Raúl Castillo to Lead the Cast of William Atticus Parker’s Suspense Sci-Fi Tale “The Auction”

Raúl Castillo is headed to an auction

The 46-year-old Mexican American actor will star as the lead in William Atticus Parker’s third film, The Auction.

Raul CastilloThe suspense science-fiction tale is loosely inspired by Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None.

The film is set at the Aztec Corp., a company that auctions off ancient antiquities and semi-distinct wild exotic animals.

Castillo will portray the newest sales representative, David Valdez, with Ben Vereen appearing as his father and K. Todd Freeman as the head of the corporation.

The previously announced cast also includes Audra McDonald, Mary-Louise Parker and Richard Kind. Details about their specific roles aren’t being released yet.

Castillo will next be seen in Paramount’s upcoming Smile 2 and alongside Mark Ruffalo in HBO’s untitled Brad Ingelsby series.

He’s known for movies including Steven Soderbergh’s Cold Wallet, Amazon’s Cassandro opposite Gael Garia BernalArmy of the DeadCha Cha Real Smooth and A24’s The Inspection, as well as TV series including HBO’s Looking, Starz’s Vida and Netflix’s Atypical.

Agatha Christie’s book And Then There Were None is one of the world’s best-selling mystery novels, and it has been adapted multiple times for big and small screen.

Bad Bunny to Serve as Presenter at This Year’s Academy Awards

Bad Bunny has a date with Oscar…

The 29-year-old Puerto Rican Grammy-winning superstar has been added to the list of presenters for this year’s Academy Awards show.

Bad BunnyBut the “Monaco” singer is not the only Puerto Rican artist set to take the stage.

West Side Story star Rita Moreno, an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar & Tony Award) winner, will also serve as a presenter.

Bad Bunny and Moreno are among the list of recently added presenters for the March 10th Oscars telecast that includes Chris Hemsworth, Dwayne Johnson, Michael Keaton, Regina King, Jennifer Lawrence, Kate McKinnon, John Mulaney, Catherine O’Hara, Octavia Spencer and Ramy Youssef.

Moreno won an Oscar in 1962 for West Side Story. In 1977, she became the first Latina (and just the third person overall) to complete the EGOT.

In 2022, Bad Bunny made history when Un Verano Sin Ti became the first Spanish-language album to top Billboard’s year-end chart and to receive a Grammy nod for album of the year. His acting credits include Bullet Train, Narcos: Mexico and Cassandro,

Earlier this week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced that another popular Latin star, Becky G, would perform the nominated “The Fire Inside” from Flamin’ Hot on the telecast.

Previously announced Oscars presenters are Mahershala Ali, Nicolas Cage, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brendan Fraser, Jessica Lange, Matthew McConaughey, Lupita Nyong’o, Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ke Huy Quan, Sam Rockwell, Michelle Yeoh and Zendaya.

The 96th Oscars will air live on ABC and broadcast to outlets worldwide on Sunday, March 10, at the new, earlier time of 7:00 pm ET/4:00 pm PT.

Jimmy Kimmel is hosting the show for the fourth time. It will be held at its usual home, the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.

Raj Kapoor is executive producer and showrunner for the 2024 Oscars. Molly McNearney and Katy Mullan are also executive producers. Hamish Hamilton is directing. Rickey Minor is music director.

Raúl Castillo to Star in Paramount‘s “Smile” Sequel

Raúl Castillo has a new reason to smile

The 46-year-old Mexican American actor has been cast in Paramount‘s Smile sequel.

Raul CastilloCastillo is among a list of new cast additions that includes Miles Gutierrez-Riley, who starred in The Wilds.

The film’s plot and character details are being kept under wraps.

The duo joins the previously announced cast: Naomi Scott, Lukas Gage, Kyle Gallner, Rosemarie DeWitt and Dylan Gelula.

Smile writer and director returns for the second installment to again direct from his own script, with Temple Hill producing.

Smile 2 is currently slated for release on October 18, 2024, when it will go up against a still-unnamed title from Universal Pictures.

Going on to gross over $217M in theaters, even if it was initially set up for release on Paramount+, Smile was one of the great, unexpected box office successes of 2022. One of several original studio horror films of late to expand into a franchise, it tells the story of Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon), a psychiatrist who becomes increasingly convinced she is being threatened by an uncanny entity, after witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient.

