Tag Archives: The Last of Us

Pedro Pascal Reportedly Inching Closer to Deal to Portray Mr. Fantastic in Marvel Studios’ “Fantastic Four”

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It appears Pedro Pascal may be in for a Fantastic time…

Following months of speculation about who may be playing Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic in Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four, the 48-year-old Chilean actor’s name has emerged as a top contender for the role.

Pedro PascalWhile a deal is nowhere near complete, Deadline is reporting that three-time Emmy nominee  is in talks to play the leader of the iconic superhero team.

Insiders add that scheduling is still being worked out, but multiple sources close to the negotiations say it’s headed in the right direction for Pascal to take on this role and his other future projects.

Pascal has a full dance card that includes Gladiator 2, which is expected to go into production before the end of the year, as well as the second season of his popular HBO series The Last Of Us, which is expected to shoot next year. He’s also expected to shoot Zach Cregger’s Weapons.

Marvel had no comment.

Director Matt Shakman is currently in pre-production at Pinewood Studios in England.

Pedro Pascal Awarded Gold Derby TV Awards’ Performer of the Year Prize

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It’s the Golden hour for Pedro Pascal…

The 48-year-old Chilean actor has claimed the Performer of the Year award, the most coveted prize, at this year’s Gold Derby TV Awards.

Pedro PascalThat award honors a performer for their overall impact throughout the television season; Pascal’s one-two punch of The Last of Us and Saturday Night Live (for which we also awarded the Best Comedy Guest Actor prize, not to mention his Emmy-nominated narration for the nature program Patagonia helped him secure that prize for the first time, bringing his career total to four Gold Derby TV Awards.

He previously won Best Drama Guest Actor and Best Drama Guest Actor of the Decade (2010-2019) for his stint on Game of Thrones.

More than 1,400 registered Gold Derby users voted worldwide to decide the winners of the 20th annual Gold Derby TV Awards, which honor the best achievements in television and streaming programs from June 2022 through May 2023.

Here’s a look at the complete list of winners:

DRAMA SERIES:
“Succession”

DRAMA ACTRESS:
Sarah Snook, “Succession”

DRAMA ACTOR:
Kieran Culkin, “Succession”

DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Rhea Seehorn, “Better Call Saul”

DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Matthew Macfadyen, “Succession”

DRAMA GUEST ACTRESS:
Harriet Walter, “Succession”

DRAMA GUEST ACTOR:
Nick Offerman, “The Last of Us”

DRAMA EPISODE:
“Succession” – “Connor’s Wedding”
Writer: Jesse Armstrong
Director: Mark Mylod

COMEDY SERIES:
“The Bear”

COMEDY ACTRESS:
Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”

COMEDY ACTOR:
Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear”

COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear”

COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Anthony Carrigan, “Barry”

COMEDY GUEST ACTRESS:
Taraji P. Henson, “Abbott Elementary”

COMEDY GUEST ACTOR:
Pedro Pascal, “Saturday Night Live”

COMEDY EPISODE:
“The Bear” – “Review”
Writer: Joanna Calo
Director: Christopher Storer

LIMITED SERIES:
“Beef”

TV MOVIE:
“Weird: The Al Yankovic Story”

LIMITED/MOVIE ACTRESS:
Ali Wong, “Beef”

LIMITED/MOVIE ACTOR:
Steven Yeun, “Beef”

LIMITED/MOVIE SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Niecy Nash-Betts, “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”

LIMITED/MOVIE SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Paul Walter Hauser, “Black Bird”

VARIETY SCRIPTED SERIES:
“Saturday Night Live”

VARIETY TALK SERIES:
“The Problem with Jon Stewart”

COMPETITION PROGRAM:
“RuPaul’s Drag Race”

REALITY HOST:
RuPaul Charles, “RuPaul’s Drag Race”

ANIMATED PROGRAM:
“Harley Quinn”

PERFORMER OF THE YEAR:
Pedro Pascal

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR:
Ayo Edebiri

ENSEMBLE OF THE YEAR:
“Succession”

Gustavo Santaolalla to Receive Lifetime Achievement Trustees Award During Latin Grammys

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Gustavo Santaolalla is set to receive a special honor…

The 71-year-old Argentine musician and composer will receive the Lifetime Achievement Trustees Award in November.

