Lana Parrilla to Star Opposite J.Lo in Netflix’s AI Drama “Atlas”

Lana Parrilla is heading out of this world…

The 45-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress will star opposite Jennifer Lopez in Netflix’s AI drama Atlas, directed by Brad Peyton.

Lana ParrillaParrilla joins Simu Liu, Sterling K. Brown and Abraham Popoola in the film penned by Aron Eli Coleite and Leo Sardarian.

In Atlas, an intelligence analyst gets stranded on a distant planet and must learn to fight inside a military-grade mech suit in order to survive.

Parrilla played Regina Mills, aka The Evil Queen, for 156 episodes on ABC’s hit series Once Upon a TimeHer work on the show earned her the NHMC Impact Award; an ALMA Award for Outstanding TV Actress; a Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actress: Fantasy / Sci-Fi; and, as voted by fans, TV Guide’s Best Villain twice.

She recently starred on Marc Cherry’s Paramount+ series Why Women Kill, a role for which she received a Gracie Award for Best Supporting Actress in Comedy. She also starred alongside Bobby Soto, Shia LaBeouf and George Lopez in David Ayer’s indie thriller The Tax Collector.

Prior to that, Parrilla was a series regular on ABC’s sitcom Spin CityGraham Yost’s Boomtown24, Swingtown, and on Jerry Bruckheimer’s medical drama Miami Medical

In addition to her on-screen work, Parrilla stepped behind the camera and went on to direct one of the final episodes of Once Upon a Time. She also executive produced the documentary Split at the Root, which premiered this year at SXSW.

Rosario Dawson to Executive Produce the Border Crisis Documentary “Split At The Root”

Rosario Dawson is laying down roots on an important new project…

The 42-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban American actress and activist has joined the upcoming SXSW documentary Split At The Root as an executive producer alongside Lana Parrilla.

Rosario Dawson

The Linda Goldstein Knowlton-directed film is scheduled to play in the Austin festival’s Documentary Spotlight section.

Split at the Root follows the emotional journey of mothers separated from their children at the U.S. border and the grassroots initiative that, against all odds, reunites those families. When a Guatemalan mother seeking asylum was separated from her kids under the Zero Tolerance Policy, a Facebook post by a mom in Queens coalesced into a movement as thousands of like-minded women across the U.S. refused to stand by quietly. Immigrant Families Together was born – a rapid response group committed to doing what the government couldn’t – or wouldn’t do: reunite parents with their children separated by the Zero Tolerance Policy.

Producers for Split at the Root include Emmy-nominated writer/producer Marti Noxon of Tiny Pyro Productions, Noxon’s President of Production Maria Grasso, Miranda Bailey of Cold Iron Pictures.

Dawson has produced fiction and nonfiction projects ranging from This Is Not A War Story, nominated for The John Cassavetes Spirit Award, the award-winning documentary The Need To Grow which she also has narrated, and produced two projects for Free Speech TelevisionThe Assembly as well as Telethon for America 2020, both of which she co-hosted.

Behind the cameras, Dawson is highly active in political, social and environmental causes and has been involved with many social justice organizations including Amnesty International, Voto Latino, Save The Children, Doctors Without Borders and RESPECT!

“When it comes to immigration policy in this country, it is more than just a political crisis—we’re suffering a crisis of our very humanity. And one way to change the debate in Washington is by changing the language we use and the stories we produce such as Split the Root, opening the lens wider so people get the full picture. By having those who have come to the US to seek asylum front-and-center in this film and showing how every person can make a true difference to create change is why I wanted to join the producing team of this film” said Dawson.

Noxon added, “From the moment I heard the story of mothers on this side of the border helping mothers and children on the other side, I was compelled to know more. I couldn’t imagine any parent who knows the wrenching pain of being separated from their children who wouldn’t relate. And I had total confidence that Linda Goldstein Knowlton and the whole team would capture the beauty, despair, and hope of these women’s journey. I’m proud to be part of it and am so pleased to have Rosario join the team in amplifying these women’s voices and helping to shine a light on the compassionate Americans who supported them along the way.”

