Mariah Carey Releases New Merchandise for the Holiday Season

Posted on November 2, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Mariah Carey says it’s time to get into the holiday spirit…

The 54-year-old half-Afro-Venezuelan Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, the self-proclaimed Queen of Christmas, has officially declared the start of the holiday season, and she’s celebrating with some new merchandise.

Carey took to social media on this week to share a photo of her 12-year-old twins, daughter Monroe and son Moroccan, whom she affectionately calls “dem babies,” posing in Carey’s new t-shirt.

The white shirt feature a photo of the “All I Want for Christmas Is You” singer in a festive outfit, with “It’s Time!” written across the top.

The shirt is now available to purchase for $35 on Amazon here.

At the stroke of midnight on November 1, Carey bid farewell to the Halloween season and hello to the holidays with an annual seasonal kick-off video. The singer posted an elaborate 35-second video of a frozen vault with a red countdown clock above it that reads “November 1 12:00.” The vault opens to reveal a number of Carey’s assistants dressed in in a variety of scary masks using hair dryers to help Carey defrost from the block of ice.

Carey ultimately cracks open the ice by belting out “It’s time!” in her signature whistle note and emerges from the frost in a red and white Santa-style costume.

Monroe and Moroccan also joined in on the video’s festivities and dance around with their mother as Carey’s iconic holiday hit, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” officially blasts out for the first time this season.

Carey is slated to hit the road for her 13-date Merry Christmas One and All! tour on Nov. 15 in Highland, CA and ride her sleigh across North American until a December 17 gig at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Get your 𝓘𝓽’𝓼 𝓣𝓲𝓶𝓮 t-shirt ❄️🎄❄️ https://t.co/OSRrS8vIpS pic.twitter.com/zdBFBXWzyZ

— Mariah Carey (@MariahCarey) November 1, 2023

Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias to Star on Season Two of Disney+’s “The Santa Clauses”

Posted on February 27, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a case of clause and effect for Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias.

The 46-year-old Mexican American comedian/actor is joining the cast of Disney+‘s The Santa Clauses as a series regular.

Iglesias will play Kris Kringle, the owner and operator of a Christmas-themed amusement park called Santaland. Sweet, happy, and perpetually-optimistic, Kris is a warm, generous soul who is determined to keep his struggling theme park afloat. However, his belief in Santa and love for all things Christmas may not be enough.

In the second season, the Calvin family is back in the North Pole as Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) continues his role as Santa Claus after retirement plans were thwarted when failing to find a worthy successor in season one. Now that Scott and his family have successfully saved Christmas, Scott turns his focus towards training his son Calvin to eventually take over the family business as Santa Claus.

Also returning as series regulars in season two are Elizabeth Mitchell as Mrs. Claus/Carol, Elizabeth Allen-Dick as Sandra Calvin Claus, Austin Kane as Cal Calvin Claus, and Devin Bright as Santa’s elf bestie Noel. Matilda Lawler will reprise her role of Santa’s chief of staff, Betty, as a recurring guest star.

Additional guest stars include newcomer Marta Kessler as Olga, a surly, take-no-prisoners gnome who is a sidekick to Magnus Antas (Eric Stonestreet), aka The Mad Santa; along with returning guest stars Liam Kyle as Gary, Isabella Bennett as Edie, Sasha Knight as Crouton, Ruby Jay as Riley, Mia Lynn Bangunan as Pontoon, and Laura San Giacomo as La Befana, the Christmas Witch.

Jack Burditt will continue as executive producer and showrunner, while Kevin Hench, Richard Baker and Rick Messina will serve as executive producers along with Jason Winer and Jon Radler for Small Dog Picture Company.

The Disney Branded Television series is produced by 20th Television.

Iglesias recently became the second highest grossing touring comedian and is one of the most watched comedians on YouTube with over 1.1 billion views and over 25 million fans on social media.

His acting credits include Mr. Iglesias, Magic Mike and Magic Mike XXL, A Haunted House and Smurfs: The Lost Village.

