The 50-year-old half-Cuban American Emmy-winning actor has joined the voice cast of Sing 2, the Illumination/Universal Pictures sequel to the 2016 animated hit.
Cannavale is among a roster of cast newcomers that includes U2 lead singer Bono, Pharrell Williams, Halsey, Letitia Wright, Eric Andre and Chelsea Peretti.
Reprising stars include Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johannsson, Taron Egerton, Tori Kelly and Nick Kroll.
The film will be ready for theatrical holiday release a year from now.
“Sing 2 transcends the animation genre, immersing audiences in a fully realized world populated by complex characters, each with bold aspirations and relatable challenges,” said Illumination founder/CEO Chris Meledandri. “We are thrilled that the Sing franchise attracts such exceptional talent, and we are delighted to announce this extraordinary cast. The film is a musical celebration of the unrelenting pursuit of one’s dreams, no matter how large the challenges that stand in your way. At its core this movie speaks to the power of optimism and belief.”
In Sing 2, Buster Moon (McConaughey) and his cast of underdogs push their talents beyond their local theater, hoping for a shot to perform at the most prestigious venue in the entertainment capital of the world: The Crystal Tower Theater. To do that, though, they’ll first have to impress the powerful and egotistical entertainment mogul—and likely gangster—wolf Jimmy Crystal (Cannavale) and prove that they are worthy of his stage. Crystal will let them perform, on condition Buster convince the world’s most reclusive rock legend, lion Clay Calloway (Bono) out of self-imposed seclusion after the death of his wife and persuade him to perform in the show.
Williams plays Alfonso, an elephant ice-cream-truck owner who becomes the first crush of shy elephant Meena (Kelly). Halsey voices Jimmy Crystal’s teenage daughter, Porsche; Wright plays a streetwise feline dancer who helps earnest gorilla Johnny (Egerton) regain his confidence while learning his choreography; Andre plays a self-important yak; and Peretti voices Jimmy Crystal’s haughty canine assistant and talent scout. Witherspoon returns as harried mother pig, Rosita; Johansson reprises as rocker porcupine Ash and Kroll returns as the pig artiste, Gunter.
The film is written and directed by Garth Jennings.
The 50-year-old half-Cuban American Emmy-winning actor is starring opposite Rose Byrne in the musical dramedy Seriously Red, the first feature from Byrne’s Dollhouse Pictures.
Cameras are currently rolling on the film in Northern Rivers, Australia.
Krew Boylan wrote the screenplay for Seriously Red, while Gracie Otto is directing
In addition to Cannavale and Byrne, the ensemble cast also includes Daniel Webber. Arclight Films has boarded to handle worldwide distribution rights with Gracie Otto (The Last Impresario) directing.
In the rowdy and rambunctious musical comedy, Red (played by Boylan) is at a crossroads in her life. A vivacious and hilarious red-haired woman grappling with high expectations and low self-esteem, she pours herself a cup of ambition and trades her 9 to 5 career in real estate for a life under the spotlight as a Dolly Parton impersonator. After misreading her work party’s dress code, Red tumbles outta bed into a new world of tribute artists and impersonators in her wild and messy journey that includes romancing a Kenny Rogers impersonator. Red has to lose herself in order to find herself. As Dolly Parton says, “Be Yourself Because Everyone is taken.”
Parton’s canon is the backbone of Seriously Red, which will also include a soundtrack from notable musical artists and as well as re-recordings.
“Seriously Red is created by an extraordinary all-female filmmaking team, which at Arclight Films we are proud to always champion,” Arclight Films chairman Gary Hamilton said. “The film is a fun, upbeat celebration of women and their journey to self-acceptance. It’s a powerful film that appeals to worldwide distributors who understand that audiences will immediately fall in love with the story, the beautifully drawn characters… and the music!”
Cannavale won Emmys for his work on HBO’s Boardwalk Empireand NBC’s Will & Grace. His Recent series credits include the upcoming Nine Perfect Strangers, Mr. Robot and Homecoming. His features include HBO Max/New Line’s upcoming Superintelligence, Universal’s The King of Staten Island, The Jesus Rolls, The Irishman, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the Oscar-winning I, Tonya, Ant-Manand Spy among many others.
