Rodriguez & Her Fast & Furious Co-Stars to Receive Generation Award at the MTV Movie & TV Awards

Posted on April 29, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a new generation for Michelle Rodriguez…

The 38-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican American actress and her fellow Fast & Furious franchise co-stars will receive the Generation Award at this year’s MTV Movie & TV Awards on May 7, marking the first time the award show will give the honor to a film franchise rather than an individual actor.

Fast & Furious star and producer Vin Diesel will accept the award alongside his co-stars Rodriguez, who portrays Letty in the franchise, Tyrese Gibson and Jordan Brewster.

Since 1992, the Generation Award has honored talent with a body of work throughout their career that speaks directly to the MTV audience. Past recipients include Will Smith, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Wahlberg, Sandra Bullock, Jamie Foxx, Johnny Depp, Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Mike Myers, Tom Cruise and Jim Carrey.

MTV will air marathons of the first three Fast & Furious films this weekend. They’ll feature a trivia game hosted by stars Diesel and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, offering social engagers a chance to win a trip to attend the MTV Movie & TV Awards.

The 2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards will be hosted by actor and comedian Adam Devine, with the telecast airing live on Sunday, May 7, at 8:00 pm EST from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

New Trailer Released for Saldana’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”

Posted on March 3, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

It’s on guard(ian) for Zoe Saldana…

The latest trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, starring the 38-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican American actress was unveiled by Saldana’s co-star Chris Pratt on Tuesday night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live.

The video features a handful of the same scenes that have been seen in previous trailers and promos, with the superhero team assembling to save the galaxy for a second time, as well as continuing the team’s adventures as they unravel the mystery of Peter Quill’s true parentage.

“Sometimes, the thing you’re searching for your whole life in right there by your side all along,” Pratt’s Star-Lord says in the trailer.

He doesn’t have to wait that long to find the thing he’s been searching for his whole life, as audiences are finally introduced to Star-Lord’s father Ego, played by Kurt Russell.

In addition to Saldana and Pratt, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, directed by James Gunn, also features Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel as Baby Groot.

It opens in theaters on May 5.

Nicky Jam Gives First Performance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

Posted on January 26, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a foreign experience for Nicky Jam…

The 35-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican American singer-songwriter appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday night to perform alongside The Americanos, Ty Dolla $ign and French Montana.

Nicky Jam and the gang performed “In My Foreign,” an original song for the film xXx: Return of Xander Cage.

It’s the first time the reggaetonero has performed on ABC‘s late-night show.

Nicky Jam made his big-screen acting debut in the hit film starring Vin Diesel on January 20 — the same day he released his new studio album Fenix, featuring collaborations with J Balvin, Sean Paul and Daddy Yankee.

Vin Diesel Previews Nicky Jam’s New English Track “Without You”

Posted on December 29, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Nicky Jam is pulling double duty in his American crossover…

The 35-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican American singer/songwriter, who recently signed with publicity firm 42West, won’t just make his acting debut in xXx: Return of Xander Cage. He’ll also release a brand new English track.

Nicky Jam’s co-star Vin Diesel took to social media to offer a preview of the new song titled “Without You.”

“Another No.1 hit right here,” the actor and xXx: Return of Xander Cage star says in a two-minute video on Facebook, in which he appears to be at the beach with the “Hasta el amanecer” singer and his son.

The acoustic English track is slated to debut in January.

Nicky Jam will play the role of Lazarus and is also featured in the movie’s original song “In My Foreign” by The Americanos.

After working together on set, Nicky Jam told Billboard that he and Diesel had become good friends and might even work on new music together in the future.

“Vin Diesel is crazy, and when I say crazy, I mean it in a good way,” Nicky said. “He’s crazy about Latinos and he’s not even a Latino. He even wants to speak Spanish. I told him we should do a song together and he said he was shy. But I said, ‘I’m no actor, but I’m acting in front of you. I wasn’t scared.'”

Rodriguez’s “Fast 8” Filming in Cuba

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

It’s fast times for Michelle Rodriguez in the Pearl of the Antilles.

The 37-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican-American actress and her fellow Fast & Furious co-stars are filming in Cuba.

Fast 8 has the distinction of being only the second film and the first big budget movie given the green light to shoot on the island since the start of improved relations between the island nation and the United States.

The next installment of Universal Pictures’ successful franchise is currently filming in Havana, and to commemorate the milestone, the production released a new set video paying tribute to the city and its people.

The first in what star Vin Diesel has described as a trilogy that will bring the series to close, Fast 8 is keeping the series tradition of sending the franchise’s globetrotting street racing enthusiasts to various exotic locals, including Iceland in addition to Cuba.

#F8 is making history in Cuba. #FastFridays https://t.co/vljANLtPuh

— Fast & Furious (@FastFurious) May 6, 2016

Written by Chris Morgan and directed by F. Gary Gray, Fast 8 sees core cast members Diesel, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges returning along with 2Fast 2Furious co-star Eva Mendes, Tokyo Drift‘s Lucas Black, and Furious 7‘s Kurt Russell and Jason Statham. They’re joined this time out by Charlize Theron, Kristofer Hivju and Scott Eastwood in yet-revealed roles.

