Ariana DeBose to Serve as Presenter at This Year’s Academy Awards Show

Ariana DeBose is returning to the Oscars stage…

The 32-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/singer, who made Oscar history with her Best Supporting Actress win last year, will be a presenter at this year’s Academy Awards show.

Ariana DeBose,No doubt DeBose will present the award for Best Supporting Actor per long standing Academy tradition.

The announcement comes on the heels of DeBose’s much talked about rap tribute to BAFTA’s actress nominees at the BAFTA awards ceremony.

CODA Best Supporting Actor winner Troy Kotsur will also return to the Dolby Theatre, this time as a presenter.

Last year’s Live Action Short Oscar winner Riz Ahmed, Emily Blunt, eight-time nominee Glenn Close, Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly, past Honorary Oscar recipient Samuel L. JacksonDwayne Johnson, Creed III’s Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors, Melissa McCarthy, Janelle Monáe, Deepika Padukone, Oscar winner Questlove, Zoe Saldaña and Donnie Yen will all be onstage at the Oscars.

Final Oscar balloting is underway. The 9,579 eligible Academy voters are now going to make their choices, and they have only until March 7 at 5:00 pm PT to do so.

Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the Oscars will air live on ABC and broadcast outlets worldwide on March 12 at 8:00 pm ET/5 pm PT from the Dolby Theater in Hollywood.

The producers will continue to announce talent joining the show leading up to the ceremony. They already have been rolling out talent taking part in performances of songs up in the Original Song category.

Cardi B to Serve as Presenter at This Year’s Grammy Awards Show

Cardi B is taking the stage on music’s biggest night…

The 30-year-old half-Dominican American Grammy-winning rap superstar will help hand out awards at the 65th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 5.

Cardi BPreviously, Cardi B made Grammy history as the first and only woman to win the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album as a solo artist was the second female rapper to have her album nominated for Album of the Year.

Other presenters include Viola Davis, Olivia Rodrigo, Shania Twain and Dwayne Johnson. Davis will become an EGOT if she wins in her category, best audio book, narration, and storytelling recording, on Sunday.

Performers set to appear on the show are Harry Styles, Lizzo, Bad Bunny, Mary J. Blige, Brandi Carlile, Luke Combs, Steve Lacy and Sam Smith & Kim Petras.

The Recording Academy made its first performers announcement a week ago. It added a big name – Styles – on Sunday, January 29. The announcement was made during the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs. The game aired on CBS, the Grammys’ network since 1973.

Three of this year’s four leading nominees – Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar and Adele – have yet to be announced as performers. But the Academy is expected to announce additional performers in the remaining days before the big show.

The 65th Annual Grammy Awards will air live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and will be hosted for the third year in a row by Emmy-winning comedian Trevor Noah.

The show will be broadcast live on Sunday, February 5, at 8:00 pm ET/5:00 pm PT on CBS, and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

The 65th Annual Grammy Awards are produced by Fulwell 73 Productions for the Recording Academy. Raj Kapoor serves as showrunner and executive producer, alongside Ben Winston and Jesse Collins as executive producers. Phil Heyes joins the team for the first time as director. Eric Cook is co-executive producer with Tabitha Dumo, Tiana Gandelman, Patrick Menton, David Wild as producers.

Prior to the telecast, the Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony will be broadcast live from the Microsoft Theater at 12:30 pm PT, and it will be streamed live on live.Grammy.com. Randy Rainbow, a first-time Grammy nominee this year for best comedy album for A Little Brains, A Little Talent, is co-hosting the show. His co-host has yet to be named.

Performers at the Premiere Ceremony include Arroj Aftab, Madison Cunningham, Samara Joy, Anoushka Shankar, Carlos Vives and The Blind Boys of Alabama with La Santa Cecilia.

Presenters at the Premiere Ceremony include Babyface, Domi and JD Beck, Myles Frost, Arturo O’Farrill, Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Jimmy Jam.

Sarah Shahi to Executive Produce & Star in the Christmas Film “The Hollys”

It’s a Hollys, jolly Christmas for Sarah Shahi. 

