Eva Longoria Starring in Dark Comedy “Dead Guy”

Eva Longoria is playing a game of hot potato

The 48-year-old Mexican American actress/producer/director is starring in writer-director Courtney J. Camerota’s first feature, the dark comedy Dead Guy.

Eva LongoriaThe film, which recently wrapped production, was shot under a SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement.

In addition to Longoria, the film also stars Michael Shannon, Judy GreerLuis Guzman, Amaury Nolasco, Rory Culkin and Curtis Armstrong.

Dead Guy‘s plot is set into motion when an abrasive old man suddenly dies in the apartment of a neighbor. An absurd game of hot potato then begins with the not-so-dearly departed, as neighbors and building workers each pass the body along, in the hopes of not being linked to the old man’s demise.

Said Camerota, “I wrote this script years ago and to finally see it come to life is a dream come true. The opportunity to work with such an incredible cast, crew and producing team for my directorial debut has been an absolute honor. I can’t wait for the world to see Dead Guy.”

Producer Zac Adams stated that “as both a filmmaker and movie lover, the main goal is to always create films that are not only of the highest quality, but films that are enjoyable. With the world being as dark as it’s been the past few years, I hope our film helps spread some much needed light. It was an absolute honor and privilege in helping Courtney’s vision come to life.”

Michael Trevino Among Voice Actors for Fictionz’ Upcoming Dramas

It’s a thing of fiction(z) for Michael Trevino.

Fictionz, a female-centric narrative podcast subscription app, is launching in mid-October with dramas featuring the 36-year-old Mexican American actor and others.

Michael Trevino

In addition to Trevino, his Roswell: New Mexico co-star Jeanine Mason will also voice content alongside the likes of Judy Greer, Max Greenfield, Meghan Rienks, Bahni Turpin, Sierra Swartz, Kylie Sparks, Adam J. Harrington.

Musicians Kori Withers, Sofia Toufa and Chester See will also participate in the projects.

Run by former Untitled Entertainment and Relativity Media exec Kendall Rhodes of Paraluman Media and finance partner Greg Lawrance of Ready Go Ventures, the company is adapting short stories and originals into narrative audio stories that put diverse female protagonists at the forefront. The dramas are predominantly written by female authors and directed by women.

Releasing a new series every two weeks, the first seasons of each series will run between three to seven episodes and anywhere from five to 12 minutes per episode. All content will be available on the Fictionz platform.

The initial October launch includes four series: So, You Want to Be a Honeypot? by sci-fi author Kelly Robson (A Human Stain), Farrina by Brazilian writer Cidinha da Silva (Sobre-viventes!),  and Don’t Feed the Bums by Lisa Brackmann (Getaway).

It also includes a Fictionz Original, The Break Up Diet, a comedy series written and directed by Meredith Littas (Escape) and executive-produced by David DeSantos (Animal Kingdom) of Cottonwood Production. The Break Up Diet tells a relatable COVID-19-era story and stars Greer.

Mason will portray a millennial version of Else in a modern retelling of feminist classic The Yellow Wallpaper.

“Collaborating with the Fictionz team on The Breakup Diet, one of the initial launch series, has been an exciting adventure. Bringing Meredith Littas’ brilliant and timely script to life through audio recording and then direct to audiences through the new platform, is providing listeners with a new way of listening to content, unlike other podcasts,” said Archer and Ant-Man star Greer.

The Yellow Wallpaper is one of my favorite short stories and I loved working with TonyV and Cottonwood to retell this as a horror audio series for Fictionz,” added Mason.

“We started Fictionz as a fresh new audio platform that puts female voices and diverse stories at the forefront,” explained Kendall Rhodes, Fictionz co-founder.

“From the outset, we are committed to delivering great short stories with the option to expand them into more seasons with new writers and directors. Working closely with these creatives, Fictionz invests in the underlying intellectual property and engages with writers on adaptation into audio stories. There are an exuberant number of fascinating stories that are ready to be turned into entertaining audio content for listeners on the go, and Fictionz was created as the app to make them easily available and ad-free to our target audience.”

Al Madrigal to Star in Disney’s “Stargirl” Sequel

Al Madrigal has a new Star-ring role…

The 49-year-old half-Mexican American actor will star in the Julia Hart-directed Disney feature sequel to Stargirl.

Al Madrigal 

Madrigal, best known for his work as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, joins a roster of cast newcomers that includes Sarayu Blue, Chris Williams and Nija Okoro.

Stargirl 2 follows Grace VanderWaal’s title protagonist as she journeys out of Mica into a bigger world of music, dreams and possibility.

The script is based on the original character from Jerry Spinelli’s bestselling book. VanderWaal will write and perform new original music for the sequel.

