Elijah Rodriguez to Star in the Coming-of-Age Drama “Macho!”

Elijah Rodriguez has met his macho

The Latino actor will star alongside Rudy Youngblood and Antonio Jaramillo in Verloren Productions’ drama Macho!, based on the book by Victor Villaseñor.

Elijah RodriguezRodriguez will co-star alongside fellow cast newcomer Mia Sanchez in the film.

The coming-of-age tale taking place during the 1960s centers on Roberto Garcia (Rodriguez), who at age 17, already has big dreams of making his fortune, building a family, and gaining the respect of his community. With ambition to burn and a passion to prove his manhood, Roberto takes the dangerous journey north, crossing the Mexican border to pick fruit in the “golden fields” of California. It is said that a good man can make more money there in a week than in an entire year in the mountains of Michoacán, his home. With dreams that overshadow harsh realities, Roberto is unprepared for the jammed boxcars and bolted trucks that carry undervalued migrant workers through the searing desert to long days of harsh labor.

The film will examine the brutality of migrant labor, as well as Cesar Chavez’s efforts to unionize workers, offering vivid portrayal of the immigrant experience through the eyes of a brave young man who bids goodbye to everything he knows to follow his dreams.

Verloren Productions Founder Walt Perez adapted the screenplay and will produce alongside Soren Odom, Melanie Tirado and Ralph Esparza.

Rodriguez’s previous credits include Sicario: Day of the Soldado.

Antonio Jaramillo to Star in Film Adaptation of “Macho!,” Based on Book by Victor Villaseñor

Antonio Jaramillo is a macho! man.

The Mexican actor will star alongside Rudy Youngblood in Verloren Productions’ drama Macho!, based on the book by Victor Villaseñor.

Antonio JaramilloThe coming-of-age tale – taking place during the 1960s – centers on Roberto Garcia, who at age 17, already has big dreams of making his fortune, building a family, and gaining the respect of his community. With ambition to burn and a passion to prove his manhood, Roberto takes the dangerous journey north, crossing the Mexican border to pick fruit in the “golden fields” of California. It is said that a good man can make more money there in a week than in an entire year in the mountains of Michoacán, his home. With dreams that overshadow harsh realities, Roberto is unprepared for the jammed boxcars and bolted trucks that carry undervalued migrant workers through the searing desert to long days of harsh labor.

The film will examine the brutality of migrant labor, as well as Cesar Chavez’s efforts to unionize workers, offering vivid portrayal of the immigrant experience through the eyes of a brave young man who bids goodbye to everything he knows to follow his dreams.

Verloren Productions founder Walt Perez adapted the screenplay and will produce alongside Soren Odom, Melanie Tirado, Ralph Esparza and Jaime Peralta.

Renowned music producer A.B. Quintanilla will craft its score, with production kicking off next spring.

Jaramillo’s previous credits include The Wilding, Mayans M.C. and Shades of Blue.

Youngblood is best known for his starring role as Jaguar Paw in Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto.

Jacob Vargas to Appear on Disney+’s TV Series “National Treasure”

Jacob Vargas is treasuring his latest gig…

The 50-year-old Mexican-American actor and performer has landed a heavily recurring role in National Treasure, Disney Branded Television’s television series for Disney+ produced by ABC Signature.

Jacob VargasExecutive produced by the films’ producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Jon Turteltaub and writers Marianne and Cormac Wibberley, the project is an expansion of the National Treasure film franchise told from the point of view of young heroine Jess (Lisette Olivera), a DREAMer in search of answers about her family who embarks on the adventure of a lifetime to uncover the truth about the past and save a lost Pan-American treasure.

The series, whose pilot episode is written by the Wibberleys and will be directed by Mira Nair, centers on Jess, a Latina whose brilliant and resourceful mind loves a good mystery, and she has a natural talent for solving puzzles. Over the course of the show, Jess will uncover her own buried history, as well as the truth about her parents and her connection to a long-lost treasure.

Vargas plays Rafael a rugged, treasure-obsessed, adventurous soul with a good sense of humor.

Vargas recently portrayed Tony Ochoa on Mr. Iglesias for Netflix. He also recurred on Mayans M.C. and appeared on Luke Cage and Sons of Anarchy.

On the film side, he most recently was seen in Steven Soderbergh’s Kimi. His other film credits include Princess of the Row, The 33 and Diego Luna’s biopic Cesar Chavez.

Jacob Vargas to Star in Steven Soderbergh’s Next Film “KIMI”

Jacob Vargas has lined up his next big role…

The 49-year-old Mexican actor has joined the cast of Steven Soderbergh’s next film, the New Line Max Original feature KIMIwith Zoë Kravitz on board to star.

Jacob Vargas

Byron Bowers and Jaime Camil are also on board.

