Anya Taylor-Joy Returning for Sixth & Final Season of BBC’s Period Drama “Peaky Blinders”

Posted on January 1, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Anya Taylor-Joy is putting her Blinders back on…

The BBC has released the trailer for the sixth and final season of its hit period gangster saga Peaky Blinders, featuring extended footage of the 25-year-old Argentine American actress, who will be reprising her role as Gina Gray in the upcoming season.

An air date has not yet been announced, although it has been teased for early 2022.

Cillian Murphy is back as Tommy Shelby, seeking a means for the titular Birmingham-based clan to finally rest.

In addition to Murphy and Taylor-Joy, Tom Hardy, Paul Anderson, Finn Cole, and Sophie Rundle, among others, return for the final season. Stephen Graham also appears. Co-star Helen McCrory passed away in April of 2021. The fate of her Aunt Polly is not disclosed in the trailer released today.

Creator and writer Steven Knight previously said of the sixth season, “Peaky is back and with a bang. After the enforced production delay due to the COVID pandemic, we find the family in extreme jeopardy and the stakes have never been higher. We believe this will be the best series of all and are sure that our amazing fans will love it. While the TV series will be coming to an end, the story will continue in another form.”

The sixth season of Peaky Blinders is written by Knight, while Anthony Byrne returns as director having helmed season five to great acclaim, and Nick Goding produces.

Created and entirely written by Knight, the beloved drama first aired on BBC Two eight years ago, winning the BAFTA for Best Drama in its fourth season and then making the move to BBC One in 2019 with audiences of over 7M. Outside the UK, it airs on Netflix.

Anya Taylor-Joy Performs Haunting Cover of Petula Clark’s “Downtown” in Trailer for “Last Night in Soho”

Posted on October 20, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Anya Taylor-Joy is headed downtown…

The 25-year-old Argentine American actress and Queen’s Gambit star performs a haunting, downtempo cover of Petula Clark‘s iconic 1964 hit “Downtown” in the trailer for Last Night in Soho.

In the preview, Taylor-Joy, her voice slathered in echo, stands behind a mic in a recording studio and croons the track’s iconic hook, “When you’re alone and life is making you lonely/ You can always go/ Downtown.”

Backed by a haunting string section, the Golden Globe-winning actress flies high above the action in her ethereal voice as the screen fills with images from the upcoming Edgar Wright-directed horror thriller that also stars Thomasin McKenzie, Matt Smith and Terence Stamp; the film is due out on Oct. 29.

A description of the film finds aspiring fashion designer Eloise (McKenzie), “mysteriously [entering] the 1960s where she encounters a dazzling wannabe singer, Sandie [Taylor-Joy)]. But the glamour is not all it appears to be and the dreams of the past start to crack and splinter into something far darker.”

Clark’s signature hit “Downtown” — featuring then-session player Jimmy Page on guitar — climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in January 1965 and was ushered into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003. Over the years, it has been covered by everyone from Dolly Parton to Marianne Faithfull, the Osmond Brothers, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Frank Sinatra, Yo La Tengo, The Saw Doctors and Baby Spice Emma Bunton.

Arturo Castro to Star in the Gourmet Dark Satire “The Menu”

Posted on October 6, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Arturo Castro is ordering off The Menu…

The 35-year-old Guatemalan actor has been cast in Searchlight Pictures’ gourmet dark satire The Menu, which is currently filming in Savannah, GA.

Castro joins a roster of new cast additions that includes Paul Adelstein, Rob Yang, Mark St. Cyr, Rebecca Koon, Peter Grosz and Christina Brucato.

They join the previously announced line-up of the Mark Mylod-directed feature: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Fiennes, Nicholas Hoult, Hong Chau (Elsa), Janet McTeer (Lillian Bloom), John Leguizamo (as Movie Star), Aimee Carrero (Felicity), Reed Birney (Richard) and Judith Light (Anne).

Based on an original screenplay by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy, The Menu follows a young couple, Margot and Tyler (Taylor-Joy and Hoult), who travel to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where Chef Slowik (Fiennes) has prepared a lavish menu, with some shocking surprises.

Castro will portray Soren.

He previously appeared on the Comedy Central series Broad City and the Netflix series Narcos.