Byrne and Cannavale recently starred in The Brooklyn Academy of Music’s theatrical production of Medeabefore the pandemic closed down theaters in New York City.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has released its annual list of invitations to join the organization, with the 26-year-old Mexican actress and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Indigenous Peoples among the 819 extended an invite.
Aparicio, one of Timemagazine’s100 most influential people in the world in 2019,earned an Oscar nod in the Best Actress category for her performance in Alfonso Cuarón‘s 2018 Spanish-language drama Roma. With the nomination for her actig debut, she became the first Indigenous American woman and the second Mexican woman to receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination.
But Aparcio isn’t the only Latino/a to make the list…
Other invitees in the Actors branch include Bobby Cannavale, who appeared in The Irishman, Overboard’s Eva Longoria, Knives Out star Ana de Armas and Gringo actor Yul Vazquez.
Invitees in the Music branch include Andrea Guerra (Hotel Rwanda) and Cuban-American jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, who worked on the music for Clint Eastwood’s films Richard Jewell and The Mule.
The Directors branch sent out invitations to Latino filmmakers Icíar Bolláin (Spanish), Felipe Cazals (Mexican), Sebastián Cordero (Ecuadorian), Luis Estrada (Mexican), Alejandro Landes (Colombian-Ecuadorian),Jorge Alí Triana (Colombian) and Andrés Wood (Chilean).
This year’s new class demonstrates The Academy’s commitment to erasing the stigma of not being inclusive, particularly in terms of women, international members and underrepresented ethnic/racial communities.
The organization reports this year’s class breakdown is 49% international, 45% women, and 36% underrepresented ethnic/racial.
The overwhelming number of those invited to join the Academy end up accepting.
The total active membership in 2019 was 8,946, with 8,733 eligible to vote. Total membership including active, voting and retired was 9,794. Today’s additions will take the membership count past the 10,000 mark.
AMPAS says members can voluntarily disclose their race/ethnicity, sex or can choose “prefer not to.” So, demo stats may not be 100% accurate. AMPAS also “recognizes and respects” the personal choice in identification, but doesn’t track LGBTQ+ or differently abled, although a source says, while protecting privacy and not forcing answers, they are “working towards it.” In other words this is no longer your father’s Academy.
“We take great pride in the strides we have made in exceeding our initial inclusion goals set back in 2016, but acknowledge the road ahead is a long one,” said Academy CEO Dawn Hudson. “We are committed to staying the course.”
“The Academy is delighted to welcome these distinguished fellow travelers in the motion picture arts and sciences. We have always embraced extraordinary talent that reflects the rich variety of our global film community, and never more so than now,” said Academy President David Rubin.
Here’s a look at some of this year’s Latino invitees:
Actors Yalitza Aparicio – “Roma” Bobby Cannavale – “The Irishman,” “The Station Agent” Ana de Armas – “Knives Out,” “Blade Runner 2049” Eva Longoria – “Overboard,” “Harsh Times” Yul Vazquez – “Gringo,” “Last Flag Flying”
Casting Directors Libia Batista – “Eres Tú Papá?,” “Viva” Javier Braier – “The Two Popes,” “Wild Tales” Eva Leira – “Pain and Glory,” “Biutiful” Yesi Ramirez – “The Hate U Give,” “Moonlight” Yolanda Serrano – “Pain and Glory,” “Biutiful”
Directors Icíar Bolláin – “Even the Rain,” “Take My Eyes” Felipe Cazals – “El Año de la Peste,” “Canoa: A Shameful Memory” Sebastián Cordero – “Europa Report,” “Crónicas” Luis Estrada – “The Perfect Dictatorship,” “Herod’s Law” Alejandro Landes – “Monos,” “Porfirio” Jorge Alí Triana – “Bolívar Soy Yo,” “A Time to Die” Andrés Wood – “Araña,” “Violeta Went to Heaven”
