ABC Renews Ramón Rodríguez’s Drama Series “Will Trent” for Third Season

Posted on April 3, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Ramón Rodríguez’s latest project Will continue…

ABC has renewed drama series Will Trent, starring the 44-year-old Puerto Rican actor, for a third season.

Based on Karin Slaughter’s New York Times bestselling Will Trent books, the series follows the titular special agent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation who was abandoned at birth and endured a harsh coming-of-age in Atlanta’s overwhelmed foster care system. Now, Will uses his unique point of view to pursue justice and has the highest clearance rate in the GBI.

Will Trent also stars Erika Christensen as Angie Polaski, Iantha Richardson as Faith Mitchell, Jake McLaughlin as Michael Ormewood and Sonja Sohn as Amanda Wagner.

Liz Heldens, Dan Thomsen, Slaughter, Oly Obst and Howard Deutch executive produce. Rodriguez serves as co-executive producer on Season 2.

The pilot episode was written by Heldens and Thomsen, and directed and executive produced by Paul McGuigan. The series is produced by 20th Television, a part of Disney Television Studios.

The show’s renewal isn’t surprising, given the series’ ratings success.

Season-to-date, Will Trent is a top performer across both linear and streaming, and is gaining ratings momentum among adults across all platforms, up each week since its second-season premiere on February 20.

The sophomore drama recently reached its highest rated episode ever on March 5, delivering 9.02 million total viewers in seven-day metrics. Since Season 1, the show has reached nearly 70 million total viewers across platforms.

Will Trent received an early Season 2 renewal last year on the heels of Season 1’s promising performance. The series led the ABC freshman pack as the No. 1 new drama in total viewers (9.9 million) and adults 18-49 (1.65 rating) after 35 days of viewing across linear and digital platforms.

Will Trent airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC.

Taylor Zakhar Perez Signs with Paradigm

Posted on March 26, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Taylor Zakhar Perez has new representation…

The 32-year-old part-Mexican American actor and breakout star of Amazon’s hit rom-com Red, White & Royal Blue, has signed with Paradigm for representation.

In the film from director Matthew Lopez, which adapts the New York Times bestselling novel from Casey McQuiston, Perez plays Alex Claremont-Diaz, son of the American President (Uma Thurman), whose feud with a British prince (Nicholas Galitzine) threatens to drive a wedge in U.S./British relations. Subsequently, the pair are forced into a staged truce that sparks something deeper.

Produced by Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schecter, the film premiered in August 2023 and became the No. 1 movie globally on Prime Video in its premiere weekend, remaining the platform’s most-watched film worldwide for the first three weeks after its release.

Touted by Amazon as spurring “a huge surge in new Prime membership signups,” the film is also now among Prime Video’s top three most-watched romantic comedies of all time.

Previously, Perez caught attention when he joined Netflix’s hugely popular YA film series The Kissing Booth, based on the novels by Beth Reekles, for its second and third installments. Additionally, he was featured in the first season of Max’s critically acclaimed series Minx, opposite Ophelia Lovibond, as well as Buzzfeed Studios’ 1UP, available on Prime Video.

He was recently named a SAG Awards Ambassador for the 30th annual SAG Awards, an appointment given to actors exemplifying the utmost values of the profession,

Cameron Diaz In Talks to Star in Apple Original Films’ Dark Comedy “Outcome”

Posted on March 5, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Cameron Diaz is looking at all possible outcomes…

The 51-year-old Cuban American actress is in final talks to co-star opposite Keanu Reeves in Apple Original Films’ dark comedy Outcome.

Jonah Hill will direct and star in the film.

Co-written by Hill and Ezra Woods, Outcome follows Reef (Reeves), a damaged Hollywood star who must dive into the dark depths of his past to confront his demons and make amends after he is extorted with a mysterious video clip.

An Apple Studios production, the film will be produced by Matt Dines, Ali Goodwin and Hill under their Strong Baby banner.

The film marks the latest collaboration for Hill and Apple Original Films; they are also developing a Grateful Dead biopic with Martin Scorsese’s Sikelia Productions, to be directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. Hill is starring and producing under Strong Baby with Dines and Goodwin.

