Harvey Guillén Among National Hispanic Media Coalition’s Impact Award Honorees

Posted on May 28, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Harvey Guillén is being feted for his impact…

The National Hispanic Media Coalition has revealed the 2024 Impact Award honorees for its annual gala taking place on June 14, with the 34-year-old Mexican American actor among those being recognized.

Annie Gonzalez (Flamin’ Hot) and Mayan Lopez (Lopez vs. Lopez) will host the celebration.

The Impact Awards is a part of the NHMC’s overall mission to spotlight the importance of accurate, fair and positive representation in media.

Each year, the organization honors individuals who are truly making an impact, shifting societal narratives and setting an example for Latine communities.

The 2024 honorees include:

Harvey Guillén, star of the hit FX series What We Do In The Shadows which is gearing up to premiere its sixth and final season. He will receive the Outstanding Performance in a Series Impact Award.

Issa López, a multi-hyphenate who most recently co-wrote and directed HBO’s True Detective Season 5 starring Jodie Foster. NHMC will recognize López’s achievements with the Trailblazer Impact Award.

Fede Alvarez, writer, director and executive producer of the upcoming feature Alien: Romulus, the seventh installment of the Alien franchise. NHMC will give him the Outstanding Film Director Impact Award.

Tatyana Ali, who most famously portrayed Ashley Banks in the hit comedy series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, will receive the Advocacy Impact Award for her advocacy and policy work in maternal health and reproductive justice.

The Los Angeles Football Club will be honored with the Community Impact Award for their commitment to multiculturalism and creating change for marginalized communities

Tubi will be honored with the For the People Impact Award for its diverse programming providing a platform for Latine series showcasing authentic representations of our communities.

“We are honored to celebrate these powerful figures who represent the present and future of the entertainment industry. This year’s honorees embody where our community is headed and are pushing their industries forward simply by taking up space and using their platforms to uplift other Latine creatives.,” said Brenda Victoria Castillo, President & CEO of the NHMC. “This year more than ever, it is imperative that we continue to celebrate our Latinidad in all aspects of our society, and NHMC is committed to ensuring that our community is recognized – not just at our gala, but in every space.”

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

Posted on December 21, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

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.

The 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.

Issa López Developing Fourth Installment of HBO’s “True Detective” Series with Barry Jenkins

Posted on March 19, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Issa López is holding True to her at…

The Mexican producer, writer and film director is joining forces with Barry Jenkins to develop a fourth iteration of HBO’s True Detective.

The WarnerMedia-owned cable network is developing True Detective: Night Country (working title), a new take on the crime drama.

The series, created and written by Nic Pizzolatto, ran for three seasons between 2014 and 2019.

López will write, executive-produce and direct the pilot with Jenkins executive-producing via his collective Pastel alongside Adele Romanski and Mark Ceryak.

Anonymous Content, which produced the first three installments will also executive produce with other True Detective EPs, so presumably Pizzolatto will be among those listed.

López is the writer and director of Mexican film Tigers Are Not Afraid (Vuelven), which won a slew of awards over the last few years and received praise from the likes of Stephen King, Neil Gaiman and Guillermo del Toro.

The latter is also working with Lopez on a haunted western about the werewolf mythology. She is also working with Noah Hawley on Searchlight’s The Book of Souls and with Blumhouse on Our Lady of Tears.

The third season of True Detective aired on HBO in 2019 and starred Mahershala Ali and Stephen Dorff, set in the Ozarks. It was the follow up to 2015’s Colin Farrell, Taylor Kitsch, Rachel McAdams and Vince Vaughn-fronted series and the first season, which starred Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson.

Arjona to Star in Guillermo del Toro’s “Pacific Rim 2”

Posted on September 27, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a Legendary deal for Adria Arjona…

The 24-year-old Guatemalan/Puerto Rican actress has closed a deal with Legendary Pictures to star in Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim 2.

Adria Arjona

Arjona joins a cast that includes John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Jing Tian and Cailee Spaeny.

