Colman Domingo to Make Film Directorial Debut with Miramax’s “Scandalous”

Posted on October 22, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Colman Domingo is preparing to make his scandalous film directorial debut.

The 54-year-old Emmy-winning Belizean-Guatemalan American actor and activist will make his film directorial debut in Scandalous, a fast-tracked Miramax drama about the clandestine love affair between film star Kim Novak and singer/dancer and film star Sammy Davis Jr. in 1957.

Sydney Sweeney will play Novak, and David Jonsson will play Davis.

The plan is to shoot the film — imagine a film about classic Hollywood being shot in Los Angeles — when Domingo and Sweeney complete Season 3 of the HBO series Euphoria.

Much the way she did with the sleeper hit Anyone But You, Sweeney was active in putting this one together and she’ll be a producer along with Tani Cohen and Bobby Rock, with Jon Levin executive producing.

Matthew Fantaci wrote the script.

Before he became Miramax CEO, Jon Glickman originated the project at Panoramic, and remained high on it.

Novak, star of Vertigo, and Rat Pack member Davis were at the peak of star power when they met while guests on The Steve Allen Show. They fell hard for each other, but as rumors spread, the rampant racism in America threatened to derail their careers. Novak experienced the ire of Harry Cohn, the Columbia Pictures chief who had the actress under contract. Their covert affair became big news when a Chicago gossip columnist in early 1958 wrote a detailed account of their relationship, including their plans to marry. This despite their denials. Davis nine days later married a Black chorus girl named Loray White.

Domingo is coming off acclaimed turns in Rustin and Sing Sing, and he’s also working on a film about Nat King Cole that he would star in and direct.

He has directed television in the past and he’s currently in production on Netflix and Tina Fey’s The Four Seasons and he has the Netflix limited series The Madness. He also plays Joe Jackson in the Michael Jackson biopic Michael.

Lights Out: Nat King Cole, which Domingo wrote with director Patricia McGregor, will premiere at New York Theater Workshop in the spring, after it premiered at the Geffen Theater in 2019.

Colman Domingo to Serve as Presenter at Primetime Emmy Awards

Posted on January 14, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Colman Domingo is headed to the Emmys…

The 54-year-old Belizean-Guatemalan American actor, who won an Emmy for his guest performance on HBO’s Euphoria, will serve as a presenter at this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday, January 15.

Domingo joins a roster of presenters that includes Peter Dinklage, Tom Hiddleston, Ke Huy and Tracee Ellis Ross.

Charlie Puth and acclaimed duo The War and Treaty will perform over the In Memoriam spot, while Travis Barker will team with show host Anthony Anderson for what the show promises will be “a show-stopping open.”

The show will also include cast reunions and tributes to hit TV series spanning more than seven decades, including The Sopranos, Martin, Cheers, Grey’s Anatomy, All in the Family, Ally McBeal and I Love Lucy as well as Saturday Night Live’s signature Weekend Update segment, which will be helmed by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

The 75th Emmy Awards, executive-produced by Jesse Collins, Dionne Harmon and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay of Jesse Collins Entertainment, will broadcast live from the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles on Monday, January 15 (8:00-11:00 p.m. ET/5:00-8:00 p.m. PT) on FOX and will also be available the next day on Hulu.

Final Trailer Released for “Mean Girls,” Starring Auliʻi Cravalho

Posted on January 3, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Auliʻi Cravalho is on a mean streak…

The final trailer has been released for the upcoming musical movie adaptation of Mean Girls, starring the 23-year-old part-Puerto Rican actress/singer.

Released on January 3, the clip hints at some big, bold song and dance numbers.

The clip opens with perpetually clueless principal Duvall (Tim Meadows) welcoming curve-busting new student Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) to school.

Cue an ominous image of The Plastics leader Regina George (Reneé Rapp), whose entrance finds her standing with arms crossed, backlit by a blood red light in the middle of the school hallway as the singer who starred in the Broadway musical version of the high school drama — based on the 2004 film of the same name — intones “my name is Regina George.”

A quick-cut montage takes us from a boy drumming on the lockers to George inviting “loser” Heron into her car as a fellow student warns, “Regina George is a scum-sucking life burner.” We get a glimpse of thoroughly unqualified health teacher Coach Carr (Jon Hamm) giving the kids a lesson on the dangers of female “whoremones” to Ms. Nordbury’s (Tina Fey) horror and a brief glimpse of an uptempo dance break.

The second half of the trailer is cued to Megan Thee Stallion and Rapp’s “Not My Fault,” and Duvall reading from the series’ infamous “burn book,” which reveals that one of his students keeps her secret vodka stash inside her inhaler. Plus, we get several cringe shots of Mrs. George (Busy Philipps) just trying so hard to be a cool mom.

Mean Girls hits theaters on January 12 with a cast that also includes Bebe Wood and Avantika as the other Plastics and The Summer I Turned Pretty‘s Chris Briney as Regina’s ex, Aaron Samuels, with Heron’s pals Janis and Damian played, respectively, by Cravalho and Jaquel Spivey.

