Tag Archives: Champions

Cheech Marin to Star in Disney+’s New “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” Film

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It’s not such a terrible, horrible day for Cheech Marin.

The 76-year-old Chicano comedian, actor, musician and activist will star in the new Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day film at Disney+ following George Lopez’s exit due to a scheduling conflict.

Cheech MarinMarin, who most recently starred in Shotgun Wedding and Champions, will portray Gil, the patriarch of the Garcia family and a comedic character who rides a motorcycle.

From writer Matt Lopez and director Marvin Lemus, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day tells the story of 11-year-old Alexander Garcia (Thom Nemer), who thinks he has the worst luck in the world. When his family sets off on a road trip to California, he’s pretty sure disaster awaits at every corner. His anxiety only increases when a family secret is revealed.

The film also stars Eva Longoria, Jesse Garcia, Paulina Chávez and Rose Portillo.

Production is currently underway in New Mexico.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a new take on Judith Viorst’s book following a 2014 film starring Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner.

It’s produced by Shawn Levy, Dan Levine and Lisa Henson.

Beyond acting, Marin’s Chicano art collection serves as the core of the new Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture of the Riverside Art Museum in Riverside, CA. He is repped by Innovative Artists.

Pioneering Comedians Cheech Marin & Tommy Chong Getting Their Own Biopic

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Art will soon imitate Cheech Marin’s life…

The 76-year-old Chicano comedian, actor, musician and activist and his former comedy partner Tommy Chong, best known as Cheech & Chong, will be getting the big-screen treatment.

Cheech & Chong, Cheech Marin, Tommy ChongThe pioneering comedians, whose 1978 film Up in Smoke has transcended cult status, are partnering with Todd Lieberman’s Hidden Pictures, Underground and Five All in the Fifth Entertainment on a feature biopic about the comedy duo.

Cheech and Chong came to prominence in the ’70s and ’80s, becoming synonymous with stoner culture by riffing on and lifting up the counterculture of the time, from hippies to (of course) cannabis. Their combined output included successful stand-up shows, comedy albums and low-budget feature films, including Up in Smoke, Cheech and Chong’s Next Movie (1980) and Nice Dreams (1981).

Kristian Mercado, who most recently made his feature debut with the 2023 South by Southwest entry If You Were Last, will direct from a screenplay by Danya Jimenez and Hannah McMechan.

Marin, who worked with Hidden Pictures for Shotgun Wedding, and Chong will executive produce along with David Glickman.

“We are excited to show the world how two dudes from completely different backgrounds got together, changed comedy and made cannabis mainstream!” said Marin and Chong.

Marin currently appears on the big screen in Champions. He also recently appeared on George Lopez’s new series Lopez vs Lopez.

Melissa Barrera & Jenna Ortega’s “Scream VI” Breaks Franchise Record with $44.5 Million Opening Weekend

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Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega are officially Scream queens…

The 32-year-old Mexican actress and singer and her 20-year-old Puerto Rican and Mexican American’s Scream VI collected $44.5 million in its opening weekend, a great start for Paramount and Spyglass Media’s long-running slasher film series.

Melissa Barrera & Jenna OrtegaThe ticket sales were enough to top domestic box office charts over two newcomers, Sony’s prehistoric sci-fi thriller 65 and Focus Features’ heartwarming comedy Champions, as well as last weekend’s victor Creed III.

 

The initial haul for Scream VI is frighteningly strong for the sixth installment in a franchise. Not only did it greatly improve upon the start of last year’s hit reboot Scream, which scored with $30 million, but it crushed the series’ opening weekend record, previously set by 2000’s Scream 3 with $34 million. Scream VI cost $35 million, so it’ll easily turn a profit in its theatrical run.

“It’s extraordinary to have this type of result after six films,” says Chris Aronson, Paramount’s president of domestic distribution. “We blew away the opening of the last ‘Scream.’ That doesn’t happen.”

The R-rated “Scream VI” added another $22.6 million from 53 international markets, bringing its global tally to $67.1 million.

