Camila Cabello Performs Cumbia-fied Cover of Olivia Rodrigo’s “Good 4 U”

Posted on September 7, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Camila Cabello is offering the world a cumbia-fied Good (4 U) time…

The 24-year-old Cuban and Mexican singer/actress covered Olivia Rodrigo’s Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping single “Good 4 U” during an appearance on BBC‘s Radio 1 Live Lounge, giving the track a major Latin vibe.

Just before performing the track, Cabello talked about how much she enjoys Rodrigo’s music, which is why she selected “Good 4 U” as one of the covers for the set.

“[I’m] So excited to perform this. I love that song,” Cabello explained. “I think she’s a really amazing artist and I love so many of the songs that she’s released, so yeah I’m happy to do this song in a new way. We were really inspired by, obviously, Latin music and making it kind of like a cumbia version.”

“I feel like she’s such an incredible vocalist, Cabello continued. “This song was a challenging song to practice. It’s really high and demands a lot of breath, and I was excited to do it because I like her punk rock vibe.”

This isn’t the first time that Cabello has gushed over Rodrigo’s talent. In May, the “Havana” singer shared on her Instagram Stories that she was listening to Sour, and wrote a message to Rodrigo.

“This album is truly gorgeous. So honest, so vulnerable! I’m inspired @oliviarodrigo, ” she wrote. “This one [‘Jealousy, Jealousy‘] and ‘Favorite Crime‘ are my favorites.”

In addition to covering “Good 4 U,” Cabello performed her new song, “Don’t Go Yet,” from her upcoming third album, Familia, during her BBC 1 set.

Rosalynne Montoya Among Transgender Artists to Sign Development Deal with Ozy Studio

Posted on September 7, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Rosalynne Montoya is ready to breakthrough…

The Hispanic bisexual, non-binary transgender woman, who works as a model, actor, makeup artist and content creator, has signed a development deal with Ozy Studios, along with Puerto Rican chef Paxx Caraballo Moll, Alabama-based activist Dan Eggers.

Beginning as a digital magazine in 2013, Ozy has moved into podcasts, events and original television series featured on A+E, History, Lifetime, Amazon, Hulu, OWN, PBS and BBC.

Montoya, Chef Pax and Eggers will now be part of those multi-platform storytelling initiatives.

“At Ozy we feel the immense responsibility of pushing culture forward with the content we share and conversations we foster with our audience,” said CEO Carlos Watson. “We feel this is an important moment to highlight the complexity of humanity and the truly diverse life experiences of these incredible talents are one important way in which we can do that.”

“Amplifying voices from within the trans community is not just in-line with Ozy’s philosophy: It’s personal,” said Executive Director of Ozy Studios Chris Rantamaki. “As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I know the impact of seeing ourselves reflected in pop culture. I’m excited about showcasing a wide spectrum of trans talent in our content, alongside some of the biggest celebrities in the world.”

Montoya is well-known on TikTok and Instagram.

“Queer people need accurate representation,” said Montoya. “When I felt like I didn’t have a future or life wasn’t worth living, it was seeing positive representations in the media that proved to me that I have a happy and successful life ahead.”

Chef Pax is a trans man who was named Best New Chef in 2019 by Food and Wine magazine.

“I’m excited to work with Ozy because I felt at home with them immediately,” says Chef Paxx. “I can’t wait to highlight my culinary skills and bring my queer kitchen sensibilities to the entire world.”

The Alabama-born Eggers is the first openly transgender person to enter a top college musical theater program. Of his new deal Eggers said, “I felt that my experience would be properly honored in the Ozy family rather than tokenized…Ozy sincerely brings forward those who have often been left behind. I am ready to help #ResetAmerica!”

Dafne Keen Currently Filming Third & Final Season of BBC/HBO’s “His Dark Materials”

Posted on June 24, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

It’s the end of the road for Dafne Keen…

Filming is officially underway on the third and final season of His Dark Materials, the BBC and HBO’s adaptation of Philip Pullman’s beloved fantasy adventure novels starring the 16-year-old half-Spanish actress.

