Critics Choice Association to Honor Rita Moreno at Inaugural “Celebration of Latino Cinema”

It’s a special celebration for the legendary Rita Moreno

The 89-year-old Puerto Rican actress, dancer and singer will be honored alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda and Demián Bichir at the Critics Choice Association’s inaugural Celebration of Latino Cinema.

Rita MorenoMoreno, Miranda and Bichor will be honored alog with a group of additional honorees, many associated with upcoming 2021 films, still to be announced.

The Celebration of Latino Cinema, to be presented virtually, will take place on Thursday, December 9, 2021 and aims to put a spotlight on the contributions of great Oscar-winning and -nominated artists like Moreno, Miranda and Bichir, but also Latino filmmaking in general, a facet of the motion picture industry that doesn’t always get the recognition it deserves during awards season.

Among other things, the CCA’s Celebration of Latino Cinema aims to change that.

“We are thrilled to be launching the first annual Celebration of Latino Cinema which recognizes the talented performers and skilled professionals who create the acclaimed films we are so proud to honor,” said Claudia Puig, a CCA member and co-programmer of the event.

“Films by our honorees represent the diverse and multi-faceted Latino community, and reflect our increasingly inclusive industry” said CCA board member and event co-programmer Clayton Davis.

The Celebration of Latino Cinema will be produced by Madelyn Hammond and Javier Infante of Madelyn Hammond & Associates. Stagedge will be responsible for transforming the show into an immersive virtual experience.

A portion of the proceeds from the event will be donated to LA Collab, whose mission is to accelerate Latino access, visibility and representation in the entertainment industry.

Moreno has won all four of the most prestigious awards in show business: an Oscar, a Tony, two Emmys, and a Grammy. She recently co-starred in the Latinx reimagining of Norman Lear’s classic sitcom One Day at a Time, and her documentary Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It had its world premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival before being released in theaters; it will be broadcast on PBS’ American Masters in October. Moreno also co-stars in and executive produces Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story.

She is a recipient of the Peabody Career Achievement Award, a Kennedy Center Honor, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of Arts.

Miranda is a Pulitzer-, Grammy-, Emmy– and Tony Award-winning songwriter, actor and director, and creator and original star of Broadway’s Hamilton and In the HeightsA recipient of the MacArthur Foundation Award, a Kennedy Center Honor and the Portrait of a Nation Prize, he received an Emmy with Tom Kitt for their song “Bigger” from the 67th Tony Awards. Upcoming projects include Disney’s Encanto and his directorial film debut, tick, tick… BOOM!

Bichir received a Best Actor Oscar nomination in 2012 for his role in Chris Weitz’s A Better Life, becoming the first Mexican-born actor to be nominated in that category by the Academy since Anthony Quinn in 1957. He more recently received rave reviews for his performance in the film Land, directed by Robin Wright. His film credits include Steven Soderbergh’s Che, Oliver Stone’s Savages, Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, Robert Rodriguez’s Machete Kills, Paul Feig’s The Heat, Richard Shepard’s Dom Hemingway, Ridley Scott’s Alien, George Clooney’s The Midnight Sky, and Adam Wingard’s Godzilla Vs. Kong.

Victoria Justice to Star in Untitled Netflix Romantic Comedy

Victoria Justice is hittin’ the Australian ranchland

The 28-year-old half-Puerto Rican singer/actress and former Nickelodeon star will star opposite Adam Demos in an untitled romantic comedy, which Stuart McDonald is directing for Netflix.

Victoria Justice

Written by Elizabeth Hackett and Hilary Galanoy, the film centers on a hard-driving LA wine-company exec who travels to an Australian sheep station to land a major client. There, she ends up working as a ranch hand and sparking with a rugged local.

The film will be shot on location in Queensland, Australia.

Production and post-production will be supported by the Queensland Government through Screen Queensland’s Production Attraction Strategy. The film will create around 120 jobs for Queenslanders.

“This new Netflix film is the latest in a string of domestic and international productions continuing to fuel the state’s screen boom which is critical to our economic recovery,” said Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. “This project is a strong example of how our Production Attraction Strategy benefits Queensland’s local screen sector via exciting co-production arrangements for local businesses, such as Hoodlum Entertainment, one of the state’s most successful production companies.”

