Pedro Pascal to Make Hosting Debut on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” in February

Pedro Pascal is ready for his late night close-up…

The 47-year-old Chilean actor will be making his hosting debut set on NBC’s Saturday Night Live in the near future.

Pedro PascalFresh from the success of HBO’s The Last of Us and ahead of the third season of Disney+’s The Mandalorian, Pascal will host the NBC show on February 4.

He’ll be joined by Coldplay as the musical guest. Chris Martin’s British indie pop band is making its seventh appearance on the show after announcing a run of West Coast dates in September for the Music of the Spheres world tour.

It marks a consecutive three-episode run of shows for SNL, which had Aubrey Plaza hosting last week and Michael B. Jordan set to host January 28.

SNL is produced in association with Broadway Video. The creator and executive producer is Lorne Michaels.

Jenna Ortega Earns First SAG Awards Nomination for Netflix’s “Wednesday”

Jenna Ortega is celebrating another first…

The Screen Actors Guild has revealed the nominees for this year’s SAG Awards, with the 20-year-old Mexican and Puerto Rican actress – a first-time Golden Globe nominee this year – earning her first nod.

Jenna Ortega, WednesdayOrtega is nominated in the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series category for her starring role in Netflix’s acclaimed series Wednesday, which has been renewed for a second season.

Ana de Armas is also a first-time SAG Awards nominee…

The 34-year-old Cuban and Spanish actress is nominated in the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role category for her starring turn as Marilyn Role in Netflix’s Blonde.

Diego Calva has picked up his first SAG Awards nod.

The 30-year-old Mexican actor, the breakout star of Babylon, and co-stars are nominated in the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture category.

Nelson Bonilla, Alfonso Herrera, Felix Solis and their Ozark co-stars are nominated in the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series category.

It’s Solis’ second SAG Awards nomination for Ozark and the first for Bonilla and Herrera.

Aubrey Plaza has picked up her first SAG Awards nod.

The 38-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress and her The White Lotus co-stars are nominated in the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series category.

Liza Colon-Zayas is celebrating her first SAG Awards nod.

The 51-year-old Puerto Rican actress and her The Bear costars are nominated in the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series category.

Selena Gomez is a second-time SAG Awards nominee…

For the second year in a row, the 30-year-old Mexican American actress/singer and her Only Murders in the Building costars are nominated in the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series category.

The SAG Awards will air on Netflix’s YouTube channel this year and then move to the streamer in 2024.

The ceremony will take place Sunday, February 26, at Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles.

Here’s a complete look at the nominees:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series
Steve Carrell (“The Patient”)
Taron Egerton (“Black Bird”)
Sam Elliott (“1883”)
Paul Walter Hauser (“Black Bird”)
Evan Peters (“Dahmer”)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series
Emily Blunt (“The English”)
Jessica Chastain (“George and Tammy”)
Julia Garner (“Inventing Anna”)
Niecy Nash Betts (“Dahmer”)
Amanda Seyfried (“The Dropout”) 

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Carrigan (“Barry”)
Bill Hader (“Barry”)
Steve Martin (“Only Murders in the Building”)
Martin Short (“Only Murders in the Building”)
Jeremy Allen White (“The Bear”) 

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Christina Applegate (“Dead to Me”)
Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Quinta Brunson (“Abbott Elementary”)
Jenna Ortega (“Wednesday”)
Jean Smart (“Hacks”) 

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
“Abbott Elementary”
“Barry”
“The Bear”
“Hacks”
“Only Murders in the Building” 

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Jonathan Banks (“Better Call Saul”)
Jason Bateman (“Ozark”)
Jeff Bridges (“The Old Man”)
Bob Odenkirk (“Better Call Saul”)
Adam Scott (“Severance”) 

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Jennifer Coolidge (“The White Lotus”)
Elizabeth Debicki (“The Crown”)
Julia Garner (“Ozark”)
Laura Linney (“Ozark”)
Zendaya (“Euphoria”) 

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
“Better Call Saul”
“The Crown”
“Ozark”
“Severance”
“The White Lotus”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”)
Hong Chau (“The Whale”)
Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Inisherin”)
Jamie Lee Curtis (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)
Stephanie Hsu (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) 

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Paul Dano (“The Fabelmans”)
Brendan Gleeson (“The Banshees of Inisherin”)
Barry Keoghan (“The Banshees of Inisherin”)
Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)
Eddie Redmayne (“The Good Nurse”) 