Anya Taylor-Joy Among Cast for Illumination’s ‘Super Mario Bros.’ Animated Film

Posted on September 24, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Anya Taylor-Joy is preparing for her next royal excursion…

Illumination and Nintendo have announced the powerhouse voice cast for their upcoming Super Mario Bros. animated film, which includes the 25-year-old Argentine American actress.

Taylor-Joy, who earned an Emmy nomination for her performance in Queen’s Gambit, will star as Princess Peach in the film, which will hit cinemas on December 21, 2022.

Playing the fraternal, mushroom digesting plumbers and squashers of turtles are Chris Pratt as Mario and Charlie Day as Luigi.

Playing bad guy Bowser is Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek, and stand-up comedian Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike.

“Each voice actor was cast for their ability to capture the unique spirit of their character,” reads the release.

The co-financed feature between Universal and Nintendo will be directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, who previously collaborated on the animated series Teen Titans Go! and the film Teen Titans Go! To the Movies.

The film’s screenplay will be written by Matthew Fogel, whose credits include The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part and the upcoming Illumination feature Minions: The Rise of Gru.

Future offshore release dates will be announced.

“Mario and Luigi are two of the most beloved heroes in all of popular culture, and we are honored to have the unique opportunity to work so closely with Shigeru Miyamoto and the widely imaginative team at Nintendo to bring these characters to life in an animated movie, unlike any film Illumination has made to date,” said Chris Meledandri who is also an outside director of Nintendo.

“We are collaborating with Chris and his experienced team to not just create a character licensed film, but a new piece of entertainment which brings Super Mario Bros. to life on the screen, and allows everyone to enjoy whether or not they know about the game. The production so far is constructive and going very well, and both parties are learning a lot from each other. We humbly ask that fans wait just a little longer for the premiere, and we hope they look forward to seeing the unique characters from Super Mario Bros. on the big screen,” said Miyamoto.

Super Mario Bros. is a huge franchise play for Universal and Illumination. Already, there’s a Super Mario Bros. land open at the Universal Japan theme park with others under construction at Universal Hollywood and Universal Orlando.

The movie has been a long awaited revival for fans. There was a live action movie in 1993 starring Bob Hoskins as Mario and John Leguizamo as Luigi and Dennis Hopper as baddie King Koopa. There was also in the late 1980s The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! animated series which starred Captain Lou Albano as the voice of Mario and Danny Wells as the voice of Luigi.

Mario Brothers was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Gunpei Yokoi, Nintendo’s chief engineer in 1983. Super Mario Bros. the subseries, was launched in 1985. It is the best-selling video game franchise of all time, with more than 758.06 million copies of games sold, including 388.92 million for the Super Mario games alone.

Focus Features Releases Official Trailer for Anya Taylor-Joy’s Psychological Thriller “Last Night In Soho”

Posted on September 9, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

It’s all about last night for Anya Taylor-Joy…

Focus Features has released the official trailer for Last Night In Soho, starring the 25-year-old Argentine actress, ahead of a planned October 29 release in theaters.

Edgar Wright’s psychological thriller just had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

Written by Wright and Krysty Wilson-Cairns, Last Night In Soho stars Thomasin McKenzie as Eloise, an aspiring fashion designer who is somehow able to enter the 1960s where she encounters a dazzling wannabe singer, Sandie (Taylor-Joy). But the glamour is not all it appears to be and the dreams of the past start to crack and splinter into something far darker.

Matt Smith, Terence Stamp, Diana Rigg, Rita Tushingham, Michael Ajao and Synnøve Karlsen also star in the filc, which is produced by Nira Park, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Laura Richardson and Wright.

Wright took to Twitter ahead of the film’s Lido world premiere on Saturday to plead with the gala crowd not to spoil the movie for others, writing that the cast and crew “would love to ask you, our first viewers, to keep the secrets within so that others can discover them later. When writing about the film, we’d love everyone who sees it to discover the story along with Eloise. So, please, if you can, keep the experience intact for future audiences so that what happens in ‘Last Night in Soho,’ stays in Soho….”

He said: “In ‘Last Night in Soho,’ our heroine Eloise goes on a journey. First from the country to the city, and then to another time. I would love the audience to go on that journey too when the film opens on October 29th. We purposely pushed the film back to this autumn date, not just so that it can hopefully be enjoyed on the biggest screen possible, but also so the nights would be longer and the audience could go in cold… literally.

