Enrique Murciano to Star in Michelle Danner’s Courtroom Drama “Miranda’s Victim”

Enrique Murciano is heading to court

The 48-year-old Cuban American actor will star in Michelle Danner’s courtroom drama Miranda’s Victim.

Enrique MurcianoMurciano appears on a list of new cast additions that includes Emily VanCamp, Sebastian Quinn, Brent Sexton and Josh Bowman.

They join a stacked ensemble led by Abigail Breslin, which also includes Luke Wilson, Andy Garcia, Donald Sutherland, Ryan Phillippe, Mireille Enos, Kyle MacLachlan and Taryn Manning, as previously announced.

The film will tell the true story of Trish Weir (Breslin), who in 1963 was kidnapped and brutally raped by Ernesto Miranda (Quinn). Committed to putting her assailant in prison, Trish’s life is destroyed by America’s legal system as she triggers a law that transforms the nation. Her case notably results in the establishment of the Miranda rights afforded to criminal suspects taken in police custody, to ensure the admissibility of statements made during interrogation, as part of subsequent criminal proceedings.

Murciano will portray Detective Cooley.

The film, written by George Kolber and J. Craig Stiles, is currently in production in New Jersey.

The production company involved is Navesink River Productions.

Murciano played Detective Marco Diaz on Netflix’s popular crime drama Bloodline and has also been seen on such series as PanicTell Me Your SecretsBriarpatch, The Blacklist, Hap and Leonard and Power. Notable film credits include Bright, Rough NightDawn of the Planet of the Apes and Black Hawk Down. He’ll next be seen in the HBO Max rom-com Father of the Bride and Netflix’s series The Night Agent.

Andy Garcia to Star in the Courtroom Drama “Miranda’s Victim”

Andy Garcia is heading to court…

The 66-year-old Cuban actor will star in the courtroom drama Miranda’s Victim from director Michelle Danner, with production on the project underway in New Jersey.

Andy GarciaGarcia will star opposite Abigail BreslinLuke Wilson and Donald Sutherland  in the film, which is written by J. Craig Stiles and George Kolber.

The film will tell the true story of Trish Weir (Breslin), who in 1963 was kidnapped and brutally raped by Ernesto Miranda. Committed to putting her assailant in prison, Trish’s life is destroyed by America’s legal system as she triggers a law that transforms the nation.

Wilson will play Lawrence Turoff, the country prosecutor that convinces Trish to testify and helps her bring her aggressor to justice, with Garcia as public defender Alvin Moore, who takes on Miranda’s case, and Sutherland as Judge Wren, who convicts Miranda for the rape of Weir.

Danner and Kolber are producing alongside Valerie Debler, Brian Drillinger and Alexandra Guarnieri.

The production company involved is Navesink River Productions.

“The first time I read George Kolber’s riveting script and learned about Trish’s experience, it moved and inspired me,” said Danner. “”Miranda’s Victim” puts us at the intersection between a brutal rape case and and a national movement for civil liberties.”

Garcia is an Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy nominee whose recent film credits include Guy Ritchie’s Jason Statham actioner Wrath of Man; the comedy Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, with Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo and Jamie Dornan; the romantic drama Words on Bathroom Walls, with Charlie Plummer and Taylor Russell; Clint Eastwood’s crime drama, The Mule; Sacha Gervasi’s Emmy-nominated TV movie My Dinner with Hervé for HBO; Ol Parker’Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again; and the comedy Book Club, with Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda and Candice Bergen.

The actor’s credits on the television side include RebelFlipped and Ballers.

He’ll next be seen in Warner Bros. and HBO Max’s Father of the Bride; the romantic drama What About Love, with Sharon Stone; and Lionsgate’s The Expendables 4.

Lin-Manuel Miranda to Receive Changemaker Award from Greenwich International Film Festival

Lin-Manuel Miranda is a changemaker… And, now he’ll have the award to prove it.

The 42-year-old Puerto Rican actor, singer-songwriter, playwright, and film director will receive the 2022 Changemaker Award from the Greenwich International Film Festival, according to festival organizer.

Lin-Manuel MirandaMiranda, the Pulitzer Prize winning creator of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musicals In the Heights and Hamilton and the soundtracks to Disney‘s Moana and Encanto, has been selected for the award for his work with the Miranda Family Fund, which supports causes like education, the arts and social justice, and has been particularly focused on rebuilding efforts in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria in 2017.