After taking a long break from acting, Diaz, known for her roles in such hits as Bad Teacher, The Mask and There’s Something About Mary, is making a strong return, starring this year in the Netflix action comedy Back in Action opposite Jamie Foxx.

Outcome will mark her first role since Sony’s Annie in 2014.

Since then, Diaz has still been busy on other fronts when she added author to her list of accomplishments with the 2014 publication of the New York Times bestseller The Body Book: The Law of Hunger, the Science of Strength, and Other Ways to Love Your Amazing Body, followed by The Longevity Book: The Science of Aging, the Biology of Strength, and the Privilege of Time in 2017.

In 2020, Cameron and serial entrepreneur Katherine Power launched Avaline, a collection of organically farmed wines.

Felix Solis to Appear in the New York Dramedy “The Friend”

Posted on February 29, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Felix Solis is making a new friend…

The 52-year-old Puerto Rican actor, director and producer has landed a supporting role in The Friend, the New York dramedy starring Naomi Watts and Bill Murray.

No word yet on what role Solis will be playing.

The project is an adaptation of Sigrid Nunez’s New York Times bestseller.

Winner of the 2018 National Book Award for Fiction, The Friend follows a New York writer in the aftermath of her lifelong friend and mentor’s unexpected death. Thereafter, she’s left to deal with his complicated literary legacy, three eccentric ex-wives — and a massive, brokenhearted Great Dane named Apollo.

Scott McGehee and David Siegel are directing from their own script, also producing through their new company Big Creek Projects, with Sarah Pidgeon, Constance Wu, Ann Dowd and Noma Dumezweni rounding out the cast.

Best known for his role as the terrifying cartel boss Omar Navarro on Netflix’s Ozark, Solis has more recently been seen playing the FBI’s Matthew Garza on The Rookie and The Rookie: Feds.

Previously, he’s appeared on shows like City on Fire, Charmed and The Good Wife, among others. Film credits include Netflix’s Tallulah and the Richard Gere drama Arbitrage.

José Andrés Launching New Half-Hour Special “Dinner Party Diaries with José Andrés”

Posted on February 10, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Chef José Andrés is inviting some special guests for dinner…

The 54-year-old Spanish James Beard Award-winning chef, television personality, humanitarian and philanthropist is launching a new half-hour special, Dinner Party Diaries with José Andrés, coming to Prime Video on March 19, 2024.

The Prime Video and Amazon Freevee collaboration celebrates the joy of cooking together and how food is a source of hope, inspired by Andrés’ work with the non-profit he founded in 2010, World Central Kitchen.

Andrés will host Jamie Lee Curtis, Bryan Cranston and O’Shea Jackson Jr. to join him in the kitchen, getting their hands dirty with approachable Spanish-influenced recipes while sharing stories that inspire them. Beyond cooking and conversation, the Chef will give viewers important takeaways to apply in their own homes while embracing imperfection and spontaneity in the kitchen.

Dinner Party Diaries with José Andrés is executive produced by José Andrés, Richard Wolffe, Matthew Goldberg, Ellen Rocamora, Max Wagner, Ryan Schiavo, and Michael Antinoro. The series is from Amazon MGM Studios.

Andrés is an internationally recognized humanitarian, culinary innovator, New York Times bestselling author, educator, Emmy award-winning television personality and owner of the award-winning José Andrés Group, which operates nearly 40 restaurants in the US and beyond.

In 2010, Andrés founded World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit organization that is first to the frontlines, providing meals in response to humanitarian, climate and community crises. His work has earned awards and distinctions including the 2015 National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama, the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association of Culinary Professionals and the Princess of Asturias Foundation’s 2021 Concordia Prize for his humanitarian work.

In 2023, Andrés founded the Global Food Institute at George Washington University in Washington DC, and he currently serves as the Co-Chair of President Biden’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition. As a naturalized citizen originally from Spain, Andrés has been an advocate for immigration reform.

Isabela Ferrer to Star in Film Adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s Bestselling Novel “It Ends With Us”

Posted on January 16, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

It’s the beginning of the Ends for Isabela Ferrer.

The Irish-Puerto Rican actress has joined he cast of Wayfarer Studios and Sony Pictures’ film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel It Ends With Us alongside Alex Neustaedter.