Gustavo SantaolallaThe award honors his music legacy and is conferred on individuals who have made significant contributions to Latin music during their careers in ways other than performance.

Santaolalla has received two Academy Awards, two BAFTA awards, two Grammys, 19 Latin Grammys, and is an Emmy nominee for his work on HBO’s “The Last of Us.”

All of the hardware is even more amazing when you consider Santaolalla can’t read or write music.

He will receive the honor during a private event as part of Latin GRAMMy Week on Sunday, November 12, 2023, in the Teatro Lope de Vega in Sevilla, Spain.

In addition, Santaolalla will perform at Eric Clapton’s 2023 Crossroads Festival in Los Angeles.

The event is being held September 24 at the Crypto Arena. Clapton gathers past, present and the future of guitar music onto the stage to benefit the Crossroads Centre in Antigua, a treatment and education facility founded by Clapton for chemically dependent persons.

Santaolalla scored the original video game for “The Last of Us” and its 2020 sequel, as well as the HBO series.

In addition to his video game and television work, he has collaborated with high profile filmmakers like Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Babel), Walter Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries, On The Road) and Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain).

Pedro Pascal Earns TCA Awards Nod from Television Critics Association

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Pedro Pascal is a critics’ choice…

Television Critics Association has announced the nominees for its 39th annual TCA Awards, with the 48-year-old Chilean actor earning a nod.

Pedro PascalPascal, a SAG Awards nominee for being part of the ensemble cast of Game of Thrones, is up for Individual Achievement in Drama for his work on HBO and Max’s The Last of Us, which received five total nods.

The 2023 nominees for the TCA Awards boast an eclectic lineup from across the entertainment spectrum,” said Melanie McFarland, TCA President and TV Critic for Salon.com. “This season truly had something for everyone—from innovative comedies and gripping dramas to immersive documentaries and refreshingly cerebral storytelling set in a galaxy far, far away. I am eager to see which stars and series our members have chosen to honor when the winners are revealed.”

Winners will get their hardware during the ceremony on Monday, August 7.

Here are all the nominees for the 2023 TCA Awards:

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA
Christine Baranski, The Good Fight – Paramount+
Kieran Culkin, Succession – HBO | Max
Dominique Fishback, Swarm – Prime Video
Betty Gilpin, Mrs. Davis – Peacock
Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us – HBO | Max
Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us – HBO | Max
Rhea Seehorn, Better Call Saul – AMC
Sarah Snook, Succession – HBO | Max
Jeremy Strong, Succession – HBO | Max

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary – ABC
Ayo Edebiri, The Bear – FX
Harrison Ford – Shrinking – Apple TV+
Bill Hader, Barry – HBO | Max
Janelle James, Abbott Elementary – ABC
Natasha Lyonne, Poker Face – Peacock
James Marsden, Jury Duty – Amazon Freevee
Jeremy Allen White, The Bear – FX

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NEWS AND INFORMATION
30 for 30 – ESPN
Free Chol Soo Lee – PBS
Frontline – PBS
Pepsi, Where’s My Jet? – Netflix
Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence – Hulu
Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi – Hulu
The 1619 Project – Hulu
The U.S. and the Holocaust – PBS

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN REALITY
Couples Therapy – Showtime
Jury Duty – Amazon Freevee
RuPaul’s Drag Race – MTV
The Rehearsal – HBO | Max
The Traitors – Peacock
Top Chef – Bravo
Vanderpump Rules – Bravo
Welcome to Wrexham – FX

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CHILDREN’S PROGRAMMING 
Alma’s Way – PBS Kids
Bluey – Disney+
Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood – PBS Kids
Donkey Hodie – PBS Kids
Eva the Owlet – Apple TV+
Molly of Denali – PBS Kids
Ridley Jones – Netflix
Sesame Street – HBO | Max
Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures – Disney Junior/Disney+

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FAMILY PROGRAMMING 
American Born Chinese – Disney+
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series – Disney+
Jane – Apple TV+
Love, Victor – Hulu
Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur – Disney Channel
Ms. Marvel – Disney+
Never Have I Ever – Netflix
Star Trek: Prodigy – Paramount+
The Mysterious Benedict Society – Disney+