The 42-year-old part-Spanish American actress and breakout star of Black Adam will executive produce and star in the Christmas film The Hollys with Burr Steers attached to direct.

Sarah ShahiThe film, co-written by Floriana Lima, Yolanda Pecoraro, and Ilaria Urbinati, will be produced by Denise Di Novi and Margaret French Isaac of Di Novi Pictures.

The story centers on Emma Holly (Shahi), a workaholic single mom whose life starts to unravel when she loses her job in the city as a successful food editor right before the holidays. Along with her young daughter, Emma is forced to move back into her childhood home in Connecticut with her old-fashioned housewife mom, whose husband just left her on Thanksgiving. In this multigenerational love letter to moms, the three Holly women will have to get through Christmas under one roof, learn to reconcile their differences and mend their fractured relationship in order to cook up a new future for themselves.

“DiNovi Films has a reputation for making insightful, timeless films that champion relevant and bold female narratives to become generation-spanning cinematic gems,” said Shahi. “Under the ingenious direction of Burr Steers, along with the eye of Denise Di Novi, Margaret French Isaac and the rest of the DiNovi team, it’s the perfect home to turn our Christmas tale into an instant classic to revisit year after year.”

Shahi stars alongside Dwayne Johnson in New Line/DC’s Black Adam, which was the No. 1 movie globally its first three weeks of release and has grossed $390M to date. She also stars in the lead role of Netflix’s hit series Sex/Life, which amassed more than 67 million viewers in its first season.

The series will return for Season 2 in 2023.

Shahi also has wrapped production on the Amazon film Red, White & Royal Blue, based on Casey McQuiston’s bestselling novel, and is working on a book.

“We are admirers of Sarah’s brilliant and honest performances, we are thrilled to partner with her and Burr on this evergreen holiday movie,” Di Novi and French Isaac said in a statement. “Combining the heartfelt wit and nuance from our writers with Burr’s comedic and visual excellence, we are excited to deliver a film starring Sarah that showcases working parents, family, togetherness, and all sides of the passion and love brought forth during the holiday season.

Lin-Manuel Miranda Tops Billboard’s Year-End Hot 100 Songwriters Chart

Lin-Manuel Miranda is this year’s songwriter of the year…

The 42-year-old Puerto Rican songwriter, actor, playwright and filmmaker leads Billboard’s 2022 year-end Hot 100 Songwriters chart.

Lin-Manuel Miranda Miranda, a Pulitzer Prize, Grammys, Tonys and Emmys, finishes the year at No. 1 due to his work on Disney’s Encanto soundtrack, including its five-week Billboard Hot 100 leader “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” credited to Carolina Gaitan, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz and the Encanto cast.

Miranda is credited as the sole songwriter on the track, helping boost his chart points (as he does not split chart points with multiple writers).

During its 20-week run on the chart, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” earned the distinction as the biggest Disney song of all time, based on Billboard’s Greatest of All Time methodology.

In total, Miranda earned eight songwriting credits on the Hot 100 in the 2022 chart year, all from Encanto, which all contributed to his placement on the year-end ranking.

Here’s a look at where each song peaked on the Hot 100—Miranda is the only credited writer on each song:

Peak Position, Artist Billing, Title
No. 1, Carolina Gaitan, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz & Encanto Cast, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”
No. 8, Jessica Darrow, “Surface Pressure”
No 20, Stephanie Beatriz, Olga Merediz & Encanto Cast, “The Family Madrigal”
No. 27, Diane Guerrero & Stephanie Beatriz, “What Else Can I Do?”
No. 36, Sebastian Yatra, “Dos Oruguitas”
No. 48, Stephanie Beatriz, “Waiting On A Miracle”
No. 71, Stephanie Beatriz, Olga Merediz, John Leguizamo, Adassa, Maluma & Encanto Cast, “All of You”
No. 100, Carlos Vives, “Colombia, Mi Encanto”

