Leto to Appear at This Year’s Hollywood Film Awards

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Jared Leto is Hollywood bound…

The 42-year-old actor, singer-songwriter and director will make an appearance at the Hollywood Film Awards.

Leto, who won an Oscar last year for his critically acclaimed performance in Dallas Buyers Club, be joined by Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, Steve Carell, Laura Dern, Jennifer Lopez, Mike Myers, Robert Pattinson, Eddie Redmayne, Chris Rock and Hilary Swank at the annual awards ceremony, held at the Hollywood Palladium on Friday, November 14, from 8:00 to 10:00 pm ET and broadcast on CBS. Queen Latifah will host the 17th annual gala.

Previously announced attendees include Amy Adams, Gerard Butler, Benedict Cumberbatch, Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, Jonah Hill, Keira Knightley, Michael Keaton, Julianne Moore, Jack O’Connell, Chris Pratt, Kristen Stewart, Channing Tatum, Jean-Marc Vallée, Reese Witherspoon and Shailene Woodley.

A half-hour red carpet show will kick off the evening at 7:30 pm ET. Following the two-hour awards show, a one-hour aftershow with interviews and highlights from the evening, hosted by CBS This Morning‘s Charlie Rose, Norah O’Donnell and Gayle King, starts at 10:00 pm.

The Hollywood Film Awards is produced by Dick Clark Productions.

Salazar to Star Opposite Shailene Woodley and Theo James in the “Divergent” Sequel “Insurgent”

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

It looks like Rosa Salazar has ties to insurgent groups…

The Canadian-born Latina actress, best known for her role on NBC’s drama series Parenthood, has joined the science fictionaction film Insurgent, based on the novel of the same name by Veronica Roth.

Salazar will portray Lynn in the sequel to the Divergent and the second installment in the Divergent film series.

Summit’s follow-up to the blockbuster hitsees the return of Shailene Woodley and Theo James as citizens in a world where people are divided into factions based on certain values.

Robert Schwentke is directing the sequel — currently shooting in Atlanta — from a script by Brian Duffield and Akiva Goldsman.

The sequel, set for release March 20, 2015, sees most of the cast returning, including Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Kate Winslet, Jai Courtney and Zoe Kravitz. Among new additions are Octavia Spencer, who will play Johanna, Suki Waterhouse, Naomi Watts, Daniel Dae Kim and Jonny Weston.

The story follows Tris (Woodley) and Four (James), now fugitives on the run, who must find out what Tris’ family sacrificed their lives to protect, and why the Erudite leaders will do anything to stop them.

Lynn is one of the Dauntless-born initiates, and, in Veronica Roth‘s books, she’s described as beautiful and sporting a shaved head. She’s good friends with Uriah and Marlene (Waterhouse) in the books.

The first film based on Roth’s popular YA series, Divergent, opened in March, going on to earn $267 million worldwide.

In addition to Parenthood, Salazar also appeared on the first season of American Horror Story.

Her film credits include voicing a character in Epic and appearing in the 2014 film Jamesy Boy. She’ll next be seen in the upcoming films Search Party, Night Owls, Submerged and May the Best Man Win.

Beatriz and Her “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” Team to Serve as Celebrity Judges on Bravo’s “Top Chef Duels”

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Stephanie Beatriz is about to get served…

The Argentinean actress and her Brooklyn Nine-Nine co-stars are slated to appear on Top Chef Duels, another Top Chefseries from Bravo.

Top Chef Duels pits 18 of the best and most talked-about personalities frompast seasons of Top Chef and Top Chef Masters for a “battle royale” in the kitchen.

The 10-episode Top Chef Duels, hosted by celebrity chef Curtis Stone, will premiere on Wednesday, August 6, at 10:00 pm ET, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Stone will serve on the judges’ table withGail Simmons, with chefs like Wolfgang Puck and Hugh Acheson rounding out the panel on a rotating basis.

Beatriz and her Brooklyn Nine-Nine team (Andy Samberg, Melissa Fumero, Chelsea Peretti and co-creator Dan Goor) will serve as celebrity guests for one episode.

