Zoe Saldana to Receive Critics Choice Association‘s Groundbreaker Award

Posted on October 14, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Zoe Saldana is a special Critics Choice honoree…

The 46-year-old 44-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican American actress is among the honorees from the Critics Choice Association‘s 4th Annual Celebration of Latino Cinema & Television taking place on October 22, 2024 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.

Saldaña will receive the Groundbreaker Award for her starring role in Netflix’s Emilia Pérez, which won the Best Actress prize for the ensemble cast at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.

The Director Award – Film will be awarded to Pablo Larraín for his directorial work on Netflix’s Maria.

The film competed in the Venice Film Festival and was one of the official selections for both the Telluride Film Festival and the New York Film Festival this year.

The Vanguard Award will be given to filmmaker Fede Alvarez for his writing and directorial work in creating 20th Century Studios’ Alien: Romulus.

The film notably earned $45.1 million in its domestic opening weekend at the box office and became the highest grossing horror film in IMAX history.

Emmy-nominated director, writer and producer Issa López will receive The Director Award – Series for her directorial work on the HBO Original Series True Detective: Night Country.

The series received 19 Emmy nominations, the most for any limited or anthology series this year and won star Jodie Foster the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for a Limited Series, Anthology, or Television Movie.

The Showrunner Award will recognize Emmy-nominated television writer and producer Francesca Sloane for her work on Prime Video’s series Mr. & Mrs. Smith. The series was nominated 16 times at this year’s Emmys and was awarded two wins.

Oscar and Emmy-nominated actress Adriana Barraza will be honored with the Actress Award – Film for her role in Roadside Attractions’ film My Penguin Friend.

Barraza previously earned an Academy Award nomination in 2007 for Best Supporting Actress for her work in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s film Babel and just received a 2024 International Emmy nomination for Best Actress for her work in the award-winning Netflix film El último vagón.

Actress and writer Fernanda Torres will receive the Actress Award – International Film for her role in Sony Pictures Classics’ film I’m Still Here, which notably garnered the Best Screenplay award at this year’s Venice Film Festival and has been selected as Brazil’s 2024 submission for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars.

Emayatzy Corinealdi will accept the Actress Award – Series for her performance on Hulu/Onyx Collective’s Reasonable Doubt.

Corinealdi also recently appeared in the HBO series Ballers and in the Miles Davis biopic Miles Ahead. STARZ will bestow Emayatzy Corinealdi’s award with a special STARZ #TakeTheLead designation as part of its ongoing commitment to amplifying narratives by, about, and for women and underrepresented audiences.

Ramón Rodríguez will be awarded with the Breakthrough Actor Award – Series for his starring role in the ABC series Will Trent.

Rodríguez was also nominated in the Best Actor in a Drama Series category for season one at last year’s Critics Choice Awards.

The Comedy Series Award will be bestowed upon the acclaimed Apple TV+ series Acapulco, starring Emmy-winner Eugenio Derbez, Enrique Arrizon, Fernando Carsa, and Camila Perez.

The International Series Award will recognize the Apple TV+ Spanish-language drama series Familia de Medianoche, which features an entirely Latino cast and crew led by performers Renata Vaca, Joaquín Cosío, and Diego Calva.

The Celebration honors standout performances and work, both onscreen and offscreen from the Latino entertainment community.

Monica Barbaro Named to Variety’s “10 Actors to Watch” List for 2024

Posted on October 13, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Monica Barbaro has earned must-watch status…

The 34-year-old part-Mexican American actress has been named to Variety’s 10 Actors to Watch list for 2024.

Previously seen as a pilot in the blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick, Barbaro will play legendary singer Joan Baez opposite Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan in James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown.

But Barbaro isn’t the only Latina/o actor to make this year’s list.

Karla Sofía Gascón has earned a spot on the coveted list after playing the title role in Emilia Pérez in the film of the same name. The Spanish actress shared the best actress prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival with her co-stars Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez.

Josh Rivera is also an actor to watch.