Season 3 will be based on The Amber Spyglass, the most complex and ambitious of Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy of novels, as Lyra and Will travel through different worlds to find each other.

Bad Wolf, in association with New Line Cinema, cracked open the clapperboards on May 24, according to a picture of Keen (Lyra) and Amir Wilson (Will) released to celebrate the shoot.

Production is taking place at Wolf Studios Wales stages and on location throughout Wales and England. Directors are Amit Gupta, Charles Martin, and Weronika Tofilska.

Returning cast includes Ruth Wilson (Mrs. Coulter), Simone Kirby (Mary Malone), Will Keen (Father McPhail), Jade Anouka (Ruta Skadi), Ruta Gedminstas (Serafina Pekkala), and James McAvoy (Lord Asriel).

New cast includes Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Commander Ogunwe; Jamie Ward as Father Gomez; Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Simon Harrison, and Chipo Chung are the rebel angels Balthamos, Baruch, and Xaphania; Amber Fitzgerald-Woolfe as Ama.

Executive producer Jane Tranter said: “This season is both an epic adventure and a story about love and truth. Jack, Francesca and Amelia’s scripts capture the brilliance of Philip’s worlds and we are joined by our much-loved existing cast and some exceptional talent new to the series.”

Helena Bonham Carter Cast in BBC Comedy Series “The Cleaner”

Posted on February 18, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Helena Bonham Carter is headed to the cleaner(s)…

The 54-year-old part-Spanish-English actress and SAG Award winner has been cast in the BBC comedy The Cleaner.

Written and headlined by Greg Davies, the series is a remake of a German comedy.

It centers on Paul ‘Wicky’ Wickstead who mops up crime scenes after the police have concluded their detective work.

Other cast members include Stephanie Cole, Donald Sumpter, Shobu Kapoor, Ruth Madeley, Layton Williams, Zita Sattar, Georgie Glen, Bill Skinner and Esmonde Cole.

The Cleaner is made by Studio Hamburg UK with BBC Studios selling internationally.

Filming has commenced and it will premiere later this year.

HBO & BBC One Renew Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Drama Series “His Dark Materials” for Third & Final Season

Posted on December 24, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

There’s more dark material in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s future…

HBO and BBC One have renewed the fantasy drama His Dark Materials, starring the 40-year-old Puerto Rican actor, singer and composer/lyricist, for a third and final season.

HBO and BBC One will run with the eight-episode season set to close the story.

The latest season, which is based on Philip Pullman’s novels, begins production in Cardiff, Wales in 2021.

This comes as the second season of the Bad Wolf-produced drama concludes on Monday, December 28 on HBO.

Last month, Bad Wolf co-founder Jane Tranter reported that Jack Thorne and a team of writers were working on scripts and that the series will be based on The Amber Spyglass. In January, HBO programming chief Casey Bloys has said that he was particularly pleased that the drama had been a co-viewing hit with families.

The second season, which consisted of seven episodes due to COVID-19, follows Lyra, played by Dafne Keen, a seemingly ordinary but brave young woman from another world. It begins as Lyra, distraught over the death of her best friend, embarks upon a journey in a strange and mysterious abandoned city. There she meets Will, played by Amir Wilson, a boy from our world who is also running from a troubled past. Lyra and Will learn their destinies are tied to reuniting Will with his father but find their path is constantly thwarted as a war begins to brew around them. Meanwhile, Mrs. Coulter, played by Ruth Wilson, searches for Lyra, determined to bring her home by any means necessary.

Season two series regulars also include Miranda, Ariyon Bakare, Andrew Scott, Will Keen and Ruta Gedmintas. New cast members this season included Terence Stamp, Jade Anouka and Simone Kirby.

His Dark Materials is produced by Bad Wolf in association with New Line Cinema for BBC One and HBO.

“Bringing Phillip Pullman’s epic, intricate and culturally resonant body of work to television has been a tremendous privilege,” said Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming. “We thank our incredible partners at the BBC and the entire Bad Wolf team, led by the indefatigable Jane Tranter, for their exceptional work on the first two seasons. We look forward to completing the trilogy with this final chapter in Lyra’s journey.”

