL JOAN - Antonio
One of Spain's most sought-after actors, Joel Joan makes his American film debut with Tortilla Soup. Since earning a degree in acting from the Institute de Teatro de Barcelona, Joan has appeared in a number of Spanish films that have included: Platos Sucios, Periodistas, Sitges, Poble Nou, Monturiol, el senyor del mar, Rosita, Please!, La Buena Vida, and El Corazon del guerrero.

MARÍA RIPOLL - Director
María Ripoll says that the urge to make movies came to her from reading two books in particular: Francois Truffaut's classic book of interviews with Alfred Hitchcock and My Last Sigh, by her countryman, Luis Bunuel.

A lover of American films (Martin Scorsese, David Lynch and Elia Kazan are among her favorites), she trained as a film director at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles from 1990 to 1991. There she directed three short films: Drink Up, Undercurrent, and The Living is Easy. She also studied screenwriting and drama direction at USC.

Other directing credits include the short film Bar, which won first prize at the Huesca Festival in 1988; Kill Me Later, which won first prize at the Oberhausen Film Festival in 1993 and a Panavision Grant at the Houston Film Festival, and Veo Veo.

From 1994-95, Ripoll was a commercial director for Rodar and Rodar Productions in Spain. In 1996, her episode of El Dominio de Los Sentidos (Every Sense Woman) won the Audience Award at the Alcala de Benares Film Festival.

Her feature film The Man with Rain in his Shoes (aka Twice Upon a Yesterday) won the Audience Award at the Seattle Film Festival and the Sitges/Barcelona Film Festival, and was released in the U.S. by Trimark Pictures.

Ripoll continues working as a freelance director for Spain's Canal + and recently completed "A Flor de Pel," a television drama series for Canal 9, Spain.

SAMUEL GOLDWYN, Jr. - Executive Producer
A risk taker and a survivor is the best way to describe Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. Having spent most of his life in the entertainment industry, Mr. Goldwyn has produced some of the industry's most ground-breaking and acclaimed films. His work has left an indelible impression on several generations of film audiences.

Mr. Goldwyn currently presides over The Samuel Goldwyn Company -- whose activities encompass feature film development, production and distribution. A long-time member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, he also is an officer of the French Order of Arts and Letters. In 1997 at ShowEast, he was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of American Exhibitors. Most recently, he was honored by the University of Connecticut with a Doctorate of the Arts.

Taking chances on films that no other studio would is an important element in Mr. Goldwyn's life. Some of these gems include bringing films based on Shakespearean scripts back into favor with Kenneth Branagh's Henry V and, later, Much Ado About Nothing. Never one to back away from controversy, he presented the AIDS drama Longtime Companion at a time when the American population and the media were avoiding the subject at all costs. Desert Hearts, another Goldwyn film, dealt with the then taboo topic of a lesbian relationship.

Three Goldwyn films have captured the prestigious Palme d'Or at Cannes David Lynch's Wild at Heart, Bille August's The Best Intentions, and Steven Soderbergh's Sex, Lies and Videotape. Foreign films are another passion, having released The Best Intentions, 3 Men and A Cradle, Luc Besson's La Femme Nikita, the recent Faithless, and Ang Lee's Oscar-nominated classics Wedding Banquet and Eat Drink Man Woman.

He has also been a champion of fine documentary works, highlighted by the Oscar-winning Hotel Terminus, the multi-Award-winning 35 Up, Sting's Bring on the Night and the critically-acclaimed Mystery of Picasso.

He has consistently found a talent pool in Great Britain, producing and presenting such films as Gregory's Girl from director Bill Forsyth, Anthony Minghella's Truly, Madly, Deeply, and the multi-Oscar nominated Madness of King George featuring first time first director Nicholas Hytner and "overnight" sensation Nigel Hawthorne.

As a producer, he has garnered a reputation as a "discoverer" of talent having provided the forum to launch the careers of numerous stars, producers, directors and writers. Goldwyn's Mystic Pizza introduced Julia Roberts as a leading lady, Once Bitten showcased the talents of then unknown comedian Jim Carrey; Hollywood Shuffle served as the springboard for the talented Robert Townsend, and filmmaker Jim Jarmusch and his first film, Stranger Than Paradise.

Among the other films that Goldwyn has produced and/or distributed include Better Than Sex, Solas, Greenfingers, and King of Masks. Other notable company productions and releases include Lolita starring Jeremy Irons, The Preacher's Wife with Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston, Big Night, I Shot Andy Warhol, Angels and Insects, To Live, A Prayer for the Dying, Sid and Nancy, Turtle Diary, Prick Up Your Ears, Black Robe, Mississippi Masala, The Playboys, and Dance with a Stranger.

He also was responsible for the television phenomenon, "American Gladiators" which ran for seven seasons in the U.S. and around the world.

In 1987 Mr. Goldwyn took on the monumental task of producing the 59th Annual Academy Awards. The Academy invited him back the following year and Mr. Goldwyn was rewarded with an Emmy Award for Best Variety-Music Programming for his efforts on that show.

In the early 1970's he produced two successful comedies which helped set the tone for an emerging genre, the black film cycle, with Cotton Comes to Harlem starring Godfrey Cambridge and Come Back Charleston Blue. Two 1990s releases also helped pave the way for future works by black filmmakers To Sleep with Anger and Straight Out of Brooklyn.

The son of legendary producer Samuel Goldwyn and actress Frances Howard, Mr. Goldwyn was born and raised in Los Angeles. He later attended the University of Virginia where he majored in English and Drama.