OUTSTANDING NEW PROGRAM
Andor – Disney+
Interview with the Vampire – AMC
Jury Duty – Amazon Freevee
Mrs. Davis – Peacock
Poker Face – Peacock
Shrinking – Apple TV+
The Bear – FX
The Last of Us – HBO | Max

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MOVIES, MINISERIES OR SPECIALS
A Small Light – National Geographic
Beef – Netflix
Black Bird – Apple TV+
Daisy Jones & The Six – Prime Video
Fleishman is in Trouble – FX
Mrs. Davis – Peacock
The Patient – FX
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story – The Roku Channel

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA
Andor – Disney+
Better Call Saul – AMC
Interview with the Vampire – AMC
Succession – HBO | MAX
The Good Fight – Paramount+
The Last of Us – HBO | Max
The White Lotus – HBO | Max
Yellowjackets – Showtime

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY
Abbott Elementary – ABC
Barry – HBO | Max
Poker Face– Peacock
Reservation Dogs – FX
Shrinking – Apple TV+
The Bear – FX
The Other Two – HBO | Max
What We Do in the Shadows – FX

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN VARIETY, TALK OR SKETCH
The Amber Ruffin Show – Peacock
|A Black Lady Sketch Show – HBO | Max
I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson – Netflix
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver – HBO | Max
Late Night with Seth Meyers – NBC
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert – CBS
Saturday Night Live – NBC
Ziwe – Showtime

PROGRAM OF THE YEAR
Abbott Elementary – ABC
Andor – Disney+
Better Call Saul – AMC
Poker Face – Peacock
Succession – HBO | Max
The Bear – FX
The Last of Us – HBO | Max
The Other Two – HBO | Max
The White Lotus – HBO | Max

Jenna Ortega to Appear on This Season’s “Variety Studio: Actors on Actors”

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Jenna Ortega is talkin’ shop with a fellow former child star…

Variety’s Actors on Actors series returns featuring the biggest stars in this year’s Television Emmys race for Season 18, including the 20-year-old Puerto Rican & Mexican American actress.

Jenna OrtegaOrtega, who stars in Netflix’s acclaimed series Wednesday, will sit down with The Great actress Elle Fanning for their segment.

But Ortega isn’t the only Latinx artist to participate this season…

Pedro Pascal, the star of HBO’s The Last of Use, will sit down with Steven Yeun, who stars in Netflix’s Beef.

Meanwhile, in a Star Wars themed conversation, Diego Luna, the star of Andor, will appear opposite opposite Hayden Christensen of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The four episodes will debut on PBS SoCal on Thursday, June 15th starting at 8:00 pm, followed by encores on KCET and public television stations across the country and the WORLD Channel (check local listings). All episodes will stream on pbssocal.org and the free PBS App following their premieres.

Variety’s Actors on Actors issue will hit newsstands on June 7th and the conversations will start airing on Tuesday, June 6th on Variety.com and its social media channels.

This year’s “Actors on Actors” lineup includes:

Katherine Heigl (“Firefly Lane”) with Ellen Pompeo (“Grey’s Anatomy”)
Jeremy Allen White (“The Bear”) with Jennifer Coolidge (“The White Lotus”)
Ali Wong (“Beef”) with Jason Segel (“Shrinking”)
Jenna Ortega (“Wednesday”) with Elle Fanning (“The Great”)
Kieran Culkin (“Succession”) with Claire Danes (“Fleishman Is in Trouble”)
Melanie Lynskey (“Yellowjackets”) with Natasha Lyonne (“Poker Face”)
Brett Goldstein (“Ted Lasso”) with Theo James (“The White Lotus”)
Steven Yeun (“Beef”) with Pedro Pascal (“The Last of Us”)
Diego Luna (“Andor”) with Hayden Christensen (“Obi-Wan Kenobi”)
Meghann Fahy (“The White Lotus”) with Elizabeth Olsen (“Love and Death”)
Sheryl Lee Ralph (“Abbott Elementary”) with Jennifer Garner (“The Last Thing He Told Me”)
Brian Cox (“Succession”) with Emily Blunt (“The English”)
Rachel Weisz (“Dead Ringers”) with Taron Egerton (“Black Bird”)

Variety Studio: Actors on Actors won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2019, as well as the Los Angeles Area Emmy Award for best entertainment programming in 2015 and 2016.