Castillo most recently starred in the Amazon film Cassandro opposite Gael Garia Bernal. He’s set to appear in HBO‘s Mark Ruffalo-led series, the Untitled Brad Ingelsby Task Force Project (w/t), currently in pre-production.

Prior television credits also include HBO’s Looking, Starz’s Vida and Netflix’s Atypical to name a few; Army of the DeadCha Cha Real SmoothKnives Out and We The Animals are among his film credits.

Gutierrez-Riley made his TV debut in the second season of Prime Video’s The Wilds, where he portrayed Ivan. In September 2022, Miles he starred in Paramount’s film adaptation of On The Come Up, which made its world premiere on the opening night of TIFF. Next up, he will star opposite Corey Fogelman in Tommy Dorfman’s directorial debut I Wish You All the Best, premiering at SXSW in March. It has also been announced that Gutierrez-Riley will star in Disney+’s WandaVision spinoff, Agatha: Darkhold Diaries.

Raúl Castillo Joins the Cast of HBO’s Mark Ruffalo-Led “Task Force Project” Series

Raúl Castillo is joining the task force

The 46-year-old Mexican American actor has joined the cast of HBO’s Mark Ruffalo-led series, the Untitled Brad Ingelsby Task Force Project (w/t), currently in pre-production.

Castillo is among a list of new cast additions that includes Jamie McShane and Sam Keeley.

Castillo plays Cliff, Robbie’s lifelong best friend and devout cynic; McShane plays Perry, a feared and respected man who’s made a career out of mayhem; Keeley plays Jayson, the leader of a local crime organization.

The series is set in the working-class suburbs outside of Philadelphia and follows an FBI agent who heads a Task Force. His goal is to put an end to a string of drug-house robberies led by an unsuspecting family man. The Untitled Task Force project is based on an original idea by the creator of Mare of Easttown, Brad Ingelsby.

The trio joins the previously announced cast including Mark Ruffalo, Tom Pelphrey and Emilia Jones.

Executive producers include Brad Ingelsby (Writer/EP); Jeremiah Zagar (Director/EP); Salli Richardson-Whitfield (Director/EP); Ruffalo (Star/EP); Paul Lee and Mark Roybal for wiip; David Crockett.

Castillo’s previous credits include Cassandro, The Inspection, Looking: The Movie, El Chicano and Knives Out.

Diego Luna & Gael García Bernal to Executive Produce “The Boys” Offshoot, “The Boys: Mexico”

Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal are bringing the boys south of the border

The 43-year-old Mexican actor, director and producer and the 44-year-old Mexican Golden Globe-winning actor and producer will executive produce and possibly appear in acting roles in The Boys: Mexico, a new series offshoot of The Boys from Blue Beetle writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer.

Gael García Bernal & Diego LunaDetails regarding the premise of the series are being kept under wraps.

A search is currently underway for a co-showrunner to join creator, writer and executive producer Dunnet-Alcocer, who is now working on the script.

The team behind The Boys: Mexico, which will be shot in the Latin American country, is working on budgets for the new series and they have yet to begin casting, sources said.

The Mexico-set offshoot comes from the main creative auspices behind the other series in The Boys franchise, the mothership’s developer Eric Kripke and his Kripke Enterprises, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s Point Grey Pictures, Neil H. Moritz’s Original Film, Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios. Loreli Alba is expected to oversee for Point Grey.

The Boys, based on the New York Times best-selling comic by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, shares a fun and irreverent take on what happens when superheroes—who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians, and as revered as gods—abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. Intent on stopping the corrupt superheroes, The Boys, a group of vigilantes, continue their heroic quest to expose the truth about The Seven and Vought—the multibillion-dollar conglomerate that manages the superheroes and covers up their dirty secrets. It’s the seemingly powerless against the super-powerful.

Following the breakout success of The Boys, which is headed to Season 4, two spinoff series were released in 2023: the animated The Boys Presents: Diabolical, which premiered in March, and the college-set spinoff Gen V, which recently concluded its first season and has been renewed for Season 2.

The Boys: Mexico is the latest project hailing from rising star Dunnet-Alcocer, who penned the screenplay for the Warner Bros. Pictures/DC Studios superhero feature film, Blue Beetle. Most recently, he wrote the screenplay for Sony’s El Muerto from director Jonás Cuarón. The Queretaro, Mexico native also wrote and executive produced Miss Bala in 2019. Additionally, Dunnet-Alcocer is attached as screenwriter of the Universal Pictures’ reimagination of Scarface.

