Keyla Monterroso Mejia to Star in Mindy Kaling’s Untitled Comedy Series for Netflix

Posted on February 21, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Keyla Monterroso Mejia is answering the Kal(ing)…

The 25-year-old Guatemalan & Mexican American actress and Curb Your Enthusiasm scene-stealer will star in Mindy Kaling‘s Netflix comedy series, set in the world of pro basketball, lead by Kate Hudson.

Monterroso Mejia is among a roster of cast newcomers that includes Fabrizio Guido, Toby Sandeman, Chet Hanks and Roberto Sanchez, who previously starred in Queen of the South.

In addition to Hudson, they join previously announced cast members Brenda Song, Drew Tarver and.

In the as-yet untitled comedy series, when a scandal forces her brother to resign, Isla Gordon (Hudson) is appointed President of the Los Angeles Waves, one of the most storied professional basketball franchises, and her family business. Ambitious and often overlooked, Isla will have to prove to her skeptical brothers, the board, and the larger sports community that she was the right choice for the job, especially in the unpredictable, male-dominated world of sports.

Guido plays Jackie Moreno, a popcorn vendor at the stadium where the Waves play, Jackie can’t believe it when he is suddenly thrust into the inner circle of his favorite team. Now he has the opportunity to work his way up the organization from the ground floor.

Monterroso Mejia plays Ana Moreno, Jackie’s cousin who is also a personal injury attorney. Ana is smart, ambitious and always looking for an angle.

Sanchez is Stephen Ramirez, the intimidating head of the board who’s been with the Waves through generations of Gordons. He’s old-fashioned, no-nonsense, and a constant reminder of the old guard, making Isla desperate to prove she’s more than just Jack Gordon’s little daughter.

The 10-part series is written and executive-produced by Mindy Kaling, Ike Barinholtz and David Stassen, who serves as showrunner.

Guido’s television credits include the role of Mikey Gutierrez on Mr. Iglesias, a major recurring role on Perry Mason, as well as Welcome To The Family, The Night Shift and Wisdom of the Crowd.

Monterroso Mejia is perhaps best known for her absurdly hilarious role as Maria Sofia on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Her other credits include the major recurring role of Ashley on Abbott Elementary, as well as On My Block spinoff Freeridge and is in post on Amazon Studios’ Will Ferrell & Reese Witherspoon wedding comedy You’re Cordially Invited.

Sanchez will next be seen in a major recurring role on Starz’s BMF and in Apple TV+’s upcoming Palm Royale. His previous credits include Queen of the South and 2 Fast 2 Furious.

Diego Boneta Starring in the New Erotic Thriller Film “Follow”

Posted on January 22, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Diego Boneta has lined up his next project…

The 33-year-old Mexican actor/singer will star opposite Martha Higareda in the new erotic thriller film Follow, a project they will also produce.

For Amazon Studios, the project hails from award-winning collaborators Fred Berger and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones and Piano’s Julio Chavezmontes and Gabriela Maire.

This is the first project from Boneta’s production banner Three Amigos’ overall deal with Amazon Prime.

Gonzalo Tobal will direct the film from a screenplay by Hipatia Argüero Mendoza. The film – in collaboration with Range Media Partners, Piano and Three Amigos – is set to begin filming in late January.

The film follows Sebastián (Boneta) a young, handsome and incredibly charming guy with an impeccable sense of style. He has used these weapons to become a master scammer, who preys on some of the richest and most famous women in Mexico. Alongside his faithful henchman Maclo (Alejandro Speitzer), Sebastián carries out his plans with great cunning. Before he can put an end to his bright career as a scammer, Carolina (Higareda), an enigmatic woman crosses his path. Captivated by her, Sebastian puts his retirement plans on hold to carry out one last scam.

Follow also stars Ofelia Medina (El sueño de ayer), Alberto Guerra (Griselda), Stephanie Sigman (Murder City) and Regina Nava (Pacto de Sangre).

“Follow has been a true passion project and I cannot wait to bring this iconic sexual thriller to life. As the first Three Amigos production through our Amazon deal, working with the entire Amazon team has been an absolute pleasure. We really built an incredible family of talented individuals that have made this movie possible. From our brilliant writer Hipatia Argüero, our irreplaceable producing partners Fred Berger and Julio Chavezmontes, to our captain and director Gonzalo Tobal. I cannot think of a better group of filmmakers to have on this project,” Boneta said in a statement.

Higareda added, “Having produced many comedy films, I was looking to explore a different angle on storytelling that can also be very appealing to the audiences while diving deeper into substance, and we trust that Follow will do both.”

