The Chilean-Australian actress has signed with The Rosenzweig Group for representation in all areas.
Vergara was recently cast in the upcoming Sarah Snook-led Peacock series All Her Fault, based on the Andrea Mara novel of the same name, alongside Daniel Monks and Duke McCloud.
In addition to Snook who stars, the cast also includes Dakota Fanning, Abby Elliot, Jake Lacy, Sophia Lillis, Jay Ellis, Thomas Cocquerel and Michael Peña.
Per the official logline: “Marissa Irvine (Snook) arrives at 14 Arthur Avenue, expecting to pick up her young son Milo (McCloud) from his first playdate with a boy at his new school. But the woman who answers the door isn’t a mother she recognizes. She isn’t the nanny. She doesn’t have Milo. And so begins every parent’s worst nightmare.”
Vergara previously was seen in supporting roles in Ticket to Paradise, starring Julia Roberts and George Clooney, and in the 2019 family adventure live-action film Dora the Explorer: The Lost City of Gold.
Pope Francis is being receiving a special piece for bringing the peace…
The 87-year-old Argentine head of the Catholic Church, bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State will be honored at the upcoming Cinema for Peace gala in Berlin on February 19.
Pope Francis will be honored together with the film Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedomby Evgeny Afineevsky, for his contributions to the freedom of Ukraine and humanitarian efforts to protect civilians and children.
Pope Francis, the first and only pontiff from the Americas, will be honored alongside Hillary Rodham Clinton and former UN chief Ban Ki-Moon.
The long-running gala run by the Cinema for Peace Foundation will be accompanied by the inaugural World Forum on the Future Of Democracy, Tech and Humankind.
The latter event will run from February 18 to 19 at the Allianz Forum next to the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin with the aim of promoting the renewal of democracy and freedom at a time when both are under threat.
The Cinema for Peace Foundation was created in 2008 as an international non-profit organization with the goal to foster change through film. Over the years it has worked with a host of stars including Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney.
Pope Francis will be honored virtually by video-link, while Clinton and Ban will attend the February 19 gala in person.
They will be presented with their Cinema for Peace prizes by Sharon Stone, Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights lawyer Oleksandra Matviichuk, and Irish singer-song writer and political activist Bob Geldof.
The Latina educational leader, who serves as president of Berkeley City College, has been named to the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities by President Joe Biden.
Bruce Cohen and Lady Gaga will serve as the co-chairs of the revived committee.
In addition to Garcia, Cohen and Lady Gaga, other committee members include Latino educator and journalist Horacio Sierra; musician Jon Batiste; Constance M. Carroll, president of the California Community Colleges Baccalaureate Association; actor George Clooney; Harvard professor Philip J. Deloria; actress Jennifer Garner; art historian, museum director and curator Nora Halpern; bookstore owner and former congressman Steve Israel; producer-writer Marta Kauffman; producer Ricky Kirshner; actor Troy Kotsur; Bad Robot Prods. co-CEO Katie McGrath; Laura Penn, executive director of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society; artist and educator Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya; author and Stanford Professor Emeritus Arnold Rampersad; producer and author Shonda Rhimes; retired attorney and CPA Kimberly Richter Shirley; writer and actress Anna Deavere Smith; singer-songwriter Joe Walsh; actress, director and producer Kerry Washington; and Pauline Yu, president emerita of the American Council of Learned Sciences.
Biden announced last year that he was reviving the committee, which was disbanded during the presidency of Donald Trump.
The committee, set up in 1982 during Ronald Reagan’s administration, advises the president and heads of cultural agencies on ways to elevate the importance of the arts, including through federal support.
In 2017, remaining Obama-era members of the committee resigned in protest of Trump’s response to the Charlottesville riots. Trump did not renew the executive order for the committee.
Biden issued an executive order in September reviving the committee.
In the order, Biden pledged that his administration would “advance the cultural vitality of the United States by promoting the arts, the humanities, and museum and library services,” including when it comes to advancing equity, accessibility and opportunity. The order also pledges to “strengthen America’s creative and cultural economy, including by enhancing and expanding opportunities for artists, humanities scholars, students, educators, and cultural heritage practitioners, as well as the museums, libraries, archives, historic sites, colleges and universities, and other institutions that support their work.”
