Soledad O’Brien Named to Peabody Board of Directors

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Soledad O’Brien is on board…

In an effort to advance the organization’s commitment to storytelling, Peabody has appointed six new members to its bicoastal board of directors, including the 53-year-old half-Afro-Cuban American journalist.

Joining O’Brien, a presenter on HBO’s Real Sportsand host of Hearst Television’s Matter Of Fact with Soledad O’Brien, on the board are Chris McCarthy, ViacomCBS’ newly appointed president of entertainment and youth brands, and ESPN’s executive vice president of content, Connor Schell.

NPReditorial director Nancy Barnesand UnivisionCommunications’ executive vice president of government and corporate affairs Jessica Herrera-Flaniganhave also joined the board.

The five executives will serve on Peabody’s East Coast board, with the sixth new arrival, CAApartner Steven Lafferty, joining the organization’s West Coast board.

The bicoastal boards are distinct from the traditional board of jurors, which hands out the Peabody Awards. Existing board members include Vicechief Nancy Dubuc, PBS CEO Paula Kergerand Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos.

Peabody executive director Jeffrey Jonessaid: “The intellectual capital and energy our boards bring is unparalleled, and we are excited to welcome these new members as they help us extend our reach through new partnerships and public engagements.”

O’Brien to Host This Weekend’s Global Citizen 2015 Earth Day Rally

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Soledad O’Brien is rallying for the planet…

The 48-year-old half-Cuban American broadcast journalist is set to host the free Global Citizen 2015 Earth Day rally alongside will.i.am.

The all-day Earth Day rally and concert will take place on Saturday, April 18 at the National Mall from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm ET near the Washington Monument.

Usher, Mary J. Blige, Gwen Stefani, Common and Train are scheduled to perform during the event.

Earth Day organizers also are announcing plans with developers of the popular Angry Birds game to create a new in-game experience about climate change. Angry Birds has been downloaded 2.8 billion times worldwide. The game’s climate change campaign will coincide with the United Nations General Assembly in September as world leaders tackle sustainability goals.

Earth Day Network president Kathleen Rogers says the game and celebrity power will help more people focus on solving climate change.

The rally is a joint initiative with the Global Poverty Project to end extreme poverty and coincides with meetings at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington. Top officials from the World Bank and United Nations are expected to speak at the rally.

Eliminating poverty will require solving climate change, Rogers said. So advocates on both issues are collaborating to push for sustainable international development.

“Whether it’s the big migrations we expect to see or soil depletion or emptying the oceans, loss of species, loss of timberland — all these things are creating poverty at the same time that they are also creating climate change issues,” Rogers said.

While Earth Day is officially on April 22, the Saturday rally will ask participants to commit to making environmentally friendly “acts of green” this year. Organizers also are asking attendees to sign petitions for a U.N. conference on climate change planned for Paris in December.

Blacc Receives Two NAACP Image Award Nominations

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Aloe Blacc may be the man to beat…

The 35-year-old Panamanian American singer-songwriter has landed two NAACP Image Award nods, making him this year’s most nominated Latino entertainer.

Presented by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the awards honor outstanding people of color in film, television, music and literature.

Blacc, earning his first-ever Image Award nominations, received a nod for Outstanding New Artist, where he’s up against
Erica Campbell, Jhene Aiko, Liv Warfield and the  3 Winans Brothers.

Additionally, he scored a nomination in the Outstanding Song category for his smash hit single “The Man.”

Meanwhile, Sofia Vergara has earned fourth NAACP Image Award nomination the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series category for her star-making role as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett on ABC’s Modern Family. The 42-year-old Colombian actress, ranked as one of the most powerful women in the world by Forbes, won the award in 2011.

Zoe Saldaña picked up a nomination in the Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for her voice work on Guillermo del Toro’s animated film The Book of Life. The 35-year-old half-Dominican/half-Puerto Rican American actress voices the character of Maria in the CGI romantic comedy, which is set during the Mexican holiday of the Day of the Dead.

Other Latinos nominated for a 2015 NAACP Image Award include Scandal’s Guillermo Diaz, Dora and Friends: Into the City’s Fatima Ptacek, Soledad O’Brien and Rosie Perez.

The 46th annual NAACP Image Awards will be handed out on February 6 in a ceremony telecast live by TV One.