Luna and García Bernal are veteran actors whose careers exploded following their collaboration in the hit 2001 Spanish-language feature Y Tu Mamá También directed by Alfonso Cuarón. They have reunited multiple times since then including in Rudo y Cursi (2008) and Casa de Mi Padre (2012).

Most recently Luna joined the Star Wars universe in the Disney+ TV series Andor, a prequel to Star Wars: Rogue One.

García Bernal most recently starred in the Amazon bio-drama Cassandro portraying the titular gay wrestler born Saúl Armendáriz.

The longtime friends and collaborators became producing partners in 2018 under their La Corriente del Golfo banner. Recent projects they produced include the aforementioned Cassandro and the series Pan y Circo hosted by Luna, both for Amazon.

Bad Bunny Trash-Talks Himself in New Promo for NBC’s Upcoming Episode of “Saturday Night Live”

Bad Bunny’s seeing double

In the latest Saturday Night Live promo, the 29-year-old Puerto Rican Grammy-winning superstar, this week’s host, squares off against this week’s musical guest, who so happens to be Bad Bunny.

Bad BunnyRiffing on the singer-actor’s professed love for professional wrestling, the promo features cast member James Austin Johnson as a WWE-style announcer interviewing a rather soft-spoken “Benito” – Bad Bunny’s birth name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio – who says he’s not nervous about the hosting gig. “Hell, no. I love being silly,” says Benito.

At that point, a tougher-looking opponent enters the “ring” to smoke and a heavy metal accompaniment. “Oh my God!,” says Johnson. “It’s Bad Bunny!”

“Well, I’ve got a Weekend Update for you, amigo,” says the sunglass-wearing Bunny to Benito. “You suck.”

Bad Bunny, who was an SNL musical guest on February 20, 2021, has made regular appearances on WWE’s weekly television show Monday Night Raw.

The singer-rapper released his fifth solo album, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, on October 13. He also appears in the 2023 biopic Cassandro starring Gael García Bernal as gay wrestler Saúl Armendáriz aka Cassandro.

Gael Garcia Bernal to Preside Over Jury at Rome Film Festival

Gael Garcia Bernal is taking a special lead role in Italy…

The 44-year-old Mexican actor and producer will preside over the jury of the upcoming Rome Film Festival.

Gael García BernalGarcia Bernal, who currently stars in the Amazon Prime film Cassandro, will be judging entries and bestowing prizes in the rebooted fest’s main section, which is now known as Progressive Cinema.

Films competing for Rome prizes include Spanish director Isabel Coixet’s Un Amor, about a young woman socially and sexually exploited by a rural patriarchy; Iranian director Farhad Delaram’s Achilles, in which a former filmmaker turned medic decides to help a female political prisoner escape from a psych ward; and French director Mehdi Fikri’s After The Fire, which turns on a French woman of North African descent who seeks justice after her younger brother dies suspiciously after being stopped by the police.

The Eternal City event’s upcoming 18th edition – which will run October 18-29 – will be the second since the appointment of RAI Cinema executive Paola Malanga as the fest’s artistic director and Gian Luca Farinelli, who heads the Bologna film archives, as president.

They have reshaped the Rome fest – which over the years has had it’s ups and downs – as a competitive event that has at its core a mix of mostly auteur titles, many with political themes, plus a panoply of more crowd pleasing films of different types screening out-of-competition.

Prime Video Releases Trailer for Gael García Bernal’s Gay Lucha Libra Luchador Film “Cassandro”

Gael García Bernal is wrestling with his future…

Amazon Prime has released the official trailer for Cassandro, starring the 44-year-old Mexican actor/producer and Bad Bunny.

Gael García Bernal, Amazon Prime, Cassandro, The film is based on the life of the wrestling and queer icon Cassandro, also known as the Liberace of Lucha Libre.

In the two-minute clip, the audience is introduced to Saúl Armendáriz (García Bernal) from El Paso, Texas, who dreams of becoming professional luchador after his father first introduced him to the sport. In the process, he transforms into Cassandro, an “exótico” who wrestles in drag.

“Are you a wrestler?” Bad Bunny asks García Bernal in the film’s new trailer. “Yes,” the Mexican actor responds. That’s the first interaction between the two in the teaser. Later in the clip, they are dancing, and there’s a first look at Bad Bunny as one of Cassandro’s love interests.