Paramount to Release New “Mean Girls” Film Starring Auli’i Cravalho in January 2024

Posted on September 23, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Auli’i Cravalho is bringing the mean in early 2024…

Paramount plans to release its new Mean Girls film, starring the 22-year-old part-Puerto Rican actress/singer and Moana lead, will be released theatrically on January 12, 2024, during the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend.

Paramount had originally planned to release the film via Paramount+.

In addition to Cravalho, the new film stars Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Jaquel Spivey, Tina Fey, Tim Meadows, Jenna Fischer, Busy Philipps, Avantika, Mahi Alam, Christopher Briney, Bebe Wood, Ashley Park, Connor Ratliff and Jon Hamm.

Arturo Perez and Samantha Jayne are directing the new film, from a script by Fey.

Broadway Video’s Lorne Michaels has returned to produce alongside Fey.

The original Mean Girls film, directed by Mark Waters and penned by Fey off of Rosalind Wiseman’s novel, grossed more than $130 million worldwide and blasted off the careers of Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried while also repping a box office hit for Lindsay Lohan at the time.

Nicole Richie to Star in Indie Comedy “Summer Camp”

Posted on April 4, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Nicole Richie is camping it up…

The 41-year-old half-Mexican American actress and fashion designer will star in the indie comedy Summer Camp from writer-director Castille Landon (After franchise).

Richie joins a list of cast addutions that includes Beverly D’Angelo, Dennis Haysbert and Josh Peck.

Diane Keaton, Kathy Bates, Alfre Woodard and Eugene Levy will lead the ensemble, with Betsy Sodaro and Tom Wright rounding it out.

The film heading into production next month in North Carolina tells the story of Nora, Ginny and Mary, who have been best friends since childhood, spending their summers together inseparably at sleepaway camp. As the years have passed, they’ve seen each other less and less, so when the chance to reunite for a summer camp reunion arises, they all take it, some begrudgingly and others, excitedly. Each of their lives might not be where they’d imagined, but one thing is for sure — Nora, Ginny and Mary need each other, and summer camp reminds them why.

Summer Camp is a Saks Picture Company production, in association with and financed by Taylor & Dodge and Grant S. Johnson’s Project Infinity.

Richie starred in the Tina Fey-produced NBC comedy Great News, which ran for two seasons, and also topped the Quibi comedy series, Nikki Fre$h, revolving around her rapper alter ego. She’s additionally been seen on narrative series like Bless This Mess, Grace and Frankie, Camping and Empire, as well as such reality series as Making the Cut, Candidly Nicole, Project Runway and The Simple Life.

Auli’i Cravalho to Star in Paramount’s Film Adaptation of Broadway Musical “Mean Girls”

Posted on December 10, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Auli’i Cravalho is on a mean streak…

The 22-year-old part-Puerto Rican actress/singer has joined the ensemble cast of Paramount Pictures’ new Mean Girls film based on the Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical.

Cravalho, who will portray Janis, will be joined by Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp and Jaquel Spivey.

Lorne Michaels is producing with Tina Fey. Erin David, Caroline Maroney and Micah Frank are overseeing for Broadway Video, and Eric Gurian and Jeff Richmond for Little Stranger. Arturo Perez and Samantha Jayne are directing with Fey writing the adaptation.

The film is based on the stage musical Mean Girls written by Fey, with music by Richmond and lyrics by Nell Benjamin. Paramount Pictures is adapting the new film for Paramount+.

Best known for voicing the titular character in the Disney hit animated film Moana, Cravalho was most recently seen in Netflix’s feature film All Together Now directed by Brett Haley and as Ariel in ABC’s acclaimed television production of The Little Mermaid Live. She can currently be seen in Hulu’s Darby of the Dead.

Kate del Castillo Signs with Buchwald

Posted on March 21, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Kate del Castillo has new representation…

The 49-year-old Mexican actress and telenovela star has signed with Buchwald.

del Castillo stars in Telemundo’s hit drama La Reina del Sur.

One of the highest rated Spanish-language series in the world, La Reina del Sur adapts the bestseller by Spanish novelist Arturo Perez-Reverte. In the crime drama, which recently wrapped filming for Season 3, del Castillo plays Teresa Mendonza, a woman from Mexico who becomes the most powerful drug trafficker in southern Spain.

Castillo recently completed a two-series deal with Telemundo. Her production company, Cholawood, has a first-look development deal with Boomdog, the Mexico City-based division of Endemol Shine North America.

The actress starred opposite Will Smith as the villain in Sony’s Bad Boys for Life, also recently featuring on NBC’s sitcom Mr. Mayor, from creators Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, and the Netflix animated series Maya and the Three, created by Jorge R. Gutiérrez.