“Follow is a love letter to the golden era of erotic thrillers in the 90s, rejuvenated with the most seductive stars of our generation including Boneta, Higareda, Speitzer, Guerra and Sigman, not forgetting the cinematic icon that Ofelia Medina represents. With the experienced guidance of Julio Chavezmontes, Fred Berger, Josh Glick, Natalia Boneta, and the pen of Hipatia Argüero, we are eager to begin and share this exciting story with the world,” said Alonso Aguilar, Head of Prime Video for Original Productions in Mexico.

Boneta’s credits include Luis Miguel: The Series, At Midnight, Rock of Ages and Father of the Bride.

Amazon Studios Releases First Trailer for Jacob Elordi-Starrer “Saltburn”

Posted on September 1, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Jacob Elordi is feelin’ the (salt)burn…

Amazon Studios has released the first teaser for Saltburn, starring the 26-year-old half-Spanish Australian actor.

From Academy Award-winning writer and director Emerald Fennell, the film also stars Barry Keoghan and Rosamund Pike.

Plot details have been kept under wraps, with the only hint being that Saltburn is a “story of obsession.”

Now, with the trailer, we learn a little bit more.

Keoghan’s character Oliver meets Felix (Elordi) at a swanky boarding school. Felix, finding out his new acquaintance might not have the greatest situation at home, says, “Why don’t you come home with me? Come to Saltburn.”

Saltburn, it turns out, is the estate of Felix’s family, complete with a butler, a snobby mom and an upper-crust ingenue who may or may not be complementing Oliver when she tells him, “You’re so…real.”

What follows is a fish-out-of-water story in which Oliver takes a journey inside the access and excess that the 1% enjoy. At one point Keoghan’s character enthuses, “I can honestly say that these these past few months have been the happiest of my life.” We get a sense that happiness, however, may not hold.

Saltburn is Fennell’s follow-up to Promising Young Woman, which was nominated for several Oscars and won Best Original Screenplay for Fennell.

The film is produced by Fennell, MRC and LuckyChap Entertainment’s Josey McNamara, Tom Ackerley and Margot Robbie. World rights to the film were picked up by Amazon Studios in a pact with Knives Out outfit MRC.

Prime Video Premiering Season Two of “With Love,” with Mark Indelicato, This Friday

Posted on June 2, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Mark Indelicato is bringing the love…

Season 2 of Prime Video’s With Love, starring the 28-year-old part-Puerto Rican actor and Ugly Betty alum, premieres this Friday, June 2, and we may or may not see the wedding of the year.

As series creator Gloria Calderón Kellett has teased since last season’s finale, the focus of the new episodes will be a surprise engagement leading to marriage, a pivot from the holiday theme sprinkled throughout the show’s freshman season.

With various couples in contention, who will be saying “I do?” Will it be Jorge Jr. (Indelicato) and his boyfriend Henry (Vincent Rodriguez III). Could we see a proposal or maybe just a festive night for love declarations in front of the family after lots of egg nog during Christmas? Indelicato and Rodriguez weigh in.

“That was so much fun to put together. Gloria and I dug into our theatre roots talking about that moment for Henry,” Rodriguez tells Deadline. “What’s happening in this clip, is actually a continuation of where we left off in the last episode of Season 1, where we were looking at each couple wondering who was going to get engaged. Minutes after that you see Henry, helped by Nick [Desmond Chiam], with Tia Gladys [Kellett] playing backup. Henry is making a grand gesture singing to Jorge Jr. It’s very much a callback to Season 1 where Henry was learning that sometimes Jorge needed grand gestures to feel loved.”

Adds Indelicato, “When the show returns, it’s still Christmas (well, our second Christmas) that we celebrate with the Diaz family and there’s no time jump, we pick up right where we left off. The second season starts out with a really big bang, and yeah we find out who gets engaged.”

Rodriguez is excited to share that viewers will be introduced to Henry’s parents, who will be played by Amora Owens and Brent Pope, both Filipino actors like Rodriguez.

“Jorge got so worked up about the possibility that Henry’s parents wouldn’t like him, that it never occurred to him that he might not like THEM. That was a lot of fun to watch Mark deal with that on set as Jorge,” teased Rodriguez. “So that was a lot of fun to watch Mark Indelicato deal with that on set as Jorge. “We also get to see Henry deal with his more colorful fanciful past which included tequila, something Henry has purposely stayed away from until this gathering that happens where Henry is forced to share his secrets with Jorge and it results in what I refer to as Shirtless Shenanigans.”

Indelicato expanded on Jorge’s experience meeting Henry’s parents this season.

