Tom Segura to Host Two New Netflix Stand-Up Specials

Posted on August 31, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Tom Segura is still living the stream…

The 43-year-old half-Peruvian American comedian will host two new stand-up special for Netflix viewers.

Segura, a New York Times bestselling author, podcast host and actor, will host his fifth and sixth comedy specials for the streamer, with the first slated to premiere in 2023.

Segura, originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, is well known for his Netflix specials Ball Hog, Disgraceful, Completely Normal, and Mostly Stories.

He has also made feature film appearances that include Instant Family, Countdown, Flinch, and The Opening Act, among others.

Segura is one of the top-selling touring acts in the world, having sold hundreds of thousands of tickets on multiple international tours.

Additionally, he co-hosts two of the most popular comedy podcasts, “Your Mom’s House,” with his wife, comedian Christina P. and “Two Bears, One Cave” with fellow comedian Bert Kreischer.

Segura also produces multiple podcasts under his YMH Studios brand.

He recently published I’d Like To Play Alone Please, which debuted at #2 on the New York Times Best Sellers list.

Segura, who grew up in a half Peruvian/half American household speaking fluent Spanish, has been staking his claim in Latin America making a crossover and performing in both English and Spanish. He also launched a podcast in Spanish called Tom Segura En Español to polish his Spanish-language skills.

BCDF Pictures Acquires Film Rights to Elena Armas’ Bestseller “The Spanish Love Deception”

Posted on June 18, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Elena Armas’ popular novel will be getting the Hollywood treatment…

BCDF Pictures has acquired film rights to the Spanish author’s 2022 New York Times bestseller The Spanish Love Deception, with Peter Hutchings set to adapt the novel for the big screen.

The romantic comedy from Simon & Schuster is the first installment in a series of the same name.

It tells the story of Catalina Martín, who desperately needs a date to her sister’s wedding in Spain. Especially since she lied and told her large, raucous family that she has a new American boyfriend. Now everyone expects her to bring him, including the ex who drove Catalina to leave Spain in the first place. Enter Aaron Blackford – her tall, handsome, insufferably condescending colleague – who surprisingly offers to step in.

The Spanish Love Deception has been published in more than 25 languages. The book won the Goodreads Choice Award for Debut Novel of the Year, and has become a phenomenon on TikTok, boasting a hashtag with over 100M views.

It has also been named a “Must-Read” by Cosmopolitan, Publisher’s Weekly, Bustle, Elle, Paste, Glamour, Business Insider, Buzzfeed and USA Today.

Its sequel, The American Roommate Experiment, will follow in September.

Claude Dal Farra and Brian Keady will produce the Spanish Love Deception film for BCDF Pictures.

“I am thrilled to have BCDF Pictures working on the adaptation of THE SPANISH LOVE DECEPTION and I have no doubt they will do an amazing job bringing Aaron and Catalina to life,” said Armas. “Believe me when I say that I am obsessed with the script and Peter Hutchings’s vision of these characters and Spanish setting I keep so close to my heart. THE SPANISH LOVE DECEPTION readers are not ready for the Martín family!”

Esai Morales to Star in Sci-Fi Thriller “Persephone”

Posted on May 5, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Esai Morales is heading out of this world…

The 59-year-old Puerto Rican actor will star opposite Ming-Na Wen and Brianna Hildebrand in the long-gestating sci-fi thriller Persephone, hailing from director Jeffrey Morris.

Morris’ first feature follows refugees from a dying earth, who are traveling aboard an enormous space vessel called Odyssey. Their destination is Proxima b—a planet orbiting the nearest star. When a crew is dispatched to repair a shield designed to protect their colony from deadly solar flares, a computer malfunction causes them to crash-land on the alien planet. The crew then discover that they may not be the only life on this hostile world. A mystery unfolds that may not only derail their mission, but also prevent the colonists from ever setting foot on the planet.

Morris penned the script, also co-authoring a companion novel with New York Times bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson.

He will also produce via his FutureDude Entertainment, alongside Anne Marie Gillen, Jorge Heredia and the duo of Jane Fleming and Mark Ordesky.

Cassian Elwes will executive produce, with Anderson serving as co-executive producer, and Jasmin Espada as co-producer.

Highland Film Group is handling international rights, and will launch sales at the upcoming Cannes Marché du Film.

