Ortiz to Star in ABC’s Comedy Pilot “Charlie Foxtrot”

Posted on February 23, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Ana Ortiz is all about that base…

The 46-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress has been cast as the female lead in ABC’s comedy pilot Charlie Foxtrot.

Hailing from writer Sam Sklaver, Kapital Entertainment and ABC Studios, the project is set at Fort Bragg, an Army base in North Carolina.

It centers on Angelina Torres (Ortiz) and her two children, who live on the base. But, when Angelina loses her fiancé, Joe Taylor, killed in action in Iraq, it looks as though she’ll have to move. But Joe’s brother, Charlie Taylor (Jason Biggs), a dentist at the base, and usually a pushover, isn’t about to let that happen.

Torres’ Angelina is a well-meaning, fierce single mother-lion who believes in putting her kids first, even if that means crossing a few lines.

The casting of Ortiz, who starred in Devious Maids and Ugly Betty, stems from a talent deal ABC and ABC Studios signed with Ortiz immediately after Ortiz’s previous series, ABC Studios’ dramedy Devious Maids, ended its four-season run on Lifetime last summer. She decided on Charlie Foxtrot after being presented with several scripts.

This is Ortiz’s third consecutive pilot for ABC and ABC Studios, following the hourlong Ugly Betty and Devious Maids, both of which went to series, with the latter moving from ABC to Lifetime. Ortiz earned an ALMA Award and Imagen Award for her performance as Hilda on Ugly Betty.

Her television credits include appearances on How to Get Away with Murder, Revenge and Black-ish.

Ferrera to Serve as a Presenter at This Year’s Primetime Emmy Awards

Posted on September 7, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

America Ferrera has a date with Emmy…

The Television Academy has announced the second group of presenters for the 68th Emmy Awards, with the 32-year-old Honduran American actress making the list.

In addition to Ferrera, who won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2007 for her starring role in Ugly Betty, the list includes Laverne Cox, Tracee Ellis Ross, Kit Harington, Matt LeBlanc, Joel McHale, Chris Rock, Jeffrey Tambor, Kerry Washington and Damon Wayans.

The 68th Emmy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will air at 8:00 pm ET/5:00 pm PT on Sunday, September 18 from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

Ferrera currently stars on NBC’s comedy series Superstore.

Ferrera Among Celebrities Appearing in A Capella Video in Support of Hillary Clinton

Posted on July 27, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

America Ferrera is fighting for Hillary Clinton…

The 32-year-old Honduran American actress appears in a special Elizabeth Banks-produced a cappella music video in support of the Democratic Party’s nominee for President of the United States.

In a nod to the Pitch Perfect films she produces, Banks, along with Bruce Cohen and Mike Thompkins, recruited a long list of Hollywood actors and singers, including the former Ugly Betty star, for an a cappella version of Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song.”

In addition to Ferrera, other Hollywood elit appearing in the video include Eva Longoria, Kristin Chenoweth, Rob Reiner, Mandy Moore, Alan Cumming, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Idina Menzel, Renee Fleming, Aisha Tyler, Jane Fonda, Sheryl Crow and, at the very end, Sia with a loud and proud, “Go Hillary.”

Ferrera Among 683 Stars Invited to Become Members of The Academy

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

America Ferrera is joining the Academy…

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited a record 683 people to joins its ranks, including the 32-year-old Honduran American actress, more than double last year’s 322 invitees.

Best known for her Golden Globe-, Screen Actors Guild Award and Emmy-winning role on ABC’s Ugly Betty, Ferrera has also starred in several acclaimed films including Real Women Have Curves, Under the Same Moon, End of Watch, Cesar Chavez and Lords of Dogtown.

The Academy was careful to include a breakdown by gender and race, with the new list comprising of 46% women, including Girl in Progess star Eva Mendes and Fast & Furious star Michelle Rodriguez, and 41% people of color, including Luis Guzman, Oscar Isaac and Spanish director J.A. Bayona.

“We’re proud to welcome these new members to the Academy and know they view this as an opportunity and not just an invitation — a mission and not just a membership,” Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs said in a statement. “This class continues our long-term commitment to welcoming extraordinary talent reflective of those working in film today. We encourage the larger creative community to open its doors wider and create opportunities for anyone interested in working in this incredible and storied industry.”

The new invitees include 28 Oscar winners, range in age from 24 to 91 and represent 59 countries.

Other Latinos invited to join AMPAS include Enrique Castillo, Sal Lopez, Marisa Paredes, Jacob Vargas, Daphne Zuniga, Ciro Guerra and Nicole Garcia.

Check out the complete list here.

Lozano Lands Role on Netflix’s “Narcos”

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Florencia Lozano is joining the war on drugs, so to speak…

The 46-year-old Argentine American actress, best known for portraying Téa Delgado on the soap opera One Life to Live and General Hospital, has landed a series regular role opposite Wagner Moura and Pedro Pascal on Season 2 of the Netflix drama series Narcos.

Written by Chris Brancato and directed by Jose Padilha, Narcos is the true-life story of the growth and spread of cocaine drug cartels across the globe and attendant efforts of law enforcement to meet them head on in brutal, bloody conflict.

Lozano will play DEA agent Claudia Messina.

She appeared in the feature film Amok alongside Josh Hamilton and Juliet Rylance. She’ll next be seen in Amy Makes Three.

Her television credits include appearances on The Mysteries of Laura, Blue Bloods, Royal Pains, Ugly Betty and Gossip Girl.