Aimee Carrero to Star in Searchlight’s Comedic Psychological Thriller “The Menu”

Posted on September 2, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Aimee Carrero is ordering from the menu…

The 33-year-old Dominican and Puerto Rican actress has joined the cast of Searchlight’s The Menu.

The film, directed by Mark Mylod, is a darkly comedic psychological thriller set in the world of eccentric culinary culture, centering on a young couple who visit an exclusive restaurant on a remote island where an acclaimed chef has prepared a lavish tasting menu.

Previously announced cast includes Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Fiennes, John Leguizamo, Nicholas Hoult, and Hong Chau.

Carrero has a long list of credits in both television and film. On the small screen, she’s appeared in The Mentalist, The Americans, Level Up, and Young & Hungry, among others. And in The Last Witch Hunter, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Holidate, and most recently, Wander Darkly, for the big screen.

She’s most famously known for voicing Disney’s first Latina princess Elena of Avalor in the Disney Channel animated series of the same name, and for bringing to life the titular character in Netflix’s She-Ra and the Princess of Power.

Up next for Carrero is a recurring role in The Maid for Netflix set to be released October 1, and the as-yet-untitled The Boys spin-off for Amazon Prime Video.

Colman Domingo Among the Winners of Hollywood Critics Association’s First-Ever HCA TV Awards

Posted on August 30, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a euphoric time for Colman Domingo…

After being delayed a week and switched from an in-person event to a virtual ceremony, the Hollywood Critics Association have revealed the winners for its first-ever HCA TV Awards, with the 51-year-old Guatemalan-Belizean American actor earning a trophy.

Domingo was named Best Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Television Movie for his role on HBO’s Euphoria Two-Part Special.

Mj Rodriguez was named Best Actress in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, Drama for the 30-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress’ performance on FX’s Pose.

Anya Taylor-Joy picked up the Best Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Television Movie prize for the 25-year-old Argentine American actress’ Golden Globe-winning performance on Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit.

The HCA Awards separated streaming from broadcast and cable, making for multiple wins among shows and performers who are going head-to-head in the Emmy race next month – WandaVision
Best Broadcast Network or Cable Docuseries, Documentary Television Movie, or Non-Fiction Series – Welcome to Chechnya
Best Streaming Docuseries, Documentary Television Movie, or Non-Fiction Series – Kid 90
Best Broadcast Network or Cable Sketch Series, Variety Series, Talk Show, or Comedy/Variety Special – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Best Streaming Sketch Series, Variety Series, Talk Show, or Comedy/Variety Special – Bo Burnham: Inside
Best Broadcast Network Reality Series, Competition Series, or Game Show – The Masked Singer
Best Cable or Streaming Reality Series, Competition Series, or Game Show – RuPaul’s Drag Race
Best Animated Series or Animated Television Movie – Harley Quinn
Best Actor in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, Drama – Billy Porter, Pose
Best Actor in a Streaming Series, Drama – Josh O’Connor, The Crown
Best Actress in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, Drama – Mj Rodriguez, Pose
Best Actress in a Streaming Series, Drama – Emma Corrin, The Crown
Best Actor in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, Comedy – Ted Danson, Mr. Mayor
Best Actor in a Streaming Series, Comedy – Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso
Best Actress in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, Comedy – Jane Levy, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist
Best Actress in a Streaming Series, Comedy – Jean Smart, Hacks
Best Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Television Movie – Colman Domingo, Euphoria Two-Part Special
Best Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Television Movie – Anya Taylor-Joy, The Queen’s Gambit
Best Supporting Actor in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, Drama – Michael K. Williams, Lovecraft Country
Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Series, Drama – Rupert Grint, Servant
Best Supporting Actress in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, Drama – Tatiana Maslany, Perry Mason
Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Series, Drama – Gillian Anderson, The Crown
Best Supporting Actor in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, Comedy – Nico Santos, Superstore
Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Series, Comedy – Brett Goldstein, Ted Lasso
Best Supporting Actress in a Broadcast Network or Cable Series, Comedy – Mary Steenburgen, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist
Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Series, Comedy (tie) – Hannah Einbinder, Hacks and Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso
Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Television Movie – Evan Peters, Mare of Easttown
Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Television Movie – Kathryn Hahn, WandaVision

Special Honorary Awards:

Legacy Award – Cobra Kai
Spotlight Award – Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist
Impact Award – New Amsterdam
Pop Culture Icon Award – Tom Ellis, Lucifer
TV Icon Award – Marta Kauffman
Virtuoso Award – Bo Burnham

John Leguizamo In Talks to Star Opposite Anya-Taylor Joy in Searchlight’s “The Menu”

Posted on August 22, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

John Leguizamo is reviewing The Menu…

The 57-year-old Colombian actor/comedian is in final negotiations to join Searchlight’s The Menu from producers Adam McKay and Betsy Koch.