“I’m tremendously honored and excited to be working with this amazing cast and crew to enact a singular vision of the future,” said Morris. “Through our collaboration, the goal is to create a sense of realism and exploration that is far beyond the typical sci-fi space adventure.”

“We were immediately captivated by the ambition and integrity of Jeffrey’s vision,” said Fleming and Ordesky in a joint statement. “The world building is so rigorously researched and richly imagined, it feels like stepping into a real future. And the struggle for co-existence that animates Persephone could not be more vital or timely.”

“From my very first conversation with writer/director Jeffrey Morris, I knew we had a connection. He had already written an excellent, gritty Sci-Fi script, and our brainstorming brought it even more to life,” added Anderson. “Persephone is filled with incredible ideas, and I love being a part of it.”

Morales will soon be seen in the seventh and eighth installments of the Mission Impossible franchise, as well as Paul Schrader’s thriller Master Gardener.

He’s previously appeared in films like SuperFly, Gun Hill Road and Fast Food Nation, among many others. His television projects include How to Get Away with Murder, Titans, Ozark, From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, The Brink, Magic City and Jericho.

Enrique Murciano to Star in Second Season of Netflix’s “The Night Agent”

Posted on February 1, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Enrique Murciano has a new agent…

The 48-year-old Cuban American actor has been cast as a series regular opposite leads Gabriel Basso and Luciane Buchanan in The Night Agent, Netflix’s political conspiracy thriller series.

Murciano, known for his work in Bloodline, appears on a roster of new cast additions that includes Hong Chau, DB Woodside, Fola Evans-Akingbola , Eve Harlow, Phoenix Raei and Sarah Desjardins

Created by Shawn Ryan, the series is based on author Matthew Quirk’s 2019 New York Times bestseller.

The Night Agent is a sophisticated, character-based, action-thriller centering on Peter Sutherland (Basso), a low-level FBI agent who works in the basement of the White House, manning a phone that never rings — until the night that it does, propelling him into a fast moving and dangerous conspiracy that ultimately leads all the way to the Oval Office.

Murciano plays Ben Almora, the measured, steady hand who guides the Secret Service in the White House.

Seth Gordon is set to direct the first two episodes of the series, which hails from Sony Pictures Television Studios, where Ryan and Gordon are under overall deals. Ryan will serve as showrunner of the 10-episode series, which he’ll executive produce via his MiddKid Productions. Gordon will executive produce through his Exhibit A banner.

Linda Yvette Chávez Signs Multi-Year Overall Deal with 20th Century Fox Television

Posted on November 16, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Linda Yvette Chávez has a new deal…

The award-winning Latina screenwriter/producer and Gentefied co-creator has signed a multi-year overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television.

Chavez is expected to create her own dramas and comedies across all platforms, as well as supervise other writers’ projects.

“Just take one look at the creators Karey Burke, Carolyn Cassidy and how their teams are uplifting at 20th Television and you’ll quickly see a studio investing in a brighter future for representation in media,” Chávez said in a statement. “I’m thrilled that I get to be a part of this family and add this bold Xicana voice to 20th’s legendary canon of television. We’re about to make some bomb-ass shows together and showcase the gorgeous array of stories that exist in our BIPOC communities. With them as my champions I know there’s nothing we can’t achieve. Hollywood’s not ready!”

Chávez is co-creator, co-showrunner, director, and executive producer of Netflix’s Gentefied, a series that follows the lives of a multigenerational Mexican American family from East Los Angeles. Season 2 of the Peabody Award-nominated dramedy premiered on November 10. Both seasons are currently available to stream via Netflix.

“Linda is a tour de force writer with a spectacular voice and her series Gentefied is as hilarious as it is powerful, said Karey Burke, President, 20th Television. “She’s incredibly versatile and she shares our passion for fearless, inclusive storytelling—and on top of all that, she happens to be a fantastic person. Carolyn and I made it our mission to get her to this studio and we’re pinching ourselves she said yes.”

While producing Gentefied, Chávez adapted Erika L. Sanchez’s New York Times Best Selling novel, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter into a feature film for Anonymous. She also penned Eva Longoria’s directorial debut Flamin’ Hot, a film by Content and MACRO, about the life of Richard Montanez, the creator of Hot Cheetos.

Up next for Chávez, she’ll make her directorial debut with her feature film Fieras.

