Tag Archives: MIT

Anthony Ramos to Reportedly Star in Marvel’s “Ironheart” Series for Disney+

Posted on by
Reply

Anthony Ramos is ready to marvel…

The 30-year-old Puerto Rican actor, singer and songwriter is reportedly entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a key role in Marvel’s Ironheart series for Disney+.

Anthony RamosIronheart will star Dominique Thorne as Marvel character Riri Williams, a genius inventor and creator of the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man.

Chinaka Hodge was recently tapped as head writer on the series, first announced as being in development during Disney’s investor-day presentation in December 2020.

While details behind Ramos’ role remain unknown, sources say it will be similar to how Jonathan Majors was introduced as Kang the Conquer in Loki, where he’s expected to not only have a big role in this series but in future Marvel projects as well.

Reps for Marvel Studios declined to comment to Deadline.com.

Williams was first introduced in the Marvel comics in 2016, the creation of writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Mike Deodato. In the comics, she is a 15-year-old MIT student who reverse-engineers Iron Man’s armor in order to create armor of her own. Iron Man, aka Tony Stark, eventually took notice and gave her his encouragement to pursue the life of a superhero.

While a premiere date for the series is still to be determined, insiders say Williams is expected to make her debut in the MCU in the upcoming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which bows in November.

Since his breakout role as one of the original cast members of Hamilton, Ramos’ star has been on the rise with Bradley Cooper tapping him for a role his A Star Is Born remake. He then topped the ensemble cast in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights, which bowed last summer.

Ramos will also star in the latest Transformers film Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, which is set to debut on June 9, 2023.

Santiago Cabrera’s Suspense Thriller “Salvation” Renewed for Second Season

Posted on by
Reply

Santiago Cabrera has found his salvation…

CBS has given a 13-episode second-season pickup to the suspense thriller Salvation, starring the 39-year-old Venezuelan-born Chilean-British actor.

Santiago Cabrera

The second season of Salvation is set to air in summer 2018.

Salvation, which had a decent freshman performance by summer ratings standards and is owned by CBS, centers on Liam Cole, an MIT grad student, and Darius Tanz, a tech superstar, who bring Pentagon official Grace Barrows a staggering discovery – that an asteroid is just months away from colliding with Earth. Now with the added threat of nuclear war on the horizon, they work together with Secretary of Defense Harris Edwards to find a way to divert the asteroid, stop the war and save humanity before time runs out.

In addition to Cabrera, the series stars Jennifer Finnigan, Charlie Rowe, Jacqueline Byers, Rachel Drance and Ian Anthony Dale.

Pena to Host Nickelodeon’s Summer Game Show “Web Heads”

Posted on by
Reply

It’s game on for Carlos Pena…

The 24-year-old Spanish, Venezuelan and Dominican American singer-songwriter/actor and Big Time Rush member, who married actress Alex Vega earlier this year, will serve as the host on Nickelodeon‘s new Ryan Seacrest-backed game show.

Carlos Pena

The Big Time Rush television series alum will lead the competition series, which revolves around child contestants competing in challenges centered on viral videos, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 

The 40-episode summer game show, formerly titled Go Viral, will now be called Web Heads.

Production on the half-hour, studio-based show will begin next week.

“I grew up on Nickelodeon game shows and always dreamed of being a contestant,” said Pena in a statement to THR. “I’m excited to be doing something fun and unique that captures the heart and slime of Nick.”

The new job keeps Pena in the Nickelodeon family, where he was a lead in the music comedy series Big Time Rush from 2009 to 2013.

He recently wrapped production on George Lopez’s indie La Vida Robot, based on a Wired article about four undocumented Mexican-American high school students who form a robotics club and compete against MIT in a national robotics competition.

Michael to Display His Work in a Special Exhibit at the Polaroid Museum

Posted on by
Reply

Instagram may be all the rage… But Lucas Michael is making sure a pop culture classic isn’t forgotten…

The Argentine photographer is helping Florida-based retailer Polaroid Fotobar celebrate the opening of its flagship store inside Las Vegas’ The LINQ  this spring with four new exhibits at the Polaroid Museum, focused on Hollywood’s most celebrated stars.

Lucas Michael's Polaroids

The exhibits will feature shots by Michael, as well as fellow photographers Maurizio Galimberti, Marc Serota and Maripol.

Michael’s photos from last year’s Golden Globes will be on display, featuring candid shots of Jennifer Lawrence, Adele, Bryan Cranston, Ben Affleck, Daniel Day-Lewis and the cast of Girls.

Galimberti, who has worked with Polaroid cameras since 1983, will showcase his portraits of Kate Winslet, Benicio Del Toro and Javier Bardem.

Serota utilized a multi-step image-transfer process to create his large collection of Polaroid portrait prints (“pictorial biographies”), which include shots of Paul McCartney, Roger Daltrey, Kenny Rogers and Gloria Estefan.

Maripol’s 75-shot exhibit will include images of a young Madonna dancing the night away, Debbie Harry in a red sailor suit, and Andy Warhol walking the streets of New York.

The works of the four artists will also join other exhibits, including Warhol’s “Capturing Celebrity,” Tim Mantoani’s “Behind Photographs,” and the world-famous 20×24 Polaroid camera at the Polaroid Museum. The museum will also feature a history on Polaroid founder Edwin Land, as well as an extensive collection of rare artifacts, art and advertising from the Polaroid Historical Collection at MIT.

The exhibits will debut at the Polaroid Museum on April 17, with Polaroid Fotobar’s flagship store opening March 31.

Diaz Receives Genius Grant From MacArthur Foundation

Posted on by
Reply

There’s no denying Junot Díaz is a literary genius, especially after picking up a Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. But now he has official proof.

The 43-year-old Dominican-American novelist and creative writing professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has received a genius grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Junot Diaz

The 500,000 award, which is paid over five years, gives recipients the freedom to pursue a creative vision while receiving their funds. Winners, who work in fields ranging from medicine and science to the arts and journalism, don’t have to report how they spend the money.

“It would never have dawned on me to think such a thing was possible for me,” Díaz said, reflecting on his early years in New Jersey “struggling with poverty, struggling with English. … I came from a community that was about as hard-working as you can get and yet no one saw or recognized in any way our contributions or our genius. … I have to wonder, but for circumstances, how many other kids that I came up with are more worthy of this fellowship than me?”

But Díaz isn’t the only Latino on the list of 23 genius grant recipients this year.

Natalia Almada, a 37-year-old Mexico City-based documentary filmmaker. who explores views of Mexican history, politics, and culture, also received a grant.

In all, the MacArthur Foundation has awarded a total of 873 grants to date.