Olga Merediz to Star in A24’s Rom-Com “Eternity”

Posted on June 16, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Olga Merediz isn’t waiting an eternity to lock in her next project.

The 68-year-old Cuban actress and singer has joined the cast alongside John Early of A24’s Eternity.

The romantic comedy, in which people must decide who they want to spend eternity with, also stars Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen, Callum Turner and Da’Vine Joy Randolph.

David Freyne is directing the movie; Pat Cunnane wrote the script, which appeared on the 2022 Black List.

A24 is financing and distributing the rom-com, as well as producing with Star Thrower Entertainment and its founders Trevor White and Tim White. The film is currently in production.

Merediz is best known for originating the role of Abuela Claudia in the Broadway musical In the Heights. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance, and she reprised the role in Jon M. Chu’s film adaptation.

Merediz also voiced a role in Disney’s animated musical hit Encanto, and her television credits include Orange Is the New Black and Shades of Blue.

“The Color Purple,” Starring Colman Domingo, Tops Box Office on Christmas Day

Posted on December 26, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a Purple reign for Colman Domingo this Christmas…

The Color Purple, a vibrant adaptation of the book-turned-beloved-film-turned-hit-Broadway-musical and starring the 54-year-old Belizean-Guatemalan American actor and social justice activist, dominated at the box office on Christmas Day.

The film has outperformed expectations with $18 million from 3,152 North American theaters. It’s the largest Christmas Day opening for a film since 2009, and the second-biggest Christmas Day opening of all time.

Those ticket sales were enough to lead the way on Monday ahead of two other newcomers, Neon’s racing drama Ferrari and director George Clooney’s inspirational sports story The Boys in the Boat.

Boosted by positive reviews and a glowing “A” CinemaScore, The Color Purple marks the first musical in some time that’s resonated at the box office. The film, backed by Warner Bros. and directed by Blitz Bazawule, collected more in a single day than recent stage-to-screen stories — including West Side Story ($10.5 million), In the Heights ($11 million), Dear Evan Hansen ($7.5 million) and Cats ($6.6 million) — earned in their opening weekends.

The Color Purple benefitted by premiering on Christmas Day, one of the most popular days of the year for moviegoing. But this is a promising start for the $100 million-budgeted musical, which should benefit from word of mouth in the coming days.

“The Color Purple” looks to remain the de facto choice for families over the remainder of what has otherwise been a lackluster holiday season. American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino brings to life the trials, tribulations and triumphs of Celie, a Black woman living in Georgia in the early 1900s. Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Domingo as Albert “Mister” Johnson, and Halle Bailey round out the cast.

Lin-Manuel Miranda to Take Part in “Broadway for Biden” Fundraising Event

Posted on September 3, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Lin-Manuel Miranda will be performing on Broadway with a special purpose…

The 43-year-old Puerto Rican Tony-winning songwriter, actor, filmmaker and playwright will be taking part in a Broadway fundraising concert next month for President Joe Biden.

In addition to Miranda, who created the Tony-winning musicals Hamilton and In The Heights, will feature some of theater’s other biggest stars, including Josh Groban, Ben Platt, Sara Bareilles, Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr. and Laura Benanti, among others, with the president himself scheduled to attend.

There’s at least one detail being kept under wraps for the moment – the Broadway venue in Times Square has not been identified – the date has been set for Monday, September 18, with ticket prices ranging from $250 for rear mezzanine seats to $7,500 for orchestra center front.

The seating chart at the ticket website indicates that the concert will take place at an indoor theater rather than outdoors in Times Square.

Other stars to be featured at the concert are Annaleigh Ashford, Josh Gad, Alex Edelman, Christopher Jackson, LaChanze, Ruthie Ann Miles, Andrew Rannells and Aaron Tveit.

The one-night-only concert fundraiser is being hosted by Broadway producers and supporters Jeffrey Seller, Thomas Kail, Luz & Luis Miranda, Bruce Cohen & Gabe Catone, Tom Healy & Fred P. Hochberg, Barbara Marcin & Orin Kramer, Stacey & Eric Mindich, Karen & Gary Rose, Janet & Marvin Rosen, Alexandra & Eric Schoenberg, Ted Snowdon & Duffy Violante, Henry Tisch & Sean Walsh.

