Zoe Saldana to Receive Critics Choice Association‘s Groundbreaker Award

Posted on October 14, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Zoe Saldana is a special Critics Choice honoree…

The 46-year-old 44-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican American actress is among the honorees from the Critics Choice Association‘s 4th Annual Celebration of Latino Cinema & Television taking place on October 22, 2024 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.

Saldaña will receive the Groundbreaker Award for her starring role in Netflix’s Emilia Pérez, which won the Best Actress prize for the ensemble cast at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.

The Director Award – Film will be awarded to Pablo Larraín for his directorial work on Netflix’s Maria.

The film competed in the Venice Film Festival and was one of the official selections for both the Telluride Film Festival and the New York Film Festival this year.

The Vanguard Award will be given to filmmaker Fede Alvarez for his writing and directorial work in creating 20th Century Studios’ Alien: Romulus.

The film notably earned $45.1 million in its domestic opening weekend at the box office and became the highest grossing horror film in IMAX history.

Emmy-nominated director, writer and producer Issa López will receive The Director Award – Series for her directorial work on the HBO Original Series True Detective: Night Country.

The series received 19 Emmy nominations, the most for any limited or anthology series this year and won star Jodie Foster the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for a Limited Series, Anthology, or Television Movie.

The Showrunner Award will recognize Emmy-nominated television writer and producer Francesca Sloane for her work on Prime Video’s series Mr. & Mrs. Smith. The series was nominated 16 times at this year’s Emmys and was awarded two wins.

Oscar and Emmy-nominated actress Adriana Barraza will be honored with the Actress Award – Film for her role in Roadside Attractions’ film My Penguin Friend.

Barraza previously earned an Academy Award nomination in 2007 for Best Supporting Actress for her work in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s film Babel and just received a 2024 International Emmy nomination for Best Actress for her work in the award-winning Netflix film El último vagón.

Actress and writer Fernanda Torres will receive the Actress Award – International Film for her role in Sony Pictures Classics’ film I’m Still Here, which notably garnered the Best Screenplay award at this year’s Venice Film Festival and has been selected as Brazil’s 2024 submission for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars.

Emayatzy Corinealdi will accept the Actress Award – Series for her performance on Hulu/Onyx Collective’s Reasonable Doubt.

Corinealdi also recently appeared in the HBO series Ballers and in the Miles Davis biopic Miles Ahead. STARZ will bestow Emayatzy Corinealdi’s award with a special STARZ #TakeTheLead designation as part of its ongoing commitment to amplifying narratives by, about, and for women and underrepresented audiences.

Ramón Rodríguez will be awarded with the Breakthrough Actor Award – Series for his starring role in the ABC series Will Trent.

Rodríguez was also nominated in the Best Actor in a Drama Series category for season one at last year’s Critics Choice Awards.

The Comedy Series Award will be bestowed upon the acclaimed Apple TV+ series Acapulco, starring Emmy-winner Eugenio Derbez, Enrique Arrizon, Fernando Carsa, and Camila Perez.

The International Series Award will recognize the Apple TV+ Spanish-language drama series Familia de Medianoche, which features an entirely Latino cast and crew led by performers Renata Vaca, Joaquín Cosío, and Diego Calva.

The Celebration honors standout performances and work, both onscreen and offscreen from the Latino entertainment community.

Apple TV+ Releases Official Trailer for Alfonso Cuarón’s Limited Series “Disclaimer”

Posted on September 24, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Alfonso Cuarón is issuing a special disclaimer…

Apple TV+ has released the official trailer for Disclaimer, the psychological thriller written and directed by the 62-year-old Mexican Oscar-winning filmmaker.

Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Renée Knight, the series stars

Cate Blanchett as journalist Catherine Ravenscroft, who built her reputation revealing the misdeeds and transgressions of others. When she receives a novel from an unknown author, she is horrified to realize she is now the main character in a story that exposes her darkest secrets, per the synopsis.