He made his film debut in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story and can currently be seen playing the title role in Ryan Murphy’s American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez for FX.

The annual list names breakthrough and up-and-coming actors whose stars are on the rise.

Over the years, the list has included more than 35 Oscar winners and nominees, including Viola Davis, Mahershala Ali, Timothée Chalamet and Brie Larson.

The10 to Watch lists have been a Variety staple since 1997, with Actors to Watch highlighted since 1998, with many performers from awards season prospects.

This year is no exception, including actors in such high-profile upcoming films as “Emilia Pérez,” “Queer,” “A Complete Unknown” and “Gladiator II.”

The honorees will be profiled in the October 17 issue of Variety and feted at a special brunch on October 20 at the Newport Beach Film Festival Honors presented by Visit Newport Beach.

“The Newport Beach Film Festival is immensely proud to host Variety’s 10 Actors to Watch. Variety has a long history of identifying key talent that will impact our creative environment,” says Gregg Schwenk, CEO and co-founder of the fest. “This year’s class is a great reflection of the diversity and depth of talent that exists in the industry today.”

“The fall film festival season is once again in full swing and once again screens everywhere are filled with exciting, dynamic performances by emerging actors who renew our faith in the future of cinema,” adds Variety’s senior VP global content/executive editor, Steven Gaydos. “As Variety has done since 1997, we’ve selected 10 talented performers from current films of all genres who all share one common characteristic: the capacity for greatness.”

This year’s 10 Actors to Watch are:

Monica Barbaro – Previously seen as a pilot in the blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick,” Barbaro will play legendary singer Joan Baez opposite Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan in James Mangold’s “A Complete Unknown.”

Zoë Chao – After starring roles in “The Afterparty” and “Party Down,” Chao will be seen in “Nightbitch” with Amy Adams and “The Roses” with Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman.

Ryan Destiny – The actress/singer/songwriter delivers a breakthrough performance as Olympic boxer Claressa “T-Rex” Shields in “The Fire Inside,” written by Oscar winner Barry Jenkins and directed by Oscar nominee Rachel Morrison.

Karla Sofía Gascón – The Spanish actor plays the title role in “Emilia Pérez,” for which she shared the best actress prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival with her co-stars Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez.

Fred Hechinger – After starring in “Thelma,” Hechinger’s busy year includes roles in “Gladiator II,” “Nickel Boys” and “Kraven the Hunter.”

Ella Hunt – Previously seen in the series “Dickinson,” Hunt portrays the legendary Gilda Radner in Jason Reitman’s film “Saturday Night” and appears in Kevin Costner’s “Horizon: An American Saga” films.

David Jonsson – After his acclaimed film debut in “Rye Lane,” Jonsson stole scenes in “Alien: Romulus” and will next be seen in the films “The Long Walk” and “Wasteman.”

Josh Rivera – Rivera made his film debut in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” and can currently be seen playing the title role in Ryan Murphy’s “American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez” for FX.

Drew Starkey – The “Outer Banks” star is earning raves for his breakthrough film role opposite Daniel Craig in Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer.”

Toby Wallace – Following a standout turn in “The Bikeriders,” Wallace will next appear in Ron Howard’s “Eden,” Justin Lin’s “Last Days” and “Inside” with Guy Pearce.”

Selena Gomez Teases New Spanish Single “Mi Camino” From Acclaimed Film “Emilia Pérez”

Posted on September 6, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Selena Gomez is following her own camino…

The 32-year-old Mexican American singer, actress, producer and businesswoman has taken to Instagram to share a clip of the dance-ready track, “Mi Camino,” which is featured in her upcoming acclaimed film, Emilia Pérez.

Gomez stars as Jessi Del Monte in the film.

“A little sneak peek of the song “Mi Camino” that I performed in EMILIA PÉREZ,” she wrote in the caption.

The clip features a blonde Gomez dancing on a man in a cowboy hat, belting into a microphone the chorus’ lyrics: “Si me caigo en la barranca/ Es mi barranca/ Si me doblo de dolor/ Es mi dolor/ Si me mando al séptimo cielo/ Es mi cielo/ Si me equivoco de camino/ Es mi camino.”