Documentary Cristina Amaral – “Um Filme de Verão (A Summer Film),” “Person” Violeta Ayala – “Cocaine Prison,” “The Bolivian Case” Julia Bacha – “Naila and the Uprising,” “Budrus” Almudena Carracedo – “The Silence of Others,” “Made in L.A.” Paola Castillo – “Beyond My Grandfather Allende,” “Genoveva” Paz Encina – “Memory Exercises,” “Paraguayan Hammock” Mariana Oliva – “The Edge of Democracy,” “Piripkura” Iván Osnovikoff – “Los Reyes,” “La Muerte de Pinochet (The Death of Pinochet)” Tiago Pavan – “The Edge of Democracy,” “Olmo and the Seagull” Bettina Perut – “Los Reyes,” “La Muerte de Pinochet (The Death of Pinochet)” Marta Rodriguez – “Our Voice of Earth, Memory and Future,” “Campesinos (Peasants)”
Executives Ozzie Areu Barbara Peiro Frank Rodriguez Mimi Valdes
Film Editors Alejandro Carrillo Penovi – “Heroic Losers,” “The Clan” Alex Marquez – “Snowden,” “Savages”
Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Mari Paz Robles – “I Dream in Another Language,” “Cantinflas” David Ruiz Gameros – “Tear This Heart Out,” “Amores Perros” Susana Sánchez – “The Liberator,” “Goya’s Ghosts”
Marketing and Public Relations Inma Carbajal-Fogel Emmanuelle Castro Fernando Garcia Dustin M. Sandoval
Music Andrea Guerra – “The Pursuit of Happyness,” “Hotel Rwanda” Arturo Sandoval – “Richard Jewell,” “The Mule”
Producers Edher Campos – “Sonora, the Devil’s Highway,” “The Golden Dream” Nicolas Celis – “Roma,” “Tempestad” Alex Garcia – “Kong: Skull Island,” “Desierto” Enrique López Lavigne – “The Impossible,” “Sex and Lucia” Álvaro Longoria – “Everybody Knows,” “Finding Altamira” Mónica Lozano – “I Dream in Another Language,” “Instructions Not Included” Gabriela Maire – “Las Niñas Bien (The Good Girls),” “La Caridad (Charity)” Luis Manso – “Champions,” “Binta and the Great Gabriela Rodríguez – “Roma,” “Gravity” Mar Targarona – “Secuestro (Boy Missing),” “The Orphanage” Luis Urbano – “Letters from War,” “Tabu”
Production Design Sandra Cabriada – “Instructions Not Included,” “The Mexican” Estefanía Larraín – “A Fantastic Woman,” “Neruda”
Short Films and Feature Animation José David Figueroa García – “Perfidia,” “Ratitas” Oscar Grillo – “Monsters, Inc.,” “Monsieur Pett” Otto Guerra – “City of Pirates,” “Wood & Stock: Sexo, Orégano e Rock’n’Roll” Isabel Herguera – “Winter Love,” “Under the Pillow” Summer Joy Main-Muñoz – “Don’t Say No,” “La Cerca” Juan Pablo Zaramella – “Luminaris,” “The Glove”
Sound David Esparza – “The Magnificent Seven,” “The Equalizer”
Visual Effects Leandro Estebecorena – “The Irishman,” “Kong: Skull Island”
Members-at-Large Daniel Molina Carlos Morales Jesse Torres
If blondes have more fun, Ana de Armas is livin’ it up…
In a new image from the set of Netflix’s Marilyn Monroe film Blonde, the 31-year-old Cuban-Spanish actress is the spitting image of the late blonde bombshell.
de Armas, a natural brunette, stepped out in a full Marilyn ensemble, complete with hair and makeup, and people were honestly shocked by the similarities. It was like the late actress was brought back to life! The hair and makeup department nailed every aspect of Monroe’s look, from the red lipstick to the perfectly coiffed hair. It helps that de Armas exudes the sensuality and appeal of the Hollywood icon.
de Armas stars opposite Bobby Cannavale and Adrien Brody in the film. The former is set to don the New York Yankeesjersey as the famous Joe DiMaggio, while Brody is stepping into the character of Arthur Miller, Marilyn’s husband of nine months.
Blonde will delve into the life of the Hollywood starlet, as well as the relationships that captivated the press.
The 31-year-old Cuban-Spanish actress is in talks to star opposite Ben Affleck in the film adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel Deep Water.
