Del Rio to Star in the Action Horror Film “The Belko Experiment”

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

David Del Rio is experimenting…

The 27-year-old Latino actor has been cast in The Belko Experiment, the Greg McLean-directed action horror film that was written and is being produced by Guardians Of The Galaxy director James Gunn.

Gunn has been leaking out a new role a day for the MGM thriller, which stars Melonie Diaz.

Del Rio will play a snarky young man with a wicked sense of humor and a key component in the panic of the employees at a San Paulo office building who are mysteriously forced to either start killing one another or be killed.

John Gallagher Jr., Tony Goldwyn, Adria Arjona, Michael Rooker and John C. McGinley are among those already aboard.

Del Rio will next appear in Undrafted with Chace Crawford and Aaron Tveit.

Diaz to Star in MGM’s Action Horror Film “The Belko Experiment”

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

It experiment time for Melonie Diaz…

The 31-year-old Puerto Rican actress has joined the cast of the MGM action horror pic The Belko Experiment.

Written and produced by Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, the film is set to begin production next month in Bogota with director Greg McLean.

Diaz will play Dany Wilkins, the new girl at Belko Corporation. It’s her first day working in the building, and she really couldn’t have chosen a worst first day, since this is the day the employees are forced to either kill each one other or be killed.

Diaz starred in 2014 Sundance hit Fruitvale Station, and her recent credits also include HBO’s Girls and the features X/Y and The Cobbler.

Saldaña to Serve as a Presenter at This Year’s Academy Awards

Posted on February 10, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Zoë Saldaña is ready to take the Oscars stage…

The 36-year-old half-Dominican/half-Puerto Rican American actress has been added to the list of presenters for the 87th Academy Awards.

Following breakthrough roles in Center Stage and Crossroads, Saldaña went on to star in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. In recent years, she earned acclaim for portraying Nyota Uhura in Star Trek and its sequel Star Trek Into Darkness, as well as for her role as Neytiri in James Cameron‘s Avatar. Last year, she portrayed Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy.

Other presenters include Oscar winner Octavia Spencer, Scarlett Johansson and Josh Hutcherson.

The Oscars will take place on February 22.

González Iñárritu’s “Birdman” Earns 13 Critics’ Choice Movie Awards Nominations

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Alejandro González Iñárritu has impressed the critics…

The 51-year-old Mexican filmmaker’s dark comedy Birdman has earned a whopping 13 nominations from the Broadcast Film Critics Association’s 20th Annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards.

González Iñárritu’s acclaimed film, which he wrote, directed and produced received nods in the Best Picture and Best Comedy categories.

In addition, he earned two individual nominations. He’s up for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.

Birdman’s composer Antonio Sanchez has earned a nomination for Best Score. He recently earned his first-ever Golden Globe nomination in the same category for his inspired work on the film.

Emmanuel Lubezki, meantime, picked up a nod for Best Cinematography for his work on Birdman.

In the acting categories, Zoe Saldana picked up a nod in the Best Actress in an Action Movie for her work in Guardians of the Galaxy, while Rosario Dawson earned a nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy for Top Five.

The Guillermo del Toro-produced film The Book of Life received a nod in the Best Animated Feature category.

The Critics’ Choice Movie Awards will take place on the same day that Oscar nominations are announced. The show airs – to the East Coast – live on new network partner, A&E from the Hollywood Palladium at 9:00 pm ET on January 15th with Michael Strahan hosting.

Here’s the full list of Hispanic nominees:

BEST PICTURE
Birdman
Boyhood
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Nightcrawler
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Unbroken
Whiplash

BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ava DuVernay – Selma
David Fincher – Gone Girl
Alejandro G. Inarritu – Birdman
Angelina Jolie – Unbroken
Richard Linklater – Boyhood

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman – Alejandro G. Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr., Armando Bo
Boyhood – Richard Linklater
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness
Nightcrawler – Dan Gilroy
Whiplash – Damien Chazelle

BEST CINEMATOGRAPY
Birdman – Emmanuel Lubezki
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Robert Yeoman
Interstellar – Hoyte Van Hoytema
Mr. Turner – Dick Pope
Unbroken – Roger Deakins

