Fox to Premiere “Empire,” Featuring de la Fuente, in January

Rafael de la Fuente is expanding his Hollywood empire

Fox has announced plans to unveil its new drama series Empire, starring the 28-year-old Venezuelan actor and singer, on January 7, with limited commercial interruption, following the season premiere of American Idol.

Rafael de la Fuente

Empire centers on Lucious Lyon (portrayed by Terrence Howard), a charismatic music superstar who is about to take his company Empire Entertainment public. Taraij P. Henson stars as Lucious’ ex-wife Cookie, and she’s still looking for a share of his success.

de la Fuente portrays Michael Sanchez on the series, which also stars Gabourey Sidibe and guest stars Courtney Love. Timbaland will serve as the song producer and songwriter, creating new tunes for the show and curating old ones.

Idol will air Wednesday, January 7 from 8:00 – 9:00 pm ET and Thursday, January 8 from 8:00 -10:00 pm ET.

Empire will debut that Wednesday from 9:00 – 10:00 pm ET.

The drama hails from Lee Daniels, Danny Strong and Brian Grazer. Empire is from Imagine Television in association with 20th Century Fox Television.

de la Fuente’s other television credits include Every With Way, Grachi, Aurora and Mas sabe el diablo.

Delayed “Pelé” Biopic Headed to Theaters After the World Cup

He’s considered one of the best soccer players of all time… And, now Pelé’s life story is heading to the big screen.

Pelé, the biopic about the legendary 73-year-old Brazilian soccer star, is scheduled to hit theaters sometime in 2014.

Pelé

But sadly, it doesn’t look like the film will be ready for delivery before this summer’s soccer World Cup, as previously planned, due to a lengthy spell in post-production and reshoots for the project.

Written and directed by Michael Zimbalist and Jeff Zimbalist, the film stars newcomers Leonardo Lima Carvalho and Kevin de Paula, who will both portray the soccer star at different stages in his young life.

Pelé

The film is described as an origins story, chronicling Pele’s rise from the slums of Sao Paulo to become the people’s hero when, as a 17-year-old, he led Brazil to its first World Cup victory, in 1958.

Carvalho will play Pelé between ages 10 through 13 and De Paula will play him between the ages of 13 and 17.

Vincent D’Onofrio, Rodrigo Santoro, Diego Boneta, Colm Meaney and Seu Jorge also star.

Also in the cast are Brazilian actors Marianna Nunes, Milton Goncales, Rafael Henrique, Marcus Vinicius, Julio Levy, Thelmo Fernandes, Felipe Simas, Charles Myara, Jerome Franz and Roger Haag.

Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer and Seine PicturesIvan Orlic are producing Pele with Kim Roth and Colin Wilson executive producing.

Rivera to Pen Series About Hernán Cortés for Showtime

He brilliantly penned a story based on Che Guevara‘s diary about a motorcycle trip… And, now José Rivera will be writing about another Latino legend.

Jose Rivera

The 57-year-old playwright—the first Puerto Rican screenwriter to be nominated for an Oscar in 2005 for The Motorcycle Diaries—is penning the script for Showtime’s in-development series Conquest, which tells the story of conquistador Hernán Cortés, who led the Spanish conquest in Mexico, and his clash with Moctezuma II, the last ruler of the Aztec Empire which fell at the hands of Cortés and his men.

Hernan Cortes & Montezuma

Filled with blood, lust, gold, magic and mythology, Conquest is described as “a classic war story about two powerful men and their people, ultimately leading to the destruction of the Aztec culture and the men themselves.”

Oscar-winner Ron Howard is attached to direct Conquest, which happens to be one of his passion projects.

In addition, Howard and Rivera would executive produce the series with Brian Grazer and Imagine TV president Francie Calfo.

Conquest marks Rivera’s return to television, where he co-created the 1991 NBC series Eerie, Indiana.