Howie Dorough & Fellow Backstreet Boys Release Claymation Video for “Christmas in New York”

Posted on December 6, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Everything’s a-oclay for Howie Dorough…

The 49-year-old half-Puerto Rican singer and his fellow Backstreet Boys have released a new music video for their holiday track “Christmas in New York.”

The sweet and sentimental visual sees the quintet — Nick Carter, Dorough, AJ McLean, Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson — passionately singing the holiday track while their claymation counterparts explore a twinkling New York City during Christmas time.

The claymation dolls of the boy group witness and participate in classic scenes.

One features a dressed up Santa with an elf at his side ringing a bells and asking for donations with a big red bucket. The dolls head down to the TV-decorated intersection of Times Square, take a horse-drawn carriage ride in Central Park, view the holiday windows at Macy’s 34th street and go ice-skating in Rockefeller Center.

“All the elves are busy/ On Macy’s eighth floor/ It’s good to know there is still a miracle on 34th/ But what I love the most/ Is holding you this close/ This is what they made the Season for/ Oh, spending Christmas in/ Oh, another Christmas in/ Oh, yes, another Christmas in New York,” Littrell closes out the song with the rest of the members.

“Christmas in New York” hails from the boy band’s A Very Backstreet Christmas. The LP — which marked the group’s first collection of yuletide songs and its first studio effort in three years — was released on October 14 via BMG. The set charted at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 following its release.

In addition to “Christmas in New York,” other holiday tracks like “White Christmas,” “Silent Night,” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” are included on the album.

“Christmas in New York” is one of three original Christmas songs on the album; the others are titled “Together” and “Happy Days.”

Eddie Cibrian to Star in ESX Entertainment’s Holiday-Themed Film “A Christmas Mystery”

Posted on August 25, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Eddie Cibrian is bringing a little mystery to the holiday season…

The 49-year-old Cuban American actor will star in ESX Entertainment’s holiday-themed film A Christmas Mystery.

From producers Ali Afshar, Daniel Aspromonte and Ava Rettke, the film will be directed by Alex Ranarivelo.

The film’s logline: 100 years ago, a strip of Santa’s magical jingle bells were discovered by a young boy in Pleasant Bay, Oregon, bringing about a century of prosperity and peace for the small town. Now, just days before Christmas, the bells are missing, and it’s up to a group of intrepid kids to solve the case, find the bells and restore the Christmas magic.

In addition to Cibrian, the cast also includes Violet McGraw, Christoph Sanders, Drew Powell, Lauren Lindsey Donzis, Santino Barnard and Leonardo Cecchi, along with with Beau Bridges and Oscar Nuñez.

HBO Max will release A Christmas Mystery on November 24.

Gabriela Revilla Lugo to Pen Mattel’s Live-Action Family Drama “Christmas Balloon”

Posted on December 27, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Gabriela Revilla Lugo is blowing up in Hollywood…

The 39-year-old Nicaraguan film director, producer and writer is teaming up with Mattel to develop the live-action family drama Christmas Balloon.

Revilla Lugo will write the script based on a true story.

The film follows a young girl, Dáyami, living in a Mexican border town who tries to send her Christmas list to Santa tied to a balloon. The balloon is found by Randy and Marcella Heiss, a couple in Arizona grieving the loss of their own child, who make it their mission to fulfill the girl’s touching Christmas wishes.

Mattel worked with the couple and donated toys to fulfill Dáyami’s wish towards a brighter future.

“Much like Dáyami’s balloon itself, the journey of this touching story and Mattel’s direct role in fulfilling her real-life wishes made it a must-do for us,” said Kevin McKeon, VP of Mattel Films. “We were immediately struck by this little girl’s spirit and the story’s positive message. We also knew there was no one better to tell her story with passion and sensitivity than Gabriela. We are proud to work with her, along with Vital Pictures, to bring this touching family drama to audiences around the world.”

McKeon and Ivan Sanchez, Creative Executive are overseeing the project for Mattel Films. Chris Lemos and Luis Guerrero of Vital Pictures are producing.

“Randy and Marcella’s story exemplifies the holiday spirit and shows the miraculous way small acts of kindness can change lives, bring families together, and inspire entire communities on both sides of the border. We can’t think of better partners than Mattel and Gabriela to bring this wonderful true story to audiences everywhere,” said Lemos on behalf of Vital Pictures.

