Leguizamo’s Film “Fugly!” to Be Released This Summer

Things are about to get Fugly! for John Leguizamo at the box office…

The 48-year-old Colombia-born comedian/actor’s autobiographical film Fugly! will be released in the United States this summer through 108 Media, according to IndieWire.com.

John Leguizamo

The film is an adaptation of the two-time Tony nominee’s one-man Broadway show Ghetto Klown, which traces Leguizamo’s journey from a young aspiring actor in New York City to his extensive Hollywood career in films like Carlito’s Way, Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge! and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.

Fugly! co-stars Rosie Perez, Radha Mitchell, Griffin Dunne, Yul Vasquez, Tomas Milian and Ally Sheedy.

John Leguizamo III
Ghetto Klown, which opened on Broadway in March 2011, closed in July 10 after 95 performances. The production earned Leguizamo a Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Solo Performance. The show then moved in to play in Los Angeles in September 2011, before moving to London’s Charing Cross Theatre the following month.

The news of Fugly!’s release comes on the heels of the announcement that ABC has placed a pilot order for a television sitcom based on Leguizamo’s life.

Mars Wows Viewers as Host & Musical Guest on SNL

It’s been said that, “You only get one chance to make a first impression.” If that’s the case, Bruno Mars has proven he’s got comedic chops to match his singing abilities.

In his second appearance on Saturday Night Live this weekend, the 26-year-old part-Puerto Rican Grammy-winning singer-songwriter did more than serve as the musical guest. He also hosted NBC’s long-running sketch comedy for the first time ever.

Bruno Mars

From Mars’ opening monologue to his final sketch, Mars’ appearance proved to be quite an entertaining affair and helped give NBC its highest ratings for an episode of Saturday Night Live since Lindsay Lohan hosted in March.

Mars, sans hat, broke into song partway through his opening monologue in a song that focused on his first-time-hosting nerves, singing “Can I put aside my fears? Can I be like Timberlake?” He closed the song with “Please be gentle,” then gave viewers his best pouty face.

Mars’ first sketch, which centered on a talk show called Haters with Sunny Taylor Tomkins, centered on a mother-daughter duo and featured Mars in his best To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar! impersonation. Playing a 17-year-old unemployed high school dropout named Crystal, Mars stole the sketch with dialogue.

“You’re just jealous ‘cause I’m young and I got a debit card and I know where to party,” declared Mars in character. “Ya’ll just mad ‘cause you ain’t got this. You ain’t got this. Quit hating alright, ‘cause Jesus made me perfect!”

Moments later, Mars appeared in the most memorable sketches of the night, as an intern at the Pandora Internet Radio Headquarters.

When Pandora suffers a power outage and the Green Day channel comes thisclose to going out, Mars’ geeky intern character Devon is called upon to impersonate Billie Joe Armstrong during one of the songs, which he does masterfully. He then impersonates Aerosmith‘s Steven Tyler, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Louis Armstrong and Michael Jackson.

And in the most poignant segment, a SNL Digital Short entitled Sad Mouse, Mars played a lonely guy who lands a job wearing a mouse suit in Times Square. His girlfriend had just dumped him and his dad had just left him for his other family, so he was worried what he’d do if people ignored him. “What if they don’t wave back?” he tearfully asked his new employer.

Mars wanders around in the mouse suit, desperately looking for love to no avail. Mars then pulls out the letter from his dad (Dear son, this is our other family) before finally connecting with a hula-skirted frog at the end.

In addition to his sketches, Mars took to the stage to perform two of this new singles. Mars first performed “Locked Out of Heaven” and later returned to sing his new ballad “Young Girls.” Both songs will appear on his upcoming album Unorthodox Jukebox.

Leguizamo Opens Up About His 27-Year Career…

He’s conquered the entertainment world and captured the hearts of millions through his work in television and films, as well as Broadway. And, now John Leguizamo is speaking out his longtime career.

As part of MTV’s Pioneers Speaker Series, the 47-year-old Colombian actor/comedian spoke with MTV News about his successful 27-year career, including his efforts to push boundaries, speak his mind and never take no for an answer.

John Leguizamo

 

Leguizamo opened up about one of his most popular roles as Chi-Chi in the cult classic To Wong Fu, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. It’s a gender-bending role that he committed to 100-percent.

“I just went all out. I wanted awards and sh–, so I wasn’t playing,” he joked about his motivations for taking on the character. “I was going to take no prisoners. I was on a vegetarian no-protein [diet], so all my muscles would disappear. I stopped training; I would just run like crazy.”

But he also did his research to perfect his role as a, to quote the film, “little Latin boy in drag.”

“We went to all the drag queen clubs, like Escuelita, which used to exist here [in New York City], with all the Latin drag queens, and we had a godmother drag queen who would put us through the paces every day,” recalled Leguizamo of his dramatic transformation with co-stars Patrick Swayze and Wesley Snipes. “We worked every day for hours and hours every
day until we could get it perfectly drag queen-like.”

In addition, Leguizamo opened up about being Latino in Hollywood and how it affected his decisions.

“You’ve got to be thoughtful about your career. When you’re a minority — and I don’t really even like that word anymore because we’re not as minority as we used to be — you have to think
about what you’re saying and what you’re leaving behind. When I was a little kid, we didn’t see [ourselves] on TV or anywhere. It was weird because you didn’t feel like you were a part of the American fiber,” he recalled. “Latin people, we have a 45 to 50 percent dropout rate in this country, and I understand that. It’s a tragedy and shouldn’t be happening, but you understand it. You don’t feel connected in that positive way that your people and you are going to make it, and ‘this is your chance and this is your opportunity,’ no, you feel like you’re not really a part of it.”

That’s why Leguizamo decided to just go for it when it came to pursuing his dreams… And, he recommends you do the same.

“You have to crash into the party even if you’re not invited,” he said, indicating that those who have dreams of “making it” have to carve out their own career paths. “I was going to be that
guy, I didn’t care I wasn’t invited.’I’m coming into the party, I’m going to be somebody and you can’t stop me.'”