The Broadway for Biden event is being described by organizers as both a celebration of Biden’s political career and “a call to action, emphasizing the importance of his reelection in 2024.”

Anthony Ramos to Star as Mozart in Broadway Revival of Peter Shaffer’s Play “Amadeus”

Posted on June 5, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Anthony Ramos is taking on a classical music legend…

The 31-year-old Puerto Rican actor/singer and In the Heights, has revealed that he’s signed on to star as Mozart in a Broadway revival of Peter Shaffer’s 1979 play Amadeus.

“I am excited about going back to Broadway,” said Ramos, who’ll soon appear on the big screen in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, on the WTF With Marc Maron podcast. “I signed on to do Amadeus on Broadway, to play Mozart.” The actor said the production is still looking to cast the Salieri role.

No additional details were shared about the production.

Amadeus is a non-musical and fictionalized account of the lives of composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri.

First performed in 1979 in London, a subsequent Broadway production, starring Tim Curry as Mozart and Ian McKellen as Salieri, won the 1981 Tony Award for Best Play.

Shaffer then adapted his play for the 1984 film starring F. Murray Abraham (in an Oscar-winning performance) as Salieri and Tom Hulce as Mozart.

The play was most recently revived on Broadway in 1999 in a production starring Michael Sheen as Mozart and David Suchet as Salieri.

HanWay Films Boards Melissa Barrera’s Erotic Thriller “The One”

Posted on May 9, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Melissa Barrera’s latest project has more support…

HanWay Films has boarded The One, an erotic thriller starring the 32-year-old Mexican actress and Nicholas Hoult and will launch sales at the Cannes Film Festival.

The project comes from writer-director team Kevin Armento and Jaki Bradley and is billed as “a nightmarish horror about the romantic and psychological warfare waged by our beloved popular entertainment — and also begs the question… are we, the viewers, complicit?”

Barrera, who’s coming off box office horror hit Scream VI, leads the cast opposite Hoult.

Barrera plays Taylor, whose last-ditch effort to find love by becoming a contestant on a reality dating show begins to feel terrifyingly real as she becomes a finalist. Amidst an opulent beachfront setting, fairy-tale dates and champagne, “pursuit turns into obsession and rivalry turns into treachery as reality itself blurs.”

HanWay Films is handling worldwide sales, with WME Independent and UTA co-repping the film for North America. Hoult also produces alongside Whitaker Lader via their production company Dead Duck Films.

Riley Keough will also produce with Gina Gammell via their production company Felix Culpa.

Barrera can be seen next in Your Monster and Anthony McCarten’s The Collaboration, based on the play of the same name.

Her other credits include appearing in Carmen opposite Paul Mescal, Netflix’s Keep Breathing, All the World is Sleeping, Vida and Warner Bros. In the Heights.

Lana Condor is also starring.

“We’ve been dreaming up this project for years, and are thrilled to now bring it to life with our actual dream team,” said Armento and Bradley in a statement. “Nick, Melissa, Riley, and Lana are some of the most exciting talents around, and their passion for this film – shared by our incredible producing partners – has us even more eager to make this nightmare a reality.”

David Del Rio to Star Opposite Kathy Bates in CBS’ Drama Pilot “Matlock”

Posted on March 8, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

David Del Rio is (Mat)locking in his next project…

The 35-year-old Latinx actor/director and former Baker and the Beauty star and Leah Lewis have been cast as series regulars opposite Kathy Bates and Skye P. Marshall in CBS’ drama pilot Matlock.

The project is a new take on the classic legal television drama starring Andy Griffith, which hails from Jane the Virgin creator Jennie Snyder Urman and NCIS: Los Angeles star Eric Christian Olsen.

In Matlock, written by Urman and to be directed by Kat Coiro, after achieving success in her younger years, the brilliant septuagenarian Madeline Matlock (Bates) rejoins the work force at a prestigious law firm where she uses her unassuming demeanor and wily tactics to win cases and expose corruption from within.

Del Rio plays Billy, a charismatic young associate a few years out of law school and assigned to work on one of the firm’s biggest cases. He helps Matty navigate her new work environment as he seemingly knows more than he should.