“Reviews and audience scores are very good, and international business should be solid,” says David A. Gross, who runs the film consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “27 years after launching in 1996, the franchise is healthier than ever.”

Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, Scream VI follows survivors of Ghostface’s murders as they leave Woodsboro behind for a fresh start in New York City. Courteney Cox, Barrera, Ortega and Hayden Panettiere return for the film, which is the first installment without Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott. The actor departed the film because she felt “the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise.

”Opening weekend audience members skewed slightly male (51%), while 71% were between the ages of 18-24.

Cheech Marin to Star in the Bobby Farrelly-Directed Film “Champions”

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Cheech Marin is a champion…

The 75-year-old Mexican American actor will lead Champions, a recently-wrapped film that Bobby Farrelly directed for Focus Features and Gold Circle Entertainment.

Cheech MarinMarin stars alongside Woody Harrelson, Kaitlin Olson and Matt Cook.

Champions is based on the Goya Award winning Spanish film Campeones, which Universal Pictures International released in 2018.

It centers on a stubborn and hotheaded minor league basketball coach who is forced to coach a Special Olympics team when he is sentenced to community service.

Actors with intellectual disabilities rounding out the cast to ensure authenticity in the storytelling include Madison Tevlin, Joshua Felder, Kevin Iannucci, Ashton Gunning, Matthew Von Der Ahe, Tom Sinclair, James Day Keith, Alex Hintz, Casey Metcalfe, Bradley Edens and Champ Pederson.

Mark Rizzo penned the script.

Focus Features will distribute the film domestically, with Universal Pictures handling its international release.

Marin is an actor and comedian who broke out in the ’70s, alongside Tommy Chong, as one half of the comedy duo Cheech & Chong. He’s appeared in such films as Machete, Planet Terror, Grindhouse, Tin Cup, From Dusk Till Dawn, Desperado, Ghostbusters II, Born in East L.A., After Hours and Up in Smoke, along with series including Elena of Avalor, Lodge 49 and Jane the Virgin.

Ginger Gonzaga to Appear Opposite Jim Carrey in Showtime’s Comedy Series “Kidding”

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Ginger Gonzaga is kidding around…

The part-Latina actress has landed a recurring role opposite Jim Carrey in Showtime’s upcoming half-hour comedy series Kidding. 

Ginger Gonzaga

Created by Dave Holstein, and helmed by Carrey’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind director Michel Gondry, the 10-episode Kidding centers on Jeff, aka Mr. Pickles (Carrey), an icon of children’s television, a beacon of kindness and wisdom to America’s impressionable young minds and the parents who grew up with him – who also anchors a multimillion dollar branding empire. But when this beloved personality’s family – wife, two sons, sister and father – begins to implode, Jeff finds no fairy tale or fable or puppet will guide him through this crisis, which advances faster than his means to cope. The result: A kind man in a cruel world faces a slow leak of sanity as hilarious as it is heartbreaking.

Gonzaga will play Vivian, a cancer patient at the hospital where Jeff’s (Carrey) wife works.

The Kidding role expands Gonzaga’s relationship with Showtime. She plays Maggie on the premium cable network’s I’m Dying Up Here. She also can be seen on NBC’s Champions and in the upcoming season of HBO’s Room 104 opposite Bryan Tyree Henry.

Ginger Gonzaga Lands Narrator Role in ABC’s Untitled Bobby Bowman Pilot

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Ginger Gonzaga is the voice…

The part-Latina actress has booked a series regular role in ABC’s untitled Bobby Bowman pilot.

Ginger Gonzaga

Gonzaga is set as a narrator in the pilot, portraying an older version of the titular daughter character Lola.

This will be the second series Gonzaga has narrated for ABC, after previously lending her voice to the comedy Mixology, where she was a regular.

Gonzaga, who recently landed a recurring role on Showtime’s “Kidding,” can be seen on NBC’s Champions and in the upcoming season of HBO’s Room 104 opposite Bryan Tyree Henry.