She rose to acclaim in America with her performance in Fox Searchlight’s Under the Same Moon, which is one of the highest-grossing Spanish-language theatrical releases in U.S. history, and has also featured in such films as Bordertown, No Good Deed and All About Nina.

del Castillo has also appeared in series including PBS’ Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated drama American Family, The CW’s Jane the Virgin and Showtime’s Weeds, among others. Her one-woman Off-Broadway show, The Way She Spoke, made her the first Latina actress to earn Drama Desk, Drama League and Lucille Lortel Award nominations.

A philanthropist and outspoken global activist, del Castillo was appointed Ambassador for the Mexican Commission on Human Rights to combat human trafficking in 2009.

Ariana DeBose to Make Her Debut as Host on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live”

Posted on January 6, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Ariana DeBose is preparing for a special late night debut…

The 30-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/singer, who is earning Oscar buzz for her performance in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, will make her debut as host on NBC’s Saturday Night Live.

DeBose will be joined by Live Life Fast pop star Roddy Ricch, who will be making his debut on the show as the musical guest.

DeBose is well known to the late-night show’s creator Lorne Michaels as she plays Emma in Apple’s Michaels-exec produced comedy series Schmigadoon!

It will be the first show of 2022 for SNL and comes after the show rallied impressively for its COVID-19-hit final episode of 2021, a show that featured only Keenan Thompson and Michael Che from its regular cast as well as special guests Tina Fey and Tom Hanks.

The plan for the January 15 show is to be back with a full cast and crew as well as studio audience, according to Deadline, but given the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, a decision will be made closer to the time.

The show will also be streamed live via Peacock with the remainder of season 47 also airing live on the streaming service at 11:30pm ET.

Saturday Night Live is produced in association with Broadway Video.

Hulu Renews Selena Gomez’s “Only Murders in the Building” for Second Season

Posted on September 14, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Selena Gomez hasn’t left the Building just yet…

Hulu has renewed Only Murders in the Building, starring the 29-year-old Mexican American actress/singer, Steve Martin and Martin Short, for a second season.

That means Gomez and the gang will continue their podcast-inspired crime-solving ways.

The news comes after Hulu said the show was the most-watched Hulu Original comedy on premiere day and its most-watched comedy across all SVOD titles ever on the platform.

Only Murders in the Building follows three strangers (Martin, Short and Gomez) who share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one as they investigate the mysterious death of a neighbor in their New York City apartment building.

Amy Ryan and Aaron Dominguez also star. Nathan Lane will recur, and Tina Fey also features.

Co-created and written by Martin and John Hoffman based on an idea by Martin, the series is produced by 20th Century Fox Television and executive-produced by Martin, Short, Gomez, Hoffman, Jamie Babbitt, This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman and Jess Rosenthal.

“Only Murders in the Building reflects the kind of creative excellence that is the hallmark of Hulu Originals,” said Craig Erwich, president, ABC Entertainment and Hulu Originals. “Steve, John and Dan have created a uniquely captivating and entertaining series. The audience’s response to the delightful blend of mystery, humor and emotion in the show has been overwhelming and we can’t wait to follow this unlikely trio on their next adventure.”

Added Karey Burke, president of 20th Television: “There has been something about this project that felt almost fated from the start; from Dan’s first lunch with Steve in which Steve happened to mention he had an idea for a series, to John jumping aboard to co-create it, to Steve’s agreeing to star but only if Marty joined him, to the inspired addition of Selena. The comedy this team delivered has been the obsession of every executive at this studio, and our friends at Hulu have treated it like the crown jewel that it is. And now, thanks to the incredible audience response, we are so happy to say there will be more murders in the building — which is great news for everyone, except perhaps the residents of the Arconia.”

Pedrito Martinez to Perform at This Year’s Love Rocks NYC Concert

Posted on May 13, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Pedrito Martinez will bring some love to the Big Apple…

The fifth annual Love Rocks NYC concert will feature a performance by the 47-year-old Cuban percussionist, drummer, singer, dancer, bandleader, songwriter, composer, and educator.

Martinez joins a lineup that includes Sara Bareilles, Jon Bon Jovi, Gary Clark Jr., Yola and more, according to the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation.

The benefit concert for God’s Love We Deliver, which was founded during the AIDS epidemic in 1985 in efforts to deliver meals to vulnerable people, will stream on Fans.Live from the historic Beacon Theatre on June 3.

Jeff Garlin, Michael Imperioli and Bernie Williams will host the show this year, with special guest Tina Fey.

Love Rocks NYC will not only support and honor the work of the nonprofit, which is celebrating its 36th anniversary this year, but also NYC frontline workers who have been tirelessly aiding the city throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Interested parties can sign up to receive a free livestream link here, but a donation to God’s Love We Deliver of $20, which equals two meals, is encouraged.

The star-studded lineup for Love Rocks NYC 2021 will also include Joe Bonamassa, Billy Gibbons, Warren Haynes, Emily King, Ledisi, Tash Neal, Fantastic Negrito, Ivan Neville, Robert Randolph, Nathaniel Rateliff and Jimmy Vivino. More performers will be announced at a later date.

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