Tag Archives: Safety Not Guaranteed

Plaza to Star Opposite Zac Efron & Robert De Niro in “Dirty Grandpa”

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Aubrey Plaza is about to get dirty…

The 30-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/comedian has joined the cast of Lionsgate’s road trip comedy Dirty Grandpa.

Aubrey Plaza

The Parks and Recreation star will star opposite Zac Efron and Robert De Niro in the film about an uptight twenty-something (Efron) who embarks on a road trip before his wedding to bond with his recently widowed grandfather (De Niro) only to find that his grandpa is a foul-mouthed lunatic on a mission to get laid during Spring Break.

Plaza will portray Lenore, a savvy, beguiling party girl looking for fun on Spring Break.

Dan Mazer (Da Ali G Show) is directing from a screenplay by John Phillips.

Lionsgate has already slated the film for an August 12, 2016 release.

Plaza returns to NBC television this month for the seventh and final season of Parks and Recreation. Her film credits include Safety Not Guaranteed, The To Do List, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Funny People, and Damsels In Distress.

She next appears in Hal Hartley’s Ned Rifle and in A Driftless Area with John Hawkes. She also stars with Natasha Lyonne and Judy Greer in Jamie Babbit’s indie comedy Fresno.

Plaza to Star in “The Driftless Area”

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Aubrey Plaza is driftless in Hollywood…

The 29-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/comedian and Parks and Recreation star has joined the cast of The Driftless Area, starring Anton Yelchin, Zooey Deschanel, John Hawkes and Frank Langella.

Aubrey Plaza

The film centers on the young love between a bartender and a mysterious woman. Their relationship is threatened after the bartender, Pierre, gets mixed up with a dangerous crook and his bag of stolen cash.

The Driftless Area, an adaptation of Tom Drury‘s novel of the same name, is currently shooting in Vancouver.

Zachary Sluser, who co-wrote the screenplay with Drury, is directing.

Plaza, who starred in 2012’s Safety Not Guaranteed, which earned her the Breakthrough Performer of the Year award at CinemaCon,and  2013’s The To-Do List, can next be seen in the upcoming A Many Splintered Thing opposite Chris Evans and Michelle Monaghan and Lionsgate’s Mortdecai, co-starring Johnny Depp, Ewan McGregor and Gwyneth Paltrow.

 

Both films are in postproduction.

Plaza to Receive Breakthrough Performer of the Year Award at This Year’s CinemaCon

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Aubrey Plaza is about to get her breakthrough…

The Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation has announced that the 28-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/comedian and Parks and Recreation star will receive the Breakthrough Performer of the Year award at this year’s CinemaCon.

Aubrey Plaza

Plaza, who graces the cover of Complex Magazine’s April/May cover, earned kudos for her starring role in the indie film Safety Not Guaranteed. She’ll next star in The To Do List.

The awards dinner will take place April 15-18 at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.

Others to be honored include: Breakthrough Filmmaker of the Year — Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Cinema Icon Award — Morgan Freeman, Male Star of Tomorrow — Armie Hammer, Female Star of Tomorrow — Hailee Steinfeld, Award of Excellence in Acting — Elizabeth Banks, Comedy Duo of the Year — Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, Lifetime Achievement Award — Harrison Ford, Male Star of the Year — Chris Pine and Female Star of the Year — Melissa McCarthy.

Plaza Cast in “A Many Splintered Thing”

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Aubrey Plaza has lined up her next motion picture project…

The 28-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/comedian and Parks and Recreation star has been cast in the ensemble film A Many Splintered Thing.

Aubrey Plaza

Directed by Justin Reardon, the film will feature Luke Wilson, Chris Evans, Michelle Monaghan, Topher Grace and Giovanni Ribisi.

In the vein of Amelie and (500) Days Of Summer, A Many Splintered Thing tells the story of a young man disillusioned by love who meets a breathtaking young woman at a charity dinner while pretending to be a philanthropist. Turns out that she’s engaged to a guy who doesn’t like her going on dates. Challenged by the chase, and egged on by his eclectic friends, he feigns a platonic relationship in order to keep seeing her as he tries to conquer her heart. Grace will play the poser’s best friend.

Earlier this year, Plaza earned a Young Hollywood Award for her breakthrough performance in Safety Not Guaranteed, her first starring role in a major film.

