Bella Thorne Starring in the Indie Film “Habit”

Posted on March 4, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Bella Thornehas found a new habit…

The 22-year-old half-Cuban American actress/singer is currently filming Habit, an indie film being produced by Donovan Leitch, 852 Films, Martingale Pictures, Voltage Pictures, Cloudlight, and Elevated Films, the production company behind the Oscar-nominated film, Mudbound.

The film centers on a street smart party girl with a Jesus fetish who gets mixed up in a violent drug deal and finds a possible way out — by masquerading as a Nun.

First-time feature director Janell Shirtcliffis at the helm, directing from a script by Suki Kaiser, based on a story by Libby Mintzand Shirtcliff.

Thorne first rose to acclaim on the Disney Channel’s Shake it Up.

Her film credits include The Duff, Blended and Midnight Sun.

Bella Thorne to Star in the Indie Action Comedy “Chick Fight”

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

The fight’s on for Bella Thorne…

The 22-year-old half-Cuban American actress/singer has joined the cast of Chick Fight, the indie action comedy starring and produced by Malin Akerman.

Paul Leydenis directing Joseph Downey’s original script for the film, which is being produced by Yale Productions and Idiot Savant Pictures. A January shooting start is in the works.

Akerman stars as Anna, who still hasn’t reconciled with the recent death of her adored mother. She’s just discovered that her loving and supportive father is gay, and she accidentally burns down her uninsured coffee shop after learning a thrown joint and a spilled bottle of moonshine don’t mix. Knowing Anna needs to be abruptly shaken and stirred from her deep funk, her best friend takes her to an all-women underground fight club, where she encounters an eclectic cast of characters.

Thorne plays Olivia, the club’s intimidatingly perfect and most brutally efficient fighter, who quickly becomes a rival in and out of the ring.

Her previous feature credits include Netflix’s The Babysitter franchise, Blended, Stuck on You, The DUFF, Midnight Sun and the Sundance AGBO Studios feature Assassination Nation.

Her television credits include Disney Channel’s Shake It Up, HBO’s Big Love, ABC’s Dirty Sexy Money and Freeform’s Famous in Love.

Thorne Joins Voice Cast of The Weinstein Co.’s “The Guardian Brothers”

Posted on January 18, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Bella Thorne has a new guardian…

The 19-year-old half-Cuban American actress/singer has joined the voice cast of The Weinstein Co.’s The Guardian Brothers.

Thorne, best known for starring in the Disney Channel series Shake It Up, joins a cast that includes Edward Norton, Jim Gaffigan, Meryl Streep, Mel Brooks and Nicole Kidman in the U.S. version of the animated movie.

Initially distributed in China by Alibaba Pictures in early 2016 (under the original title The Little Door Gods), the film is being re-voiced in English by The Weinstein Co.

The Weinstein Co. acquired worldwide rights, with the exception of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, for the film.

The original movie follows the comedic adventures of two “door guardians” — figures from Chinese folklore who protect the entranceway of one’s home — who are out of work because contemporary Chinese people are so busy with modern consumer life that they have forgotten about the spirit world.

Gary Wang wrote and directed The Little Door Gods, which grossed $12 million during its China release in 2016.

Thorne Signs with Publicity Firm 42West

Posted on December 27, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Bella Thorne has a new publicity team…

The 19-year-old half-Cuban American actress/singer has signed with publicity firm 42West.

The Disney Channel alum most recently appeared in Boo! A Madea Halloween, and next year she will star in Freeform’s soapy drama Famous in Love, from Pretty Little Liars creator I. Marlene King.

Thorne is best known as one of the stars of the Disney Channel series Shake It Up.

Freeform Gives Series Order to Thorne’s “Famous In Love”

Posted on April 9, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

There’s more Love in Bella Thorne’s future…

Freeform has given a series order to Famous In Love, starring the 18-year-old half-Cuban American actress/singer.

