Belissa Escobedo to Star in Reba McEntire’s Still-Untitled NBC Comedy Pilot

Belissa Escobedo has lined up her next project…

The 25-year-old Latina actress and Blue Beetle star has been cast in Reba McEntire in her as-yet-untitled NBC multi-cam comedy pilot.

Belissa Escobedo,The project is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

The pilot follows Bobbie (McEntire) who inherits her father’s restaurant and is less than thrilled to discover that she has a new business partner in the half-sister she never knew she had.

Escobedo stars as Bobbie’s sister Isabella, an enthusiastic 20-something, who has studied psychology and loves to analyze people. She is thrilled to start working at the tavern and is full of “great” ideas about how to bring it to life.

Escobedo’s star continues to rise following two major roles in DC Entertainment/Warner Bros’ Blue Beetle, where he portrayed the titular character’s (played by Xolo Maridueña) sister Milagro, and Disney’s Hocus Pocus 2 where she popped off the screen—no easy task when you’re starring opposite Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy, who returned as the Sanderson sisters.

Additional credits include the ABC dramedy The Baker And The Beauty alongside Carlos Gomez, Lisa Vidal and Victor Rasuk; Ryan Murphy’s FX anthology series American Horror Stories, the Catherine Hardwicke-directed Quibi limited series Don’t Look Deeper and the American High films Sex Appeal (Hulu) and Sid Is Dead.

J.W. Cortes to Appear at Pop Culture Event “DC in D.C.”

J.W. Cortes is invading The District

Warner Bros. Television GroupDC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment are joining forces for DC in D.C., a pop culture Martin Luther King weekend event that merges the worlds of entertainment and public service in Washington, D.C.

J.W. Cortes

DC in D.C. brings together stars, including the Puerto Rican Marine-combat-veteran-turned-actor and Gotham star, as well as producers from WBTV’s DC TV series, including Arrow, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Gotham, Supergirl and Freedom Fighters: The Ray, with DC comic book writers and artists, along with invited guests from politics, government service, business academia and more.

The event, which takes place Friday, January 12 and Saturday, January 13, will explore the intersection of comic books, culture, entertainment and enlightenment through a series of panel discussions open to the public.

Events will take place both days at the Newseum, and will culminate with the world premiere screening of the upcoming DC series Black Lightning in the Warner Bros. Theater at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

A party will follow at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

In addition to Cortes, participants include Black Lightning stars Cress Williams, China Anne McClain, Nafessa Williams, Christine Adams, Marvin “Krondon” Jones III, Damon Gupton and James Remar — along with executive producers Salim Akil & Mara Brock Akil; along with executive producers Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter, plus TV series stars Caity Lotz (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow), Candice Patton (The Flash), Danielle Panabaker (The Flash), Russell Tovey (Freedom Fighters: The Ray) and others to be announced.

More information can be found at http://www.DCinDC2018.com.

Anthony Gonzalez’s Disney-Pixar Film “Coco” Wins Thanksgiving Holiday Box Office

He’s nowhere near voting age, but Anthony Gonzalez is beating superheroes at the box office…

The 13-year-old Latino actor voices the character of Miguel, a young Mexican boy with musical dreams who has a wondrous adventure in the Land of the Dead in DisneyPixar’s animated film Coco, which won the Thanksgiving holiday box office.

Anthony Gonzalez

Gonzalez’s Coco earned $71.2 million at 3,987 North American sites during the Wednesday-Sunday period, while Warner Bros.DC Entertainment’s Justice League pulled in $60 million at 4,051 locations during the same timeframe in its second weekend in theaters.

Coco posted for the fourth-best Thanksgiving holiday opening ever, trailing three other Disney titles — Frozen with $93 million in 2013, Moana with $82 million in 2017 and Toy Story 3 with $80 million in 2010.

Audiences surveyed by comScore’s PostTrak gave Coco strong ratings with 66% calling it “excellent,” and another 23% rating it “very good.”  Surveys also showed 77% of viewers saying they would “definitely recommend” the movie to friends and 20% saying they would watch it again in a theater.