Production on A Many Splintered Thing begins November 3 in Los Angeles.

Méndez Esparza Receives Gotham Independent Film Awards Nod

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Antonio Méndez Esparza is having a notable year…

Antonio Méndez Esparza

The 26-year-old Spanish filmmaker has earned a Gotham Independent Film Awards nomination in the Breakthrough Director category.

Méndez Esparza was recognized for his exceptional work on his debut feature film Aquí y Allá (Here and There).

Aquí y Allá

The film, which took top honors at the Critics’ Week sidebar at the Cannes Film Festival, centers on Pedro, a Mexican man who returns home to a small mountain village in Guerrero, after years of working in the US. He finds his daughters older, and more distant than he imagined, while his wife still has the same smile. Having saved money from two trips to the U.S., he hopes to now finally make a better life with his family, and even to pursue his own dreams on the side by starting a band: the Copa Kings.

Meanwhile, Parks and Recreation’s Aubrey Plaza has been recognized for her work on the feature film Safety Not Guaranteed, a film that centers on three magazine employees who head out on an assignment to interview a guy who placed a classified ad seeking a companion for time travel.

The 28-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/comedian and her co-stars in the film – Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni, Jenica Bergere, Kristen Bell, Jeff Garlin and Mary Lynn Rajskub – received a nod in the Best Ensemble Performance category.

The Gotham Independent Film Awards are handed out by the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), the nation’s oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers.

The awards signal the kick-off to Hollywood’s awards season. In all, Gotham Independent Film Award nominations were given to a total of 26 films across six competitive categories: Best Feature, Best Documentary, Breakthrough Director, Breakthrough Actor, Best Ensemble Performance, and Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You.

The Gotham Awards ceremony will be held on Monday, November 26th in Manhattan. In addition to the competitive awards, actors Marion Cotillard and Matt Damon, director David O. Russell, and Participant Media founder Jeff Skoll will each be presented with a career tribute.

Here’s a look at the categories with Latinos being recognized:

Best Ensemble Performance

– Bernie, Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, Matthew McConaughey (Millennium Entertainment)
– Moonrise Kingdom, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban (Focus Features)
– Safety Not Guaranteed, Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni, Jenica Bergere, Kristen Bell, Jeff Garlin, Mary Lynn Rajskub (Film District)
– Silver Linings Playbook, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, Anupam Kher (The Weinstein Company)
– Your Sister’s Sister, Emily Blunt, Rosemarie Dewitt, Mark Duplass (IFC Films)

Breakthrough Director

– Zal Batmanglij for Sound of My Voice (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
– Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky for Francine (Factory 25 and The Film Sales Company)
– Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin for Now, Forager (Argot Pictures)
– Antonio Méndez Esparza for Aquí y Allá (Here and There) (Torch Films)
– Benh Zeitlin for Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Plaza’s “The To Do List” Opening Next Valentine’s Day

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So what’s next on Aubrey Plaza to-do list? Opening her next motion picture next February.

The 27-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/comedian—who recently picked up a Young Hollywood Award for her breakthrough performance in Safety Not Guaranteed—will be starring as a high school student working her way through the pains of social and sexual awkwardness in The To Do List.

The To Do List

In this first look at the 1990s-set comedy, it’s clear that both the film’s fashions and intended discomfort deliver a whole world of nostalgic pain.

The film, written and directed by Funny or Die‘s Maggie Carey, featured Plaza in rounded glasses and skorts as she sets off to figure out the world of sex, which to her dismay mostly consists of things that end with “job.”

Along with the Parks and Recreation star, the film stars several comedy stars, including Donald Glover, Andy Samberg and Bill Hader.

The To Do List will hit theaters on Valentine’s Day 2013.

Lopez Leads Pack of ALMA Award Nominees

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There’s no doubt that Jennifer Lopez has plenty of Latino spirit… And, now she could have a few trophies to prove it.

The 42-year-old Puerto Rican multi-hyphenate received three nominations for the 2012 ALMA Awards, making her this year’s most nominated Latino artist.

Created by the National Council of La Raza, the ALMA Awards recognize Hispanic performers who promote positive portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment field.

