Jennifer Lopez Reveals Deeply Personal New Album Project “This Is Me… Now”

Jennifer Lopez is revealing a new music project…

The 53-year-old Puerto Rican superstar, who’d completely blacked out her social media accounts, returned to all platforms to announce This Is Me…Now.

Jennifer LopezThe announcement comes on the 20th anniversary of her album, This Is Me…Then, which she co-wrote and co-produced.

Heralding a new era of music for J.LoThis Is Me…Now will chronicle the emotional, spiritual and psychological journey that she has taken over the past two decades. It’s billed as being an emotionally raw and honest project, with a lineup of songs about her life and experiences.

In addition, the autobiographical stories informed by the album will result in other very personal projects she’ll be releasing in 2023.

This Is Me…Now will shine a spotlight on her tough childhood, unsuccessful relationships and the incredible emotional journey she has been on.

“This album is a philosophy, a reflection, a zeitgeist moment. It’s about hope, faith and true love never dying,” reads a press statement.

Lopez’s last album came out eight years ago in 2014, A.K.A.. She has released singles and had her successful, Marry Me, film soundtrack this year.

As of this year, she has released eight studio albums, one remix album, three compilation albums, one soundtrack, one extended play, 65 singles (including 14 as a featured artist), five charity singles and 12 promotional singles. She has sold more than 80 million records with 15 billion streams worldwide.

The 13 singles on the new album include “Dear Ben Pt. II” and “Midnight Trip to Vegas,” a nod to her marriage ceremony with Oscar winner Ben Affleck back in July.

The original 2002 album has the song “Dear Ben” which is a ballad about Affleck, released when she was previously dating him.

CBS Developing Latinx Family Workplace Comedy “Family Insurance” Co-Written & Starring Al Madrigal

Al Madrigal is lowering his deductible

Eric Christian Olsen’s Cloud Nine Productions has sold Family Insurance, co-written by and starring the 51-year-old half-Mexican American comedian, writer, actor and producer, to CBS.

Al MadrigalThe network is developing the single-camera Latinx family workplace comedy into a series.

Co-written and executive produced by Madrigal and Ryan Walls, who also have deals at CBS Studios, as well as Adam LowittFamily Insurance is a Latinx family workplace comedy revolving around Al Fuentes (Madrigal) who after separating from his wife reluctantly returns to his childhood home to work at the family insurance business that his loud, tough, first generation immigrant father started.

Madrigal is known for his role as Senior Latino Correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He was also a series regular and writer on Showtime’s I’m Dying Up Here, and served as a writer, actor, and producer on the CBS show, Broke.

Madrigal’s film credits include The Way Back with co-star Ben AffleckNight School alongside Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish, and Morbius opposite Jared Leto.

Jennifer Lopez to Perform at Charity Gala for Ukraine Children & Families

Jennifer Lopez is helping to raise funds for the children of the Ukraine…

The 53-year-old Puerto Rican superstar is set to perform on the Italian island of Capri at a Ukraine-focused charity gala for UNICEF.

Jennifer LopezExpected guests at the exclusive event, which is called LuisaViaRoma for UNICEF, include Leonardo DiCaprio; Jamie Foxx; Elon Musk’s mother, the supermodel Maye Musk; Naomi Campbell, Jared Leto, and Vanessa Hudgens.

The intimate Capri charity event will take place in the island’s Certosa di San Giacomo, a 14th-century monastery with a large grassy cloister area and a stunning view of the Mediterranean.

Lopez will be the main musical act at the exclusive gala, where the hit-making DJ Diplo and singer/actress Sofia Carson, as well as Switzerland’s DJ Cruz, are among other artists that are expected to take the stage, Italy’s La Repubblica reported.

Past editions of the charity concert have been complemented with performances by the likes of John Legend, Katy Perry and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, as well as Rita Ora, Ricky Martin and Ellie Goulding, according to Variety sister publication Women’s Wear Daily, which broke the news in May that Lopez would headline the Capri gala.

After kicking off with musical entertainment, the event will be followed by a lavish dinner and charity auction.

The guest list also includes Dutch supermodel and actor Lara Stone; U.S. producer and director Tonya Lewis Lee; Saudi producer and philanthropist Mohammed Al Turki; and, from Italy, singer and songwriter Sangiovanni and actor Matilde Gioli, according to La Repubblica.

