Tag Archives: John Boyega

K.D. Davila Wins Sundance Film Festival’s Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for Dark Comedy Short “Emergency”

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K.D. Davila has a big reason to (sun)dance…

Sundance Film Festival organizers have revealed the award winners for its 2022 edition, with the Mexican-American screenwriter among the honorees.

K.D. Davila

Davila was awarded the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for penning the dark comedy short Emergency.

The 12-minute film centers on a group of college students who must weigh the pros and cons of calling the police when faced with an unusual emergency.

Selenis Leyva was among the winners of the Special Jury Award: Ensemble Cast.

The 49-year-old Cuban and Dominican American actress and former Orange Is the New Black star won her award, alongside John Boyega, Nicole Beharie, Connie Britton, Olivia Washington, London Covington and Michael K Williams for their work in 892, the real-life thriller drama film written and directed by Abi Damaris Corbin and co-written by Kwame Kwei-Armah.

There were several Latinx winners in the World Cinema Dramatic competition…

The Grand Jury Prize went to Alejandro Loayza Grisi’s feature debut, the Bolivian film Utama.

Teresa Sánchez picked up the Special Jury Award: Acting for her work in the Mexican film Dos Estaciones. 

Zélia Duncan, Bruna Linzmeyer, Camila Rocha, Clarissa Ribeiro and Lorre Motta won the Special Jury Award: Ensemble Cast for their work in Brazil’s A wild patience has taken me here from director-writer Érica Sarmet.

Due to the recent Omicron surge, the Sundance Film Festival revealed the award winners via Twitter, with honors spread around across the diverse lineup unlike last year.

Here’s the full list of winners:

FESTIVAL FAVORITE AWARD
Navalny
Director: Daniel Roher

U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION

Audience Award
Cha Cha Real Smooth
Director-Writer: Cooper Raiff

Grand Jury Award
Nanny
Director-Writer: Nikyatu Jusu

Directing
Jamie Dack
Palm Trees and Power Lines

Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award
K.D. Dávila
Emergency

Special Jury Award: Ensemble Cast
John Boyega, Nicole Beharie, Selenis Leyva, Connie Britton, Olivia Washington, London Covington and Michael K Williams
892

Special Jury Award: Uncompromising Artistic Vision
Bradley Rust Gray
blood

U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

Audience Award
Navalny
Director: Daniel Roher

Grand Jury Prize
The Exiles (U.S.)
Directors: Ben Klein, Violet Columbus

Directing
Reid Davenport
I Didn’t See You There

Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award
Erin Casper and Jocelyne Chaput
Fire Of Love

Special Jury Award: Impact for Change
Aftershock
Directors: Paula Eiselt, Tonya Lewis Lee

Special Jury Award: Creative Vision
Descendant
Director: Margaret Brown

WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

Audience Award
The Territory (Brazil/Denmark/U.S.)

Grand Jury Prize
All That Breathes (India/UK)
Director: Shaunak Sen

Directing
Simon Lereng Wilmont
A House Made Of Splinters (Denmark)

Special Jury Award: Documentary Craft
The Territory (Brazil/Denmark/U.S.)
Director: Alex Pritz

Special Jury Award: Excellence In Verité Filmmaking
Midwives (Myanmar)
Director: Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing

WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION

Audience Award
Girl Picture (Finland)
Director: Alli Haapasalo

Grand Jury Prize
Utama (Bolvia/Uruguay/France)
Director-Writer: Alejandro Loayza Grisi

Directing
Maryna Er Gorbach
Klondike (Ukraine/Turkey)

Special Jury Award: Innovative Spirit
Leonor Will Never Die (Philippines)
Director-Writer: Martika Ramirez Escobar

Special Jury Award: Acting
Teresa Sánchez
Dos Estaciones (Mexico)

NEXT

Audience Award
Framing Agnes (Canada/U.S.)
Director: Chase Joynt

SHORT FILMS AWARDS

Grand Jury Prize
The Headhunter’s Daughter (Philippines)
Director-Writer: Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan

Jury Award: U.S. Fiction
If I Go Will They Miss Me (U.S.)
Director-writer: Walter Thompson-Hernández

Jury Award: International Fiction
Warsha (France/Lebanon)
Director-writer: Dania Bdeir

Jury Award: Nonfiction
Displaced (Kosovo)
Director-writer: Samir Karahoda

Jury Award: Animation
Night Bus (Taiwan)
Director-writer: Joe Hsieh

Special Jury Award: Ensemble Cast
Zélia Duncan, Bruna Linzmeyer, Camila Rocha, Clarissa Ribeiro and Lorre Motta
A wild patience has taken me here (Brazil)
Director-writer: Érica Sarmet

Special Jury Award: Screenwriting
Sara Driver
Stranger Than Rotterdam with Sara Driver (U.S.)
Directors: Lewie Kloster, Noah Kloster; Writer: Sara Driver

Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize
After Yang

Sundance Institute | Amazon Studios Producers Award for Nonfiction
Su Kim, Free Chol Soo Lee (U.S. Documentary Competition)

Sundance Institute | Amazon Studios Producers Award for Fiction
Amanda Marshall, God’s Country (Premieres)

Sundance Institute | Adobe Mentorship Award for Editing Nonfiction
Toby Shimin

Sundance Institute | Adobe Mentorship Award for Editing Fiction
Dody Dorn

Sundance Institute | NHK Award
Hasan Hadi, The President’s Cake

Rodriguez to Star in Guillermo del Toro’s “Pacific Rim 2”

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Shyrley Rodriguez is Pacifically inclined…

The 23-year-old Latina actress has been added to the cast of Legendary/ Universal’s Pacific Rim 2, the sequel to Guillermo del Toro and Travis Beacham’s 2013 sci-fi film that stars John Boyega, Scott Eastwood and Chinese actress Jing Tian.

