Wilmer Valderrama’s Allied Management Group Signs a Slew of Latino Writers

Wilmer Valderrama is giving up-and-coming Latino writers their big break…

The 44-year-old Venezuelan & Colombian American actor’s Allied Management Group, which he set up with John Pollak, has signed a number of Latino writers to its roster.

Wilmer ValderramaThe company has signed Luisa Leschin, Raphael Draccon & Carolina Munhóz, The Original Content Society’s Raúl Campos and Felix de Valdivia, and Daniel and Diego Ayala López.

The goal is for Allied to bring these Latino writers to networks, streamers and studios in the U.S English-language market.

Leschin has worked on nearly 500 episodes of television including Netflix’s Gentefied, where she was a co-exec producer on its second season, Max’s Head of the Class, where she was a co-EP and Hulu’s East Los High. She has also worked on series including Everybody Hates Chris and The George Lopez Show.

Draccon and Munhóz are a husband-and-wife writing team who showran The Chosen One and Invisible City for Netflix and have a first-look deal with Warner Bros. Discovery LatAm to work with Max. They have also written comic books for both Marvel and DC

Campos and de Valdivia are brothers, born in Mexico, who run The Original Content Society. They created, wrote, directed and produced the first YouTube Original sitcom in Latin America – Sobrevivi – as well as Spotify’s first original comedy series, El Grupo, and are co-exec producers for the third and fourth seasons of Amazon’s LOL starring Eugenio Derbez. In addition to producing and directing 24 Netflix comedy specials, they have a first look deal with ITV America, where they are developing an international comedy series called Güerita.

Daniel and Diego Ayala López, born in Colombia were behind Amazon series Manes, which was the most-watched series for Amazon Colombia, and Los BillisThey have worked with Colombia’s Caracol and are currently developing a number of projects with U.S. studios and production companies.

“These writers are currently helping to define the future of Latino story telling by creating universal stories that aren’t defined by borders or language, but instead reflect the modern content experience- groundbreaking storytelling that can be consumed by viewers in a global market,” said Pollak and Valderrama.  “As the need for fresh stories and unique points of view continue to be the priority for Hollywood, these writers will lead the charge and redefine how premium content is created and Allied Mgmt Group is honored to be working alongside them.”

YouTube Originals to Premiere “30 Days With: Anuel,” About Anuel AA’s Road to Success, This Week

Anuel AA’s success is being documented

YouTube Originals has announced plans to launch a new docuseries following the 29-year-old Puerto Rican rapper and singer’s road to success will premiere this week.

Anuel AATitled 30 Days With: Anuel, after the YouTube Originals franchise, the four-part documentary series, helmed by director Jessy Terrero, captures the Latin trap artist’s beginnings in the music industry and the story behind his arrest in Puerto Rico.

According to an official statement, “The project was filmed over 30 days during the final days of Anuel’s probation period, and his first week of freedom.”

On April 2, 2016, Anuel (real name Emmanuel Gazmey Santiago) was arrested on gun possession charges and denied bail, despite having a clean record. He was sentenced to 30 months, which he served in full, spending time in four different prisons in Puerto Rico, Atlanta, and Miami, with a brief stint at a halfway house. On July 17, 2018, he finally walked out a free man, just hours after releasing his debut album, Real Hasta La Muerte (on Glad Empire and distributed by The Orchard).

An Endemol Shine Boomdog production, the docuseries is executive produced by Alejandro Rincón, Javier Pérez Teuffer, Flavio Morales, and Miguel Batz, with Nicole Emanuele overseeing the Anuel miniseries for YouTube Originals.

30 Days With: Anuel premieres at 12:00 pm PT on Wednesday, December 29, on Anuel’s official YouTube channel, with a new episode premiering every week.

Anitta to Appear in the YouTube Originals Special “Dear Earth”

Anitta is celebrating the planet…

The 28-year-old Brazilian singer, songwriter, actress and dancer will be featured in an upcoming YouTube Originals special titled Dear Earth.

Anitta

Anitta will appear alongside BLACKPINKBillie EilishJaden Smith and more in the special premiering in October.

