Andy Garcia to Star in Netflix’s “The Pain Hustlers”

Posted on August 30, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Andy Garcia is hustlin’…

The 66-year-old Cuban actor has joined the cast of David Yates’ Netflix film The Pain Hustlers.

Garcia will star opposite Emily Blunt, Chris Evans, Catherine O’Hara, Jay Duplass, Brian d’Arcy James and Chloe Coleman.

The film billed as tonally similar to The Big Short, American Hustle and The Wolf of Wall Street follows Liza Drake (Blunt), a high-school dropout dreaming of a better life for her and her young daughter. Liza lands a job with a failing pharmaceutical startup in a yellowing strip mall in Central Florida. Her charm, guts and drive then catapult the company and her into the high life, where she soon finds herself at the center of a criminal conspiracy with deadly consequences.

Netflix acquired global rights to the film written by Wells Tower for $50M out of this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Garcia is an Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy nominee whose recent film credits include Warner Bros. and HBO Max’s Father of the Bride; Guy Ritchie’s actioner Wrath of Man; the comedy Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, with Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo and Jamie Dornan; the romantic drama Words on Bathroom Walls, with Charlie Plummer and Taylor Russell; Clint Eastwood’s crime drama, The Mule; Sacha Gervasi’s Emmy-nominated TV movie My Dinner with Hervé for HBO; Ol Parker’s Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again; and the comedy Book Club, with Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda and Candice Bergen.

The actor’s credits on the television side include Rebel, Flipped and Ballers.

He’ll next be seen in the romantic drama What About Love with Sharon Stone, Lionsgate’s The Expendables 4 and Focus Features’ Book Club 2: The Next Chapter, among other projects.

Andy Garcia to Star in the Courtroom Drama “Miranda’s Victim”

Posted on May 27, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Andy Garcia is heading to court…

The 66-year-old Cuban actor will star in the courtroom drama Miranda’s Victim from director Michelle Danner, with production on the project underway in New Jersey.

Garcia will star opposite Abigail Breslin, Luke Wilson and Donald Sutherland in the film, which is written by J. Craig Stiles and George Kolber.

The film will tell the true story of Trish Weir (Breslin), who in 1963 was kidnapped and brutally raped by Ernesto Miranda. Committed to putting her assailant in prison, Trish’s life is destroyed by America’s legal system as she triggers a law that transforms the nation.

Wilson will play Lawrence Turoff, the country prosecutor that convinces Trish to testify and helps her bring her aggressor to justice, with Garcia as public defender Alvin Moore, who takes on Miranda’s case, and Sutherland as Judge Wren, who convicts Miranda for the rape of Weir.

Danner and Kolber are producing alongside Valerie Debler, Brian Drillinger and Alexandra Guarnieri.

The production company involved is Navesink River Productions.

“The first time I read George Kolber’s riveting script and learned about Trish’s experience, it moved and inspired me,” said Danner. “”Miranda’s Victim” puts us at the intersection between a brutal rape case and and a national movement for civil liberties.”

Garcia is an Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy nominee whose recent film credits include Guy Ritchie’s Jason Statham actioner Wrath of Man; the comedy Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, with Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo and Jamie Dornan; the romantic drama Words on Bathroom Walls, with Charlie Plummer and Taylor Russell; Clint Eastwood’s crime drama, The Mule; Sacha Gervasi’s Emmy-nominated TV movie My Dinner with Hervé for HBO; Ol Parker’s Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again; and the comedy Book Club, with Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda and Candice Bergen.

The actor’s credits on the television side include Rebel, Flipped and Ballers.

He’ll next be seen in Warner Bros. and HBO Max’s Father of the Bride; the romantic drama What About Love, with Sharon Stone; and Lionsgate’s The Expendables 4.

Andy Garcia to Star Opposite Kenan Thompson in NBC’s Comedy Pilot “The Kenan Show”

Posted on March 21, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a big first for Andy Garcia…

The 62-year-old Cuban actor and director will star opposite Kenan Thompson in NBC’s single-camera comedy pilot The Kenan Show (fka Saving Kenan), from Universal Television.

