Lionsgate Releases Trailer for Rachel Zegler’s “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”

Posted on April 28, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Rachel Zegler is satiating the world’s hunger for more details about the Hunger Games prequel.

Lionsgate has released the trailer for its prequel film The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, starring the 21-year-old Colombian Golden Globe-winning actress and singer.

It’s a first look at tribute Lucy Gray Baird (Zegler) and Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth), with Peter Dinklage as the vindictive Casca Highbottom, Dean of the Academy, creator of the Hunger Games. Viola Davis is Head Gamemaker Volumnia Gaul.

It’s the annual reaping ceremony of the 10th annual games, set 64 years before the first film. Lucy represents impoverished District 12 and 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is her unwilling — at first — mentor. He’s much more conflicted in his views in this film, decades before he becomes Panem’s tyrannical president.

“There have been some changes this year,” he is told. “Your role is to turn these children into spectacles, not survivors.”

But after Lucy commands all Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy’s race against time to survive ultimately will reveal who is a songbird and who is a snake.

Like the previous films, themes here are freedom and tyranny, good and evil, how both can co-exist and why people chose one over the other. “There is natural goodness built into all a us. We can step across that line into evil — or not,” says Lucy. Panem is full of cranes and construction — rebuilding a decade after a brutal civil war.

The prequel in the $3 billion-grossing global franchise will hit theaters around the world on November 17.

Hunger Games franchise sequel producer Francis Lawrence directed and also will produce with the series producers Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson. Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins, Tim Palen and Jim Miller are executive producers.

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez Joins Cast of Paramount’s “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts”

Posted on December 2, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez is ready for a transformation…

The 31-year-old half-Puerto Rican Golden Globe-winning actress has joined the cast of Paramount’s upcoming Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.

Rodriguez, who portrays Nightbird, is among a list of new cast additions that includes Peter Dinklage (as the voice of Scourge), Liza Koshy (as the voice of Arcee), John DiMaggio (as the voice of Stratosphere), David Sobolov (as Rhinox/Battletrap), Cristo Fernández (as Wheeljack) and Tobe Nwigwe (as Reek).

They all join previously announced cast members Anthony Ramos, Dominique Fishback, Michelle Yeoh (as Airazor), Pete Davidson (as Mirage), Peter Cullen (as Optimus Prime) and Ron Perlman (Optimus Primal) in the Steven Caple Jr. directed next installment of the franchise.

The film will hit theaters on June 9, 2023.

The screenplay is by Joby Harold, Darnell Metayer & Josh Peters, and Erich Hoeber & Jon Hoeber, with story by Harold.

The new movie will take audiences on a ‘90s globetrotting adventure with the Autobots and introduce a whole new breed of Transformer – the Maximals – to the existing battle on earth between Autobots and Decepticons.

Hasbro is executive producing; Skydance is co-financing and executive producing; New Republic Pictures is also co-financing and executive producing.

Rodriguez has starred on Pose, Loot, Luke Cage, Nurse Jackie and in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s feature tick, tick…Boom!

Fernandez stars as Dani Rojas on Ted Lasso, in the movie Creatures and the $1.9 billion grossing movie, Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Rachel Zegler Offers a Behind-The-Scenes Look at “Hunger Games” Prequel “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”

Posted on October 23, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

It’s opening Games for Rachel Zegler.

The 21-year-old Colombian Golden Globe-winning actress has offered a first look at the set of the Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes via her official TikTok account.

In the video posted to her account, Zegler gives viewers a tour of the set for the film, which is based on Suzanne Collins’ book of the same name.

The film stars Tom Blyth as a young Coriolanus Snow — who eventually grows up to become menacing antagonist President Snow in the original trilogy — who is chosen to mentor Zegler’s Lucy Gray Baird during the tenth Hunger Games. Francis Lawrence is set to direct.

“Hello, TikTok, I’m Rachel Zegler, and I’d like to show you the set of Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” the Snow White and West Wide Story actress says at the beginning of the video.

A montage of quick shots reveals what appears to be a schoolroom set for the Academy, the Capitol’s elite high school. In one shot, students dressed in pleated blood-red uniforms sit on circular white risers.

The footage also features Peter Dinklage, who plays Academy dean Casca Highbottom, dressed in an all-black ensemble, in addition to a clip of Blyth and Ashley Liao — who plays Clemensia Dovecote — dancing in their school uniforms.

“Let’s meet some of the cast,” Zegler says in the TikTok. “I see here, the lead of the film, Tom Blyth. Do you want to be in the video?” she asks the actor, who is sipping coffee at the exact moment she asks the question. Blyth gives the camera a mock glare, then tosses the coffee cup at the camera.