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Cate Blanchett (Tár”)
Viola Davis (“The Woman King”)
Ana de Armas (“Blonde”)
Danielle Deadwyler (“Till”)
Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Austin Butler (“Elvis”)
Colin Farrell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”)
Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”)
Bill Nighy (“Living”)
Adam Sandler (“Hustle”) 

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
“Babylon”
“The Banshees of Inisherin”
“Everything Everywhere All at Once”
“The Fabelmans”
“Women Talking”

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
“Avatar: The Way of Water”
“The Batman”
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
“Top Gun: Maverick”
“The Woman King” 

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series
“Andor”
“The Boys”
“House of the Dragon”
“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”
“Stranger Things”

Aubrey Plaza to Make “Saturday Night Live” Hosting Debut This Month

Aubrey Plaza is preparing to make a special debut…

The 38-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress will be hosting Saturday Night Live’s first show of 2023.

Aubrey PlazaMaking her hosting debut, Plaza will host on January 21, with Sam Smith as the musical guest.

Plaza’s star has been on the rise following her acclaimed starring role in Emily The Criminal and her work on season two of The White Lotus, which earned her a first-ever Golden Globe nomination.

Saturday Night Live is produced in association with Broadway Video. The creator and executive producer of the long-running NBC sketch-comedy series is Lorne Michaels.

Aubrey Plaza to Star in Marvel’s “WandaVision” Spinoff Series “Agatha: Coven of Chaos”

Aubrey Plaza is joining the coven…

The 38-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress and comedian, who is currently starring on Season 2 of HBO’s The White Lotushas been cast opposite Kathryn Hahn and Joe Locke in Agatha: Coven of ChaosMarvel’s upcoming WandaVision spinoff series for Disney+.

Aubrey PlazaDetails about Plaza’s role are being kept under wraps, but she’s believed to be playing a villain opposite Hahn and Locke, according to Deadline.

Hahn is reprising her role as WandaVision bad gal Agatha in the series. Emma Caulfield Ford is also set to reprise the role of Dottie from WandaVision.

Hahn’s Agatha Harkness appeared in Disney+’s WandaVision, from series creator Jac Schaeffer.

WandaVision centered on Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany), two superpowered beings living their ideal suburban lives in the town of Westview, NJ, who begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems. Agatha, who won viewers over with her “Agatha All Along” number, is a witch from Salem and fan-favorite breakout character.

Schaeffer, who is under a joint overall deal with Marvel and 20th Television, serves as writer and executive producer on the spinoff.

Agatha: Coven of Chaos is expected to drop on Disney+ next year.

HBO Releases Official Trailer for Second Season of “The White Lotus,” Featuring Aubrey Plaza

Aubrey Plaza is taking a memorable vacanza

HBO has released the official trailer for the second installment of Emmy-winning The White Lotus, featuring the 38-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress.

Aubrey Plaza“Whenever I stay at a White Lotus, I always have a memorable time. Always.” So begins the trailer with words from Season 1 scene-stealer Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya, who is back for more adventures in Season 2, along with her new husband Greg, played by the returning Jon Gries, a fellow guest she met in Season 1 at the Hawaii resort. It’s a bit of rocky start to the vacation, as Greg is not happy Tanya has brought her assistant along for the trip.

The trailer also offers a first look at Plaza, who plays Harper Spiller, a newly wealthy woman after her husband finds professional success.

Aubrey PlazaThe seven-episode Season 2 is set at an exclusive White Lotus resort in Sicily. The social satire follows the exploits of various guests and employees over the span of a week.

Season 2 also stars F. Murray Abraham, Adam DiMarco, Beatrice Grannò, Meghann Fahy, Tom Hollander, Sabrina Impacciatore, Michael Imperioli, Theo James, Haley Lu Richardson, Will Sharpe, Simona Tabasco and Leo Wood.

The White Lotus is created, written and directed by Mike White, and executive produced by White, David Bernad and Mark Kamine.

The Hawaii-set first installment is coming off its Emmy haul of 10 wins out of 20 nominations, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, the most wins of any program this year.

The seven-episode series debuts on Sunday, October 30 at 9:00 pm ET/PT on HBO and will be available for streaming on HBO Max.

Aubrey Plaza to Star in Francis Ford Coppola’s Passion Project “Megalopolis” 

Aubrey Plaza is having a mega moment…

The 38-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/comedian will star in Francis Ford Coppola’s passion project Megalopolis

Aubrey PlazaThe film stars Adam Driver, Forest WhitakerNathalie EmmanuelJon Voight and Laurence Fishburne.

