The 32-year-old part-Mexican American actor and breakout star of Amazon’s hit rom-com Red, White & Royal Blue, has signed with Paradigm for representation.
In the film from director Matthew Lopez, which adapts the New York Times bestselling novel from Casey McQuiston, Perez plays Alex Claremont-Diaz, son of the American President (Uma Thurman), whose feud with a British prince (Nicholas Galitzine) threatens to drive a wedge in U.S./British relations. Subsequently, the pair are forced into a staged truce that sparks something deeper.
Produced by Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schecter, the film premiered in August 2023 and became the No. 1 movie globally on Prime Video in its premiere weekend, remaining the platform’s most-watched film worldwide for the first three weeks after its release.
Touted by Amazon as spurring “a huge surge in new Prime membership signups,” the film is also now among Prime Video’s top three most-watched romantic comedies of all time.
Previously, Perez caught attention when he joined Netflix’s hugely popular YA film series The Kissing Booth, based on the novels by Beth Reekles, for its second and third installments. Additionally, he was featured in the first season of Max’s critically acclaimed series Minx, opposite Ophelia Lovibond, as well as Buzzfeed Studios’ 1UP, available on Prime Video.
He was recently named a SAG AwardsAmbassador for the 30th annual SAG Awards, an appointment given to actors exemplifying the utmost values of the profession,
Taylor Zakhar Perez’s latest project is a Primetime hit…
The 31-year-old half-Mexican American model and actor’s romantic comedy Red, White & Royal Blue, an adaptation of Casey McQuiston’s bestselling novel, has become the No. 1 film globally on Prime Video in its premiere weekend.
The film, which launched on Amazon Prime Video on August 11, is now among Prime Video’s top three most-watched romantic comedies of all time, according to Amazon, which wouldn’t disclose the two other films Red, White & Royal Blue would be joining in the top
Amazon is also touting “a huge surge in new Prime membership signups” due to the film’s release. The company didn’t say how they determined this, though this generally measured as the title was the first one an account watched after subscribing to a streaming service.
“The phenomenal debut of Red, White & Royal Blueis a true testament to the entertaining and inspired storytelling led by the creative minds behind it. Matthew López, McQuiston, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and the entire talented filmmaking team hit it out of the park,” said Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon MGM Studios. “We are so proud of this delightful, heartwarming film and could not be more thrilled with the response from fans–existing and new.”
Red, White & Royal Blue centers around Alex and Prince Henry who have a lot in common: Stunning good looks, undeniable charisma, international popularity … and a total disdain for each other. Separated by an ocean, their long-running feud hasn’t really been an issue, until a disastrous—and very public—altercation at a royal event becomes tabloid fodder, driving a potential wedge in U.S./British relations at the worst possible time.
Going into damage-control mode, their families and handlers force the two rivals into a staged “truce.” But as Alex and Henry’s icy relationship unexpectedly begins to thaw into a tentative friendship, the friction that existed between them sparks something deeper than they ever expected.
The film adaptation is directed by López who also co-wrote the screenplay alongside Ted Malawer.
Red, White & Royal Blue also stars Clifton Collins Jr., Sarah Shahi, Rachel Hilson, Stephen Fry, Ellie Bamber, Thomas Flynn, Malcolm Atobrah, Akshay Khanna, Sharon D Clarke, Aneesh Sheth and Juan Castano.
The Latina actress will make her feature film debut with a sizable role alongside Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum in Project Artemis, the anticipated 1960s space race film Greg Berlanti is directing for Apple.
While details about her role are being under wraps, her audition was reportedly impressive enough that it helped her secure one of the most coveted jobs in Hollywood, even in competition with a number of offer-only actresses.
Apple acquired Project Artemis for upwards of $100M when the hot package hit the market this past spring, as we told you first.
Specifics regarding the plot of the Apple Original haven’t yet been revealed. But Garcia joins an ensemble that also includes the previously announced Jim Rash and Ray Romano.
Johansson is producing alongside Jonathan Lia and Keenan Flynn of These Pictures, which commissioned and developed the script by Rose Gilroy, as well as Sarah Schechter.