“Jorge and Henry I think are an incredible couple because while Lily [Emeraude Toubia] has her tumultuous love triangle and all of that, Henry and Jorge are consistent in their love for each other,” he said. “Henry was very well-adjusted to meet the Diaz family – but Jorge is a little more difficult than that. You’ll the difficulties with ingratiating yourself with another family, especially when it’s your partners’. I think in every relationship, when you are making big choices, you can get cold feet.”

Rodriguez is proud of all they’ve accomplished across two seasons on this sweet series, especially how the cast reflects the world as it is today.

“It’s really great when we see authentic representation of different ethnic backgrounds: on our show we have Latino, Afro-Cuban, Latinx, and I get to play a Filipino character, as a Filipino actor, who gets to have Filipino actors play his on-screen parents…I know it might not sound like a big deal but it is,” he said. “It’s one of the beautiful attributes of With Love, its diversity, inclusivity & authenticity of characters. It means so much to me to be a part of a TV series that not only tells a joyful love story that’s funny to watch but also has diverse characters that reflect the world we currently live in. To see old, young, Latino, Chinese, Filipino, Latinx, Afro-Cuban, queer, gay, straight, bi, non-binary, trans characters in one romantic-comedy story? That’s like a unicorn. It’s unique. That’s our show.”

Prime Video Releases Official Trailer for Fourth & Final Season of “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan,” Featuring Michael Peña

Posted on May 31, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Michael Peña is primed for his Jack Ryan debut….

Prime Video has released the official trailer for the fourth and final season of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, which sends John Krasinski’s title character on his most dangerous mission yet, while offer a first glimpse of the 47-year-old Mexican American actor’s character.

Peña portrays Domingo Chavez in Season 4, which consists of six episodes, its shortest season yet.

Per the final season logline, as the new CIA Acting Deputy Director, Jack Ryan (Krasinski) is tasked with unearthing internal corruption, and in doing so, uncovers a series of suspicious black ops that could expose the vulnerability of the country. As Jack and the team investigate how deep the corruption runs, he discovers a far-worse reality—the convergence of a drug cartel with a terrorist organization—ultimately revealing a conspiracy much closer to home and testing our hero’s belief in the system he has always fought to protect.

Wendell Pierce also stars as James Greer, Michael Kelly as Mike November, and Betty Gabriel as CIA Acting Director Elizabeth Wright, with Abbie Cornish returning as Cathy Mueller.

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan is co-produced by Amazon Studios, Paramount Television Studios, and Skydance Television.

The fourth and final season launches on June 30 on Prime Video, with two episodes premiering each Friday, leading up to the series finale on July 14.

Prime Video to Release Fourth & Final Season of “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan,” Featuring Michael Peña, This Summer

Posted on May 9, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Michael Peña is jacked for his next project…

Prime Video has announced plans to release the fourth and final season of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, featuring the 47-year-old Mexican American actor and starring John Krasinski, on June 30.

The new season will arrive just over six months after the December 21 release of Season 3.

That’s by far the shortest gap between seasons, compared to 1 year and 2 months (between Seasons 1 and 2) and 3 years and 2 months (between Seasons 2 and 3).

Season 4 of Jack Ryan also will be the shortest. It will consist of six episodes, two fewer than each of the first three seasons. Additionally, the final installment will follow a different release pattern than Seasons 1-3, which all were dropped as a binge. Season 4 will release two episodes at a time, leading to the series finale on July 14.

The fourth and final season of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan finds the titular character on his most dangerous mission yet: facing an enemy both foreign and domestic. As the new CIA Acting Deputy Director, Jack Ryan is tasked with unearthing internal corruption, and in doing so, uncovers a series of suspicious black ops that could expose the vulnerability of the country. As Jack and the team investigate how deep the corruption runs, he discovers a far-worse reality—the convergence of a drug cartel with a terrorist organization—ultimately revealing a conspiracy much closer to home and testing our hero’s belief in the system he has always fought to protect.

The series stars John Krasinski as Jack Ryan, Wendell Pierce as James Greer, Michael Kelly as Mike November, and Betty Gabriel as CIA Acting Director Elizabeth Wright, with Abbie Cornish returning as Cathy Mueller.

Joining the cast this season are Peña as Domingo Chavez and Louis Ozawa as Chao Fah.

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan is co-produced by Amazon Studios, Paramount Television Studios and Skydance Television.

Brandon Larracuente to Star in Amazon Freevee’s Half-Hour Drama “On Call”

Posted on April 28, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Brandon Larracuente is officially on call…

The 28-year-old Puerto Rican actor will star opposite Troian Bellisario on On Call.