During the charity gala, UNICEF representatives based in Ukraine will join the soirée remotely. A documentary will also screen, detailing the work being done by UNICEF at the Zaatari and Azraq refugee camps in Jordan that welcome Syrian children and their families.

It’s Lopez’s first stage performance since marrying actor Ben Affleck earlier this month.

Jacob Elordi to Star Opposite Rosamund Pike in Emerald Fennell’s Next Film “Saltburn”

Jacob Elordi is feelin’ the (salt)burn

The 24-year-old Spanish-Australian actor will star in Academy Award-winning writer and director Emerald Fennell’s next film Saltburn.

Jacob ElordiElordi will star opposite Barry Keoghan and Rosamund Pike in the project from MRC Film.

Principal photography is set to begin this summer in the United Kingdom.

The film will be produced by Fennell and LuckyChap Entertainment’s Josey McNamara, Tom Ackerley and Margot Robbie.

Described as a story of obsession, other plot details are being kept under wraps.

The film is Fennell’s follow-up to Promising Young Womanwhich was nominated for several Oscars and won Best Original Screenplay for Fennell.

Saltburn will mark Elordi’s most high-profile feature film role following his breakout performance as Nate on the massive HBO hit series EuphoriaHe recently was seen in Adrian Lyne’s feature Deep Water, opposite Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas.

Up next, Elordi stars opposite Zachary Quinto in the indie He Went That Way.

Guillermo del Toro to Receive ‘Hall of Fame Award’ During Final Draft Awards

Guillermo del Toro has earned a spot in the Final (Draft)…

The 57-year-old Mexican Oscar-winning filmmaker will be among the honorees for screenwriting excellence at the 17th annual Final Draft Awards, which will be presented in a virtual ceremony on March 16.

Guillermo del Torodel Toro will be honored alongside Jane CampionNicole HolofcenerDanny Strong, Jeymes Samuel, and Ashley Lyle & Bart Nickerson.

del Toro, whose current film is Nightmare Alley, will be presented with the Hall of Fame Award, honoring a writer whose body of work has had a profound influence on the industry.

The inaugural Trailblazer Award will go to Oscar-winning filmmaker Campion who is currently winning much acclaim for her latest film The Power of the Dog; the honor recognizes a writer whose career exudes excellence and who consistently tells compelling and bold stories.

Two Storyteller Awards will be presented recognizing writers who consistently maintain a level of excellence and surpass expectations. Academy Award nominee Holofcener will receive the Storyteller Award (Film) for The Last Duelon which she collaborated with stars Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Two-time Emmy winner Strong will receive the Storyteller Award (TV) for the limited series Dopesick, currently streaming on Hulu. Additionally, Final Draft will present two New Voice Awards recognizing rising and vital talents in the industry: The New Voice Award (TV) to Lyle and Nickerson, the husband-and-wife writer-producer team behind Showtime’s Yellowjacketsand The New Voice Award (Film) to Samuel whose feature debut The Harder They Fall is currently streaming on Netflix.

“Storytellers have been revered throughout history for their ability to connect us,” Final Draft president Shelly Mellott said Wednesday. “This year’s honorees are using their considerable talents to tell brave, audacious stories in imaginative ways that entertain, provoke and enlighten audiences. We could not be more proud to honor them and their outstanding work and the impact their stories have on our culture.”

Final Draft, the screenwriting software company, has previously honored the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Nancy Meyers, Aaron Sorkin, Lawrence Kasdan, Paul Schrader, Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski, Callie Khouri, Steven Zaillian, Robert Towne, Oliver Stone and Sydney Pollack, among others.

The Storyteller Award was introduced in 2021 and was presented to Steve McQueen and Sofia Coppola. The New Voice Award was introduced in 2017 with recipients including Ramy Yousef, Steven Canals, Lulu Wang, Liz Hannah, Issa Rae, Boots Riley, Radha Blank and Tanya Saracho.

Javier Bardem to Receive Maltin Modern Master Award at This Year’s Santa Barbara Film Festival

Javier Bardem is officially a master

The 52-year-old Spanish Oscar-winning actor will be honored with the prestigious Maltin Modern Master Award at the 37th annual edition of the Santa Barbara Film Festival.