In the trailer, Blanchett’s Catherine begins to unravel, with Kevin Kline’s Stephen warning her, “The world needs to know who Catherine Ravenscroft really is. The world needs to know the truth.”

The series also stars Sacha Baron Cohen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Lesley Manville, Louis Partridge, Leila George, Hoyeon, and features Indira Varma as the narrator.

The limited series premieres globally on October 11 with the first two episodes, followed by new episodes every Friday through November 15.

Cuarón executive produces for Esperanto Filmoj.

Emmanuel Lubezki and Academy Award nominee Bruno Delbonnel serve as directors of photography. The score is composed by Finneas O’Connell.

Cuaron’s accolades include five Academy Awards, seven BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globe Awards.

Selena Gomez’s “Emilia Pérez” to Represent France in the Best International Feature Category at 97th Academy Awards

Posted on September 18, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Selena Gomez’s latest film could earn an international Oscars nod…

France has selected Jacques Audiard’s Spanish-language musical Emilia Pérez, starring the 31-year-old Mexican American actress/singer, to represent it in the Best International Feature Film category at the 97th Academy Awards.

In addition Gomez, the drama also stars Karla Sofía Gascón, who portrays cartel leader Emilia who enlists the help of unappreciated lawyer Rita (Zoe Saldana) to help her fake her death so she can live authentically as her true self.

It premiered at Cannes, where it earned its four actresses – Gascón, Saldaña, Gomez and Adriana Paz – a collective Best Actress award, and also clinched the jury prize.

The film was selected from a short list of four films which also included swashbuckler The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre de La Patellière and Matthieu Delaporte; French-produced Indian drama All We Imagine as Light by Payal Kapadia and Misericordia by Alain Guiraudie.

This year’s revamped selection committee featured sales agent Carole Baraton, producer Nadim Cheikhroua, Venice Golden Lion winning Happening director and writer Audrey Diwan, distributor, producer and writer Michèle Halberstadt, sales agent Grégoire Melin, actress Clémence Poésy, producer David Thion, producer and distributor Rosalie Varda, producer Wachsberger and director, writer and producer Florian Zeller.

They made the selection after auditioning the sales agents, producers and U.S. distributors of the shortlisted titles on Wednesday morning.

Netflix reportedly swooped on U.S. rights for Emilia Pérez in the wake of its buzzy Cannes world premiere, pledged generous support for the awards campaign.

Pathé released the film theatrically in France on August 21, drawing some 735,000 spectators for a gross of roughly $5.9M. It will receive a limited release on the U.S. ahead of a November 13 launch on Netflix.

France last won the international film Oscar with Régis Wargnier’s Indochine in 1993. Ladj Ly’s Les Misérables was the last French film to make it through to the final nomination stage in 2020.

Tony Revolori Signs with Verve for Representation

Posted on July 10, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Tony Revolori has new representation…

The 28-year-old Guatemalan American actor has signed with Verve for representation.

Revolori made his breakthrough in Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel. He has since reunited with Anderson in The French Dispatch and Asteroid City.

He starred as Flash Thompson in Sony’s box office hit Spider-Man trilogy, directed by Jon Watts, and in the most recent installment of the Scream franchise opposite Jenna Ortega.

He voiced the ‘Parakeet’ in the English version of Hayao Miyazaki’s Academy Award-winning film The Boy and the Heron.

Next he’ll be seen opposite Matthew McConaughey in The Rivals of Amziah King directed by Andrew Patterson.

Adriana Barraza to Star in Prime Video’s Comic Book Series “El Gato”

Posted on June 11, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Adriana Barraza has found a purr-fect role…

The 68-year-old Mexican Oscar-nominated actress has landed a series regular role in Prime Video’s comic book series with the working title El Gato.

Barraza joins new cast addition Sarah Jones and previously announced leads Diego Boneta and Lorenza Izzo.

