First Trailer Released for Sally Potter’s Short Film “Look at Me,” Starring Javier Bardem

Javier Bardem is drummin’ along…

The first trailer has been released for Sally Potter’s short film Look at Me, co-starring the 53-year-old Spanish Oscar-winning actor and Chris Rock ahead of its Out Of Competition premiere in Venice.

Javier BardemThe film touches on the issue of male anger.

Rock and Bardem play a gala organizer and drummer, respectively. Tensions between the two men are running high ahead of a performance at the gala by the latter, who violently vents his pent-up stress.

Shot three years ago, the work has taken on fresh resonance after Rock received an infamous slap from Will Smith while hosting the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony in March. Rock confirmed on Monday that he turned down an offer from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to host the 2023 ceremony.

The 16-minute work, also featuring American tap dancer Savion Glover, originally was conceived as a short story to be embedded within Potter’s 2020 feature The Roads Not Takenstarring Bardem as a writer in the early stages of dementia.

Produced by Christopher Sheppard at Adventure Pictures, it was shot over five days in New York and London in 2019.

“When I got into the cutting room, I saw how dynamic these titans of the entertainment world are together, their volatile, fiery on-screen relationship offset by the rhythms of the brilliant tap-dancer Savion Glover,” explained Potter.

“The destiny of the story was clear: it had nothing to do with the other project. It had to become a short film, a fast-moving portrait of conflict and love. The result is Look at Me.”

The short film’s screening in Venice coincides with the 30th anniversary of the premiere of Potter’s Oscar-nominated breakout second feature Orlando in competition at the festival in 1992.

The U.K.’s Bankside Films has boarded international sales on the short film ahead of its Venice debut.

“The combination of Sally Potter, Chris Rock and Javier Bardem is truly arresting in this mesmerizing short film which audiences are going to be thrilled to discover,” said Bankside co-founder and director Stephen Kelliher.

Bleecker Street will release the film in the U.S. shortly after its Venice premiere, with screenings at the Metrograph in New York alongside Potter’s Orlando as well as a qualifying run at a Laemmle Theatre in Los Angeles.

Look at Me also will be made available on Bleecker Street’s app early in 2023.

“I am thankful to Bleecker Street for taking short films seriously and am thrilled that they will be bringing Look at Me to audiences in cinemas and online at a time when its themes feel so urgent,” said Potter.

Edward James Olmos to Appear in The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ New Latin Interview Series “Seen”

Edward James Olmos is making a seen

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has launched a new Latin interview video series titled Seen, that will feature interviews with Latino/a stars including the 74-year-old Mexican American Oscar-nominated actor.

Edward James Olmos

Hosted by journalist Nick Barili, Season 1 will feature interviews with Olmos, John Leguizamo and Eva Longoria.

“What a dream to host a series celebrating our community leaders like John Leguizamo, Eva Longoria and Edward James Olmos by giving them the recognition they deserve. Not only for trailblazing with their careers, but also for using their platforms to be a voice for our community. I look forward to sharing their journeys, their passions, and their legacy with the world,” Barili tells Deadline.

“This is a step in the right direction to address the lack of representation in Hollywood, but we still have a lot of work to do,” he added.

In the series premiere above, Barili has a one-on-one conversation with Leguizamo about how he navigated the industry over his decades-long career and how he’s confronted stereotypical casting. They also dive into the underrepresentation of the Latino community both in front of and behind the camera, tokenism, colorism, and what’s left for Leguizamo to accomplish.

“The conversation with John resonated with me at my core,” Barili said. “Not only is his show Freak the first time I truly felt seen, but also, he’s broken down walls for our community every step of his career. When Hollywood would only typecast him in stereotypical, one-dimensional roles, he took it upon himself to create, write and perform his own one-man shows that gave Latinos like me a chance to see themselves as three-dimensional characters that we didn’t get to see when we turned on the TV. They were complex, funny, courageous, vulnerable, and made me feel proud to be Latino.”

The second episode will feature an interview with Olmos, airing on January 31. Barili and Olmos pay a visit to the students from the Youth Cinema Project program at Los Angeles County’s Bell Gardens Intermediate School.