Here’s the full list of categories with Latino nominees:

Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance
Jamie Foxx – “Rio 2″ (20th Century Fox)
Loretta Devine – “Doc McStuffins” (Disney Junior)
Morgan Freeman – “The Lego Movie” (Warner Bros. Pictures/Village Roadshow Pictures/Ratpac-Dune Entertainment/Lego System A/S/Vertigo Entertainment/Lin Pictures)
Tracy Morgan – “The Boxtrolls” (Focus Features)
Zoe Saldana – “The Book of Life” (20th Century Fox)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Adrienne C. Moore – “Orange is the New Black” (Netflix)
Laverne Cox – “Orange is the New Black” (Netflix)
Lorraine Toussaint – “Orange is the New Black” (Netflix)
Sofia Vergara – “Modern Family” (ABC)
Yara Shahidi – “black-ish” (ABC)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Alfred Enoch – “How to Get Away with Murder” (ABC)
Courtney B. Vance – “Masters of Sex” (Showtime)
Guillermo Diaz – “Scandal” (ABC)
Jeffrey Wright – “Boardwalk Empire” (HBO)
Joe Morton – “Scandal” (ABC)

Outstanding Performance by a Youth in a Youth/Children’s Program (Series or Special)
Amber Montana – “Haunted Hathaways” (Nickelodeon)
China Anne McClain – “How to Build a Better Boy” (Disney Channel)
Curtis Harris – “Haunted Hathaways” (Nickelodeon)
Fatima Ptacek – “Dora and Friends: Into The City!” (Nickelodeon)
Taliyah Whitaker – “Wallykazam!” (Nickelodeon)

Outstanding Documentary (Television)
“American Experience: Freedom Summer” (PBS)
“Bad Boys” (ESPN)
“Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown” (HBO)
“Rand University” (ESPN)
 “The War Comes Home: Soledad O’Brien Reports” (CNN)

Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
Brigette Munoz-Liebowitz – “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” – Road Trip (FOX)
Aisha Muharrar – “Parks and Recreation” – Ann & Chris (NBC)
Regina Hicks – “Instant Mom” – A Kids’s Choice (Nickelodeon and Nick@Nite)
Sara Hess – “Orange is the New Black” – It Was the Change (Netflix)
Mindy Kaling – “The Mindy Project” – Danny and Mindy (FOX)

Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series
Ken Whittingham – “Parks and Recreation” – Prom (NBC)
Ken Whittingham – “The Mindy Project” – Think Like a Peter (FOX)
Reginald Hudlin – “Bad Judge” – Knife to a Gunfight (NBC)
Linda Mendoza – “Bad Judge” – One Brave Waitress (NBC)
Stan Lathan – “Real Husbands of Hollywood” – No New Friends (BET)

Outstanding New Artist
Aloe Blacc (XIX Recordings/Interscope Records)
Erica Campbell (My Block Inc./eOne Music)
Jhene Aiko (Def Jam Recordings)
Liv Warfield (Kobalt Label Services)
3 Winans Brothers (BMG)

Outstanding Song
“We Are Here” – Alicia Keys (RCA Records)
“The Man” – Aloe Blacc (Interscope Records)
“Pretty Hurts” – Beyoncé (Columbia Records)
“i” – Kendrick Lamar (TDE/Interscope)
“Good Kisser” – Usher (RCA Records)

Outstanding Literary Work – Biography/ Auto Biography
 “Breaking Ground: My Life in Medicine” – Louis Sullivan with David Chanoff (University of Georgia Press)
“Handbook for an Unpredictable Life: How I Survived Sister Renata and My Crazy Mother, and Still Came Out Smiling (with Great Hair)” – Rosie Perez (Crown Archetype)
“Life In Motion” – Misty Copeland (Touchstone)
“Mayor for Life” – Marion Barry, Omar Tyree (Strebor Books)
“Stand Up Straight and Sing!” – Jessye Norman (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Outstanding Literary Work – Children
“Beautiful Moon” – Tonya Bolden (Author), Eric Velasquez (Illustrator) (Abrams/Abrams Books for Young Readers)
“Little Melba and Her Big Trombone” – Katheryn Russell-Brown (Author), Frank Morrison (Illustrator) (Lee & Low Books)
“Malcolm Little” – Ilyasah Shabazz (Author), AG Ford (Illustrator) (Simon & Schuster)
“Searching for Sarah Rector” – Tonya Bolden (Abrams/Abrams Books for Young Readers)
“Dork Diaries 8: Tales From A Note-So-Happily Ever After” – Rachel Renee Russell with Nikki Russell and Erin Russell (Simon & Schuster)

Armisen to Star in the HBO Original Comedy Film “7 Days in Hell”

Posted on July 24, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Fred Armisen has landed a Hell of a role…

The 47-year-old half-Venezuelan actor and former Saturday Night Live star has landed a role in HBO’s original comedy movie 7 Days in Hell, starring Armisen’s former SNL cast mate Andy Samberg and Game of Thrones’ Kit Harington.

Based on an original concept by Murray Miller, who wrote the screenplay, and Samberg, the sports mockumentary centers on two fierce tennis rivals in an epic, seven-day match at 2004 Wimbledon.