Erick Galindo Developing “Mexican Beverly Hills” for CBS

Posted on October 31, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Erick Galindo is punching a ticket to California’s Mexican Beverly Hills…

The Latino award-winning writer, producer and journalist is developing the family comedy Mexican Beverly Hills for CBS alongside Aaron Izek and Wilmer Valderrama.

The single-camera project is inspired by Galindo’s New York Times essay of the same name.

Mexican Beverly Hills tells the story of a working-class Mexican-American family that moves to the wealthy, heavily Latinx city of Downey—also known as the Mexican Beverly Hills—where they both fit in and stand out in ways they never have before.

Galindo and Izek will write and executive produce; Valderrama and Kaitlin Saltzman will also executive produce under Valderrama’s WV Entertainment banner.

Galindo is a five-time Telly Award-winning writer, director, and producer known for his personal essays. He regularly writes about culture for LAist, NPR station KPCC, and The New York Times, and was the first managing editor of L.A. Taco, where his work won a James Beard Foundation award.

His co-written pilot Hot in Carson was a finalist for the Black List’s inaugural Latinx TV List, and his dark comedy script Legends was selected for the 2020 NHMC Latinx Screenwriters Showcase. He just launched Sin Miedo Productions with Patty Rodriguez.

Tessa Thompson’s Viva Maude Partners with Gaumont to Develop Raven Leilani’s Novel “Luster” for HBO

Posted on October 25, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Tessa Thompson is celebrating her luster…

Gaumont has teamed up with the 38-year-old half-Afro-Panamanian and part Mexican American actress’ Viva Maude production company to develop for HBO Luster, the bestselling debut by Raven Leilani.

Scripting the project will be handled by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury, and Lileana Blain-Cruz, recipient of the Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award. They are joint winners of the Obie Award for Marys Seacole, and are among the founders of the exploratory theatre collaboration, Afrofemononomy.

Edie is a young Black artist living a precarious existence in New York City when she takes a white lover in an open marriage, eventually moving in with him and his wife in the suburbs. There she not only finds herself in an increasingly tense relationship with the couple, but also becoming an unlikely mentor to their adopted Black daughter Akila. The debut novel quickly became a number one bestseller on the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and other lists.

The potential English language drama series for HBO marks the first collaboration between Gaumont and Viva Maude’s Thompson and Kishori Rajan.

Nicolas Atlan, President of Gaumont US said company toppers are “beyond thrilled to be developing Luster with HBO and Viva Maude’s Tessa Thompson and Kishori Rajan. We were riveted by this groundbreaking book, written by the incredibly talented Raven Leilani, and are blown away at how quickly the series creative team which includes our writers, Lileana Blain-Cruz and Jackie Sibblies Drury, has come together. We can’t wait to get started.”

It’s not clear at this point if Thompson will star. She has a strong relationship with HBO from Westworld. She is generating awards buzz for the Sundance hit Passing, and wrapped the lead role of Valkyrie in the Taiki Waititi film Thor: Love and Thunder.

Said Thompson of the book: “Luster marks the daring debut by Raven Leilani, a seminal voice for her generation. In her work, which defies categorization, there is an astonishingly singular quality that speaks to spirit of the types of narratives Viva Maude aims to showcase — bold, beautifully crafted, unapologetically human, imaginative and unconventional — it is thrilling to be teamed with Gaumont and the stunning talents of Jackie Sibblies Drury and Lileana Blain-Cruz to develop this story at HBO, the perfect home.”

Aimee Garcia to Star on Season 2 of Hulu’s “Woke”

Posted on June 24, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Aimee Garcia is officially woke…

The 42-year-old Puerto Rican and Mexican American actress has joined the cast of Woke.

The Hulu series, co-created by Keith Knight and Marshall Todd, centers on Keef Knight (Lamorne Morris), an African-American cartoonist who finds himself on the verge of mainstream success when an unexpected incident changes his life. With a newfound consciousness, Keef must navigate the new voices and ideas challenging him, all without setting fire to everything he’s already built.

In the comedy’s second season, Garcia will play Laura Salgado, a likable but formidable self-made Silicon Valley venture capitalist who is interested in working with Knight.