A number of the members of the committee have ties to Biden, including as campaign donors and supporters. Along with Stephanie Cutter, Kirschner served as executive producer of Biden’s inaugural. Kaufmann hosted First Lady Jill Biden at her home for a midterm fundraising event in September. Batiste performed at a White House state dinner in December.
During the Obama administration, Cohen also served as the entertainment industry liaison for Joining Forces, the initiative from First Lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden to support military service members, veterans and their families. Lady Gaga performed at Biden’s inauguration, and traveled with him to support an initiative to address campus sexual assault.
The 79-year-old Cuban composer, conductor and educator will be among this year’s Kennedy Center Honors recipients.
Leon is part of a roster of honorees that includes U2, Gladys Knight, Amy Grant and George Clooney.
The Honors recipients are recognized for their contributions to American culture through the performing arts—whether in music, dance, theater, opera, motion pictures, or television—and are confirmed by the executive committee of the Center’s board of trustees.
Deborah F. Rutter, Kennedy Center president, noted: “For nearly a half-century, the Kennedy Center Honors has represented the very best of America’s creative culture. The Honors is often referred to by past recipients as the pinnacle of awards because it recognizes not just one performance, album, or film, but esteems an artist’s cumulative body of work and influence over many decades…”
León received a 2012 Grammy nomination for best contemporary classical composition for Inura for Voices, Strings and Percussion. She is also renowned as a conductor, educator and advisor to arts organizations
León was a founding member and the first musical director of Arthur Mitchell‘s Dance Theater of Harlem, establishing its music department, music school, and orchestra.
She won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Music for Stride.
The 45th Kennedy Center Honors Gala concludes with a dinner in the Grand Foyer.
“Little did I imagine when studying in La Habana that life was going to grace me with such a distinction! My first thoughts went to my ancestors: they believed in my dreams, and what we lacked in material wealth, they made up for in spirit, encouragement, and support,” says Leon of the honor. “My heartfelt thanks go to the many people who have blessed my path by helping my talent to blossom and by giving me the chance to be heard. I am incredibly humbled to join such a prestigious family of artists, and deeply grateful to the Kennedy Center for bestowing me with this incredible honor.”
The 45th annual Kennedy Center Honors will air on Wednesday, December 28 (8:00 – 10:00 pm ET/PT) on CBS. Paramount+ Premium subscribers will have access to stream live via the live feed of their local CBS affiliate on the service as well as on demand. Essential-tier subscribers will have access to on-demand the day after the special airs.
The special show will be taped on Sunday, December 4 in Washington, D.C. Presented for lifetime artistic achievements, the program will be held on Sunday, December 4, on the Opera House stage at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
The 52-year-old Spanish Oscar-winning actor will be honored with the prestigious Maltin Modern Master Award at the 37th annual edition of the Santa Barbara Film Festival.
Bardem will be feted alongside his Being the Ricardos co-star Nicole Kidman on Thursday, March 10 when they’ll engage with veteran film historian and critic Leonard Maltin for an in-person conversation about their careers leading up to this year’s performances as Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball in Aaron Sorkin’s acclaimed film from Amazon Studios.
Bardem and Kidman recently received individual SAG Award nominations in the lead actor and actress categories.
Bardem and Kidman, who have never before worked together, previously won Oscars for No Country for Old Men(2007) and The Hours (2002), respectively. Each has a long career of acclaimed performances.
“Nicole Kidman continues to challenge and reinvent herself year after year. Javier Bardem’s talent is a gift to the world. Only in Hollywood could these actors find themselves playing America’s all time favorite TV couple. It’s cause for celebration,” Maltin said.
Santa Barbara International Film Festival
The Modern Master Award was established in 1995 and is the highest accolade presented by SBIFF. Created to honor an individual who has enriched our culture through accomplishments in the motion picture industry, it was re-named the Maltin Modern Master Award in 2015 in honor of longtime SBIFF moderator and renowned film critic Leonard Maltin.
Past recipients include Bill Murray, Brad Pitt, Glenn Close, Denzel Washington, Michael Keaton, Bruce Dern, Ben Affleck, Christopher Plummer, Christopher Nolan, James Cameron, Clint Eastwood, Cate Blanchett, Will Smith, George Clooney and Peter Jackson.