Based on Rebecca Serle’s romantic novel, the drama pilot centers on Paige (Thorne), an ordinary college student who gets her big break after auditioning for the starring role in a Hollywood blockbuster. She must learn how to navigate her new star-studded life and undeniable chemistry with her two co-leads while discovering the highs and lows that come with being the new It Girl in town.

The series pickup comes a year after the project was bought for fast-track development by Freeform (then ABC Family). It was ordered to pilot in October.

Written by Serle and I. Marlene King, executive producer/co-showrunner of Freeform’s flagship drama series Pretty Little Liars, Famous In Love also stars Carter Jenkins, Jesse Henderson, Keith Powers, Niki Koss, Georgie Flores, Perrey Reeves, Pepi Sonuga and Mark Valley.

King, Miguel Arteta, who directed the pilot, and Dan Farah are executive producers, and Serle is co-executive producer.

Famous In Love joins Freeform drama pilots Guilt and Beyond, which were picked up to series in November.

Thorne, who has a television history with Disney having starred on the Disney Channel series Shake It Up, is a fan of Serle’s book, calling it “a must-read for anyone curious about life and love behind the scenes” in a quote featured on the book cover.

Centineo Replacing Jake T. Austin on ABC Family’s Drama Series “The Fosters”

Posted on June 23, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Noah Centineo is headed into Fosters care…

The 19-year-old Latino actor has joined the cast of ABC Family’s award-winning drama The Fosters as a series regular in a recasting.

He’ll play Jesus Adams Foster, originally played by Jake T. Austin, who left the series at the end of Season 2.

Austin tweeted in March that he had decided to exit the series and when Jesus had gotten into a traumatic accident at the end of the season, it was believed his character had been killed off. But it was revealed in the Season 3 opener that Jesus survived and had gone off to boarding school.

Centineo, best known for playing the role of Dallas in Austin & Ally and Jaden in How to Build a Better Boy, will join the series in the second half of Season 3, premiering in 2016.

He also appeared in the Disney Channel’s Shake It Up, Jessie and Growin Up and Down.

Thorne to Star in ABC Family’s Latest Drama Project “Famous in Love”

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Bella Thorne is ready to embrace fame and love…

The 17-year-old half-Cuban American actress-singer is set to star in ABC Family’s latest drama project, which is based on Rebecca Serle’s romantic novel Famous In Love.

Now in development, the television adaptation is being spearheaded by I. Marlene King, executive producer/co-showrunner of ABC Family’s flagship drama Pretty Little Liars.

The Famous In Love adaptation, which is being by King and Serle, centers on a college student (Thorne) plucked from obscurity to star in a major Hollywood movie franchise who struggles with her newfound fame.

Thorne, who starred on the Disney Channel series Shake It Up, is a fan of Serle’s book, which was published in October by Poppy. A budding author herself — her debut novel Autumn Falls came out in November — gave a quote about Famous In Love, which was featured on the book’s cover.

“Rebecca Serle completely captured what it’s like to be a part of Young Hollywood,” Thorne said. “I absolutely loved Famous In Love. A must-read for anyone curious about life and love behind the scenes.”

Thorne’s television credits include appearances on Red Band Society, Big Love and October Road.

Thorne Joins the Voice Cast of the Animated Film “Underdogs”

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

It’s okay to call Bella Thorne an underdog…

The 17-year-old half-Cuban American actress/singer and former Disney Channel star has joined the voice cast of the animated film Underdogs.

From The Weinstein Co., the Argentine-Spanish family flick from director Juan J. Campanella tracks a shy but talented foosball player who defends his town and his girl from a nefarious soccer player with the help of his foosball table figurines, who come magically to life.

The film is undergoing a Hollywood revision and Ariana Grande, Nicholas Hoult, Matthew Morrison, Katie Holmes, John Leguizamo, Eugenio Derbez, Taran Killam, Bobby Moynihan, and Chazz Palminteri are currently recording English-language dialogue with some script retooling for the domestic audience.

