Anitta Named Co-Chair for This Year’s Global Citizen NOW Leadership Summit

Posted on March 28, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Anitta is accepting a new citizen-ship…

The 30-year-old Brazilian singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and occasional television host has been named a co-chair for this year’s Global Citizen NOW, a two-day leadership summit planned for May 1-2 at Spring Studios in New York City.

Anitta is among a roster of co-chairs that includes Danai Gurira, Hugh Jackman, Dakota Johnson and Michelle Yeoh.

Anitta, who’ll speak at the summit, is set to join political, corporate and philanthropic leaders for the program that’s focused on driving action for a world where “everyone’s basic needs are fulfilled,” the advocacy organization has announced.

Furthermore, the 2024 edition of the Global Citizen NOW summit will zoom in on ideas for “urgent action” to achieve access for all people to food, energy, healthcare and education; advocate for the flourishing of the planet by pushing for increased climate financing and the phase out of fossil fuels; and drive toward a future where every person and country can prosper through economic development, access to finance, innovation and job creation, according to a press release.

Additional participants include Mokgweetsi Masisi, president of Botswana; Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda; Philip Davis, Prime Minister of the Bahamas; and Janja Lula da Silva, First Lady of Brazil.

“The world is standing at a crossroads and we have a choice: we can watch the impoverished go hungry, suffer through natural disasters, and die from preventable diseases, or we can take bold action to defeat poverty, defend the planet and course correct toward a more equitable future,” Hugh Evans, co-founder & CEO, Global Citizen, said in a statement. “We have the power to create monumental impact this year, but only if we have the courage to stand up and take action now.”

Additional details about the Global Citizen NOW summit will become available in the coming weeks.

Carlos Alcaraz Defeats Rafael Nadal to Win Inaugural Netflix Slam

Posted on March 4, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Alcaraz has earned another type of Slam victory.

The 20-year-old Spanish tennis phenom defeated 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal 3-6 6-4 (14-12) at the inaugural Netflix Slam in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Nadal, who spent almost a year on the sidelines with a hip flexor injury before suffering a muscle injury at the start of this season, said he felt “much better than expected” during the exhibition match in front of a sell-out crowd of 9,489, including Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Charlize Theron, Danai Gurira, Logan Lerman and Manu Rios.

The showdown, the latest in Netflix‘s push for live streaming events, pitted two superstar Spaniards in an exhibition match which was rescheduled from last year due to Nadal’s injuries and arrived just in time as the two players head to Indian Wells this week.

Nadal is returning to the tour after months away due to injury, while the match was also a bit of a physical test for Alcaraz, who suffered an injury to his right ankle at the Rio Open.

“It’s a good thing that as a player I will not face him many times,” said Nadal.

“As a fan, I will enjoy watching him for many years hopefully. In Spain, we should be very, very happy about having someone like Carlos coming.

“He’s an amazing player. He’s only 20-years-old and he’s already won two Grand Slams and a couple of important tournaments.”

Jimmy Smits to Take Part in This Year’s Stand Up To Cancer SU2C Fundraising Special

Posted on August 7, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Jimmy Smits is taking a stand (up)…

The 68-year-old half-Puerto Rican actor will take part in this year’s Stand Up To Cancer SU2C fundraising special that’s set to air on Saturday, August 19 at 8:00 pm ET.

In addition to Smits, best known for his roles on L.A. Law, NYPD Blue and The West Wing, other celebrities making a special appearance during the show include Elizabeth Banks, Jessica Biel, Don Cheadle, Katie Couric, Danai Gurira, Tony Hale, Ken Jeong, Maria Menounos, Julianne Moore, Tig Notaro, Eric Stonestreet and Justin Timberlake.

A special montage of comedic skits from past shows will feature Jack Black, Ben Falcone, Zach Galifianakis, Brad Garrett, Bill Hader, Jon Hamm, Kevin Hart, Ed Helms, Melissa McCarthy, and Matthew McConaughey.

The televised special will also feature past musical performances from the likes of Brittany Howard, Simone Ledward Boseman, and The Who.

The one-hour televised celebration entitled “How It Started, How It’s Going” will recognize SU2C’s impact and progress over the last 15 years.

“We started this movement in 2008 to save lives and it is remarkable to see that in 15 years our scientists have accomplished this goal through breakthrough research that intercepts and treats cancer in ways we never thought possible,” said Katie Couric, SU2C co-founder. “There is more work to do to cure cancer and every dollar counts; we will not stop until we make every cancer patient a long-term survivor.”

The biennial special will air simultaneously on more than 50 participating media platforms across the United States and Canada, including all four major broadcast networks in the U.S. Broadcasters carrying the show are donating one hour of simultaneous commercial-free prime time. The telecast will also be available on-demand on several streaming platforms.