Based on the comic series El Gato Negro by Richard Dominguez, El Gato follows Frank Guerrero (Boneta), who returns home to Mexico after the death of his father and finds himself neck-deep in a nest of vipers – his estranged family – who are vying for control of his father’s business empire. But Frank’s grief is interrupted when he learns his only inheritance, a seemingly worthless parcel of land on the border, sits atop the lair of a famous costumed vigilante — his father, “El Gato.” Now, Frank is in the crosshairs. To survive, he’ll have to solve mysteries decades in the making and unravel the truth about his father’s connections to a modern-day terror plot.

Barraza will play Alma, who, in the 1970s, discovered her husband was living a double life: moonlighting as a costumed vigilante: El Gato Negro. Alma worked side by side with him for years, providing operational support for his missions. She is careful with her words, and vault-like in the keeping of secrets. Alma thought her old life was behind her, but now widowed, she finds herself pulled back into a world of masks. In the series, she will form an unlikely partnership with our hero, Frank – her husband’s bastard son. It will test the openness of her heart. This is Alma, back in the saddle for one last ride.

Jones will play Ashley, a CIA field agent working as our hero Frank’s handler. Ash is good at reading people. She’s a fast-talking cynic with something to prove. Ash believes the family agricultural business at the center of our series is a front for a criminal enterprise. As she develops Frank as a CIA asset, she will find herself dangerously drawn to him. She is well-trained, physically capable, and seemingly born for this. But it’s a deadly game she’s playing, and if she wants to survive this, she’ll need to watch her back.

Eric Carrasco created the series and will co-showrun with Turi Meyer and Alfredo Septién.

El Gato is being produced by MGM Television, a division of Amazon MGM Studios.

Barraza recently celebrated 50 years in the entertainment industry. She is best known for her collaborations with director Alejandro González Iñárritu in Amores Perros (1999) and Babel (2006), on which she made history as one of only six Mexican actresses to ever receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Most recently, she was a supporting lead in the DC Comics/Warner Bros feature film Blue Beetle opposite Xolo Mariduena and directed by Angel Manuel Soto.

In August, Barraza will star in the indie feature My Penguin Friend opposite Jean Reno.

Becky G Performs Oscar-Nominated “The Fire Inside” from “Flamin’ Hot” During Oscars

Posted on March 10, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Becky G brings the fire to the 2024 Oscars…

The 27-year-old Mexican American rapper/singer performed “The Fire Inside,” the Academy Award nominated track from the Eva Longoria-directed film Flamin’ Hot, at Sunday’s Oscars.

Diane Warren penned the inspirational track for the film about Richard Montañez, the Frito-Lay janitor who became an executive after inventing Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.

Ahead of the ceremony at the Dolby Theater, Longoria talked about the excitement her directorial debut getting some recognition at the Academy Awards.

“I have goosebumps. I can’t believe it. I can because Diane Warren wrote the song, so she’s a genius and Becky G is a genius,” Longoria told Laverne Cox on Live from E! red carpet coverage. “Their performance tonight… You will never be more proud to be a Latino and a Chicano, but Becky’s thought and love that she put into this performance tonight is going to blow everybody away. She has some special guest from Inglewood.”

She continued, “We don’t ever get this platform. We, people of color, we don’t really get this stage. We wanted to bring our whole community with us tonight. We wanted to thank everybody for watching the movie [and] making it a success.”

Flamin’ Hot starred Jesse García as Richard Montañez and the cast included Annie González, Emilio Rivera, Vanessa Martínez, Hunter Jones, Dennis Haysbert, Tony Shalhoub, Pepe Serna, Bobby Soto, Jimmy Gonzales, Matt Walsh and Brice Gonzalez.

Becky G performs “The Fire Inside” from Flamin Hot #Oscars pic.twitter.com/6Xtl89Pj8h

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) March 11, 2024

America Ferrera to Serve as Presenter at This Year’s Oscars

Posted on March 5, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Win or lose, America Ferrera will be taking the Oscars stage…

The 39-year-old Honduran American actress, who earned her first-ever Academy Awards nod this year for her performance in Barbie, will serve as a presenter at Sunday’s Oscars.