The film, to be directed by Adrian Lyne, is described as an erotic thriller, right in the wheelhouse Lyne established with such blockbusters as Indecent Proposal, Fatal Attraction, and9 1/2 Weeks. The filmmaker has long been intrigued with this project, first setting it up with Fox 2000back in 2013. New Regency bought control of the property last year, and this gives them another plum project to go with the James Gray-directed Ad Astra with Brad Pitt, and the Robert Eggers-directedThe Lighthouse.
Affleck and de Armas are in negotiations to play Vic and Melinda Van Allen, an attractive young 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 facade of American suburban life.
Zack Helm and Sam Levinson have adapted from the Highsmith novel.
Lyne is eyeing a November production start on Deep Water, which will be fully financed by New Regency.
Pending all the pieces falling into place, the plan is for the film to go through its deal with Fox/Disney.
de Armas is having her moment in Hollywood. She is about to begin shooting the Andrew Dominik-directed Netflix film Blonde, in which she plays iconic actress Marilyn Monroe, with talks going on for Adrien Brody to play Arthur Miller and Bobby Cannavale to play Joe DiMaggio in a fictionalized look at her life. Dominik worked for years on this project, and looked at many actresses for the role of Monroe. He was intrigued when he saw de Armas in Blade Runner 2049, and they worked long and hard with a dialect coach to lose her Cuban accented inflection for Monroe’s breathy delivery before a screen test pleased Netflix and Plan B’s Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner. She follows that film with the James Bond 25 film.
The 49-year-old half-Cuban American actor will star opposite Rose Byrne in Simon Stone’s contemporary rewrite of the Euripides’ tragedy Medeaat the Brooklyn Academy of Music in January.
Originally staged in 2014 by Amsterdam’s International Theater Amsterdam(formerly Toneelgroep Amsterdam), Medea will pair real-life couple Byrne and Cannavale, with additional cast to be announced.
Stone’s adaptation of the Medea story uses the true-life crime case of American Debora Green, who poisoned her cheating husband and killed two of her three children in 1995. The adaptation played London’s Barbicanin 2019, where it starred Marieke Heebink and Aus Greidanus Jr.
Cannavale was seen on Broadway last fall in The Lifespan of a Fact, co-starring Daniel Radcliffe and Cherry Jones. His many stage credits include the Tony-nominated Mauritius, The Motherf*cker With The Hat, The Hairy Ape, Glengarry Glen Ross, Hurly Burly, and others.
He’s a member of the Labyrinth Theater Company. His upcoming films include The Irishman, Superintelligence, andMotherless Brooklyn.
“I’m excited to welcome writer/director Simon Stone following his enormous success with Yerma,” said BAM artistic director David Binder, “and look forward to having the incredible actors Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale in lead roles on our stage.”
Medea will be produced in Brooklyn by International Theater Amsterdam, BAM, and David Lan, who will serve as BAM’s Theater Associate.
The 47-year-old half-Cuban American actor will voice rising sports streaming outlet DAZN‘s 40 Days, a new documentary series co-produced with LeBron James and Maverick Carter.
The plan is for him to recur as the series evolves into an umbrella for various behind-the-scenes sports series.
These types of follow docs are a sports media mainstays especially with the rise of digital video — similar to 24/7, Hard Knocks, and Tom Vs. Time.
But 40 Days, which is named for the eight Monday-to-Friday weeks of training for a boxing match, is aiming to give the series a bit more flair, with individual episodes and series being directed by different filmmakers.
The show premieres with a boxing focus on Tuesday night on DAZN, which recently launched in the U.S. after successfully bringing soccer, basketball and ring sports to fans in Europe and elsewhere.
The streaming service also operates in Canada, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Japan, with a launch in Brazil up next.
In addition to the company’s channels and DAZN, 40 Days will air the following day on Univision, NBC Sports Networkand regional sports networks including MSG.
The first edition of 40 Days will spotlight the build-up to the May 4 matchup between Canelo Alvarezand Daniel Jacobs. A screening of the show is planned for May 2 in Las Vegas ahead of the fight.
Bobby Cannavale is heading to The Great White Way…
The 48-year-old half-Cuban American actor will return to Broadwaynext fall to star in the world premiere play The Lifespan of a Fact alongside Daniel Radcliffe and Cherry Jones.