Zegler then shows viewers “Video Village,” which she explains is where the “director, producers, writers, dialect coaches, they all watch.”

“You can actually catch some of them in action right now,” she adds as the camera pans over to people sitting in chairs and zooms in on one of the producers working.

Zegler also introduces viewers to Josh Andrés Rivera, who plays Sejanus Plinth, one of Coriolanus Snow’s friends and a mentor to the District 2 male tribute. “And over here we have my least favorite person on set, Josh Rivera,” she says jokingly. Zegler and Rivera starred together in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story — Zegler played Maria, while Rivera played Chino.

“What’s going on, it’s Josh Rivera coming at you live,” Rivera says, taking off his sunglasses and squinting at the camera.

The video concludes with Zegler re-introducing herself. “I’m Rachel Zegler, and I play Lucy Gray Baird in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Thanks for joining me.”

The TikTok was shot by Reece Feldman, also known by @guywithamoviecamera, a TikTok creator with 1.1 million followers known for posting behind-the-scenes content of shows like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and films like Not Okay.

Cast members not featured in the behind-the-scenes footage include Hunter Schafer, who plays Coriolanus Snow’s cousin Tigris Snow, and Viola Davis, who was cast as Volumnia Gaul, the creator of the Hunger Games.

Click here to see the full TikTok video.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes premieres in theaters on Nov. 17, 2023.

Eva Longoria Among Celebrities & Entertainment Figures Encouraging World Leaders to “End the COVID-19 Pandemic Now”

Posted on September 21, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Eva Longoria is urging on world leaders to take action to end the ongoing coronavirus pandemic…

Tuesday morning, just before President Joe Biden addressed the United Nations for the first time, more than 80 celebrities and entertainment figures, including the 46-year-old Mexican American actress, producer and activist, issued an open letter to world leaders calling for them to end “the COVID-19 pandemic now.”

The letter, which mentioned the United Nations General Assembly Session specifically, was posted on the website of CARE, an organization dedicated to ending poverty worldwide.

It was signed by a raft of boldfaced names including Longoria, Debra Messing, Alyssa Milano, Anne Hathaway, Malin Akerman, Debbie Allen, Jordana Brewster, Connie Britton, Ciara, Peter Dinklage, Richard Gere, Dolores Huerta, Joel McHale, Iman, Edward James Olmos, Laura Linney, Julianna Margulies, Joel McHale, Idina Menzel, Ana Ortiz, Adam Shankman, Michael Sheen, Adam Shulman and Sarah Silverman.

Specifically, the letter calls COVID-19 “a manmade pandemic of apathy.” It states that “Only 2% of people in low-income countries have received a single dose.” The signatories call on “global leaders to make 7 billion vaccine doses available before the end of 2021, and an additional 7 billion doses by mid-2022 to fully vaccinate 70% of the world by next summer.”

Those are lofty goals given the world’s most highly vaccinated countries, like the U.S., remain well under 70%.

It also asks leaders to “invest in last-mile delivery systems, public education, and frontline healthcare workers to get vaccines from tarmacs into arms.”

Here’s the full letter:

An open letter to world leaders on ending the COVID-19 pandemic now.

None of us are safe until all of us are safe.

We call on leaders gathering at the United Nations General Assembly Session to boldly act
together to end COVID-19 everywhere.

COVID-19 is now a manmade pandemic of apathy. Only 2% of people in low-income countries have received a single dose, leaving the world’s most vulnerable to face COVID with no
protection. This situation also lets new variants, like Delta, emerge and ravage the lives of
millions.

We are joining with CARE to call on global leaders to make 7 billion vaccine doses available before the end of 2021, and an additional 7 billion doses by mid-2022 to fully vaccinate 70%
of the world by next summer.

To get this done the world community must also invest in last-mile delivery systems, public education, and frontline healthcare workers to get vaccines from tarmacs into arms. Millions
of doses could go to waste because low-income countries don’t have the support they
need to get vaccines to vulnerable people.

We can save millions of lives — and trillions in further economic damage — by meeting this moment with the resources and political will needed to end COVID-19 for everyone,
everywhere. Because none of us are safe until all of us are safe.