Garcia is currently appearing as Ella Lopez on Netflix’s Lucifer and recently voiced the character of Jodie Tartleton for Hulu series Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K. After wrapping Lucifer’s sixth and final season, she co-wrote a sequel to 47 Ronin for Universal, in concert with New York Times bestselling author AJ Mendez. Garcia has also penned a Wonder Woman Black & Gold comic for DC, which will be released in August.

She also recently wrapped Holiday in Santa Fe, a TV movie in which she appears opposite Mario Lopez, and Richard Grey’s feature Murder at Emigrant Gulch, which also stars Richard Dreyfuss and Gabriel Byrne. This fall, the actress will star in Match Me If You Can, a romantic comedy that she also exec produced.

On the television side, Garcia’s other credits include Rush Hour, Dexter, Vegas, George Lopez and more.

She has been part of the voice cast of the 2019 animated adaptation of The Addams Family, as well as Elizabeth Chomko’s What They Had and José Padilha’s Robocop.

Mariah Carey Leaves Roc Nation for Management Representation with Range Media Partners

Posted on June 9, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Mariah Carey is expanding her range…

The 52-year-old half-Venezuelan Grammy-winning singer/songwriter has departed Roc Nation and partnered with Range Media Partners for management.

Carey will work with Melissa Ruderman, her former rep at Roc Nation who joined Range Media in January.

Carey’s move to Range Media follows a report in U.K. tabloid The Sun that the singer and Roc Nation founder Jay-Z fell out following an “explosive meeting.”

Carey, who signed with Roc Nation in November 2017, subsequently set out to quell the rumor by tweeting, “The only ‘explosive’ situation I’d ever ‘get into’ with Hov is a creative tangent, such as our #1 song ‘Heartbreaker.’”

Ruderman and Carey’s relationship goes back over 15 years, when Ruderman worked for manager Benny Medina and handled day-to-day management for Carey during the release cycle for her 2005 album The Emancipation of Mimi.

During her five-year stint at Roc Nation, Ruderman helped execute several major deals for Carey, including two consecutive residencies at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, a TV deal with Apple and a publishing contract that led to the publication of the New York Times-bestselling memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey.

Carey has had a long list of managers over the years. Before signing with Roc Nation, she was with Stella Bulochnikov and, before that, Kevin Liles, with whom she signed in 2014 following the dissolution of her management relationship with longtime collaborator Jermaine Dupri. At various points earlier in her career, Carey was managed by ex-husband Tommy Mottola, Randy Jackson and Red Light Management.

Range Media Partners was launched in Sept. 2020 by former Entertainment One chief strategy officer Peter Micelli and a coalition of former CAA, WME and UTA agents.

Entertainment One to Develop Series Based on Adam Silvera’s YA Novel “They Both Die at the End”

Posted on May 6, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

It’s the beginning of the End for Adam Silvera.

Entertainment One has acquired the U.S. rights to the 40-year-old half Puerto Rican writer’s novel They Both Die at the End to develop for television.

Silvera’s novel currently ranks at No. 1 on the New York Times YA paperback bestsellers list three years after it was published.

Silvera is attached to pen the series adaptation. eOne will serve as the studio and distribute the project worldwide.

Published by HarperCollins in September 2017, They Both Die at the End was previously in development as a series at HBO with J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot and The Other Two co-creator Chris Kelly. eOne pursued the rights when they became available, landing in a competitive situation.

Creative Engine and eOne already have a relationship with Silvera, whose first novel, More Happy Than Not, is currently in the works as a series at HBO Max, also eOne. Andrew Haigh is attached to direct.

They Both Die at the End is a devastating yet uplifting story about two people whose lives change over the course of one unforgettable day. According to the book synopsis: “On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They’re going to die today. Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they’re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There’s an app for that. It’s called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure—to live a lifetime in a single day.”

The book made history as the first YA novel with queer Latinx characters to hit No. 1 on the New York Times bestsellers list.

The novel experienced a resurgence in popularity during the pandemic and hit No. 1 again last month after it became a fixture under the TikTok hashtag #BookTok, where users recommend books and record their reactions to emotional story developments.

It now ranks as the bestselling YA novel of 2021, and there has been a 900% increase in printings to meet demand. The novel also is a No. 1 National Indie bestseller, the No. 1 YA bestseller in the UK and Australia, and the top-selling YA title on the USA Today bestseller list.

Silvera has expressed interest in writing more books in the They Both Die at the End universe.

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