Justice will next be seen as the lead of the Netflix film Afterlife of the Party. She recently wrapped production on the indie California King, which also stars Jimmy Tatro and Travis “Taco” Bennett. On the television side, her credits include Fox’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show and MTV’s Eye Candy.

The actress broke through with her leading role in Nickelodeon’s VictoriousOther recent credits include director Joseph Cross’ Summer Night and the indie film Bigger, in which she appeared opposite Tyler Hoechlin and Julianne Hough.

Victoria Justice to Star in George Gallo’s Film “Bigger” about the Weider Brothers

Victoria Justice has landed a Bigger role…

The 24-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/singer will star in George Gallo’s film Bigger, which centers on fitness forefathers the Weider Brothers.

Victoria Justice

Justice, who made her mark in Fox’s Rocky Horror Picture ShowNickelodeon’s Victorious and Blumhouse Productions/MTV’s Eye Candywill portray Kathy, Joe Weider’s (Tyler Hoechlin) first wife.

Bigger is being produced by Steve Lee JonesBee Holder Productions and Scott LaStaiti.

Gallo starts shooting the film next month in Alabama.

Miranda Wins His First-Ever Emmy at Saturday’s Creative Arts Emmys

Lin-Manuel Miranda has some new hardware for his mantel…

The 34-year-old Puerto Rican composer, rapper, lyricist, and actor was awarded his first-ever Emmy at this year’s Creative Arts Emmys, which were held Saturday night at Los Angeles’ Nokia Theatre L.A. Live.

Tom Kitt & Lin-Manuel Miranda Emmys

The awards show took place just over a week before the Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony, set for Monday, Aug. 25.

Manuel, a Tony Award– and Grammy-winner for writing the hit Broadway musical In the Heights, won the Emmy for Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics
 for penning the lyrics to the song “Bigger!” from the 67th Annual Tony Awards. He shares the award with Tom Kitt, who wrote the music to the seven-minute song.

The track was performed by host Neil Patrick Harris on the live Tony Awards telecast on CBS.

Earlier this year, Manuel was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Song for penning the Sesame Street song “Rhymes with Mando.”

Louis C.K. Collects Five Primetime Emmy Award Nominations

Louis C.K. is still a Primetime Emmy Awards darling…

Following a record-setting nine nominations last year, the 46-year-old Mexican American actor/comedian cleaned up once again during Thursday morning’s Emmy nominations.

Louis C.K.

Louis C.K., a four-time Emmy-winner, earned five nominations for the 66th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, the most individual nominations of anyone, Latino and non-Latino, this year.

Louis C.K., the creator of FX’s dark comedy series Louie, is nominated for Actor in a Comedy for his laugh-inducing performance as the show’s title character.

His behind-the-scenes work on Louie has also resulted in nods in the Writing for a Comedy Series and Directing for a Comedy Series categories. Louis C.K., one of the executive producers onthe show, saw the series receive a Comedy Series nomination.

And last but certainly not least, Louis C.K. earned a nomination in the Guest Actor in a Comedy Series category for hosting an episode of Saturday Night Live earlier this year. The actor/comedian, a two-time SNL host, has earned Emmy love for both his hosting stints on the long-running NBC sketch comedy series.

But Louis C.K. isn’t the only Latino to receive multiple nominations…

Fred Armisen, a former Saturday Night Live cast member, earned a Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series nod for portraying various characters on his critically acclaimed IFC satirical sketch comedy series Portlandia.

The 47-year-old half-Venezuelan American actor, who created the series with co-star Carrie Brownstein, also earned a nod in the Writing for a Variety Series for hisbehind-the-scenes work on the series.

Helena Bonham Carter, a two-time Oscar nominee, has earned her third career Primetime Emmy nod. The 48-year-old part-Spanish actress earned her first nomination in 11 years in the Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie category for her portrayal of the late Elizabeth Taylor in the BBC/BBC America production Burton and Taylor.

