America Ferrera to Serve as Presenter at This Year’s Oscars

Posted on March 5, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Win or lose, America Ferrera will be taking the Oscars stage…

The 39-year-old Honduran American actress, who earned her first-ever Academy Awards nod this year for her performance in Barbie, will serve as a presenter at Sunday’s Oscars.

She’s part of a roster of new presenters that includes Emily Blunt, Cynthia Erivo, Sally Field, Ryan Gosling, Ariana Grande, Ben Kingsley, Melissa McCarthy, Issa Rae, Tim Robbins, Steven Spielberg, Mary Steenburgen, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlize Theron, Christoph Waltz and Forest Whitaker.

They join previous announced presenters Bad Bunny, Chris Hemsworth, Dwayne Johnson, Michael Keaton, Regina King, Jennifer Lawrence, Kate McKinnon, Rita Moreno, John Mulaney, Catherine O’Hara, Octavia Spencer and Ramy Youssef, Mahershala Ali, Nicolas Cage, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brendan Fraser, Jessica Lange, Matthew McConaughey, Lupita Nyong’o, Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ke Huy Quan, Sam Rockwell, Michelle Yeoh and Zendaya.

The Oscars will be broadcast live on March 10 ceremony from the Dolby Theater in Hollywood.

Jimmy Kimmel is returning to host the ceremony for a fourth time.

ABC, which has aired the Oscars since 1976, is televising the show live starting at 7:00 pm ET/4:00 pm PT — an hour earlier that usual. The network, which has begun to use the Oscars as a lead-out to showcase its top programming, will follow its coverage of the live ceremony with an original episode of Abbott Elementary.

ABC’s time tweak also means that its annual pre-show will now run for 30 minutes — instead of the usual 90 — beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT. As per usual, the main Oscar telecast will be rebroadcast in the Pacific Time zone in primetime after the live presentation.

Raj Kapoor will serve as showrunner and executive producer of the 96th Oscars, with Molly McNearney and Katy Mullan executive producers. Hamish Hamilton is directing.

“Barbie,” Starring America Ferrera, Becomes Highest-Grossing Movie of the Year in North America

Posted on August 24, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

America Ferrera is a box office champ…

Barbie, starring the 39-year-old Honduran American Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress, is officially the highest-grossing movie of the year in North America.Greta Gerwig’s fantasy-comedy, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, has generated $575.4 million at the domestic box office, overtaking the previous champion, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which has collected $574 million domestically.

Barbie has grossed $1.3 billion globally and will soon surpass The Super Mario Bros. Movie (with $1.35 billion globally) as the biggest worldwide release of 2023 as well.

Only two Hollywood blockbusters this year have crossed the $1 billion mark and, notably, neither were superhero adventures or sequels in popular franchises.

Barbie started its record-breaking theatrical run in July with the best debut of the year ($162 million) and remained the No. 1 movie for four consecutive weekends. It also landed the biggest opening weekend for a film directed by a woman and became the highest-grossing movie directed solely by a woman.

At this point, Barbie is the 14th-biggest domestic release and 20th-biggest global release of all time.

Barbie also recently surpassed Christopher Nolan’s superhero epic The Dark Knight ($536 million) as the highest-grossing domestic release in Warner Bros. history. It could eventually eclipse 2011’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 ($1.34 billion) as the studio’s highest-grossing worldwide release in 100 years.

Gerwig, the Oscar-nominated director of Lady Bird and Little Women, co-wrote the screenplay with her partner Noah Baumbach. The cotton candy-colored blockbuster follows the popular doll as she leaves behind the seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land to discover the highs and lows of life in the real world. The cast also includes Issa Rae, Will Ferrell, Kate McKinnon, Simu Liu and Michael Cera.

Karol G Releases New “Barbie” Movie Track “Watati,” Featuring Aldo Ranks

Posted on June 3, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Karol G is getting dolled up…

The 32-year-old Colombian superstar has released “Watati,” the second single from the motion picture soundtrack for Barbie, starring Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken.

The single, which features an assist from Aldo Ranks, is a hard-hitting reggaeton track with EDM tones produced by Ovy on the Drums.

The uptempo track finds Karol G and the Panamanian veteran singing about having a good time at the club.

“Watati” follows the soundtrack’s lead single “Dance the Night” by Dua Lipa.

Other artists featured on the album include Nicki Minaj, Lizzo, Ice Spice, Tame Impala, and many more.

The full original soundtrack will be released on Friday, July 21st — the same day the film hits theaters.

Karol G Among Artists Appearing on Official “Barbie” Soundtrack

Posted on May 29, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Karol G is getting all dolled up…

The lineup of artists featured on the official soundtrack for Greta Gerwig’s highly anticipated film Barbie has been revealed, with the 32-year-old Colombian singer and songwriter making the list.