“If I fall into the ravine / It’s my ravine / If I double over in pain / It’s my pain / If I send myself to seventh heaven / It’s my heaven / If I take the wrong path / It’s my path,” the lyrics translate to.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Selena Gomez (@selenagomez)

This past spring, Gomez and castmates Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón and Adriana Paz collectively won the best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for their work in Emilia Pérez.

The Spanish-language musical — which follows a Mexican drug lord (Gascón) embracing her true identity as a woman, will premiere in select theaters in other countries in November, as well as hit Netflix in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. on November 13.

Netflix Releases First Trailer for Musical Crime Comedy “Emilia Peréz,” Starring Zoe Saldaña

Posted on August 26, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Zoe Saldaña is mixing music, crime and comedy…

Netflix has released the first teaser for one of its most anticipated films of the year — the Spanish-language musical crime comedy Emilia Peréz, starring the 46-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican American actress,

Hailing from Jacques Audiard, the film won multiple awards in its premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Hitting select theaters in the U.S. and Canada on November 1 before debuting on the streamer on November 13, Emilia Peréz implements song, dance and bold visuals to chronicle the journeys of four remarkable women in Mexico, each pursuing their own happiness.

Among them is Rita (Saldaña), an unappreciated lawyer stuck in a dead-end job, who agrees to help the fearsome cartel leader Emilia (Karla Sofía Gascón) fake her death so that she can finally live authentically as her true self.

Also starring Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz and Edgar Ramírez, the film garnered an 11-minute standing ovation in its premiere in Competition at Cannes, winning the Jury Prize and the award for Best Actress, which was shared by the female members of the ensemble, as well as the Cannes Soundtrack Award.

Out of Cannes, Netflix snapped up North American and UK rights to the film, which was one of the buzziest participating in this year’s market.

In her review for Deadline at the time, Stephanie Bunbury said of the film, “On paper, it looks mad as a loose wheel. A largely Spanish-language musical about a Mexican druglord having a sex change, featuring a onetime Disney teen star Selena Gomez as a gangster’s wife…but here it is on the screen, a musical marvel.”

Written by Audiard, Thomas Bidegain and Léa Mysius, Emilia Peréz marked the former revered French filmmaker’s seventh film to play Cannes.

Selena Gomez & “Emilia Perez” Co-Stars Earn Best Actress Honors at Cannes Film Festival

Posted on May 25, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Selena Gomez and her Emilia Perez cast mates are celebrating a special prize.

The 31-year-old Mexican American actress/singer, Adriana Paz, Zoe Saldana and Karla Sofia Gascon have been awarded the Best Actress award as an ensemble at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for their performances in the musical crime comedy film written and directed by Jacques Audiard.

Saldaña stars as Rita, a Mexico City lawyer hired by the cartel kingpin Manitas to help him flee Mexico for gender confirmation surgery. This turns out to be the beginning of a relationship that will continue between Rita and Emilia Perez (Gascón). Emilia returns years later, posing as Manitas’ sister, to stay close to her children who are living with her ex-wife (Gomez).

Gomez, who was not present at the ceremony shared the moment that she learned about the win on social media.

In an Instagram story, Selena shared a video of herself getting a call from Zoe, who informed her of their big accomplishment. In the clip, the star appears to be outside enjoying a picnic and is clearly ecstatic about the news.

“We did it, we did it,” Zoe shouts as Selena responds, “I’m so excited!”

The film, which also won the Jury Prize and Best Soundtrack, earned one of the longest standing ovations during the fesical when it was presented last weekend.