On February 7, Barili and Longoria tour her alma mater, California State University, Northridge, where she received a master’s degree in Chicano Studies in 2013 while filming Desperate Housewives.

Barili co-founded the Latinx in Media & Arts Coalition, which focuses on promoting Latinx creatives, increasing access to traditional and new-media platforms, providing resources and opportunities to youth, and cultivating the next generation of Latinx entertainment and creative professionals.

Gina Rodriguez Among the Latinos Invited to Join The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Gina Rodriguez is joining the club…

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has issued 928 invitations to new members, the Oscar-granting body announced Monday, including an invite to the 33-year-old actress and Jane the Virgin star.

Gina Rodriguez

The number is higher than the 774 invitations sent out in 2017. As the Academy has sought to diversify its ranks, it invited in 683 new members in 2016 and 322 in 2015 in an effort to include more women, people of color and international filmmakers.

In addition to Rodriguez, who has starred on the bog screen in the films Deepwater Horizon and Annihilation, this year’s potential Latino members include Rodriguez’s Jane the Virgin co-star Jaime Camil, Javier Bardem’s actor brother Carlos Bardem, Alice Braga, Melonie Diaz, Eugenio Derbez and Like Water for Chocolate author Laura Esquivel.

Forty-nine percent of the class of 2018 are female, and, should all accept membership, that will bring overall percentage of women in the Academy to 31 percent. Thirty-eight percent of the new invitees are people of color, which, should they all accept, would bring their overall percentage of the Academy to 16 percent.

Each of the Academy’s 17 branches draws its own list of new members, and candidates must be sponsored by two members of the branch they will be invited to join. The general requirement is that a candidate must have “demonstrated exceptional achievement in the field of theatrical motion pictures,” although each branch has its own specific requirements. Actors, for example, must have a minimum of three theatrical features under their belt, while directors must have a minimum of two helming credits. Academy Awards nominees are automatically considered for membership, although an invite is not guaranteed.

Here’s a look at the Latino invitees:

Actors
Damián Alcázar – “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” “El Crimen del Padre Amaro”
Carlos Bardem – “Assassin’s Creed,” “Che”
Diana Bracho – “A Ti Te Queria Encontrar,” “Y Tu Mamá También”
Alice Braga – “I Am Legend,” “City of God”
Javier Cámara – “Talk to Her,” “Sex and Lucia”
Jaime Camil – “Coco,” “Pulling Strings”
Tantoo Cardinal – “Wind River,” “Dances With Wolves”
Elpidia Carrillo – “Nine Lives,” “Predator”
Ricardo Darín – “Wild Tales,” “The Secret in Their Eyes”
Natalia De Molina – “Kiki, Love to Love,” “Food and Shelter”
Rossy De Palma – “Broken Embraces,” “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown”
Eugenio Derbez – “Overboard,” “How to Be a Latin Lover”
Rosana DeSoto – “La Bamba,” “About Last Night…”
Melonie Diaz – “Fruitvale Station,” “Be Kind Rewind”
Verónica Echegui – “Let Yourself Go!,” “Katmandú, un Espejo en el Cielo”
Paulina García – “The Desert Bride,”Gloria”
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo – “Sicario: Day of the Soldado,” “Murder on the Orient Express”
Daniel Giménez Cacho – “Zama,” “Blancanieves”
Ernesto Gómez Cruz – “El Crimen del Padre Amaro,” “El Imperio de la Fortuna”
Blanca Guerra – “Santa Sangre,” “El Imperio de la Fortuna”
Javier Gutiérrez – “Assassin’s Creed,” “Marshland”
Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez – “Bordertown,” “El Norte”
George Lopez – “Rio,” “Real Women Have Curves”
Mía Maestro – “The Motorcycle Diaries,” “Frida”
Carmen Maura – “Volver,” “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown”
Ángela Molina – “Broken Embraces,” “That Obscure Object of Desire”
Jordi Mollà – “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote,” “Blow”
Eduardo Noriega – “Vantage Point,” “Open Your Eyes”
Rubén Ochandiano – “Biutiful,” “Broken Embraces”
John Ortiz – “Kong: Skull Island,” “Silver Linings Playbook”
Pedro Pascal – “Kingsman: The Golden Circle,” “The Adjustment Bureau”
Gina Rodriguez – “Annihilation,” “Deepwater Horizon”
María Rojo – “Under the Same Moon,” “Esmeralda Comes by Night”
Emma Suárez – “Julieta,” “The Mosquito Net”
Daniela Vega – “A Fantastic Woman,” “The Guest”

