Cruz to Star as Kidnapper Ariel Castro in Lifetime’s “The Michelle Knight Story”

Posted on November 20, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Raymond Cruz is about to find himself on the other side of the law…

The 53-year-old Mexican American actor, best known for his role as Detective Julio Sanchez on TNT’s The Closer and Major Crimes, will star as kidnapper Ariel Castro in Lifetime’s The Michelle Knight Story (working title).

The network’s original movie, which has received a formal greenlight, centers on the ordeal of the 21-year-old Ohio single mom who became Castro’s first victim.

From Sony Pictures Television and written by Stephen Tolkin, The Michelle Knight Story explores the true story of Knight, whose life was forever changed by a chance encounter with Castro who abducted her on August 22, 2002, in Cleveland and held her as his prisoner in his home for more than 11 years. Finding strength through her faith in God and determined to be reunited with her son, Knight refused to be broken by Castro. He went on to abduct two teenagers, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus, and hold them in captivity alongside Knight, who became a friend and sister to her fellow prisoners.

When Amanda became pregnant with Castro’s child, it was Knight who delivered her baby, even performing CPR on the infant girl under the threat of Castro while he told her, “If the baby dies, you die.”

Knight and DeJesus ultimately were rescued because of a daring escape attempt on May 6, 2013. With the help of a neighbor, Berry broke out of the barricaded front door with her 6-year-old daughter, allowing all three women to finally reclaim their lives.

Cruz is also known for playing ruthless and psychotic meth dealer Tuco on Breaking Bad.

Martinez Lands Multi-Episode Role on NBC’s Upcoming Series “Aquarius”

Posted on November 13, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

It’s the Age of Aquarius for James Martinez…

The Latino actor will appear in a multi-episode arc opposite David Duchovny in NBC‘s upcoming series Aquarius.

The gritty 1960s drama focuses on a cop (Duchovny) who goes undercover to track Charles Manson and the Manson Family before their infamous murder spree.

Martinez, who has appeared on Low Winter Sun and Breaking Bad, will portray Ruben Salazar, a former war correspondent and a reporter with the Los Angeles Times who is threatening to expose the true identity of an LAPD detective.

Martinez plays a supporting character in the upcoming Liam Neeson-helmed feature Run All Night.

His other credits include television appearances on Intelligence, Elementary, Unforgettable and Beauty and the Beast.

USA Network Looking to Adapt Telemundo’s “La Reina del Sur”

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Telemundo’s La Reina del Sur is about to get an English-language makeover…

The USA Network has given a pilot order to The Queen of the South, an English-language adaptation of the blockbuster 2011 telenovela starring Kate del Castillo.

Frequent USA collaborator Fox Television Studios (White Collar, Graceland) is set to produce the project. In his television debut, feature producer David T. Friendly (Little Miss Sunshine), who brought the project to the studio, is executive producing.

Based on the best-selling book of the same by Arturo Perez-Reverte, Queen of the South is a serialized crime drama that centers on Teresa Mendoza. When her drug-dealing boyfriend is unexpectedly murdered in Mexico, Teresa is forced to go on the run and seek refuge in America, where she teams with an unlikely figure from her past to bring down the leader of the very drug trafficking ring that has her on the run. In the process, she learns the tools of the trade and strategically positions herself to become the leader of the cartel.

M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller (The Final Girls) wrote the script and will also executive produce the series with Pancho Mansfield.

La Reina Del Sur is not a typical telenovela, with critics noting that is feels closer to Breaking Bad than One Life To Live, and Telemundo giving it a major Emmy campaign. It was Telemundo’s most expensive telenovela ever with a budget of $10 million and became the highest-rated program in the Spanish-language network’s 19-year history, averaging nearly 4.2 million total viewers and more than 2.8 million viewers adults 18-49. Its May 30, 2011 series finale was the No. 1 broadcast program of the night, of any language.

Queen of the South joins USA’s other pilots Stanistan, Mr. Robot and Colony.

Armisen to Present at This Year’s Creative Arts Emmy Awards

Posted on August 10, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Fred Armisen is about to get creative…

The 47-year-old half-Venezuelan American actor and former Saturday Night Live star, who received his first-ever Emmy nomination in an acting category this year, will be among the presenters at the 2014 Creative Arts Emmy Awards on August 16, according to the show’s executive producer Spike Jones Jr.