Here’s the full list of winners:

Palme d’Or
Anora, dir: Sean Baker

Grand Prize
All We Imagine as Light, dir: Payal Kapadia

Jury Prize
Emilia Perez, dir: Jacques Audiard

Best Director
Miguel Gomes, Grand Tour

Special Prize
Mohammad Rasoulof, The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Best Actor
Jesse Plemons, Kinds of Kindness

Best Actress
Emilia Perez ensemble: Adriana Paz, Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofia Gascon, Selena Gomez

Best Screenplay
The Substance, Coralie Fargeat

Camera d’Or
Armand, dir: Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel

Special Mention
Mongrel, dir: Chiang Wei Liang

Short Film Palme d’Or
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent, dir: Nebojsa Slijepcevic

Special Mention
Bad For a Moment, dir: Daniel Soares

Rodrigo Sorogoyen to Serve as Jury President at This Year’s Cannes Critics’ Week

Posted on April 5, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Rodrigo Sorogoyen is taking the lead at this year’s Cannes Critics’ Week…

The 42-year-old Spanish film director and screenwriter, best known for his 2023 feature The Beasts, has been revealed as the jury president for this year’s edition of Cannes Critics’ Week.

The parallel Cannes section devoted to emerging talents and first and second features will unfold from May 15 to 23 this year.

“It is a big responsibility, which I look forward to,” Sorogoyen said in a video statement on X announcing his presidency.

“La Semaine de la Critique supports and rewards first and second feature films as well as short films, thus providing vital support to cinema, new voices, and new ways to tell stories. Without these new voices, there would be no new cinema. They’re the ones who make it live and make it work.”

Sorogoyen’s last film, The Beasts, debuted at Cannes in 2022 and dominated the main prizes at the 37th edition of Spain’s Goya Awards, taking home nine gongs, including best film and director.

The film’s story follows a middle-aged French couple who move to a small village, seeking closeness with nature. However, their presence inflames two locals to the point of outright hostility and shocking violence.

The Beasts also picked up wins for best screenplay, leading actor and supporting actor.

The year’s Critics Week lineup will be announced in the next few weeks.

The official Cannes Film Festival lineup will be announced on April 11.

Goodfellas Handling International Sales for Berenice Bejo’s “Mexico 86”

Posted on February 13, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Berenice Bejo’s latest project is one step closer to hitting theaters around the globe…

Goodfellas has acquired the worldwide sales rights to thriller Mexico 86, starring the 47-year-old French-Argentine Oscar-nominated actress.

The film hails from Belgian-Guatemalan filmmaker César Diaz, who made waves with Guatemalan civil war disappearance drama Our Mothers, which won Cannes’ Caméra d’Or in 2019.

Mexico 86 stars Bejo as a Guatemalan rebel activist fighting against the corrupt military dictatorship, who is forced to flee to Mexico in 1976, leaving her son behind. A decade later, he comes to live with her, forcing her to choose between her duties as a mother and her revolutionary activism.

Diaz has taken inspiration from his own personal story for the drama.

The film is produced by Need Productions with Tripode Productions, Pimienta Films and Menuetto Film.

Bejo earned a Best Supporting Actress nod for her performance in The Artist. Her other credits include The Past, Eternity and Sweet Dreams.

Brazil Selects Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “Pictures of Ghosts” as its Best International Feature Film Entry at Oscars

Posted on September 12, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Kleber Mendonça Filho’s latest project is Brazil’s best bet for an international film Oscar.

The South American country has selected the 54-year-old Brazilian film director and screenwriter’s documentary Pictures of Ghosts as its entry for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.

Mixing archive and contemporary footage, the deeply personal work revisits the director’s hometown of Recife through the cinemas he once frequented.

The film world premiered as a Special Screening at Cannes Film Festival in May and had its North American premiere on September 9 in Toronto, before heading to New York.

Grasshopper Films acquired U.S. rights to the film this summer. Paris-based Urban Sales handles international sales.

The Brazilian Cinema Academy selected the film on Tuesday from a shortlist, which also included Guto Parente’s A Strange Path, Sergio de Carvalho’s Alien Nights, Eduardo Albergaria’s Nosso Sonho, Carolina Markowicz’s Toll and Claudio Borrelli’s Vultures.

The selection was made by a 23-member committee, chaired by distributor and exhibitor Ilda Santiago.

Mendonça Filho thanked the academy for selecting the film in a media post, re-enacting his taking the call on the phone as he stroked his cat.