This marks Garcia’s first television series regular role.

Written by Jackie Clarke and directed by Chris Rock, The Kenan Show centers on a newly widowed dad (Thompson) determined to be everything for his kids while begrudgingly letting his persistent father-in-law, Percy (Garcia), a retired police officer, become more involved in their lives.

Thompson, Clarke and Rock executive produce with Lorne Michaelsand Andrew Singerfor Broadway Video.

This is a rare televisoin acting gig for Garcia whose biggest series commitment to date had been an arc on HBO’s Ballers. He received two Emmynominations for the HBO film For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story.

In features, Garcia appeared in Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, Book Club, The Mule and Bentlast year.

This spring, he’ll begin production on Brian Petsos’ film Big Gold Brick and will star in Words on Bathroom Walls directed by Thor Freudenthal.

He also will be seen in Amazon’s anthology series Modern Romance.

Clifton Collins Jr. Lands Recurring Role on Hulu’s “Veronica Mars” Reboot

Posted on November 13, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Clifton Collins Jr. is a (hit)man with a plan…

The 48-year-old Mexican American actor has landed a recurring role in Hulu’s eight-episode Veronica Mars revival.

The reboot, set to premiere in 2019, returns star Kristen Bell, Enrico Colantoni and Jason Dohringto the series that ran for three seasons on UPN and theCW from 2004-2007.

In the revival, spring breakers are getting murdered in Neptune, thereby decimating the seaside town’s lifeblood tourist industry. After Mars Investigations is hired by the parents of one of the victims to find their son’s killer, Veronica (Bell) is drawn into an epic mystery that pits the enclave’s wealthy elites, who would rather put an end to the month-long bacchanalia, against a working class that relies on the cash influx that comes with being the West Coast’s answer to Daytona Beach.

Collins will play Alonzo, a mid-level hitman for a Mexican cartel. Because of his facility with English, he’s chosen by his boss to travel to Neptune to take out whoever killed his wife’s nephew. The more time Alonzo spends in the U.S. the more doubts creep in about his chosen career field, particularly when he falls hard for a local girl.

The Emmy-nominated Collins stars as Lawrence on HBO’s Westworld. He recurred on HBO’s Ballers and most recently appeared in feature Super Troopers 2.

Anabelle Acosta to Star in Millennium Media & CineTel Films’ “Kill Chain”

Posted on October 6, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Anabelle Acosta is linked to a new project…

The 31-year-old Cuban actress will star opposite Ryan Kwanten in Kill Chain, the thriller from Millennium Media and CineTel Films toplined by Nicolas Cage.

Ken Sanzel wrote and directed the film, which has just wrapped production in Colombia and will be on offer later this month at the American Film Market.

The film opens with a hotel room shootout between two assassins, kicking off a long night where bodies fall like dominoes as we follow a chain of crooked cops, gangsters, hitmen, a femme fatale and an ex-mercenary through a relay of murder, betrayal, and revenge.

Enrico Colantoni and Alimi Ballard co-star.

Acosta’s previous credits include HBO’s comedy series Ballers and ABC’s thriller series Quantico.

Shalim Ortiz to Star in ABC’s Drama Pilot “Grand Hotel”

Posted on March 6, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Life is Grand for Shalim Ortiz…

The 39-year-old Puerto Rican actor/singer has been cast in a series regular role on ABC’s drama pilot Grand Hotel, hailing from Eva Longoria’s production company, Brian Tanen and ABC Studios.

Written by Tanen, Grand Hotel is based on a Spanish format and directed by Ken Olin.

It’s described as a soapy drama set against the backdrop of a Miami Beach hotel, centering on the family who owns the business, the staff who run it and the explosive secrets they hide under the perfect exterior.

Ortiz will portray Mateo, the Director of Guest Experiences at the hotel who knows every guest by name.

Ortiz played Alejandro Herrera on NBC’s Heroes and had a recurring role on HBO’s Ballers. His other credits include CSI: Miami, Lizzie McGuire and Cold Case.