She’s part of a roster of new presenters that includes Emily Blunt, Cynthia Erivo, Sally Field, Ryan Gosling, Ariana Grande, Ben Kingsley, Melissa McCarthy, Issa Rae, Tim Robbins, Steven Spielberg, Mary Steenburgen, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlize Theron, Christoph Waltz and Forest Whitaker.

They join previous announced presenters Bad Bunny, Chris Hemsworth, Dwayne Johnson, Michael Keaton, Regina King, Jennifer Lawrence, Kate McKinnon, Rita Moreno, John Mulaney, Catherine O’Hara, Octavia Spencer and Ramy Youssef, Mahershala Ali, Nicolas Cage, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brendan Fraser, Jessica Lange, Matthew McConaughey, Lupita Nyong’o, Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ke Huy Quan, Sam Rockwell, Michelle Yeoh and Zendaya.

The Oscars will be broadcast live on March 10 ceremony from the Dolby Theater in Hollywood.

Jimmy Kimmel is returning to host the ceremony for a fourth time.

ABC, which has aired the Oscars since 1976, is televising the show live starting at 7:00 pm ET/4:00 pm PT — an hour earlier that usual. The network, which has begun to use the Oscars as a lead-out to showcase its top programming, will follow its coverage of the live ceremony with an original episode of Abbott Elementary.

ABC’s time tweak also means that its annual pre-show will now run for 30 minutes — instead of the usual 90 — beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT. As per usual, the main Oscar telecast will be rebroadcast in the Pacific Time zone in primetime after the live presentation.

Raj Kapoor will serve as showrunner and executive producer of the 96th Oscars, with Molly McNearney and Katy Mullan executive producers. Hamish Hamilton is directing.

Lila Avilés Among Storytellers Immortalized with Barbie Doll in Their Likeness for International Women’s Day

Posted on March 4, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Lila Avilés is getting all dolled up…

The 42-year-old Mexican film director, screenwriter, actress and producer, whose meteoric rise on the international stage after just two feature films that have both represented Mexico at the Oscars, is among eight women storytellers selected by Mattel to be immortalized with Barbie dolls in their likeness.

Avilés joins Academy Award-winning actors Helen Mirren and Viola Davis along with country-pop artist Shania Twain, Australia’s Kylie Minogue, German comedian Enissa Amani, Japanese model Nicole Fujita and Brazilian Indigenous influencer Maira Gomez who have been selected as Barbie role models in honor of International Women’s Day.

Their dolls will be one of a kind and not for sale.

Said Mattel in a statement: “Since the brand’s inception, Barbie has helped girls explore their limitless potential through different roles and narratives – from encouraging self-expression through dress-up to playing out any of her 250+ careers. With Barbie by their sides, countless children have been able to imagine their own stories through play that help shape their real-life futures.”

“The brand is sharing countless stories of empowerment and bringing her legendary legacy to life through the eyes and words of fans everywhere, starting with some of the most renowned storytellers out there,” it continued.

Given the phenomenal box office and critical success of Greta Gerwig’s multi-Oscar nominated movie, Barbie, the company chose the storytelling theme for this year.

Last year’s theme was STEM, which covered women in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. That year, Engineer Katya Echazarreta, the first Mexican-born woman in space, was among the few to be chosen for a Barbie doll to be made in her likeness.

Describing her selection as an “incredible, beautiful and surreal surprise,” Avilés expressed her delight at the recognition. “It’s not only me but my career that is being honored,” she told Variety.

The figurine portrays her with a camera on her shoulder, a script in one hand and her beloved cat by her feet.

Her latest film, Totem, which landed on the long list for the Oscar’s Best International Feature category, has played in more than 100 film festivals and will be rolling out theatrically across 40+ countries, including the U.S. where it’s still out. It’s slated to play on the Criterion Channel and just became available on Netflix Latin America.

