Jennifer Lopez to Star in Netflix’s Sci-Fi Thriller “Atlas”

Jennifer Lopez will be fighting to save the world…

The 51-year-old Puerto Rican superstar will star in and produce the Netflix sci-fi thriller Atlas.

Jennifer Lopez

The film will be directed by Brad Peyton, with Aron Eli Coleite is writing the most recent draft of the script based off Leo Sardarian’s original script.

Joby Harold and Tory Tunnell will produce for Safehouse Pictures along with Peyton and Jeff Fierson for ASAP Entertainment, as well as Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Benny Medina joining Lopez to produce through Nuyorican Productions.

The film follows Atlas, a woman fighting for humanity in a future where an AI soldier has determined the only way to end war is to end humanity. To outthink this rogue AI, Atlas must work with the one thing she fears most — another AI.

“I’m so honored to be working with Jennifer, Elaine and the rest of the team at Nuyorican Productions along with our partners Joby and Tory at Safehouse,” Peyton said. “Having the chance to direct Jennifer in the title role of this movie is a dream come true, as I know she’ll bring the incredible strength, depth and authenticity we’ve all come to admire from her work. Furthermore, Jeff and I are so excited to be back working with Scott, Ori and the entire team at Netflix. They have been nothing short of amazing to work with and we are blessed to have the opportunity to make another movie on the service.”

The film falls under the newly announced creative partnership between Lopez’s Nuyorican Productions and Netflix where Lopez, producing partner Goldsmith-Thomas and longtime manager Medina will produce a slate of films, television series, scripted and unscripted content, with an emphasis on projects that support diverse female actors, writers and filmmakers.

The first two announced projects both starring Lopez include The Mother, which is directed by Niki Carpo, and The Cipher, based on the novel by Isabella Maldonado.

Lopez can be seen next in the Universal rom com Marry Me opposite Owen Wilson and also has the Lionsgate action comedy Shotgun Wedding. Both films come out in 2022.

Edgar Ramirez to Star in Eli Roth’s Film Adaptation of “Borderlands” Video Game

Edgar Ramirez is heading to the borderlands

The 44-year-old Venezuelan actor will portray Atlas in Eli Roth’s adaptation of the bestselling video game Borderlands for Lionsgate.

Edgar Ramirez

Ramirez joins Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ariana Greenblatt, Florian Munteanu, Haley Bennett, and Jack Black. In the game, Atlas is a business titan and arms manufacturer, and the most powerful person in the universe.

“What an incredible honor to have an actor of Edgar’s caliber, talent, and charisma playing opposite Cate Blanchett and this remarkable cast,” Roth said. “Atlas has to be a truly magnetic personality, someone with charisma and charm but that air of menace underneath it all. I’ve been a fan of Edgar’s since his early performances and he continues to amaze me with each dramatic turn. We want to create something wild, fun, and very different from anything they’ve seen from Edgar before. I am so, so excited to work with him.”

In the film, Lilith (Blanchett), an infamous outlaw with a mysterious past, reluctantly returns to her home planet of Pandora to find the missing daughter of the universe’s most powerful S.O.B., Atlas (Ramirez). Lilith forms an alliance with an unexpected team – Roland (Hart), a former elite mercenary, now desperate for redemption; Tiny Tina (Greenblatt), a feral pre-teen demolitionist; Krieg (Munteanu), Tina’s musclebound, rhetorically challenged protector; Tannis (Curtis), the scientist with a tenuous grip on sanity; and Claptrap (Black), a persistently wiseass robot. These unlikely heroes must battle alien monsters and dangerous bandits to find and protect the missing girl, who may hold the key to unimaginable power. The fate of the universe could be in their hands – but they’ll be fighting for something more: each other.

Based on the game from Gearbox and 2K, one of the bestselling video game franchises of all time, welcome to Borderlands.

“The force of Edgar’s presence and the strength of his talent as an actor make him an ideal choice to play Atlas, a character who controls the fate of so many in the Borderlands universe. He’s the perfect addition to this perfect cast,” said Nathan Kahane, president of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group.

Borderlands is one of the world’s most successful video game franchises, with more than 68 million units sold-in worldwide, including over 24 million units of Borderlands 2, which is the highest-selling title in the history of 2K. The most recent installment, Borderlands 3, which launched in September 2019 and was recently released for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, has sold-in more than 12 million units worldwide and was honored with the award for Best Multiplayer Game at Gamescom 2019 and Best Ongoing Game at Gamescom 2020.

