Sanchez Earns World Soundtrack Awards Nomination for “Birdman”

He’s already the Critics’ Choice… But Antonio Sanchez may soon be the expert’s choice

The 43-year-old Mexican jazz drummer has been recognized by the World Soundtrack Academy with a nomination for this year’s World Soundtrack Awards.

Antonio Sanchez

Sanchez, who won his first-ever CriticsChoice Movie Award from the Broadcast Film Critics Association in January, is nominated in the Best Original Film Score of the Year category for his acclaimed work on Alejandro González Iñárritu‘s Birdman.

Sanchez, a multiple Grammy winner, will face off against Patrick Doyle’s Cinderella, Alexandre Desplat’s The Imitation Game, Hans Zimmer’s Intersellar and Johann Johannsson’s The Theory of Everything.

But Sanchez isn’t the only Latino nominee this year…

Gustavo Santaolalla received a nomination in the Best Original Song Written for a Film category.

The 63-year-old Argentine musician, film composer and producer, a two-time Academy Award winner, is nominated for writing the Diego Luna-performed “The Apology Song” from the Guillermo del Toro-produced The Book of Life.

Santaolalla, a two-time World Soundtrack Award receipient, previously won the Discovery of the Year award for 21 Grams in 2004 and the Public Choice Award for Brokeback Mountain in 2005.

The 15th annual World Soundtrack Awards will be the closing event of Film Fest Gent on October 24, 2015 in Ghent, Belgium.

The World Soundtrack Academy aims to support film music, sound design, composers and their worldwide promotion. In fifteen years time, the membership of the WSAcademy grew into a group of 370 international film (music) professionals deciding on the nominees for the annual World Soundtrack Awards through several rounds of voting.

Here’s a look at this year’s World Soundtrack Awards nominees:

Film Composer of the Year
Bruno Coulais ‘Song of the Sea’, ‘Gemma Bovary’, ‘3 hearts’ (‘3 Coeurs’), ‘Mune le guardien de la lune’, ‘Diary of a Chambermaid’ (‘Journal d’une femme de chambre’), ‘Fly Away Solo’
Alexandre Desplat ‘Unbroken’, ‘The Imitation Game’, ‘Everything Will Be Fine’, ‘Tale of Tales’
Michael Giacchino ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’, ‘Inside Out’, ‘Jupiter Ascending’, ‘Jurassic World’, ‘Tomorrowland’
Johann Johannsson ‘The Theory of Everything’, ‘The 11th Hour’, ‘Sicario’
Hans Zimmer ‘Interstellar’, ‘Chappie’

Best Original Film Score of The Year
‘Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)’ by Antonio Sanchez
‘Cinderella’ by Patrick Doyle
‘The Imitation Game’ by Alexandre Desplat
‘Interstellar’ by Hans Zimmer
‘The Theory of Everything’ by Johann Johannsson

Best Original Song Written For A Film
The Apology Song from ‘The Book of Life’: Music by Gustavo Santaolalla, lyrics by Paul Williams, performed by Diego Luna
Carry Me Home from ‘Insurgent’: Music & lyrics by Joseph Trapanese & Christopher Taylor, performed by SOHN
Glory from ‘Selma’: Music & lyrics by John Legend, Common and Rhymefest performed by Common & Legend
Grateful from ‘Beyond the Lights’: Music & lyrics by Diane Warren, performed by Rita Ora
Tell Me from ‘Lost River’: Music & lyrics by Johnny Jewel, performed by Saoirse Ronan

Jesse & Joy Honored at the ASCAP Film & Television Music Awards

Jesse & Joy have a new premio to add to their trophy case…

The Mexican pop group, comprised of the brother-sister tandem of Jesse Huerta and Joy Huerta, was honored by its peers Monday at ASCAP‘s 30th annual Film & Television Music Awards, which honor the composers behind the top films at the box office, the most-performed television music and the top video game music of 2014.

Jesse & Joy

Jesse & Joy were honored for penning their single “Mi Tesoro,” which served as the theme song for the Mexican telenovela Qué Pobres Tan Ricos, starring Jaime Camil and Zuria Vega. The duo previously earned a Best Theme Novelero at the 2014 Premios Juventud.

But Jesse & Joy weren’t the only Latino honorees…

Enrique Iglesias and Descemer Bueno were also honored at the ASCAP Film & Television Music Awards.

The Spanish superstar and the Cuban singer were honored for Iglesias’ duet with Marco Antonio Solis, “El Perdedor,” which served as the opening theme to Mexican telenovela Lo que la vida me robó. It’s the fifth time that an Iglesias song was chosen as an opening theme of a telenovela after “Cosas del Amor“, “Nunca Te Olvidaré“, “Cuando Me Enamoro” and “Marisol.” The song was composed by Iglesias and Bueno.