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Big Hero 6
The Book of Life
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Lego Movie

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Emily Blunt – Edge of Tomorrow
Scarlett Johansson – Lucy
Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
Zoe Saldana – Guardians of the Galaxy
Shailene Woodley – Divergent

BEST COMEDY
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
St. Vincent
Top Five
22 Jump Street

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Rose Byrne – Neighbors
Rosario Dawson – Top Five
Melissa McCarthy – St. Vincent
Jenny Slate – Obvious Child
Kristen Wiig – The Skeleton Twins

BEST SCORE
Alexandre Desplat – The Imitation Game
Johann Johannsson – The Theory of Everything
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Gone Girl
Antonio Sanchez – Birdman
Hans Zimmer – Interstellar

Saldaña to Star Opposite Ben Affleck in “Live by Night”

Posted on September 7, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Zoë Saldaña is ready to live by night…

The 36-year-old half-Dominican/half-Puerto Rican American actress has been tapped to star in Live by Night, the film adaptation of Dennis Lehane‘s crime novel.

Ben Affleck is directing, scripting, producing and starring in the film, which will also feature Sienna Miller and Elle Fanning.

Live by Night follows Joe Coughlin (Affleck) who gets involved in escalating levels of organized crime. Miller will play his mob boss’ girlfriend whom he falls in love with. Saldaña portrays Graciella Suarez, a woman Coughlin meets later as he’s climbing the organized crime ladder. Fanning plays a sheriff’s daughter who gets into trouble.

The movie was originally set by Warner Bros. for a December 25, 2015 release, but has been shifted to October, 7, 2016 as Affleck is busy filming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice for the studio.

After her major role in the blockbuster hit Guardians of the Galaxy and a starring role in NBC’s Rosemary’s Baby remake, Saldaña is taking a break from acting roles while she’s expecting her first child with beau Marco Perego.

del Toro to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at San Sebastian International Film Festival

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Benicio del Toro is about to add another award to his collection…

The 48-year-old Puerto Rican actor and film producer and Oscar-winner will receive the Donostia Award for Lifetime Achievement at the San Sebastian International Film Festival.

del Toro’s latest film Escobar: Paradise Lostwill close the Pearls Selection at the festival, which runs September 19-27.

Escobar, written by Andrea di Stefano, tells the story of young surfer Nick who thinks he has landed in paradise when he falls in love with a Colombian girl on a visit to see his brother who is living in the South American country only to have it change when he meets her uncle, Pablo Escobar.

del Toro has confirmed that he’ll come to San Sebastian to present the film and receive the Donostia at the closing ceremony. Di Stefano, Josh Hutcherson and Carlos Bardem will also be present for the film’s Spanish premiere.

del Toro is a favorite at San Sebastian where he has accompanied films from his career.

del Toro won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic as well as an Oscar nomination for his work in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s 21 Grams.

del Toro re-teamed with Soderbergh to star in the biography of Che Guevera Che. The performance won him the Best Actor award at the Palme D’Or Closing Ceremony at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008, and again the following year at the Goya Awards in Madrid, Spain.

He starred opposite Emily Blunt and Anthony Hopkins in Joe Johnston’s The Wolfman and as Lado in Oliver Stone’s Savages.

del Toro was starred as Jimmy, the lead in Jimmy P. The film was screened at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. He was last seen in Guardians of the Galaxy a sci-fi action film for Walt Disney Pictures/Marvel Enterprises, which was released in the beginning of August 2014.

Next year he’ll play Mambru in Fernando Leon’s A Perfect Day and Sauncho Smilax in Inherent Vice, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

The actor is currently in production on Denis Villeneuve’s Sicaro.

Cannavale to Star in Marvel/Disney’s Superhero Film “Ant-Man”

Posted on August 19, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Bobby Cannavale has landed a Marvelous role…

The 43-year-old half-Cuban American actor and Emmy-winnner has joined the cast of Ant-Man, which has begun filming in San Francisco.

Directed by Peyton Reed, the film stars Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, a con man who grows into a hero by helping his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym (portrayed by Michael Douglas) pull off a heist that will save the world. Lost alum Evangeline Lilly plays Hope Van Dyne, Pym’s daughter.