Dear Earth is part of YouTube Originals’ October sustainability-centered programming.

Former President Barack Obama, Pope Francis, Desmond Tutu and Google/Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai are among the global leaders presenting during the multi-hour celebration of the planet.

It will follow a similar format to YouTube Originals’ Dear Class of 2020 all-star commencement special during the pandemic last year, with keynote addresses, musical performances, special appearances and comedic shorts.

Dear Earth will “inspire and motivate audiences to create a better, healthier, existence for the planet through contributions from a wide range of global leaders, creators, celebrities and musicians,” Susanne Daniels, YouTube’s global head of original content, told reporters during the Summer TCA press tour.

Lil Dicky and GaTa as well as Tinashe will also be featured, as well as Marsai Martin, The Muppets, SpongeBob SquarePants and YouTube creators AsapSCIENCEBrave WildernessBretman Rock, DreamJack HarriesTheOdd1sOutPhysicsGirl and ZHC.

Dear Earth will premiere on YouTube on October 23.

The special is produced by Done + Dusted, Strong Brew and Silverback Films.

Peacock Releases Trailer for Demi Lovato’s Docuseries “Unidentified With Demi Lovato”

Demi Lovato is on a mission to find extraterrestrial life…

Following the 29-year-old half-Mexican American singer, songwriter and actor’s surreal Joshua Tree trip when they saw something strange in the sky, Lovato is embarking on an extra-journey journey to find out more.

Demi Lovato

“I had this crazy experience that happened to me in Joshua Tree,” the singer recalls in the official trailer for their new Peacock series Unidentified With Demi Lovato, which was released on Thursday (September 9). “It was this bright light, kind of moved in, like, these weird ways that a plane wouldn’t move. My goal is to find out what really happened.”

The self-proclaimed “UFO experiencer” will be joined by their best friend Matthew Scott Montgomery and sister Dallas Lovato, both of whom appeared in the four-part YouTube Originals docuseries Demi Lovato: Dancing With the Devil, which opened SXSW this year, to “investigate the unexplained and the unidentified,” Lovato said in the video. The gasp-worthy, shocking trailer even features an unidentified voice saying “hello” to the singer when prompted by experts.

Lovato’s new four-part limited unscripted series will begin streaming on Peacock on September 30.

 

Unidentified With Demi Lovato is executive produced by Lovato, their manager Scooter Braun, Scott Manson, Allison Kaye, JD Roth, Adam Greener, Sara Hansemann and Andrew Nick.

Lovato’s most recent album, Dancing With the Devil… The Art of Starting Over, was released via Island Records. It peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and topped the Top Album Sales chart.

Demi Lovato to Co-Host Special YouTube Pride 2021 Livestream

Demi Lovato is celebrating Pride in a big way…

The 28-year-old half-Mexican American actor/singer and Olly Alexander with Mawaan Rizwan will join previously announced hosts Trixie Mattel and Daniel Howell for the YouTube Pride 2021 livestream on June 25.

Demi Lovato

Lovato and their fellow emcees will host the YouTube Originals multi-hour livestream event celebrating the LGBTQ+ community, including Pride parties from their respective YouTube channels.

The festivities will include musical performances, challenges and more, during which viewers will be encouraged to donate to The Trevor Project, which provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ+ youth, as well as the UK-based LGBTQ+ youth homelessness charity akt.

The livestream’s special guests will include YouTube star Tyler Oakley, RuPaul’s Drag Race season 8 runner-up Kim Chi, All Stars winner Monét X Change, season 9 runner-up Peppermint and season 13 contestant Denali Foxx.

Demi Lovato announced last month that they are non-binary and their pronouns are they/them. The “very personal” news came as part of Lovato’s new “4D With Demi Lovato” podcast, in which they explained, “Over the past year and a half I’ve been doing some healing and self-reflective work. And through this work, I’ve had the revelation that I identify as nonbinary.”

Alongside H.E.R. and Brandi Carlile, Lovato paid tribute to Elton John by performing a medley of his biggest hits at last week’s iHeartRadio Awards.

