Kid Cudi to Star in “Need for Speed” Film

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi has landed his next acting project…

The 28-year-old part-Mexican American singer/music producer-turned-actor has been cast in DreamWorks’ Need for Speed, the film adaptation of the EA video game to be directed by Scott Waugh.

Need for Speed, which stars Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper and Imogen Poots on ’70s-style fast-paced high-octane cars. Paul plays Tobey Marshall, who races cross country at impossible speeds from New York to Los Angeles to get revenge on the man who killed his best friend.

Mescudi will play Paul’s best friend in the film.

Kid Cudi, as he’s known in the music world, made his acting debut in HBO’s How To Make It In America and most recently appeared in the indie film Two Night Stand. He’s also had a guest-starring roles on The Cleveland Show and One Tree Hill.

Mescudi, who has worked with Kanye West, David Guetta and most recently Jaden Smith, has contributed to soundtracks for DreamWorks’ Fright Night and The Hunger Games, which earned him an MTV Movie Award nod.

Aguire to Star Opposite Robin Williams in “Boulevard”

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Roberto Aguire is Boulevard-bound… And, he’ll share the ride with a beloved Oscar winner.

The Mexican-American actor will be starring opposite Robin Williams in the Dito Montiel-directed Boulevard.

Williams will play Nolan Mark, a long married man forced to come face to face with his own secrets after meeting the emotionally closed young adult Leo, played by Aguire.

Production on the film is scheduled to start in Nashville in May 2013.

Camellia Entertainment’s Monica Aguirre Diez Barroso and Mia Chang are producing the film, alongside Jeffrey Gelber and Evil Media Empire’s Ryan Belenzon.

Aguire made his film debut in Glee star Chris Colfer’s Struck By Lightning, opening this week.

The Sundance Award winning Montiel recently finished directing the indie crime drama Empire State starring The Hunger Games’ Liam Hemsworth and Dwayne Johnson.

del Toro Starring as Drug Lord Pablo Escobar in “Paradise Lost”

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Don’t blame Benicio del Toro if he gets a little lost in his new role…

The 45-year-old Puerto Rican will be starring as notoriousdrug lord Pablo Escobar in Paradise Lost. And it looks like The Hunter Games’ Josh Hutcherson could be del Toro’s co-star. He’s currently in negotiations to join the cast.

Directed/written by Life of Pi scribe Andrea di Stefano, the film isn’t exactly an Escobar biopic, but is instead being compared to The Last King of Scotland.

Hutcherson would actually be the principal character in the fact-based tale. He’d portray Nick, a young Irish surfer who visits his brother in Colombia. There he meets the love of his life — until he meets her uncle Pablo.

The film will begin production in Panama in March.

del Toro most recently starred opposite Salma Hayek and Blake Lively in Oliver Stone‘s Savages, where he played the henchman to Hayek’s drug-dealing character.

Walsh Cast as the Lead in “The Hunger Games” Spoof

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

It looks like Maiara Walsh is the latest tribute headed to the arena… Well, sort of!

The 24-year-old half-Brazilian actress has been cast as the female lead in a parody of Jennifer Lawrence’s blockbuster film The Hunger Games.

In the film entitled The Starving Games, Walsh will portray a character named Kantmiss Evershot, based on Lawrence’s character Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games.

Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, the duo behind Date Movie, Meet the Spartans and Vampires Suck, wrote the script and will direct the parody. Along with mocking Suzanne Collins’ book series, the film will also spoof The Avengers, Sherlock Holmes and the finale of the Harry Potter franchise.

Pretty Little Liars actor Brant Daugherty has already been cast as the parody version of Gale, played in The Hunger Games by Liam Hemsworth.

Shooting on The Starving Games begins this week in New Orleans.

Walsh, known more for her dramatic roles, co-stars as the devious Simone Sinclair on ABC Family’s Switched at Birth and has appeared on The Secret Life of the American Teenager, the CW‘s The Vampire Diaries and ABC’s Desperate Housewives.

Kid Cudi to Star in “Two Night Stand”

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi has lined up his next acting gig…

The 28-year-old part-Mexican American hip-hop singer has joined the cast of Two Night Stand, an indie romantic comedy starring Miles Teller and Analeigh Tipton.

The film, to be helmed by Max Nichols in his feature directorial debut, centers on two people who meet online and get together for a one-night stand. The couple gets snowed in the next morning and is forced to spend more time together.

Mescudi will play the boyfriend of Tipton’s roommate, played by Jessica Szohr, who is endlessly amused by her romantic difficulties.

The film is currently shooting in New York.

Mescudi, who has worked with Kanye West and David Guetta, made his acting debut on HBO’s How to Make It in America and recently wrapped Goodbye World, an indie with Entourage’s Adrian Grenier.

In addition to his acting work, the multi-hypenante has also contributed to soundtracks for DreamWorks’ Fright Night and Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games.

Pitbull to Lend His Voice to the Animated Film “Epic”

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

He’s already conquered the music world… And, now Pitbull is preparing to take on Hollywood.

The 31-year-old Cuban American singer—who sings the theme song to Men In Black III, entitled “Back in Time”—has been cast in Epic, a new 3D CG-animated film by the makers of Ice Age and Rio.

Pitbull is set to lend his voice to one of the animated film’s characters, Bufo.