Garcia is a relative newcomer who most recently wrapped a role on Showtime’s Party Downreboot, having recently appeared on HBO Max’s Emmy-winning series Hacksand FX’s long-running comedy,It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. She’s a graduate of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre who still performs regularly at the well-known comedy venue, and also proved a standout as part of the CBS Comedy Showcase for 2022.
Garcia hosts her own live variety show, Scrambled Eggs, at the Elysian Theater and has also appeared on the viral improv show Make Some Noisefor College Humor’s subscription media service, Dropout.
HBO Max will premiere Season 4 of Doom Patrol, starring the 36-year-old Colombian American actress, on December 8 with two brand-new episodes.
Each week after that a new episode will drop through January 5.
In addition, it was announced that six more episodes from Season 4 would be released in 2023.
Doom Patrol reimagines some of DC’s most recognized superheroes: “Robotman” aka Cliff Steele (Brendan Fraser), “Negative Man” aka Larry Trainor (Matt Bomer), “Elasti-Woman” aka Rita Farr (April Bowlby), “Crazy Jane” (Guerrero), “Cyborg” aka Victor Stone (Joivan Wade), joined by former super-villain “Madame Rouge” aka Laura de Mille (Michelle Gomez).
Each member of the Doom Patrol suffered a horrible accident that gave them superhuman abilities but also left them scarred and disfigured. Part support group, part Super Hero team, the Doom Patrol is a band of super-powered freaks who fight for a world that wants nothing to do with them.
Doom Patrol Season 4 starts when the team unexpectedly travels to the future and finds an unwelcome surprise. Faced with their imminent demise, the Doom Patrol must decide once and for all which is more important: their own happiness or the fate of the world?
The series also stars Skye Roberts, Riley Shanahan and Matthew Zuk.
Doom Patrol is produced by Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television with showrunner Jeremy Carver, Geoff Johns, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Chris Dingess and Tamara Becher-Wilkinson serving as executive producers.
The series is based on characters created for DC by Arnold Drake, Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani.
Camila Cabello is urging the U.S. Congress to support President Joe Biden’s climate change plan…
While Democratic leadership tries to unite its progressive and moderate wings, a group of 80-plus artists, celebrities and activists, including the 24-year-old Cuban/Mexican singer, are calling on the leaders of Google, Disney, Amazon, Fox, Facebook to join them in urging Congress to support Biden’s Build Back Better plan.
The effort was spearheaded by the National Resources Defense CouncilAction Fund and Cabello, who convinced the sizable group of A-listers to speak out, specifically about the need to address climate change.
In addition to Cabello, signatories to the group letter included J.J. Abrams, Greg Berlanti, Cate Blanchett, Jack Antonoff, Don Cheadle, Ellen DeGeneres, Selena Gomez, Shakira, Chris Evans, Jimmy Kimmel, Lady Gaga, John Legend, Chuck Lorre, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sean Penn, Joaquin Phoenix, Billy Porter, Robert Redford, Ryan Reynolds, Shakira, Barbra Streisand, Wes Studi, Justin Timberlake, Kerry Washington and many more.
On Monday, a group of 17 Nobel Prize-winning economists also came out in support of Biden’s plan.
Manish Bapna, President and CEO of the NRDC Action Fund said, “These are the tastemakers of our time—and in moments like these they have an opportunity to be the changemakers, too. What started as an idea by Camila Cabello has exploded into a clarion call from entertainers overnight to take action. Congress holds in its hands our best chance at combating our biggest environmental challenge yet. We need all hands on deck to make sure they seize it, and these industry leaders can play a critical role in making sure that they do.”
In today’s initiative, the artists call out the following execs by name: Lincoln Benet at Access Industries (Warner Music Group), Sundar Pichai at Alphabet (Google, YouTube), Andy Jassy at Amazon, Tim Cook at Apple, John Stankey at AT&T (WarnerMedia), Brian Roberts at Comcast, David Zaslav at Discovery (and soon Warner Bros. Discovery), Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook, Lachlan Murdoch at Fox, Reed Hastings at Netflix, Kenichiro Yoshida at Sony, Robert Bakish at ViacomCBS, Arnaud de Puyfontaine at Vivendi (Universal Music Group) and Bob Chapek at Walt Disney.
