Zoe Saldana Becomes First Performer to Appear in Top Three Highest Grossing Films Globally

Posted on February 20, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Zoe Saldana is officially a box office blockbuster star…

The 44-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican American actress’ latest film Avatar: The Way of Water has replaced Titanic as the third-highest grossing film in history.

While the director of both films, James Cameron, has two films in the top three, Saldana appears in all three films, a feat not achieved by any other performer.

The sci-fi sequel Avatar: The Way of Water has generated $2.2433 billion globally, enough to overtake Titanic ($2.2428 billion) at the worldwide box office. Now, The Way of Water trails only Avatar ($2.92 billion) and Avengers: Endgame ($2.7 billion) on the all-time charts.

Saldana stars as Ney’tiri in the Avatar films and appears as her Guardians of the Galaxy character, Gamora.

Like the original “Avatar,” the follow-up’s success is attributed to its generation-spanning appeal as well as the incentive to watch the film in premium and 3D formats. On Imax screens, the movie has crossed $250 million. That’s more coinage than many films manage to earn in their entire theatrical runs.

In North America, “The Way of Water” is the ninth-highest grossing movie ever with $657 million to date. In order to fly higher on the all-time domestic charts, it’ll have to take down Titanic (at No. 8 with $659 million) and Avengers: Infinity War (at No. 7 with $678 million).

Elsewhere, “Avatar 2” recently passed Titanic to become the third-highest grossing international release ever with $1.585 billion. It’s behind only 2009’s Avatar ($2.1 billion) and Avengers: Endgame ($1.9 billion) in terms of overseas ticket sales. Standout markets include China ($242 million), France ($144 million), Germany ($135 million) and Korea ($106 million). It ranks as highest-grossing film of all-time in more than 20 countries, including France, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Rep, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Turkey, UAE, Cambodia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Colombia and Puerto Rico.

Disney and 20th Century spent roughly $460 million to produce and promote The Way of Water, which is one of the most expensive films ever. The long-delayed sequel opened on the big screen in December and has remained in the top five on box office charts for 10 consecutive weeks. Saldana and Sam Worthington star in the otherworldly saga about family. A third installment is set to debut in December 2024 with plans for fourth and fifth entries in the coming years.

First Full Trailer Released for Zoe Saldana’s “Avatar” Sequel, “Avatar: The Way of Water”

Posted on November 2, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Zoe Saldana is heading the way of water…

The first full official trailer for James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water, starring the 44-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican American actress, has been released.

Disney will begin the overseas rollout of the sequel to the highest-grossing film ever on December 14 with its U.S. release set for December 16.

The Way of Water is set more than a decade after the events of the first Avatar film. It follows the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri [Saldana] and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive and the tragedies they endure as they fight for their home on Pandora. Brimming with stunning visuals and new creatures, the trailer also features a callback to the original movie with the signature Na’vi line: “I see you.”

The sequel stars Sam Worthington, Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Winslet, Michelle Yeoh, Edie Falco, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Oona Chaplin, Jermaine Clement and more.

Disney previously previewed a teaser trailer at CinemaCon in April before playing it exclusively in theaters on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and then put it online in May.

The studio, Cameron and producer Jon Landau have been making the rounds with footage from the film, screening during June’s CineEurope conference in Barcelona and at D23 in September as well as for executives from China Film Group (a release there is still unconfirmed).

Disney also released a remastered 4K HDR version of the original film in September to set the table for the sequel, and included sneak footage tagged onto the end.

Sources indicate The Way of Water will clock in at more than three hours, but no exact final run-time has been decided. The original was two hours and 41 minutes.

In total, four sequels are planned. Said Landau in Vegas, “The journey across all four movies will create a connected saga.”

Said Cameron at the time, the new films are “pushing limits even farther with high frame rate, higher resolution 3D and greater reality in our visual effects. I wanted our return to Pandora to be something really special. Every shot is designed for the biggest screen, highest resolution and most immersive 3D available. I think we pulled it off.”

Alejandro Edda to Star in Kevin Costner’s Epic Western Film Saga “Horizon”

Posted on September 1, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Alejandro Edda is just beyond the horizon…

The 38-year-old Mexican–American actor has joined the ensemble cast of Kevin Costner’s epic Western film saga Horizon at Warner Bros/New Line.

Edda is among a list of new cast additions that includes Jena Malone, Tatanka Means and Michael Rooker.