Cinematographers
Céline Bozon – “Félicité,” “Black Heaven”
Benjamín Echazarretta – “A Fantastic Woman,” “Gloria”
David Gallego – “Siete Cabezas (The Sacrifice),” “Embrace of the Serpent”
Dana Gonzales – “Shot Caller,” “Incarnate”

Costume Designers
Gabriela Diaque – “Babel,” “Amores Perros”
Caroline Eselin – “Moonlight,” “The Paperboy”
Mariestela Fernández – “La Dictadura Perfecta (The Perfect Dictatorship),” “El Infierno (Hell)”
Lala Huete – “El Greco,” “Pan’s Labyrinth”
Graciela Mazón – “The Flowers of War,” “Nacho Libre”
Luis Sequeira – “The Shape of Water,” “Mama”

Designers
Cecilia Montiel – “From Dusk Till Dawn,” “Desperado”

Documentary
Claire Aguilar – “The Interrupters,” “Last Train Home”
Everardo González – “La Libertad del Diablo (Devil’s Freedom),” “Drought (Cuates de Australia)”
Carla Gutierrez – “RBG,” “When Two Worlds Collide”
Tatiana Huezo – “Tempestad,” “The Tiniest Place”
Gema Juarez Allen – “Ruben Blades Is Not My Name,” “Soldado”
Pedro Pimenta – “A Ilha dos Espíritos (Island of Spirits),” “Memories of Dreams”
Maria Augusta Ramos – “Morro dos Prazeres (Hill of Pleasures),” “Justice (Justiça)”
Bernardo Ruiz – “Kingdom of Shadows,” “Reportero”
Juan Carlos Rulfo – “Those Who Remain,” “In the Pit”

Executives
Tony Vinciquerra

Film Editors
Felipe Lacerda – “Secrets of the Tribe,” “Garapa”
Elena Ruiz – “Eva,” “The Orphanage”
Soledad Salfate – “A Fantastic Woman,” “Gloria”
Ana Lozano – “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” “Volver”

Music
Carlinhos Brown – “Rio,” “Capitães da Areia”

Producers
Lisa Cortés – “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” “Shadowboxer”

Public Relations
Dora Candelaria
Fabian Castro
Melissa Martinez
Alicia Ramirez-Wyld

Short Films and Feature Animation
Sofia Carrillo – “Cerulia,” “La Casa Triste (The Sad House)”
Pedro Collantes – “Serori,” “Eskiper”
Sergio Pablos – “Rio,” “Despicable Me”
Ruben Perez – “The Boss Baby,” “Penguins of Madagascar”
Carlos Fernandez Puertolas – “The Boss Baby,” “Home”
Gini Cruz Santos – “Coco,” “The Good Dinosaur”
Cesar Velazquez – “Zootopia,” “Wreck-It Ralph”

Sound
Antonio Diego – “Duck Season,” “Amores Perros”
Nelson Ferreira – “The Shape of Water,” “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones”
Ruy Garcia – “Novitiate,” “Y Tu Mamá También”

Visual Effects
Nelson Sepulveda – “Kong: Skull Island,” “Marvel’s The Avengers”

Writers
Guillermo Calderón – “Neruda,” “The Club”
Laura Esquivel – “Like Water for Chocolate,” “Chido Guan, el Tacos de Oro”
Mateo Gil – “Realive,” “Open Your Eyes”
Gonzalo Maza – “A Fantastic Woman,” “Gloria”
Gibrán Portela – “The Untamed,” “La Jaula de Oro”
Fernando E. Solanas – “A Journey to the Fumigated Towns,” “La Guerra del Fracking”

Members-at-Large
Robert Alonzo
Jordi Casares
Mary Ramos