In a year that saw Lopez conquer the entertainment world in more ways than one, Lopez received a nod for Favorite Movie Actress—Comedy/Musical
for her work in What to Expect When You’re Expecting, as well as a nomination for Favorite Female Music Artist and a nod for Favorite TV Reality, Variety, or Comedy Personality or Act for serving as a judge on American Idol.

But Lopez isn’t the only Hispanic artist to receive more than one nod…

Aubrey Plaza scored a twofer on the ballot. The 28-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress is not only up for Favorite Movie Actress—Comedy/Musical for her work in the indie film Safety Not Guaranteed, but she’s also nominated for Favorite TV Actress—Comedy for Parks and Recreation.

Sofia Vergara also received double the love. The 40-year-old Colombian actress, who just got engaged, is nominated for her work on Modern Family and The Three Stooges.

The winners will be unveiled in an hour-long ceremony, hosted once again by nominee Eva Longoria, set to air Sept. 21 on NBC.

Fans can vote online for their favorites in all the categories through Sept. 7.

Here’s the complete list of nominations for the 2012 ALMA Awards:

Favorite Movie
Act of Valor
For Greater Glory
Girl in Progress
Puss in Boots
The Way

Favorite Movie Actor
Diego Boneta, Rock of Ages
Benicio Del Toro, Savages
Andy Garcia, For Greater Glory
Rodrigo Santoro, What to Expect When You’re Expecting
Martin Sheen, The Way

Favorite Movie Actress—Drama/Adventure
Salma Hayek, Savages
Eva Longoria, For Greater Glory
Eva Mendes, Girl in Progress
Roselyn Sanchez, Act of Valor
Zoë Saldana, Colombiana

Favorite Movie Actress—Comedy/Musical
Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Penélope Cruz, To Rome With Love
Cameron Diaz, What to Expect When You’re Expecting
Jennifer Lopez, What to Expect When You’re Expecting
Aubrey Plaza, Safety Not Guaranteed

Favorite Movie Actor—Supporting Role
Demián Bichir, Savages
Rubén Blades, For Greater Glory
Emilio Estevez, The Way
Oscar Isaac, For Greater Glory
Édgar Ramírez, Wrath of the Titans

Favorite Movie Actress—Supporting Role
Mia Maestro, Savages
Cierra Ramirez, Girl in Progress
Genesis Rodriguez, Man on the Ledge
Harmony Santana, Gun Hill Road
Sofía Vergara, The Three Stooges

Favorite TV Reality, Variety, or Comedy Personality or Act
Christina Aguilera, The Voice
Gabriel Iglesias, Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand-Up Revolution
George Lopez, Take Me Out
Jennifer Lopez, American Idol
William Levy, Dancing with the Stars

Favorite TV Actor
Benjamin Bratt, Private Practice
Danny Pino, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit
Tyler Posey, Teen Wolf
James Roday, Psych
Charlie Sheen, Anger Management

Favorite TV Actress—Drama
Jordana Brewster, Dallas
Julie Gonzalo, Dallas
Cote de Pablo, NCIS
Lana Parrilla, Once Upon a Time
Madeleine Stowe, Revenge

Favorite TV Actress—Comedy
Victoria Justice, Victorious
Aubrey Plaza, Parks and Recreation
Naya Rivera, Glee
Belle Thorne, Shake It Up
Sofía Vergara, Modern Family

Favorite TV Actor—Supporting Role in a Drama
Guillermo Diaz, Scandal
Carlos Gomez, The Glades
Jon Huertas, Castle
Michael Trevino, The Vampire Diaries
David Zayas, Dexter

Favorite TV Actor—Supporting Role in a Comedy
Hector Elizondo, Last Man Standing
Ian Gomez, Cougar Town
Adam Irigoyen, Shake It Up
Oscar Nuñez, The Office
Rico Rodriguez, Modern Family

Favorite TV Actress—Supporting Role
Constance Marie, Switched at Birth
Sara Ramirez, Grey’s Anatomy
Sarah Ramos, Parenthood
Gina Torres, Suits
Lauren Vélez, Dexter

Favorite Male Music Artist
Bruno Mars
Pitbull
Ricky Martin
Romeo Santos
Santana

Favorite Female Music Artist

Gloria Estefan
Jennifer Lopez
Demi Lovato
Naya Rivera
Esperanza Spalding