Erica Mena to Reprise Role in Tubi’s Original Thriller “The Stepmother 2”

Posted on November 1, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Erica Mena is stepping up…

The 34-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican American actress will star in The Stepmother 2, which has received the green light from Tubi.

From Marques Houston and Chris Stokes, the original thriller is a sequel to The Stepmother, with Mena portraying the role of Elizabeth Carter/Diana Valdez.

The project is slated to premiere in December.

The Stepmother 2 picks up after Elizabeth, a woman with dissociative identity disorder, cheats death in a showdown with the Linbrook family, as she breaks free from the hospital with a new mission— find a new family and live happily ever after. Yet, as much as she longs for normalcy, she can’t escape her tormented past and will fight to protect her fairy tale at all costs.

The cast will also include Daniel Johnson in the role of Kevin Smith, a loving, caring father who has fallen in love with a woman that he knows as Diana, who we know as Elizabeth Carter. Kevin becomes conflicted when his ex-wife shows up and wants to reconcile; LaVell Thompson Jr. as Dustin Smith, Kevin’s teenage son who also happens to love his new mother figure, Diana. Dustin has questions when his real mother shows up out of nowhere after 10 years; Wesley Jonathan as Chris Harris, a retired cop, now private investigator, who happens to be Kevin’s best friend. Chris is very smart and observant. He becomes suspicious of Diana almost immediately; Judi Johnson as Janet Smith, Kevin’s ex-wife who shows up after 10 years of no communication following the death of their daughter. She wants to reconcile, but Kevin doesn’t feel the same.

The thriller also stars Houston, Justin Sweat, Michael Toland, Alfred Nolan Thomas and Billie King in undisclosed roles.

The Stepmother 2 is directed by Stokes who executive produces alongside Houston, with Juanita Stokes, president of Footage Films, serving as producer.

Mena’s previous credits include Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, CSI: Cyber and Master of None.

Bobby Cannavale Signs with Creative Artists Agency (CAA)

Posted on September 21, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Bobby Cannavale is making management moves…

The 52-year-old half-Cuban American actor has signed with Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

Cannavale has moved from WME, after just opening alongside Ana De Armas at the Venice Film Festival in the Andrew Dominik-directed Blonde.

He next will star in Gracie Otto’s Seriously Red, and opposite Robert De Niro in the Tony Goldwyn-directed Inappropriate Behavior.

Cannavale has had memorable turns in projects from Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman to Boardwalk Empire, Motherless Brooklyn, I, Tonya, Ant-Man, The Station Agent and many others.

In television, Cannavale will next star in Ryan Murphy’s limited series The Watcher with Naomi Watts. He was recently seen in Hulu’s limited series Nine Perfect Strangers, alongside Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy. His other TV credits include Homecoming, Angie Tribeca, Mr. Robot, Master of None, Nurse Jackie and Vinyl.

On the stage, Cannavale is a two-time Tony Award-nominee for Mauritius and The Mother F*cher With The Hat. A member of the LAByrinth Theater Company, the New Jersey-born Cannavale last appeared on stage in the 2020 production of Medea at The Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Bobby Cannavale to Star Opposite Bill Burr in the Comedy “Old Dads”

Posted on March 5, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Bobby Cannavale is reporting for (old) dad duty…

The 51-year-old half-Cuban American actor will star in the original comedy film Old Dads.

Written, directed and co-starring comedian/actor Bill Burr, the film centers on a middle-aged father (Burr) and his two best friends (Cannavale and Bokeem Woodbine) who after selling their company to a millennial, find themselves out of step and behind the times as they hilariously struggle to navigate a changing world of culture, career and fatherhood.

Burr and Ben Tishler penned the script and are producing with Bill Block, Monica Levinson and Mike Bertolina.

Production on the film, Burr’s feature directorial debut, kicked off in Los Angeles this week.

Miramax has come aboard to produce in conjunction with Burr’s All Things Comedy.