This is the first time a pair of actors will be honored together.
Other Santa Barbara tributes previously announced include Benedict Cumberbatch with the Vanguard Award, King Richard stars Will Smith and Aunjanue Ellis for Outstanding Performers of the Year, Kristen Stewart for the American Riviera Award, and collectively named for Virtuoso Awards are West Side Story’sAriana DeBose, CODAactors Emilia Jones and Troy Kotsur, Red Rocket’s Simon Rex, Licorice Pizza’sAlana Haim, and Saniyya Sidney from King Richard.
The 37th Santa Barbara Film Festival is set to take place in-person March 2-12. Official events including screenings, filmmaker Q&As, industry panels and celebrity tributes will be held throughout the city including at the historic Arlington Theatre.
Eva Longoria is helping “drive transformational change across the entertainment industry for students from underserved communities.”
The 46-year-old Mexican American actress, producer and activist has joined a coalition of industry leaders who are partnering with Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner to found the Roybal School of Film and Television Production, a specialized academy housed within the Edward R. Roybal Learning Center.
In addition to Longoria, the project is also being spearheaded by George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Don Cheadle, Kerry Washington, Mindy Kaling, Nicole Avant, Working Title Films founders Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner and CAA co-chairman Bryan Lourd.
The Roybal School is set to launch in fall 2022 as a magnet school, providing LAUSD teachers with access to storytellers, industry professionals and experts, while supporting students with academic education and practical training.
The inaugural program will be overseen by Principal Blanca Cruz. Roybal will feature a curriculum designed to meet standards prescribed by the state of California and the University of California system. Students also will receive real-world experience through a dedicated internship initiative.
The school will launch with grades 9 and 10, and include grades 11 and 12 over the next two years. The pilot program could be expanded later to additional schools throughout the Los Angeles area.
“This effort will help open the doors of opportunity for a diverse group of students from underserved communities,” Beutner said. “This groundbreaking program will help prepare students for good-paying jobs in the film and television industry by integrating practical industry experience and internships for students into the curriculum.”
Beutner explained how industry lessons could be woven into the curriculum: “Physics is involved in the choice of a lens by a cinematographer, math is part of the foundation for a musical score in a film, critical thinking skills are needed to design a set, screenwriters need a foundation in literacy, and a make-up artist needs to know the chemistry of the different materials they might use – all of this will be tied into the curriculum at the school,” he said.
“Our aim is to better reflect the diversity of our country,” Clooney said. “That means starting early. It means creating high school programs that teach young people about cameras, and editing and visual effects and sound and all the career opportunities that this industry has to offer. It means internships that lead to well-paying careers. It means understanding that we’re all in this together.”
The founding members will serve on the school’s Production Advisory Board, lending expertise and support with the intent of building a more inclusive pipeline of career-ready talent for the film and television industry, according to the announcement.
Said Avant, “Everyone involved with this effort understands the need to create points of access: access to resources, information, skills, and mentorship. It is our hope that every guild and company across the entertainment industry landscape joins our efforts to build a bridge to opportunity.”
Added Lourd, “We invite every interested and committed person and company in our industry to join this effort. We have the collective power to accelerate the academic and professional trajectories of so many students and bring about positive change.”
The AARP has announced its nominees for the upcoming Movies for Grownups Awards, with the 57-year-old Oscar-nominated actor earning a nod.
Bichir is nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category for his performance as Miguel, a local hunter, in the drama Land.
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, who earned a USC Libraries Scripter Award nomination last month, is nominated in the Best Screenwriter category for penning Netflix’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, while Colman Domingo and his cast mates are nominated in the Best Ensemble category for their work in the drama, based on the play of the same name by August Wilson.
Two Latin films are in the running for the Best Foreign Language Film prize.
Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles are representing Brazil with their western thriller Bacurau, which Barack Obama chose as one of his favorites of 2020, while Juan José Campanella’s The Weasels‘ Tale is representing Argentina.
For two decades, AARP’s Movies for Grownups program has championed what it calls “movies for grownups, by grownups.” It claims to advocate for the 50-plus audience, fighting industry ageism and encouraging films that resonate with older viewers. AARP’s Movies for Grownups continues its commitment to celebrate quality content by expanding to honor standout television programs in new categories.