Armisen, who earneda best supporting actor in a comedy nod for Portlandia, the IFC series filmed and set in Portland, joins a list of presenters that includes Jane Lynch, Morgan Freeman, Tony Goldwyn, Heidi Klum and much of the nominated cast of Orange Is the New Black.

Other presenters include Patrick Adams (Suits), Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad), Tony Goldwyn (Scandal), Judy Greer (Archer), Jonathan Groff (The Normal Heart), Tim Gunn (Project Runway), Tony Hale (Veep), Allison Janney (Mom; Masters of Sex), Keegan Michael Key (Key and Peele), Natasha Lyonne (Orange Is the New Black), Joe Manganiello (True Blood), Joel McHale (The Soup; Community), Aisha Tyler (Archer), Matt Walsh (Veep), Matt Weiner (Mad Men) and Bellamy Young (Scandal).

This year’s awards show will take place a week and a day before the Primetime Emmy Awards. An edited version of the show will be broadcast on the FXM cable network.

The entire show will be streamed on Emmys.com from noon to 3 p.m. on Monday Aug. 25, just before the Primetime Emmy Awards.

Bonham Carter Nominated for BAFTA TV Award for Portraying Elizabeth Taylor

Posted on April 7, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Helena Bonham Carter is being recognized for her Elizabethan performance…

The 47-year-old part-Spanish actress has earned a nomination for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts’ TV Awards.

Bonham Carter – A BAFTA winner in the film category for The King’s Speech – is nominated for Leading Actress for her portrayal of the late Elizabeth Taylor in the BBC biopic Burton and Taylor, which centers on Taylor’s ill-fated reunion with Richard Burton on and off the stage for the critically reviled 1983 revival of Noel Coward’s stage play Private Lives.

The Oscar-nominated actress has said taking on the role was terrifying — “playing Elizabeth Taylor, a screen icon.” But that the role also became a touch irresistible.

“That’s one of the things about being an actor,” says Bonham Carter. “You get these little gifts. You get to step into the lives of these people you know about, but don’t really know. It’s a challenge.”

It’s Bonham Carter’s second BAFTA TV Award nomination. She was previously nominated for her starring role in 2009’s dramatic television film Enid, which was broadcast on BBC Four.

The International category features Breaking Bad, House Of Cards, Denmark’s Borgen, and France’s The Returned.

This year’s ceremony will be held in London on May 18.

Here’s the list of the major drama and comedy nominees:

LEADING ACTOR
JAMIE DORNAN, The Fall, BBC Two
SEAN HARRIS, Southcliffe, Channel 4
LUKE NEWBERRY, In The Flesh, BBC Three
DOMINIC WEST, Burton and Taylor, BBC Four

LEADING ACTRESS
HELENA BONHAM CARTER, Burton and Taylor, BBC Four
OLIVIA COLMAN, Broadchurch, ITV
KERRIE HAYES, The Mill, Channel 4
MAXINE PEAKE, The Village, BBC One

SUPPORTING ACTOR
DAVID BRADLEY, Broadchurch,
ITV JEROME FLYNN, Ripper Street, BBC One
NICO MIRALLEGRO, The Village, BBC One
RORY KINNEAR, Southcliffe, Channel 4

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
SHIRLEY HENDERSON, Southcliffe, Channel 4
SARAH LANCASHIRE, Last Tango in Halifax, BBC One
CLAIRE RUSHBROOK, My Mad Fat Diary, E4
NICOLA WALKER, Last Tango in Halifax, BBC One

MALE PERFORMANCE IN A COMEDY PROGRAMME
RICHARD AYOADE, The IT Crowd, Channel 4
MATHEW BAYNTON, The Wrong Mans, BBC Two
JAMES CORDEN, The Wrong Mans, BBC Two
CHRIS O’DOWD, The IT Crowd, Channel 4

SINGLE DRAMA
AN ADVENTURE IN SPACE AND TIME
BLACK MIRROR: BE RIGHT BACK,
COMPLICIT
THE WIPERS TIMES

MINISERIES
THE FALL,
THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY
IN THE FLESH
SOUTHCLIFFE

DRAMA SERIES
BROADCHURCH
MY MAD FAT DIARY
TOP OF THE LAKE
THE VILLAGE

INTERNATIONAL
BORGEN
BREAKING BAD
HOUSE OF CARDS
THE RETURNED

Peña to Star in the Heist Thriller “Triple Nine”

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Michael Peña is heading back to the force…

The 36-year-old Mexican American actor, who earned a Spirit Award nomination for his performance in the police drama End of Watch, will star in the heist thriller Triple Nine.