YouTube Pride 2021 will be held on Friday, June 25. JA Films producers created a Pride 2021 microsite asking content creators to submit videos of themselves sharing their stories and questions for the hosts with a chance to have their videos featured on the YouTube livestream.

YouTube is also launching a #GiveWithPride donation campaign with hopes to raise $500,000 for The Trevor Project. YouTube is matching donations made to the campaign up to $250,000.

If the campaign’s fundraising goal is met, YouTube creators will each release a zany challenge video, including Patrick Starrr, Gigi Gorgeous, Elle of the Mills, The Fitness Marshall, Jackson Bird, Alannized, Jessie Paege, KingOfReads, and Jade Fox. The video, which teases creators bleaching their hair, getting tattoos and re-creating viral dance challenges, will air during YouTube Pride 2021.

Demi Lovato Launching New Podcast “4D with Demi Lovato”

Demi Lovato is certainly in rapid cadence

The 28-year-old half-Mexican American actress, who recently appeared in the YouTube Originals docuseries Dancing with the Devil, will launch 4D with Demi Lovato with podcast company Cadence13.

Demi Lovato

“Building upon the success of the documentary, we couldn’t be more thrilled to partner again with Demi through our audio division, OBB Sound, and continue to champion Demi’s voice using the powerful medium of audio,” added Michael D. Ratner, Founder, President and CEO, OBB Media. “We have incredible partners on this show in both SB Projects and Cadence13, and look forward to sharing this project with the world.”

Demi Lovato Releases Deluxe Edition of New Album “Dancing With the Devil… The Art of Starting Over”

Demi Lovato is livin’ the de(luxe) life…

The 28-year-old half-Mexican American singer/actress has unveiled the deluxe edition of her seventh album Dancing With the Devil… The Art of Starting Over.

Demi Lovato

The deluxe LP includes four additional tracks, one bonus track titled “Sunset,” and three live acoustic versions of the first three “prelude” songs of the album, “Anyone,” “Dancing With the Devil” and “ICU (Madison’s Lullabye).”

The live acoustic songs were recorded during the drive-in premiere of her four-part YouTube Originals docuseries Demi Lovato: Dancing With the Devil, where she also premiered “Dancing With the Devil” and “ICU.”

“Sunset,” a gospel-tinged love ballad, was revealed to be a part of the album during the SXSW premiere of the doc, as well as another track titled “Say a Prayer” that’s not included in the deluxe version.

The pop superstar released Dancing With the Devil on April 2 with 19 tracks, including collaborations with Sam FischerAriana Grande, Saweetie and Noah Cyrus. The expanded edition digital bonus tracks of her seventh LP include her previously released top 20 hit “I Love Me,” “I’m Ready” featuring Sam Smith, and “OK Not to Be OK” with Marshmello.

Demi Lovato Discusses New Collaborations with Ariana Grande, Saweetie & Noah Cyrus

Demi Lovato is opening up about her latest collaborations…

The 28-year-old half-Mexican American singer/actress has shared the title of her collaboration with Ariana Grande in her Paper cover story.

Demi Lovato,

Met Him Last Night,” which will be featured on Lovato’s upcoming seventh studio album Dancing With the Devil… The Art of Starting Over on April 2, “highlights two of the most powerful voices in pop,” according to Paper.

Lovato also confirmed she and Saweetie will tag-team a female empowerment anthem titled “My GFs Are My BFs,” which Saweetie shared on her Twitter on Friday amid confirming her breakup with Quavo.

Another song, “The Kind of Lover I Am,” directly nods to Lovato’s queer identity that she subtly hinted at in her 2015 hit “Cool for the Summer,” with lyrics about how it “doesn’t matter if you’re a woman or a man.”

The pop star also confirmed another featured artist will be on her forthcoming LP: Noah Cyrus. She posted an audio snippet of their collaboration on her socials over the weekend.