The location is hardly random — the longest tennis match on record was held on Court 18 at Wimbledon during the 2010 championships when John Isner and Nicolas Mahut battled it out for 11 hours over three days, with the American ultimately clinching a victory, 70-68 in the fifth set.

In addition to Samberg, Harington and Armisen, the all-star cast includes Lena Dunham, Will Forte, Karen Gillan, Howie Mandel, Michael Sheen, Mary Steenburgen and June Squibb. Additionally, broadcast journalist

Soledad O’Brien will appear in the HBO movie as herself.

Based on breakdowns reported by Deadline.com, Samberg’s character, named Aaron Williams, is tennis’ superstar bad boy, while Harington’s character, named Charles Poole, is channeling Andy Murray, a tennis prodigy and certified truck driver.

Adding to their rivalry is Gillan’s supermodel Lily, Charles’ childhood friend who made a sex tape with Aaron. Steenburgen plays Charles’ psychotic and controlling mother, while Forte plays a tennis historian.

Jake Szymanski is set to direct the film.

Quintanilla Joins HBO’s Emmy-Winning “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel”

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

It’s about to get real for Carl Quintanilla…

The Latino award-winning broadcast journalist and CNBC anchor has joined HBO’s Emmy-winning Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.

HBO and Gumbel made the announcement on Monday.

“Carl’s experience and on-air skills figure to boost our lineup tremendously,” said Gumbel in a statement. “Since the focus at Real Sports is primarily on financial and social issues in the world of sports, Carl’s background makes him a great fit for what we like to do.”

Quintanilla’s responsibilities at CNBC will remain the same; he’ll still anchor weekday programs Squawk on the Street and Squawk Alley.

“The quality of [Real Sports‘] reporting is as good as there has ever been on television, led by correspondents I’ve admired my entire career. I couldn’t ask for a better team on which to play a part,” added Quintanilla.

Real Sports has a long history of bringing on correspondents who work with other networks.

Veteran TV sports reporter Andrea Kremer is the chief correspondent of the NFL Network‘s recently formed health and player safety unit. Soledad O’Brien, who joined the show last year, also reports for Al Jazeera America. And Mary Carillo has several other jobs including a significant presence on NBC Sports during coverage of the Olympics.

Lopez to Pen His Memoir

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Extra! Extra! Read all about Mario Lopez…

The 40-year-old Mexican American actor and Extra host is writing his memoir, entitled Just Between Us.

The book’s publisher Penguin will release Lopez’s book on September 30.

Lopez is best known for playing athletic hunk A.C. Slater on NBC’s Saturday morning teen sitcom Saved by the Bell, which aired from 1989 to 1993. Saved by the Bell: The College Years, a primetime spin-off, lasted one season (1993-94). Other members of the cast included Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Dustin Diamond, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley and Lark Voorhies.

Specific details about what Lopez will cover in the book haven’t been released but Penguin is touting the book as “a behind-the-scenes look into his successes and disappointments in the entertainment industry” and the “most intimate never-before-told stories, including the details of his often tumultuous and largely public love life—giving readers a look at the ups and downs of his romantic past leading up to a happily-ever-after with his beautiful wife and their two children.”

Added Lopez in the statement, “I share my most intimate stories and pivotal moments, some of the best and most important times of my life and the heartbreaking mistakes that still haunt me. There are no do-overs in life, so I had to learn to pick myself up and move forward, never forgetting the hard-won lessons.”

Post-Bell, Lopez has been the host of the entertainment news show Extra since 2008. He was also a contestant on Dancing with the Stars in 2006, finishing second to former NFL great Emmitt Smith. He was also the subject of the VH1 unscripted series Mario Lopez: Saved by the Baby about the arrival of his first child with wife Courtney Mazza. He was also briefly married to Ali Landry in 2004.

Just Between Us will be published via Penguin’s Hispanic celebrity imprint Celebra, which has done books by Ricky Martin, Pele, George Lopez and Soledad O’Brien among others.

Lopez has previously published two health and fitness books with Celebra. Both were New York Times bestsellers.

Lopez to Pen Her First Book “True Love”

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Jennifer Lopez is adding “author” to her already impressive resume…

Celebra, a division of Penguin Group (USA), has announced plans to release the 44-year-old Puerto Rican singer, actress and American Idol judge’s first book — titled True Love — on Tuesday, October 28.

A hardcover edition of the book will be published simultaneously in English and Spanish.

In True Love, Lopez will write about what is being described as “one of her life’s most defining periods – the transformative two-year journey of how, as an artist and a mother, she confronted her greatest challenges, identified her biggest fears, and ultimately emerged a stronger person than she’s ever been.”