In particular, GIFF is recognizing the work the fund has done in the last three years to provide more than 80 emerging artists with professional training, support in the business of the arts, access to casting directors, managers, and agents.

Miranda is also receiving the award for his work developing two full-time paid fellowship programs for BIPOC people in the arts world as a way of combating systemic barriers in the industry: a fellowship with acclaimed theater Woolly Mammoth for arts administrators which was announced in December 2020, and a Miranda fellows program at Telsey & Co. Casting Agency, the first class of which will be announced this winter.

The Changemaker Award honors artists who use film to forward social change.

Previous recipients include Eva Longoria Baston, Ashley Judd, Renée Zellweger, Christy Turlington Burns, Freida Pinto, Trudie Styler, Abigail Breslin, Harry Belafonte and Mia Farrow.

“I am especially honored to receive this award from GIFF, a non-profit that ‘bridges the worlds of art and philanthropy’—two areas I care about so deeply,” said Miranda in a statement. “I wouldn’t be where I am without the investment that arts educators have been putting into students for decades, often made possible only by the philanthropy of others. My family and I long ago made a commitment to continue that philanthropy, to open up more avenues for underrepresented artists, to diversify the field and allow far more people to be seen and heard. Thank you to GIFF for helping to continue to make that possible.”

GIFF, an all-female led non-profit organization that aims to use film to support social justice and philanthropic efforts, also announced that, instead of hosting a traditional week-long film festival, this year they will produce “GIFF: Uninterrupted,” a year-long programming format that will allow filmmakers to screen projects around other festival runs, premiere dates and press tours. GIFF will host an exclusive digital streaming platform for circumstances in which in-person events aren’t possible, and will continue to offer its best social impact film award, which includes a $10,000 cash prize. The award will be announced via virtual ceremony on April 27, 2022.

Miranda will be honored at the 2022 Changemaker Gala, which will be held May 25. Jenna Bush-Hager will emcee the event, which will take place at L’Escale in Greenwich, Conn.

Ashley Reyes to Star in the Comedy Horror Film “Slayer”

Ashley Reyes is ready to slay(er) all day…

The Latina theater, screen and television actress has been cast in the comedy horror, Slayer.

Ashley Reyes

Reyes joins previously announced stars Abigail Breslin, Thomas Jane and Malin Akerman.

Directed by K. Asher Levin, the plot follows a group of internet influencers who are drawn to a reclusive, seductive billionaire’s mansion, only to find themselves trapped in the lair of an evil vampire.

Reyes will play Natalie, a millennial fantasy of an entrepreneurial power broker.

Reyes’ previous credits include Kid Fitness, Family Values and American Gods.

Rosario Dawson to Star in “Zombieland 2”

Rosario Dawson will seeing, and fighting, dead people…

The 39-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban-American actress is set to join Zombieland 2, the next installment of the Sony Pictures post-apocalyptic zombie comedy that will feature original stars Woody HarrelsonJesse EisenbergEmma Stone and Abigail Breslin.

Rosario Dawson

Ruben Fleischer returns to direct the sequel fresh off of the blockbuster success of Venom.

Written by original Zombieland scribes Paul Wernickand Rhett Reese, the sequel centers on the comic mayhem that stretches from the White Houseand through the heartland. The zombie slayers must face off against the many new kinds of zombies that have evolved since the first movie, as well as some new human survivors. Most of all, they have to face the growing pains of their own snarky, makeshift family.

Dawson joins franchise newcomers Zoey Deutchand Avan Jogiawith filming slated to begin this week. 

Zombieland 2 hits theaters on October 11.

Dawson can be seen as Claire Temple in five of the Netflix Marvel series: Jessica JonesLuke CageDaredevilThe Defenders and Iron Fist

Up next, she toplines the USA Networkcrime anthology series Briarpatch.

Smart Starring in ABC’s “Dirty Dancing Remake

Beau “Casper” Smart is dancing his way onto the small screen…

The 28-year-old Latino actor-dancer-choreographer has been cast as Billy Kotsecki in Dirty Dancing, ABC’s three-hour remake of the hit Patrick SwayzeJennifer Grey film.

Beau “Casper” Smart

The role was played by Neal Jones in the original film.

Like the 1987 feature, ABC’s Dirty Dancing movie centers on Baby (Abigail Breslin), an innocent young woman in the early 1960s who vacations with her affluent parents and siblings in the Catskills and falls for Johnny (Cole Prattes), the resort’s charismatic, skilled dance instructor and leader of the working-class entertainment staff.

