Peacock to Exclusively Stream Melissa Barrera-Starrer “Abigail” in Mid-July

Posted on July 8, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Melissa Barrera will be vamping it up on Peacock in the near future…

Peacock has announced plans to begin exclusively streaming the vampire horror comedy Abigail, starring the 34-year-old Mexican actress and singer, beginning July 19.

Notching a worldwide gross of over $42 million upon its release in theaters in April, Abigail watches as a heist team is hired by a mysterious fixer to kidnap the daughter of a powerful underworld figure. They must guard the 12-year-old ballerina for one night to net a $50 million ransom. But as the captors start to dwindle one by one, they discover to their mounting terror that they’re locked inside an isolated mansion with no ordinary little girl.

Written by Stephen Shields and Guy Busick, the film putting a twist on Universal’s monster film lineage stars Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Will Catlett, Kevin Durand, Angus Cloud, Alisha Weir and Giancarlo Esposito.

William Sherak, James Vanderbilt, Paul Neinstein, Tripp Vinson and Chad Villella produced the film, with Ron Lynch serving as executive producer.

Krystina Alabado Joins Voice Cast of AMC’s Animated Drama Series “Pantheon”

Posted on August 8, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Krystina Alabado is getting animated…

The 31-year-old half-Mexican American actress, who stars as Gretchen Wieners in the Broadway music Mean Girls, has joined the voice cast of Pantheon, AMC’s first hour-long animated primetime drama series.

Alabado joins a voice cast that includes Daniel Dae Kim, Katie Chang, Ron Livingston, Chris Diamantopoulos, Raza Jaffrey, Scoot McNairy, Anika Noni Rose, Grey Griffin, SungWon Cho, Kevin Durand and Samuel Roukin.

They join previously announced Taylor Schilling, Paul Dano, Rosemarie DeWitt and Aaron Eckhart in the series, which hails from Craig Silverstein and AMC Studios.

Pantheon, which received a two-season order in March, is based on the short stories by Ken Liu about Uploaded Intelligence, or human consciousness uploaded to the cloud.

The innovative series’ visual style is described as a fresh take on graphic realism done in a traditional 2D way, using modern tools.

“Ken’s engaging and thought-provoking short stories pave the way for a deeply gripping series, and I couldn’t ask for a greater group of talented voices to bring these complex characters to life,” said Silverstein.

In its first season, Pantheon focuses on Maddie (Chang), a bullied teen who receives mysterious help from someone online. The stranger is soon revealed to be her recently deceased father, David (Kim), whose consciousness has been uploaded to the Cloud following an experimental destructive brain scan. David is the first of a new kind of being: an “Uploaded Intelligence” or “UI,” but he will not be the last, as a global conspiracy unfolds that threatens to trigger a new kind of world war.

Alabado will voice the character of Hannah.

In addition to starring in the Mean Girls musical, Alabado appeared on television in Tyrant and God Friended Me.

Gomez Co-Stars in “Vamps Boom” Music Video to Promote Season 3 of “The Strain”

Posted on July 24, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Miguel Gomez is vamping it up to promote The Strain…

The 30-year-old Colombian actor, who stars as Augustin “Gus” Elizalde on the FX series, has penned a song to promote Season 3.

The network has just released the music video for the song, entitled “Vamps Boom,” which was co-written by Gomez’s co-star Kevin Durand, with David Bradley’s rap written by executive producer Regina Corrado, a two-time WGA Award nominee.

“Vamps Rule” is billed by the cable net as “summer’s most infectious new beat”

The music video opens with executive producer Carlton Cuse and EP/helmer J. Miles Dale — who also directed the video — stretching their acting legs. It’s a behind-the-scenes discussion about how The Strain needs to separate itself from the small-screen pack, with a sneaky reference to the “too much TV” debate launched by FX Networks boss John Landgraf last summer. But how to be “distinctive”? The answer presents itself: “Take it to these mothersuckers!” There are writhing dancers, some bling, a call-and-response chorus and, of course, some interspersed clips from the horror series including a few neat bad-guy beheadings.

Season 3 of The Strain premieres on August 28 on FX.

Dawson’s “The Captive” to His U.S. Theaters This Fall

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Rosario Dawson will keep movie audiences captive this fall…

A24, in partnership with DirecTV, has acquired the rights to The Captive, which stars the 35-year-old Puerto Rican and Afro-Cuban American actress.

Directed by Atom Egoyan, the film stars Ryan Reynolds as the father of a young girl who disappears fromtheir pick-up truck in a diner parking lot. The psychological thriller examines how the kidnapping destroys the relationships among those involved.

In addition to Reynolds and Dawson, who portrays the character of Nicole, the film also stars Scott Speedman, Mireille Enos, Kevin Durand and Bruce Greenwood.

“A24 is an extremely exciting company right now with a very smart vision of the future,” says Harold van Lier, president of eOne Films International. “Despite other serious offers on the table, they demonstrated the level of passion and commitment that we were looking for. We look forward to celebrating Atom’s film in Cannes with A24 and our other distribution partners around the world.”

A24 will release the film in the U.S. this fall.

FX Orders 13-Episode Season of del Toro’s Vampire Series “The Strain”

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Guillermo del Toro’s latest television project will most certainly be getting airtime…

The 49-year-old Mexican filmmaker’s The Strain, which is based on del Toro and Chuck Hogan’s vampire novel trilogy, has received a series pick up at FX with a 13-episode order.

The Strain is a high-concept thriller that tells the story of Dr. Ephraim Goodweather (Corey Stoll), the head of the Centers for Disease Control Canary Team in New York City. He and his team are called on to investigate a mysterious viral outbreak with hallmarks of an ancient and evil strain of vampirism. As the strain spreads, Eph, his team, and an assembly of everyday New Yorkers wage war for the fate of humanity.

The cast includes Mia Maestro, Sean Astin, Kevin Durand, Natalie Brown, Jonathan Hyde, Richard Sammel, Robert Maillet, Jack Kesy, Ben Hyland and Miguel Gomez.

“This is an epic story with stunning visuals and remarkable acting,” said FX’s Eric Schrier and Nick Grad. “The Strain totally re-imagines and re-invents the genre.”

FX had landed the project in a bidding war months ago, hiring a full writing staff and committing $500,000 to creature creation.

The Strain will now head into production on its first season, with the majority of the show’s scripts already completed.

There’s also a major casting change… The role of Professor Abraham Setrakian, played in the pilot by John Hurt, is being recast.

Filming is slated to begin this month in Toronto for a July premiere.

FX’s plans to run for 39-65 episodes for the series.

del Toro Casts the Leading Men for His FX Drama Project “The Strain”

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Guillermo del Toro has found the leading men for his sizzling drama project for FX…

Lost actor Kevin Durand will star opposite Corey Stoll in The Strain, from the 48-year-old Mexican filmmaker and former Lost co-showrunner Carlton Cuse.

del Toro will direct the pilot from a script he co-wrote with Chuck Hogan based on the pair’s vampire novel trilogy.

The Strain is described as a high-concept thriller that tells the story of Dr. Ephraim Goodweather (Stoll), the head of the Centers for Disease Control Canary Team in New York City. He and his team are called upon to investigate a mysterious viral outbreak with hallmarks of an ancient and evil strain of vampirism.

Durand will play Vasily Fet, a second-generation Ukrainian-American and rat exterminator by trade, enthusiastically joins the war against the vampires who have invaded New York. Under the mentorship of a wizened vampire hunter from Eastern Europe, Fet discovers his once solitary life now has vitality and meaning.

The Strain continues gaining traction at the network.

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