Tag Archives: Pedro Sanchez

Efren Ramirez to Reunite with “Napoleon Dynamite” Cast Mates for Animated Pilot “Cyko KO”

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Efren Ramirez is readying for an iconic reunion…

The 48-year-old Salvadoran American actor and DJ, best known for playing Pedro Sánchez in the 2004 indie film Napoleon Dynamite, will reunite with his old co-workers for a new project.

Efren Ramirez

Ramirez and his fellow stars of the cult classic indie comedy will star in an animated pilot released through blockchain technology.

Ramirez, Jon Heder, Tina Majorino and Jon Gries have all signed on to voice characters in Cyko KO, which is based on Rob Feldman’s Ringo Award-nominated comic book of the same name. Heder, who played a nerdy and lovable high school student title character in 2004 comedy hit Napoleon Dynamite, has been cast in the lead role as the titular Cyko KO.

The character is billed as a “fourth-wall breakin’, pinball-addicted, cereal eatin’, motorcycle-ridin’ hero.” The series will follow him, sidekick Peachy Keen and their pet Meemop, as he protects the colonies of SuperEarth from giant monsters and crazy characters “in this Saturday morning cartoon-inspired, all-ages title.”

A 12-minute pilot will launch exclusively on blockchain tech firm Replay’s Rewarded.TV web3 streaming service, using revenue from an NFT collection from Theta Labs’ ThetaDrop to fund, produce and distribute the project.

The NFTs will unlock the show and other film titles and series, with viewers of Rewarded.TV titles earning Replay’s native RPLAY tokens by watching films, series and live TV through a proprietary watch-to-earn ecosystem. Cyko KO‘s NFTs will also offer additional perks, such as the chance to meet the cast of the show or cameo in the pilot.

The drop date for the Cyko KO Star Cards NFT is 12pm PT Friday (September 30).

Creator Feldman will be showrunner through his Earworm Media operation. Rocketship Entertainment, which he founded in 2019 with Tom Akel, is co-producing alongside Replay and Verified Labs, a Web3 production studio that counts Heder among its founder members.

“The dream has always been to bring Cyko KO to the world of animation, and to do so through bleeding edge technology,” said Feldman. “Between this incredible cast reunion and our partners at Theta, Replay, and Verified Labs, we are going to create something incredibly special for the fans who have supported Cyko and his friends for the past seven years.”

“We’re thrilled to be working with Replay and Rob on this drop,” said Kyle Laffey, Head of Partnerships at Theta Network. “Theta continues to build out our video technology and these NFTs are a perfect use case of how we can enable media and entertainment to enter Web 3. It’s only a matter of time before we see more media brands take this route and experiment with entire new business models for funding and distribution. Replay’s platform and Rob’s content are a natural pairing as early pioneers in this space.”

Goya Awards Nominees Announcement, Led by Ana Belen, Delayed Due to Spanish Snowstorm

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Mother Nature is delaying Ana Belén’s big reveal…

The announcement of Spain’s 2021 Goya Awards nominations, led by the 69-year-old Spanish actress, has been rescheduled for next Monday, January 18 due to heavy snow in the country’s capital.

Ana Belen

The initial plan was for Belén and actor Dani Rovira to announce the Premios Goya nominees this morning, accompanied by the president of Spain’s Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences, Mariano Barroso.

But the country’s extreme weather, which has caused widespread disruption, has led to Spanish Academy to delay the nominations for Spain’s version of the Academy Awards by a week.

Storm Filomena has blanketed parts of the country in snow, in particular the capital of Madrid, which saw up to 20 centimeteres in the last 24 hours, closing much of the city. At least three people have died in the adverse conditions, which is Spain’s heaviest snowfall for 50 years.

The Film Academy issued a notice that it had received official recommendation not to go ahead with the event.

The 35th Goyas ceremony is due to take place on March 6, 2021, with Spanish star Antonio Banderas hosting.

The snowfall began on Friday night, January 8, closing roads and leaving people stranded on the motorways around Madrid. The city’s airport was also closed, and all trains cancelled to and from the capital.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez issued a notice for people to stay home, while King Felipe and Queen Letizia posted a similar message on Twitter urging “extreme caution.”