Pedro Pascal in Final Negotiations to Star in Paramount’s Untitled “Gladiator” Sequel

Posted on May 1, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Pedro Pascal is ready to Rome…

The 48-year-old Chilean actor is thisclose to joining the cast of the untitled Gladiator sequel for Paramount.

Pascal would join Paul Mescal, who will star as Lucius, as well as Barry Keoghan, Joseph Quinn, Connie Nielsen and Denzel Washington.

Ridley Scott is returning to direct.

Pascal’s role is unknown.

The new film follows the 2000 blockbuster Gladiator, which earned more than $460 million in worldwide box office and was nominated for 12 Oscars, winning five including Best Picture.

The role of Maximus, the Roman general-turned-gladiator, was a career-changer for Russell Crowe, not only delivering him the Best Actor Oscar but also launching him to the top of every leading-man list. Once it was made clear last year that the sequel would be Scott’s next movie, every male actor in town that fit the profile began chasing the part.

David Scarpa penned the script.

Also returning from the original film are John Mathieson (director of photography), Arthur Max (production designer) and Janty Yates (costume designer).

Paramount Pictures has dated the film for November 22, 2024.

The first film was co-production between Universal and DreamWorks, and while DreamWorks will not be involved in the sequel, Universal has the right to partner again when the project is packaged.

Pascal has been a major player following his scene-stealing role in his one season on Game of Thrones, but his star has blasted off following The Last of Us, which has become one of the most popular shows in HBO’s history. While HBO is looking to get the show up and going next year, Pascal had been weighing a number of options to shoot before jumping back in to that and the opportunity on this film was too hard to pass up.

Besides The Last of Us, which will certainly have him in award season chatter this Emmy season, he also reprised his role on the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, which just had its Season 3 finale last week.

Pascal can next be seen starring alongside Ethan Hawke in Pedro Almodovar’s short film Strange Way of Life, which will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and will be distributed by Sony Pictures Classics this fall.

Additionally, Pascal is in Ethan Coen’s film Drive-Away Dolls, distributed by Focus Features and releasing in September. Pascal also stars in Anna Boden’s Freaky Tales, which is likely to come out later this year.

He also hosted Saturday Night Live earlier this year, earning rave reviews, and is also in contention for some Emmy love this awards season.

Andy Garcia Returning for “Book Club 2 – The Next Chapter”

Posted on May 31, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Andy Garcia is heading back to book club…

The 66-year-old Cuban actor will star opposite Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Mary Steenburgen, Don Johnson and Craig T. Nelson in Book Club 2, which has entered production in Italy.

Garcia and his cast mates will reprise their roles from the original film, Book Club, with Giancarlo Giannini, Hugh Quarshie and Vincent Riotta joining the sequel as new cast members.

The original 2018 film followed four lifelong friends—played by Keaton, Fonda, Bergen and Steenburgen—whose lives were forever changed after reading 50 Shades of Grey in their monthly book club. Paramount Pictures released it in May of 2018 and saw it gross upwards of $104M worldwide against its $14M budget.

The sequel will follow our four best friends as they take their book club to Italy for the fun girls trip they never had. When things go off the rails and secrets are revealed, their relaxing vacation turns into a once-in-a-lifetime cross-country adventure.

Bill Holderman has returned as director, having once again penned the script with Erin Simms.

Endeavor Content is financing and producing Book Club 2 – The Next Chapter, with Holderman and Simms also aboard as producers.

Focus Features will distribute the film in the U.S., with Universal Pictures International distributing it internationally.

Garcia will next star in Father of the Bride.

Luis Gerardo Méndez Signs with United Talent Agency (UTA)

Posted on March 24, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Luis Gerardo Méndez has new representation…

United Talent Agency (UTA) has signed the 40-year-old Mexican actor and producer, one of Mexico’s biggest stars, for representation in all areas.

Méndez is an actor, writer and producer best known for exec producing and starring in Netflix’s first Spanish-language original comedy series, Club de Cuervos.