“Our telecast is a powerful tribute that demonstrates the importance of standing together to save lives,” said Russell Chew, president and CEO of SU2C. “Everyone plays a critical role in this goal, and we are so grateful for the support of the entertainment community, the broadcast networks, our generous donors, and the incredible researchers who work tirelessly to develop new cancer treatments.” Chew added, “100% of public donations to SU2C support innovative cancer research and vital awareness programs.”

Pedro Pascal to Serve as Presenter at This Year’s Academy Awards Show

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Pedro Pascal is headed to the Oscars…

The 47-year-old Chilean actor appears on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ final list of names chosen as presenters for the 95th annual Academy Awards.

In addition to Pascal, the latest round of stars set to present includes Eva Longoria, Halle Berry, Paul Dano, Cara Delevingne, Kate Hudson, Mindy Kaling, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Andie MacDowell, Elizabeth Olsen and John Travolta, executive producers and showrunners Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner and executive producer Molly McNearney have announced.

Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 12, at Ovation’s Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and will air live on ABC and broadcast outlets worldwide starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

Previously announced Oscars presenters include Riz Ahmed, Halle Bailey, Antonio Banderas, Elizabeth Banks, Emily Blunt, Jessica Chastain, John Cho, Glenn Close, Jennifer Connelly, Ariana DeBose, Andrew Garfield, Hugh Grant, Danai Gurira, Salma Hayek Pinault, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Michael B. Jordan, Nicole Kidman, Troy Kotsur, Jonathan Majors, Melissa McCarthy, Janelle Monáe, Deepika Padukone, Florence Pugh, Questlove, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver and Donnie Yen.

Antonio Banderas to Serve as Presenter During Academy Awards Show

Posted on March 7, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Antonio Banderas is headed to the Oscars…

The 62-year-old Spanish actor and director has been added to the presenter ranks for this weekend’s Academy Awards show by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS).

Banderas is among a list of recently added presenters that includes Halle Bailey, Elizabeth Banks, Jessica Chastain, John Cho, Andrew Garfield, Hugh Grant, Danai Gurira, Salma Hayek, Nicole Kidman, Florence Pugh and Sigourney Weaver.

They join the previously announced Riz Ahmed, Emily Blunt, Glenn Close, Jennifer Connelly, Ariana DeBose, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Michael B. Jordan, Troy Kotsur, Jonathan Majors, Melissa McCarthy, Janelle Monáe, Deepika Padukone, Questlove, Zoe Saldaña and Donnie Yen.

More presenters will be revealed during the week.

The latest adds to Hollywood’s Big Night come just as Oscar voting is set to end, with ballots due at 5 p.m. PT tonight.

The months-long awards season culminates with the 95th annual Academy Awards, which will be handed out Sunday, March 12, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

ABC will air the ceremony live coast-to-coast starting at 5:00 pm PT/8:00 pm ET, along with more than 200 countries around the world.

Lesley-Ann Brandt to Appear on Upcoming “The Walking Dead” Spinoff

Posted on March 7, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Lesley-Ann Brandt has landed a walking challenge…

The 41-year-old part-Spanish actress and former Lucifer star has landed a key recurring role in upcoming The Walking Dead spinoff starring Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira as iconic TWD characters Rick Grimes and Michonne.

Brandt will play Pearl Thorne in the six-episode series. Character details are being kept under wraps.

Production recently got underway in New Jersey.

The latest TWD spinoff will wrap up the story arcs for the Rick Grimes and Michonne characters.

The synopsis: The series presents an epic love story of two characters changed by a changed world. Kept apart by distance. By an unstoppable power. By the ghosts of who they were. Rick and Michonne are thrown into another world, built on a war against the dead… And ultimately, a war against the living. Can they find each other and who they were in a place and situation unlike any they’ve ever known before? Are they enemies? Lovers? Victims? Victors? Without each other, are they even alive — or will they find that they, too, are the Walking Dead?

Lincoln’s character is a sheriff who led the show’s pack of survivors for its first nine seasons. He’s presumed dead by members of his clan as of Season 9’s fifth episode, “What Comes After,” after blowing up a bridge with dynamite to stave off hordes of walkers. While he subsequently disappears, we eventually learn that he has, in fact, survived, as he helicopters off with Anne (Pollyanna McIntosh) and her allies.

Gurira’s Michonne is a katana-wielding survivor first introduced in Season 3 who joins Grimes’ group and eventually falls for him, becoming a surrogate mother to his kids. The character last appeared in Season 10, setting off to find Rick after learning he may have survived his near-fatal Season 9 injury.

Both characters returned for the final moments of the series finale, each in separate places and apparently separate times. They were connected through images of campfires and the sounds of their voices reciting words they were each writing in a journal.

The spinoff is slated to premiere in 2024.

Brandt played Maze, a demon from Hell and loveable anti-hero, on all six seasons of Netlix’s Lucifer. She’s also known for her role as Naevia in Steven S. DeKnight’s Spartacus franchise.

Her other television credits include Gotham and The Librarians, among others.