The foursome join an expanding roster that includes Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jamie Campbell Bower, Luke Wilson and Thomas Haden Church.

Costner will produce through his Territory Pictures, and direct and star in the period film, which he co-wrote with Jon Baird.

Horizon chronicles a multi-faceted 15-year span of pre- and post-Civil War expansion and settlement of the American West. Experienced through the eyes of many, the epic journey is fraught with peril and intrigue from the constant onslaught of natural elements, to the interactions with the indigenous peoples who lived on the land, and the determination and at many times ruthlessness of those who sought to settle it.

Costner returns to directing for the first time since his 2003 box office hit Open Range. With Horizon, Costner revisits Civil War-era America, the setting for his 1990 blockbuster and multi-Oscar winner Dances with Wolves, which he also directed, produced and starred in. That film won seven Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director for Costner.

Edda was last seen on the FX series Snowfall and is returning to Season 6 as a regular. He stars as El Chapo in the Netflix series Narcos: Mexico and starred opposite Tom Cruise in American Made and in Universal/Blumhouse’s The Forever Purge.

Úrsula Corberó to Star Opposite Kevin Hart in Netflix’s “Lift”

Posted on June 9, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Úrsula Corberó’s career is getting a Lift…

The 32-year-old Spanish actress and model, who rose to acclaim on Netflix’s The Money Heist, will star in Kevin Hart’s Netflix-film “Lift.”

Corberó is among a stellar cast that includes Sam Worthington, Burn Gorman, Jean Reno and Jacob Batalon.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Vincent D’Onofrio, Billy Magnussen, Yun Jee Kim, Viveik Kalra and Paul Anderson are also on board.

Gary Gray will direct the film, with Dan Kunka and Jeremy Doner penning the script. Netflix landed the package last year.

Hart will play a master thief who is wooed by his ex-girlfriend and the FBI to pull off an impossible heist with his international crew on a 777 flying from London to Zurich.

Lift falls under Hart and HartBeat Productions’ creative partnership with Netflix.

Alicia Sanz to Star in the Sci-Fi Thriller “Hello Stranger”

Posted on February 2, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Alicia Sanz is spending time with a Stranger…

The 33-year-old Spanish actress and Robbie Amell have joined Sam Worthington and Jordana Brewster in the thriller Hello Stranger, which began filming in Canada this week.

In Hello Stranger, Faye (Brewster) attempts to replace her newly deceased husband, Evan, with an android simulant (SIM). Although SIM Evan appears like human Evan in every way, Faye does not feel the same love for SIM Evan as it does for her. SIM Evan tries to win Faye back while at the same time being on-the-run from a government agent (Worthington) chasing down SIMs who have become “conscious” and could potentially be a threat to humankind.

April Mullen directs from a script by Ryan Christopher Churchill. Producers are Tim Doiron and James van der Woerd in association with their production company Wango Films, with Myriad’s Kirk D’Amico (The Last Word) an executive producer.

Sanz is known for series like El Rey Network‘s From Dusk Til Dawn: The Series, Amazon’s El Cid and Apple’s Now and Then.

Alejandro Brugués to Direct Netflix’s Horror Film “The Last Will and Testament of Charles Abernathy”

Posted on April 21, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Where there’s a will, there’s Alejandro Brugués.

The Argentinian filmmaker will direct the Netflix horror filmThe Last Will and Testament of Charles Abernathy.

It’s based on Chris LaMont and Joe Russo’s original screenplay that was featured on the 2018 BloodList and sold to the streamer.

Paul Schiff, who collaborated with Netflix on the Sam Worthington-starring thriller Fractured, is producing the film for Paul Schiff Productions.

The story follows billionaire Charles Abernathy who, on the eve of his 75th birthday, invites his four estranged children back home out of fear that tonight someone – or something – is coming to kill him. To ensure his family will help protect him from whatever’s coming, Abernathy puts each of their inheritances on the line – they’ll get nothing if he’s found dead by dawn.

Dan Clarke will serve as executive producer.

Brugués directed the 2012 movie Juan of the Dead; 2018’s Nightmare Cinema, on which he collaborated with Russo; as well as episodes for From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series and Hulu’s Into the Dark.

Dean Scott Vazquez to Star in Gigi Gaston’s Indie Drama “Gypsy Moon”

Posted on December 20, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Dean Scott Vazquez is over the moon…

The young Latino actor has been cast in Gypsy Moon, an indie drama from writer and director Gigi Gaston that recently wrapped production in Los Angeles.