Hart co-wrote with her husband Jordan Horowitz.

The four new actors join a cast that includes Uma Thurman (Roxanne Martell, a musician who Stargirl idolizes), Judy Greer (Stargirl’s mom), Judd Hirsch (Stargirl’s neighbor Mr. Mitchell), Elijah Richardson (Stargirl’s beau Evan) and Tyrel Jackson Williams (Terrell, Evan’s older brother).

Madrigal will play Iggy, the MC at a local music club. Blue will play Alex, an up-and-coming film producer.

Madrigal feature credits include The Way Back, Night Schoolthe upcoming Marvel/Sony movie Morbius and the television series I’m Dying Up HereAbout a Boy, Free Agents and Gary Unmarried.

Rosario Dawson to Star in Apple TV+’s Genre-Bending Auditory Adaptation of Canal+’s “Calls”

Rosario Dawson is placing some calls

Apple TV+ announced the cast, which includes the 41-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban American actress and activist, and set the premiere date for its genre-bending auditory adaptation of Canal PlusCalls.

Rosario Dawson

In addition to Dawson, the stars featured in the first season of the nine-part drama, include Nick JonasPedro Pascal, Lily Collins, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Aubrey Plaza are among the stars featuring in the first season of the nine-part drama.

Launching on Friday, March 19, the show uses audio and minimal abstract visuals to tell nine short-form stories. Each episode follows a dark mystery that unfolds through a series of seemingly average, unconnected phone calls that quickly become surreal as the characters face growingly unsettling experiences.

Based on a French series created by Timothée Hochet, it is directed by Fede Álvarez, who directed 2013’s Evil Dead feature and 2016’s horror film Don’t Breathe.

Nicholas Braun, Clancy Brown, Mark Duplass, Karen Gillan, Judy Greer, Paul Walter Hauser, Danny Huston, Riley Keough, Joey King, Stephen Lang, Jaeden Martell, Paola Nuñez, Edi Patterson, Danny Pudi, Ben Schwartz and Jennifer Tilly also appear in the first season.

Calls was the streamer’s first international series order back in June 2018 and it also marks its first global co-production – a tie up with French pay-TV broadcaster Canal+. Apple will launch the series, which is produced with Studiocanal and Bad Hombre, in 100 countries, while Canal+ will premiere a French-language version in a number of markets.

Apple will launch the series in a number of Spanish-speaking Latin America markets as Llamadas with Spanish-language custom graphics.

Trailer Released for John Leguizamo’s Family Comedy “Playing with Fire”

John Leguizamois playing with fire

Paramount has released the first trailer for Playing with Fire, the upcoming family comedy starring the 54-year-old Colombian actor and stand-up comedian, John CenaKeegan-Michael Keyand Tyler Mane

John Leguizamo

Leguizamo and team play firefighters who rescue three children and, unable to locate the siblings’ parents, become inadvertent and unlikely babysitters.

Directed by Andy Fickmanfrom a screenplay by Dan Ewenand Matthew Lieberman(story by Ewan), Playing with Fire is a Paramount Picturesand Paramount Playerspresentation, in association with Walden Mediaof a Broken Roadproduction.

John Leguizamo Playing with Fire

In addition to Leguizamo, Cena, Key, and Mane, the film’s cast also includes – as the children – Brianna HildebrandChristian Converyand Finley Rose Slateras well as Dennis Haybertand Judy Greer.

Paramount will release Playing with Fire in theaters on November 8. 

Osorio to Star in Fox’s Untitled Comedy Pilot with Judy Greer

Veronica Osorio is seeing Greer

The half-Venezuelan actress has been cast as a series regular opposite Judy Greer in Fox’s untitled Laurel Steinel comedy pilot (aka HR).

Veronica Osorio

The project, from 20th Century Fox Television, centers around Jane (Greer), the over-used and under-appreciated head of H.R. for a plastic molding plant, who is caught between trying to manage her charmingly incompetent human resources department and a new eccentric CEO who dreams of bringing the New Jersey plastics plant into the future.

Osorio will play Tanya, a real Jersey girl. She started as Jane’s (Greer) assistant but worked her way up to payroll and severances.

Osorio most recently starred in Hail, Caesar!

Beatriz to Perform at Young Storytellers Foundation Fundraiser

Stephanie Beatriz is ready for something big…

The 34-year-old half-Colombia/half-Bolivian actress is among the thespians who’ve signed up to perform at the Young Storytellers Foundation’s 12th annual The Biggest Show fundraiser.