Lewis plays Sarah, a Junior Associate eager to get ahead and not worried about being liked. Sarah is all ambition, determined to be seen for her smarts and willing to do anything to move up a peg at the firm. She is not pleased when she’s forced to work alongside Matty, lowering her position at the company even further.

Bates executive produces alongside Sutton Street’s Urman and Joanna Klein, Coiro, as well as Cloud Nine’s Olsen and John Will.

Del Rio can be seen as a lead in the Hulu Original series, Maggie, opposite Rebecca Rittenhouse. His most recent credits include starring as Mateo in ABC’s Baker and the Beauty. He also replaced Lin-Manuel Miranda in his Tony winning role on Broadway as Sonny in In the Heights, and teamed up with Miranda to star in the Emmy nominated Grease: Live on Fox.

Melissa Barrera Starring in New Genre Film “God’s Country”

Posted on February 6, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Melissa Barrera is heading to God’s country…

Matt Reeves’ 6th & Idaho is teaming up with ZQ Entertainment to produce God’s Country, a new genre film starring the 32-year-old Mexican actress and Scream reboot star.

The film will mark the American directorial debut of Egor Abramenko.

The film, which will head into production this summer, will see Barrera playing a young Salvadoran woman who travels to Kentucky to meet her fiancé. What she uncovers is something sinister beyond comprehension, as her American dream curdles into a nightmare of biblical proportions.

Will Soodik wrote the script. Reeves and Rafi Crohn will produce for 6th & Idaho, alongside ZQ Entertainment’s Ara Keshishian and Petr Jákl (who financed the development), Adam Kassan (End of Watch), and Barrera.

“Egor is an exciting emerging talent,” Reeves told Deadline, “and I’m thrilled to be making a monster movie together.”

Barrera is best known for her turns in Paramount/Spyglass’ Scream reboot, Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical In the Heights for Warner Bros. and HBO Max and the acclaimed Starz series Vida.

She’ll next be seen in Scream VI, which is out March 10; Sony Pictures Classics’ Carmen with Paul Mescal; and the Anthony McCarten-scripted feature The Collaboration, based on the acclaimed play.

Lin-Manuel Miranda to Appear on Disney+’s Series “Percy Jackson and the Olympians”

Posted on November 7, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Lin-Manuel Miranda is playing messenger…

The 42-year-old Puerto Rican actor, filmmaker, composer and lyricist has landed a key guest-starring role on Disney+’s upcoming series Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Based on Rick Riordan’s bestselling book series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians tells the fantastical story of a 12-year-old modern demigod, Percy Jackson (Walter Scobell), who’s just coming to terms with his newfound divine powers when the sky god Zeus accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt. With help from his friends Grover (Aryan Simhadri) and Annabeth (Leah Sava Jeffries), Percy must embark on an adventure of a lifetime to find it and restore order to Olympus.

Miranda, who is a fan of the Percy Jackson books along with his son, will play Hermes, the messenger god who looks out for travelers and thieves, and is a bit of a trickster himself. He is charismatic & boisterous, the life of the party. Unfortunately, his charm does not do much to heal his strained relationship with his son, Luke (Charlie Bushnell). He’s hesitant to help Percy and his friends on their quest as sometimes getting involved is more trouble than it’s worth.

In addition to series regulars Scobell, Simhadri, Jeffries and Bushnell, Miranda joins previously announced guest stars Megan Mullally, Virginia Kull, Glynn Turman, Jason Mantzoukas, Timm Sharp, Dior Goodjohn, Olivea Morton, Adam Copeland, Suzanne Cryer and Jessica Parker Kennedy.

The series is currently in production in Vancouver and is expected to premiere exclusively on Disney+ in 2024.

Riordan and Jon Steinberg wrote the pilot, and James Bobin directs.

Miranda is a Grammy, Emmy, Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning songwriter, actor, director and producer. Creator and original star of Broadway’s Tony-winning Hamilton and In the Heights, his additional Broadway credits include Freestyle Love Supreme, Bring It On: The Musical and the 2009 revival of West Side Story. His TV and film credits include tick, tick… BOOM!, Vivo, the feature adaptation of In the Heights, Emmy-winning Hamilton, His Dark Materials, Fosse/Verdon, We The People and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Miranda earned guest actor Emmy nominations for Curb Your Enthusiasm and as host of Saturday Night Live, and Oscar nominations for Best Original Song for Moana, Mary Poppins Returns and most recently Encanto.