No word yet on Cannavale’s character in the film.

Additionally, Michael Peña, Abby Ryder Fortson, David Dastmalchian, Wood Harris, Gregg Turkington and rapper-actor T.I. have also been cast in Ant-Man.

Marvel’s Kevin Feige is producing and Louis D’Esposito, Alan Fine, Victoria Alonso, Michael Grillo and Stan Lee are executive producers on what Disney/Marvel have set up as their next superhero franchise hot off the successful launch of the Guardians of the Galaxy property.

In addition to California’s Bay Area locale, filming will also take place in Atlanta.

Ant-Man is slated for a July 17, 2015 release.

Saldaña Bares All for Women’s Health U.K.

Posted on July 31, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Zoë Saldaña isn’t afraid to grin and bare it…

The 36-year-old half-Dominican/half-Puerto Rican American actress, who is expecting twins with husband Marco Perego, posed completely nude for the September issue of Women’s Health U.K.

Saldaña bared it all for the magazine, with only a rib cage tattoo covering up her skin.

The Guardians of the Galaxy star tells Women’s Health: “This past year I’ve had to start letting go. My body dictated it as if saying, ‘Slow the f— down!'”

As a result, Saldaña says her body is “less toned. I do look in the mirror and see things I don’t want.” But in some ways, she’s never felt better about her appearance.

“I do feel beautiful in a way that even when I was working out a whole lot, I sometimes didn’t,” Saldaña tells the magazine. “Because there have been times that I was really slender and I didn’t like that I sometimes looked a little too muscular and flat-chested. You’ll never be completely happy, so at the end of the day it’s like, f— it. Just be happy, regardless.”

del Toro In Final Talks to Star Opposite Emily Blunt in the Crime Thriller “Sicario”

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Benicio del Toro may soon star in a Sic role…

The 47-year-old Puerto Rican actor, who earned an Academy Award for his performance in Traffic, is in final talks to star in the crime thriller Sicario.

del Toro would star opposite Emily Blunt in the film which centers on the hunt for a dangerous drug kingpin.

Blunt will portray a female cop from Tucson, Arizona, who travels across the border to Mexico with mercenaries to catch a notorious drug lord.

Sicario will be helmed by Prisoners director Denis Villeneuve, based on a screenplay from Sons of Anarchy actor Taylor Sheridan.

del Toro will next star as Taneleer Tivan or The Collector in James Gunn‘s Guardians of the Galaxy, which will hit U.S. theaters on August 1.

He’s also among the cast of Paul Thomas Anderson‘s all-star crime comedy drama Inherent Vice along with Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon and Maya Rudolph, among others.

Saldaña Named the New International Face of L’Oréal Paris

Posted on March 30, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Zoë Saldaña is the new face of beauty worldwide…

The 35-year-old half-Dominican/half-Puerto Rican American actress and Star Trek star has signed on as the new international spokesperson of L’Oréal Paris, according to E! News.

“Growing up, I was taught to believe that I am capable to do anything a man can do,” says the Colombiana actress. “This family philosophy has shaped who I am today, and is a conviction that will always accompany me through life.”

“As a L’Oréal Paris spokesperson, being able to say, ‘We’re worth it,’ means so much to me,” she continued. “I want to share that value with women so they can embrace it and execute life with confidence. I am thrilled to join this beauty journey with such an inspirational brand.”

Saldana’s campaign will include print and television ads.

“Zoe astonishes with her audacious style and feline beauty,” says Cyril Chapuy, L’Oréal Paris’ brand global president. “Attached to her values, unafraid to speak her mind, and confident in her own skin, she embodies infallible force and asserted femininity.”

The beauty giant’s roster of celeb spokespersons also includes Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Julianne Moore, Freida Pinto, Eva Longoria and Jane Fonda.

Saldana’s next projects include a television mini-series remake of Rosemary’s Baby, a biopic about singer Nina Simone and the film adaptation of the comic book Guardians of the Galaxy.

In addition, she’s committed to reprise her role in the next three Avatar films.

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