Originally set up at Amazon Freevee, the half-hour drama, from Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, will stream on Amazon’s main platform, Prime Video.

Amazon Studios has handed an official eight-episode order to the project, co-created by Tim Walsh and Elliot Wolf, which marks Wolf Entertainment’s first streaming series and its 10th current scripted series overall.

On Call is an adrenalized half-hour series following Traci Harmon, a veteran female training officer (Belisario) and her rookie male ride-along, Alex Diaz (Larracuente), as they navigate the loss of a fellow officer and politics of modern day policing — in the department and on the streets of Long Beach.

Belisario’s Traci Harmon is a veteran officer who’s disillusioned with the job and struggles to find her place in the department while training the next generation of officers.

Larracuente’s Alex Diaz is an ambitious Latino trainee who grapples with holding onto his optimistic outlook as he realizes the challenges he’ll face as a police officer in today’s climate.

On Call was originally picked up by then-IMDb TV — Amazon’s free, AVOD service which has since been rebranded as Amazon Freevee — in spring 2021, with Ben Watkins as showrunner and Elliot Wolf as executive producer. The creative team behind the project has since changed, with Walsh, former co-executive producer of Wolf Entertainment’s Chicago P.D., and Elliot as co-creators and executive producers. Elliot, son of Dick Wolf, has been leading Wolf Entertainment’s expansion into digital for the past five years, which now includes On Call as the company’s first streaming series.

Dick Wolf , Walsh, Elliot Wolf, former Chicago P.D. director/executive producer Eriq LaSalle, Arthur Forney and Peter Jankowski are executive producers. LaSalle is directing episodes 1, 2, 5 and 6 of the series, which recently started production in Long Beach.

Universal Television, a part of Universal Studio Group, produces in association with Wolf Entertainment and Amazon Studios.

“Everything old is new again. In 1958 there were 40 half-hour dramas and five one-hour dramas on television. Five years later, the numbers were basically reversed,” Dick Wolf said about doing On Call as a half-hour drama series back in 2021. “This is the perfect time to revive the half-hour format. It’s television popcorn. You can watch six episodes during a three-hour binge.”

Larracuente, is coming off a season-long stint as a series regular on ABC’s The Good Doctor. His other notable credits include Netflix series Bloodline and 13 Reasons Why and Freeform’s Party of Five.

Santiago Mitre’s “Argentina, 1985” Sweeps This Year’s Platino Awards

Posted on April 23, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Santiago Mitre has picked up another award…

The 42-year-old Argentine film director and screenwriter’s Argentina, 1985 swept the top prizes for Best Picture on Saturday night at the 2023 Platino Awards.

News of a Kidnapping, created by Andrés Wood and Rodrigo García, is another top award winner.

One highlight of the ceremony, dedicated to films and television shows in the Spanish-speaking world, was Benicio del Toro’s acceptance speech of a honorary Platino in which he reflected on being typecast for many years in Hollywood as a Latino actor.

“If I had to play stereotypes, I tried to find the character’s humanity, a sense of complicity, so that audiences felt what my character felt and whilst they’re watching, don’t forget who I am and where I come from.,” he said. “What’s important is to share more than be divided,” he added.

Del Toro received a standing ovation by an audience made up of some of the best actors in Spain, which hung on his every word.

Directed by Mitre, who broke out to attention with The Student, then conquered Cannes with Paulina, the Academy Award-nominated “Argentina, 1985,” produced by Amazon Studios, Infinity Hill, Mitre’s label Unión de los Rios and star Ricardo Darín’s Kenya Films swept best picture, screenplay (Mitre, Mariano Llinás) actor (Darín), among five awards.

Commissioned by Prime Video in 2020, in the same funding round that included “Iosi, the Repentant Spy,” “News of a Kidnapping” scooped best series, creators (Wood, García), series actress (Cristina Umaña) and supporting actress (Majida Issa).

Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios and Chile’s Invercine & Wood produce.

It may or may not be a coincidence that both titles, as well as Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s The Beasts, which swept four prizes including best director, talk about how individuals or institutions – the Colombian senator husband of an abduction victim in “News,” Darin’s crusading public prosecutor in “Argentina, 1985,” a French couple in deep Galicia in “The Beasts” – confront violence, whether the institutionalized torture and murder under Argentina’s Junta, endemic drug gang coercion in “News” and wounded machismo in “The Beasts.”

“Thank you to the thousands and thousands of Colombians who, silently, without any show, try to make peace and a country, despite all the obvious difficulties,” said Umana.