Roberta Colindrez, Perla de la Rosa, Joaquín Cosío and Raúl Castillo round out the biopic’s cast.

The world of wrestling is familiar to Bad Bunny. In 2021, the Grammy-winning Puerto Rican superstar ventured into the wrestling world by jumping off the top rope at the 2021 Royal Rumble. Most recently, the “Me Porto Bonito” singer defeated Damian Priest in a San Juan Street Fight at WWE’s premium live event Backlash in May.

After making its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival in January, Cassandro is set to hit theaters on September 15, and will premiere on Prime Video Sept. 22.

Sony Developing “El Muerto” Marvel Character Film with Bad Bunny Attached to Star

Bad Bunny is dying for an exciting new role…

Sony Pictures, looking to continue to expand and diversify its universe of Marvel characters, is developing an El Muerto movie with the 28-year-old Puerto Rican Grammy-winning singer attached to star.

Bad BunnyThe announcement was made at Cinemacon during Sony’s panel where Bad Bunny made a surprise appearance.

The character of El Muerto, aka Juan Carlos, was a super powered wrestler who originally fought Spider-Man in a charity wrestling match in which he nearly unmasked the webslinger before being stung by Spider-Man with a paralyzing poison. After his oppressor El Dorado came to claim his life, he was saved by Spider-Man, after which the two team up to defeat Dorado.

El Muerto would mark the first Latin superhero to get his own film in the universe of Marvel characters, coming right after Sony recently dated Madame Webwhich marked the first female character from the Spider-Man universe to get her own film.

Though El Muerto isn’t as popular as Venom or Kraven the Hunter, Sony’s rush to get this film into development has much to do with Bad Bunny’s persistence in finding that right superhero property for himself.

The superstar is set to make his major studio debut in the highly-anticipated action film Bullet Train on July 29, a project that led to Aaron Taylor-Johnson landing the lead role in Kraven the Hunter. 

The same situation looks to have happened with Bad Bunny with executives extremely high on the final Bad Bunny footage from the film.

Following recent meetings to figure out a starring vehicle for him, the multi-hyphenate took matters into his own hands and began mining the Spider-Man library for Latin characters that would suit him, eventually coming across El Muerto. The studio loved the idea and hopes to move quickly on the project given Bad Bunny’s busy touring and acting schedule.

Besides Bullet Train, he was also recently seen in Narcos: Mexico and has Cassandro coming out alongside Gael García Bernal. He also recently wrapped his arena tour El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo

El Muerto will come out on Jan. 12, 2024.

Benito Antonio Marinez Ocasio (aka Bad Bunny) said working on Bullet Train was “an amazing experience. David (Leitch) is awesome. I loved working with him on my first film and now with this opportunity to bring El Muerto to life. It’s amazing, it’s incredible. I love wrestling. I grew up watching wrestling and I’m a wrestler. I’m a former champion so this is why I love this character. I think it’s the perfect role to me and it will be epic.”

Gael Garcia Bernal to Star in Marvel Studios’ Halloween Special “The Nevers” for Disney+

It’s never say nevers for Gael Garcia Bernal.

The 43-year-old Mexican Golden Globe-winning actor and producer will star opposite Laura Donnelly in The Nevers, Marvel StudiosHalloween special for Disney+.

Gael García Bernal

Plot details for the untitled special are being kept under wraps, but, Garcia Bernal is reportedly playing a character based on the Marvel character Werewolf by Night, who is capable of transforming into a werewolf while retaining human intellects.

No official word yet on who Donnelly will portray, but if Garcia Bernal is Werewolf by Night, she potentially could be Nina Price, who becomes Vampire by Night. Price is the niece of character Jack Russell/Werewolf by Night and a vampire/werewolf hybrid. She carried the lycan gene and was changed further after being bitten by a vampire.

The special is due to begin production in coming months and follows Marvel’s Disney+ shows WandaVisionThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki and Hawkeye.

Marvel and Disney also have shows in the works based on She-HulkMs. Marvel and Moon Knight.

Mozart in the Jungle and The Motorcycle Diaries star Garcia Bernal most recently was seen in the M. Night Shyamalan film Old and the HBO Max series Station Eleven.

He’ll next appear in the Jennifer Lopez-led feature The Mother and Amazon film Cassandro.