He most recently appeared in the third season of Netflix’s Narcos: Mexico, as well as in Los Enviados for Paramount+, where he’s currently under a first-look producing deal for Spanish-language projects.

Méndez will next be seen in a starring role in the Netflix limited series, Belascoaran, and in Netflix’s Me Time, with Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg, which is slated to premiere later this year.

He will soon begin filming the Peacock limited series, The Resort, which was written and will be directed by Andy Siara.

The actor made his entrance into the U.S. feature marketplace opposite Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston in the Netflix original film Murder Mystery, which was the streamer’s most-watched original feature at the time of its release.

He was also previously seen in Sony’s Charlie’s Angels opposite Kristen Stewart, and executive produced and starred in Half Brothers for Universal and Focus Features, with that project marking his first English-speaking starring role.

In Mexico, he has starred in several successful features, including Cantinflas and Nosotros Los Nobles, the latter of which is the second most successful film of all time at the Mexican box office.

In addition to his television and feature roles, the actor has also appeared in the Mexico City stage play Privacidad, which he produced alongside Diego Luna, and starred in several international campaigns for global companies such as Verizon, Pepsi and Toyota.

Jared Leto to Serve as Presenter at This Year’s SAG Awards

Posted on February 24, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Jared Leto will bring some Italian stylings to this year’s Screen Actors Guild Awards.

The 50-year-old part-Spanish American actor and singer is among the celebrities who’ll introduce clips from their respective movies at the SAG Awards.

Leto and Lady Gaga will introduce their acclaimed film House of Gucci.

Other castmembers from the five nominated film ensembles will be Caitríona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Jude Hill and Ciarán Hinds from Focus Features’ Belfast; Daniel Durant, Emilia Jones, Troy Kotsur and Marlee Matlin from Apple TV+’s CODA; Cate Blanchett, Leonardo DiCaprio and Tyler Perry from Netflix’s Don’t Look Up; Lady Gaga and Leto from MGM/UA’s film; and Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton and Will Smith from Warner Bros.’ King Richard.

The 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards will take place on Sunday, February 27, and will be simulcast on TNT and TBS from Barker Hangar in Santa Monica.

The show will also, for the first time, be available the following day on HBO Max.

The announcement comes on the heels of news that Hamilton stars Lin-Manuel Miranda, Daveed Diggs and Leslie Odom Jr. will open the ceremony.

Kate Winslet will present the 57th SAG Life Achievement Award to five-time SAG Award and Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren. Additional show presenters include Alexandra Daddario, Rosario Dawson, Ross Butler and Vanessa Hudgens, with more to be announced soon.

In addition to their nominations for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture, King Richard‘s Smith and House of Gucci‘s Lady Gaga earned nominations for their leading roles, while Belfast‘s Balfe, CODA‘s Kotsur and House of Gucci‘s Leto were nominated in the supporting categories. Don’t Look Up‘s Blanchett also earned a supporting nom for her role in Fox Searchlight’s Nightmare Alley.

Cheech Marin to Star in the Bobby Farrelly-Directed Film “Champions”

Posted on January 31, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Cheech Marin is a champion…

The 75-year-old Mexican American actor will lead Champions, a recently-wrapped film that Bobby Farrelly directed for Focus Features and Gold Circle Entertainment.

Marin stars alongside Woody Harrelson, Kaitlin Olson and Matt Cook.

Champions is based on the Goya Award winning Spanish film Campeones, which Universal Pictures International released in 2018.

It centers on a stubborn and hotheaded minor league basketball coach who is forced to coach a Special Olympics team when he is sentenced to community service.

Actors with intellectual disabilities rounding out the cast to ensure authenticity in the storytelling include Madison Tevlin, Joshua Felder, Kevin Iannucci, Ashton Gunning, Matthew Von Der Ahe, Tom Sinclair, James Day Keith, Alex Hintz, Casey Metcalfe, Bradley Edens and Champ Pederson.

Mark Rizzo penned the script.