The film, which had been developed under the title Leafmen, will star Beyonce Knowles as Queen Tara, Colin Farrell as Ronin, The Hunger Games’ Josh Hutcherson as Nod, Amanda Seyfried as Mary Katherine, Johnny Knoxville as Mandrake and Aziz Ansari as Mub.

Epic is described as a battle deep in the forest between the forces of good and evil. When a teenaged girl finds herself magically transported into this secret universe, she must band together with a rag-tag team of fun and whimsical characters to save that world, which in turn saves the real world.

Epic is slated for release on May 24, 2013.

Vergara Shines in First SNL Hosting Gig…

Posted on April 8, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Talk about Lucky No. 7… This Saturday, Sofia Vergara became only the seventh Latina to host NBC’s Saturday Night Live in the sketch comedy show’s 37 seasons.

And the 39-year-old Colombian actress—who gave one of the night’s most memorable acceptance speeches at this year’s Golden Globes—didn’t disappoint in her first at-bat as guest host.

Looking absolutely stunning in a sleek black bustier-dress, the “world’s most desirable woman” kicked off the show with a hilarious monologue that included welcoming viewers to “La noche de sabado en vivo” and poking fun at her sex appeal and unmistakable accent.

“I always heard that immigrants had a really hard life when they came to America,” joked Vergara. “But when I showed up here everyone was so nice. The men bought me drinks and offered me a place to sleep. This country welcomed me with open arms… and pulled-down pants.”

Later Vergara—a two-time Emmy nominee—appeared in several memorable skits. She played an anchorwoman shooting a promo with a complicated coworker, a sex education teacher in another of Kristen Wiig’s hilarious Gilly sketches and a woman trying to find her birth mother on Fred Armisen’s always funny The Manuel Ortiz Show skit—which included an appearance by musical guest One Direction’s members as her five sons.

One of the brightest moments of the night came when Vergara impersonated another actress with a distinctive voice: The Nanny’s Fran Drescher. The Colombian bombshell mastered Drescher’s high-pitched voice and quirky laugh during the Bein’ Quirky with Zooey Deschanel skit.

In another highlight, Vergara played the newest member of the team reporting on the 74th Annual Hunger Games, a parody of the recent blockbuster smash The Hunger Games . The skit featured Vergara’s character Maria Gutierrez reporting live from the arena on the action of the 24 tributes battling to the death. “They should call it the FUNger Games,” said Vergara. “‘cause everyone is having so much fun.”

But the biggest laughs of the night came when Vergara played herself while shooting a Pantene commercial with a Penelope Cruz, who also has a discernible accent. While Vergara was given easy words to say in the commercial, Cruz had to say difficult words like “follicular development” and “ammonium laureth sulfate.”

Kid Cudi Featured on The Hunger Games Soundtrack

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Kid Cudi may soon experience the same movie soundtrack success as Bruno Mars, who performed the lead single from the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 soundtrack.

The 28-year-old part-Mexican American rapper, singer-songwriter and actor appears on the just-released soundtrack for the highly anticipated The Hunger Games.

Cudi, whose real name is Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, performs “The Ruler And The Killer.” The original track finds the Grammy-winning singer still in WZRD mode, with heavy drums and buzz-saw guitars propping up his pained groans and lurching hooks.

“I could not have done it with out my producing partners on the project for the film, The legendary and Godly T Bone Burnett and Greg Wells!” Cudi wrote on his Twitter page about his experience working on “The Ruler And The Killer.”

Produced by T-Bone Burnett, The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 is a collection of folk-leaning music from a hodgepodge of top-line artists. Along with Cudi, the 16-song soundtrack features Taylor Swift, The Civil Wars, Arcade Fire, Maroon 5, Miranda Lambert featuring Pistol Annies and Birdy.

Here’s a look at the full track list:

1. Arcade Fire, “Abraham’s Daughter”
2. The Secret Sisters, “Tomorrow Will Be Kinder”
3. Neko Case, “Nothing To Remember”
4. Taylor Swift featuring The Civil Wars, “Safe & Sound”
5. Kid Cudi, “The Ruler And The Killer”
6. Punch Brothers, “Dark Days”
7. The Decemberists, “One Engine”
8. The Carolina Chocolate Drops, “Daughter’s Lament”
9. The Civil Wars, “Kingdom Come”
10. Glen Hansard, “Take The Heartland”
11. Maroon 5 featuring Rozzi Crane, “Come Away To The Water”
12. Miranda Lambert featuring Pistol Annies, “Run Daddy Run”
13. Jayme Dee, “Rules”
14. Taylor Swift, “Eyes Open”
15. The Low Anthem, “Lover Is Childlike”
16. Birdy, “Just A Game”

Varela Cast in CW’s Drama Futuristic Pilot “The Selection”

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Leonor Varela could soon be getting the royal treatment on television…

The 39-year-old Chilean actress has been cast in the CW’s drama pilot The Selection, which has been compared to The Hunger Games.

Based on the upcoming series of books by Kiera Cass, The Selection is described as an epic romance set 300 years in the future. It centers on America Singer (Aimee Teegarden), a poor young woman who is chosen by lottery to participate in a competition to marry Prince Maxon (Ethan Peck) and become the next queen of a war-torn nation at a crossroads.

Varela, who has appeared on Arrested Development and Human Target, will play Maxon’s mother, Queen Amberly.

The bilingual actress and telenovela star just wrapped a six-episode arc on TNT’s upcoming Dallas reboot, which will premiere this summer.

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