The film will premiere exclusively on HBO Max. David Koepp penned the script and will produce with Michael Polaire.

Plot details are being kept under wraps.

The film would mark the second collaboration between Warner Bros Pictures Group, HBO Max and Soderbergh since the recent restructuring of the studio, and the third between Soderbergh and HBO Max. It follows No Sudden Move, the upcoming starry Max Original ensemble crime thriller from Warner Bros. Pictures that features Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, David Harbour, Amy Seimetz, Jon Hamm, Ray Liotta, Kieran Culkin, Brendan Fraser, Noah Jupe, Bill Duke, Frankie Shaw and Julia Fox.

Soderbergh’s most recent pic, Let Them All Talk, with Meryl Streep, premiered on HBO Max in December.

Vargas and Soderbergh’s partnership goes all the way back to Soderbergh’s Oscar-winning drug trafficking film Trafficwhere Vargas played del Toro’s partner Manolo. Vargas would later appear in Soderbergh’s HBO series Mosaic

He currently stars in the Netflix series Mr. Iglesias and was previously on the series Luke Cage and Sons of Anarchy. Recent film credits include Mark Carlson’s Princess of the Row opposite Martin Sheen and Ana OrtizThe 33 as Edison “Elvis” Peña, one of the 33 Chilean miners that was trapped for 69 days, and Diego Luna’s biopic Cesar Chavez as Richard Chavez opposite Michael Peña.

 

Dolores Huerta to Be Honored at This Year’s Girl Up #GirlHero Awards

Dolores Huerta is living legend in the Latino community… And, now she’s being heralded as a girl hero.

The 90-year-old Mexican American labor leader and civil rights activist, who co-founded the National Farmworkers Association (which later became the United Farm Workers) with Cesar Chavez, will be one of the honorees at this year’s Girl Up #GirlHero Awards.

Dolores Huerta

Huerta, television super-producer Shonda Rhimes, #metoo and Founder Tarana Burke for their work on gender equality at its third annual ceremony, which will take place on International Day of the Girl.

The virtual event will take place online on Thursday, October 29 at 12:00 pm ET with Girl Up Champion Nigel Barker as co-host.

In addition, Girl Up executive director Melissa Kilby will highlight Girl Up’s Gen Z leaders fighting for change while special guests will make appearances on the event’s virtual red carpet.

“Today we’re celebrating gender equality giants, at a time when there’s a lot at stake for girls and women,” said Kilby. “We’re honored to stand with them in building a brighter, more equal movement by relentlessly showing that girls are and have always been leading us toward a better future.”

The awards will honor lifelong civil rights advocate Huerta, who models how standing for a cause can change the world. Rhimes will be honored for her work as a storyteller that explores the most relevant topics of our time, reflecting the world as we know it onscreen with dynamic characters; and Burke who founded #metoo, a movement that kicked off a worldwide wave of women taking a stand against violence and discrimination.

The honorees will participate in conversations with Girl Up’s own girl changemakers Ina Bhoopalam, Alliyah Logan, and Rym Badran as they share their work for gender equality.

The one-on-one conversations will highlight advocates, allies, and activists shaking up accepted norms and changing the trajectory of global gender equality over the course of their lifetime.

Honorees of last year’s #GirlHero Awards in Los Angeles were Cara Delevingne, Jameela Jamil and Kate Hudson.

Stephanie McMahon, Pamella Roland, LaVerne Council, Amanda Fata, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Michelle King, Alexandra Trustman, Shaun Robinson, Tracy Shaffer and Chantelle Siegel will serve as this year’s co-chairs of the event.

Ferrera Among 683 Stars Invited to Become Members of The Academy

America Ferrera is joining the Academy…

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited a record 683 people to joins its ranks, including the 32-year-old Honduran American actress, more than double last year’s 322 invitees.

America Ferrera

Best known for her Golden Globe-, Screen Actors Guild Award and Emmy-winning role on ABC’s Ugly Betty, Ferrera has also starred in several acclaimed films including Real Women Have Curves, Under the Same Moon, End of Watch, Cesar Chavez and Lords of Dogtown.

The Academy was careful to include a breakdown by gender and race, with the new list comprising of 46% women, including Girl in Progess star Eva Mendes and Fast & Furious star Michelle Rodriguez, and 41% people of color, including Luis Guzman, Oscar Isaac and Spanish director J.A. Bayona.

“We’re proud to welcome these new members to the Academy and know they view this as an opportunity and not just an invitation — a mission and not just a membership,” Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs said in a statement. “This class continues our long-term commitment to welcoming extraordinary talent reflective of those working in film today. We encourage the larger creative community to open its doors wider and create opportunities for anyone interested in working in this incredible and storied industry.”