“Memory is important. We can’t allow violence to be the innate solution in any part of the world,” said Infinity Hill’s, Axel Kuschevatzky, a producer of “Argentina, 1985.”

In other Awards highlights, Spain’s Laia Costa and Susi Sánchez repeated their Goya plaudits taking best film actress and supporting actress as daughter and mother in “Lullaby.”

FILM

Best Feature
“Argentina, 1985” (Argentina)

Director
Rodrigo Sorogoyen, “The Beasts”

Lead Performance
Laia Costa, “Lullaby”
Ricardo Darín, “Argentina, 1985”

Screenplay
Mariano Llinás, Santiago Mitre, “Argentina, 1985”

First Feature
“1976” (Chile, Argentina)

Best Feature Comedy
“Official Competition,” (Argentina, Spain)

Original Score
Sergio Prudencio, “Utama”

Supporting Role Performance
Susi Sanchez, “Lullaby” (Spain)
Luis Zahera, “The Beasts” (Spain, France)

Animated Feature
“The Eagle and the Jaguar: the Legendary Warriors” (Mexico)

Documentary Best Feature
“El Caso Padilla,” (Cuba, Spain)

Editing
Alberto del Campo, “The Beasts”

Art Direction
Micaela Saiegh, “Argentina, 1985)

Cinematography
Barbara Álvarez, “Utama”

Sound Direction
Aitor Berenguer, Fabiola Ordoyo, Yasmina Praderas, “The Beasts”

Film & Education In Values
“Argentina, 1985” (Argentina, U.S)

HONORARY AWARD
Benicio del Toro

Best Series Or Mini-Series
“News of a Kidnapping” (Colombia, Chile, U.S.)

Best Series Or Mini-Series Creator
Andrés Wood, Rodrigo García, “News of a Kidnapping”

Actor In A Series Or Mini-Series
Guillermo Francella, “The One in Charge”

Actress In A Series Or Mini-Series
Cristina Umaña, “News of a Kidnapping”

Supporting Actor In A Series Or Mini-Series
Alejandro Awada, “Iosi, The Regretful Spy”

Supporting Actress In A Series Or Mini-Series
Majida Issa, “News of a Kidnapping”

Amazon Studios to Release Season Two of Emeraude Toubia’s “With Love” in June

Posted on April 20, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Emeraude Toubia will be feelin’ the Love this summer…

Amazon Studios’ multi-generational rom-com series With Love, starring the 34-year-old half-Mexican Canadian actress, will premiere its second season June 2 on Prime Video.

With Love follows the stories of siblings Lily (Toubia) and Jorge Diaz as they navigate the obstacles of life together. After exiting her former romance with Santiago, Lily has decided to take some time to focus on herself by building her makeup styling business. However, when Santiago and Nick profess their feelings for her, Lily finds herself stuck at a crossroads.

This season, we’ll see Jorge question his relationship with Henry, especially after he meets his “proud Texan parents.” Jorge will have to come to the decision of if the relationship is everything he’s ever dreamed of or his worst nightmare.

In addition to Toubia as Lily Diaz, the series also stars Mark Indelicato as Jorge Diaz Jr., Rome Flynn as Santiago Zayas, Desmond Chiam as Nick Zhao, Vincent Rodriguez III as Henry Cruz, Isis King as Sol Perez, Todd Grinnell as Dr. Miles Murphy, Constance Marie as Beatriz Diaz and Benito Martinez as Jorge Diaz Sr.

With Love is created and executive produced by Gloria Calderón Kellett, alongside executive producer Andy Roth.

With Love is produced by Kellett’s production company, GloNation, and Amazon Studios.

Meagan Good Starring in Lifetime’s TV Movie “Buying Back My Daughter”

Posted on March 22, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Meagan Good is preparing for her next project…

The 41-year-old part- Puerto Rican actress is starring in the television movie Buying Back My Daughter for Lifetime.

The movie centers on a mother who finds her missing teenage daughter being sex trafficked on an escort website.

Good continues her relationship with Lifetime after having starred in and produced the films Death Saved My Life and Love by the 10th Date.

Currently filming, Buying Back My Daughter also stars Roger Cross and Faith Wright. Ariana Madix will play Karen, a police officer who helps investigate the case and has a personal connection to the story.

Buying Back My Daughter is produced by Front Street Pictures and Charles Cooper for distribution by Lifetime. Executive producers are Good, Orly Adelson and Allen Lewis with James Jope as co-executive producer.

Troy Scott directs from a script written by Barbara Marshall.

Good can currently be seen in season two of Amazon Studios’ Harlem.

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