Jenna Ortega to Serve as Presenter at This Weekend’s SAG Awards Ceremony

Win or lose, Jenna Ortega will take the SAG Awards stage…

The Screen Actors Guild has announced the latest group of presenters for Sunday’s SAG Awards ceremony, with the 20-year-old Puerto Rican and Mexican American actress set to participate.

Jenna OrtegaOrtega is nominated in the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series category for her starring role in Netflix’s acclaimed series Wednesdaywhich has been renewed for a second season.

In addition to Ortega, the list of recently added presenters includes Jason Bateman, Jeff Bridges, Aubrey PlazaAdam Scott, Zendaya, SAG-AFTRA president Fran DrescherMatt Bomer, Ariana DeBose, Eugene Levy and Amy Poehler.

Previously announced presenters for the 29th annual ceremony include Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, Michelle Yeoh, Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Paul Dano, Gabriel LaBelle, Michelle Williams, Jessie Buckley, Claire Foy, Rooney Mara, Jovan Adepo, Diego Calva and Li Jun Li.

The SAG Awards are set for Sunday, February 28, at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. The ceremony, featuring the winners in the guild’s 15 acting categories, will stream live on Netflix’s YouTube channel.

Jared Leto Wins  AARP Movies for Grownups Awards Trophy for “House of Gucci”

Jared Leto is the Seniors’ choice…

The 20th anniversary AARP Movies for Grownups Awards have been announced, with the 50-year-old part-Spanish American actor and singer among the winners.

Jared Leto

Leto was named Best Supporting Actor for his performance in House of Gucci during the virtual ceremony, which was hosted by Alan Cumming.

Clifton Collins Jr. and his Nightmare Alley cast mates were named Best Ensemble.

The 51-year-old half-Mexican American actor portrays Funhouse Jack in the film from Guillermo del Toro. His costars in the film include Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara and Toni Collette.

“We are thrilled to share this year’s Movies for Grownups Awards honorees during our 20th anniversary special,” said Tim Appelo, AARP film and TV critic. “Even in a pandemic, creators continue to raise the bar, captivating audiences and giving us all a bit of solace during trying times. Twenty years is quite a milestone to celebrate, and we wish all our nominees and honorees a heartfelt congratulations.”

AARP’s Movies for Grownups program advocates for the 50-plus audience by fighting industry ageism and encouraging films that resonate with mature viewers.  Here are the winners of the 2021 Movies for Grownups Awards:

FILM

Best Picture
Belfast

Best Actor
Will Smith (King Richard)

Best Actress
Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos)

Best Supporting Actress
Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard)

Best Supporting Actor
Jared Leto (House of Gucci)

Best Director
Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog)

Best Screenwriter
Tony Kushner (West Side Story)

Best Intergenerational Film
CODA

Best Ensemble
Nightmare Alley

Best Time Capsule
Spencer

Best Grownup Love Story
Cyrano

Best Documentary
Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

Best Buddy Picture
Finch

Best Foreign Film
Sheep Without a Shepherd (China)

TELEVISION

Best Actress
Jean Smart (Hacks)

Best Actor
Michael Keaton (Dopesick)

Best Limited Series/TV Movie
Mare of Easttown

Best TV Series
Ted Lasso

Career Achievement Award
Lily Tomlin

First Trailer Released for Guillermo del Toro’s Remake of the 1947 Film Noir Classic “Nightmare Alley”

Guillermo del Toro is sharing his nightmare

The first teaser trailer has been released for Nightmare Alleydirected and co-written by the 56-year-old Mexican Oscar-winning filmmaker.

Guillermo del Toro

del Toro’s latest project is a star-packed remake of the 1947 film noir classic, which is based on the 1946 novel by William Lindsay Gresham.

“I am prepared to offer you folks one last chance to witness this supreme oddity…. Is it a beast — or is it a man?”

So says Willem Dafoe’s carnival barker in the trailer, which also stars Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper and two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, who take over the roles originally played by Tyrone Power and Helen Walker.

Cooper plays Stan Carlisle, an ambitious young carny who has a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words. He hooks up with a psychiatrist (Blanchett) who is even more dangerous than he is.

The big-name supporting cast includes Academy Award nominees Toni Collette, Richard Jenkins, Rooney Mara and David Straithairn, along with two-time Emmy nominee Ron Perlman.

The film co-written by Kim Morgan marks Del Toro’s first time behind the camera since 2018’s The Shape of Water, for which he won Best Picture and Best Director Oscars.

 He also produced Nightmare Alley along with his Shape of Water collaborator J. Miles Dale.

The film will open in theaters on December 17 via Searchlight.

Jennifer Lopez to Receive Spotlight Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival

Jennifer Lopezis under the spotlight

The 50-year-old Puerto Rican superstar is set to receive the Spotlight Award at the 31st annual Palm Springs International Film Festival for her performance in Hustlers. The award will be presented at the fest’s annual gala on Thursday, January 2.