Melissa Barrera to Star in the Warhol-Basquiat film “The Collaboration

Posted on September 8, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Melissa Barrera has a new collaboration…

The 32-year-old Mexican actress and singer will star in Muse of Fire’s Warhol–Basquiat film The Collaboration, based on the acclaimed play by four-time Oscar nominee Anthony McCarten.

Barrera will star alongside Jeremy Pope, Paul Bettany and Daniel Brühl in the project.

The Collaboration revolves around the relationship of the two iconic artists, starting in the summer of 1984. International superstar Andy Warhol (Bettany) and the art scene’s newest wunderkind, Jean-Michel Basquiat (Pope), agree to work together on what may be the most talked about exhibition in the history of modern art. But can these two creative giants co-exist with such opposing views of life and art?

Today, Warhol and Basquiat’s works sell for tens of millions.

Barrera will play the role of Maya, a formidable truth-teller who loves Basquiat and is wary of Warhol.

McCarten penned the screen adaptation of his play, which made its world premiere at London’s Young Vic Theatre in February, with Bettany and Pope as Warhol and Basquiat, respectively. Renowned theatre director and writer Kwame Kwei-Armah is making his feature directorial debut with the project, after directing the play in its original run.

Production on The Collaboration begins this month in Boston at Marina Studios’ Quincy location.

Once production on the Collaboration film has wrapped, the play will head to Broadway, with Kwei-Armah, Bettany and Pope again returning. December 20 has been set as opening night, with previews beginning at MTC’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on November 29.

Barrera is best known for her turns in Paramount/Spyglass’ recent Scream reboot, Jon M. Chu’s film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit Broadway musical In the Heights for Warner Bros. and HBO Max, and the acclaimed Starz series, Vida.

She more recently led Keep Breathing, the Netflix series, which rose to #1 on the streamer when it premiered in late July.

She’s currently in production on Scream 6, reprising her role as Sam Carpenter, and will next be seen in Benjamin Millepied’s musical Carmen, which is world premiering this month at the Toronto Film Festival.

Daphne Rubin-Vega to Star in Fox’s Anthology Drama Series “Accused”

Posted on July 7, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Daphne Rubin-Vega stands accused…

The 52-year-old Panamanian-American dancer, singer-songwriter and actress will star in Fox’s anthology drama series Accused.

From Howard Gordon, Alex Gansa and David Shore, Accused is based on the BBC’s BAFTA-winning crime anthology. It opens in a courtroom on the accused, with viewers knowing nothing about their crime or how they ended up on trial. Told from the defendant’s point of view through flashbacks, Accused depicts how an ordinary person gets caught up in an extraordinary situation, ultimately revealing how one wrong turn leads to another, until it’s too late to turn back.

Accused, which received a straight-to-series order last May for the 2022-23 broadcast season, is co-produced by Sony Pictures Television and Fox Entertainment. Created by Jimmy McGovern, the original series debuted in 2010 on BBC One.

Meanwhile, Marlee Matlin has tapped three Deaf actors, Puerto Rican star Stephanie Nogueras, Joshua Castille and Lauren Ridloff , to star in the episode she’s directing for the anthology drama series. from Homeland EPs Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa, and David Shore (The Good Doctor, House). The episode is written by novelist and short-story writer Maile Meloy.

Nogueras stars in the lead role of Ava, a deaf woman who becomes a surrogate for a couple, Jenny and Max and commits a crime of advocacy and protection.

Rubin-Vega will star as Ava’s mother.

Nogueras is a deaf actor who made her comedy debut in Killing It on Peacock. Her other recent TV credits include The Good Fight, Criminal Minds and The Magicians.

Tony-nominated Rubin-Vega stars in and produced the independent feature Allswell, which just premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. She was most recently seen starring as Daniela in the Jon Chu-directed Warner Brothers feature In The Heights. She recently wrapped production on two pilots – Hulu’s Olga Dies Dreaming and NBC’s Dangerous Moms. She is also voicing a role in the A24 animated series Hazbin Hotel.

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