Meanwhile, Gustavo Santaolalla was honored in the Top Box Office Films category. The legendary Argentine musician and film composer was honored for his work on the animated film The Book of Life.

Other Latino honorees in the film category include Brazilian composer Pedro Bromfman for his work on RoboCop, Brazilian composer Heitor Pereira for If I Stay, and Spanish composer Fernando Velázquez  for Hercules.

González Iñárritu’s “Birdman” Earns 13 Critics’ Choice Movie Awards Nominations

Alejandro González Iñárritu has impressed the critics…

The 51-year-old Mexican filmmaker’s dark comedy Birdman has earned a whopping 13 nominations from the Broadcast Film Critics Association’s 20th Annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards.

Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman

González Iñárritu’s acclaimed film, which he wrote, directed and produced received nods in the Best Picture and Best Comedy categories.

In addition, he earned two individual nominations. He’s up for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.

Birdman’s composer Antonio Sanchez has earned a nomination for Best Score. He recently earned his first-ever Golden Globe nomination in the same category for his inspired work on the film.

Emmanuel Lubezki, meantime, picked up a nod for Best Cinematography for his work on Birdman.

In the acting categories, Zoe Saldana picked up a nod in the Best Actress in an Action Movie for her work in Guardians of the Galaxy, while Rosario Dawson earned a nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy for Top Five.

The Guillermo del Toro-produced film The Book of Life received a nod in the Best Animated Feature category.

The Critics’ Choice Movie Awards will take place on the same day that Oscar nominations are announced. The show airs – to the East Coast – live on new network partner, A&E from the Hollywood Palladium at 9:00 pm ET on January 15th with Michael Strahan hosting.

Here’s the full list of Hispanic nominees:

BEST PICTURE
Birdman
Boyhood
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Nightcrawler
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Unbroken
Whiplash

BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ava DuVernay – Selma
David Fincher – Gone Girl
Alejandro G. Inarritu – Birdman
Angelina Jolie – Unbroken
Richard Linklater – Boyhood

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman – Alejandro G. Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr., Armando Bo
Boyhood – Richard Linklater
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness
Nightcrawler – Dan Gilroy
Whiplash – Damien Chazelle

BEST CINEMATOGRAPY
Birdman – Emmanuel Lubezki
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Robert Yeoman
Interstellar – Hoyte Van Hoytema
Mr. Turner – Dick Pope
Unbroken – Roger Deakins

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Big Hero 6
The Book of Life
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Lego Movie

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Emily Blunt – Edge of Tomorrow
Scarlett Johansson – Lucy
Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
Zoe Saldana – Guardians of the Galaxy
Shailene Woodley – Divergent

BEST COMEDY
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
St. Vincent
Top Five
22 Jump Street

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Rose Byrne – Neighbors
Rosario Dawson – Top Five
Melissa McCarthy – St. Vincent
Jenny Slate – Obvious Child
Kristen Wiig – The Skeleton Twins

BEST SCORE
Alexandre Desplat – The Imitation Game
Johann Johannsson – The Theory of Everything
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Gone Girl
Antonio Sanchez – Birdman
Hans Zimmer – Interstellar

Rodriguez Earns First-Ever Golden Globe Nomination

Gina Rodriguez is a globe-al sensation…

The 30-year-old Puerto Rican actress has earned her first-ever Golden Globe nomination.

Gina Rodriguez

Rodriguez picked up the nod from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in the Best Actress in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy category for her breakout starring-role on the CW’s Jane the Virgin.

She’s up against GirlsLena Dunham, Nurse Jackie’s Edie Falco, Veep’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Orange Is the New Black’s Taylor Schilling.

Additionally, Rodriguez’s Jane the Virgin, which made the American Film Institute’s list of the best televisions shows of the year, was nominated in the Best TV Series, Musical or Comedy category.

But Rodriguez isn’t the only Hispanic Golden Globe nominee…

Louis C.K. has picked up his second career nomination from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

The 47-year-old Mexican American received the nod in the Best Actor in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy category for his starring role in FX’s He’s up against House of LiesDon Cheadle, Derek’s Ricky Gervais, ShamelessWilliam H. Macy and Transparent’s Jeffrey Tambor.

In the motion picture categories, Alejandro González Iñárritu has earned two individual nominations for his dark comedy Birdman.

The Mexican filmmaker is up for Best Director – Motion Picture, as well as Best Screenplay – Motion Picture for co-penning the script for Birdman with Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo.

In addition, González Iñárritu’s Birdman is nominated for Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy.

Antonio Sanchez, meantime, has picked up his first-ever Golden Globe nomination.