Focus Features will distribute the film domestically, with Universal Pictures handling its international release.

Marin is an actor and comedian who broke out in the ’70s, alongside Tommy Chong, as one half of the comedy duo Cheech & Chong. He’s appeared in such films as Machete, Planet Terror, Grindhouse, Tin Cup, From Dusk Till Dawn, Desperado, Ghostbusters II, Born in East L.A., After Hours and Up in Smoke, along with series including Elena of Avalor, Lodge 49 and Jane the Virgin.

Focus Features Releases Official Trailer for Anya Taylor-Joy’s Psychological Thriller “Last Night In Soho”

Posted on September 9, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

It’s all about last night for Anya Taylor-Joy…

Focus Features has released the official trailer for Last Night In Soho, starring the 25-year-old Argentine actress, ahead of a planned October 29 release in theaters.

Edgar Wright’s psychological thriller just had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

Written by Wright and Krysty Wilson-Cairns, Last Night In Soho stars Thomasin McKenzie as Eloise, an aspiring fashion designer who is somehow able to enter the 1960s where she encounters a dazzling wannabe singer, Sandie (Taylor-Joy). But the glamour is not all it appears to be and the dreams of the past start to crack and splinter into something far darker.

Matt Smith, Terence Stamp, Diana Rigg, Rita Tushingham, Michael Ajao and Synnøve Karlsen also star in the filc, which is produced by Nira Park, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Laura Richardson and Wright.

Wright took to Twitter ahead of the film’s Lido world premiere on Saturday to plead with the gala crowd not to spoil the movie for others, writing that the cast and crew “would love to ask you, our first viewers, to keep the secrets within so that others can discover them later. When writing about the film, we’d love everyone who sees it to discover the story along with Eloise. So, please, if you can, keep the experience intact for future audiences so that what happens in ‘Last Night in Soho,’ stays in Soho….”

He said: “In ‘Last Night in Soho,’ our heroine Eloise goes on a journey. First from the country to the city, and then to another time. I would love the audience to go on that journey too when the film opens on October 29th. We purposely pushed the film back to this autumn date, not just so that it can hopefully be enjoyed on the biggest screen possible, but also so the nights would be longer and the audience could go in cold… literally.

Florencia Lozano to Appear in Netflix’s Drama Series “Breathe”

Posted on July 26, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Florencia Lozano is breathe-ing easy…

The 51-year-old Latina actress, best known for portraying Téa Delgado on ABC’s daytime series One Life to Live, has landed a recurring role in Breathe, Netflix’s one-hour drama series from Blindspot creator Martin Gero and writer-executive producer Brendan Gall, and Warner Bros. Television.

Lozano will recur alongside 40-year-old Colombian actor Juan Pablo Espinosa on the series, which stars Melissa Barrera.

In Breathe, written by Gero and Gall, when a small plane crashes in the middle of the Canadian wilderness, a lone woman (Barrera) must battle the elements and odds to survive. Barrera’s Liv is a razor-sharp Manhattan attorney who finds herself profoundly out of her comfort zone when her plane crashes and she must battle for survival.

Lozano and Espinosa will play Liv’s mother and father, respectively.

Lozano co-wrote and stars in Life After You, which was awarded Best Feature and Best Actress at the Nice International Film Festival. She will next be seen in the feature Here After. Her previous television credits include the starring role of Claudia Messina on Netflix’s Narcos, as well as Madam Secretary, The Blacklist, Blue Bloods, Law & Order: SVU, among others.

Espinosa most recently starred in Focus Features’ comedy Half Brothers. His other recent credits include Apple TV’s Acapulco, Cocaine Godmother opposite Catherine Zeta Jones, and a recurring role as Luis Carlos Galán on Netflix’s Narcos. In Latin America, he’s known for his work on El Secretario, A Corazon Abierto and La Fan with NBC/Telemundo, among others.