Ferrer and Neistaedter will play Young Lily and Young Atlas, respectively.

The film stars Blake Lively as Lily, Justin Baldoni as Ryle and Brandon Sklenar as Atlas, with Baldoni directing. Jenny Slate and Hasan Minhaj are also starring.

The film follows Lily Bloom, who though coming from a complicated past has always known the life she wants. While living in Boston, she meets neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid and believes she may very well have found her soulmate. Soon, however, questions arise about their relationship, and to complicate matters her high school love interest, Atlas Corrigan, comes back into the picture, putting her relationship with Ryle in jeopardy.

Sony Pictures is releasing the film theatrically on June 21, 2024, with Alex Saks producing for Saks Picture Company along with Jamey Heath on behalf of Wayfarer.

Christy Hall has penned the current screenplay and is also producing.

After becoming a “BookTok” cultural phenomenon with more than 3.8 billion views on her TikTok hashtag, Hoover is currently the bestselling novelist in the U.S. with more than 20 million books sold; she wrote five of the top 10 bestselling print books of any genre in 2022.

Published in 43 foreign languages, It Ends With Us was the top-selling print book of 2022 and has been on the New York Times Best Seller List for more than 90 weeks.

In 2019, Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios optioned rights for the big screen and have been working with the author who is consulting on the film.

Ferrer is a recent graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, and the film marks her first for a major studio.

Diego Luna & Gael García Bernal to Executive Produce “The Boys” Offshoot, “The Boys: Mexico”

Posted on November 28, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal are bringing the boys south of the border…

The 43-year-old Mexican actor, director and producer and the 44-year-old Mexican Golden Globe-winning actor and producer will executive produce and possibly appear in acting roles in The Boys: Mexico, a new series offshoot of The Boys from Blue Beetle writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer.

Details regarding the premise of the series are being kept under wraps.

A search is currently underway for a co-showrunner to join creator, writer and executive producer Dunnet-Alcocer, who is now working on the script.

The team behind The Boys: Mexico, which will be shot in the Latin American country, is working on budgets for the new series and they have yet to begin casting, sources said.

The Mexico-set offshoot comes from the main creative auspices behind the other series in The Boys franchise, the mothership’s developer Eric Kripke and his Kripke Enterprises, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s Point Grey Pictures, Neil H. Moritz’s Original Film, Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios. Loreli Alba is expected to oversee for Point Grey.

The Boys, based on the New York Times best-selling comic by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, shares a fun and irreverent take on what happens when superheroes—who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians, and as revered as gods—abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. Intent on stopping the corrupt superheroes, The Boys, a group of vigilantes, continue their heroic quest to expose the truth about The Seven and Vought—the multibillion-dollar conglomerate that manages the superheroes and covers up their dirty secrets. It’s the seemingly powerless against the super-powerful.

Following the breakout success of The Boys, which is headed to Season 4, two spinoff series were released in 2023: the animated The Boys Presents: Diabolical, which premiered in March, and the college-set spinoff Gen V, which recently concluded its first season and has been renewed for Season 2.

The Boys: Mexico is the latest project hailing from rising star Dunnet-Alcocer, who penned the screenplay for the Warner Bros. Pictures/DC Studios superhero feature film, Blue Beetle. Most recently, he wrote the screenplay for Sony’s El Muerto from director Jonás Cuarón. The Queretaro, Mexico native also wrote and executive produced Miss Bala in 2019. Additionally, Dunnet-Alcocer is attached as screenwriter of the Universal Pictures’ reimagination of Scarface.

Luna and García Bernal are veteran actors whose careers exploded following their collaboration in the hit 2001 Spanish-language feature Y Tu Mamá También directed by Alfonso Cuarón. They have reunited multiple times since then including in Rudo y Cursi (2008) and Casa de Mi Padre (2012).

Most recently Luna joined the Star Wars universe in the Disney+ TV series Andor, a prequel to Star Wars: Rogue One.

García Bernal most recently starred in the Amazon bio-drama Cassandro portraying the titular gay wrestler born Saúl Armendáriz.

The longtime friends and collaborators became producing partners in 2018 under their La Corriente del Golfo banner. Recent projects they produced include the aforementioned Cassandro and the series Pan y Circo hosted by Luna, both for Amazon.