Prior to 2022, Miranda had only landed seven songs on the Hot 100 as a songwriter (he’s billed as an artist on four of them). He first charted in July 2016 with “Love Make The World Go Round” with Jennifer Lopez (No. 72 peak), and then with four songs from Moana soon after: Opetaia Foa’l and Miranda’s “We Know The Way” (No. 93 peak), Alessia Cara’s “How Far I’ll Go” (No. 56), Dwayne Johnson’s “You’re Welcome” (No. 65) and Auli’I Cravalho’s “How Far I’ll Go” (No. 41). After that, he charted with “Almost Like Praying,” featuring Artists for Puerto Rico (No. 20) and “Found / Tonight” with Ben Platt (No. 49)

His work on the Moana songs helped Miranda finish as the No. 28 Hot 100 Songwriter of 2017.

Miranda is also credited as a producer on all eight of his Encanto chart hits.

“Colombia, Mi Encanto” was produced by Miranda and Carlos Vives, while the other seven entries were produced by Miranda and Mike Elizondo.

Miranda’s production work enables his finish as the No. 12 Hot 100 Producer of 2022, while Elizondo finishes just behind him at No. 13.

Billboard’s year-end music recaps represent aggregated metrics for each artist, title, label and music contributor on the weekly charts dated November 20, 2021 through November 12, 2022. The rankings for Luminate-based recaps reflect equivalent album units, airplay, sales or streaming during the weeks that the titles appeared on a respective chart during the tracking year. Any activity registered before or after a title’s chart run isn’t considered in these rankings. That methodology details, and the November-November time period, account for some of the difference between these lists and the calendar-year recaps that are independently compiled by Luminate.

Bruno Mars Named to Gold House’s A100 List of Impactful Asians & Pacific Islanders

Bruno Mars has earned a spot on the A(100) List

The 36-year-old part-Puerto Rican Grammy-winning singer/songwriter and his Silk Sonic group mate Anderson .Paak have been named to Gold House’s 2022 A100 List, which seeks to recognize the 100 APIs (Asians and Pacific Islanders) who have most significantly impacted American culture and society in the last year across various industries.

Bruno Mars, Ricky Regal, Lacoste

Mars, who was born in Hawaii and is part Filipino, and .Paak won four Grammys at this year’s awards show for their chart-topping single “Leave the Door Open.”

The A100 List was announced to help commemorate Asian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Other honorees include Michelle Yeoh, Dwayne Johnson and Mindy Kaling as this year’s A100 Legends, while Gemma Chan and Kelly Marie Tran are among the A100 Hall of Fame Inductees for 2022.

Additional honorees in the Entertainment section of the list Simu Liu, Chloé Zhao, Bowen YangTurning Red helmer Domee Shi, the creative teams and stars of Pachinko and Squid Game, Jimmy O. Yang, Destin Daniel Cretton, Riz Ahmed and Ryuske Hamaguchi.

The annual lists’ honorees are selected by a selection committee. Among this year’s judges are Lea Salonga, Daniel Dae Kim, Lisa Link, Janet Yang and Janice Min.

Gold House will celebrate the notable APIs at its inaugural in-person Gold Gala on May 21 in downtown Los Angeles.

Click here for the full list.

“Moana” Star Auliʻi Cravalho’s “How Far I’ll Go” Breaks Into YouTube’s Billion Views Club

Oh how far Auliʻi Cravalho has gone…

The 21-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer/actress, who rose to acclaim after voicing the lead character in Disney’s Moana, has earned a spot in YouTube’s coveted Billion Views Club.

Auli’i CravalhoCravalho entered the club with the official video for “How Far I’ll Go,” her signature power ballad for the acclaimed animated film.

According to a statement from YouTube, an impressive number of people have been watching Cravalho’s beloved character embark on her big sea adventure in the past 12 months, with the video averaging more than 350,000 views a day.

With its new milestone, “How Far I’ll Go” now matches the billion views status of fellow Moana track “You’re Welcome,” performed by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s cocky but lovable demigod, Maui.

The world has loved the music of Moana since it came out six years ago: “How Far I’ll Go” — which is performed by Alessia Cara — peaked at No. 56, while “You’re Welcome” reached a high of No. 65 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2017.

