Lin-Manuel Miranda to Serve as a Presenter at This Weekend’s Tony Awards Show

Posted on June 7, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Lin-Manuel Miranda has a date with Tony…

This Sunday’s 75th Annual Tony Awards will feature a line-up of all-star presenters from the stage and screen, including the 42-year-old Puerto Rican actor, rapper, composer, playwright and filmmaker.

Miranda, a multiple Tony Award winner, is among a roster of presenters that includes Andrew Garfield, Laurence Fishburne, Nathan Lane, Bowen Yang and both Paris and Prince Jackson, the children of MJ subject Michael Jackson.

The roster of presenters was announced by Tony Awards producers, and also includes Josh Lucas, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Skylar Astin, Zach Braff, Danielle Brooks, Danny Burstein, Len Cariou, RuPaul Charles, Jessica Chastain, Lilli Cooper, Bryan Cranston, Wilson Cruz, Colman Domingo, Anthony Edwards, Cynthia Erivo, Raúl Esparza, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Tony Goldwyn, David Alan Grier, Vanessa Hudgens, Jennifer Hudson, Bebe Neuwirth, Kelli O’Hara, Sarah Paulson, Bernadette Peters, Jeremy Pope, Billy Porter, LaTanya Richardson, Chita Rivera, Tony Shalhoub, Phillipa Soo, Sarah Silverman and George Takei,

The four-hour June 12 Tony evening begins at 7:00 pm ET/4:00 pm PT with The Tony Awards: Act One, a one-hour streaming event of exclusive content live on Paramount+ hosted by Darren Criss and Julianne Hough.

The 75th Tony Awards, hosted by Oscar-winning actress and singer Ariana DeBose, follows at 8:00 pm ET/5:00 pm PT on CBS and Paramount+. The awards will be presented live coast-to-coast from Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Last night, DeBose confirmed that the Tony Awards also will pay respect to the swings and understudies who made this Covid-plagued Broadway season possible. In response to a tweet from Actors’ Equity president Kate Shindle dismissing social media rumors that swings and understudies would be ignored during the ceremony,

DeBose reiterated Shindle’s assurances, writing, “To all concerned, all I can ask is that you keep the faith & trust. I am working round the clock to bring you all a beautiful celebration of everyone’s hard work…”

Juan Pablo Di Pace to Star in the Drama “The Mattachine Family”

Posted on November 4, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Juan Pablo Di Pace is joining the Family…

The 42-year-old Argentine actor and singer will star opposite Nico Tortorella in The Mattachine Family, a drama executive produced by Zach Braff. The film is currently in production.

Di Pace and Tortorella will star opposite Emmy nominee Carl Clemons-Hopkins and Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek, Chapelwaite) in the film.

The first feature from video and commercial director Andy Vallentine centers on the relationship between Thomas (Tortorella) and Oscar (Di Pace). While the pair are very much in love, they find, after their first foster child returns to his birth mother, that they have different ideas about what it means to make a family.

Vallentine is directing from a script by his husband Danny Vallentine, which is based on a story by the pair.

Jake Choi, Annie Funke, Heather Matarazzo and Cloie Wyatt Taylor will round out the cast of the film, which Andy Vallentine is producing with Mike Diaz, Scot Boland, Siddharth Ganji and Cameron Hutchison.

Di Pace’s previous credits include Fuller House, Angie Tribeca, Rosewood and Dallas.

Gloria Calderón Kellett Taking Part in Latinx-Themed Panel for Virtual ATX Television Festival

Posted on May 14, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Gloria Calderón Kellett is representin’…

The 45-year-old Cuban American television writer and One Day at a Time co-showrunner will be taking part in ATX Television Festival’s virtual edition, which has been appropriately titled “ATX TV…From The Couch!”

Calderón Kellett will take part in a conversation about Latinx representation on the small screen, alongside Vida creator Tanya Saracho, Pose’s co-creator Steven Canals and Diary of a Future President’s Ilana Peña.

Calderón Kellett, Saracho, Canals and Peña, some of today’s hottest Latinx content creators, will be “Celebrating Authentic Stories,” the title of their panel.

They’ll talk about celebrating and continuing the push for positive Latinx representation, as well as how decision-makers within the industry can amplify Latinx voices.

“ATX TV… from the Couch!” marks the first virtual event for the fest and will include industry-forward panels with showrunners and executives, sneak previews of upcoming series, and virtual events such as television trivia and a music showcase.

The virtual event will take place June 5-7. It will be free to access via ATX’s official YouTube channe l, with the option for viewers to donate to select organizations providing COVID-19 relief regionally and nationally.