Anya Taylor-Joy in Talks to Star in the Dark Comedy “The Menu”

Posted on June 8, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Anya Taylor-Joy is perusing the menu…

Following her award-winning role on Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit, the 25-year-old Argentine-British actress is in talks to star in Searchlight’s dark comedy The Menu.

Taylor-Joy would star opposite Ralph Fiennes. Mark Mylod, who has played a major part in the success of HBO’s Succession, will direct.

The film is a darkly comedic psychological thriller set in the world of eccentric culinary culture, centering on a young couple who visit an exclusive restaurant on a remote island where an acclaimed chef has prepared a lavish tasting menu. Taylor-Joy will play one half of the couple. Fiennes is playing the chef.

Will Tracy and Seth Reiss penned the script.

After her breakout role in Robert Eggers’ The Witch, Taylor-Joy has been rising through the ranks and was handpicked to star in the M. Night Shyamalan thriller Split and its sequel Glass.

She became one of the big winners of 2021 when her Netflix limited series Queen’s Gambit, about a chess prodigy in the 1960s, became one of the streamers biggest hits of 2020. She was also recently seen in the Focus Features film Emma.

She has a busy 2021 ahead of her with starring roles in the Viking drama The Northman, the untitled David O. Russell film and Edgar Wright’s Last Night In Soho. She was also tapped to star in the Mad Max spinoff Furiosa in the title role.

Focus Features Releases Trailer for Anya Taylor-Joy’s Psychological Thriller “Last Night in Soho”

Posted on May 26, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Anya Taylor-Joy is preparing for her last night…

The first trailer has been released for Edgar Wright’s psychological thriller Last Night in Soho, starring the 25-year-old Argentine-British actress.

Focus Features will release the film on October 22.

The film stars Taylor-Joy, Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie, Matt Smith, Terence Stamp and Diana Rigg in a story set in 1960s Soho, London.

It follows a young girl (McKenzie), passionate in fashion design, who is mysteriously able to travel back in time where she encounters her idol, a dazzling wannabe singer (Taylor-Joy), but her journey isn’t without consequences.

Last Night in Soho originally was due to debut in September before being disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, it was then scheduled for April 23 before being pushed back again.

Universal is handling the international release. The film had been tipped for a Cannes Film Festival premiere, but there’s no confirmation yet on whether it could turn up at the French festival, which announces its lineup next week.

William Morris Endeavor (WME) Signs Gina Rodriguez & Her Production Company

Posted on March 1, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a new endeavor for Gina Rodriguez…

William Morris Endeavor (WME) has signed the 36-year-old Puerto Rican actress and her production company I Can and I Will Productions, run by Molly Breeskin, in all areas.

The Golden Globe-winning former Jane the Virgin star was previously at Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

Rodriguez played the title role in the CW series Jane the Virgin for 100 episodes, winning a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a TV Series Musical or Comedy in 2015.

Rodriguez recently starred in the Focus Features title Kajillionaire opposite Evan Rachel Wood and Richard Jenkins. The Miranda July directed feature made its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

Rodriguez’s upcoming projects include the Netflix film Awake and the miniseries Lost Ollie for the streamer.

She has starred in Sony/Screen Gems’ Miss Bala and the Netflix feature Someone Great, a film in which she also served as a producer.

Her voice can be heard in the title role of Netflix’s Carmen Sandiego, and she also had starring voiceovers in Twentieth Century Fox/Blue Sky’s Ferdinand, Warner Brothers’ Smallfoot and Scoob, and Sony’s The Star.

In addition to her acting career, the native Chicagoan and NYU Tisch School alum is a driving force for inclusion and the empowerment of women in all ways, particularly in the entertainment industry. This passion led her to create her production company, I Can and I Will Productions, with a mission directly reflecting her commitment to create art and tell stories from those who are traditionally unseen and unheard.

The company has finished its second season of Diary of a Future President where Rodriguez directed, produced, and performed as the future president.

With her family, she established the We Will Foundation, which aims to uplift and champion underprivileged youth through arts, education, scholarship funding, and financial literacy.

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