Previously announced cast includes Anya Taylor-Joy, who will portray one-half of the young couple; Ralph Fiennes, who stars as the chef; as well as Nicholas Hoult and Hong Chau in unconfirmed roles.

The Emmy and Tony Award winner is a pioneering Latino actor, writer, producer, and playwright who began his career telling stories about his life growing up in New York City as part of the immigrant community and the colorful characters he met along the way in various comedy specials including 1991’s Mambo Mouth and 1993’s Spic-O-Rama.

Although he made his small screen debut in Miami Vice in the 1980s, he really made a splash with the 1995 sketch comedy series House of Buggin‘—known as the Latino In Living Color. Although it only ran for one season on Fox, creator, writer, and star Leguizamo—alongside costar Luis Guzman—broke ground for Latin Americans on TV.

Notable film credits include Carlito’s Way, To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar, Romeo + Juliet, Summer of Sam, Moulin Rouge, Ice Age, and John Wick.

He also directed and starred in the 2020 bio-drama Critical Thinking based on the real-life story of a Miami inner-city high school chess team that would go on to win the U.S. National Chess Championship.

He also appeared in Bloodline, Waco, When They See Us, and The Mandalorian.

Leguizamo earned four Emmy nominations including one win in 1999 for Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Music Program for HBO’s Freak.

His lauded one-man Broadway show Latin American History For Morons about the contributions of Latinos to U.S. history was nominated for the 2018 Tony Award for Best Play. That year, he received a Special Tony honoring his body of work and his commitment to telling diverse stories on Broadway.

Anya Taylor-Joy in Talks to Star in the Dark Comedy “The Menu”

Posted on June 8, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Anya Taylor-Joy is perusing the menu…

Following her award-winning role on Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit, the 25-year-old Argentine-British actress is in talks to star in Searchlight’s dark comedy The Menu.

Taylor-Joy would star opposite Ralph Fiennes. Mark Mylod, who has played a major part in the success of HBO’s Succession, will direct.

The film is a darkly comedic psychological thriller set in the world of eccentric culinary culture, centering on a young couple who visit an exclusive restaurant on a remote island where an acclaimed chef has prepared a lavish tasting menu. Taylor-Joy will play one half of the couple. Fiennes is playing the chef.

Will Tracy and Seth Reiss penned the script.

After her breakout role in Robert Eggers’ The Witch, Taylor-Joy has been rising through the ranks and was handpicked to star in the M. Night Shyamalan thriller Split and its sequel Glass.

She became one of the big winners of 2021 when her Netflix limited series Queen’s Gambit, about a chess prodigy in the 1960s, became one of the streamers biggest hits of 2020. She was also recently seen in the Focus Features film Emma.

She has a busy 2021 ahead of her with starring roles in the Viking drama The Northman, the untitled David O. Russell film and Edgar Wright’s Last Night In Soho. She was also tapped to star in the Mad Max spinoff Furiosa in the title role.

Focus Features Releases Trailer for Anya Taylor-Joy’s Psychological Thriller “Last Night in Soho”

Posted on May 26, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Anya Taylor-Joy is preparing for her last night…

The first trailer has been released for Edgar Wright’s psychological thriller Last Night in Soho, starring the 25-year-old Argentine-British actress.

Focus Features will release the film on October 22.

The film stars Taylor-Joy, Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie, Matt Smith, Terence Stamp and Diana Rigg in a story set in 1960s Soho, London.

It follows a young girl (McKenzie), passionate in fashion design, who is mysteriously able to travel back in time where she encounters her idol, a dazzling wannabe singer (Taylor-Joy), but her journey isn’t without consequences.

Last Night in Soho originally was due to debut in September before being disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, it was then scheduled for April 23 before being pushed back again.

Universal is handling the international release. The film had been tipped for a Cannes Film Festival premiere, but there’s no confirmation yet on whether it could turn up at the French festival, which announces its lineup next week.

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