Blumhouse to Premiere Justina Machado’s “The Horror of Dolores Roach” in July Via Prime Video

Posted on April 21, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Justina Machado is bringing the horror…

Blumhouse will premiere its new series The Horror of Dolores Roach, starring the 50-year-old Puerto Rican actress, on July 7 via Prime Video.

The 8-episode series—based on the hit Gimlet podcast series of the same name—tells the story of Dolores Roach (Machado), a recently released prisoner who after 16 years returns to find a severely-gentrified Washington Heights with $200 and the clothes on her back. Her boyfriend missing, her family long gone, Dolores reunites with an old stoner buddy, Luis (Alejandro Hernandez), who gives her room and board and lets her give massages for cash in the basement under his dilapidated storefront Empanada Loca, the only remnant of her former life.

When the promise of her newfound stability is quickly threatened, “Magic Hands Dolores” is driven to shocking extremes to survive, and in the face of unexpected professional success, Dolores and Luis become dangerously symbiotic, and Luis must unleash his own peculiar predilections.

Kita Updike, K. Todd Freeman, Jean Yoon, Judy Reyes and Jeffery Self also star.

Written and directed by podcast creator Aaron Mark, The Horror of Dolores Roach originally was developed by Mark as a one-woman play starring Daphne Rubin-Vega. It is a grotesque Sweeney Todd-inspired tale of eat or be eaten — a macabre urban legend of love, betrayal, weed, gentrification, cannibalism, and survival of the fittest.

Mark and Dara Resnik will serve as co-showrunners and executive produce. EPs also include Rubin-Vega; Jason Blum, Chris McCumber, and Jeremy Gold for Blumhouse Television; Dawn Ostroff, Mimi O’Donnell, and Justin McGoldrick for Spotify Studios, alongside Gloria Calderón Kellett for GloNation Studios and Roxann Dawson who directs the pilot.

Ariana DeBose to Star in Blumhouse Television & Prime Video’s Thriller “House of Spoils”

Posted on August 18, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Ariana DeBose is embracing the spoils…

The 31-year-old half-Puerto Rican Oscar-winning actress will star in the Prime Video and Blumhouse Television psychological thriller House of Spoils, playing an ambitious chef who opens her first restaurant but has to contend with the powerful spirit of the estate’s previous owner who threatens to sabotage her at very turn.

Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy are directing off their script based on their original idea.

Cameras will roll in the fall.

The project reunites with Blumhouse with Amazon, which have made the collection of genre movies, Welcome to the Blumhouse, and the recently wrapped slasher horror-comedy film Totally Killer, directed by Nahnathcka Khan starring Kiernan Shipka, Olivia Holt, Julie Bowen, and Randall Park.

Prime will stream Blumhouse’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Nanny from first-time feature writer-director Nikyatu Jusu starting December 16.

DeBose took home an Oscar, BAFTA, Critics Choice and SAG Awards prize for her star-making role as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story. In winning her Oscar, she became the first openly queer Afro Latina to win an Academy Award.

She is also starring in Sony’s Kraven the Hunter, which will be released on January 13, and Matthew Vaughn’s action film Argylle for Apple. She will also star in Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s space thriller I.S.S.

DeBose’s other credits include AppleTV+’s Schmigadoon! and Ryan Murphy’s Netflix adaptation of the hit-Broadway musical The Prom. She starred on Broadway as part of the original cast of Hamilton and Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, which earned her a 2018 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.

Said Chris McCumber, president of Blumhouse Television: “We’re excited to see Ariana’s fresh, bold and spirited energy that won her an Oscar in a role that is completely different. And with the gifted filmmaking team of Bridget and Danielle, the talent in front of and behind the camera is exceptional.”

Alex Rivera to Write & Direct “Zorro 2.0,” A Reimagining of the Iconic Character

Posted on November 30, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Alex Rivera is ridin’ high…

The 48-year-old Peruvian American filmmaker, a recipient of a 2021 MacArthur Genius grant, will write and direct Zorro 2.0 for Sobini Films.

The film reimagines the iconic character as Oscar de la Vega, a young, undocumented hacker known as ‘z0rr0.’ While fighting back against a secret government unit that attacked his mother, he discovers a high-tech conspiracy that threatens not only his family but the world.