“It’s no secret that climate change is here and is already affecting people’s lives across the globe,” wrote Cabello in her post on Instagram about the effort. “We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to act boldly to fight the climate crisis, so I am honored to join over 60 fellow artists to call on leaders of the entertainment industry to use their power and demand that Congress pass @potus’s #BuildBackBetter agenda this fall.”
Here’s the full text of the letter and a list of its signatories:
Dear Entertainment Industry Executives:
Climate change has arrived on our doorstep: California is on fire, record-breaking and deadly storms are flooding New York City, hurricanes are devastating the Gulf. This summer alone, nearly one in every three people in the United States experienced an extreme weather event.
Scientists warn that if we fail to act now, every single one of us will feel the impacts, a billion people will be displaced, and low-income people and communities of color will continue to be hit first and worst. Right now, we have a critical window of opportunity to do something about it. And we need all hands on deck to demand that our leaders protect the people we love and the places they live before it’s too late.
Congress has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in a clean, just, and equitable future for all by passing the robust climate action that President Biden called for in his Build Back Better agenda. This legislation will create healthier communities, put millions to work in clean energy jobs, and free us from the fossil fuels that are driving climate change.
As the top leaders of the entertainment industry—one of the nation’s most powerful and influential business sectors—you are needed to lead our community’s call for action and embrace this vision for a better world. The entertainment community has a long, proud tradition of driving societal change. Our industry is already leading the charge toward more sustainable practices within our own businesses and productions. Now is the time to use your influence to shape our future.
Congress needs to hear you demand, unequivocally, that it put forward and pass the most ambitious climate change agenda in U.S. history.
The plan currently before Congress will protect people’s health and clean up our drinking water. It will create a just transition away from dirty fossil fuels and create millions of new jobs. It will protect communities from climate change through investments in clean energy, clean transportation, and infrastructure upgrades. And it will make sure we finally prioritize and invest in the low-income communities and communities of color that are hit hardest by both fossil fuel pollution and climate impacts.
This plan will create a stronger, brighter, and more just America—and we need you to help make this vision a reality.
At this pivotal moment, please lead the call. Demand publicly and loudly that our senators and representatives in Congress pass this critical legislation.
And we pledge to do our part as well. We will use our platforms to remind all Americans: Tell your senators and representatives in Congress that you demand climate action now. Advocate for Congress to take up the president’s climate agenda. And don’t stop there. Tweet. Post. E-mail. Call. Whatever it takes.
Sincerely,
J.J. Abrams
Anitta
Jack Antonoff
Troian Bellisario
Greg Berlanti
Cate Blanchett
Benny Blanco
Dave Burd aka “Lil Dicky”
Camila Cabello
Dove Cameron
Alessia Cara
Don Cheadle
Glenn Close
Coldplay
Jacob Collier
Lily Collins
James Corden
Ellen DeGeneres
Cara Delevingne
Leonardo DiCaprio
Zac Efron
Billie Eilish
Chris Evans
Jimmy Fallon
Finneas
Selena Gomez
Conan Gray
Grimes
Todrick Hall
Hugh Jackman
Jimmy Kimmel
Joey King
Liza Koshy
Lady Gaga
Cyndi Lauper
John Legend
Adam Levine
Kevin Liles
Dua Lipa
Lorde
Chuck Lorre
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Demi Lovato
Ziggy Marley
Shawn Mendes
Idina Menzel
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Sean Penn
Joaquin Phoenix
Billy Porter
Zachary Quinto
Addison Rae
Robert Redford
Ryan Reynolds
Mark Ronson
Kyra Sedgwick
Shakira
Lilly Singh
Troye Sivan
Barbra Streisand
Wes Studi
Ryan Tedder
Justin Timberlake
Kerry Washington
Sigourney Weaver
Shailene Woodley
Calum Worthy
The 41-year-old half-Puerto Rican actor/musician and original culture guide on Queer Eye has joined the cast of HBO Max’s Equal, its upcoming four-part docuseries chronicling landmark events and the forgotten heroes of the LGBTQ+ movement.
