Rosario Dawson to Lead Virtual Online Table Read of Holiday Classic “It’s a Wonderful Life”

Rosario Dawson is bringing the wonderful

The 42-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban American actress and activist will star opposite  Jason Sudeikis in an all-star virtual online table read of the holiday classic It’s a Wonderful Life.

Rosario DawsonThe special event will benefit The Ed Asner Family Center (TEAFC), which promotes mental health and enrichment programs to children with special needs and their families.

The one-night-only event is set for December 5, with a cast that also includes Mark Hamill, Martin Sheen, Mandy Patinkin, Lou Diamond Phillips, Phil Lamarr, Ben Mankiewicz, Ron Funches, Ed Harris, and Sudeikis’ real-life uncle George Wendt. The Cheers actor will play Uncle Billy to Sudeikis’ George Bailey.

The Asner benefit is presented in partnership with Turner Classic Movies and sponsored by MeTV, and this year also will honor Mike Darnell, President of Unscripted and Alternative Television at Warner Bros., and his family.

The cast will include Darnell’s daughter and Social Director of TEAFC, Chelsea Darnell, autistic actors Spencer Harte and Domonique Brown along with neurodivergent TEAFC members Ryan Booth and Lucas Salusky. Victor Nelli will return to direct. Tom Bergeron hosts.

“My father’s passing has left an indescribable hole in my heart,” said Matt Asner, son of Ed Asner & Co-Founder of The Ed Asner Family Center. “For our annual fundraising gala this year, I want to honor my father’s legacy as both a legendary actor and a staunch advocate for people of all abilities.”

Tickets start at $25, with commemorative holiday gift items also available. Also planned is a silent auction and a musical intermission.

The live virtual table read begins at 5:00 pm PT on Sunday, December 5. Ticket information can be found here.

Library of Congress Adds “Buena Vista Social Club” Documentary to National Film Registry

The story of the Buena Vista Social Club’s effort to revive the music of pre-revolutionary Cuba is being celebrated.

The Library of Congress has unveiled its annual list of 25 movies to make the cut for the National Film Registry, with the documentary named after the ensemble of Cuban musicians, Buena Vista Social Club, making the cut.

Buena Vista Social Club

The Buena Vista Social Club project was organized by World Circuit executive Nick Gold, produced by American guitarist Ry Cooder and directed by Juan de Marcos González. They named the group after the homonymous members’ club in the Buenavista quarter of Havana, a popular music venue in the 1940s. To showcase the popular styles of the time, such as sonbolero and danzón, they recruited a dozen veteran musicians, many of whom had been retired for many years.

Wim Wenders captured the performance on film for a documentary that included interviews with the musicians conducted in Havana. The film was released in June 1999 to critical acclaim, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary feature and winning numerous accolades including Best Documentary at the European Film Awards.

Lourdes Portillo’s The Devil Never Sleeps is part of a record number of films directed by women that make the list this year.

The 76-year-old Mexican film director’s mystery/documentary centers on Oscar, who is found dead from a gunshot wound. His wife believes he committed suicide. But his nephew, Portillo, suspects that it was murder and investigates the death with no help from the authorities.

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said, “With the inclusion of diverse filmmakers, we are not trying to set records but rather to set the record straight by spotlighting the astonishing contributions women and people of color have made to American cinema, despite facing often-overwhelming hurdles.”

This year’s list brings the number of films selected for preservation in the registry to 800.

Turner Classic Movies will host a television special from 8:00 pm ET on December. 15 to screen a selection of motion pictures named to the registry. Among the films to air are The Battle of the Century, Lilies of the Field, Illusions, The Joy Luck Club, Cabin in the Sky and The Man with the Golden Arm.

Here’s the full rundown of this year’s additions:

The Battle Of The Century (1927)
The Blues Brothers (1980)
Bread (1918)
Buena Vista Social Club (1999)
Cabin In The Sky (1943)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
The Dark Knight (2008)
The Devil Never Sleeps (1994)
Freedom Riders (2010)
Grease (1978)
The Ground (1993-2001)
The Hurt Locker (2008)
Illusions (1982)
The Joy Luck Club (1993)
Kid Auto Races At Venice (1914)
Lilies Of The Field (1963)
Losing Ground (1982)
The Man With the Golden Arm (1955)
Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege (2006)
Outrage (1950)
Shrek (2001)
Suspense (1913)
Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971)
Wattstax (1973)
With Car And Camera Around The World (1929)

Gomez’s “Cougar Town” to Return for a Fifth Season on TBS

Ian Gomez’s cougar days will continue for at least another season…

TBS has renewed Cougar Town, which stars the part-Puerto Rican actor, for a fifth season.

Screen Shot 2013-03-31 at 10.34.31 PM

The network saved the series from cancellation by taking it over from ABC for its current fourth season.

Cougar Town’s fifth season, which will air in 2014, will feature 13 episodes.

The ABC Studios-produced series, which airs Tuesdays at 10:00 pm, will have its season four finale on April 9.

Since its launch on the network January 8, the show has averaged 2.8 million viewers and 1.7 million adults 18-49  in the Live+7, ranking as TBS’ top original primetime series ever in total viewers and the demo. It also is drawing younger viewers than during its last season on ABC by a median age of 7 years.

Cougar Town has been everything we hoped it would be: a smart, big-hearted, laugh-out-loud comedy that shines a bright light on the TBS brand,” said Michael Wright, president, head of programming for TBS, TNT and Turner Classic Movies.

Along with Gomez, who portrays the lovable Andy on Cougar Town, the series stars Courteney Cox, Christa Miller, Busy Philipps, Dan Byrd, Josh Hopkins and Brian Van Holt.

Cox and David Arquette also serve as executive producers on the show.