Malin Akerman
Debbie Allen
Dorothy Amuah
Morena Baccarin
Adriana Barraza
Troian Bellisario
Bobby Berk
Jordana Brewster
Connie Britton
Karamo Brown
Gloria Calderón Kellett
Ciara
Tena Clark
Kim Coates
Madison Cowan
Alexandra Daddario
Peter Dinklage
Melinda Doolittle
Tan France
Richard Gere
Duff Goldman
Tony Goldwyn
Fiona Gubelmann
Anne Hathaway
Ingrid Hoffmann
Anders Holm
Dolores Huerta
Osas Ighodaro
Joel McHale
Iman
Edward James Olmos
Sonam Kapoor Ahuja
Ellie Krieger
Iskra Lawrence
Annie Lennox
Lola Lennox
Esther Lewis
Laura Linney
Kimberly Locke
Eva Longoria
Anja Manuel
Julianna Margulies
Catherine McCord
Joel McHale
Spike Mendelsohn
Idina Menzel
Debra Messing
Alyssa Milano
Sepideh Moafi
Tamera Mowry-Housley
Yvette Nicole Brown
Christina Ochoa
Ana Ortiz
Helen Pankhurst
Jessica Pimentel
Julie Plec
Adina Porter
Zac Posen
Leven Rambin
April Reign
Holland Roden
Sheila Shah
Adam Shankman
Omar Sharif Jr.
Michael Sheen
Adam Shulman
Sarah Silverman
Hannah Skvarla
Todd Snyder
Kimberly Steward
Curtis Stone
Christy Turlington Burns
Laura Vandervoort
Gabby Williams
Michelle Williams
Kimberly Williams-Paisley
Russell Wilson
Scott Wolf
Kelley Wolf
Bellamy Young
Rachel Zoe

Bacardi Family’s Trials & Tribulations in 1950s Cuba Getting the Television Treatment

Posted on April 25, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

The life story of Facundo Bacardí Massó and his family is heading to the small screen…

MiLu Entertainment and Ian Reichbach are developing a television series based on the Bacardi family’s experiences in 1950s Cuba.

Reichbach is adapting NPR correspondent Tom Gjelten’s well-received book Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba, which fuses the story of the Bacardi family’s famous rum business with Cuba’s tumultuous experience over the last 150 years, including Cuba’s fight for freedom, its tortured relationship with America, and the rise of Fidel Castro.

Andre L III of MiLu Entertainment is producing the bilingual English-Spanish series with 6GEN Films, which consists of Bacardi family members Mari Aixalá, Pepin R. Argamasilla and Juan Bergaz Pessino of Bergaz Productions.

“It’s time to tell the untold story of the Bacardi family,” said Andre L III of MiLu. “Authenticity and passion are the key to great storytelling and it has been a privilege to collaborate with the foremost authorities on the history of the most iconic Cuban family.”

Reichbach is a regular collaborator with Aaron Sorkin, having served as a writer and executive story editor on The Newsroom, and a researcher on movies including Charlie Wilson’s War, Moneyball, The Social Network and The Trial Of The Chicago 7.

MiLu Entertainment’s slate includes features The Thicket, which has Noomi Rapace, Peter Dinklage, Sophia Lillis and Charlie Plummer attached.

Eiza Gonzalez to Star Opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in Michael Bay’s Action-Thriller “Ambulance”

Posted on December 15, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Eiza Gonzalez is calling 9-1-1…

The 30-year-old Mexican actress and singer will star opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in Michael Bay’s action-thriller Ambulance.

Chris Fedak wrote the original script, based on the original Danish Film Ambulancen produced by Nordisk Film Productions.

The logline is being kept under wraps, but insiders say the film is the vein of the great action thrillers of the ’90s like Speed and Bay’s Bad Boys.

The script has been highly coveted for years but never able to lock down a director before Bay got his hands on it and instantly fell in love.

Universal Pictures recently finalized the deal to distribute the film with Endeavor Content handling the packaging of the project.

Production is expected to start in January.

Gonzalez’s 2021 looks to be quite busy as she can be seen next in the thriller I Care A Lot, which also stars Rosamund Pike and Peter Dinklage. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was picked up by Netflix for a 2021 release.

She also has the tentpole Godzilla vs. Kong, which will bow in 2021 in theaters and on HBO Max day and date.

Eiza González Signs with William Morris Endeavor (WME)

Posted on August 22, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Eiza González has new representation…

The 30-year-old Mexican actress/singer has signed with William Morris Endeavor (WME) for representation in all areas.

González rose to acclaim after her roles in El Rey’s series From Dusk till Dawn, in which she collaborated with Robert Rodriguez. She further increased her star power in the United States after appearing in Edgar Wright’s 2017 summer blockbuster Baby Driveras Darling, the heist girlfriend to Jon Hamm’s Buddy, in the $227M grossing movie.

González has scored roles in notable movies, including Nyssiana in the Rodriguez-directed 20th Century Fox sci-fi movie Alita: Battle Angel($404.8M WW), Madame M opposite Jason Statham and Dwayne Johnson in Hobbs & Shaw($759M WW), and the upcoming Legendary/Warner Bros. sequel Godzilla vs. Kongdue out on May 21, 2021.

She most recently starred in Sony Pictures’ Bloodshotopposite Vin Diesel and Guy Pearce, which earned her an Imagen Award nomination for Best Actress in a Feature Film.