“I am honored to bring Dáyami’s journey to life in a time when it’s clear we all need to believe in hope and magic,” Revilla Lugo said.

Writer/producer Revilla Lugo is best known for executive producing Hulu/Neon’s Palm Springs and the Netflix movie The Starling, starring Melissa McCarthy.

AppleTV+ Releases First Trailer for “Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special”

Posted on November 27, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Mariah Carey is bringing the Magic this holiday season…

AppleTV+ has release the trailer and key art for the half-Venezuelan American Grammy-winning singer’s Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special, which will start streaming on December 4.

The show will feature Carey, the unofficial Queen of Christmas, with Tiffany Haddish, Billy Eichner, Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Snoop Dogg, Jermaine Dupri, Misty Copeland and Mykal-Michelle Harris, as well as Carey’s 9-year-old twins, son Moroccan and daughter Monroe.

The special finds the world faced with a holiday cheer crisis, which the North Pole knows only one person can solve: Santa’s great friend, Mariah Carey. Combining musical performances, dancing and animation, the show finds Carey saving the day.

The soundtrack single and new music video for “Oh Santa!,” co-written by and featuring Carey performing with Grande and Hudson, will be distributed by Sony Music and released on Apple Music and other streaming platforms December 4.

The companion soundtrack to the special will include Snoop Dogg and Jermaine Dupri as additional musical guests, in addition to a new version of “Sleigh Ride.” The soundtrack will be available exclusively on Apple Music on December 4, and all other platforms December 11.

The Apple TV+ subscription service is available on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, iPod touch, Mac, select Samsung, LG, Sony, and VIZIO smart TVs, Amazon Fire TV and Roku devices, PlayStation and Xbox consoles, and at tv.apple.com.

Carey is the bestselling female artist of all time, with more than 200 million albums sold to date and 19 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles (18 self-penned), more than any solo artist in history. She recently published her memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, which debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list.

Tatyana Ali to Star in Lifetime’s Holiday Movie “Secret Santa”

Posted on August 29, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Tatyana Ali is getting into the Christmas spirit…

The 38-year-old half-Afro-Panamanian American actress and former The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star will star in the recently greenlit Lifetime holiday movie Secret Santa (working title).

Ali will star opposite Mindy Sterling, Dan Lauria and Brendan Fehr in the two-hour original movie, which is currently shooting in Salt Lake City, Utah for a premiere this winter.

The plot: Christmas is Hillary Nash’s (Ali) least favorite time of year. As the Senior Financial Analyst at the upscale Hudson Valley Outdoor Mall, she has to be the annual Christmas Grinch and cancel the leases of under-performing stores by the end of the year. One afternoon, her 8-year-old niece Molly, asks the mall Santa to help find a boyfriend for her beloved aunt. Unbeknownst to Molly, and Hillary, the mall Santa is just a substitute filling in and is actually Ryan McCue (Fehr), a lawyer-turned-artist who is decorating the mall for Christmas and trying to find his way after quitting his job and losing his fiancee. As Hillary and Ryan begin to fall for each other, they each don’t realize the other’s true identity: Hillary who is tasked with closing a failing gift wrap shop run by Ryan’s Aunt Patty and Ryan who is too ashamed to tell Hillary that he is the acting mall Santa.

The cast also includes Kim Fields and Jasmine Guy.

Sterling plays cheery Agnes, who along with her husband, played by Dan Lauria, run the mall cookie store, bringing a combination of sweetness, advice and answers to all.

Ali’s recent credits include television

A Scantily Clad Rivera Gets in the Holiday Spirit…

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

She performed “Santa Baby” on Glee last Christmas… But this year Naya Rivera is more like a Santa babe…

The 25-year-old half-Puerto Rican singer/actress set tongues wagging when she slipped into an oh-so-revealing red velvet number and posed suggestively for a photo she’d later post on Twitter.

“Hahahaha this is hysterical. Christmas FUN!!!” Rivera wrote along with the revealing picture.

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