Tag Archives: Oz Rodriguez

Hulu Releases First Look Images of Tyler Dean Flores’ Coming-of-Age Comedy “Miguel Wants to Fight”

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Tyler Dean Flores is a brawler…

Hulu has released first look photos of Miguel Wants to Fight, its coming-of-age comedy starring the Puerto Rican actor.

Tyler Dean Flores, Miguel Wants to Fight,The film, the streamer’s eighth Original Film from American High, will premiere on the streaming platform on August 16.

Tyler Dean Flores, Miguel Wants to Fight,Starring Flores, who rose to acclaimed after appearing in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the film has him playing high school junior Miguel, who despite living in a neighborhood where fighting is stitched into the fabric of everyday life, has never found himself in one. And, to be honest, he’s perfectly fine with that. But when a combination of events turn his life upside down, Miguel and his three best friends — the stoic David (Christian Vunipola), the rowdy Cass (Imani Lewis) and the quick-tongued Srini (Suraj Partha) — enter into a series of hilarious misadventures as he tries to get into his first ever fight.

Tyler Dean Flores, Miguel Wants to Fight,Emmy winner Oz Rodriguez (SNL) directed from a script by Jason Concepcion and Shea Serrano of Amazon Freevee’s Primo.

Raúl Castillo, Dascha Polanco and Andrea Navedo round out the cast.

Dascha Polanco, Miguel Wants to Fight, Andrea Navedo, Miguel Wants to Fight,

Oz Rodriguez Signs Two-Year Producing Deal with Universal Television

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There are more Universal projects in Oz Rodriguez’s future…

The Latino Emmy-winning Saturday Night Live director has signed an exclusive two-year producing deal with Universal Television.

Oz Rodriguez,

Rodriguez has been with SNL since 2013, first directing Digital Shorts. He went on to become head of the film unit, and won an Emmy for his behind-the-scenes series Creating SNL.

He’s next set to direct all six episodes of SNL star Michael Che’s new HBO Max sketch series from Universal Television.

“We feel so lucky to be solidifying our relationship with Oz, who has been in the family for many years and has played a key role in our success,” said Jim Donnelly, Universal Television EVP of Comedy Development. “He brings a creative vision and distinct visual style to every project he is involved in, and we couldn’t be more excited for all that’s to come.”

Rodriguez just wrapped the pilot of AMC’s Kevin Can F***k Himself. He directed the pilot and multiple episodes of AP Bio, in addition to the Kal Penn/Mike Schur pilot Sunnyside, both for NBC, as well as episodes of Last Man on Earth for Fox, Detroiters for Comedy Central, Shrill for Hulu, and Mixed-ish for ABC.

He most recently directed NBC & Peacock’s 30 Rock reunion, which aired on July 16.

On the film side, Rodriguez wrote and directed Vampires vs. the Bronx for Universal and Broadway Video, which premiered on Netflix earlier this month.

“I am very excited to continue my partnership with Universal Television,” said Rodriguez. “The studio has been my home for the last eight years, starting with my first season of Saturday Night Live. There are so many opportunities at the studio right now and we have a chance to tell stories that reflect characters that have been missing from television for far too long. It feels great to keep this creative partnership going with the studio that gave me my first big break.”

Gregory Diaz IV Signs with United Talent Agency (UTA)

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Gregory Diaz IV has new representation…

The 15-year-old Puerto Rican actor, who stars in Jon Chu’s upcoming Warner Bros. feature musical In The Heights, has signed with United Talent Agency (UTA).

Gregory Diaz IV

Diaz previously appeared on Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and NBC’s New Amsterdam.

Diaz made his name on Broadway with his performance as Bruce in Matilda the Musical in 2016 and also performed Off-Broadway in Pedro Pan, Zurich and You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.

He plays Sonny de la Vega in In the Heights, which is based on the musical by Quiara Alegria Hudes and Lin-Manuel Miranda. The film is scheduled for release in June 2021.

Diaz can also be seen in upcoming comedy film Vampires vs. the Bronx, written and directed by Oz Rodriguez and produced by Lorne Michaels.

Diana Maria Riva to Star in NBC’s Comedy Pilot “Sunnyside”

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Diana Maria Riva is looking at the sunnyside of life…

The 49-year-old Dominican American actress has been cast opposite Kal Penn in NBC’s comedy pilot Sunnyside (formerly Untitled Kal Penn/Matt Murray).

Riva joins a cast that includes Kiran Deol, Moses Storm, Samba Schutte, Poppy Liu, Joel Kim Booster and Tudor Petrut.

Co-written by Penn and Matt Murray, Sunnyside is named after the neighborhood in the historically diverse Queens borough of New York where the show is set. It centers on former New York City Councilman Garrett Shah (Penn), who finds his calling when faced with seven recent immigrants — five of them played by immigrant actors — in need of his help and in search of the American Dream.

The single-camera comedy is being executive produced by Penn, writer-producer Murray, The Good Place creator/executive producer Michael Schur and Universal Television.

The seven recent immigrants are Jin Hao, played by South Korea-born Booster; Mallory, played by UK-born Deol; Mei Lin, played by China-born Liu; Drzen, played by Romania-born Petrut; Hakim, played by Africa-born Schutte; Griselda, played by Riva, a first generation Dominican; and Brady, played by Storm.

Directing the pilot is another immigrant, Oz Rodriguez. The ensemble was put together by casting director Allison Jones who also has worked with Schur on his other shows, Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Good Place. 

Riva was last seen in the CBS sitcom Man with a Plan and NBC’s Telenovela. She’ll next appear in the Netflix series Dead to Me and the Appledrama series Morning Show.