Coco

Coco, directed by Lee Unkrich and co-directed by Adrian Molina, is based on the traditions surrounding the Day of the Dead holiday in Mexico and centers on a 12-year-old boy who dreams of becoming a musician and explores his family history in the Land of the Dead. The studio hasn’t released a price for the movie. Disney-Pixar titles are usually budgeted in the $175 million to $200 million range.

In addition to Gonzalez, in his breakout role, Coco’s ensemble voice cast includes Benjamin Bratt, Gael Garcia Bernal, Renee Victor, Edward James Olmos, Ana Ofelia Murguia, Jaime Camil, Sofia Espinosa, Gabriel Iglesias, Cheech Marin and Lombardo Boyar.

The holiday weekend is one of the busiest moviegoing periods of the year. According to comScore, this year’s five-day Thanksgiving weekend saw total grosses his $268 million — $7.5 million better than last year’s when Moana opened with $82 million, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them taking in $65 million in its second weekend.

The strong holiday performance left the 2017 overall domestic total at $9.71 billion, or 4% behind the same point last year, according to comScore. The industry fell behind last year’s record-setting total due to downbeat performances in August and October — so much so that the much-anticipated Dec. 15 opening of Star Wars: The Last Jedi will probably not be enough to pulled this year even.

Fox Renews Alejandro’s “Lucifer” for a Second Season

Kevin Alejandro has another season to be a Fox

The network has given second season pickup to its freshman drama Lucifer,  starring the Mexican American actor.

Kevin Alejandro

Lucifer, produced by Warner Bros. Television and Jerry Bruckheimer Television, is based on characters created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth and Mike Dringenberg for DC Entertainment’s Vertigo imprint.

Along with Alejandro, who portrays Dan, the series also stars Tom Ellis, Lauren German and D.B. Woodside.

Tom Kapinos wrote and executive-produced the pilot and is an executive consultant on the series. It is executive-produced by Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman, Ildy Modrovich and Joe Henderson.

Len Wiseman serves as director and executive producer.

“We knew we had something special with Lucifer, from the engaging performances of Tom, Lauren and the rest of the charismatic cast, to Len Wiseman’s visually stunning look of the show and the amazing storytelling savvy of the Bruckheimer team,” said Fox’s David Madden.

Alejandro Cast as Series Regular on Fox’s Comic Book Drama “Lucifer”

Kevin Alejandro has earned a devilish role…

The 39-year-old Mexican American actor has been cast as a series regular on Fox’s comic book midseason drama Lucifer.

Kevin Alejandro

Alejandro, who appeared on True Blood and Arrow, replaces Nicholas Gonzalez who played the role in the pilot, written by Tom Kapinos and directed by Len Wiseman.

Based on the characters from the DC Entertainment’s Vertigo, the series, from Warner Bros. Television and Jerry Bruckheimer Television, centers on Lucifer (Tom Ellis) who, bored and unhappy as the Lord of Hell, resigns his throne and abandons his kingdom for the gorgeous, shimmering insanity of Los Angeles, where he gets his kicks helping the LAPD punish criminals.

Alejandro will play Dan, a gruff LAPD homicide detective who is wary of Lucifer’s involvement with his wife and daughter.

Alejandro just recently became available, coming off the A&E drama The Returned. He previously was a regular on Southland and Golden Boy.

Gonzalez to Star in Fox’s Comic Book Drama Pilot “Lucifer”

Nicholas Gonzalez has landed a devil of a role…

The 39-year-old Mexican American actor has landed a series regular role in Fox’s comic book drama pilot Lucifer, written by Tom Kapinos and directed by Len Wiseman for Warner Bros. Television and Jerry Bruckheimer Television.

Nicholas Gonzalez

Based on the characters from the DC Entertainment’s Vertigo, the series centers on Lucifer (portrayed by Tom Ellis) who, bored and unhappy as the Lord of Hell, resigns his throne and abandons his kingdom for the gorgeous, shimmering insanity of Los Angeles, where he gets his kicks helping the Los Angeles Police Department punish criminals.

Gonzalez will play Dan, a gruff LAPD homicide detective, who is wary of Lucifer’s (Ellis) involvement with his wife and daughter.

Gonzalez’s previous television credits include appearances on Jane the Virgin, Sleepy Hollow, The Flash, Modern Family and Witches of East End.