The series is produced by PBS SoCal in partnership with Variety Media, LLC.

Pedro Pascal in Final Negotiations to Star in Paramount’s Untitled “Gladiator” Sequel

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Pedro Pascal is ready to Rome…

The 48-year-old Chilean actor is thisclose to joining the cast of the untitled Gladiator sequel for Paramount.

Pascal would join Paul Mescal, who will star as Lucius, as well as Barry Keoghan, Joseph Quinn, Connie Nielsen and Denzel Washington.

Ridley Scott is returning to direct.

Pascal’s role is unknown.

The new film follows the 2000 blockbuster Gladiator, which earned more than $460 million in worldwide box office and was nominated for 12 Oscars, winning five including Best Picture.

The role of Maximus, the Roman general-turned-gladiator, was a career-changer for Russell Crowe, not only delivering him the Best Actor Oscar but also launching him to the top of every leading-man list. Once it was made clear last year that the sequel would be Scott’s next movie, every male actor in town that fit the profile began chasing the part.

David Scarpa penned the script.

Also returning from the original film are John Mathieson (director of photography), Arthur Max (production designer) and Janty Yates (costume designer).

Paramount Pictures has dated the film for November 22, 2024.

The first film was co-production between Universal and DreamWorks, and while DreamWorks will not be involved in the sequel, Universal has the right to partner again when the project is packaged.

Pascal has been a major player following his scene-stealing role in his one season on Game of Thrones, but his star has blasted off following The Last of Us, which has become one of the most popular shows in HBO’s history. While HBO is looking to get the show up and going next year, Pascal had been weighing a number of options to shoot before jumping back in to that and the opportunity on this film was too hard to pass up.

Besides The Last of Us, which will certainly have him in award season chatter this Emmy season, he also reprised his role on the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, which just had its Season 3 finale last week.

Pascal can next be seen starring alongside Ethan Hawke in Pedro Almodovar’s short film Strange Way of Life, which will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and will be distributed by Sony Pictures Classics this fall.

Additionally, Pascal is in Ethan Coen’s film Drive-Away Dolls, distributed by Focus Features and releasing in September. Pascal also stars in Anna Boden’s Freaky Tales, which is likely to come out later this year.

He also hosted Saturday Night Live earlier this year, earning rave reviews, and is also in contention for some Emmy love this awards season.

HBO Renews Pedro Pascal’s “The Last of Us” for Second Season

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You haven’t seen the last of Pedro Pascal…

HBO has renewed its high-profile drama The Last of Us, starring the 47-year-old Chilean actor, for a second season.

Pedro PascalThe announcement comes just after two episodes of the video game-based series from Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann.

Earlier this month, The Last of Us scored the second-largest premiere after House of the Dragon since Boardwalk Empire’s launch in 2010.

Episode 1 has surpassed 22 million viewers domestically, up nearly five times from its premiere-night audience on January 15. Episode 2 drew 5.7 million viewers across HBO Max and linear telecasts in the U.S. Sunday night. That’s about a million more than the audience that tuned in for the premiere episode and it marks the largest Week 2 audience growth for any HBO Original drama series. The series also is strong on social media, trending No. 1 both in the U.S. and worldwide on Twitter during its series debut.

“Craig and Neil, alongside EP Carolyn Strauss, and the rest of our phenomenal cast and crew, have defined a genre with their masterful debut season of The Last of Us,” said Francesca Orsi, EVP of HBO Programming, Head of HBO Drama Series and Films. “After pulling off this unforgettable first season, I can’t wait to watch this team outshine themselves again with Season 2.”

Based on Naughty Dog’s award-winning video game, The Last of Us takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed.

Joel, played by Pascal, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal and heartbreaking journey as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.

“I’m humbled, honored, and frankly overwhelmed that so many people have tuned in and connected with our retelling of Joel and Ellie’s journey. The collaboration with Craig Mazin, our incredible cast & crew, and HBO exceeded my already high expectations,” said executive producer Druckmann. “Now we have the absolute pleasure of being able to do it again with season two! On behalf of everyone at Naughty Dog & PlayStation, thank you!”