The project hails from Greg Berlanti’s Berlanti Productions, Jim Parsons and That’s Wonderful Productions, Scout Productions, Jon Jashni and Warner Horizon Unscripted Television.
In addition to Rodriguez, who’ll portray José Sarria, the first openly gay candidate for public office in the United States, the cast includes Samira Wiley, Cheyenne Jackson, Anthony Rapp, Sara Gilbert, Shannon Purser, Heather Matarazzo, Jamie Clayton, Isis King, Gale Harold.
They’ll allportray the LBGTQ+ visionaries in the docuseries that contains never-before-seen archival footage.
Part one of the docuseries explores the rise of early organizations, The Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis in Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively; part two stories chronicles the 20th century trans experience, bookended by the 1966 Compton Cafeteria riots in San Francisco; part three examines the contributions from the Black community on the growing LGBTQ+ civil rights movement; and part four ties in the decades long struggles with the culminated Stonewall uprising – the beginning of the Pride movement.
Stephen Kijak is the showrunner and director of episodes one, three and four alongside ground-breaking trans director Kimberly Reed, who directs episode two.
Here’s a full list with character descriptions:
Cheyenne Jackson as Dale Jennings. Dale was a gay rights activist, playwright and author. He was one of the founding members of the Mattachine Society in the early 1950s, one of the earliest gay rights groups in the United States. Following his entrapment and arrest on sex charges, Jennings fought the charges in a successful court cast which became a landmark moment for the movement. He was also one of the founders of One Magazine, the first pro-gay publication in the U.S.
Anthony Rapp as Harry Hay. Harry was the founder of The Mattachine Society. His manifesto, “The Call,” written feverishly one night in 1948 called for the protection and improvement of the rights of homosexuals and was the foundation on which the group was built.
Shannon Purser & Heather Matarazzo as Del Martin & Phyllis Lyon. Del & Phyllis were a lesbian couple (together for 56 years until Martin’s death in 2008) who founded the Daughters of Bilitis in San Francisco in 1955, the first social and political organization for lesbians in the United States. They also published The Ladder, the first nationally distributed lesbian publication in the US. Active in both gay and feminist politics their whole lives, they were the first same-sex couple to legally wed.
Sara Gilbert as J.M. From Cleveland. “JM” is an “anonymous reader” of The Ladder, representing the isolated lesbians of the 1950’s who found a lifeline in the pages of the magazine, but who were forced to live closeted lives for fear of losing jobs, friends and family.
Anne Ramsay as The FBI Agent: A composite character, the FBI kept active files on the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis – gay groups were often linked to communism and considered to be dangerous subversives.
Alexandra Grey as Lucy Hicks Anderson. Socialite, chef, and prohibition-era entrepreneur – and one of the first documented Black transgender persons in the USA — Lucy Hicks Anderson was one of the most prominent citizens of Oxnard, CA until 1945 when a syphilis outbreak at her brothel became her undoing, outing her to the community.
Theo Germaine as Jack Starr. Jack is a little-known character in the history of folks who probably would have self-identified as trans. He was a prominent local outcast at the turn of the century in Montana, in and out of jail and in and out of the local headlines for refusing to wear clothes that conformed to the gender assigned to Jack at birth. A Jack-of-all-trades and teller of tall tales, Jack Starr (aka Jacques Moret) is an enigmatic early figure who pushed the boundaries of gender expression.
Jamie Clayton as Christine Jorgensen. Widely known as the world’s first transgender celebrity, Christine became an internationally known figure following the publicity surrounding her gender confirmation surgery in the early 1950’s. She became a popular nightclub entertainer, author, and lecturer and used her celebrity to advance the cause of transgender rights.
Isis King as Alexis. “Alexis” is a composite character, the spirit of the Compton’s Cafeteria Riot in 1966, one of the first known instances of trans and queer folk rising up against police harassment – three years before the Stonewall Riots.