No word yet on the track name for Karol G’s single.

But she isn’t the only Latinx artist set to appear on the soundtrack.

Ice Spice, who recently joined voices with Taylor Swift on the “Karma Remix,” will also form part of the Barbie The Album soundtrack. Both Ice Spice and PinkPantheress are credited, perhaps signifying that their joint hit “Boy’s A Liar Pt. 2” has a place on Barbie’s pink-tastic playlist.

Other confirmed artists are Charli XCX, Lizzo, Nicki Minaj, FIFTY FIFTY, Dominic Fike, GAYLE, Ava Max, Khalid, The Kid LAROI and more.

Dua Lipa — the film’s resident pop star who’s portraying Mermaid Barbie in the project —previously announced her participation on the soundtrack, contributing the song “Dance The Night,” which arrived late last week.

More surprising, though, is that another of the film’s stars is also billed as a featured artist: Ryan Gosling, who’s playing Ken opposite Margot Robbie’s titular character.

The news comes in the form of a very on-brand poster shared by the soundtrack’s official Instagram, showing Robbie in character reading a pink-tinted newspaper (Barbie News, obviously) with the names of the project’s musicians printed in twisty, hot pink letters. “More Barbies & Kens to be announced…” it teases at the bottom.

The faux newspaper also directs readers to a new website called BarbieTheAlbum.com, on which limited edition vinyls and cassettes for the soundtrack are now available for preorder.

Barbie fans have quite the variety of different-colored options to choose from, including the “Candy Floss” vinyl, the “Cotton Candy” vinyl, the “Pink Bloom” vinyl and more.

According to Rolling Stone, the album was executively produced by Mark Ronson.

The soundtrack drops along with the Barbie film on July 21.

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America Ferrera to Star in Sony & Black Bear Pictures’ Upcoming Dramedy “Dumb Money”

Posted on October 21, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

America Ferrera is makin’ money moves…

The 38-year-old Honduran American award-winning actress has joined the cast of Sony and Black Bear Pictures’ upcoming dramedy Dumb Money.

Ferrera is now part of an A-list ensemble cast that includes Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Sebastian Stan, Shailene Woodley, Anthony Ramos, Vincent D’Onofrio, Dane DeHaan and Pete Davidson, with Craig Gillespie directing.

The film is based on Ben Mezrich’s book The Antisocial Network. It tells the story of fortunes won and lost overnight in the David-vs.-Goliath GameStop short squeeze that may have ended up changing Wall Street forever. It offers a gripping portrayal of how a loosely affiliated group of private investors and internet trolls on a subreddit called WallStreetBets took down one of the biggest hedge funds on Wall Street, firing the first shot in a revolution that threatened to upend the establishment.

The script was adapted by Rebecca Angelo & Lauren Schuker Blum.

Principal photography is underway.

Ferrera can be seen next year in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie alongside Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Will Ferrell, Simu Liu and Kate McKinnon. She recently starred on the Apple TV+ series WeCrashed opposite Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway.

She is making her feature directorial debut with an adaptation of Erika Sánchez’s New York Times bestselling novel  I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter for Netflix.

Ana Cruz Kayne to Star in Warner Bros. & Mattel’s Upcoming “Barbie” Film

Posted on April 15, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Ana Cruz Kayne is getting dolled up…

The 37-year-old Latina actress will star in Warner Bros. and Mattel’s upcoming Barbie film

Cruz Kayne is part of a roster of new cast additions that include Kingsley Ben-Adir, Rhea Perlman, Ncuti Gatwa, Emerald Fennell, Sharon Rooney, Scott Evans, Connor Swindells, Ritu Arya and Jamie Demetriou.

They join Margot Robbie, who will star in the titular role, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrara, Kate McKinnon, Simu Liu, Ariana Greenblatt, Emma Mackey, Alexandra Shipp, Issa Rae, Michael Cera, Hari Nef and Will Ferrell.

Greta Gerwig is directing and co-wrote the script with Noah Baumbach.

Plot details are unknown, but given Gerwig’s track record as a director, one can expect this won’t be a typical take on the doll’s story.

Robbie is producing the film under her LuckyChap Entertainment production banner along with LuckyChap’s Tom Ackerley.

The film will be released worldwide sometime in 2023.

America Ferrera to Star Opposite Margot Robbie in Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” Film

Posted on February 9, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

America Ferrera is getting dolled up…

The 37-year-old Honduran American Emmy-winning actress will co-star opposite Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in Warner Bros.’ Barbie, the studio’s film centered on the classic doll line.

Greta Gerwig is directing the film, with Robbie playing the titular role and Gosling playing Ken. No word yet on who Ferrera will play.