The soundtrack — which features music written by Oscar-nominated Encanto composer Lin-Manuel Miranda — made history for weeks spent at No. 1 on Billboards soundtracks chart.

Disney is finding similar love for its latest animated project, Encanto, and the songs sung by its cast of magical characters. Also composed by Miranda, We Don’t Talk About Bruno” just topped the Hot 100 chart for the second week in a row, and is currently the music behind a couple of wildly popular TikTok trends.

The full soundtrack has sat atop the Billboard 200 for four weeks and counting.

Christina Aguilera to Receive Inaugural Music Icon Award at People’s Choice Awards

Christina Aguilera is officially an icon

The 40-year-old half-Ecuadorian American Grammy-winning singer will receive the inaugural Music Icon at award at the People’s Choice Awards next week, joining an honorees list that includes Halle BerryDwayne Johnson and Kim Kardashian.

Christina AguileraE! and NBC have announced that Becky G will present the award to Aguilera, who has also appeared in films (Burlesque) in addition to being a coach on NBC’s The Voice.

The award will be given for her contributions to the music industry; she will also perform during the December 7 broadcast.

Johnson is receiving The People’s Champion award during the ceremony, which is being simulcast on NBC and E! at 9:00 pm ET/PT Tuesday.

Berry will be honored with the People’s Icon award during the show, while Kardashian will receive the Fashion Icon award.

A total of 40 categories are up for grabs during the December 7 ceremony (see the nominees here).

Winners are decided by online fan voting.

Warner Bros. Animation Releases First Trailer for Diego Luna’s Animated Film “DC League of Super-Pets”

It’s a super time for Diego Luna.

Warner Bros. Animation has released the first official trailer for its upcoming DC League of Super-Pets, starring the 41-year-old Mexican actor/director/producer.

Diego LunaProduced by and starring Dwayne Johnson, the film finds one (Super)man’s best friend his only hope. After Superman (John Krasinski) is sidelined by Lex Luthor, the Man of Steel’s faithful companion, Krypto, sets out to save the day.

While Superman has Batman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the Justice League at his side, Krypto has only “a bunch of shelter pets” who, luckily, have been imbued with superpowers.

Johnson plays Krypto, while his ragtag band is made up of Ace (Kevin Hart), a hound who has super strength; PB (Vanessa Bayer), a pig named who can grow to a massive-size instantly; Merton (Natasha Lyonne) a turtle with super speed; and Chip (Luna), a squirrel who can shoot electricity from his tiny fingertips.

“My best friend is in trouble and you have to help me,” says Krypto, rallying the troops. What follows is an adventure full of challenges, surprises and potty humor.

The project reps Johnson’s second with DC after the New Line/DC movie Black Adam, in which he plays the title character, with his Seven Bucks producing.

DC League Of Super-Pets marks the Johnson’s third theatrically-released animated film, after Planet 51 and Moana.

Luna has previously been part of the voice cast of The Book of Life and Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans.

Frankie Loyal Upped to Series Regular on FX’s “Mayans M.C.”

There are more rides in Frankie Loyal’s future…

The 51-year-old Latino actor/producer has been upped to series regular on FX’s biker drama Mayans M.C. alongside Joseph Lucero and Vincent Vargas for season 4, which is scheduled to return in early 2022.

Frankie Loyal

Loyal, Lucero and Vargas took on larger roles in season 3, which saw their characters Hank Loza, Neron “Creeper” Vargas, and Gilly Lopez, respectively, flourish and develop into fully rounded characters with storylines fans embraced fully.

The trio have been a part of the series throughout its three-season run.

Mayans M.C., a spin-off series of the network’s hit Sons of Anarchy, follows a motley crew of Latino men who found a family in the motorcycle club charter Santo Padre on the California and Mexico border. While the story is about the M.C., it also features powerful female characters that are bold and powerful in their own right.

The character of E.Z. Reyes (JD Pardo) is at the center of the story as he finds his place in the gray area of a world that is mostly black and white.