First Look Trailer Released for Nathaly Garcia’s New Film “Gasoline Rainbow”

Posted on August 30, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Nathaly Garcia is gassed up for her latest project…

The first trailer for Gasoline Rainbow, starring the Latina actress, has been released.

The first narrative feature from the acclaimed indie duo of Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross, which is soon to have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, is set to hit U.S. theaters via Mubi next year.

Gasoline Rainbow is a formally experimental work that’s reminiscent of Andrea Arnold’s Cannes Film Festival prize winner American Honey.

Written, produced, shot and directed by the Ross Brothers, it follows five teenagers from small-town Oregon who, with high school in the rearview, decide to embark on one last adventure. Piling into a van with a busted taillight, their mission is to make it to a place they’ve never been — the Pacific coast, five hundred miles away. Their plan, in full: “F**k it.”

By van, boat, train, and foot, their improvised odyssey takes them through desert wilderness, industrial backwaters, and city streets. Along the way, they encounter outsiders from the fringes of the American West and discover that the contours of their lives will be set by trails they blaze themselves. They are forgotten kids from a forgotten town, but they have their freedom and they have each other, hurtling toward an unknowable future — and The Party at the End of the World.

Starring Garcia and fellow newcomers Tony Abuerto, Micah Bunch, Nichole Dukes and Makai Garza, the film began percolating for the Rosses during Covid lockdown. Said the visionaries behind it in a statement setting up the clip, “This scene almost didn’t happen – chasing the sunset after a brutally long day of filming in the van, the sky went electric with color. Racing towards a vantage point, the kids jumped out of the van and ran into the open. We’d found ourselves on the exact same stretch of lonesome road that begins and ends My Own Private Idaho. It was magical. They stayed and pontificated until the light was gone, and then we left. One brief moment along the line.”

Added the duo with regard to their forthcoming premiere, “Venice is a new frontier for us, and we’re thrilled to make it our point of embarkation.”

Produced by the Department of Motion Pictures and Mubi, in association with XTR, Gasoline Rainbow is having international sales handled by The Match Factory.

Sony Pictures Classics to Release Pedro Almodóvar’s “Strange Way of Life” Short Film in U.S. Theaters

Posted on August 3, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Pedro Almodóvar’s latest short film will be hitting theaters in the United States this fall.

The 73-year-old Spanish Oscar-winning filmmaker’s Strange Way of Life, which had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in the spring, will arrive in theaters in New York City and Los Angeles on October 4 thanks to Sony Pictures Classics.

There will be an expansion nationwide on Oct. 6.

The short film, starring Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal, will play in theaters alongside Almodóvar’s 2020 short film, The Human Voice, starring Tilda Swinton, which was also distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. Together, the two shorts represent Almodóvar’s only English-language projects to date.

Strange Way of Life follows two gunmen who reunite after many years. In the film, a man rides a horse across the desert that separates him from Bitter Creek. He comes to visit Sheriff Jake. Twenty-five years earlier, both the sheriff and Silva, the rancher who rides out to meet him, worked together as hired gunmen. Silva visits him with the excuse of reuniting with his friend from his youth, and they do indeed celebrate their meeting, but the next morning Sheriff Jake tells him that the reason for his trip is not to go down the memory lane of their old friendship…

Produced by Almodóvar’s El Deseo and presented by Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello, Strange Way of Life, stars Pedro Casablanc, Manu Ríos, George Steane, José Condessa, Jason Fernández and Sara Sálamo. It is produced by Agustín Almodóvar, with Esther García as EP and Bárbara Peiró, Diego Pajuelo, and Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello as associate producers.

The score is composed by four-time Oscar nominee Alberto Iglesias, a regular Almodóvar collaborator who received his most recent Oscar nomination in 2022 for Almodóvar’s Paralell Mothers. All characters are costumed by Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello.

SPC has long-teamed with Almodóvar on a majority of his films, including most recently Parallel Mothers in 2021 and Pain and Glory in 2019. Sony Pictures Classics, which received two Oscar nominations each.

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