“I’m very excited to start shooting Old Dads,” said Burr. “This comedy is based on my own and my co-writer, Ben Tishler’s, lives. Miramax has been awesome to work with and I think people are really going to like this movie.”

“Burr is one of the top comedic voices of his generation and he has written a script that’s not just unwaveringly funny, but also full of heart and unfiltered cultural commentary,” added Miramax CEO Bill Block. “We’re thrilled to be collaborating with him and this fantastic cast, including Bobby Cannavale and Bokeem Woodbine.”

Cannavale will next be seen in Andrew Dominik’s Marilyn Monroe film Blonde, toplined by Ana de Armas, also featuring in Netflix’s upcoming Big Mouth spin-off Human Resources.

The actor recently featured in the casts of Illumination and Universal’s Sing 2 and Hulu’s Nine Perfect Strangers. He’s also appeared in such series as Homecoming, Mr. Robot, Angie Tribeca, Will & Grace, Master of None, Vinyl, Nurse Jackie and Boardwalk Empire.

His additional film credits include Superintelligence, The Jesus Rolls, The Irishman, Motherless Brooklyn, Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp, Ferdinand, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, I, Tonya, The Fundamentals of Caring, Daddy’s Home, Danny Collins, Annie, Adult Beginners, Chef, Blue Jasmine, Win Win, The Other Guys, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Snakes on a Plane, Fast Food Nation and The Station Agent.

Ricky Velez Signs with William Morris Endeavor (WME)

Posted on October 14, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Ricky Velez is ready for new endeavors…

William Morris Endeavor (WME) has signed the Latino comedian for representation in all areas.

Velez has an upcoming one-hour comedy special titled Ricky Velez: Here’s Everything—executive produced by himself, Judd Apatow, and Pete Davidson—debuting on October 23 via HBO.

On the acting front, the Queens native starred in (and co-produced) the 2020 film, The King of Staten Island. He’s also appeared in Netflix’s Master of None.

Velez was a correspondent on Comedy Central’s The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore and has appeared on Comedy Central’s This Week at the Comedy Cellar.

Vanessa Rubio Upped to Series Regular on Netflix’s “Cobra Kai”

Posted on February 28, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Vanessa Rubio is stepping things up…

The 37-year-old Colombian-American actress has been promoted to series regular for the upcoming fourth season of Netflix’s Cobra Kai.

Starring Ralph Macchio and William Zabka, the Karate Kid sequel series is one of the streamer’s most popular shows.

Rubio has portrayed Carmen Diaz since Season 1, appearing in 16 episodes. Carmen is Miguel’s (Xolo Maridueña) hard-working mother who would do anything to protect her son.

The third season recently premiered in January, hitting No. 1 worldwide on Netflix. The first three seasons of Cobra Kai are now streaming on Netflix with the fourth season production underway in Atlanta.

Cobra Kai takes place over 30 years after the events of the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament with the continuation of the inescapable conflict between Daniel LaRusso (Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (Zabka).

Cobra Kai is written and executive produced by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg via their production company, Counterbalance Entertainment. Will Smith, James Lassiter and Caleeb Pinkett executive produce for Westbrook Entertainment along with Susan Ekins in association with Sony Pictures Television. Macchio and Zabka also serve as executive producers.

In addition to Cobra Kai, Rubio recently appeared in the second season of Netflix’s Bonding.

Her other previous TV credits include Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings and Master of None, WGN’s Gone and NBC’s Deception.

Her film work includes How To Be Single, The Hudson Tribes and The Girl is in Trouble.

Vanessa Rubio to Star in Netflix’s “Dolly Parton’s Heartstings: JJ Sneed”

Posted on December 20, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Vanessa Rubio will soon be pulling at our heartstrings…

The Colombian actress has been cast in Dolly Parton’s Heartstings: JJ Sneed, an episode of Netflix’s upcoming eight-episode anthology series that showcases the stories, memories and inspirations behind Parton’s most beloved songs.

Colin O’Donoghue, Willa Fitzgerald, David Denman and Mac Davis round out the cast, joining Parton in the series, which launches in 2019. Each episode is a standalone story with a different cast.