Javier BardemBardem will be feted alongside his Being the Ricardos co-star Nicole Kidman on Thursday, March 10 when they’ll engage with veteran film historian and critic Leonard Maltin for an in-person conversation about their careers leading up to this year’s performances as Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball in Aaron Sorkin’s acclaimed film from Amazon Studios.

Bardem and Kidman recently received individual SAG Award nominations in the lead actor and actress categories.

Bardem and Kidman, who have never before worked together, previously won Oscars for No Country for Old Men (2007) and The Hours (2002), respectively. Each has a long career of acclaimed performances.

“Nicole Kidman continues to challenge and reinvent herself year after year. Javier Bardem’s talent is a gift to the world. Only in Hollywood could these actors find themselves playing America’s all time favorite TV couple. It’s cause for celebration,” Maltin said.

Santa Barbara International Film Festival

The Modern Master Award was established in 1995 and is the highest accolade presented by SBIFF. Created to honor an individual who has enriched our culture through accomplishments in the motion picture industry, it was re-named the Maltin Modern Master Award in 2015 in honor of longtime SBIFF moderator and renowned film critic Leonard Maltin.

Past recipients include Bill Murray, Brad Pitt, Glenn Close, Denzel Washington, Michael Keaton, Bruce Dern, Ben Affleck, Christopher Plummer, Christopher Nolan, James Cameron, Clint Eastwood, Cate Blanchett, Will Smith, George Clooney and Peter Jackson.

This is the first time a pair of actors will be honored together.

Other Santa Barbara tributes previously announced include Benedict Cumberbatch with the Vanguard AwardKing Richard stars Will Smith and Aunjanue Ellis for Outstanding Performers of the Year, Kristen Stewart for the American Riviera Award, and collectively named for Virtuoso Awards are West Side Story’s Ariana DeBoseCODA actors Emilia Jones and Troy KotsurRed Rocket’s  Simon RexLicorice Pizza’s Alana Haim, and Saniyya Sidney from King Richard.

The 37th Santa Barbara Film Festival is set to take place in-person March 2-12. Official events including screenings, filmmaker Q&As, industry panels and celebrity tributes will be held throughout the city including at the historic Arlington Theatre.

Ana de Armas’ “Deep Water” to Open on Hulu in the United States

Ana de Armas will be heading into deep waters on Hulu

The Adrian Lyne-directed erotic thriller Deep Water, starring the 33-year-old Spanish Cuban actress and Ben Affleck, will open domestically on Hulu, according to Deadline.com.

Ana de Armas

 

Amazon will stream the film overseas.

The 20th Century Studios/New Regency film was pulled from the Disney theatrical release calendar last week. It was originally set to hit theaters on Jan. 14, 2022.

No word yet on a streaming date.

Deep Water, based on the Patricia Highsmith novel, reps Lyne’s first directorial since 2002’s Unfaithful. 

He was Oscar nominated in 1988 for Best Director for Paramount’s Fatal Attraction starring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas, which was a huge hit at the time grossing over $320M WW.

Deep Water is reportedly being sent to streaming given the weak theatrical marketplace for adult fare currently.

Affleck and de Armas star as Vic and Melinda Van Allen, a married couple whose mind games with each other take a twisted turn when people around them start turning up dead. The couple staves off divorce in a loveless marriage by allowing each to take lovers, but it becomes messy as Highsmith exposed the surface façade of American suburban life.

Zach Helm and Sam Levinson adapted the book. Tracy Letts, Rachel Blanchard, Dash Mihok, Lil Rel Howery, Jacob Elordi, Kristen Connolly and Jade Fernandez also star.

JD Pardo to Star in Robert Rodriguez’s Action-Thriller “Hypnotic”

It’s a hypnotic time for JD Pardo

The 41-year-old Argentine Salvadoran American actor will star in Robert Rodriguez’s action-thriller Hypnotic, alongside Ben Affleck, Alice BragaDayo OkeniyiWilliam Fichtner and Hala Finley.

JD Pardo,

Currently filming in Texas, Hypnotic follows a detective (Affleck) who becomes entangled in a mystery involving his missing daughter (Finley) and a secret government program – while investigating a string of impossible high-end crimes.

Rodriguez and Max Borenstein wrote the film.