Steven S. DeKnight is directing the sequel based on the world created by del Toro and Travis Beacham.

Arjona is starring in NBC’s upcoming series Emerald City as Dorothy Gale. It’s the retelling of The Wizard of Oz that’s set to premiere on January 6.

Arjona stars in the James Gunn horror production The Belko Experiment and the upcoming Melissa McCarthy movie Life of the Party.

The actress also co-starred in the 2015 installment of HBO’s True Detective.

Arjona to Star in the College-Set Comedy “Life of the Party”

Posted on August 24, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Adria Arjona is ready to party…

The 24-year-old Guatemalan and Puerto Rican actress has signed on to star in Melissa McCarthy’s upcoming college-set comedy Life of the Party.

Described as in the vein of Rodney Dangerfield’s 1986 comedy Back to School, Life of the Party stars McCarthy, Maya Rudolph, Gillian Jacobs, Jacki Weaver, Molly Gordon and Jessie Ennis and hits theaters May 11, 2018.

Arjona is set to play “a sorority sister with issues.”

Ben Falcone directs Life of the Party from a script he co-wrote with McCarthy.

Life of the Party begins filming this week in Atlanta.

Arjona next will be seen starring in NBC’s Emerald City opposite Vincent D’Onofrio and MGM’s The Belko Experiment, written and produced by James Gunn and set to premiere at TIFF next month.

Her credits also include HBO’s True Detective and Netflix’s Narcos.

Amazon to Debut Martinez’s Comedy Pilot “The Tick” This August

Posted on July 23, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Yara Martinez’s career is Ticking along…

Amazon has picked its lineup for the online retailer’s 2016 comedy pilot season, with the 36-year-old Puerto Rican actress and Jane the Virgin star’s project The Tick slated to debut in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Austria and Japan on August 19.

In a world where superheroes have been real for decades, The Tick centers on an underdog accountant with zero powers who comes to realize his city is owned by a global super villain long-thought dead. As he struggles to uncover this conspiracy, he falls in league with a strange blue superhero.

In addition to Martinez, who stars on Hollywood Heights, The Tick also stars Peter Serafinowicz, Griffin Newman, Jackie Earle Haley, Valorie Curry and Brendan Hines.

The Tick is directed by Wally Pfister. The project is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television.

Amazon customers can stream and review the pilot to help the online retailer choose the next Amazon Original Series that’ll be available for Amazon Prime members.

The pilot will be available via the Amazon Video app for TVs, connected devices including Fire TV, and mobile devices, or online.

Martinez’s credits include appearances on True Detective, Necessary Roughness, Alpha House, The Lying Game and Nashville.

Rios to Star in FX’s John Singleton Drug-Drama Pilot “Snowfall”

Posted on July 22, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Winter is coming for Emily Rios…

The 27-year-old Mexican American actress has signed on to star as series regular on FX’s Snowfall, John Singleton’s 1980s cocaine-epidemic drama pilot.

Co-created and executive produced by the Boyz N The Hood director Singleton and Erick Amadio, and directed by El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, the pilot has been undergoing a revamp.

Rios, who portrayed Andrea Cantillo on AMC’s Breaking Bad, will play Lucia, the self-possessed daughter of a Mexican crime family that imports and sells marijuana throughout Los Angeles.

Rios, who earned her big break in the film Quinceañera, also starred in FX’s The Bridge, as well as guest appearances on True Detective, Friday Night Lights and Men of a Certain Age.

NBC Releases First Images of Arjona’s “Wizard of Oz”-Themed Series “Emerald City”

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Adria Arjona isn’t in Kansas anymore…

NBC has released new photos from its upcoming Emerald City, a musical re-take on Dorothy and company starring the 24-year-old Puerto Rican and Guatemalan actress-singer.

In one of the new images, Arjona appears as Dorothy Gale, alongside romantic interest Lucas (Oliver Jackson-Cohen).