“I’ve always been interested in films that address real-world issues through genre,” Rivera said in a statement to Deadline. “This project is an opportunity to connect Zorro—the original masked avenger—to today’s border wars, a conflict in which immigrant families are pitted against regimes of hi-tech surveillance and government control. ‘Zorro 2.0’ will be visually elevated, socially grounded, sci-fi cinema, and I’m thrilled to be working with Sobini to get this vision on the screen.”

Sobini Films’ Mark Amin, Cami Winikoff and Tyler Boehm will produce. John Gertz of Zorro Productions International and Michael Helfant of Amasia Entertainment will serve as executive producers.

Zorro is a fictional character created by Johnston McCulley in 1919 widely recognized by his all-black costume featuring a sombrero, cape and mask. He’s been portrayed multiple times on the big and small screen by actors including Douglas Fairbanks, Tyrone Power and Frank Langella.

Antonio Banderas most recently played the mysterious vigilante in 1998’s The Mask of Zorro and its 2005 sequel The Legend of Zorro.

A Zorro drama series with a female lead was being developed at NBC from Robert Rodriguez and Sofia Vergara last December.

Rivera made his feature film debut with 2008’s cyberpunk thriller Sleep Dealer set at the U.S.-Mexico border. He followed that with the doc/scripted hybrid The Infiltrators that tells a true story about an immigrant detention center. A scripted series based on the film is being adapted for the small screen by Blumhouse Television.

Justina Machado to Star in Amazon Studios’ Pilot “The Horror of Dolores Roach”

Posted on June 2, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a scary time for Justina Machado…

Amazon Studios has given a formal pilot order to The Horror of Dolores Roach, starring the 48-year-0ld Puerto Rican actress.

Based on the hit Gimlet podcast and written and directed by podcast creator Aaron Mark, The Horror of Dolores Roach originally was developed by Mark as a one-woman play starring Daphne Rubin-Vega.

It’s a grotesque Sweeney Todd-inspired tale of eat or be eaten — a macabre urban legend of love, betrayal, weed, gentrification, cannibalism and survival of the fittest.

“Magic Hands” Dolores Roach (Machado) is released from prison after 16 years and returns to a severely gentrified Washington Heights with $200 and the clothes on her back. With her boyfriend missing, her family long gone and her apartment now occupied by strangers, Dolores finds respite in the dilapidated storefront Empanada Loca around the corner — the only remnant of her former life.

Roxann Dawson is attached to direct and executive produce the pilot, which has been casting for the past four months. The project, in development at Amazon since 2020, hails from Blumhouse Television, which won the rights to adapt the podcast in 2019 in a competitive situation, and Spotify.

Mark penned the pilot script and will executive produce alongside Home Before Dark co-creator Dara Resnik and Rubin-Vega. Jason Blum, Chris McCumber and Jeremy Gold of Blumhouse Television and Chris Giliberti and Justin McGoldrick of Spotify also will executive produce.

Machado most recently starred in the One Day at a Time reimagining, garnering multiple award nominations and winning two Imagen Awards for her role.

She previously shared in a SAG Award for her role in the Emmy-winning HBO series Six Feet Under.

Her other television credits include Jane the Virgin and Queen of the South.

Her work in film includes Blumhouse Productions’ The Purge: Anarchy, Netflix’s All Together Now and the indie Pedro.

On stage, Machado made her Broadway debut in the Tony-winning musical In the Heights, created by and starring Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Adriana Barraza to Star in Amazon Studios’ ‘Welcome To The Blumhouse’ Anthology Horror Film “Bingo”

Posted on March 3, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Adriana Barraza is playing bingo…

The 65-year-old Mexican Oscar-nominated actress will serve up some scares in Amazon Studios’ next slate of films in the horror anthology Welcome To The Blumhouse. Barraza will star in Bingo directed and co-written by rising genre filmmaker Gigi Saul Guerrero. The film is currently in production.

The collaboration is a Latinx-driven narrative that includes two generations of Mexican artists. In this case, Barraza and the up and comer Guerrero.

Set in the barrio of Oak Springs, Bingo follows a strong and stubborn group of elderly friends who refuse to be gentrified. Barraza plays the leader of the pack, Lupita, a “chingona” who grew up in the neighborhood formerly filled with crime and dangerous characters. Lupita has dedicated her life to cleaning up the neighborhood and creating a community the residents could be proud to call home. Little does Lupita and her friends know, their beloved bingo hall (hence the title) is about to be sold to a much more powerful force than money itself.