In addition to the Latinx panel, the festival’s virtual line-up will include conversations with cast and creatives from Freeform’s The Bold Type, NBC’s hit drama New Amsterdam, and The CW’s mystery-drama Nancy Drew.

The ATX Television Festival will also include a Scrubs reunion with the show’s creator Bill Lawrence, as well as cast members Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke, John C. McGinley, and Judy Reyes. The cast was previously confirmed for ATX Season 9 in Austin, and rescheduled their in-person reunion for the 2021 festival.

Ortiz to Star in Legendary’s “Kong: Skull Island”

Posted on October 2, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

John Ortiz is going bananas for his latest role…

The 47-year-old Puerto Rican actor, director and producer has joined the cast of Legendary’s Kong: Skull Island.

Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, the story is about a man (Tom Hiddleston) who travels to the mythical island and home of the king of the apes. A team of explorers ventures inside what they find to be a treacherous island. The story is said to honor the King Kong lore but in a different time period.

Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson and John Goodman also star in the project, which is expected to go before the cameras this fall.

No word on the character Ortiz will play.

Ortiz co-starred on Rake and just wrapped a role in Zach Braff’s remake of Going In Style.

He’ll next be seen in Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs and Disney’s The Finest Hours.

Ortiz Lands Roles in “Going In Style” and “A Dog’s Purpose”

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

John Ortiz is ending the year with a bang, landing back-to-back film roles…

The 47-year-old Puerto Rican actor, director and producer will first star in New Line Cinema’s upcoming comedy Going In Style, directed by Zach Braff from a script by Theodore Melfi.

Ortiz will portray “Jesus,” a Mensa smart criminal who is socially responsible and deplores society’s treatment of the elderly.

He joins Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Alan Arkin, along with Ann-Margret, Peter Serafinowicz, Joey King and Christopher Lloyd, in the remake of the 1979 classic.

Ortiz will then follow up that film with the live action DreamWorks feature A Dog’s Purpose, based on the novel by W. Bruce Cameron.

The film is a series of vignettes directed by Lasse Hallstrom and starring Bradley Cooper (as the voice of the dog), along with Dennis Quaid, Britt Robertson, KJ Apa, Juliet Rylance and Peggy Lipton.

Ortiz stars in his segment as “Carlos”, a stern, all business cop who trains his dog to assist him in solving crime.

Ortiz can next be seen in Disney’s The Finest Hours, starring Chris Pine and Casey Affleck, and directed by Craig Gillespie, as well as Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs.

He recently wrapped the indie A Woman, A Part starring opposite Maggie Siff and directed by Elisabeth Subrin.

Alvarez to Star in MTV’s Dark Comedy Pilot “Self Promotion”

Posted on October 18, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Brian Jordan Alvarez is ready for a little self-promotion.

The Latino actor, writer and director has been added to the cast of MTV’s dark comedy pilot Self Promotion, which will be directed by Zach Braff.

The project centers on overworked assistant Katie Preston (portrayed by Alexandra Krosney) who discovers that her dragon lady boss is missing (or worse). Things get messy fast, with Katie, believing she’ll be the prime suspect, covering up the crime scene. She starts calling the shots in her boss’s “absence,” and goes full CSI to find out what actually happened and exonerate herself.

Alvarez will portray Wyatt, one of Katie’s co-workers at Critical Mass, the chic lifestyle website.

His credits include the short films You Are What I Want, It’s Just a Question and Wave.

Gloria & Emilio Estefan to Appear at This Year’s Tony Awards

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Emilio and Gloria Estefan may be bringing their life story to The Great White Way in the near future… But first they’ll be appearing as part of Broadway’s biggest night.

The Estefans will be appearing at this year’s Tony Awards.

In addition to the multi-Grammy winning musicians and producers, the upcoming ceremony, honoring the best of Broadway will also feature appearances by Bradley Cooper, Kevin Bacon, Carole King, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Will Ferrell, Liev Schreiber, Emmy Rossum, Kate Mara, Zachary Quinto, Zachary Levi, Lucy Liu, Clint Eastwood, Patricia Clarkson, Leighton Meester, Ethan Hawke, Zach Braff, Matt Bomer, Anna Gunn, Tony nominee Audra McDonald, Fran Drescher, Wayne Brady, Kenneth Branagh, Tony Goldwyn, Vera Farmiga and Alessandro Nivola, it was announced Tuesday.

Hugh Jackman will hosted this year’s show.

The 68th annual Tony Awards, presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, will broadcast live from New York City’s Radio City Music Hall on June 8 on CBS.

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