In this JJ Sneed episode, written by Jim Strain and directed by Terry McDonough, O’Donoghue plays JJ Sneed, Fitzgerald portrays Maddie, Denman is Deke Fletcher, Davis will play Reverend Riggs and Rubio is Cimmaron.

Set in the 1880s, the episode centers around a feisty young woman trapped in a mundane existence who dreams of more, until a seductive outlaw pulls her into the adventure of a lifetime.

Scored by new and classic Parton music, each stand-alone episode in Dolly Parton’s Heartstringswill begin with an introduction by Parton talking/singing to camera (as herself) about the meaning behind each song. Each episode will feature a different cast, and Parton will star/guest star in some. They’ll vary in tone, from love stories and inspirational tales to family dramas, Westerns, and revenge comedies.

The series is produced by Magnolia Hill Productionsand Sandollar Productionsin association with Warner Bros. Television.

Rubio’s previous credits include Cobra Kai, Master of None and Deception.

Amazon Gives Straight-to-Series Order to a Comedy Starring Fred Armisen & Maya Rudolph

Posted on September 10, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Fred Armisen is pairing up with a former SNL costar…

Amazon has a given straight-to-series order to a comedy starring the 50-year-old half-Venezuelan actor/comedian and his former Saturday Night Live costar Maya Rudolph.

The Armisen-Rudolph single-camera comedy was created by Master of None co-creator Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard, reuniting after working together on Parks & Recreation.

The logline is being held under lock and key, but Deadline.com is reporting that Armisen and Rudolph will play a married couple.

The duo will also serve as executive producers on the project.

This marks Armisen’s follow-up series to Portlandia, which is finishing its eight-season run on IFC.

Cannavale to Appear in “Variety Studio: Actors on Actors” Series

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Bobby Cannavale is ready to talk shop…

Variety and PBS SoCal have announced the line-up for the fourth installment of their awards season series “Variety Studio: Actors on Actors,” with the 45-year-old half-Cuban American actor making the final cut.

Available to stream on Variety.com, the new “Actors on Actors” season will feature one-on-one discussions between this year’s Emmy contenders.

Along with Cannavale, who stars in HBO’s Vinyl, this year’s conversations, which will be printed in the June 7 issue of Variety, will also include Aziz Ansari (“Master of None”), Rachel Bloom (“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”), Emilia Clarke (“Game of Thrones”), Jamie Lee Curtis (“Scream Queens”), Kirsten Dunst (“Fargo”), Jay Duplass (“Transparent”), Billy Eichner (“Difficult People”), Sam Heughan (“Outlander”), Tom Hiddleston (“The Night Manager”), Felicity Huffman (“American Crime”), Lady Gaga (“American Horror Story”), Jennifer Lopez (“Shades of Blue”), Rob Lowe (“Grinder”), Rami Malek (“Mr. Robot”), Thomas Middleditch (“Silicon Valley”), Aaron Paul (“The Path”), Sarah Paulson (“American Crime Story”), Krysten Ritter (“Jessica Jones”), Tracee Ellis Ross (“Black-ish”), Patrick Stewart (“Blunt Talk”), John Travolta (“American Crime Story”), Courtney B. Vance (“American Crime Story”) and Kerry Washington (“Confirmation”).

“Variety is thrilled to cover the best actors on television in this season’s ‘Actors on Actors’ for PBS stations,” said Variety‘s executive TV editor Debra Birnbaum in a statement. “This season’s lineup includes actors from some of the top new television programs and showcases the wide diversity of roles for actors on broadcast, cable and streaming platforms.”

PBS SoCal will premiere the segment in two episodes, one on June 12 and the other on June 19.

“Through their craft, the actors interviewed on ‘Actors on Actors’ effortlessly spark our imaginations and take us to new places,” said PBS SoCal president and CEO Andy Russell in a statement. “Through this partnership with Variety we are pleased to enhance the experience of fans of great television – providing them greater insight into the people who bring them their favorite dramas, comedies and more.”

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