Pardo recently had a cameo as character Jack Toretto in Universal’s blockbuster hit F9: The Fast Saga and he’ll next be seen in STX’s Violence of Action alongside Chris Pine and Ben Foster.

He recently wrapped work on Amazon’s conspiracy-thriller series The Terminal List opposite Chris Pratt. Earlier this week he was awarded the Imagen Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of EZ Reyes in FX’s hit show Mayans M.C. which has been picked up for a fourth season.

Al Madrigal Signs Multi-Year Overall Deal with CBS Studios

Al Madrigal is lookin’ to develop new projects for CBS Studios

The 50-year-old half-Mexican American comedian, writer, actor and producer has signed a multi-year overall deal with the studio to develop new series for broadcast, cable and streaming services.

Al Madrigal

Madrigal is currently co-writing, producing, and starring in Guerrillas, a CBS Studios-produced single-camera comedy from Madrigal and Jenny Snyder Urman’s Sutton Street Productions in development at ABC. The series revolves around a lonely efficiency expert (Madrigal) for an oil company who gets kidnapped in South America and ends up working for a disorganized group of guerrilla soldiers to earn back his freedom.

“We are delighted to make our relationship with Al official,” said Kate Adler, EVP Comedy Development, CBS Studios. “We have been fans of his comedy for years. Al is an extraordinary talent both behind and in front of the camera. We are convinced there is nothing he can’t do…aside from speak proficient Spanish. He tells us he’s working on that.”

Madrigal is one of today’s most successful comedians, credited with breaking down barriers for Latinos in the industry and crossing over to become a writer, producer and entrepreneur.

Madrigal and fellow comedian, Bill Burr, co-founded All Things Comedy (ATC) Over the past five years, ATC has created a digital video platform, original podcasts, production company, comedy record label, television and feature distribution, and a social media consultancy and branded content agency. It’s currently the leading comedy podcast network featuring shows hosted by some of the industry’s top comedians and has over 15 million listeners and 50+ shows.

On television, Madrigal is best known as the Senior Latino Correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, a series regular and writer on Showtime’s I’m Dying Up Here, and served as a writer, actor, and producer on the CBS show, Broke.

Madrigal’s film credits include his standout role as Dan the assistant basketball coach in The Way Back, with co-star Ben Affleck for Warner Bros. Madrigal has also been seen in Night School, alongside Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish, and next year, he will play Agent Rodriquez in Sony’s Morbius, alongside Jared Leto.

Madrigal’s stand-up career took-off when he won a jury award for best stand-up comedian at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival. He went on to sign a talent holding deal with CBS, which led to his special, Comedy Central Presents. Madrigal went on to complete his first one hour special, Why Is the Rabbit Crying?. The special premiered on Comedy Central and was named one of the top 10 comedy specials of 2013 by both Westword and The Village Voice. In 2017, his critically acclaimed one-hour special, Shrimpin’ Ain’t Easy premiered on Showtime.

“I’m excited to continue to collaborate with David, Kate, Alec, Sean and everyone at CBS Studios to write and produce stories that have largely been absent from television,” said Madrigal. “I’m of course talking about overweight white guys married to women way out of their league.”

Alice Braga to Star in Robert Rodriguez’s Thriller “Hypnotic”

Alice Braga has landed a hypnotic role…

The 38-year-old Brazilian actress has joined the cast of Robert Rodriguez’s thriller Hypnotic, starring Ben Affleck.

Alice Braga

Cameras are set to roll starting on September 20, in Austin, Texas, after the film’s original start date in April 2020 was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then insurance issues.

Hypnotic will follow a detective who becomes entangled in a mystery involving his missing daughter and a secret government program while investigating a string of high-end crimes.  

The film is written by Sin City and Alita: Battle Angel filmmaker Rodriguez and Max Borenstein. Rodriguez, Studio 8 CEO Jeff Robinov and Studio8’s Guy Danella and John Graham are producing with Solstice.

Solstice has already sold the film well into international markets and is due to release Hypnotic in the U.S.

Braga will next be seen in The Suicide Squad, alongside Margo Robbie, Idris Elba and Viola Davis. She’s known for her starring role in the long-running USA Network series Queen Of The South, Luca Guadagnino’s limited series We Are Who We Are, and was one of the lead voices in Oscar-winning Pixar film Soul.