Fast 8 is set to hit theaters on April 14, 2017.

Rodriguez & Her “Furious 7” Costars to Receive Special Hollywood Film Award

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Michelle Rodriguez is getting a Furious recognition…

The 37-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican-American actress and her Furious 7 costars will receive a special honor at this year’s Hollywood Film Awards.

Furious 7, the Universal Pictures sequel that is now the fifth highest-grossing film of all time, will be feted with the Hollywood Blockbuster Award, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The award will be bestowed on the entire cast, which includes Jordana Brewster, Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson and the late Paul Walker.

The ceremony, which will take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on November 1, will also honor Amy director Asif Kapadia with the Hollywood Documentary Award for his film about the late Amy Winehouse.

And a host of other accolades will be celebrate extraordinary work in crafts and technical categories.

This year’s Hollywood Film Awards will not be televised, unlike last year’s, which aired on CBS. Nevertheless, Dick Clark Productions, which became a key investor in the event in 2013, will continue to produce it.

“The Hollywood Film Awards is an incredible brand, previewing some of the biggest movies and stars of the year, while launching the award season,” says Allen Shapiro, CEO of DCP.

The recipients of the event’s many other awards will be announced in the coming days and weeks.

Rodriguez & Brewster’s “Furious 7” Becomes Universal Pictures’ First-Ever Billion-Dollar Film

Posted on April 18, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster have a billion reason to celebrate…

The 36-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican-American actress and 34-year-old Brazilian-Panamanian actress’ latest film, Furious 7, has become Universal Pictures’ first-ever billion-dollar movie, and the entertainment company’s leader talked online about the notable moment for the 103-year-old studio.

“Today marks a significant milestone in our history,” NBCUniversal Vice Chairman Ron Meyer wrote in a blog post as the setua-sequel raced past that global-boxoffice milestone in just its 17th day in release.

The actioner, also starring Vin Diesel and the late Paul Walker, has banked an estimated $265.3M domestically and is expected to win again this weekend both at hone and overseas, making it three consecutive winning frames.

Early Friday matinee estimates show that Furious 7 is on track to make $8M-$8.5M for a three-day estimate of between $25 million and $26 million. It still is commanding the Imax screens in its third weekend. The film took in about $2.9M Thursday on 4,022 total runs. The actioner, which stopped production after Walker died in a November 2013 car crash, initially was supposed to bow last summer, but that date had to be overhauled. With the extra time, Universal was able to pick the perfect distribution date and implement a strong marketing campaign with two of the most social powerhouses on the Internet: Diesel and Dwayne Johnson.

Picking the April 3, 2015, distribution date meant the film was able to enjoy four weeks of play both on Imax and in the nation’s theaters until May 1, when Marvel/Disney releases mega-sequel Avengers: Age Of Ultron.

Furious 7 is the first film since last year’s Transformers: Age of Extinction to top $1 billion worldwide and already is No. 20 on the all-time list.

Universal Releases Three-Minute Trailer for Rodriguez’s “Furious 7”

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Michelle Rodriguez is ready to take crazy “to a whole new level”…

Universal Pictures has released a new three-minute trailer for Furious 7, starring the 36-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican American actress.

“I don’t have friends — I got family,” asserts Vin Diesel in the high-octane trailer.

In addition to Rodriguez and Vin Diesel, the film also stars the late Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Elsa Pataky, Lucas Black, Djimon Hounsou, Tony Jaa, Ronda Rousey and Romeo Santos.

Meanwhile, Jason Statham makes his debut as the film’s villain, who is keen on getting revenge.

Fast & Furious 7 will be released in theaters on April 10, 2015.

Universal Pictures to Release Rodriguez’s “Fast & Furious 7” Next April

Posted on July 3, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Michelle Rodriguez will be getting fast and furious next Easter…

Universal Pictures has moved up the release date of Fast & Furious 7, starring the 35-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican American actress, ahead to Easter weekend.

The franchise sequel originally had an April 10 release date, but Fast & Furious 7 is now set to hit theaters on April 3.

The move gives the film an extra weekend of play before the April 17 debut of Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2.

James Wan is directing this latest installment of the blockbuster series, which again stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker — in his last film — Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster and others, including franchise rookies Jason Statham, Djimon Hounsou and Kurt Russell.

Rodriguez is set to reprise her role as Leticia “Letty” Ortiz, a role that earned her Fandango Cine’s Latino Performance of the Year at the Premios Tu Mundo in 2013.

Santos to Star Opposite Michelle Rodriguez in “Fast & Furious 7”

Posted on May 26, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Romeo Santos is making a furious acting debut…

The 32-year-old Dominican and Puerto Rican singer-songwriter and former lead singer of the Bachata group Aventura has joined the cast of Universal Pictures’ Fast & Furious 7.

Santos, a chart-topping, Grammy-nominated musician, was joined onstage at his sold-out Staples Center concert in Los Angeles by Fast & Furious franchise star Vin Diesel, who made the announcement to the singer’s fans.

Santos’ role in the James Wan-directed sequel hasn’t been revealed yet.

But he will be joining Jason Statham, Kurt Russell and more newcomers alongside series returners Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Lucas Black and the late Paul Walker.