Coppola is directing the project from his own script.

The contemporary drama is described as follows: The fate of Rome haunts a modern world unable to solve its own social problems in this epic story of political ambition, genius and conflicted love.

The film’s budget will be just under $100 million, and production begins this fall.

Plaza recently starred in the film Emily the Criminal, which premiered earlier this year Sundance Film Festival.

She is also set to star in the next season of HBO’s hit anthology series The White Lotus.

HBO Offers Sneak Peek at Season 2 of “The White Lotus,” Which Will Star Aubrey Plaza

Aubrey Plaza’s career is blossoming

The 38-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/comedian will star in the second season of HBO’s The White Lotus.

Aubrey PlazaThe premium cable channel offered a first look from the Sicily-based Season 2 via a promo that highlighted new and returning series coming up for release.

Jennifer Coolidge will be joined by her fellow The White Lotus original cast member Jon Gries in the HBO dark comedy’s second season.

The first season of the series – created, written, directed and executive produced by Mike White – was set at a tropical Hawaiian resort, following the exploits of various guests and employees over the span of a week. Coolidge portrayed Tanya McQuoid—a troubled vacationer mourning the loss of her mother—with Gries as her love interest, Greg.

While Tanya and Greg left Hawaii together after meeting on their respective trips, it hadn’t been confirmed until now that the characters remain together up through Season 2. The footage from the new promo shows Tanya holding onto Greg on the back off a motorcycle.

The White Lotus recently earned 20 Emmy nominations for its first season, with Coolidge among those landing their firstThe show’s first season ensemble also included Murray Bartlett, Connie Britton, Sydney Sweeney, Alexandra Daddario, Jack Lacy, Fred Hechinger, Brittany O’Grady, Natasha Rothwell, Steve Zahn, Lukas Gage and more.

Although it was initially presented as a limited series, The White Lotus was renewed for a second season in August, after debuting to critical acclaim and a No. 1 ranking on HBO.

The next edition of the series will follow a different group of vacationers as they book their stay at an Italian White Lotus property and settle in temporarily amongst its inhabitants.

In addition to Plaza, others joining The White Lotus in Season 2 include Will Sharpe, Sabrina Impacciatore, Theo James and Meghann Fahy, as well as F. Murray Abraham, Adam DiMarco, Tom Hollander, Michael Imperioli, Haley Lu Richardson, Leo Woodall, Beatrice Grannó and Simona Tabasco.

IFC Films & AMC+ Acquire North American Rights to Aubrey Plaza’s “Spin Me Round”

Aubrey Plaza will be spinning into theaters this summer…

IFC Films and AMC+ have acquired the North American rights to Jeff Baena’s Spin Me Round, starring the 37-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/comedian.

Aubrey Plaza, Spin Me RoundThe film, which made its world premiere at SXSW last month, will open in theaters and VOD and stream exclusively on AMC+ this summer.

Spin Me Round represents filmmaker Baena’s reteam with Alison Brie, Plaza and Molly Shannon, who star in the film.

Brie co-wrote and produced Spin Me Round, in which she plays the manager of an Italian restaurant chain who wins the opportunity to attend the franchise’s educational immersion program in Italy. What she thought would be a romantic getaway devolves into chaos and catastrophe.

Baena and Brie previously teamed on Horse Girl, she starred in and co-wrote with Baena, who also directed. Brie also appeared in Baena’s The Little Hours and Joshy. Plaza has starred in Baena’s The Little Hours, Joshy and Life After Beth. Shannon starred in Baena’s Little Hours, Horse Girl and Life After Beth.

Spin Me Round also marks the third IFC Films feature with Brie, who most recently starred in The Rental, the Dave Franco-directed thriller that was a hit at drive-ins nationwide and on VOD in the summer of 2020, when a majority of theaters were closed down due to COVID-19; that pic grossed $1.6M.

Rounding out the cast is Alessandro Nivola, Zach Woods, Ayden Mayeri, Ben Sinclair, Tim Heidecker, Debby Ryan and Fred Armisen.

Spin Me Round is a Duplass Brothers and Limelight Production. Limelight’s Chris Parker and Dylan Sellers produced and fully funded Spin Me Round.

“We have long admired Jeff Baena’s films and are thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with him and his incredible filmmaking team on this fun and hilarious ride,” said Arianna Bocco, President of IFC Film. “Jeff, Alison and the Duplass Brothers are true creative geniuses and icons of independent cinema, and we can’t wait for audiences to experience this all-star cast over the summer.”