The 43-year-old Mexican jazz drummer and multiple Grammy winner has been nominated in the Best Original Score – Motion Picture category for his work on Birdman.

Sanchez’s drumming serves as the main musical ingredient in Iñarritu’s film. His work has already won the Sound Stars Award for best Film Score at the 2014 Venice Film Festival and won the Hollywood Music in Media Awards prize for best original film score.

The Guillermo del Toro-produced The Book of Life has received a nod in the Best Animated Feature category. The Day of the Dead-themed film is up against Big Hero 6, The Boxtrolls, How to Train Your Dragon 2 and The Lego Movie.

The 72nd Golden Globe Awards will be held on January 11 with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler returning as the show’s hosts.

Here’s a look at the categories with Latino/a nominees:

MOTION PICTURES

Best Comedy
Birdman,” produced by Alejandro González Iñárritu
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“Into the Woods”
“Pride”
“St. Vincent”

Best Director
Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Ava Duvernay, “Selma”
David Fincher, “Gone Girl”
Alejandro González Iñárritu, “Birdman”
Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”

Best Screenplay
Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Gillian Flynn, “Gone Girl”
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, and Armando Bo, “Birdman”
Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”
Graham Moore, “The Imitation Game”

Best Animated Feature
“Big Hero 6”
The Book of Life,” produced by Guillermo del Toro
“The Boxtrolls”
“How to Train Your Dragon 2”
“The Lego Movie”

Best Score
“The Imitation Game”
“The Theory of Everything”
“Gone Girl”
Birdman,” composed by Antonio Sanchez
“Interstellar”

TELEVISION

Best TV Comedy or Musical
“Girls”
Jane the Virgin
“Orange Is the New Black”
“Silicon Valley”
“Transparent”

Best Actress in a TV Comedy
Lena Dunham, “Girls”
Edie Falco, “Nurse Jackie”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep”
Gina Rodriguez, “Jane the Virgin”
Taylor Schilling, “Orange Is the New Black”

Best Actor in a TV Comedy
Louis CK, “Louie”
Don Cheadle, “House of Lies”
Ricky Gervais, “Derek”
William H. Macy, “Shameless”
Jeffrey Tambor, “Transparent”

Blacc Receives Two NAACP Image Award Nominations

Aloe Blacc may be the man to beat…

The 35-year-old Panamanian American singer-songwriter has landed two NAACP Image Award nods, making him this year’s most nominated Latino entertainer.

Aloe Blacc

Presented by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the awards honor outstanding people of color in film, television, music and literature.

Blacc, earning his first-ever Image Award nominations, received a nod for Outstanding New Artist, where he’s up against
Erica Campbell, Jhene Aiko, Liv Warfield and the 
3 Winans Brothers.

Additionally, he scored a nomination in the Outstanding Song category for his smash hit single “The Man.”

Meanwhile, Sofia Vergara has earned fourth NAACP Image Award nomination the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series category for her star-making role as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett on ABC’s Modern Family. The 42-year-old Colombian actress, ranked as one of the most powerful women in the world by Forbes, won the award in 2011.

Zoe Saldaña picked up a nomination in the Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for her voice work on Guillermo del Toro’s animated film The Book of Life. The 35-year-old half-Dominican/half-Puerto Rican American actress voices the character of Maria in the CGI romantic comedy, which is set during the Mexican holiday of the Day of the Dead.

Other Latinos nominated for a 2015 NAACP Image Award include Scandal’s Guillermo Diaz, Dora and Friends: Into the City’s Fatima Ptacek, Soledad O’Brien and Rosie Perez.

The 46th annual NAACP Image Awards will be handed out on February 6 in a ceremony telecast live by TV One.

Here’s the full list of categories with Latino nominees:

Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance
Jamie Foxx – “Rio 2″ (20th Century Fox)
Loretta Devine – “Doc McStuffins” (Disney Junior)
Morgan Freeman – “The Lego Movie” (Warner Bros. Pictures/Village Roadshow Pictures/Ratpac-Dune Entertainment/Lego System A/S/Vertigo Entertainment/Lin Pictures)
Tracy Morgan – “The Boxtrolls” (Focus Features)
Zoe Saldana – “The Book of Life” (20th Century Fox)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Adrienne C. Moore – “Orange is the New Black” (Netflix)
Laverne Cox – “Orange is the New Black” (Netflix)
Lorraine Toussaint – “Orange is the New Black” (Netflix)
Sofia Vergara – “Modern Family” (ABC)
Yara Shahidi – “black-ish” (ABC)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Alfred Enoch – “How to Get Away with Murder” (ABC)
Courtney B. Vance – “Masters of Sex” (Showtime)
Guillermo Diaz – “Scandal” (ABC)
Jeffrey Wright – “Boardwalk Empire” (HBO)
Joe Morton – “Scandal” (ABC)