Samira Wiley as Lorraine Hannsberry. Author of the landmark play “A Raisin in the Sun,” Lorraine Hansberry was the first African American female author to have a play performed on Broadway. She was a radical and forceful voice within the Civil Rights Movement, who died far too young at age 34 of pancreatic cancer. While closeted during her lifetime, she wrote extensively under a variety of pseudonyms – in plays, stories and letters that discussed her lesbianism and the oppression of homosexuals in society.
Keiynan Lonsdale as Bayard Rustin. Bayard was an American leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, nonviolence, and gay rights. He was a close mentor and advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and one of the chief architects of the March on Washington. Because of a 1953 arrest on sex charges his sexuality was often weaponized against him and the movement, but he remained a tireless advocate for social justice his entire life – and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barak Obama in 2013.
Jai Rodriguez as José Sarria. In 1961 José became the first openly gay candidate for public office in the United States, running for a seat on the SF Board of Supervisors 16 years before Harvey Milk. He is also remembered as a beloved and inspiring drag performer at SF’s Black Cat Bar, who raised the spirits and political consciousness of the bar’s gay male patrons with his rousing anthem “God Save Us Nelly Queens”! A lifelong advocate and activist, José founded the Imperial Court System, one of the oldest and largest LGBT organizations in the world.
Hailie Sahar as Sylvia Rivera. Sylvia was a Latina American gay liberation and transgender rights activist. Prominent as an activist and community worker in New York, Rivera, along with close friend Marsha P. Johnson, co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries in 1970, a group dedicated to helping homeless young drag queens, gay youth, and trans women. Whether true or a bit of self myth-making, Sylvia placed herself at the center of the Stonewall Riots – either way, her perspective on the riots and its aftermath are an indelible part of the oral history of Stonewall.
Scott Turner Schofield as Craig Rodwell. Craig was an American gay rights activist known for founding the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop in 1967, the first bookstore devoted to gay and lesbian authors. A witness and participant in the Stonewall riots, he was one of the prime movers in the creation of the first New York City Pride demonstration.
Cole Doman as Mark Segal. Mark is an American journalist and prominent gay rights activist. He participated in the Stonewall riots and was one of the original founders of the Gay Liberation Front where he created its Gay Youth program.
Elizabeth Faith Ludlow as Stormé DeLarverie. Stormé was a gay civil rights icon and entertainer whose scuffle with police was, according to many eyewitnesses, the spark that ignited the Stonewall riots, spurring the crowd to action. She worked for much of her life as an MC, singer, bouncer, bodyguard and volunteer street patrol worker, the “guardian of lesbians in the Village.”
Gale Harold as Howard Smith. Howard was an Oscar-winning film director, producer, journalist, screenwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. At the peak of the historic Stonewall Riots in New York City in 1969, he managed to get inside the now famous bar with his Village Voice reporter’s police credentials. He was the only journalist who reported about the siege from that dangerous vantage point.
Sam Pancake as Dick Leitsch. Dick was a prominent LGBTQ rights activist and president of the Mattachine Society in the 1960s. He is also known for being the first gay reporter to publish an account of the Stonewall Riots, which appeared in a special edition of the Mattachine Newsletter the day after he witnessed the first night of the riot.
The 45-year-old Latina television writer/producer, the co-creator and showrunner of Pop TV’s One Day at a Time has joined forces with Natasha Rothwell for We Were There, Too, a coming of age feature for HBO Max.
Rothwell, a writer and star on HBO’s Insecure, co-wrote the screenplay with Calderón Kellett.
They’ll produce the project with Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter.
The film is a classic 80’s coming of age story set in John Hughes’ Chicago, but in this story the Brat Pack is in the background, and for the first time the focus is on the Brown kids, the LGBTQ kids, the Black kids, the real outsiders, because they were there, too.
Calderón Kellett currently serves as co-creator, co-showrunner, executive producer, director and actress on the critically acclaimed One Day At A Time, the reimagining of the classic 1970s sitcom from Norman Lear that moved from Netflix to Pop TV this season. She recently began a major overall deal with Amazon Studios.