Baena added: “I was really impressed with Arianna and her team’s passion, thoughtfulness and innovation coupled with their track record of ushering in so many incredible independent films. I’m so grateful to have an opportunity to finally partner with IFC Films and share Spin Me Round with the world.”

Courtney Thomasma, General Manager of AMC+, said: “Spin Me Round is the perfect summer fare for our subscribers, who continue to come to AMC+ as a premium destination for compelling new feature films with their favorite stars. We are huge fans of Alison Brie, who our audience knows well from the iconic Mad Men, and we’re excited to be working with her, Jeff Baena and the entire producing team on this delightful new movie.”

Ramón Rodríguez to Star in ABC’s Drama Pilot “Will Trent”

Ramón Rodríguez has found a new will to thrive…

The 42-year-old Puerto Rican actor has been cast in the lead role of ABC’s drama pilot Will Trent, which now has been officially cleared for production.

Ramon RodriguezRodriguez will also be a producer on the project, which hails from 20th Television.

Rodríguez was approached just a couple of weeks after the series had received a cast-contingent pilot order in early February. Trent’s casting, which comes after lengthy negotiations, removes that contingency.

Rodríguez most recently starred opposite Aubrey Plaza and served as producer on the Hulu pilot Olga Dies Dreaming, which isn’t moving forward.

In Will Trent, written by Liz Heldens and Dan Thomsen based on Karin Slaughter’s bestselling book series, Special Agent Will Trent (Rodríguez) of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations was abandoned at birth and endured a harsh coming-of-age in Atlanta’s overwhelmed foster care system. But now, determined to use his unique point of view to make sure no one is abandoned like he was, Trent has the highest clearance rate in the GBI.

Rodríguez’s Will Trent is a gifted GBI agent and a loner within the law-enforcement community who hides the severe dyslexia that went untreated during his traumatic childhood in foster care. But with the Bureau’s best clearance rate, he couldn’t care less if people don’t like him.

Heldens and Thomsen executive produce along with Slaughter and 3 ArtsOly Obst.

Rodríguez’s television series credits include Showtime’s The Affair and Netflix/Marvel’s Iron Fist and The Defenders. In features, he next will be seen starring in the horror film Lullaby from Annabelle director John R. Leonetti. He recently starred in Disney’s The One and Only Ivan alongside Bryan Cranston.

Roadside Attractions & Vertical Entertainment Acquire North American Rights to Aubrey Plaza’s Thriller “Emily the Criminal”

Aubrey Plaza’s latest project is getting some roadside assistance…

Roadside Attractions and Vertical Entertainment have acquired the North American rights to the 37-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress’ indie thriller Emily the Criminal.

Aubrey Plaza, Emily the CriminaThey’ve slated the film for an exclusive theatrical release this year, with Redbox joining the partnership for home entertainment distribution.

John Patton Ford’s feature directorial debut follows Emily (Plaza), who is saddled with student debt and locked out of the job market due to a minor criminal record. Desperate for income, she takes a shady gig as a “dummy shopper,” buying goods with stolen credit cards supplied by a handsome and charismatic middleman named Youcef (Theo Rossi). Faced with a series of dead-end job interviews, Emily soon finds herself seduced by the quick cash and illicit thrills of black-market capitalism, and increasingly interested in her mentor Youcef. Together, they hatch a plan to bring their business to the next level in Los Angeles.

Ford penned the original screenplay, with Megalyn Echikunwoke and Gina Gershon rounding out the cast.

Plaza produced the film through her Evil Hag Productions banner,.

“John Patton Ford’s propulsive thriller Emily The Criminal is a spectacular directing debut with a revelatory performance from Aubrey Plaza as a wildly entertaining antiheroine that recalls Faye Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde,” said Roadside Attractions’ Co-Presidents Howard Cohen & Eric d’Arbeloff.

“When we saw the film, we knew we had to have it. It is an exceptional story that is sure to excite and thrill audiences,” said Vertical Entertainment’s Partner & CEO Peter Jarowey. “We are excited to bring two long-standing collaborators in Roadside and Redbox together on one film that we care so deeply about. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.”

“We continue to believe in the importance of the theatrical experience and the power of watching movies together on a big screen,” added the filmmakers in a joint statement, “and couldn’t be more excited and confident in our stellar partners at Roadside and Vertical to connect our film with audiences everywhere.”