Lin-Manuel Miranda Among 300 BIPOC Artists to Sign Open Letter Demanding Change from the “White American Theater”

Posted on June 11, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Lin-Manuel Mirandais addressing the “White American Theater.”

As protests and rallies against racial injustice and the killing of black lives continue throughout the world, the 40-year-old Puerto Rican composer, lyricist, singer, rapper, actor, producer, and playwright is bringing the theater world into the spotlight, to address systemic racism against black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC).

An open letter addressed to “White American Theater” and demanding change was published earlier this week.

The letter was filled with ugly truths that those who’ve worked in the theater industry have experienced for decades.

Among the 300 BIPOCs who signed the letter were Miranda,Viola Davis, Sandra Oh, Uzo Aduba, Sterling K. Brown, Cynthia Erivo, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Danai Gurira, Andre Holland, Conrad Ricamora, Tanya Saracho, Anika Noni Rose, Jessica Hagedorn, Leslie Odom Jr.,Katori Halland others.

The letter bluntly calls out the industry: “We see you. We have always seen you. We have watched you pretend not to see us.”

“We have watched you exploit us, shame us, diminish us, and exclude us. We see you. We have always seen you. And now you will see us.”

It continues to drag theater’s history of tokenism, white privilege, patriarchy, blatant racism, bias and hypocrisy: “We have watched you amplify our voices when we are heralded by the press, but refuse to defend our aesthetic when we are not, allowing our livelihoods to be destroyed by a monolithic and racist culture.”

“Join us in demanding change for BIPOC theater artists at http://weseeyouWAT.com. #WeSeeYou #TomorrowTherellBeMoreOfUs,” Miranda tweeted, sharing the letter and a petition with everyone.

The open letter comes as the protests following the killing of George Floyd and other black lives continue around the globe. It also comes when there seems to be a reckoning in all industries when it comes to racial inequality.

Join us in demanding change for BIPOC theater artists at https://t.co/LQuqHwVvLP. #WeSeeYou #TomorrowTherellBeMoreOfUs pic.twitter.com/xELs1oJR6K
— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) June 9, 2020

Penelope Cruz to Take Part in One World Campaign’s #PassTheMic COVID-19 Awareness Campaign

Posted on May 21, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Penelope Cruz is passing the mic for a good cause…

The 46-year-old Spanish actress is among the celebrities who’ll be surrendering their social media accounts for ONE World Campaign’s #PassTheMic campaign.

The campaign will have actors like Cruz, Julia Roberts, Danai Gurira, Hugh Jackman, David Oyelowo, Shailene Woodley and Rainn Wilson handing over their platforms to global health, economic and policy experts and frontline workers.

The experts will offer pertinent information grounded in data, science and facts as they address why a global response to this pandemic is so crucial.

The campaign will kick off on Thursday with Roberts handing off her accounts to Dr. Anthony Fauci who is a key member of the White House’s coronavirus task force and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Yemi Alade, Connie Britton, Millie Bobby Brown, Sarah Jessica Parker, Busy Philipps, Rita Wilson, Robin Wright and more also set to participate.

Experts taking over their accounts include Bill Frist (physician and former US Senator from Tennessee, Doctor), Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (former President of Liberia), Vera Songwe (Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa), Craig Spencer (Director of Global Health in Emergency Medicine, New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center) among others.

#PasstheMic is part of One’s One World Campaign call-to-action for a global response to COVID-19 looks to protect the most vulnerable and supports people worst hit economically while strengthening health systems and creating a more equal world.

Olmos to Take Part in Center Theatre Group’s 50th Anniversary Event

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a special homecoming for Edward James Olmos…

The 70-year-old Mexican American actor will take part in a star-studded event to celebrate the Center Theatre Group’s 50 years of excellence.

The event will feature a one-night-only production from writer, director and producer Robert Egan, followed by dinner in downtown Los Angeles’ Grand Park.

Co-Chairs Robert Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment, and Sue Tsao, Center Theatre Group board member will be joined by celebrated alumni like Olmos, Alfred Molina, Annette Bening, Matthew Bourne, Danai Gurira, Phylicia Rashad and more.

The celebration, taking place on May 20 at the Ahmanson Theatre, will spotlight Center Theatre Group’s education and community outreach programs as well as its continuing role in creating new work and helping to define the role of theatre both in Los Angeles and beyond.

“We are thrilled to have so many incredible artists returning to help us celebrate this exciting milestone, and the power of theatre to shape the cultural landscape of Los Angeles,” said Center Theatre Group Board President Kiki Ramos Gindler. “Our 50th Anniversary Celebration will bring together some of our most beloved and talented artists to reflect on Center Theatre Group’s proud history of world-class productions, innovative programs and field-defining new work.”

Olmos, an Academy Award nominee for his performance in Stand and Deliver, starred in the in the Center Theatre Group’s production of the Chicano protest musical Zoot Suit as El Pachuco back in 1978. Oscar-nominated actor Demian Bichir stepped into that role for the revival of the Luis Valdez play, also produced by the Center Theater Group.

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