Jennifer Lopez

The festival, held at the Palm Springs Convention Center, runs Jan. 2-13.

“Jennifer Lopez is a star in every sense of the word, and you will experience this in her latest film Hustlers. Starting with her show-stopping entrance Jennifer brings to life the character of Ramona, an exotic dancer, who leads a group of dancer friends to steal money from their clients,” said festival chairman Harold Matzner. “For this full-force yet grounded performance, deserving of awards consideration, we are thrilled to present Jennifer Lopez with this year’s Spotlight Award.”

Past recipients of the Spotlight Award, Actress include Amy AdamsJessica ChastainHelen HuntAllison JanneyRooney Mara and Julia Roberts

All recipients received Academy Award nominations in the year they were honored, with Janney receiving an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Lopez joins this year’s previously announced honorees Joaquin PhoenixMartin ScorseseCharlize Theron and Renée Zellweger.

From STX FilmsHustlershas earned more than $150 million worldwide at the box office to date. The film follows a crew of savvy former strip club employees who band together to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients.

Sony Pictures Moving Forward with Alvarez’s “The Girl in the Spider’s Web”

Fede Alvarez is definitely walking into a spider’s web

Sony Pictures will move forward with The Girl in the Spider’s Web, the long-in-the-works follow-up to the studio’s 2011 pic The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, with the 39-year-old Uruguayan filmmaker still on board to direct.

Fede Alvarez

Principal photography is set to begin in September with a release date scheduled for October 5, 2018.

The Don’t Breathe helmer has been aboard to direct the new pic based on the Millennium book series created by Stieg Larsson.

It will feature a whole new cast, including the role of the books’ linchpin Lisbeth Salander, played by Noomi Rapace in the original Swedish trilogy and Rooney Mara in Sony’s Dragon Tattoo directed by David Fincher.

Steven Knight, Alvarez and Jay Basu penned the script for the new movie.

The Girl in the Spider’s Web is the fourth book in the Millennium series and was written by David Lagercrantz after Larsson’s death; the fifth, also from Lagercrantz, was just launched at the London Book Fair.

Columbia Pictures president Sanford Panitch announced the new pic at the post-launch cocktail party and said Alvarez is meeting with actresses to play Salander. David Beaubaire is overseeing the project for the studio, which holds rights to the entire Millennium book series.

Columbia/Sony’s 2011 film was based on the first book in Larsson’s hot international-bestselling series centering on Salander, a tough-as-nails hacker with a steel-trap mind and a heart of gold. It was nominated for five Oscars including for Mara as Best Actress and won one for Editing. The film made $232.6 million worldwide, but a planned sequel never materialized.

Larsson died suddenly in 2004 before the books were published.

“I’m hugely excited and grateful for this opportunity,” Alvarez said in the announcement. “Sony has become family to me, and I can’t think of a more thrilling project to celebrate our relationship. Lisbeth Salander is the kind of character any director dreams of bringing to life. We’ve got a great script and now comes the most fun part — finding our Lisbeth.”

Sheen Cast in Warren Beatty’s Untitled Howard Hughes Project

Martin Sheen is preparing for a Hughes role…

The 73-year-old half-Spanish actor has signed on to appear in Warren Beatty’s untitled Howard Hughes project.

Martin Sheen

Despite being old friends, this is the first time Sheen and Beatty have worked together on a project.

No word yet on who Sheen, who will next star opposite Rooney Mara in Stephen Daldry’s Trash, will portray  for director Beatty, who will portray Howard Hughes.

The story centers on Hughes’ assistant (portrayed by Alden Ehrenreich) and his love interest (Lily Collins).

The film will also star Beatty’s wife Annette Bening and Matthew Broderick.

Sheen, who portaryed Uncle Ben in The Amazing Spider-Man, recently completed the low-budget children’s film The Boxcar Children, based on the beloved book of the same name.

Sheen also has a recurring role on his son Charlie’s FX series, Anger Management.

Sheen to Star in the Near-Future Mystery Film “Trash”

Martin Sheen has landed a trashy new project…

The 72-year-old half-Spanish actor and former West Wing star, who was born Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez, has been cast opposite Side Effects’ actress Rooney Mara in the mystery film Trash.

Martin Sheen

Based on Andy Mulligan‘s young adult novel, the film centers on three homeless boys living in an intentionally ambiguous “third world” country in the near future who discover something in a trash heap worth protecting.

Filming is expected to begin in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil next month.

Mara will portray an NGO worker and Sheen is set to play Father Julliard. Rickson Teves, Eduardo Luis and Gabriel Weinstein will make their film debuts as the three boys.

The HoursStephen Daldry is set to direct the project, which was adapted for the screen by Richard Curtis.