The latest draft of the screenplay is by Craig Mazin.

Ramirez has stayed busy over the past year, most recently starring opposite Jennifer Garner in Netflix’s Yes DayHe was also recently seen in HBO’s critically acclaimed limited series, The Undoing. He will next star in Disney’s Jungle Cruise and Universal’s The 355.

Rafa Marquez Begins Coaching Career at Spain’s Real Sociedad Deportiva Alcala

Rafa Marquez is grooming the next generation of soccer stars…

The 41-year-old Mexican former professional footballer, regarded as the best defender in Mexico’s history and one of the best Mexican players of all time, has begun his coaching career training youth at Spanish fourth division side Real Sociedad Deportiva Alcala.

Rafa Marquez

Marquez, who’s nickname is El Káiser, retired in July 2018 after playing in his fifth World Cup and had a nine-month stint as Atlas‘ sporting president after that, but has now moved into the world of coaching.

“It’s a nice opportunity that I’m very grateful for,” said Marquez in quotes announced on the club’s website. “I’ve had a very warm welcome at the project, to which I feel very committed and to which I come in good spirits to help and offer all my experience as a player and now as a coach.”

Marquez, who holds a Spanish passport after his time with Barcelona, is currently studying in for his UEFA Pro license with the Spanish Football Federation as he transitions into being a head coach.

“The young players at Alcala will have the fortune to learn from a player who, after shining for his national team at the Copa America in Paraguay in 1999, left Atlas for European football, where he carried out practically all his successful sporting career,” read the club’s statement.

Marquez left Atlas last May after the club was bought out by Grupo Orlegi and became a fierce critic of the way the Mexican game is being run, slamming the suspension of promotion and relegation: between the top two divisions.

“Instead of moving forward each day, we are going backwards with these decisions and when it is run like this, with team owners’ interests [take priority], we won’t achieve anything on the sporting side,” he told ESPN in April.

Aguilera Records “We Remain” for “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” Soundtrack

Christina Aguilera’s musical career us catching fire

The 32-year-old half-Ecuadorian singer and The Voice coach will appear on The Hunger Games: Catching Fire soundtrack.

Christina Aguilera

Aguilera’s track, titled “We Remain,” joins the previously released piano ballad “Atlas,” written and performed by Coldplay, as well as The National‘s “Lean.”

Aguilera made the announcement via Twitter on Wednesday afternoon, telling her more than 9.4 million followers the news: “Love the underlying message of @TheHungerGames. ‘We Remain’ is special new song, its message to my fans & how I connect w/ the movie, alike.”

Aguilera’s last album was 2012’s Lotus and she has been a featured artist on several songs, including Pitbull‘s “Feel This Moment,” released earlier this year.

After taking the fourth cycle of The Voice off, the singer returned to NBC‘s hit singing competition series on September 23.

In Catching Fire, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) adjust to life as Hunger Games victors, until they are thrown back into the arena for the 75th annual Games — the Quarter Quell.

Liam Hemsworth, Lenny Kravitz, Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci and Woody Harrelson reprise their roles in the second film of the franchise.

Catching Fire hits theaters November 22.

A release date for the accompanying soundtrack, to be distributed by Lionsgate and Republic Records, has not been announced yet.

Former Soccer Star Borgetti to Become Marathon Man?

He’s Mexico’s all-time leading scorer in international fútbol… But Jared Borgetti could soon be earning acclaim in another sport.

The 39-year-old Mexican soccer star, who retired from the sport in December 2010, is thinking about competing in marathons.

Jared Borgetti

“It’s tough to run 42 kilometers and 195 meters (26.2 miles), but accessible for a high performance athlete like me,” Borgetti, known as El Zorro del Desierto, told Efe n Torreon, where he served as grand marshal of Sunday’s marathon. “If I decide to do it, I will need good physical preparation and serious mental training.”

Borgetti, who will turn 40 in August, retired from professional soccer with a lifetime tally of 258 goals, including 46 with the Mexican national squad.

“I just ran a 12.5 kilometer (7.7 mile) race to accompany my wife and I wanted to throw in the towel after that. I don’t know how these guys endure so much,” he said of the 4,500 runners in the Torreon marathon.

During his career, the striker played for Mexico’s Atlas, Santos Laguna, Dorados, Pachuca, Cruz Azul, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Puebla, Morelia and León, as well as England’s Bolton Wanderers and Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad.