Trailer Released for New Documentary “To The End,” Featuring Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is fighting to the end

The trailer has been released to Rachel Lears’ new documentary To the End, featuring the 33-year-old Puerto Rican politician and activist who has served as the U.S. representative for New York’s 14th congressional district since 2019.

Alexandria Ocasio-CortezLears’ follow-up to her breakthrough film Knock Down the House documents young progressive activists and Ocasio-Cortez in their relentless effort to engineer major action combatting climate change.

“Fighting for change politically requires faith,” AOC says in the trailer. Regarding the urgent need to avoid a climate catastrophe, Ocasio-Cortez notes, “This is going to be the moon shot of our generation.”

To the End was acquired by Roadside Attractions after its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival last January.

The version of the documentary that hits theaters on December 9 has been significantly revised since Sundance, to reflect dramatic changes in the political fortunes of climate change legislation.

“When the film premiered at Sundance, it was right after [Democratic] Senator Joe Manchin killed the Build Back Better bill. And there was at that point no particular prospect of major climate legislation passing,” Lears tells Deadline. “But as the gears continued churning for a few months, they did reach a deal in July and we knew right away we’ve got to reedit the film, we’ve got to shoot what we can to end the story this way.”

In August President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 into law, providing significant funding for green energy and other measures to attack climate change.

“We changed the ending, for one thing,” Lears explains. “The film now ends with historic legislation passing and our protagonists reflecting on this. And it really shows how their work that we see in the film leads to what happens. What they’ve done is to make politically impossible things become possible.”

Lears shortened her film by 10 minutes and also restructured it to align with what she calls a much more hopeful political picture.

“The film was inspiring to me and to many people who saw it, even in the previous cut, because our protagonists are so determined and motivated in their work,” Lears says. “But it’s even more inspiring now when you see that their work has resulted in historic material change.”

In addition to AOC, the film foregrounds Rhiana Gunn-Wright, director of climate policy at the Roosevelt Institute, Alexandra Rojas, executive director of Justice Democrats, and Varshini Prakash, executive director, Sunrise Movement.

“We are building an army of young people to stop the climate crisis,” Prakash says in the trailer, “and create millions of good jobs for our generation.”

“When we met these folks in 2018 — well, we’ve known some of them before that — they were really setting out to deliberately shift the paradigm on climate. ‘Let’s turn the crisis into an opportunity to build a better society, to make economic and racial justice part of the solution.’ We wanted to see how far are they going to get with that, Lears says. “I don’t think we even imagined that they would manage to pressure the government into passing the biggest climate legislation, not just in U.S. history, but in world history. But that’s exactly what’s happened.”

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Graces Cover of GQ Magazine, Talks Possible Presidential Run

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has you covered

The 32-year-old Bronx-born Puerto Rican politician and activist, currently serving as the U.S. representative for New York’s 14th congressional district, appears on the cover of GQ’s October issue, the first female politician to grace the cover of the men’s magazine.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, GQ MagazineKnown simply as AOC, the New York congresswoman gave an extensive interview to GQ.

In it, she talked about Roe v. Wade, the January 6 insurrection, sexual assault, marriage, being ostracized by her own party and, possibly most candidly, about running for president.

“Sometimes little girls will say, ‘Oh, I want you to be president,’ or things like that,” Ocasio-Cortez told journalist Wesley Lowery. “It’s very difficult for me to talk about because it provokes a lot of inner conflict in that I never want to tell a little girl what she can’t do. And I don’t want to tell young people what is not possible. I’ve never been in the business of doing that. But at the same time…”

Lowery, a Pulitzer Prize winner, writes that at this point in his conversation with AOC “tears pooled in the corners of her eyes” as she spoke even more candidly.

“I hold two contradictory things [in mind] at the same time. One is just the relentless belief that anything is possible. But at the same time, my experience here has given me a front-row seat to how deeply and unconsciously, as well as consciously, so many people in this country hate women. And they hate women of color,” said Ocasio-Cortez. “People ask me questions about the future. And realistically, I can’t even tell you if I’m going to be alive in September. And that weighs very heavily on me. And it’s not just the right wing. Misogyny transcends political ideology: left, right, center. This grip of patriarchy affects all of us, not just women; men, as I mentioned before, but also, ideologically, there’s an extraordinary lack of self-awareness in so many places. And so those are two very conflicting things. I admit to sometimes believing that I live in a country that would never let that happen.”

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Calls Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s Comments on Rape Victims “Disgusting”

U.S. Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is slamming the controversial comments Texas Governor Greg Abbott made Tuesday about the state’s newly enacted restrictive abortion laws.

Senate Bill 8, which became law on September 1, bans abortion procedures after six weeks of pregnancy — including in cases of rape and incest.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

It’s considered the most restrictive abortion law in the U.S. and both Abbott and the Texas legislature have faced fierce criticism for its passage.

On Tuesday, Abbott re-ignited the fire when asked whether the new law would force a rape or incest victim to carry their baby to term.

Abbott responded that the law doesn’t do that because victims can get abortions within the six-week period. While SB 8 allows for abortion up to six weeks, this time period is usually before most people even realize they’re pregnant.

‘I find Governor Abbott’s comments disgusting,” Ocasio-Cortez told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Tuesday night. “I don’t know if he is familiar with a menstruating person’s body. In fact, I do know that he’s not familiar with a menstruating person’s body because if he did he would that you don’t have six weeks.”

“In case no one has informed him [Abbott] in his life, six weeks pregnant means two weeks late for your period. Two weeks late on your period, for any person with a menstrual cycle, can happen if you’re stressed, if your diet changes, or for really no reason at all. So you don’t have six weeks.”

Abbott also continued his explanation on Tuesday by saying victims of rape and incest wouldn’t have to give birth because the state of Texas would work to “eliminate rape.”

“Let’s be clear: rape is a crime,” Abbott said. “And Texas will work tirelessly to make sure that we eliminate all rapists from the streets of Texas by aggressively going out and arresting them and prosecuting them and getting them off the streets.”

The concept of “eliminating rape” was widely criticized as being nonsensical and also impossible. Ocasio-Cortez said the comments also don’t reflect reality of who the perpetrators of sexual assault typically are.

“When he [Abbott] talks about going after rapists and this language that he uses about ‘getting rapists off the streets’ — the majority of people who are raped and who are sexually assaulted are assaulted by someone they know,” continued the 31-year-old Puerto Rican politician, a New York Democrat. “These aren’t just predators that are walking around the streets at night. They are people’s uncles, they are teachers, they are family friends.”

The New York Democrat Ocasio-Cortez also explained that the legal process of prosecuting a rapist can be long, unsuccessful and retraumatizing to victims. She said that while some victims do choose to pursue charges, many don’t want to perpetuate the trauma through litigation.

AOC, as she’s known, concluded by saying: “It’s awful. And he [Abbott] speaks from such a place of deep ignorance and it’s not just ignorance. It’s ignorance that is hurting people across this country.”

In addition to the post-six-week procedure ban, SB 8 enables private citizens to sue for $10,000 or more against anyone who helps someone get an abortion after the specified time period. Opponents of the bill say this will lead to widespread harassment, deputizing of citizens against one another, and a backlog of frivolous lawsuits.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Volunteers at Houston Food Bank After Raising Nearly $5 Million for Texas Winter Storm Relief

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez isn’t just fundraising to help winter storm-battered Texans, she’s also giving her time…

A fundraising effort spearheaded by the 31-year-old Bronx-born Puerto Rican politician, currently serving as the U.S. Representative for New York’s 14th congressional district, to help people in the Lone Star State affected by this week’s winter storms has raised nearly $5 million in just a few days.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

And, on Saturday, Ocasio-Cortez visited the state to celebrate the success of the fundraising effort, which will go to local organizations providing Texans food assistance, homelessness relief and elder care.

She was joined by Democratic Texas Reps. Sylvia Garcia and Sheila Jackson Lee, all of whom helped fill boxes at the Houston Food Bank.

“When disaster strikes, this is not just an issue for Texans; this is an issue for our entire country,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters. “And our whole country needs to come and rally together behind the needs of Texans all across this state.”

She added: “That’s the New York spirit, that’s the Texas spirit, and that’s the American spirit.”

Winter storms across Texas left dozens dead, knocked out power for millions for several days and many still don’t have safe drinking water.

Garcia said the fundraising idea was spurred by Ocasio-Cortez, who sent her a text saying she wanted to help. “You know, we’re from Texas right?” Garcia told reporters. “Who does things with New York? We always kind of make fun of New York. But this time we love New York.”

Ocasio-Cortez announced the fundraising Thursday afternoon on Twitter. Within two hours, the effort had pulled in $325,000 in donations. By Friday morning, the total was up to $2 million. As of Saturday afternoon, $4 million, according to Ocasio-Cortez. And, by Sunday, that amount was at nearly $5 million.

The money will go toward several organizations, including the Houston Food Bank, Family Eldercare, Feeding Texas and the Bridge Homeless Recovery Center. But charity itself, while helpful, doesn’t replace the need for policies that prevent power grids from failing in the future, Ocasio-Cortez said.

“We need to make sure that we make short- and long-term policy decisions to that this devastation — preventable devastation — never happens again,” she said.

A number of factors contributed to the massive power failures in Texas, which relies on its own electricity grid.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Helps Raise $2 Million for Winter Storm-Ravaged Texans

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has stepped up to help Texans dealing with the aftermath of deadly winter storms…

The 31-year-old Bronx-born Puerto Rican politician, currently serving as the U.S. Representative for New York’s 14th congressional district, has helped raise more than $2 million in less than 24 hours to help bring relief to the state of Texas.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

On Thursday evening, AOC announced she was partnering with several Texas charities and encouraged her millions of Twitter followers to donate money to help residents in Texas reeling from widespread power outages, water shortages and freezing temperatures.

“Team AOC is launching relief efforts for Texas starting today,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on Thursday evening. “Our first effort is a partnership w/5 Texas orgs getting on-the-ground relief to Texans ASAP. If you’re able, please donate here – it’ll split your contribution to all 5.”

By Thursday night, more than $1 million had been raised, and by Friday morning, the charities raked in more than $2 million.

The funds are being split between The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center, Ending Community Homeless Coalition, Family Eldercare, Houston Food Bank, Feeding Texas and several other charities.

Dozens of people have died in hard-hit Texas since Sunday as massive winter storms hit the region.

Millions of homes and businesses in the state went without electricity for days as single-digit temperatures increased the demand for heat while freezing most of the state’s energy infrastructure.

While most of the power in the state has been restored, many are still experiencing a lack of safe drinking water due to damaged pipes that carry the water supply.

https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1362809024480243714?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1362809024480243714%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthehill.com%2Fchanging-america%2Fresilience%2Fnatural-disasters%2F539664-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-raises-2-million-in

Melissa Villaseñor to Host This Year’s Film Independent Spirit Awards Ceremony

Melissa Villaseñor has the spirit

The 33-year-old Mexican actress, stand-up comedian and Saturday Night Live cast member is set to host this year’s Film Independent Spirit Awards ceremony.

Melissa Villaseñor

The show will not be live from the Santa Monica Beach this year due to COVID-19.

Villaseñor, the first Latina cast member of NBC’s long-running SNL, cut her teeth on the stand-up circuit in Los Angeles, and was further propelled to stardom by being a semifinalist on the 2011 edition of America’s Got Talent before landing on the SNL cast.

She is famous for her impersonations of celebrities like Owen Wilson, Jennifer Lopez, Gwen Stefani, Lady Gaga, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and more.

This year’s show will be airing on Thursday, April 22, on IFC and AMC+ at 10:00 pm ET, breaking tradition as the Spirits typically take place on the Saturday afternoon before Sunday’s Oscars.