Gerwig also co-wrote script with Noah Baumbach.

Plot details are unknown, but given Gerwig’s track record as a director, one can expect that this won’t be your typical take on the doll’s story.

Robbie is producing the film under her LuckyChap Entertainment production banner along with LuckyChap’s Tom Ackerley.

Ferrera is set to make her feature directorial debut with an adaptation of Erika Sánchez’s bestselling novel I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, with Sánchez to serve as a co-producer on the film. She also has the anticipated Apple TV+ limited series We Crashed, which bows in March and also stars Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway.

Ferrera executive produced and directed episodes for Seasons 1 & 2 of Netflix’s Gentefied.

Ana de Armas to Replace Scarlett Johansson in Apple’s Romantic Action Adventure Film “Ghosted”

Posted on December 3, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Ana de Armas has officially ghosted…

The 33-year-old Cuban-Spanish actress will replace Scarlett Johansson in Apple Original Films’ romantic action adventure film Ghosted.

Johansson has amicably exited the film in what sources describe as a scheduling conflict.

de Armas wil reunite with her Knives Out co-star Chris Evans in the film, which will be helmed by Dexter Fletcher.

de Armas will serve as an executive producer.

The film’s writers, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, will also be producers. They developed the project based on an original idea of theirs and preemptively sold it to Skydance.

Apple acquired the high-profile project over the summer. It is described as a high concept romantic action adventure film.

The change comes because the intent is to get the picture into production by February, and the timing didn’t work out for Johansson. Ellison led the charge to bring in de Armas, who’s about as hot an actress out there right now after Knives Out, No Time to Die, and Blonde.

She most recently starred with Evans and Ryan Gosling in the Joe and Anthony Russo-directed The Gray Man for Netflix.

She has also been in talks to play the lead in the John Wick spinoff Ballerina.

Ana de Armas to Star Opposite Ryan Gosling & Chris Evans in Netflix’s “The Gray Man”

Posted on December 14, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a case of gray matters for Ana de Armas.

The 32-year-old Cuban-Spanish actress will star opposite Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans in Joe and Anthony Russo’s big-budget action thriller The Gray Man for Netflix.

The Russos have been developing the project for awhile at Sony Pictures, and when the package went back on the market over the summer, Netflix was quick to acquire it and set Gosling and Evans to star. The film will be the biggest-budget film in Netflix’s history on the feature side.

The Russos penned the script with a recent polish by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.

The Gray Man is the debut novel by Mark Greaney, published in 2009 by Jove Books. It also is the first novel to feature the Gray Man, freelance assassin and former CIA operative Court Gentry.

The action thriller will follow Gentry (Gosling) as he’s hunted across the globe by Lloyd Hansen (Evans), a former cohort at the CIA. The film is based on the first installment of the best-selling Gray Man book series.

de Armas has been on a roll as of late, going back to her Golden Globe-nominated performance in the murder mystery Knives Out. She also recently was seen in the Netflix pic Sergio, The Informer and The Night Clerk. With the Covid-19 pandemic delaying several films, her 2021 is expected to be equally busy as she can be seen in the next James Bond film No Time to Die and the New Regency thriller Deep Water opposite Ben Affleck. She is also set to star in Blonde, where she portrays Norma Jean.

Oscar Isaac Signs with William Morris Endeavor (WME)

Posted on October 24, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Oscar Isaac has new representation…

The 39-year-old Cuban and Guatemalan actor, who most recently starred in and produced Chris Weitz’s MGM film Operation Finale and will reprise his role as Poe Dameron in Star Wars: Episode IX, has signed with William Morris Endeavor (WME) for representation in all areas.

Isaac, who won a Golden Globe in 2016 for HBO’s Show Me a Hero, has several film projects in the works including starring in JC Chandor’s ensemble Triple Frontier, the long-gestating dramatic thriller set up at Netflix.

He also voices Gomez Addams in MGM’s upcoming animated The Addams Family movie.

Additionally, Isaac plays Paul Gauguinopposite Willem Dafoe’sVincent van Goghin At Eternity’s Gate, the biopic directed by Julian Schnabelthat CBS Filmswill release on November 16.

His credits include Alex Garland’s Ex Machina in 2014, the same year he starred in Chandor’s A Most Violent Year; both films were in that season’s awards mix. He also starred in Garland’s follow-up Annihilation, which bowed this year. He nabbed his first Golden Globe nomination for the Coen brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis in 2013.

Star Wars: Episode IX, which returns JJ Abrams to direct in the finale of the Skywalker saga franchise, has a December 20, 2019 release date.

Isaac had been at UTA for almost a decade with that agency sealing the deals that helped him grow into an A-list name, breaking out in Nic Refn’s Drive opposite Ryan Gosling.

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