The new invitees include 28 Oscar winners, range in age from 24 to 91 and represent 59 countries.

 

Other Latinos invited to join AMPAS include Enrique Castillo, Sal Lopez, Marisa Paredes, Jacob Vargas, Daphne Zuniga, Ciro Guerra and Nicole Garcia.

 

Check out the complete list here.

PBS to Air Special on Late Hispanic Leader Willie Velasquez in October

Willie Velasquez’s memory will live on as part of a PBS special…

The public broadcaster has announced plans to air Willie Velasquez: Empowering the People in October.

Willie Velasquez

The program centers on the late leader of the movement to increase political power among Hispanic Americans. He passed away of cancer in June 1998. He was 44.

With his rallying cry of “Su Voto es su Voz,” Velasquez started a grassroots movement that would change the nation’s political landscape and pave the way for the growing power of the Latino vote

Velasquez, a native of San Antonio, was a leader of La Raza Unida, a Hispanic-American political party that was active in the Southwest in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. In 1968 he led a farmworkers’ strike, along with Cesar Chavez, in south Texas. In 1981, he taught a course on Southwestern politics at Harvard University.

In 1974, Velasquez founded the Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project, the nation’s largest voter registration project aimed at the Hispanic community.

Under his guidance, a spokesman said, the project conducted voter registration drives in 200 cities and Indian reservations and conducted extensive polling.

”What we’re most proud of is that from 1974 when we started to 1987, the number of Hispanic elected officials in the U.S. grew from 1,566 to 3,038, an increase of 82 percent,” the spokesman said.

PBS will air Willie Velasquez: Empowering the People on October 3 from 10:30-11:30 pm ET.

Luna to Star in Next “Star Wars” Feature, “Star Wars: Rogue One”

May the force be with Diego Luna

The 35-year-old Mexican actor, director and producer has landed a co-starring role in the next installment of the Star Wars feature series, Star Wars: Rogue One.

Diego Luna

The film, which will also star Felicity Jones and Ben Mendelsohn, will be released by Disney in December.

Luna, who directed and produced Cesar Chavez, also was part of the cast of Milk, Elysium, The Terminal and Y Tu Mama Tambien.

No word yet on the role Luna will portray in the film.

Dawson to Announce This Year’s Spirit Award Nominees

Rosario Dawson has the spirit, yes she does…

The 35-year-old Puerto Rican and Afro-Cuban American actress, who has earned critical acclaim for her work in Chris Rock’s Top Five, has been tapped to announce this year’s 2015 Spirit Award nominees, according to Film Independent president Josh Welsh.

Rosario Dawson

The Sin City: A Dame To Kill For star will be joined by Mexican actor Diego Luna, who directed Dawson in his Cesar Chavez biopic Chavez.

They’ll announce the nominees at 10:00 am PT on Tuesday, November 25, at the W Hollywood.

Spirit Award winners will be announced on February 21 under Film Independent’s signature tent on the beach in Santa Monica.

Luna’s “Chavez” Claims an Audience Award at the South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival

The future looks like bright for Diego Luna’s biopic on Cesar Chavez

The 34-year-old Mexican actor-turned-director’s film Chavez about the life of the life of Mexican American labor leader and civil rights activist earned an audience award at the South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival.

Cesar Chavez

Chavez, which stars Michael Peña, America Ferrera, Rosario Dawson and John Malkovich, took home the audience prize in the Narrative Spotlight category.  

The film premiered in the Berlinale Special Galas section of the 64th Berlin International Film Festival last month.

Here’s a look at the SXSW Film Festival Audience Award winners:

NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITIONAudience Award Winner: Before I Disappear
Director: Shawn Christensen

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITIONAudience Award Winner: Vessel
Director: Diana Whitten

DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHTAudience Award Winner: DamNation
Director: Ben Knight & Travis Rummel

NARRATIVE SPOTLIGHT Audience Award Winner: CESAR CHAVEZ
Directors: Diego Luna

VISIONSAudience Award Winner: Yakona
Director: Anlo Sepulveda & Paul Collins

MIDNIGHTERSAudience Award Winner: Exists
Director: Eduardo Sánchez

EPISODICAudience Award Winner: Silicon Valley
Director: Mike Judge

SXGLOBALAudience Award Winner: The Special Need
Directors: Carlo Zoratti

FESTIVAL FAVORITESAudience Award Winner: The Case Against 8
Director: Ben Cotner & Ryan White

SXSW Film Design Awards EXCELLENCE IN POSTER DESIGN

Audience Award Winner: Big Significant Things
Designer: Corey Holms

EXCELLENCE IN TITLE DESIGN Audience Award Winner:  True Detective
Designer: Patrick Clair for Elastic