Desmin Borges to Appear on Fox’s Series “This Country”

Posted on December 7, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Desmin Borges is heading to this country…

The 36-year-old half-Puerto Rican actor has landed a recurring role in Fox’s This Country, Jenny Bicks’ and Paul Feig’s remake of the BBC comedy.

In the half-hour series, a documentary crew goes to a small town to study young adults and their current concerns. Their focus is the daily lives of cousins Kelly (Chelsea Holmes) and Shrub Mallet (Sam Straley) and their idiosyncratic surroundings.

Seann William Scott, Aya Cash, Taylor Ortega, YouTuber Krystal Smith and Justin Linville also star.

Borges will play Jimmy Jameson, the rival editor to Cheryl (Cash) in the town next to Flatch. Borges will join the series, currently filming in North Carolina, beginning in Episode 2. Feig is directing the series’ first three episodes.

This Country is based on the eponymous BBC Three series, which ran on the British public broadcaster’s youth-skewing network for three seasons from 2017-20. The BAFTA-winning series, which was written by and starred Daisy May Cooper and Charlie Cooper, was set in the Cotswolds in rural England.

The role reunites Borges with Cash, his former You’re the Worst co-star. Borges portrayed Edgar Quintero on five seasons of the FX comedy-drama. He also stars as Dan on the Netflix limited series Living with Yourself opposite Paul Rudd, as well as in films like Private Life, alongside Paul Giamatti, Kathryn Hahn, Molly Shannon, John Carroll Lynch and Denis O’Hare. Borges most recently can be seen as Wilson Wilson in Amazon’s Utopia, co-starring John Cusack and Rainn Wilson.

This Country is produced by Lionsgate, BBC Studios, Fox Entertainment and Feigco Entertainment.

HBO to Launch Season Two of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “His Dark Materials” in November

Posted on October 14, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Lin-Manuel Miranda will be going dark next month…

HBO and BBC big-budget co-production His Dark Materials, starring the 40-year-old Puerto Rican composer, lyricist, actor, singer, rapper, producer, and playwright, will be back with a bang in November for its second season.

HBO will launch the second season of the Bad Wolf-produced adaptation of the Philip Pullman books at 9 p.m. November 16. It will also be available to stream on HBO Max.

This comes as the team behind the series, which includes writer Jack Thorne, are prepping scripts for a possible third season. Although a third run hasn’t been commissioned, the hope on all sides is for it to run for more seasons.

HBO programming chief Casey Bloys told Deadline earlier this year that the first season had performed very well for the network and that he would like to do more. “One of the things that I was hoping for, and the numbers we’re seeing bear this out, it is more of a co-viewing show than we’ve ever had. We don’t have many shows where kids and parents can watch together, and that was the idea with this show and it has done really well.”

The first two seasons of the show essentially are based on Pullman’s Northern Lights and The Subtle Knife. Jane Tranter, who runs Bad Wolf with Julie Gardner, told Deadline that if possible they would like to split the “huge” and “sprawling” third book The Amber Spyglass into two additional seasons.

The second season begins after Lord Asriel has opened a bridge to a new world, and Lyra, distraught over the death of her best friend, follows Asriel into the unknown. In a strange and mysterious abandoned city, she meets Will, a boy from our world who also is running from a troubled past. Lyra and Will learn their destinies are tied to reuniting Will with his father but find their path is constantly thwarted as a war begins to brew around them. Meanwhile, Mrs. Coulter searches for Lyra, determined to bring her home by any means necessary.

In addition to Miranda, Season 2 series regulars include Dafne Keen, Ruth Wilson, Amir Wilson, Ariyon Bakare, Andrew Scott, Will Keen and Ruta Gedmintas. Joining the cast this season are Terence Stamp, Jade Anouka and Simone Kirby.

Justina Machado to Compete on ABC’s Upcoming Season of “Dancing With The Stars”

Posted on September 2, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Justina Machado’s ready to paso doble her way into your hearts…

The 47-year-old Puerto Rican actress, who currently stars on PopTV’s One Day at a Time, will compete on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars this season.