González will next be seen opposite Rosamund Pike and Peter Dinklage in I Care A Lot, which will premiere at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival.

The Mexico City native studied at the American School Foundation, the Edron Academy, M&M Studio and Televisa’s Centro de Educación Artística.’

Her breakthrough came in the teenage telenovela Lola: Érase una vezin 2007. González also starred in numerous additional series in Mexico. She signed with Universal Music, and recorded five albums.

Her other feature credits include Robert Zemeckis’ Welcome to Marwen, and voiceover credits in DreamWorks’ The Croods and 20th Century Fox’s Alvin and the Chipmunks and Horton Hears A Who!

Noomi Rapace to Star in the Thriller “The Thicket”

Posted on February 9, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Noomi Rapaceis in the thick(et)of it…

The 40-year-old half-Spanish actress will star in the thriller The Thicket.

Rapace will star opposite Peter Dinklage,Sophia Lillis andCharlie Plummer in the film, which iscurrently in pre-production.

The Thicketis based on the novel by author Joe R. Lansdale, with a script by Chris Kelley, and will be directed by Elliott Lester.

The story follows an innocent young man named Jack (Plummer) who goes on an epic quest to rescue his sister (Lillis) after she is kidnapped by violent killer “Cut Throat Bill” (Rapace) and her gang. Jack enlists the help of a crafty bounty hunter named Reginald Jones (Dinklage), a grave-digging alcoholic son of an ex-slave, and a street-smart prostitute. The three track the girl into the deadly no-man’s land known as The Big Thicket — a place where blood and chaos reign.

Galo Olivares will serve as director of photography.

Rapace rose to acclaim in the Swedish film adaptations of the Millennium series: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest. Her other credits include Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Prometheus and Child 44.

Trailer Released for Eugenio Derbez’s “The Angry Birds Movie 2”

Posted on March 30, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Eugenio Derbezwill be flying high this August…

The trailer for The Angry Birds Movie 2, with the 57-year-old Mexican actor as part of the voice cast, has been released.

Here’s what’s on the bill: When a new threat emerges that puts both Bird and Pig Island in danger, Red (Jason Sudeikis), Chuck (Josh Gad), Bomb (Danny McBride) and Mighty Eagle (Peter Dinklage) recruit Chuck’s sister Silver (Rachel Bloom) and team up with pigs Leonard (Bill Hader), his assistant Courtney (Awkwafina) and techpig Garry (Sterling K. Brown) to forge an unsteady truce and form an unlikely superteam to save their homes.

In addition to Derbez, who voices the character of Glenn, Bloom, Brown and Awkwafina, the newbie birds for Round 2 are Leslie Jones, Zach Woods, Lil Rel Howery, Pete Davidson, Beck Bennett, Nicki Minaj, Brooklynn Princeand Dove Cameron.

First-time feature director Thurop Van Ormanfeathers the nest from a script by Ice Age franchise veteran Peter Ackerman.

Sony Picturesopens the toon in 2- and 3D on August 16.

2016’s The Angry Birds Movie earned $352.3 million worldwide.

Blake Jenner to Star in Netflix’s Social Thriller Anthology Drama Series “What/If”

Posted on September 1, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Blake Jenner has landed a new gig…

The 26-year-old Cuban American actor and Glee star has been cast as the male lead in What/If, Netflix’s social thriller anthology drama series starring Renée Zellweger and Jane Levy.

From Revenge and Swingtown creator Mike Kelley, the series is written by Kelley, directed by Phillip Noyce and produced by Page Fright, Atlas Entertainment and Compari Entertainment in association with Warner Bros. Television.

What/If explores the ripple effects of what happens when acceptable people start doing unacceptable things. Each season will tackle a different morality tale inspired by culturally consequential source material, and the power of a single fateful decision to change the trajectory of an entire life.

The 10-episode first season focuses on two struggling newlyweds, scientist-entrepreneur Lisa (Levy) and EMT Sean (Jenner), who accept a powerful woman’s (Zellweger) ethically perilous proposition to secure a badly needed financial windfall. All actors have one-year deals.

Jenner first gained acclaim on the second season of The Glee Project, which he won, landing him the role of Ryder Lynn onGlee. He also recurred on Supergirl. Jenner most recently starred in the indie heist film American Animals. His feature credits also include The Edge of Seventeen andEverybody Wants Some!!

This weekend, Jenner finished out a run as Chrisitian to Peter Dinklage’s Cyrano in Goodspeed Musicals’ Cyrano, a new take on the Edmond Rostand classic Cyrano de Bergerac adapted by Erica Schmidt in collaboration with members of indie alternative band The National.

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