After a stint in the Army during World War II, he went to work in England for J. Arthur Rank Productions as a writer and associate producer and also spent some time in various capacities in the London theatre. Returning to Hollywood, he worked for a short time as writer and producer at Universal Studios before once again joining the military in 1950. This time, he joined the staff of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, where he produced and directed documentary films. His "Alliance for Peace" won first prize at the Edinburgh Film Festival, serving as an auger of things to follow.

Returning to the U.S. in 1952, he picked up where he left off, working for a time under Edward R. Murrow at CBS News. He went on to co-produce the documentary series, "Adventure," which won a George Foster Peabody Award. In 1955, Mr. Goldwyn formed his own independent production company. Among the company's productions were Man with a Gun with Robert Mitchum, Sharkfighters, The Proud Rebel with Alan Ladd and Olivia de Havilland, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and The Young Lovers, which he also directed.

The new Goldwyn Company was founded in 1979 stemming from Mr. Goldwyn's vision for a motion picture company with the scope of a major studio and the heart of an old-fashioned family business. Using more than 50 classic American films owned by the original company as building blocks, classics such as Wuthering Heights, Pride of the Yankees, Best Years of Our Lives, Guys and Dolls, Hans Christian Anderson, and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, the company continues to build a library of fine films.

In addition to his role as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at The Samuel Goldwyn Company, Mr. Goldwyn serves as President of The Samuel Goldwyn Foundation, a non-profit organization with a primary interest in health, education and child services. The Foundation sponsors a yearly writing competition for the University of California system, which has a proven track record of launching the careers of talented young screenwriters. The Foundation also constructed the Hollywood Public Library in memory of Frances Howard Goldwyn and created the Samuel Goldwyn Foundation Children's Center, a day care center serving the entertainment industry.

JOHN BARD MANULIS - Producer
Mr. Manulis is President of Foundation Entertainment, dedicated to building a creative ecosystem within the film, theater, television and new media communities, and the CEO of Visionbox Pictures, a digital production company focused on producing and representing feature films and episodic series with both traditional and new media applications.

Manulis' producing credits include The Basketball Diaries, Swing Kids, Daybreak and Foxfire. As Head of Filmed Entertainment for Samuel Goldwyn Films, he supervised the production and/or acquisition of such films as The Madness of King George, The Chambermaid, American Buffalo, Angels and Insects, I Shot Andy Warhol, Bent, Kissed, The Preacher's Wife, Big Night," Adrian Lyne's Lolita and The King of Masks.

He has served as Senior Vice President of production for Chestnut Hill Productions, Vice President, Motion Pictures of Edgar J. Scherick Associates, and Head of Production for Nederlander Television and Film Productions, producing or executive producing projects.

VERA BLASI - Writer
Born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil, Vera Blasi moved to the United States and earned her BA from the College of Notre Dame in the San Francisco Bay Area. Following graduation, Blasi attended the American Film Institute in Los Angeles; where she received a Master of Fine Arts degree in screenwriting. Blasi also was the recipient of an AFI grant for her first screenplay "Stuff." Her first script, Woman on Top, became a feature film starring Penelope Cruz.

TOM MUSCA - Writer
Tom Musca made his feature film debut as a writer-director with Race, his satire of a Los Angeles City Council election starring Cliff Robertson, Paul Rodriguez and CCH Pounder. Race was broadcast on and the Showtime pay cable network.

Previously, Musca produced and co-wrote Stand and Deliver with director Ramón Menéndez. The Warner Bros. film starred Edward James Olmos, who earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination, and featured Lou Diamond Phillips and Andy Garcia. Stand and Deliver won six Independent Spirit Awards (the most ever for a film).

Partnering again with Ramón Menéndez, Mr. Musca produced and co-wrote Hollywood Pictures' Money For Nothing, which starred John Cusack, James Gandolfini, Benicio del Toro, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Michael Madsen.

Raised in New Jersey, Musca is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Rutgers University and went on to earn a Masters of Fine Arts degree at UCLA Film School where he twice won the Rod Serling award. Immediately after graduation, he sold his first screenplay, Little Nikita, which starred Sidney Poitier and River Phoenix. Television credits include working as Executive Story Consultant as well as writing several episodes of the NBC television series You Again?

Mr. Musca's theatre credits include adapting Stand and Deliver for the stage and producing Mark Kemble's blacklist drama, Names, starring Dixie Carter, which was among National Public Radio's Top Ten plays for 1996.

RAMÓN MENÉNDEZ - Writer
Recently Menéndez co-wrote and is slated to direct Kick it Up which is currently in pre-production at the Disney Channel.

In feature films, Menéndez directed and co-wrote Hollywood Pictures' Money For Nothing, starring John Cusack, Benicio del Toro, James Gandolfini, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Michael Madsen. Menéndez also directed and co-wrote Warner Brothers' Stand and Deliver, starring Edward James Olmos, Lou Diamond Phillips and Andy Garcia. Mr. Olmos received an Oscar nomination for his role. Stand and Deliver also won six IFP awards. The film also received the Imagen Award, the Christopher Award, and the Nosotros Golden Eagle Award.

In television, Menéndez directed an episode entitled Given the Heir for HBO's Perversions of Science, starring Yancy Butler and William McNamara. During a previous season, he directed an episode entitled The Bribe for HBO's Tales From the Crypt, starring Terry O'Quinn, Kimberly Williams, and Esai Morales. As a commercial director, Menéndez has created national and regional television spots for Coca-Cola and Southwestern Bell.

A native of Cuba, Menéndez has a B.A. in Theaters Arts from San Francisco State University. He holds an MFA from UCLA Film School. His first screenplay Exiles became a Samuel Goldwyn Award finalist. Menéndez continued his film studies in the Directors Program at the American Film Institute. After film school, Menéndez traveled throughout Central America with the PBS series Frontline and later as a stringer for CBS News.