Machado will compete against Tiger King’s Carole Baskin, rapper Nelly, Selling Sunset’s Chrishell Stause and NBA legend Charles Oakley among others for the coveted DTWS mirrorball trophy.

The ABC celebrity ballroom dancing competition series, based on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, will premiere on September 14 with new host Tyra Banks.

This season’s other competirors include Monica Aldama, star of Netflix’s Cheer, Disney Channel actress Skai Jackson, The Real’s Jeannie Mai, Catfish’s Nev Schulman, Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir, Super Bowl champion Vernon Davis, Anne Heche, Backstreet Boys member AJ McLean, and The Bachelor’s Kaitlyn Bristowe.

This season’s professional dancers include Brandon Armstrong, Alan Bersten, Sharna Burgess, Cheryl Burke, Artem Chigvintsev, Val Chmerkovskiy, Sasha Farber, Jenna Johnson, Daniella Karagach, Keo Motsepe, Peta Murgatroyd, Pasha Pashkov, Gleb Savchenko, Emma Slater and Britt Stewart.

In addition to hosting, Banks will also serve as an executive producer this season. She replaces Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews as the show’s host in season 29.

One of the challenges for this season is to ensure that the production adheres to COVID-19 protocols, a trickier move for a dance competition format than many other productions. Details of the health and safety protocols and other format refreshes are expected imminently.

HBO Releases First Look Trailer at Season Two of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “His Dark Materials”

Posted on August 29, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Lin-Manuel Miranda is still living in a Materials world…

HBO has released a first look at the upcoming second season of His Dark Materials, starring the 40-year-old Puerto Rican actor, singer and Broadway star.

The second season of HBO/BBC’s big-budget adaptation of Philip Pullman’s fantasy epic begins after Lord Asriel has opened a bridge to a new world, and, distraught over the death of her best friend, Lyra follows Asriel into the unknown. In a strange and mysterious abandoned city she meets Will, a boy from our world who is also running from a troubled past. Lyra and Will learn their destinies are tied to reuniting Will with his father but find their path is constantly thwarted as a war begins to brew around them. Meanwhile, Mrs. Coulter searches for Lyra, determined to bring her home by any means necessary.

In addition to Miranda, who plays aeronaut Lee Scoresby, the cast of season two series regulars include half-Spanish actress Dafne Keen, Ruth Wilson, Amir Wilson, Ariyon Bakare, Andrew Scott, Will Keen and Ruta Gedmintas.

Joining the cast this season are Terence Stamp, Jade Anouka and Simone Kirby.

His Dark Materials, one of the biggest in scope and most expensive British dramas to date, is written by Jack Thorne and directed by Tom Hooper, and is based on Pullman’s acclaimed trilogy of books: Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, considered a modern masterpiece of imaginative fiction.

His Dark Materials is produced by Bad Wolf in association with New Line Cinema for BBC One and HBO.

Season 2 is set to premiere in November on HBO.

Taylor Ortega to Star in Fox’s Comedy Pilot “This Country”

Posted on March 5, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Taylor Ortega is headed to the country-side…

The Latina actress has joined the cast of Fox’s single-camera comedy pilot This Country, starringSeann William Scott.

Ortega joins new additions to the cast that include Chelsea Holmes, Sam Straley and Krystal Smith.

Written by Jenny Bicks and to be directed by Paul Feig,This Countryis a half-hour mockumentary inspired by the BBC Threeformat created by Daisy May Cooper and Charlie Cooper.

The show follows the daily lives of cousins Kelly (Holmes) and Shrub Mallet (Straley), who are trailed by a documentary crew as they go to a small town to study young adults and their current concerns. The show follows the pair as they pursue their dreams, confront challenges and fight each other for frozen pizza. These two don’t have much, but they do have each other.

Ortega will play Nadine, Shrub and Kelly’s old high school classmate who is beautiful, successful and married to Kelly’s old crush, Dylan. Nadine is the “big fish” in the “small pond” of Flatch.

Ortega played Shego in the Kim Possible TV movie. She guest-starred on Succession and will be seen in the upcoming anthology series Love Life, starring Anna Kendrick.

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