Alfred Molina earned his first-ever Primetime Emmy Award nomination. The 61-year-old half-Spanish actor is nominated in the Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie category for his performance in HBO’s The Normal Heart.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, who earned his first-ever Daytime Emmy Award nod earlier this year, now has his first Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

The Tony Award– and Grammy-winning American composer, rapper, lyricist and actor picked up the nod in the Original Music and Lyrics category for penning the lyrics to “Bigger!,”a tune performed by Neil Patrick Harris at the 2013 Tony Awards.

The 66th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards will be held on Monday August 25, 2014 at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, and will be broadcast live by NBC.

Here’s a look at the categories with Latino nominees.

Comedy series
“The Big Bang Theory” (CBS)
“Louie” (FX)
“Modern Family” (ABC)
“Orange Is the New Black” (Netflix)
“Silicon Valley” (HBO)
“Veep” (HBO)

Actor in a Comedy
Louis C.K (“Louie”)
Don Cheadle (“House of Lies”)
Ricky Gervais (“Derek”)
Matt LeBlanc (“Episodes”)
William H. Macy (“Shameless”)
Jim Parsons (“The Big Bang Theory”)

Writing for a Comedy Series
David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik (“Episodes”)
Louis C.K. (“Louie”)
Liz Friedman and Jenji Kohan (“Orange Is the New Black”)
Alec Berg (“Silicon Valley”)
Simon Blackwell, Tony Roche and Armando Iannucci (“Veep”)

Directing for a Comedy Series
Iain B. MacDonald (“Episodes”)
Paris Barclay (“Glee”)
Louis C.K. (“Louie”)
Gail Mancuso (“Modern Family”)
Jodie Foster (“Orange Is the New Black”)
Mike Judge (“Silicon Valley”)

Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
Bob Newhart (“The Big Bang Theory”)
Nathan Lane (“Modern Family”)
Steve Buscemi (“Portlandia”)
Jimmy Fallon (“Saturday Night Live”)
Louis C.K. (“Saturday Night Live”)
Gary Cole (“Veep”)

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Andre Braugher (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”)
Adam Driver (“Girls”)
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (“Modern Family”)
Ty Burrell (“Modern Family”)
Fred Armisen (“Portlandia”)
Tony Hale (“Veep”)

Writing for a variety series
“The Colbert Report” (Comedy Central)
“Inside Amy Schumer” (Comedy Central)
“Key & Peele” (Comedy Central)
“Portlandia” (IFC) 
[Fred Armisen]
“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC)

Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
Jessica Lange (“American Horror Story: Coven”)
Sarah Paulson (“American Horror Story: Coven”)
Helena Bonham Carter (“Burton and Taylor”)
Minnie Driver (“Return to Zero”)
Kristen Wiig (“The Spoils of Babylon”)
Cicely Tyson (“The Trip to Bountiful”)

Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
Colin Hanks (“Fargo”)
Jim Parsons (“The Normal Heart”)
Joe Mantello (“The Normal Heart”)
Alfred Molina (“The Normal Heart”)
Matt Bomer (“The Normal Heart”)
Martin Freeman (“Sherlock: His Last Vow”)

Original Music and Lyrics
“No Trouble” from “A Christmas Carol — The Concert”
“Les Mis” from “Key & Peele”
“Home for the Holiday (Twin Bed)” from “Saturday Night Live”
“Merroway Cove” from “Sofia the First: The Floating Palace”
“Day Is Gone” from “Sons Of Anarchy”
“Bigger!” from “67th Tony Awards” [Lin-Manuel Miranda, lyrics]

Directing for a miniseries, movie or a dramatic special
Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (“American Horror Story: Coven”)
Adam Bernstein (“Fargo”)
Colin Bucksey (“Fargo”)
Stephen Frears (“Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight”)
Ryan Murphy (“The Normal Heart”)
Nick Hurran (“Sherlock: His Last Vow”)

Cinematography for a Miniseries or Movie
“Fargo” (Dana Gonzales)
“Fargo” (Matt Lloyd)
“Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond”
“Killing Kennedy”
“The Normal Heart”
“Sherlock: His Last Vow”

Costumes for a Series
“Boardwalk Empire”
“Downton Abbey”
“Game of Thrones”
“Mad Men”
“Once Upon a Time” [Eduardo Castro]

Outstanding Cinematography For Reality Programming
Project Runway (Lifetime) [Gus Dominguez, Director of Photography]