Said Blake Callaway, Executive Director, IFC and SundanceTV, “Melissa and the unique circumstances of now will make this year’s ceremony like no other. It will certainly be a departure from the past, but with Melissa, the chances of Dolly, Ariana Grande, Bjork, Gwen Stefani, Julie Andrews and Lady Gaga showing up have skyrocketed.”

“As someone who considers herself a pretty dependent person, I’m truly honored to host the Film Independent Spirit Awards,” said Villaseñor.

Outside of SNL, Villaseñor has provided voiceovers in films like Toy Story 4 and Ralph Breaks the InternetShe also was a guest on Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee; and in projects like Hubie Halloween, Barry and Crashing, among others.

She’s currently working on her first book, a creative self-help journal forthcoming from Chronicle Books.

She joins a roster of past Spirit Awards hosts that includes Aubrey Plaza, Nick Kroll, Kristen Bell, Joel McHale, Patton Oswalt, Queen Latifah, John Waters, Samuel L. Jackson and Kumail Nanjiani.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Routs John Cummings to Earn Second Term in U.S. House of Representatives

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is heading back to The District

The 31-year-old New York-born Puerto Rican politician, handily defeated Republican John Cummings in her bid for re-election as the U.S. Representative for New York’s 14th Congressional District.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

AOC, as she’s known, took 68% of the vote, while her opponent, a former NYPD officer, scored 31% of the vote to earn a second term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In 2018, the self-proclaimed Democratic socialist won the seat with nearly 80% percent of the vote, defeating Queens County Democratic Party leader and longtime Congressman Joe Crowley in the primary. She swept her way into the U.S. Congress with a historically diverse midterm group of freshman, including 36 women and 24 people of color.

Ocasio-Cortez currently sits on the House Financial Services Committee and Oversight and Reform Committee.

AOC has racked up several memorable moments in her relatively short time in Congress, including a searing takedown over the summer of Rep. Ted Yoho after he called her “crazy,” “disgusting” and a “f*cking bitch” on the steps of the U.S. Capitol within earshot of a reporter.

In a moving address to the House, she attacked deep-seated sexism and misogyny. “I want to thank him for showing the world that you can be a powerful man and accost women. It happens every day in this country,” she said, adding, “I am someone’s daughter too.”

Previously, AOC, whose parents are of Puerto Rico descent, was targeted by an infamous President Donald Trump racist Twitter tirade that urged her and Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.” The four became known as The Squad, and all four won re-election on Tuesday night.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Among the Real-Life Heroes Celebrated in DC Comics’ “Wonder Women of History” Graphic Novel Anthology

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is getting illustrated

DC Comics has unveiled the new young adult graphic novel anthology Wonder Women of History, which celebrates real-life heroes, including the 30-year-old Bronx-born Puerto Rican politician who currently serving as the U.S. Representative for New York’s 14th congressional district.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Ocasio-Cortez, or simply AOC, as she’s known, drew national recognition when she won the Democratic Party‘s primary election for New York’s 14th congressional district in June 2018, defeating Democratic Caucus chair Joe Crowley, a 10-term incumbent, in what was widely seen as the biggest upset victory in the 2018 midterm election primaries. She defeated Republican opponent Anthony Pappas in the November general election.

Taking office at age 29, Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest woman ever to serve in the United States Congress. She has been noted for her substantial social media presence relative to her fellow members of Congress

Female and non-binary writers and artists tell 17 stories of those “who take up Wonder Woman‘s iconic mantle” in their respective fields of science, sports, entertainment, politics, social justice and more, according to the DC Comics blog. 

New York Times bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson edited the collection after recently writing the original graphic novel Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed.