Other celebrity guests this season include Shailene Woodley, Pink, Scott Ian Rosenfeld, Gary Holt, Rob Zombie and the Grey’s Anatomy gang (James Pickens Jr., Sarah Drew, Camilla Luddington, Jerrika Hinton and Kevin McKidd).

As the title suggests, Top Chef Duels will have two chefs facing off in three rounds of head-to-head battles, with the competitors picking “mini duels,” targeting the other’s perceived weaknesses. The third challenge then decides who moves on to compete in the season finale, which will crown the sole winner of the $100,000 grand prize and a Food and Winefeature.

Bravo is also borrowing from its Top Chef online companion series Last Chance Kitchen, which pits eliminated contestants against each other for a chance to compete in the finale, with the Top Chef Duel equivalent: The Knockout, hosted by Puck.The same essential rules apply, though there is one twist. Unlike Last Chance Kitchen, a chef only needs one battle win to quality for a place in The Knockout online finals, though the more wins a chef has, the better their chances are in earning the sole return spot on the show.

Krause to Star in “White Rabbit”

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Nick Krause is preparing to go down the rabbit hole…

The 20-year-old part-Mexican actor, who had a break-out role in Alexander Payne’s Oscar-winning drama The Descendants, is set to star in the indie film White Rabbit.

Described as a dark drama with fantasy elements, White Rabbit tells the story of a bullied, high school teen, to be played by Krause, who starts having visions of a rabbit that he killed when he was nine years old. The rabbit, along with other imaginary characters, turn menacing in the hopes of pushing him over the edge and luring him into one last fatal act of revenge.

Tim McKann is directing the film, which will begin shooting in New Orleans in July.

Krause won rave reviews for playing the dim-witted but affable Sid—the boyfriend of Shailene Woodley—in The Descendants. One of the film’s most memorable scenes involved Krause getting punched in the face by Robert Forster.

Ramirez to Star on The Secret Life of the American Teenager

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Cierra Ramirez is about to help shine a spotlight on the life of the American teenager…

The 16-year-old actress, who will be turning 17 tomorrow (March 9), has joined the cast of ABC Family’s drama series The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

Ramirez—who will star opposite Eva Mendes in the feature film Girl in Progress— will play Kathy, a new freshman who Amy (Shailene Woodley) has been asked to mentor. Kathy, who is six-months pregnant, lives with her grandmother.

Ramirez has previously starred on the Disney Channel’s The Suite Life Of Zach And Cody, as well as guest-starred on CSI: Miami and Desperate Housewives.

She’s currently filming her first episode of Secret Life, which is the series’ 100th.

Bichir’s Got “Spirit”…

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Tom Castaneda

Demián Bichir is reaping the recognition after starring in critically acclaimed film about an East L.A. illegal immigrant gardener.

The 48-year-old Mexican actor has received a Spirit Award nomination in the Best Male Lead category for his star-making role in A Better Life, a poignant film about a father’s love and the lengths he’ll go to give his child the opportunities he never had.

Bichir—who depicted Fidel Castro in Steven Soderbergh’s Che and had a recurring role on Showtime’s Weeds—will face off against Hollywood heavyweights Ryan Gosling (Drive) and Woody Harrelson (Rampart), as well as Jean Dujardin (The Artist) and Michael Shannon (Take Shelter).

But Bichir isn’t the only Hispanic actor getting some Spirit love…

Transgender actress Harmony Santana has received a Best Supporting Female nomination for playing Michael/Vanessa in the coming out drama Gun Hill Road, the same role that landed her a Gotham Award nomination for Breakthrough Actor. She’s up against Jessica Chastain (Take Shelter),  Anjelica Huston (50/50), Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs) and Shailene Woodley (The Descendants).

With five nods each, The Artist and Take Shelter lead this year’s nominations for the Spirit Awards, which honor films made outside of the Hollywood studio system.

Winners will be announced at the 27th annual Spirit Awards daytime ceremony on Saturday, February 25 that will be broadcast later in the evening on the IFC channel.

The Spirit Awards are produced by Film Independent—the non-profit arts organization that also puts on the Los Angeles Film Festival.

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

Tag Archives: Shailene Woodley