Stephanie Beatriz

Taking place on October 24 at New Roads School in Santa Monica, California, The Biggest Show event takes selected screenplays from throughout the previous school year for a staging that also serves as the organization’s biggest annual fundraiser.

The non-profit Young Storytellers group sends volunteers into dozens of Los Angeles-area public elementary schools to work with fifth grade students on developing short screenplays.

Over the course of eight weeks, the students learn the basics of crafting a dramatic narrative by working one on one with mentors, many of them industry writers. At the end of the program, each student’s screenplay is brought to life at an evening event for family and friends with a group of volunteer actors.

In addition to Beatriz, one of the stars of Fox’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the cast for this year’s The Biggest Show will also feature Keegan-Michael Key, Max Greenfield, Jack Black, Judy Greer, Tom Lennon and Jason Mantzoukas.

Brothers Randy and Jason Sklar will serve as hosts.

Young Storytellers Foundation was formed in 1997 by a group of film students that included future Glee and American Horror Story co-creator Brad Falchuk.

Beatriz’s credits include television appearances on The Closer, Modern Family, Southland, Jessie and Hello Ladies.

Consuelos to Star in Katie Holmes’ Directorial Debut “All We Had”

Mark Consuelos is Vic-torious…

The 44-year-old half-Mexican actor has joined the cast of All We Had, the directorial debut of Katie Holmes.

Mark Consuelos

Consuelos, best known for his role as Mateo Santos on All My Children, will portray “Vic.”

Stefania Owen, Luke Wilson, Richard Kind and Judy Greer also star in the film about a young mother and her teenage daughter who relocate to a small midwestern town during the height of the worldwide economic crisis in hopes of making a better life.

Josh Boone and Jill Killington wrote the script, based on the novel by Annie Weatherwax.

Consuelos currently stars in Amazon’s political comedy series Alpha House.

His other credits include Guys with Kids, The New Normal, American Horror Story: Asylum and Ugly Betty.

Ochoa to Lead the Voice Cast of Disney-Pixar’s “The Good Dinosaur”

Raymond Ochoa has earned a Dino-mite gig…

Disney-Pixar has unveiled the all-new  cast of The Good Dinosaur, with the 13-year-old Latino actor voicing the character of Arlo, an Apatosaurus who is separated from his family when he falls into a raging river and is swept hundreds of miles away.

Raymond Ochoa

He comes across Spot (Jack Bright), a human cave-boy orphan with whom he forms a bond as he attempts to get home.

The new cast also includes Jeffrey Wright as Arlo’s dad, Poppa; Steve Zahn as a pterodactyl named Thunderclap; AJ Buckley as Nash, a T-rex; Anna Paquin as Ramsey the T-rex; Sam Elliott as a tough T-rex named Butch and Marcus Scribner as Arlo’s brother Buck.

The Good Dinosaur

The long-in-the-works animated film will hit theaters Thanksgiving week.

Originally set for release in summer 2014, the film has seen a number of obstacles since its original voice cast was unveiled at Disney’s D23 in August 2013. Raising Hope’s Lucas Neff was set as Arlo, with John Lithgow as Poppa, Frances McDormand as Momma and Bill Hader, Judy Greer and Neil Patrick Harris as Arlo’s siblings.

But just five weeks later, Disney announced that it had pushed Good Dinosaur back a year and a half as rookie feature director Pete Sohn stepped in for the departed Bob Peterson.

Ochoa, the younger brother of actor Ryan Ochoa, is best known for his roles in 10 Items or Less, Merry Christmas and Drake and Josh.

Plaza to Star Opposite Zac Efron & Robert De Niro in “Dirty Grandpa”

Aubrey Plaza is about to get dirty…

The 30-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/comedian has joined the cast of Lionsgate’s road trip comedy Dirty Grandpa.

Aubrey Plaza

The Parks and Recreation star will star opposite Zac Efron and Robert De Niro in the film about an uptight twenty-something (Efron) who embarks on a road trip before his wedding to bond with his recently widowed grandfather (De Niro) only to find that his grandpa is a foul-mouthed lunatic on a mission to get laid during Spring Break.

Plaza will portray Lenore, a savvy, beguiling party girl looking for fun on Spring Break.

Dan Mazer (Da Ali G Show) is directing from a screenplay by John Phillips.

Lionsgate has already slated the film for an August 12, 2016 release.

Plaza returns to NBC television this month for the seventh and final season of Parks and Recreation. Her film credits include Safety Not Guaranteed, The To Do List, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Funny People, and Damsels In Distress.

She next appears in Hal Hartley’s Ned Rifle and in A Driftless Area with John Hawkes. She also stars with Natasha Lyonne and Judy Greer in Jamie Babbit’s indie comedy Fresno.