Mercedes Ruehl Starring in Brad Furman’s Indie Drama “People Not Places”

Mercedes Ruehl is joining the people

The 76-year-old part-Cuban American Oscar-winning actress will star in director Brad Furman’s indie drama People Not Places, which was scripted by his mother Ellen Brown Furman.

Mercedes RuehlRuehl is among seven new cast additions that includes Yul Vazquez, Laurence Mason, Obba BabatundéJoey Bicicchi, Colleen Camp and Olivia Jude.

They join previously announced cast members Shirley MacLaine, Stephen Dorff, Julia Mayorga and Allegra Leguizamo.

People Not Places centers on Clare (MacLaine), an elderly widow living in Atlantic City who meets an erratic homeless man (Dorff) who sleeps in cars. Their shared loneliness causes them to bond, as they find the courage to face his regrettable past and her shortened future.

Furman and Jess Fuerst are producing the film under their Road Less Traveled Productions banner.

Best known for her Oscar-winning performance in The Fisher King, Ruehl has also been seen in films like Hustlers, Last Action Hero and Big, among many others.

She’s also been seen on series like New AmsterdamBull and Power, to name just a few.

Currently starring on MGM+’s Hotel Cocaine, Vazquez will next be seen in the Paul Greengrass film The Lost Bus for Apple TV+.

His other recent credits include Parish, White House Plumbers, Godfather of Harlem, Promised Land and Severance.

Julia Mayorga to Star in the Indie Drama “People Not Places”

Julia Mayorga has found her people

The Latina actress has landed in the indie drama People Not Places, hailing from director Brad Furman.

Julia Mayorga,Mayorga is joined by Allegra Leguizamo as new cast additions to the film that will star Shirley MacLaine and Stephen Dorff.

Written by Ellen Brown Furman, the filmmaker’s mother, the film centers on Clare (MacLaine), an elderly widow living in Atlantic City who meets an erratic homeless man (Dorff) who sleeps in cars. Their shared loneliness causes them to bond, as they find the courage to face his regrettable past and her shortened future.

Mayorga plays Sarah, Clare’s stunning daughter-in-law with an artistic flair, who creates jewelry. Her husband Cole is torn between his need to support Sarah’s ambition and his mother’s need for more time with her son.

Leguizamo plays Allison, a young woman who asked for a gardener but got much more.

Furman and Jess Fuerst are producing the film under their Road Less Traveled Productions banner.

Currently, Mayorga can be seen opposite Jeff Daniels, Bill Camp and Maura Tierney on Showtime’s American Rust, which moved to Prime Video for its second season earlier this year.

She can also be seen leading the drama Rare Objects, marking the latest directorial outing of Katie Holmes.

Seen on series like The Equalizer and New Amsterdam, Leguizamo will next appear in Furman’s action thriller Tin Soldier, starring Jamie Foxx, Robert De Niro and Scott Eastwood, as well as Rachel Israel’s comedy The Floaters starring Jackie Tohn, Aya Cash, Jake Ryan and Seth Green.

Recently, she wrapped production on Flash Warning, a short film she stars in, which she also wrote and directed.

David Alvarez to Star in Showtime’s Drama Series “Rust”

David Alvarez is ready for showtime

The 25-year-old Cuban-Canadian actor/dancer is set to star in Showtime’s drama series Rust. 

David Alvarez

Alvarez will star oppositeMaura Tierney, Jeff DanielsBill CampAlex Neustaedterand newcomer Julia Mayorga in the series. 

Based on Philipp Meyer’s debut novel American Rust, the Showtime adaptation is described as a compelling family drama that will explore the tattered American dream through the eyes of complicated and compromised chief of police Del Harris (Daniels) in a Rust Belttown in southwest Pennsylvania. When the woman he truly loves (Tierney) sees her son accused of murder, Harris is forced to decide what he’s willing to do to protect him.

Tierney’s Grace Poe is a woman from a devastated Pennsylvania steel town trying to organize a union among co-workers at her dress factory, while her son Billy (Neustaedter) is accused of murder.

Camp will play Henry English, a disabled former steel worker and widower who has placed the entire burden of his care on his son, Isaac (Alvarez). When Isaac runs away, Henry is forced to call his daughter Lee (Mayorga) back from her new life in New York City and finally reckon with the reality of his wife’s death.

Alvarez’s Isaac English is a recent high school graduate who abandons both his ailing father and his troubled friend to hitchhike cross-country. He’ll have to weigh the value of self-discovery against that of personal loyalty.

Neustaedter’s Billy Poe is a former high school football star who turned down a scholarship to stay in town. When he’s accused of the murder of an ex-cop, he must weigh his personal loyalties with the value of his own life.

Mayorga’s Lee English is a young woman, who upon graduating from Columbia Law School, is pulled back to her hometown as her brother runs away, and her father’s condition deteriorates.

Rust is executive produced by Dan Futterman, who is writing multiple scripts, Michael De Luca, Daniels and Elisa Ellisfor Platform One Media.

Alvarez received a Tony Awardfor his performance in Billy Elliot. A military veteran, he most recently wrapped production playing Bernardo in Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story.