Melissa Fumero to Star in NBC Drama Pilot “Grosse Pointe Garden Society”

Melissa Fumero is entering Society

The 41-year-old Cuban American actress and former Brooklyn Nine-Nine star has been cast as a lead in Grosse Pointe Garden SocietyNBC’s drama pilot from Jenna Bans, Bill Krebs and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

Melissa FumeroFumero will star opposite AnnaSophia Robb and Ben Rappaport in the pilot.

The drama follows four members of a suburban garden club — three of them played by Fumero, Robb and Rappaport — all from different walks of life, who get caught up in murder and mischief as they struggle to make their conventional lives bloom.

Fumero plays Birdie. Entitled, rich, swathed in Chanel, a smoker, a drinker, self-destructive at times, toxic at others, but not without real pain beneath her facade, Birdie is a successful author whose memoir, “Digging for Gold: Dancing Through Divorce,” is a bestseller.

Robb plays Alice, your favorite high school English teacher, a dreamer whose best dreams are crashing down on her. She’s a longtime member of the Grosse Pointe Garden Society.

Rappaport plays Brett. Cool in a threadbare kind of way, Brett put his own dreams of starting a car restoration business on hold so his wife (now ex-wife) could finish law school. He continues his job as a manager of a garden store so he can take care of the kids.

Maggie Kiley is directing the pilot.

This marks Fumero’s return to NBC. She’s best known for her role as Amy Santiago in the critically acclaimed Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which ended its eight-season run on NBC. She won the Imagen Foundation Award for her work on the show.

Fumero recently was a voice cast member on Comedy Central’s adult animated series Digman! from Andy Samberg as well as Max’s Velma from Mindy Kaling.

She also starred opposite Randall Park in Netflix’s comedy series Blockbuster and in the IFC comedy film Barfight! with Rachel Bloom.

Andy Garcia to Star in “Words On Bathroom Walls”

Andy Garcia is taking a bathroom break…

The 62-year-old Cuban actor has been cast in LD Entertainment’s Words On Bathroom Walls from director Thor Freudenthal.

Andy Garcia

Garcia joins a cast that includes Charlie Plummer, Taylor Russell, AnnaSophia Robb, Walton Goggins and Molly Parker.

Based on Julia Walton’s debut novel, the story follows the character of Adam (Plummer) as he tries to navigate high school life while living with paranoid schizophrenia and battling wild hallucinations. Luckily, an experimental drug trial promises to help hide his illness from his peers and most importantly from Maya, the girl of his dreams.

Garcia will portray Father Patrick, the kind and unexpectedly witty priest at the private high school Adam attends.

Nick Naveda wrote the screenplay.

Garcia will next appear in the films Book Club and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.

Trailer Released for Leguizamo’s Thriller “The Crash”

John Leguizamo is ready to crash the box office…

The 52-year-old Colombian American actor is thisclose to a breakthrough in The Hollywood Reporter‘s exclusive clip of The Crash, which takes place at a future time when the U.S. economy is on the verge of another massive financial crisis.

The Crash

The thriller stars Frank Grillo as Guy Clifton, a federally indicted stock trader who is secretly enlisted by the federal government to help thwart a cyber-attack aimed at the stock markets that could permanently cripple the economy. Having only ever been fueled by his love of money, he fully intends to use his insider knowledge of this world catastrophe for personal gain — until he unearths the organization behind the attack and discovers its motives.

In the film, Leguizamo plays George Diebold, a wheelchair-ridden stroke victim who is also the foremost expert on the stock market’s computer systems. The clip sees Dianna Agron consulting with him about how to find the source of the attack.

Written and directed by Aram Rappaport, the Vertical Entertainment release also stars Christopher McDonald, Minnie Driver, Maggie Q, AnnaSophia Robb, Mary McCormack, Ed Westwick and Andrew James Allen.

The Crash was released over the weekend in select theaters and on demand.

Moroles to Star in Lionsgate’s “Down a Dark Hall”

It’s a Dark time for Victoria Moroles

The 20-year-old Latina actress has joined the cast of Lionsgate’s film Down a Dark Hall, which is based on the novel by Lois Duncan.

Victoria Moroles

The book follows a troubled teen with a haunted past who is committed to Blackwood, a mysterious school for gifted and disturbed girls.

Moroles will play one of five teenage girls attending the school, alongside AnnaSophia Robb and Isabelle Fuhrman.

The film will be directed by Rodrigo Cortes from a script by Michael Goldbach and Chris Sparling. The movie is currently shooting in Barcelona.

Moroles’ credits include a role on the MTV series Teen Wolf, as well as a recurring role on the Disney Channel series Liv And Maddie.

Austin Lending His Voice to 3D Animated Film “Khumba”

Jake T. Austin is about to get animated again…

The 18-year-old Latino actor of Puerto Rican, Argentine and Spanish descent, who served as the voice of Diego on the animated educational series Dora the Explorer and it’s spin-off Go, Diego, Go!, has joined the cast of Khumba.

Jake T. Austin

The South Africa-based 3D animated feature centers on a plucky half-striped zebra blamed for a drought by his superstitious herd who meets a wacky group of characters as he goes on a journey to earn his full stripes.

In addition to Austin, who will be starring opposite Cierra Ramirez in ABC Family’s new drama series The Fosters this summer,  the voice cast includes Laurence Fishburne, Liam Neeson, AnnaSophia Robb, Loretta Devine and Richard E. Grant.

Raffaella Delle Donne and Anthony Silverston wrote the story in consultation with Lion King co-writer Jonathan Roberts.

Silverston directed the film, which is in post-production. Khumba should be released in the U.S. later this year.