In the other photo, Jackson-Cohen and Arjona follow the famed yellow brick-like road.

No premiere date has been set for Emerald City, created by Matthew Arnold and co-starring Vincent D’Onofrio as the Wizard, Joely Richardson as Glinda, among a large cast.

Arjona, the daughter of Ricardo Arjona, recently appeared on the HBO television series True Detective, as well as CBS’ Person of Interest and Netflix’s Narcos.

Luna to Star in Discovery Channel’s “Harley and the Davidsons”

Posted on March 18, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Gabriel Luna is revvin’ his engines…

The 33-year-old Latino American actor has been cast in the Discovery Channel’s Harley and the Davidsons, a six-hour miniseries about the birth of the iconic motorcycle brand.

It follows William Harley and Arthur Davidson, who launched the iconic motorcycle manufacturer in Milwaukee in 1903.

Luna, who starred in El Rey Network’s spy thriller The Matador, will portray Eddie Hasha, the bike racer nicknamed “the Texas Cyclone.”

He joins a cast that includes Michiel Huisman, Robert Aramayo, Bug Hall, Stephen Rider and Jessica Camacho.

The miniseries will be broadcast in two-hour blocks over three consecutive nights starting Monday, September 5.

Production on the miniseries starts this month.

Luna’s previous credits include television appearances on Wicked City, True Detective and NCIS: Los Angeles, as well as the films Gravy and Freeheld.

Rodriguez’s “Marshland” Acquired by Todo Cine Latino & AZ Films

Posted on July 1, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Alberto Rodriguez’s latest film, one of Spain’s most recent blockbusters, is ready to conquer North America.

Todo Cine Latino, the specialty label of Paul Hudson’s Outsider Pictures, has teamed with Canada’s AZ Films to acquire the North America rights to La Isla Minima.

The 44-year-old Spanish filmmaker’s fifth feature, titled Marshland in English is described as a noirish period cop thriller.

The film won 10 Spanish Film Academy Goya Awards, among them best picture, director and actor (for star Javier Gutierrez).

Produced by Atresmedia Cine, Sacromonte Films and Atipica Films, and a competition frontrunner at San Sebastian International Film Festival, where it world premiered on September 20, winning the jury prize and best actor (Gutierrez), Marshland went on to gross $8.4 million in Spain, a standout achievement for its distributor, Warner Bros. Entertainment España.

Marshland now figures with nine category recognitions as the leading contender for 2015’s Platino Awards, taking in movies from Spain, Latin America and Portugal, which takes place July 18 in Marbella.

Written by Rodriguez and his near-career-long co-scribe Rafael Cobos, and set in Spain’s deep South in 1980, Marshland begins in classic crime thriller style with two homicide detectives, one a Francoist hardliner, the other younger and more pliable with a bright future ahead of him in Madrid, being called in to investigate the disappearance of two teen girls on Seville’s flatlands, a sprawling marsh expanse of stunning natural beauty and base poverty ruled by a few families certainly not willing to give up their centuries-old power and privileges – economic, social or of droit du seigneur.

Marshland impressed for its stunning, often kinetic, and varied cinematography: It’s made up of some 170 sequences, some multi-shot, some not. It also won critical plaudits for the interplay between the two cops who realize that they must put aside their personal differences if they’re to stop a serial killer, and the shaded balance of its portrait of one, played by Gutierrez. Capable of absolute heroism, he also tortured suspects under Franco and will never be hauled up in court for that.

“Marshland has been compared to everything from the first season of True Detective to Seven, and is a first class thriller, and the Goya Awards are a testament to the quality of the filmmaking,” said Hudson.

Todo Cine Latino will look to build word-of-mouth via festivals; AZ Films will release the film in Canada on August 14, while Outsider will release in the U.S. on August 21 in Miami, where “Marshland” had its U.S. premiere in March at the Miami Film Festival.

Marshland will then be released on digital streaming site Todocinelatino.com, which is dedicated to the release of the best in Latin Cinema in North America.

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