Based on the critically acclaimed, bestselling 2012 non-fiction book about fact, fiction and blurred lines, Lifespan will be directed by Leigh Silverman, a 2014 Tony Award nominee for her direction of Violet.
The Lifespan of a Fact will begin performances at the Studio 54 on Thursday, September 20, with an opening night of Thursday, October 18. The limited engagement will run for 16 weeks.
Written by Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell and Gordon Farrell, the play is based on the book by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal that detailed their own real-life journalistic investigation into the suicide of a Las Vegas teen.
As described by the production, Lifespan “is based on the stirring true story of John D’Agata’s essay, ‘What Happens There,’ about the Las Vegas suicide of teenager Levi Presley. Jim Fingal, assigned to fact check the piece, ignited a seven-year debate on the blurred lines of what passes for truth in literary nonfiction.”
Some background: In 2003, D’Agata submitted his essay “What Happens There” to Harper’s Magazine, where recent Harvard grad Fingal was assigned to fact-check the piece. Harper’s later pulled the article from publication after Fingal’s research turned up factual errors and inaccuracies.
After seven years of discussion and correspondence between D’Agata and Fingal, the author re-submitted the piece toThe Believer magazine. D’Agata and Fingal co-wrote the 2012 book The Lifespan of a Fact about the experience, a book that includes “What Happens There” in full, complete with Fingal’s red-line comments and correspondence with D’Agata.
The book was named Best Book of the Year by the Huffington Post, a Top 10 Most Crucial Book of the year by Slateand an Editor’s Choice by The New York Times Book Review.
In the new play, Radcliffe will play Fingal, Cannavale will play D’Agata and Jones will play Fingal’s boss. As the production describes, Fingal “has a huge problem: John made up some of his article. Well, a lot of his article. OK, actually, maybe the majority of it? What starts professional quickly becomes profane as one question rises to the surface: Can Jim Fingal ever just shut the fact up?”
The production’s creative team – sets, costumes, lighting, sound and projections – has yet to be announced.
Cannavale (Boardwalk Empire, Vinyl) has extensive stage credits, including Tony-nominated turns in 2007’s Mauritiusand 2011’s The Motherf*cker with the Hat.
Tickets for The Lifespan of a Fact go on sale to the general public June 22, with earlier dates for American Express Card Members and Audience Rewards members.
The 47-year-old half-Cuban American actor will co-star opposite Julia Roberts and Stephan James in Homecoming, the half-hour drama from Universal Cable Productions, Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail and Anonymous Content.
The project has a two-season straight-to-series order at Amazon.
Homecoming, based on Gimlet Media’s breakout fictional podcast, is written by the podcast’s creators Eli Horowitz and Micah Bloomberg and directed by Esmail.
It’s described a psychological thriller that centers on Heidi (Roberts), a caseworker at a secret government facility, and a soldier (James) eager to rejoin civilian life.
Cannavale plays Colin Belfast, the ambitious off-site supervisor of the Homecoming Initiative.
Presented in a collage of telephone calls, therapy sessions and overheard conversations, the Homecoming podcast had a cast led by Catherine Keener that also included Oscar Isaac, David Schwimmer, Amy Sedaris and David Cross. Keener voiced the caseworker, Isaac the soldier and Schwimmer the supervisor.
Filming is slated to begin in Los Angeles in April 2018. Amazon Studios will have global rights to Homecoming, which will premiere globally exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.
Cannavale, who starred on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, appears on USA Network’s drama series Mr. Robot. He will next beseen in I, Tonya and Jumanji as well as Going Places,The Wasp and Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman.
The 46-year-old half-Cuban American actor will star in season 3 of USA’s Mr. Robot.
The Emmy-winning actor has been cast as a series regular on Sam Esmail’s award-winning show. There’s no word on his exact role.
Cannavale previously headlined Martin Scorsese/Mick Jagger/Terry Winter’s 1970s New York rock & roll HBO series Vinyl last year as a drug-addled record executive fingered for a mob murder.
On Boardwalk Empire, Cannavale was unforgettable for his fierce performance as torturous psycho kingpin Gyp Rosetti.