Horta Developing the Family Drama “The Divine Monster” for Television

Posted on October 24, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

There’s a new monster project in Silvio Horta’s horizon…

The 41-year-old Cuban American writer/producer, best known for adapting the hit Colombian telenovela Yo Soy Betty La Fea into the award-winning ABC series Ugly Betty, has teamed with producer-director Brett Ratner for The Divine Monster.

The twisty family drama is based on the Belgian series of the same name (original title Het Goddelijke Monster).

Written by Horta, The Divine Monster chronicles the fall of the wealthy Vega family of Miami, whose real estate empire is built upon decades of greed, corruption, generally bad behavior and an alarming number of curious deaths.

Horta is executive producing with Ratner.

Warner Bros. Television, where Horta is under an overall deal, is the studio, producing with Horta’s Silent H Productions and Ratner’s RatPac Television.

The project has a script commitment.

Written by Rick D’Hiet based on the novels by Tom Lanoye, the Eyeworks-produced Het Goddelijke Monster aired in 2011.

Rodriguez to Appear Opposite Gina Rodriguez on the CW’s “Jane the Virgin”

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Adam Rodriguez is entering virgin territory…

The 40-year-old Puerto Rican/Cuban-American actor has landed a guest-starring role on the CW’s Jane the Virgin.

Rodriguez, who will appear on several episodes of Empire this season,

will recur on network’s telenovela-based comedy as Jonathan, Jane’s (Gina Rodriguez) very critical writing professor who doesn’t believe in coddling students. Complications, naturally, ensue.

“In the writers room, we broke this arc with Adam in mind and we are all so thrilled to have him,” said Jane the Virgin showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman in a statement. “Wahooo!”

But Rodriguez, who recently starred on the big screen in Magic Mike XXL, has been tapped for another project this season…

He’s set to direct episode 12 of Scorpion’s sophomore season.

CBS Television Studios, which produces both series, has a longstanding relationship with the actor. He starred on CSI: Miami for 10 years, during which time he wrote and directed two episodes. He most recently starred in the studio’s summer legal drama Reckless.

Rodriguez’s other credits include Roswell, Ugly Betty and The Night Shift.

Jane the Virgin’s new season premieres Monday, October 12 at 9 pm ET on The CW.

Scorpion airs Mondays at 10 p.m. on CBS.

Consuelos to Star in Katie Holmes’ Directorial Debut “All We Had”

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Mark Consuelos is Vic-torious…

The 44-year-old half-Mexican actor has joined the cast of All We Had, the directorial debut of Katie Holmes.

Consuelos, best known for his role as Mateo Santos on All My Children, will portray “Vic.”

Stefania Owen, Luke Wilson, Richard Kind and Judy Greer also star in the film about a young mother and her teenage daughter who relocate to a small midwestern town during the height of the worldwide economic crisis in hopes of making a better life.

Josh Boone and Jill Killington wrote the script, based on the novel by Annie Weatherwax.

Consuelos currently stars in Amazon’s political comedy series Alpha House.

His other credits include Guys with Kids, The New Normal, American Horror Story: Asylum and Ugly Betty.

ABC Developing Drama Project About a Mexican Family from Salma Hayek

Posted on August 9, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Salma Hayek may soon bring some serious Mexican family drama to The Alphabet Network…

ABC has put in development a drama project executive produced by Salma Hayek and Michael McDonald through ABC Studios.

Written by From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series scribe Diego Gutierrez, the untitled project is described as a soapy ensemble drama about the heirs to a wealthy Mexican conglomerate, who are in the midst of a battle for its future when they all become suspects in the murder of their father.

Тhe drama reflects some personal experiences for Gutierrez who was born and raised in a well-to-do family in Mexico City before attending Wesleyan University and making a life and career for himself in Los Angeles. His family is still in Mexico, with him traveling back and forth. The story on the show also spans Mexico City and Los Angeles.

Gutierrez pitched the idea to McDonald, who reached out to Hayek. The two have an existing relationship stemming from the ABC dramedy Ugly Betty, which Hayek executive produced and McDonald helped develop as an executive at ABC Studios.

Hayek and her producing partner Jose Tamez responded to the idea and boarded the project. It was pitched to ABC, which bought it preemptively with penalty, unusual for a project from sibling ABC Studios.

McDonald’s Stearns Castle and Hayek and Tamez’s Ventanarosa are producing for ABC Studios where McDonald is under an overall deal.

Gutierrez’s series credits also include Kingpin, Without A Trace and Warehouse 13.

Ferrera Thanks Donald Trump for Sending More Latino Voters to the Polls

Posted on July 3, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

America Ferrera reveals her Trump card…

The 31-year-old Honduran American actress has penned an open letter to Donald Trump, sarcastically “thanking’ him for the “incredibly ignorant and racist” remarks he made during his speech announcing his candidacy for president.

Trump has sparked a universal firestorm with his comments about building a wall along the southern U.S. border to keep out Mexican “rapists”, drug dealers, etc.

“I’m writing to say thank you,” writes the actress in the letter posted on Huffington Post Latino Voices. “You see, what you just did with your straight talk was send more Latino voters to the polls than several registration rallies combined! Thank you for that,” she says. “Here we are pounding the pavement to get American Latinos to the polls, while your tactic proves most effective. Remarks like yours will serve brilliantly to energize Latino voters and increase turnout on election day against you and any other candidate who runs on a platform of hateful rhetoric.”

She goes on to write, “Thank you for reminding us that there remains an antiquated and endangered species of bigots in this country that we must continue to combat. Thank you for reminding us to not sit complacently at home on election day, but to run to the polls and proclaim that there is no place for your brand of racial politicking in our government. Thank you for sending out the rallying cry.”

The Ugly Betty was born and raised in Los Angeles and earned a bachelor’s degree from USC in international relations.

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