Vazquez will star opposite Lena Headey, Sam Worthington and Barbara Hershey in the film.

Headey stars as the title character, a burlesque dancer who, on the eve of her last dance, must go on the run to save a neighbor boy (Vazquez) whose life is threatened by her ex-longtime lover (Worthington). She finds her real second chance at life in the love she feels for the child.

La La Anthony, Cam Gigandet, Martin Sensmeier and Emma Holzer round out the cast.

The film hails from Aquarius Content in association with Pop Films, Screen Media, Foresight Entertainment and 120db.

Vazquez’s previous credits include the upcoming film adaptation of the Broadway musical In The Heights, Mr. Robot and Jack Ryan.

Kid Cudi to Star in Nicholas Jarecki’s Opioid Thriller “Dreamland”

Posted on April 4, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Kid Cudiis living in a dream(land)…

The 35-year-old part Mexican-American actor and Grammy-winning recording artist, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, has been cast in Nicholas Jarecki’s opioid thriller, Dreamland.

Kid Cudi joins new additions Sam Worthington and Indira Varma. They join a solid cast that includes Gary Oldman, Armie Hammer, Evangeline Lilly, Greg Kinnear, Michelle Rodriguezand Lily-Rose Depp.

Currently filming in Montreal, the film follows three colliding stories: a drug trafficker (Hammer) arranges a multi-cartel Fentanyl smuggling operation between Canada and the U.S.; an architect (Lilly) recovering from an OxyContin

addiction tracks down the truth behind her son’s involvement with narcotics; and a university professor (Oldman) battles unexpected revelations about his employer, a drug company with deep government influence bringing a new “non-addictive” painkiller to market.

Kid Cudi is an FDAinvestigator delving deep into prescription safety.

His previous credits include a series regular role on the HBO series How to Make It in America and appearances the films Drunk Parents, Entourage and Two Night Stand.

Rapace to Star Opposite Idris Elba and Sam Worthington in “Alive Alone”

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Noomi Rapace won’t be alive alone for long…

The 34-year-old half-Spanish actress, who was originally announced as the leading lady in Alive Alone at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, has two new co-stars.

Rapace was originally set to star opposite Matthias Schoenaerts in the Thunder Road-produced drama. But Schoenaerts had to pull out of the project for personal reasons.

But Rapace won’t be co-starless for long…

Idris Elba and Sam Worthington have just joined the cast, with filming expected to start this March.

The New York-set drama marks the feature helming debut of Khurram Longi, who will direct the project from his own script.

Elba stars as an ex-detainee of Guantanamo Bay working as a taxi driver, and Rapace plays a prostitute on the run from a feared crime boss (Worthington). When their worlds collide, they unexpectedly find salvation in one another.

Elba and Rapace previously co-starred together in the sort-of prequel to Ridley Scott‘s Alien, Prometheus.

Rapace, who rose to acclaim after starring in the original The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo film and its sequels in the Millennium trilogy, most recently starred in Brian De Palma’s erotic thriller Passion.

Saldaña to Star in the Next Three “Avatar” Films

Posted on January 15, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Zoë Saldaña will be a little blue for years to come…

The 33-year-old half-Dominican/half-Puerto Rican American actress and her Avatar co-star Sam Worthington have finalized deals to reprise their characters for the next three installments of the epic sci-fi action film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron.

The trio of films are being made back-to-back-to-back by Cameron, who last August enlisted Josh Friedman, duo Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, and Shane Salerno to help him work on the screenplays.

The first actor who signed on for all three new movies was Stephen Lang, who played mad Marine Colonel Quaritch in the 2009 film.

His character dies in the first film, but Cameron will be resurrecting him somehow.

Other plot details are being kept under wraps on Pandora, although The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Jake Sully and Neytiri, the characters played by Worthington and Saldana, respectively, have kids.

Said Cameron: “Jake Sully is a rare combination of passion, strength, street smarts and soul, which requires a lot from an actor. Sam brought to the role a combination of sensitivity, vulnerability and strength. Zoe captured every aspect of the character I envisioned, bringing to Neytiri a mix of delicacy, fierceness and incredible physicality. I am beyond pleased they’ll be returning with us to Pandora.”

Cameron and Jon Landau will produce through their Lightstorm Entertainment banner.

The first sequel is scheduled to hit theaters in December 2016, with the second to follow in December 2017 and the third a year later.

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