Iñárritu’s “Birdman” Named Best Feature at the Gotham Independent Film Awards

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu is flying high…

The 51-year-old Mexican director’s latest film, Birdman, was named Best Feature at the 24th annual Gotham Independent Film Awards, which were handed out at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.

Iñárritu accepted the award from presenter Jon Hamm, who cracked self-deprecatingly wise before announcing the nominees.

Birdman’s Michael Keaton took home the Best Actor award, and Julianne Moore won Best Actress for Still Alice. The Edward Snowden pic Citizenfour was named Best Documentary.

Uma Thurman hosted the event, which featured presenters including Meryl Streep, Scarlett Johansson, Will Arnett, Amy Schumer, Ethan Hawke and more.

The Independent Filmmaker Project, which hands out the Gothams to “worthy independent films,” calls this the “kickoff to the film awards season,”

Trophies were handed out in six categories, plus the Audience Award, culled from the 15 nominees for Best Feature, Best Documentary and Breakthrough Director.

Here is the complete list of Gotham Award winners:

Best Feature  Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) Alejandro G. Iñárritu, director; Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, Arnon Milchan, James W. Skotchdopole, producers

Best Actress  Julianne Moore in Still Alice

Best Actor  Michael Keaton in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance)

Best Documentary  CITIZENFOUR Laura Poitras, director; Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy, Dirk Wilutzky, producers

Gotham Independent Film Audience Award  Boyhood  Richard Linklater, director; Richard Linklater, Cathleen Sutherland, Jonathan Sehring, John Sloss, producers

Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award  Ana Lily Amirpour for A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night

Breakthrough Actor  Tessa Thompson in Dear White People

Di Pace to Star on TNT’s “Dallas” Reboot Next Season

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Juan Pablo Di Pace is going from camp to campy drama for his next project…

The 34-year-old Argentine actor, model and director has joined the cast of TNT’s nighttime soap opera Dallas, which stars Jordana Brewster and Julie Gonzalo.

Di Pace, who recently starred in NBC’s summer series Camp, will portray Nicolas Treviño, a powerful self-made billionaire businessman who comes across as a good, genuine guy, even though there are darker parts of his personality that he’s hiding from the world.

Di Pace’s credits include a role in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Mamma Mia!, starring Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan, as well as an appearance in Muse’s video for “Time is Running Out.”

Cameron Diaz: One of the “ExpendaBelles”?

Posted on October 26, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Cameron Diaz could soon prove she’s one tough belle…

The 41-year-old half-Cuban American actress is one of the high-profile actresses being courted for The ExpendaBelles, the all-female version of Sylvester Stallone‘s The Expendables franchise.

In addition to the former Charlie’s Angels star, Millennium Films‘ chief Avi Lerner tells Bulgaria’s press Standart that he’s also courting Meryl Streep and Resident Evil star Milla Jovovich for the project.

The action film is expected to begin shooting in Bulgaria in the near future, once Lerner secures a female director to helm the project.

The script is written by Legally Blonde scribes Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith.

When the film was first announced last year, The Expendables 2 director Simon West offered his thoughts on his favorite actresses to join cast, “It would be Angelina Jolie, Diaz, Jovovich, the list goes on. Helen Mirren, Jamie Lee Curtis would be great.”

Envisioning the female gang as “seven or eight women mercenaries,” he said they would not be a direct replacement of Sly and co. in the franchise.

“No, it would be running parallel,” he said. “They would meet up and then they would fight and they would join up and save each other.”

Hayek’s “Girl Rising” Documentary Headed to Regal Cinemas

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Richard E. Robbins’ documentary Girl Rising featuring narration by Salma Hayek and Selena Gomez is headed to the big screen.

The film, about nine girls in different developing countries who dream of attending school, has been picked up by Regal Cinemas for a weeklong engagement.

Narrated by Hayek, Gomez, Cate Blanchett, Priyanka Chopra, Anne Hathaway, Alicia Keys, Chloe Moretz, Liam Neeson, Frieda Pinto, Meryl Streep and Kerry Washington, the documentary will begin showing April 19 in 150 theaters.

Girl Rising will also continue to be showcased in cities nationwide via Gathr, a new demand-based theatrical-distribution platform in which fans are committed to buying enough movie tickets to secure a screening.

“Regal recognizes the intense interest by American moviegoers demanding that this film be seen in their local communities,” stated Amy Miles, CEO of Regal Entertainment Group. “This movie is making an emotional impact on many of our patrons, me included. The stories from these extraordinary girls in nine different countries are accompanied by narration from an A-list of entertainers.”