In addition to Ocasio-Cortez, Wonder Women of History also spotlights singer-actress Janelle Monáe, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Iskwew Air CEO and Founder Teara Fraser, LGBTQ+ rights activist Edith Windsor, transgender activist and Stonewall uprising figure Marsha P. Johnson, Parkland shooting survivor and gun control advocate Emma Gonzalez, disability rights activist Judith HeumannNASA‘s first Hispanic female astronaut Ellen Ochoa, deputy director of Wuhan Institute of Virology and China’s “Bat Woman” Dr. Shi Zhengli, 23-time Grand Slam winning tennis player Serena Williams, stand-up comic Tig Notaro, actress Keiko Agena, and the first African American gymnast to win an individual Olympic medal Dominique Dawes.

The graphic novel will officially hit bookstore shelves everywhere on December 1. The anthology will also include portraits of illustrators Weshoyot Alvitre, Colleen Doran, Agnes Garbowska, Bex Glendining, Ashley A. Woods, and Safiya Zerrougui.

Wonder Women of History is already available for pre-order here.

Eva Longoria to Speak on Opening Night of the Democratic National Convention

Eva Longoria is taking the national stage once again…

The 45-year-old Mexican American actress, former Desperate Housewives star and activist has been added to the lineup of speakers for this week’s Democratic National Convention.

Eva Longoria

Longoria, who gave a spirited speech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, joins a lineup of new additions to the roster that includes three other Hollywood figures who’ve long been active in party politics: Tracee Ellis Ross, Kerry Washington and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Longoria, who also appeared at the 2012 DNC and later served on the Presidential Inaugural Committee, will appear on Monday. Ross will speak on Tuesday, Washington on Wednesday and Louis-Dreyfus on Thursday.

Monday’s lineup includes Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), former Ohio Gov. John Kasich and former First Lady Michelle Obama. The convention will run from 9:00 – 11:00 pm ET each night.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will speak on Tuesday.

The convention also will feature performances from Leon Bridges, The Chicks, Common, Billie Eilish, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Billy Porter, Maggie Rogers, Prince Royce and Stephen Stills.

In addition to the lineup of speakers, Democrats plan to feature testimonials from everyday Americans who will appear from locations across the country.

Convention organizers also announced that the keynote address, traditionally delivered by one up-and-coming party figure, will instead feature 17 different speakers.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Speak at Next Week’s Virtual Democratic National Convention

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is set to make a major splash…

The 30-year-old Puerto Rican politician and current the U.S. Representative for New York’s 14th congressional district will have a speaking slot at next week’s virtual Democratic National Convention, which, because of the coronavirus pandemic, will be almost entirely virtual from locations across the country.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Ocasio-Cortez, the star of the progressive left, had yet to enter elective politics in the last cycle.

The first-time congresswoman will speak on Tuesday, August 18, on the same nice a virtual roll call of delegates will take place to formally nominate Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Catherine Cortez Masto will also take the national stage.

The 56-year-old half-Mexican American lawyer and politician, who has served as a United States senator from Nevada since 2017, will appear on Monday, August 17.

And, Michelle Lujan Grisham will speak at the convention.

The 60-year-old Mexican American politician, the current governor of New Mexico, will speak on Wednesday, August 19.

In 2018, Lujan Grisham became the first Democratic woman elected governor of New Mexico, as well as the first Democratic Hispanic elected state governor in U.S. history.

Other speakers include Barack and Michelle Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders.

Some of the speakers are pre-recording their speeches. The New York Times reported that Michelle Obama was pre-taping her appearance, while a source said the Bill Clinton was doing the same.

The proceedings will take place from 9:00 -11:00 pm ET each evening, starting on Monday.

The lineup:

Monday

Bernie Sanders, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI), John Kasich, Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and former first lady Michelle Obama.

Tuesday

Former acting attorney general Sally Yates, Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, former Secretary of State John Kerry, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DL), Bill Clinton, and Jill Biden. Also planned that evening are keynote address, with the speaker yet to be identified, and a virtual roll call of delegates to formally nominate Joe Biden.

Wednesday

Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Barack Obama.

Thursday

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Newsom, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, former South Bend, IN mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Sen. Chris Coons (D-DL), Harris, the Biden family and Biden.

Democrats also announced nine speakers “from all walks of life,” designed to showcase everyday Americans at the convention.