Hoda Kotb, NBC News’ Todaycoanchor and cohost of Today with Hoda & Jenna, will host the awards ceremony broadcast by Great Performanceson Sunday, March 28 at 8:00 pm ET on PBS, its PBS.org website for the event, and the PBS Video app. Winners will be announced on March 4 on the website section dedicated to the event.
George Clooney will receive the Movies for Grownups Career Achievement Award.
Here’s the complete list of nominees:
Film
Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups Minari Nomadland One Night in Miami The Trial of the Chicago 7 The United States vs. Billie Holiday
Best Actress
Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom)
Sophia Loren (The Life Ahead)
Frances McDormand (Nomadland)
Michelle Pfeiffer (French Exit)
Robin Wright (Land)
Best Actor
Ralph Fiennes (The Dig)
Tom Hanks (News of the World)
Anthony Hopkins (The Father)
Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods)
Gary Oldman (Mank)
Best Supporting Actress
Candice Bergen (Let Them All Talk)
Ellen Burstyn (Pieces of a Woman)
Glenn Close (Hillbilly Elegy)
Jodie Foster (The Mauritanian)
Yuh-Jung Youn (Minari)
Best Supporting Actor
Demián Bichir (Land)
Bill Murray (On the Rocks)
Clarke Peters (Da 5 Bloods)
Paul Raci (Sound of Metal)
Mark Rylance (The Trial of the Chicago 7)
Best Director
Lee Daniels (The United States vs. Billie Holiday)
Regina King (One Night in Miami)
Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods)
Aaron Sorkin (The Trial of the Chicago 7)
George C. Wolfe (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom)
Best Ensemble Da 5 Bloods
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
One Night in Miami
Promising Young Woman
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best Intergenerational Hillbilly Elegy
Minari
On the Rocks
The Father
The Life Ahead
Best Buddy Picture Bad Boys for Life
Bill & Ted Face the Music
Da 5 Bloods
Let Them All Talk
Standing Up, Falling Down
Best Screenwriter
Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo, Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods)
Paul Greengrass, Luke Davies (News of the World)
Kemp Powers (One Night in Miami) Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom)
Aaron Sorkin (The Trial of the Chicago 7)
Best Time Capsule Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
One Night in Miami
The United States vs. Billie Holiday
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best Grownup Love Story Emma
Ordinary Love
Supernova
Wild Mountain Thyme
Working Man
Best Documentary A Secret Love
Crip Camp
Diana Kennedy: Nothing Fancy
Dick Johnson Is Dead
Sky Blossom: Diaries of the Next Greatest Generation
Best Foreign Language Film Another Round (Denmark) Bacurau (Brazil) Collective (Romania) The Life Ahead (Italy) The Weasels’ Tale (Argentina)
Television
Best Series Perry Mason
Succession
Ted Lasso
The Crown
This Is Us
Best TV Movie/Limited Series Mrs. America
Small Axe
The Queen’s Gambit
Unorthodox
Watchmen
Best Actress (TV/Streaming)
Jennifer Aniston (The Morning Show)
Cate Blanchett (Mrs. America)
Regina King (Watchmen)
Laura Linney (Ozark)
Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek)
Best Actor (TV/Streaming)
Jason Bateman (Ozark)
Ted Danson (The Good Place)
Hugh Grant (The Undoing)
Ethan Hawke (The Good Lord Bird)
Mark Ruffalo (I Know This Much Is True)
Jimmy Smits is honoring the military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces in a special way…
The 64-year-old half-Puerto Rican actor will be taking part in the National Memorial Day Concert.
Due to the coronavirus outbreak, this year’s show will be a virtual concert. But creators hope it takes on a special resonance.
“These important rituals and holidays have a whole meaning for all of this time too,” said executive producer Michael Colbert. “We are certainly completely focused on what Memorial Day is, but I feel like at this time it is touching so many of us today.”
The National Memorial Day Concert willair on PBS on Sunday at 8:00 pm ET. The 90-minute show honors members of the military and veterans with performances and personal stories, it’s is a 31-year tradition.