Smart’s Billy is Johnny’s close friend from the old neighborhood. They grew up together and Johnny got him his job at Kellerman’s, for which he is grateful. Billy mostly works as a bellhop and does maintenance jobs for the staff. He likes to let loose and dance with Johnny and Penny after hours in the Staff Quarters – a world he inadvertently introduces Baby to, setting her on a journey of self-discovery.

Sarah Hyland, Nicole Scherzinger and Debra Messing also star.

Smart co-stars in Perfect Match from Queen Latifah’s Flavor Unit Production.

Orrantia & Her “The Goldbergs” Castmates to Pay Homage to “Dirty Dancing”

Hayley Orrantia is about to get dirty

The 21-year-old Mexican-American actress/singer’s ABC comedy The Goldbergs has set its Season Three 1980s movie homage episode.

Hayley Orrantia

Orrantia and her castmates will tackle the 1987 hit film Dirty Dancing.

The selection comes just as ABC is heading to production on a three-hour contemporary remake of the romantic classic, with Abigail Breslin playing Baby and Debra Messing as her mom.

The Goldbergs’ Dirty Dancing has no connection to the ABC movie and will not feature either actors from the remake or cast members from the original feature toplined by the late Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey.

Last year’s Goldbergs tribute to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off included original co-star Charlie Sheen reprising his role. The Goldbergs’ first homage episode to a 1980s movie in Season 1 was devoted to The Goonies.

Dirty Dancing is a huge 80’s cultural touchstone — the music, the memorable lines, and of course, Swayze,” said The Goldbergs creator/executive producer Adam F. Goldberg, who based the show on his family. “No one loved it more than my mom.  I’ll always remember how she dragged me to see it in the theaters several times and then bought it on video. I knew this was our big movie to explore this season when all of the writers on the show also had their very own Dirty Dancing memories from years ago.  It really is a gem of the 80s and it’s so exciting to bring it to life with my amazing cast.”

Carpenter to Portray Ariana Grande’s Mom on Fox’s “Scream Queens”

Prepare to hear Charisma Carpenter scream

The 44-year-old part Spanish-American actress and former Buffy The Vampire Slayer star has joined the cast of Ryan Murphy’s comedy-horror Fox anthology series Scream Queens.

Charisma Carpenter

The show’s star, Emma Roberts, let it slip on Instagram that the comedy will premiere on the first Tuesday of the season, September 22.

In a guest starring/potential recurring role, Carpenter will play the mom of another lead on the show, singer-actress Ariana Grande.

In the first season of Scream Queens, a college campus is rocked by a series of murders. The series, which Murphy created with fellow Glee co-creators Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan, hails from 20th Century Television and Ryan Murphy Television.

Lea Michele, Diego BonetaJamie Lee Curtis, Oliver Hudson and Abigail Breslin co-star.

Carpenter, who also co-starred on The Lying Game, previously appeared on Angel, Charmed, Veronica Mars and Blue Bloods, and served as the host of ID’s Surviving Evil.

Boneta to Star in Fox’s Comedy-Horror Series “Scream Queens”

Diego Boneta is a scream king…

The Mexican actor-singer has been cast as one of the male leads in Scream Queens, Fox’s comedy-horror series created by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan.

Diego Boneta

The project revolves around a college campus that’s rocked by a series of murders.

Boneta is reportedly set to portray a bookish but handsome guy in the first installment of the anthology series slated for fall.

Boneta, who starred in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Rock of Ages, joins an ensemble cast that includes Lea Michele, Jamie Lee Curtis, Emma Roberts, Skyler Samuels, Nick Jonas, Keke Palmer, Joe Manganiello, Ariana Grande and Abigail Breslin.

Boneta will next be seen in CBS miniseries The Dovekeepers, produced by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, and the Imagine feature Pelé.

Michele to Star in Fox’s Anthology Series “Scream Queens”

Life is but a scream for Lea Michele

The 28-year-old part-Spanish actress/singer has landed a role in Scream Queens, the follow-up Fox series from Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan.

Lea Michele

The first installment in the new anthology series revolves around a college campus, which is rocked by a series of murders. Fifteen one-hour episodes have been ordered.

Production is scheduled to begin in the spring, with the series premiering in fall 2015 on Fox.

Also joining the cast are Joe Manganiello (True Blood), Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) and Keke Palmer (Akeela and the Bee). Additionally, Ariana Grande will have a recurring role.

Jamie Lee Curtis and Emma Roberts were previously cast in starring roles.