Tag Archives: Billy Elliot

David Alvarez to Star in Showtime’s Drama Series “Rust”

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David Alvarez is ready for showtime…

The 25-year-old Cuban-Canadian actor/dancer is set to star in Showtime’s drama series Rust. 

David Alvarez

Alvarez will star oppositeMaura Tierney, Jeff Daniels, Bill Camp, Alex Neustaedterand newcomer Julia Mayorga in the series. 

Based on Philipp Meyer’s debut novel American Rust, the Showtime adaptation is described as a compelling family drama that will explore the tattered American dream through the eyes of complicated and compromised chief of police Del Harris (Daniels) in a Rust Belttown in southwest Pennsylvania. When the woman he truly loves (Tierney) sees her son accused of murder, Harris is forced to decide what he’s willing to do to protect him.

Tierney’s Grace Poe is a woman from a devastated Pennsylvania steel town trying to organize a union among co-workers at her dress factory, while her son Billy (Neustaedter) is accused of murder.

Camp will play Henry English, a disabled former steel worker and widower who has placed the entire burden of his care on his son, Isaac (Alvarez). When Isaac runs away, Henry is forced to call his daughter Lee (Mayorga) back from her new life in New York City and finally reckon with the reality of his wife’s death.

Alvarez’s Isaac English is a recent high school graduate who abandons both his ailing father and his troubled friend to hitchhike cross-country. He’ll have to weigh the value of self-discovery against that of personal loyalty.

Neustaedter’s Billy Poe is a former high school football star who turned down a scholarship to stay in town. When he’s accused of the murder of an ex-cop, he must weigh his personal loyalties with the value of his own life.

Mayorga’s Lee English is a young woman, who upon graduating from Columbia Law School, is pulled back to her hometown as her brother runs away, and her father’s condition deteriorates.

Rust is executive produced by Dan Futterman, who is writing multiple scripts, Michael De Luca, Daniels and Elisa Ellisfor Platform One Media.

Alvarez received a Tony Awardfor his performance in Billy Elliot. A military veteran, he most recently wrapped production playing Bernardo in Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story.

Cosculluela’s “Esteban” to Open Havana Film Festival New York

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Jonal Cosculluela is bringing Cuba’s Billy Elliot to the Big Apple…

The Cuban director’s first feature film Esteban will have its U.S. debut as the opening film at the Havana Film Festival New York, with Cosculluela taking part in a Q&A session after the screening.

 Jonal Cosculluela's Esteban

Esteban features a soundtrack by Cuban piano godfather Chucho Valdés and a heart-melting nine-year-old protagonist. The story centers on a little boy set on playing the piano against all odds. It’s heralded as a Cuban Billy Elliot with a love-at-first sight star, Reynaldo Guanche.

Co-produced by the Cuban Institute of Music and Spain’s RTV Commercial, Esteban has already won a handful of awards at festivals in Europe and Cuba.

“Chucho Valdés agreed to make the original soundtrack for the film just because he believed in the project,” Cosculluela said via a director’s note on the film’s website. He calls Esteban a story about “the determination of achieving your dreams,” but also one that shows “the harsh side of the current situation in Cuba.”

Several documentaries in the festival lineup delve into specific styles of Cuban music. Amparame!, directed by Patricia Ramos, covers the fertile subject of Cuban music’s relationship with religion. Decir Con Feeling, directed by Rebeca Chávez, is a love letter to filin, the mid-century Havana swinging jazz ballad style.

And Valdés, along with Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Michel Camilo, anchors Pavel Giroud and JuanMa Villar Betancort’s tribute to composer Ernesto Lecuona, Playing Lecuona.

Ramirez to Portray El Libertador Simon Bolivar

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Édgar Ramírez is preparing to take on another real-life role…

Edgar Ramirez

Following his award-winning performance as Carlos the Jackal in 2010 biopic Carlos, the 35-year-old Venezuelan actor will portray Simón Bolívar in Libertador.

Simon Bolivar

Bolívar was instrumental in Latin America’s struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire. Told from his point of view, the film will trace his expeditions, epic military campaigns and vision to unify South America. The Venezuelan military and political leader is considered one of the most influential politicians in American history.

Ramírez, who most recently starred in Wrath of the Titans, will also serve as an executive producer on the film project.

Along with Ramírez in the title role, the cast includes Danny Huston, María Valverde, Imanol Arias and Billy Elliot’s Gary Lewis.

Venezuelan filmmaker Alberto Arvelo, who directed Ramírez in his last feature, Cyrano Fernandez, is set to helm the project.

Meanwhile, L.A. Philharmonic conductor Gustavo Dudamel—who will be helping kick off the London 2012 Festival with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra—is scoring the Spanish, French and English-language pic.