Andy Garcia to Star as Ricardo Montalbán in the HBO Movie “My Dinner with Hervé”

Posted on July 7, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Andy García is coming to dinner…

The 61-year-old Cuban actor has been cast opposite Peter Dinklage in My Dinner with Hervé, Sacha Gervasi’s HBO movie.

Directed and written by Gervasi based on a story he wrote with Sean Macaulay, My Dinner With Hervé centers on an unlikely friendship that evolves over one wild night in L.A. between struggling journalist Danny Tate (Jamie Dornan) and actor Hervé Villechaize (Dinklage), the world’s most famous gun-toting dwarf, resulting in life-changing consequences for both.

García will play Ricardo Montalbán, Herve Villechaize’s Fantasy Island co-star.

In addition to Dinklage and Dornan, the cast includes Mireille Enos, Oona Chaplin, Harriet Walter and David Straithorn.

In addition to My Dinner With Hervé, García is set to begin production in the lead role in feature Ana, a drama directed by Charles McDougall and written by Cris Cole, which begins shooting next week in Puerto Rico.

García’s other recent credits include features Passengers and 2016’s Ghostbusters, and a recurring role on HBO’s Ballers.

Ortiz to Star Opposite Daniella Alonso in ABC’s Drama Pilot “Las Reinas”

Posted on March 22, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Shalim Ortiz is ready to Reinas in Hollywood…

The Puerto Rican singer/actor has landed a series regular role opposite Daniella Alonso in Las Reinas, ABC’s drama pilot from feature writer Dean Georgaris, ABC Studios and the Mark Gordon Co.

Written by Georgaris and directed by Liz Friedlander, Las Reinas centers on Detective Alex de la Reina (Alonso), who is forced to confront her past when a case compels her to reconnect with her estranged family – the most powerful criminal outfit in Miami. Thrust back into the world she thought she had left behind, Alex must walk the murky line between the law and her family, and question her true destiny as a de la Reina.

Ortiz will play Diego de la Reina, Alex’s (Alonso) brother. Diego has grown up under his grandmother’s supervision and enjoys the power and prestige of being a de la Reina. When he sees his sister again after years of estrangement, they clash over her re-appearance and his increasing role in the crime family.

Ortiz played Alejandro Herrera on Heroes and recently recurred on Ballers.

Acosta Upped to Series Regular on ABC’s New Drama Series “Quantico”

Posted on September 6, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Anabelle Acosta is ready for more screen time…

The 32-year-old Cuban actress has been promoted to series regular on ABC’s new drama series Quantico.

Acosta, who stars on the television series Ballers, was initially cast as a recurring in the role of Nathalie Vazquez and bumped up to regular ahead of the September 27 premiere.

A former cop from Laredo, Texas, Nathalie is driven, kick-ass, and fiercely competitive. She’s almost mercenary in her focus, more interested in always coming out on top than being a team player.

The ABC Studios-produced Quantico revolves around a diverse group of recruits at the FBI Quantico Base, one of whom is suspected of masterminding the biggest attack on New York City since 9/11.

Acosta also recurs on HBO’s Ballers.

Acosta Lands Multi-Episode Arc on ABC’s New Drama Series “Quantico”

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Anabelle Acosta is a new recruit…

The 32-year-old Cuban actress has landed a role in ABC’s Quantico, the network’s new drama series.

The ABC Studios-produced Quantico revolves around a diverse group of recruits at the FBI Quantico Base, one of whom is suspected of masterminding the biggest attack on New York City since 9/11.

In the multi-episode arc, Acosta will portray recruit Nathalie Vazquez, a former cop from Laredo, Texas. Driven, kick-ass, and fiercely competitive, she’s almost mercenary in her focus, more interested in always coming out on top than being a team player.

Acosta currently stars opposite Dwayne Johnson’s on HBO’s series Ballers, which has been renewed for a second season.

Quantico will premiere on September 27 at 10:00 pm.

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