A portion of ticket sales will go to the 10×10 Fund for Girls Education, a global campaign to educate and empower girls.

Girl Rising is produced by The Documentary Group and Paul Allen’s Vulcan Productions.

CNN Films has global TV distribution rights and plans to air it soon.

Hayek Joins the Chime For Change Women’s Campaign

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

When it comes to the advancement of women, Salma Hayek says its chime for change…

The 46-year-old Mexican actress has joined forces with Beyoncé and Frida Giannini to launch Chime For Change, a global campaign aimed at promoting women’s leadership. Hayek and the women appear in a public service announcement.

Founded by Gucci, Chime for Change is a community of people working to promote education, health and justice for every girl, every woman, everywhere.

The initiative will serve to collect funds that help to finance projects that allow girls and women to share their histories of successes, inspiring others to strive for their dreams.

Other celebrities involved in the project include Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep and Jada Pinkett Smith.

Hayek Joins Hollywood’s Bright Stars for “Girl Rising” Documentary

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Salma Hayek has joined forces with some of Hollywood’s brightest luminaries for a campaign aimed at educating and empowering underprivileged girls.

The 46-year-old Mexican actress has joined Kerry Washington, Selena Gomez, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Alicia Keys, Chloe Grace Moretz, Liam Neeson, Freida Pinto and Meryl Streep for a unique project entitled Girl Rising.

The celebrity-narrated documentary, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, spotlights the impact access to education could have on the lives of young girls in developing countries — and their local economies.

The film, which follows nine girls in places like India, Peru, Haiti, Ethiopia and Cambodia, is directed by Oscar nominee Richard E. Robbins and is part of 10×10, a global campaign to educate and empower underprivileged girls. Currently, there are 66 million girls who are not in school.

“Many women around the world continue to struggle for equality in education,” Hayek said in a statement. “I hope Girl Rising raises the visibility on a global level for this fundamental issue.”

Girl Rising, which is still in post-production, will premiere on March 7 in New York and Los Angeles via CNN Films.

In addition, with the help of Gathr, a company that crowd-sources film distribution, Girl Rising could literally hit a theater near you. The process is simple: After registering with Gathr, moviegoers can request a screening of Girl Rising at a local theater. If enough people purchase advance tickets, the screening will take place. Click here for more details.

“I’m proud to be part of a film that brings stories about real-life heroines around the world to movie-going audiences,” Washington said in a statement. “Their examples of strength and perseverance, against all odds, have the power to change the world.”

Lopez to Serve as a Presenter at Sunday’s Golden Globes

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Jennifer Lopez will be heading the Golden Globes…

The 42-year-old Puerto Rican actress/singer will be one of the presenters at this year’s awards show.

Lopez was one of the first celebrities announced by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a presenter for the 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards, along with la Lopez’s Parker co-star Jason Statham, George Clooney, Will Ferrell, Jennifer Garner, Debra Messing, Jeremy Renner, Amanda Seyfried, Meryl Streep, Kerry Washington and Kristen Wiig.

Each of the scheduled presenters is either a past Globe winner or nominee.

More names will be announced in the lead-up to the telecast, which will be broadcast live on NBC this Sunday, January 13 at 8:00pm ET from the Beverly Hilton Hotel, with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler serving as this year’s hosts.

This year’s Latino nominees include three-time nominee Sofia Vergara.

Carey Pens & Performs “Bring It On Home” for President Obama

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Mariah Carey didn’t just host a fundraiser for President Barack Obama recently… She also performed a new song that she wrote in his honor.

During the star-studded event at New York City’s Plaza Hotel on Thursday night, the 42-year-old part-Venezuelan singer performed “Bring It On Home,” a triumphantly inspirational ballad, similar to Carey’s hit “Hero.”

“Just finished performing Hero, We Belong Together and BRING IT ON HOME — a song I wrote especially for the event,” Carey tweeted, posting a photo of herself in a black ball gown.

Before the Plaza party, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attended Sarah Jessica Parker‘s presidential fundraiser at the actress’ Manhattan home.

Meryl Streep, Project Runway judge Michael Kors, Vogue‘s Anna Wintour and Bravo‘s Andy Cohen were among the celebrities in attendance.

Parker introduced Obama at the event, giving him a hug and kiss and saying those in attendance were gathered “hopefully, with enormous enthusiasm.” She also called Michelle Obama “radiant and extraordinary” and said she had been doing “amazingly important things these last four years.”

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

Tag Archives: Meryl Streep