Directed by John Hillcoat, the drama centers on a crew of dirty cops that is blackmailed by the Russian mob to execute a virtually impossible heist. The only way to pull it off is to manufacture a 999, police code for “officer down.” Their plan is turned upside down when the unsuspecting rookie officer they set up to die foils the attack, triggering a breakneck, action-packed finale filled with double-crosses, greed and revenge.

In addition to Peña, the film’s all-star cast includes Fruitvale Station’s Michael B. Jordan, Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul, Warm Bodies’ Teresa Palmer and Gal Gadot, 12 Years A Slave‘s Chiwetel Ejiofor, Casey Affleck and Kate Winslet.

Open Road Films, which just completed a deal to pre-buy domestic distribution rights on Triple Nine, plans to release the film in 2015.

Cuarón Wins First-Ever Producers Guild of America Award

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Alfonso Cuarón has made history at the Producers Guild of America Awards…

The 52-year-old Mexican filmmaker not only picked up the first PGA Award of his career, but Cuarón is also part of a historic tie.

For the first time in its 25-year history, the Producers Guild of America bestowed its top prize on two films during Sunday’s awards ceremony.

Cuarón’s 3D sci-fi thriller Gravity and Steve McQueen‘s historical epic 12 Years a Slave both won the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for outstanding producer of theatrical motion pictures at the show, which took place at the Beverly Hilton.

For the past six years, every feature film chosen by the Producers Guild for its top honor has gone on to be named the best picture at the Academy Awards.

Even though a tie at the Oscars is unlikely, the first-time PGA split keeps the Academy Awards race wide open in one of the tightest three-way battles in years. It may have been shut out by the producers, but David O. Russell‘s con caper American Hustle is also still very much in the running following a week of big showings at the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

In the television categories, AMC‘s Breaking Bad won for best episodic drama, while ABC‘s Modern Family scored the win for best episodic comedy. HBO‘s Behind the Candelabra won in the longform category.

Here’s the complete list of winners:

Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures (TIE):
Gravity
12 Years a Slave

Outstanding Producer of Documentary Motion Pictures:
We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks

Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:
Frozen

David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Longform Television (TV Movies and Miniseries):
Behind the Candelabra

Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama:
Breaking Bad

Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy:
Modern Family

Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television:
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown

Outstanding Producer of Competition Television:
The Voice

Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television:
The Colbert Report

Outstanding Sports Program:
SportsCenter

Outstanding Children’s Program:
Sesame Street

Outstanding Digital Series:
Wired: What’s Inside

Leto Wins First-Ever SAG Award for His Performance in “Dallas Buyers Club”

Posted on January 19, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

It’s turning out to be a rewarding week for Jared Leto…

The 42-year-old part-Spanish American actor/singer took home his first-ever SAG Award on Saturday night at the 20th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Leto, a first-time SAG Award nominee, earned “The Actor” statuette for best supporting actor for his performance as male-to-female transgender character Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club.

Leto’s SAG Award marked his third prize in a week for the role — he also won his first-ever Golden Globe and a Critics’ Choice Movie Award. Additionally, he earned his first-ever Academy Award nomination this week, an award Hollywood insiders believe he’ll take home on March 2.

Leto dedicated his supporting actor SAG award to “the Rayons of the world, the people who made a choice to live their lives not as others would have them live it but as they have chosen to dream it.”

But Leto wasn’t the only Latino actor to pick up the first SAG Award of his career…

Mexican American comedian Louis C.K., a previous nominee for Male Actor in a Comedy Series for his starring role on FX’s Louie, and first-time nominee Michael C. Peña each earned “The Actor” for forming part of the cast of David O. Russell’s drama American Hustle, which took outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture.

Breaking Bad star Steven Michael Quezada also picked up his first SAG Award. The 50-year-old Mexican American actor and two-time nominee, who portrays DEA Agent Steven Gomez on the series, and his cast mates took home the award for took outstanding performance by a cast in a drama series.

From first to fourth…

Sofia Vergara and Rico Rodriguez made history when they picked up their fourth consecutive SAG Award for outstanding performance by a cast in a comedy series for starring on Modern Family.

With the victory, the hit ABC sitcom broke a tie with Seinfeld for most ensemble cast in a comedy series wins in the history of the SAG Awards, cementing the show’s status as one of the best television comedies of all time.