Gato Grande Options Ana Reyes’ “The House in the Pines” for Television Development

Posted on November 18, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Ana Reyes’ acclaimed work is getting the Hollywood treatment…

Gato Grande, an Amazon MGM Studios company, has optioned the rights to the Latina New York Times bestselling author’s novel The House in the Pines, for television development.

The psychological thriller centers on a woman, who armed with only hazy memories, long ago witnessed her friend’s sudden death and has since spent her life trying to forget, sets out to track down answers. What she uncovers, deep in the woods, is hardly to be believed.

The House in the Pines was on the New York Times Bestseller list for over two months, and was a pick for Reese’s Book Club when it was published in January 2023.

Forbes magazine named it one of the top five bestselling fiction titles of the first half of 2023.

The House in the Pines is Reyes’ debut novel. She has a Master of Fine Arts from Louisiana State University and teaches creative writing.

Gato Grande, an Amazon MGM Studios company, is a bi-cultural production company in Los Angeles and Mexico City focused on developing premium content that elevates Latino voices for mainstream markets.

Gato Grande mines unique stories, talent, and IP from across cultures with the expertise needed to sell in Latin America and the U.S.

The House in the Pines paperback will be released on December 5, 2023.

Marc Anthony Receives Humanitarian Award from Fashion Group International

Posted on October 19, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Marc Anthony is Fashion Group International’s humanitarian of the year…

During the organization’s “Night of Stars” at The Plaza Hotel in New York City, the 55-year-old Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, actor and philanthropist received the Humanitarian Award from his friend of 30 years Narciso Rodriguez.

Wearing his signature shades, Anthony was honored for his foundation Maestro Cares, which has helped more than 10,000 children in 13 countries with orphanages, counseling, scholarships and other education-driven programs.

He vowed that as of next year he and his foundation would entrust a scholarship program for the next generation of designers. That will be set up through a partnership with Fashion Group International (FGI).

Acknowledging how every person in the room has a team of people behind them, Anthony said, “They’re not nameless to us. They’re faceless to the world. We can stand up here and accept such an honor, but there are so many people behind us,” he said. “Appreciate those people who made us, who we are, right? On behalf of everyone who has made my life what it is today, I want to thank you. And I want to urge everybody here that is as privileged as I am to wake up and thank them.”

Meanwhile, fashion critic Cathy Horyn handed the Fashion Stars Award to Proenza Schouler’s Lazaro Hernandez, who praised her respected and educated opinion before mentioning the “simple, but brutal” New York Times headline for their second show: “Proenza Schouler Separates in Search of a Collection.”

Explaining that Horyn was right, Hernandez said, “You knew we were better than that even before we knew it ourselves.” Still going strong 20 years later with cofounder Jack McCollough, he thanked Horyn for her honesty and willingness to talk through big ideas season after season, “has made us better designers, more nuanced and mature.”

Other honorees included Whoopi Goldberg, who received the American Icon Award; Dennis Basso, the Lifetime Achievement Award winner; and Antoine Phillips, the Agent of Change Award.

Isabela Merced to Star in 20th Century’s New “Alien” Movie

Posted on March 2, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Isabela Merced has landed an out of this world role…

The 21-year-old half-Peruvian American actress and singer will star opposite Cailee Spaeny in 20th Century’s new Alien movie.

Fede Alvarez is directing with Scott Free producing the film.

Not much is known about the film other than the iconic ferocious race of alien beings called Xenomorphs will be front and center, again reigning terror against the humans that cross their paths.

Merced recently starred as Juliet in the feature film Rosaline, 20th Century’s revisionist Romeo & Juliet tale opposite Kaitlyn Dever, streaming now on Hulu.

She can be seen next as the lead in New Line’s Turtles All the Way Down, the upcoming film adaptation of John Green’s New York Times best-selling novel for HBOMax.

She is also set to star alongside Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney in Sony Pictures’ Madame Web, based on the Marvel comics.

Merced most recently appeared in Warner Bros.’ remake of Father of the Bride with Andy Garcia and Gloria Estefan. She also starred in the Netflix original thriller motion picture Sweet Girl opposite Jason Momoa and was the voice of Lucky Prescott in DreamWorks Animation’s Spirit Untamed.

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