Joe Mantegna and Gary Sinise are returning to host the event, with a line up that includes former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Cynthia Erivo, Renée Fleming, Trace Adkins, CeCe Winans, Kelli O’Hara, Mary McCormack, Christopher Jackson and the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jack Everly, as well as General Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The broadcast will also feature performances from previous concerts, including those by Sam Elliott, Laurence Fishburne and Esai Morales.
Colbert believes that the concert, which has honored sacrifices made in wars of the past, sends an important message for what the country is going through today. The event also will spotlight those who have been on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis, including first responders, doctors, nurses, grocery clerks, truck drivers and postal workers.
“We just felt that, to have that focus on what we have already gone through, will bring a real connection to people to what is going on today, to show that we are going to get through this,” he said.
Also woven throughout the show will be messages from entertainers and other artists directed at members of the military, veterans and front-line workers. The list includes Chris Evans, George Clooney, Gwyneth Paltrow, Julianne Moore, Jimmy Kimmel, Mark Wahlberg and Smits.
The National Memorial Day Concert also will air on the American Forces Network, and will be streamed on YouTube and Facebook, as well as PBS.org. It also will be available on demand.
Here’s the list of performers with taped messages: Anthony Ramos, Blair Underwood, Brian Tee, Chely Wright, Chris Evans, Courteney Cox, Denis Leary, Dule Hill, George Clooney, Graham Greene, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jaina Lee Ortiz, Jennifer Garner, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Smits, Jon Hamm, Julianne Moore, Lindsey Vonn, Lisa Kudrow, Marcia Gay Harden, Mark Wahlberg, Milo Ventimiglio, Noah Wylie, Rita Moreno, S. Epatha Merkerson, Steven Weber, Sugar Ray Leonard, Vanessa Williams.
Also participating in new and some past selected performances are members from the U.S. Army Herald Trumpets, The U.S. Army Chorus, the U.S. Army Voices and Downrange, the Soldiers’ Chorus of the U.S. Army Field Band, the U.S. Navy Band Sea Chanters, the U.S. Air Force Singing Sergeants and Service Color Teams provided by the Military District of Washington, D.C.
The 45-year-old Latino actor has been cast in On Becoming a God in Central Florida, YouTube Premium’s a one-hour dark comedy series set in the 1990s.
Rodriguez will star opposite Ted Levine, Kirsten Dunst and Beth Ditto, the lead singer of Gossip, who’ll be series regulars, as well as Usman Ally, who has a recurring role.
The web series hails from George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures and Sony’s TriStar Television.
On Becoming A God In Central Florida, one of the passion projects for the late TriStar television head Suzanne Patmore Gibbs, was written by Robert Funke and Matt Lutsky based on a spec script they wrote.
Set near Orlando in the early 1990s, it centers on Krystal Gill (Dunst), a minimum-wage-earning water park employee who will eventually scheme her way up the ranks of the Founders American Merchandise, the cultish, flag waving, multi-billion dollar pyramid scheme that drove her family to ruin.
Rodriguez will play the manager of the low-rent waterpark where Krystal works.
Rodriguez’s previous credits include Getting On, The New Normal, Hot in Cleveland and The Middle.
Demi Lovato is heading to Washington, DC next week to help shine a light on the issue of gun violence…
The 25-year-old part-Mexican American singer/actress will join survivors of the February 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, as they take to the streets of Washington to protest gun violence.
On March 24, survivors will be joined by Lovato, Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus and Jennifer Hudson as they call for gun legislation reform.
One of the survivors, David Hogg, made the announcement for March for Our Lives during an appearance on CNN.
“We’re gonna have four major independent women that are standing with us and walking beside us,” Hogg said.
According to the March for Our Lives mission statement, organizers will “demand that a comprehensive and effective bill be immediately brought before (the U.S.) Congress to address these gun issues.”
The shooting at Stoneman Douglas High claimed the lives of 17 people.
Lovato invited survivors onstage during the opening show of her tour in San Diego.
Other celebrities, including Jimmy Fallon and George Clooney, are set to attend as well.
The march will occur 10 days after a national student walkout, which was met with similar support by celebrities including Katy Perry and Zendaya.
Sister marches will take place in cities across the nation.
Vergara was recently cast in the upcoming Sarah Snook-led Peacock series All Her Fault, based on the Andrea Mara novel of the same name, alongside Daniel Monks and Duke McCloud.