The book will include never-before-seen photographs and will be written like a personal diary with lessons and recollections.

“Writing True Love has been a deeply cathartic, personal, and vulnerable experience,” said Lopez. “If it were not for the love and courage given to me by my children, this story wouldn’t have been possible. While I struggled with the decision of whether or not to release this book, I recognized that if it could touch even just one person then it would honestly become one of the most fulfilling endeavors of my life.”

A portion of the book’s proceeds will go to benefit The Lopez Family Foundation, dedicated to improving the health and well-being of women and children.

The news of her memoir comes a day after Lopez was honored with the Icon Award at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas.

Celebra publisher Raymond Garcia acquired world rights from Benny Medina at The Medina Co.

“Jennifer Lopez is a remarkable author who fully invested her heart and soul into every page of her book,” said Garcia. “She channeled her unparalleled work ethic, fearless honesty, perpetual creativity, and artistic vision to realize an absolutely beautiful story that will surely touch and inspire readers around the world.”

Celebra also is home other high-profile authors including Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Rita Moreno, Ricky Martin, Mario Lopez, Victor Cruz, La La Anthony, George Lopez, Soledad O’Brien, Juanes and Thalia.

O’Brien to Serve as Special Correspondent for Al Jazeera America

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Following its hiring of Michael Viqueira last month, Al Jazeera America has landed another noted Hispanic journalist: Soledad O’Brien.

The network, which had been rumored to be eyeing the 46-year-old half-Cuban American broadcaster, confirmed on Monday that it has signed a deal with the former CNN star.

O’Brien will contribute to Al Jazeera America as “special correspondent.”

Meanwhile, her production company, Starfish Media Group, will produce hourlong documentary specials for the cable network.

“I look forward to beginning a relationship with Al Jazeera America, which has made a commitment to producing quality programming and pursuing underreported stories,” O’Brien said in the announcement.

As a correspondent, O’Brien will contribute short-form segments to the primetime current affairs magazine America Tonight on the new network, which is funded by the government of Qatar.

O’Brien stepped down from CNN in March when network chief Jeff Zucker cancelled her morning program Starting Point.

At the time she left CNN, she formed Starfish Media, which, in addition to the production deal with Al Jazeera America, now also has a production deal with CNN, as well as development deals at HBO and National Geographic Channel.

O’Brien’s Production Company In Talks to Develop Content for Al Jazeera America

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Soledad O’Brien could soon be developing content for Al Jazeera America…

The 46-year-old half-Cuban American broadcast journalist and television producer’s Starfish Media Group is currently in advanced talks with Al Jazeera America on a production deal, a person familiar with the matter tells The Hollywood Reporter.

As part of the deal, O’Brien’s company would produce long-form programming and other segments for the soon-to-be-launched cable news network.

Earlier this month, O’Brien inked a content development deal with HBO for projects developed by Starfish Media Group. She also appears on the HBO program Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel.

O’Brien announced the formation of Starfish Media Group in February as she was leaving CNN’s Starting Point. Her production company will also continue to produce programming for the cable news network.

Al Jazeera America, backed by the government of Qatar, is set to launch later this summer.

Turlington Featured in HBO’s “The Latino List : Volume Two” Documentary

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

This Hispanic Heritage Month, Christy Turlington is opening up about her Latin American roots…

The 43-year-old half-Salvadoran American is one of an impressive group of Hispanic artists, celebrities and leaders who’ve recorded special video portraits aimed at offering a glimpse into the vibrant culture of Hispanic America.

It’s a follow-up to HBO’s original documentary The Latino List, which served as an oral-history book of exclusive profiles of some of the Latino community’s power players.

Entitled The Latino List : Volume Two, the sequel will feature interviews with an extraordinary cross-section of Hispanic Americans who represent a variety of professions, disciplines and backgrounds, each speaking to the unique struggles and triumphs he or she has faced.

The film consists of intimate first-person vignettes, with each subject speaking into the camera about a number of topics – from immigration to childhood inspirations that powered their ambitions, to the evolving American cultural landscape they helped mold, to the importance of preserving a distinct cultural identity for future generations.

Along with Turlington, the film will feature video portraits of NFL star Victor Cruz, comedian George Lopez, former San Antonio mayor Henry Cisneros, media tycoon Nely Galan, newswoman Soledad O’Brien and civil rights activist Raul Yzaguirre, among others.

Hailing from a variety of backgrounds, including Cuban, Dominican, El Salvadorian, Mexican, Peruvian, Puerto Rican and more, each interviewee has a unique perspective on the American success story.

The Latino List: Volume Two Trailer

The Latino List : Volume Two is set to premiere on September 24 at 9:00 pm ET on HBO and HBO Latino in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

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