“People ask me if my movies are feminist. In as much as my protagonists are women, they are, in an organic way,” she said. “The Chambermaid, my feature debut, gave voice to a woman who’s ostensibly invisible to many,” she noted. “Totem delves into childhood and the idea that childhood is destiny,” she added, recalling the times when she and her brother played with each other’s toys, including her Barbie dolls.

This doll is hers to keep. Fortunately, her daughter is already in her teens so may not be clamoring to play with it.

Bad Bunny to Serve as Presenter at This Year’s Academy Awards

Posted on February 29, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Bad Bunny has a date with Oscar…

The 29-year-old Puerto Rican Grammy-winning superstar has been added to the list of presenters for this year’s Academy Awards show.

But the “Monaco” singer is not the only Puerto Rican artist set to take the stage.

West Side Story star Rita Moreno, an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar & Tony Award) winner, will also serve as a presenter.

Bad Bunny and Moreno are among the list of recently added presenters for the March 10th Oscars telecast that includes Chris Hemsworth, Dwayne Johnson, Michael Keaton, Regina King, Jennifer Lawrence, Kate McKinnon, John Mulaney, Catherine O’Hara, Octavia Spencer and Ramy Youssef.

Moreno won an Oscar in 1962 for West Side Story. In 1977, she became the first Latina (and just the third person overall) to complete the EGOT.

In 2022, Bad Bunny made history when Un Verano Sin Ti became the first Spanish-language album to top Billboard’s year-end chart and to receive a Grammy nod for album of the year. His acting credits include Bullet Train, Narcos: Mexico and Cassandro,

Earlier this week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced that another popular Latin star, Becky G, would perform the nominated “The Fire Inside” from Flamin’ Hot on the telecast.

Previously announced Oscars presenters are Mahershala Ali, Nicolas Cage, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brendan Fraser, Jessica Lange, Matthew McConaughey, Lupita Nyong’o, Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ke Huy Quan, Sam Rockwell, Michelle Yeoh and Zendaya.

The 96th Oscars will air live on ABC and broadcast to outlets worldwide on Sunday, March 10, at the new, earlier time of 7:00 pm ET/4:00 pm PT.

Jimmy Kimmel is hosting the show for the fourth time. It will be held at its usual home, the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.

Raj Kapoor is executive producer and showrunner for the 2024 Oscars. Molly McNearney and Katy Mullan are also executive producers. Hamish Hamilton is directing. Rickey Minor is music director.

Becky G to Perform Oscar-Nominated “The Fire Inside” at This Year’s Academy Awards

Posted on February 28, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Becky G has a date with Oscar…

The 26-year-old Mexican American singer, rapper and actress will perform at this year’s Academy Awards ceremony.

Becky G will perform “The Fire Inside,” a single with music and lyrics by Diane Warren for the film Flamin’ Hot.

The track is one of this year’s Best Song nominees.

Becky G is among a roster of Oscar performers that includes Jon Batiste, Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, Scott George and the Osage Singers, and Ryan Gosling and Mark Ronson.

They’ll take the stage to perform the trophy hopefuls during the 96th Oscars hosted by Jimmy Kimmel on March 10.

The announcement was made by Oscars executive producer and showrunner Raj Kapoor and EPs Molly McNearney and Katy Mullan.

ABC will air the show live coast-to-coast starting at the new time of 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

Here’s the list of the Best Song nominees, songwriters and Oscarcast performers:

“The Fire Inside” from “Flamin’ Hot” – Performed by Becky G
Music and Lyric by Diane Warren

“I’m Just Ken” from “Barbie” – Performed by Ryan Gosling and Mark Ronson
Music and Lyric by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt

“It Never Went Away” from “American Symphony” – Performed by Jon Batiste
Music and Lyric by Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson

“Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)” from “Killers of the Flower Moon” – Performed by Scott George and the Osage Singers
Music and Lyric by Scott George

“What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie” – Performed by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell
Music and Lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

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