The SAG Awards were handed out during a live simulcast on TNT and TBS on Saturday night from the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles.

Here’s a complete look at this year’s SAG Award winners:

Female actor in a supporting role:
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave

Male actor in a supporting role:
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

Female actor in a comedy series:
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Male actor in a comedy series:
Ty Burrell, Modern Family

Ensemble in a comedy series:
Modern Family
Julie Bowen / Claire Dunphy
Ty Burrell / Phil Dunphy
Aubrey Anderson Emmons / Lily Tucker-Pritchett
Jesse Tyler Ferguson / Mitchell Pritchett
Nolan Gould / Luke Dunphy
Sarah Hyland / Haley Dunphy
Ed O’Neill / Jay Pritchett
Rico Rodriguez / Manny Delgado
Eric Stonestreet / Cameron Tucker
Sofia Vergara / Gloria Delgado-Pritchett
Ariel Winter / Alex Dunphy

Female actor in a TV movie or miniseries:
Helen Mirren, Phil Spector

Male actor in a TV movie or miniseries:
Michael Douglas, Behind the Candelabra

Female actor in a drama series:
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey

Male actor in a drama series:
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad

Ensemble in a drama series:
Breaking Bad
Michael Bowen / Uncle Jack
Betsy Brandt / Marie Schrader
Bryan Cranston/ Walter White
Lavell Crawford / Huell
Tait Fletcher / Lester
Laura Fraser/ Lydia Rodarte-Quale
Anna Gunn / Skyler White
Matthew T. Metzler / Matt
RJ Mitte / Walter White Jr.
Dean Norris / Hank Schrader
Bob Odenkirk/ Saul Goodman
Aaron Paul / Jesse Pinkman
Jesse Plemons / Todd
Steven Michael Quezada / Gomez
Kevin Rankin / Kenny
Patrick Sane / Frankie

Male actor in a leading role:
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

Female actor in a leading role:
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine

Cast in a Motion Picture:

American Hustle
Amy Adams / Sydney Prosser
Christian Bale/ Irving Rosenfeld
Louis C.K. / Stoddard Thorsen
Bradley Cooper / Richie DiMaso
Paul Herman/ Alfonse Simone
Jack Huston/ Pete Musane
Jennifer Lawrence / Rosalyn Rosenfeld
Alessandro Nivola / Federal Prosecutor
Michael C. Peña/ Sheik (Agent Hernandez)
Jeremy Renner/ Mayor Carmine Polito
Elisabeth Rohm/ Dolly Polito
Shea Whigham/ Carl Elway

Alfonso Cuarón & Jonas Cuarón Earn Final Draft Award for Penning the Script for “Gravity”

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Alfonso Cuarón & Jonas Cuarón have the write stuff…

The 52-year-old Mexican filmmaker and his son earned the Best Original Screenplay prize at the at the ninth annual Final Draft Awards.

The Cuaróns, recent BAFTA Award nominees, won the trophy for penning their blockbuster hit 3D sci-fi thriller Gravity, which stars Sandra Bullock.

Meanwhile, the John Ridley-penned historical drama 12 Years A Slave won the Adapted Screenplay award from the scripting software company.

On the television front, ABC’s Modern Family and AMC’s now-wrapped Breaking Bad won for best television comedy and drama, respectively.

“We at Final Draft salute all the film and TV writers who contributed such great work in 2013,” said Final Draft CEO Mark Madnick.

“The winners and nominees tonight represent the best of the best, and their work drives the engine of this industry. We could not be prouder to host this awards show for these great artists.”

Rios Upped to Series Regular on FX’s “The Bridge”

Posted on December 15, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Emily Rios is will be getting more screen time on FX’s drama The Bridge.

The 24-year-old Mexican American actress, who appeared in almost all episodes of the Demian Bichir-starrer‘s first season as a recurring cast member, has been promoted to regular for the second season.

The move signals her characters’ increasing importance in the upcoming storyline. Rios plays El Paso Times reporter Ariana Mendez. In the season one finale, she and her fellow reporter (Matthew Lillard) came across a home filled with cash that will lead to an investigation on both sides of the border in the second season.

Rios is best known for playing Jessie Pinkman’s ill-fated girlfriend Andrea Cantillo on Breaking Bad. She also has recurred on Men Of A Certain Age and Friday Night Lights.

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