Dancing With the Devil… The Art of Starting Over serves as the companion project to her YouTube Originals docuseries Dancing With the Devil, which arrives on Tuesday. It previously premiered at SXSW on March 16.

https://twitter.com/ddlovato/status/1373304181797261313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1373304181797261313%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.billboard.com%2Farticles%2Fnews%2F9544287%2Fdemi-lovato-ariana-grande-song-title%2F

Demi Lovato Releases Teaser for Her YouTube Originals Docuseries “Dancing With the Devil”

Demi Lovato opens up about her near fatal overdose…

The 28-year-old half-Mexican American singer/actress has premiered the trailer to her upcoming docuseries, Dancing With the Devil.

Demi Lovato

The nearly three-minute clip from the YouTube Originals series, which explores her near fatal overdose in July 2018, features the star honestly discussing substance abuse, with Lovato at one point admitting, “I don’t know why I’m sober anymore.”

Elton John and Christina Aguilera also appear to discuss the difficulties of fame at a young age and her recovery, while the “Commander in Chief” singer’s family and friends explain how good she is at hiding her struggles. The interviews with her nearest and dearest are interspersed with a smiling and seemingly happy Lovato, before cutting to images of her partying one month before her OD.

“I snapped,” Lovato says in the trailer, which offers a first listen of her original song also titled “Dancing with the Devil.” After her family and friends recount their fears for her life as she fought to stay alive in the hospital, Lovato explains that she had three strokes and a heart attack. But now, she’s ready to take control of her future.

“I’ve had a lot of lives — like my cat, you know? I’m on my ninth life,” she says. “I’m ready to get back to doing what I love, which is making music.”

After premiering the teaser, Lovato discussed the documentary and the lingering effects of her overdose with reporters, including how the strokes and heart attack impacted her. “I was left with brain damage and I still deal with the effects of that today,” she shared. “I don’t drive a car because of blind spots in my vision. … I had a lot of trouble reading.”

Though Lovato says she’s still dealing with the repercussions, she’s grateful for them and wouldn’t change a thing. “They’re still there to remind me what could happen if I ever get into a dark place again. I’m grateful for those reminders,” she said. “It was a painful journey, and I look back and sometimes — I get sad when I think about the pain I had to endure, but I don’t regret anything. I’m so proud of the person I am today.”

The singer also shared that the reason she wanted to be as honest and open as she is in Dancing With the Devil is she wanted to set the record straight and clear up any rumors. “I wanted to reveal it all for my fans and say this is who I am and this is where I am today,” she said. “If it helps you, then I hope that it can. That was ultimately my purpose in putting this out.”

While the teaser focuses on the near-fatal overdose, Lovato told reporters that there’s more to the four-part series. “It’s not just about my journey. I touch on so many topics in this documentary that’s not just about substances … past traumas that I’ve dealt with but have never spoken about,” she said. “Waking up in 2018, I realized there is still so much work I have to do on myself. … It’s about self-acceptance, it’s about not conforming to what other people think you should conform to. You are who you are.”

Dancing With the Devil is set to open the SXSW film festival, which is happening March 16-20. The four-part docuseries premieres on YouTube March 23.

Demi Lovato to Star in the NBC Scripted Food Issues Comedy “Hungry”

Demi Lovato is hungry for new projects…

The 28-year-old part-Mexican American singer/actress will return to scripted television in a food issues comedy in the works at NBC.

Demi Lovato

Lovato, who got her break in the Disney Channel’s Camp Rock franchise and starred in Sonny with a Chance, is to star in and executive produce Hungry, which has received a put pilot commitment from NBC.

The single-camera comedy is being written and exec produced by Will & Grace writer and Hot In Cleveland creator Suzanne Martin. It comes from Hazy Mills and SB Projects in association with Universal Television.

Hungry follows a group of friends who belong to a food issues group help each other as they look for love, success and the perfect thing in the fridge that’s going to make it all better.

Lovato, herself, appeared in a guest role in the final season of Will & Grace, her first role since guest starring on Glee in 2013. The singer, who has battled bipolar disorder and addiction, is the subject of a YouTube Originals doc series Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil, which will premiere at SXSW.

Lovato and Martin will exec produce with Hazy Mills’ Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner and SB Projects’ Scooter Braun, James Shin and Scott Manson.