The half-Puerto Rican actor Cimino has been cast as Victor in Disney Plus television series adaptation of the film Love, Simon.
“Love, Simonis a powerful story embraced by critics and audiences alike for its universal messages of authenticity, love, and acceptance,” said Agnes Chu, senior vice president of content for Disney Plus. “We are honored to partner with the talented team at 20th Century Fox Televisionto bring this new chapter of a beloved story to Disney+, continuing the personal and uplifting narrative that captivated fans of the original film.”
Cimino’s character Victor is a new student at Creekwood High School on his own journey of self-discovery, facing challenges at home, adjusting to a new city, and struggling with his sexual orientation. When it all seems too much, he reaches out to Simon to help him navigate the ups and downs of high school.
Cimino joins previously announced cast member Ana Ortiz, who will play Victor’s mother Isabel. Nick Robinson, who starred in the film, will narrate the half-hour series in addition to serving as producer.
The cast will also include: James Martinezas Armando, Victor’s regular blue collar “guy’s guy” father who loves his family deeply and works hard for his family; Isabella Ferreiraas Pilar, Victor’s sullen younger sister in the throes of teenage angst; Mateo Fernandezwill make his acting debut as Adrian, Victor’s adorable, good-natured little brother; Johnny Sequoyahas Mia, Victor’s whip-smart friend with a quick wit and easy laugh; Bebe Woodas Lake, Mia’s quirky and social media-obsessed best friend; George Searas Benji, Victor’s confident and charming classmate; Anthony Turpelas Felix, Victor’s lanky, awkward new neighbor; and Mason Goodingas Andrew, Creekwood’s cocky and popular basketball-loving jock.
Cimino’s previous credits include the film Annabelle Comes Homeand the Training Daytelevision series at CBS.
The series is set to begin production this month in Los Angeles.
Greg Berlantidirected the 2018 film, which was based on Becky Albertali’s novel of the same name. He’s not involved in the TV adaptation because of his massive overall TV deal with Warner Bros.The film, produced by the now-shuttered label Fox 2000, was produced for $17 million, earning nearly $67 million worldwide.
The 46-year-old Puerto Rican, who recurred last season as the drug kingpin and crime lord Ricardo Diaz (aka as Dragon), has been promoted to series regular for Season 7, which premieres on October 15 on the CW.
A thorn in the side of Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) in season six, Diaz saw Team Arrow launch an attack on him during the season finale in May, only to escape. FBI agent Samandra Watson vows to haul him in, however.
The character has a publishing history with roots that date back more than 40 years. In 1975, DC Comics started publishing a series called Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter, which featured a martial arts master who grew up as a thief but changed his ways. The series lasted a mere 18 issues. Jump forward to 2013, and a new fighter calling himself Dragon was introduced; he eventually was revealed to be a younger man named Ricardo Diaz, a traitorous protege to the original Dragon who stole his heroic master’s name when he murdered him. The television version has hewed more to that recent mythology.
Based on the DC characters, the series is executive produced by Greg Berlanti, Beth Schwartz and Sarah Schechter.
Arrow is produced by Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros Television.
It moves to a new night this season after airing on Thursdays in 2017-18.
Acevedo’s previous television credits include 12 Monkeys, Prime Suspect and Kingdom.
The 46-year-old Puerto Rican superstar will be honored at the 49th anniversary Gala Vanguard Awards, held annually by the Los Angeles LGBT Center.
The charity event honors Los Angeles-based leaders and influencers for their LGBT advocacy. Previous recipients of the Vanguard Awards include the likes of Miley Cyrus, Jane Fonda, Elton John, George and Brad Takei, and Wanda Sykes.
The 49th anniversary Gala Vanguard Awards will take place on September 22 at the Beverly Hilton.
Other 2018 honorees include Arrow and Supergirlshowrunner Greg Berlanti; Berlanti’s partner, producer and retired soccer player Robbie Rogers; and philanthropist Ariadne Getty.
Martin released the Wisin and Yandel-featuring “Fiebre” and starred in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Storyearlier this year.