Thorne will voice the younger version of love interest Laura, also played by Grande and Holmes.

Thorne is known for Disney Channel’s Shake It Up and her recurring roles on Dirty Sexy Money and Big Love and was recently seen in theaters in Disney’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. She also guest-starred on CBS’ CSI.

She joins Underdogs after starring in another Weinstein Co. release, the Blumhouse/Dimension-produced Amityville: The Awakening.

Underdogs is set to open in theaters on April 10, 2015.

Irigoyen to Star in the Disney Channel’s Comedy Pilot “Growing Up and Down”

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Things are looking up (and down) for Adam Irigoyen…

The 16-year-old half-Cuban American actor and Disney Channel star has been cast as the lead in the network’s newest pilot Growing Up and Down, which has been given the green light.

Irogoyen, best known for his role as Deuce Martinez in the network’s series Shake It Up, will star opposite Austin & Ally star Raini Rodriguez in the family comedy.

Irogoyen and Rodriguez will portray adult parents who suddenly and inexplicably are transformed into teenagers again.

Cecilia Balagot and Noah Centineo will co-star as their teenage kids, who now must navigate high school with their parents — a couple with the daunting task of re-living their adolescence under the critical eyes of their children.

Production on Growing Up and Down is slated to begin in August.

Thorne Releases Debut Single “Call It Whatever”

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Bella Thorne is ready to drop it like it’s pop…

16-year-old half-Cuban American actress and former Disney Channel recently unveiled her debut single, “Call It Whatever.”

The former Shake It Up star’s bubblegum track has earned more than 153,000 views on YouTube since its May 13 release, and previews a debut album that Thorne says won’t follow in the path of the network’s other former stars like Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez.

“I don’t think about anything close to that,” Thorne tells Billboard when asked about the inevitable comparisons. “I don’t think, ‘Well, Miley went this way, and Selena went that way, so I have to go in the middle.’ That’s not it. I’m just being me. My song is called ‘Call It Whatever.’ You can call me whatever, if you like me or not like me. I really don’t care.”

The release of “Call It Whatever” — which was produced by Paro and co-written by Par Westerland, Rickard Goransson and Skyler Stonestreet — comes roughly a year and a half after Thorne signed to Hollywood Records, the home of Gomez as well as young female stars like Lucy Hale and Demi Lovato.

When the deal was finalized, Thorne was already starring on the network’s hit sitcom Shake It Up along with Zendaya. Thorne released the song “TTYLXOX” on the Shake It Up: Live 2 Dance soundtrack in 2012, but for the Florida native, a full-fledged pop career was always going to take a bit longer to kick-start.

“I really wanted to work on my voice,” says Thorne. “I never sang before, and I didn’t want to put an album out that I wasn’t proud of, or that was Auto-tuned or anything like that. I waited so that I could take a lot of vocal classes, so that I could work on my voice every day.”

The music video for “Call It Whatever” will premiere on May 29, and was filmed in Los Angeles — at the same location, Thorne points out, that Kelis filmed her “Milkshake” video. Thorne’s debut album is due out later in the summer, and won’t necessarily feature the kid-friendly vibe of its lead single.

“‘Call It Whatever’ is my youngest-sounding song,” she says. “This song is definitely for my younger audience. I don’t want to eliminate them, but my album is geared a little bit older. I have some more indie type of songs, some hip-hop, some with an 80s feel, and I have dance music on there.”

While Thorne hopes to tour extensively behind her first album, she has a handful of other projects to promote: she co-stars in the new Adam Sandler comedy Blended and the upcoming film adaptation of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day, among several other film projects. Her first book, Autumn Falls, is due out in November, and is featured in a Neutrogena beauty campaign.

“I want to try everything,” says Thorne. “And I want to be great at everything, if it’s the last thing I do.”

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