In addition to Pascal and Ramsey, Season 1 also stars Gabriel Luna, Anna Torv, Nico Parker, Murray Bartlett, Nick Offerman, Melanie Lynskey, Storm Reid, Merle Dandridge, Jeffrey Pierce, Lamar Johnson, Keivonn Woodard, Graham Greene, Elaine Miles, Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker.

“I’m so grateful to Neil Druckmann and HBO for our partnership, and I’m even more grateful to the millions of people who have joined us on this journey,” said executive producer Mazin. “The audience has given us the chance to continue, and as a fan of the characters and world Neil and Naughty Dog created, I couldn’t be more ready to dive back in.”

The Last of Us is written and executive produced by Mazin and Druckmann. The series is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television.

Pedro Pascal to Make Hosting Debut on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” in February

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Pedro Pascal is ready for his late night close-up…

The 47-year-old Chilean actor will be making his hosting debut set on NBC’s Saturday Night Live in the near future.

Pedro PascalFresh from the success of HBO’s The Last of Us and ahead of the third season of Disney+’s The Mandalorian, Pascal will host the NBC show on February 4.

He’ll be joined by Coldplay as the musical guest. Chris Martin’s British indie pop band is making its seventh appearance on the show after announcing a run of West Coast dates in September for the Music of the Spheres world tour.

It marks a consecutive three-episode run of shows for SNL, which had Aubrey Plaza hosting last week and Michael B. Jordan set to host January 28.

SNL is produced in association with Broadway Video. The creator and executive producer is Lorne Michaels.

HBO Releases First Footage of Issa Lopez-Directed “True Detective: Night Country”

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It’s a night (in the) country for Issa López…

HBO has unveiled the first footage from True Detective: Night Country, which is written, directed and showrun by Mexican producer, writer and film director.

Issa LópezThe anticipated fourth season of HBO’s Emmy-winning crime drama anthology series True Detective will debut on the premium cabler in 2023.

The new season starring two-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster and actor-boxer Kali Reis picks up after the long winter night falls in Ennis, Alaska, as the six men that operate the Tsalal Arctic Research Station vanish without a trace. To solve the case, detectives Liz Danvers (Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Reis) will have to confront the darkness they carry in themselves, and dig into the haunted truths that lie buried under the eternal ice.

The new True Detective footage came via a sizzle reel for HBO and HBO Max programming also teasing such upcoming shows as The Last of Us, The Idol and White House Plumbers, as well as new seasons of series like Perry Mason, Succession and Barry. While it reveals no new story information, it does offer a first look at Foster and Reis in uniform, and a sense of the thick winter atmosphere their Iceland-shot season is set against.

The newest season of the series created by Nic Pizzolatto was executive produced by Lopez alongside Foster, Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski and Mark Ceryak for Pastel, as well as Mari Jo Winkler, Chris Mundy, Alan Page Arriaga, Steve Golin, Richard Brown, Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Cary Joji Fukunaga and Pizzolatto.

Night Country also stars John Hawkes, Christopher Eccleston, Fiona Shaw, Finn Bennett, Anna Lambe, Aka Niviâna, Isabella Star Lablanc and Joel D. Montgrand.

Pedro Pascal to Star in eOne & Macro’s New Film “Freaky Tales”

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Pedro Pascal is freaky-ing out…

The 47-year-old Chilean actor has joined the all-star cast of eOne and Macro’s co-produced film Freaky Tales, the new film from Captain Marvel helmers Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden.

Pedro PascalPascal joins a cast that includes Ben Mendelsohn, Jay Ellis, Jack Champion, Angus Cloud, Dominique Thorne, Keir Gilchrist and Michelle Farrah Huang, as well as a collection of notable Oakland natives.

The film will be financed by eOne.

Set in Oakland in 1987, Freaky Tales is a wholly original, immersive film inspired by Ryan’s experience growing up in the bay. The film is comprised of four interconnected stories each featuring distinct characters, real life locations and noteworthy historical events (some real, some imagined).

In addition to playing the title character in Disney’s Emmy-winning The Mandalorian, Pascal will star in HBO’s upcoming series The Last of Us. Some of Pascal’s recent film and television credits include The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Wonder Woman 1984 and Game of Thrones.