Outstanding Performance by a Youth in a Youth/Children’s Program (Series or Special)
Amber Montana – “Haunted Hathaways” (Nickelodeon)
China Anne McClain – “How to Build a Better Boy” (Disney Channel)
Curtis Harris – “Haunted Hathaways” (Nickelodeon)
Fatima Ptacek – “Dora and Friends: Into The City!” (Nickelodeon)
Taliyah Whitaker – “Wallykazam!” (Nickelodeon)

Outstanding Documentary (Television)
“American Experience: Freedom Summer” (PBS)
“Bad Boys” (ESPN)
“Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown” (HBO)
“Rand University” (ESPN)

“The War Comes Home: Soledad O’Brien Reports” (CNN)

Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
Brigette Munoz-Liebowitz – “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” – Road Trip (FOX)
Aisha Muharrar – “Parks and Recreation” – Ann & Chris (NBC)
Regina Hicks – “Instant Mom” – A Kids’s Choice (Nickelodeon and Nick@Nite)
Sara Hess – “Orange is the New Black” – It Was the Change (Netflix)
Mindy Kaling – “The Mindy Project” – Danny and Mindy (FOX)

Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series
Ken Whittingham – “Parks and Recreation” – Prom (NBC)
Ken Whittingham – “The Mindy Project” – Think Like a Peter (FOX)
Reginald Hudlin – “Bad Judge” – Knife to a Gunfight (NBC)
Linda Mendoza – “Bad Judge” – One Brave Waitress (NBC)
Stan Lathan – “Real Husbands of Hollywood” – No New Friends (BET)

Outstanding New Artist
Aloe Blacc (XIX Recordings/Interscope Records)
Erica Campbell (My Block Inc./eOne Music)
Jhene Aiko (Def Jam Recordings)
Liv Warfield (Kobalt Label Services)
3 Winans Brothers (BMG)

Outstanding Song
“We Are Here” Alicia Keys (RCA Records)
“The Man” – Aloe Blacc
(Interscope Records)
“Pretty Hurts” – Beyoncé (Columbia Records)
“i” – Kendrick Lamar (TDE/Interscope)
“Good Kisser” – Usher (RCA Records)

Outstanding Literary Work – Biography/ Auto Biography

“Breaking Ground: My Life in Medicine” – Louis Sullivan with David Chanoff (University of Georgia Press)
“Handbook for an Unpredictable Life: How I Survived Sister Renata and My Crazy Mother, and Still Came Out Smiling (with Great Hair)” – Rosie Perez (Crown Archetype)
“Life In Motion” – Misty Copeland (Touchstone)
“Mayor for Life” – Marion Barry, Omar Tyree (Strebor Books)
“Stand Up Straight and Sing!” – Jessye Norman (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Outstanding Literary Work – Children
“Beautiful Moon” – Tonya Bolden (Author), Eric Velasquez (Illustrator) (Abrams/Abrams Books for Young Readers)
“Little Melba and Her Big Trombone” – Katheryn Russell-Brown (Author), Frank Morrison (Illustrator) (Lee & Low Books)
“Malcolm Little” – Ilyasah Shabazz (Author), AG Ford (Illustrator) (Simon & Schuster)
“Searching for Sarah Rector” – Tonya Bolden (Abrams/Abrams Books for Young Readers)
“Dork Diaries 8: Tales From A Note-So-Happily Ever After” – Rachel Renee Russell with Nikki Russell and Erin Russell (Simon & Schuster)

Trailer Released for Saldaña’s CGI Romantic Comedy “The Book of Life”

It’s the Day of (the Dead) reckoningfor Zoe Saldaña

The first trailer for 20th Century Fox and Reel FX’s The Book of Life, featuring the voice of the 35-year-old half-Dominican/half-Puerto Rican American actress, has been released.

The Book of Life

Saldaña voice the character of Maria in the Guillermo del Toro-produced film, which isdescribed as the journey of Manolo (voiced by Diego Luna), a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart. Before choosing which path to follow, he embarks on an incredible adventure that spans three fantastical worlds, where he must face his greatest fears.

In addition to Saldaña and Luna, the voice cast also includesKate del Castillo as La Muerte, Cheech Marin, Héctor Elizondo, Plácido Domingo, Ana de la Reguera, Eugenio Derbez and Danny Trejo.

The CGI romantic comedy, which is set during the Mexican holiday of the Day of the Dead, is directed by El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera creator Jorge Gutierrez. It was co-written by Gutierrez and Disney veteran Doug Langdale.

The Book of Life is scheduled to hit theaters on October 17.