It’s helmed by co-creator and executive producer Elgin James; and co-stars Clayton Cardenas, Danny Pino, Richard Cabral, Michael Irby, Carla Baratta, Sarah Bolger, Emilio Rivera, Edward James Olmos, Raoul Trujillo, Emily Tosta, and Sulem Calderon.

Loyal, whose character Hank serves as Sergeant-of-Arms to the M.C., guest-starred on FX’s Better Things opposite Pamela Adlon. On the big screen, he starred in The Deep End alongside Tilda Swinton and Goran Visnjic. He will next be seen in the drama feature Die Like A Man.

Lucero made his debut in the 2006 drama Gridiron Gang alongside Dwayne Johnson, Xzibit, Moe McCrae, and Jurnee Smollett. He was also featured in Father G and the Homeboys, an award-winning documentary chronicling Father Greg Boyle’s work with Los Angeles’ toughest gang members. Lucero’s television credits include Dirt, ERThe ShieldCold Case, Criminal MindsThe CloserShameless, S.W.A.T., and FBI.

Vargas is a veteran of the U.S. Army that served three combat deployments who continues to serve his country today for the Army Reserve. In 2009, he became a Federal Agent with the Department of Homeland Security and was a Medic with the Special Operations Group.

He has starred and produced several films including Lucy Shimmers and the Prince of Peace (co-executive producer), Not a War Story (executive producer), and Dads in Parks (writer). Vargas pulled double duty since season 2 on Mayans M.C. as recurring star and technical advisor.

Dany Garcia to Develop Feature Film Treatment “Red One” with Amazon Studios

Dany Garcia is seeing red

The 52-year-old Cuban American businesswoman, professional bodybuilder and producer and her ex-husband Dwayne Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions are developing the feature film treatment Red One with Amazon Studios.

Dany Garcia

Amazon won the project after a highly competitive bidding war. Johnson will star in four-quadrant holiday action adventure comedy project conceived by Hiram Garcia, president of production at Seven Bucks.

Cameras will roll on the film in 2022 for a 2023 holiday release. Amazon will look to exploit the property across multiple ancillaries in addition to being a tentpole film.

Chris Morgan will write the screenplay and produce. Morgan has been a frequent collaborator with Seven Bucks, including Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw, The Fate of the Furious, Furious 7, Fast & Furious 6, and Fast Five. In all, Morgan has authored seven installments in the franchise, his association beginning with the third film, Tokyo Drift.

Johnson, Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia will produce on behalf of Seven Bucks Productions.

“Seven Bucks Productions is a leader in creating unique and compelling entertainment for the entire family, and we know Red One will continue that tradition,” said Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios. “Hiram’s concept and the world he’s envisioned are uniquely original and we are so excited to team with Seven Bucks Productions and Chris Morgan to help bring it to life. Red One is just the first step in what we know will be a successful, collaborative venture.”

“Hold my Mana, because this is exciting,” said Johnson. “Our Seven Bucks is very bullish on our partnership with Amazon Studios; underpinned with some innovation, some pioneering and a lot of positive energy and passion. I’ve been very impressed with Jen Salke and her team’s vision and ambition to create an enormous, fun and unique Red One holiday universe for families around the world to enjoy.”

“This partnership, a long time in the making, is exactly the way we envisioned teaming up with Jennifer and Amazon,” said Dany Garcia, co-Founder of Seven Bucks Productions. “A studio with such depth and synergy fits so seamlessly with the types of authentic, inclusive and dynamic stories we are committed to telling within our Seven Bucks’ slate. This incredible story from Hiram is special to all of us and bringing it home to Amazon, where we share tremendous vision and forward-thinking, is perfect alignment across the board.”

Red One is incredibly special to me and a story I’ve wanted to tell for years,” added Hiram Garcia. “An epic, edge-of- your seat, action adventure that takes beloved holiday mythology and turns it on its head. I’m thrilled to have our Seven Bucks team join forces with Amazon to bring this fun Holiday tale to life for a global audience.”