Bingo continues Amazon Prime Video’s Welcome to the Blumhouse slate of genre, horror-thriller films highlighting female and emerging filmmakers, and diverse casts with new and established actors in unexpected roles. The upcoming 2021 slate for the anthology also includes The Manor, Black as Night, and Madres.

Guerrero co-wrote Bingo with Shane McKenzie and Perry Blackshear. The film comes from Blumhouse Television and Amazon Studios.

Prime Video launched the Welcome to the Blumhouse in October of last year with Black
Box, The Lie, Evil Eye and Nocturne.

Barraza’s career spans more than 40 years in film, television and theater. In 1999, Barraza starred in a breakout role opposite Gael Garcia Bernal in Amores Perros directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu, who she worked with again in 2006 on Babel. She is one of only six Mexican actresses to ever receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Daphne Rubin-Vega Signs with Stewart Talent

Posted on February 13, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Daphne Rubin-Vega has new representation…

The 51-year-old Panamanian-American dancer, singer-songwriter nand actress, who most recently starred on the CW’s short-lived series Katy Keene, has signed with Stewart Talent.

Rubin-Vega can next be seen in the upcoming Warner Bros. feature In the Heights for director Jon Chu, playing ‘Daniela.’ She also just wrapped the Netflix series Social Distance, produced by Jenji Kohan and Tara Herman.

She previously recurred on the Netflix series Tales of the City.

A staple of the New York theatre community, Rubin-Vega earned a Tony Award nomination for her portrayal of ‘Mimi’ in the original cast of Rent, and another for Anna in the Tropics.

Rubin-Vega recently starred in Miss You Like Hell at The Public Theatre, and in the one-woman show Empanada Loca, which was written for her. She went on to help adapt the play into the scripted podcast The Horror of Dolores Roach, and is currently developing it into a series for Blumhouse Television.

Rubin-Vega is managed by Untitled Entertainment.

Trailer Released for Season 2 of Paola Nuñez’s Series “The Purge”

Posted on July 24, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Paola Nuñezis feeling the urge to Purge…

USA Network has released the trailer for The Purge Season 2, starring the 41-year-old Mexican actress.

“Commencing at the siren, all crime will be legal for 12 continuous hours.” So begins the first trailer for the second season of The Purge, which is based on the hit movie franchise.

The Purge revolves around a 12-hour period when all crime, including murder, is legal.

Season 2 explores how a single Purge night affects the lives of four interconnected characters over the course of the ensuing year, all inevitably leading up to the next Purge.

The second season of the anthology series opens on Purge night but dives deeper than ever before in to what the Purge world looks like the other 364 days of the year.

In addition to Nuñez, previously announced cast include Derek Luke, Max Martiniand Joel Allen.

The Purge has generated solid ratings for USA. Its first season was the #1 scripted series in P18-49, P25-54 and P18-34 in 2018.

From Blumhouse Televisionand UCP, season 2 premieres this fall on USA.

Nuñez’s previous credits include appearances on television in La reina del sur and The Son, and on film in Bad Boys for Life,

USA Network Orders Second Season of Gabriel Chavarria’s “The Purge” Series

Posted on November 7, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Gabriel Chavarria is still purging…

USA Network has picked up its series The Purge, starring the 29-year-old Latino actor, for a second season.

The news came ahead of the show’s Season 1 finale.

Based on the popular movie franchise, the series is a co-production with Blumhouse Television and Universal Cable Productions. It is currently the network’s No. 1 drama, averaging 2.3 million viewers in Live+7 ratings and 1.2 million in the key 18-49 demo.

“USA Network is so proud to be the television home for the iconic franchise The Purge,” said Chris McCumber, President, Entertainment Networks for NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, in a release announcing the news. “The partnership and creative trust of Jason Blum and everyone at Blumhouse Television and Universal Pictures ensured The Purge’s successful transition from film to TV – and, along with Universal Cable Productions, we look forward to digging even deeper into the mythology in Season 2.”

The series revolves around a 12-hour period when all crime, including murder, is legal. Set in an altered America ruled by a totalitarian political party, Season 1 follows several seemingly unrelated characters living in a small city. As the clock winds down, they are forced to reckon with their past as they discover how far they will go to survive the night.

Film franchise creator James DeMonaco is executive producer of the series.

In addition to Chavarria, who portrays Miguel Guerrero, the series also stars Jessica Garza.

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