Shyrley Rodriguez

Steven S. DeKnight directs the pic, which is currently in production with a storyline that has “a strong connection to China,” according to Jack Gao of Wanda, which owns Legendary and made the announcement today.

The film is scheduled to hit theaters on February 23, 2018.

Rodriguez, who can currently be seen on Baz Luhrmann’s Netflix musical series The Get Down, has also landed a role in the film Wheels, the directorial debut indie from Top Chef and Project Runway helmer Paul Starkman. The film follows Max, a teen from Brooklyn, who pursues his dream of becoming a DJ.

Rodriguez plays the love interest Liza, a neighborhood girl who is strong willed, street smart, and sees the good in the world.

Arjona to Star in Guillermo del Toro’s “Pacific Rim 2”

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It’s a Legendary deal for Adria Arjona…

The 24-year-old Guatemalan/Puerto Rican actress has closed a deal with Legendary Pictures to star in Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim 2.

Adria Arjona Adria Arjona

Arjona joins a cast that includes John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Jing Tian and Cailee Spaeny.

Steven S. DeKnight is directing the sequel based on the world created by del Toro and Travis Beacham.

Arjona is starring in NBC’s upcoming series Emerald City as Dorothy Gale. It’s the retelling of The Wizard of Oz that’s set to premiere on January 6.

Arjona stars in the James Gunn horror production The Belko Experiment and the upcoming Melissa McCarthy movie Life of the Party.

The actress also co-starred in the 2015 installment of HBO’s True Detective.

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” Starring Isaac, Breaks Box Office Records

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The Force has proven to be strong for Oscar Isaac…

Star Wars: The Force Awakens, starring the 36-year-old Guatemalan and Cuban American actor as Resistance fighter Poe Dameron, broke every major opening record at the box office.

Oscar Isaac in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The film, which introduced Isaac, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega as new heroes in a galaxy far, far away, tallied $238 million for the weekend, according to studio estimates. It destroys the record of $208.8 million set in June by Jurassic World.

“We’re in territory that we’ve never seen in December,” says Rentrak senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “The enormity of this record-breaking weekend cannot be overstated. This is a true watershed event.

Even more impressive: The Force Awakens annihilated the opening-day and all-time Friday records with $120.5 million, helped by a monster $57 million in Thursday night previews. It breaks the $91.1 million mark set by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2 in 2011, and the new Star Wars is the first movie to surpass $100 million in a single day.

It also set a new high for highest theater average with $57,500 in 4,134 theaters, and posted an extra $279 million internationally (except for China, where it will open in January) for a $517 million global debut.

The blockbuster was buoyed by universal raves: Critics heaped praise — a 95% “fresh” rating on RottenTomatoes.com — and audiences gave it an A at CinemaScore. Add to that acclaim Disney’s “pitch-perfect” marketing, word of mouth through social media, great casting and repeat viewings, and everything came together for an “unprecedented” opening, Dergarabedian says. “If any of those had not been firing properly, you would not be seeing these numbers. The brand can get you really far, but the movie itself had to deliver.

Final figures are expected Monday.

Isaac to Star in the J.J. Abrams-Helmed “Star Wars: Episode VII”

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May the force be with Oscar Isaac…

The 35-year-old Guatemalan/Cuban actor is among the stars joining the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII.

Oscar Isaac

Though casting rumors have been circulating for months about the upcoming prequel from filmmaker J.J. Abrams, an official cast announcement was made Tuesday on the movie’s official website by Disney and Lucasfilm.

Other newcomers to the Star Wars franchise include John Boyega, Adam Driver, Andy Serkis, Daisy Ridley and Max von Sydow.

Original stars returning for the film include Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker and Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca.

“We are so excited to finally share the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII,” Abrams said in a statement. “It is both thrilling and surreal to watch the beloved original cast and these brilliant new performers come together to bring this world to life, once again. We start shooting in a couple of weeks, and everyone is doing their best to make the fans proud.”

Disney and Lucasfilm did not reveal who the newcomers will be portraying in the film, but Driver and Boyega are reportedly playing the film’s villain, who will be in the vein of Darth Vader, and the lead, respectively.

Episode VII will take place 30 years after Return of the Jedi.

Star Wars: Episode VII is scheduled to open in theaters on December 18, 2015.

Sheen to Star in BBC1/Animal Planet Film “The Whale”

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Martin Sheen has landed a whale of a project…

The 73-year-old half-Spanish actor will star in The Whale, a two-hour film project from BBC Factual Productions and Animal Planet.

Martin Sheen

In the film, which is set to premiere in December on BBC 1 and in the summer of 2014 on Animal Planet, is based on true events.

In The Whale, Sheen portrays Old Thomas Nickerson, who served as cabin boy on the ill-fated voyage of the whaling ship the Essex.

The drama is inspired by real-life accounts of the ship’s sinking; those accounts are said to have inspired Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick.

Filming on The Whale, which was written by Terry Cafolla, took place on location in Malta this past spring and wrapped up outside of London last summer.

Sheen leads the cast as the elder Nickerson with Jonas Armstrong  as First Mate Owen Chase; Adam Rayner as Captain Pollard; Paul Kaye as Joy; David Gyasi as Peterson; and Jolyon Coy as Lawrence.

 

It also stars Jassa Ahluwalisa, John Boyega and Ferdinand Kingsley, as well as Charles Furness as the young Nickerson.