“My intention with this film was to tell an intimate, personal story of families separated by the Zero Tolerance policy, told by powerful women from both sides of the border. I couldn’t be more grateful to Marti and Rosario for helping to make this film a reality and bring the spotlight back onto the ongoing experiences of these families” said Goldstein Knowlton.

Parrilla’s television credits include Once Upon a TimeSpin City, Swingtown, Boomtown, Windfall and 24. For her turn as The Evil Queen/Regina Mills in Once Upon a Time, she won a Teen Choice Award for Choice Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actress, an ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series and a nomination for Best Supporting Actress on Television from the 38th Saturn Awards.

Garcia to Direct CBS’ Untitled Mexican American Cop Family Drama Pilot

Rodrigo Garcia has a new Latino-themed project to work on…

The 57-year-old Colombian television and film director is set to direct CBS’ Mexican American cop family drama pilot.

Rodrigo Garcia

Written by Homicide creator Paul Attanasio in a return to the cop drama beat, and to directed by Garcia, the untitled drama revolves around the multi-generational members of a Mexican-American family with deep roots in San Diego as they intertwine personally and professionally due to their powerful careers in law enforcement.

CBS had been trying for two years to develop a drama about a multi-generational Latino family of cops in Los Angeles — a West Coast take on Blue Bloods, which is about a multi-generational New York family in law enforcement. Last season, a project known as Protect & Serve was written by Elizabeth Davis Beall. It didn’t go to pilot.

Meanwhile, Attanasio met with the producers with a brand-new take on the general Latino family cop idea, which led to his San Diego-set script that’s now getting a pilot green light.

The new setting has an increased relevance post-elections as San Diego is on the U.S.-Mexico border, where President Donald Trump is planning to build a wall.

Garcia has directed episodes of In Treatment, Big Love, Boomtown, Six Feet Under and The Sopranos.

Parrilla Reportedly Ties the Knot with Fiance Fred Di Blasio

The Evil Queen has found her real-life king…

Lana Parrilla, who portrays the evil queen/Regina on ABC’s Once Upon a Time, married her beau on the sly, according to Us Weekly, just before filming began on the show’s fourth season.

Lana Parrilla

The 37-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress was also reportedly spotted wearing two rings on her left hand at several recent events.

Parrilla was engaged to boyfriend Fred Di Blasio last year during a holiday trip to the Negev, Israel.

“Being up there has given me the freedom to invest in a relationship,” she said of her relationship in an interview while shooting the fairytale series in Canada. “It’s been slightly rewarding.”

In addition to playing one of the main characters on Once Upon a Time, Parrilla was also once a series regular on Spin City, Boomtown, 24, Windfall, Swingtown and Miami Medical.

Escarpeta Starring in the Adventure-Thriller “Into the Storm”

It’s a case of stormy weather for Arlen Escarpeta

The 32-year-old Belizean actor is starring in New Line Cinema and Village Roadshow Pictures’ adventure-thriller Into the Storm.

Into the Storm

Escarpeta, best known for his roles in Friday the 13th, Brotherhood and Final Destination 5, portrays Daryl in the film, which will be released on August 8, 2014.

The Steven Quale-helmed “found footage” natural disaster film is told  through the eyes and camera lenses of professional storm chasers, thrill-seeking amateurs and courageous townspeople, throwing you “directly into the eye of the storm to experience Mother Nature at her most extreme.”

The script for Into the Storm was penned by John Swetnam.

In addition to Escarpeta, the film also stars Richard Armitage, Sarah Wayne Callies, Matt Walsh, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Nathan Kress, Jon Reep and Jeremy Sumpter.

Escarpeta’s other credits include appearances on Boston Public, The Shield, Judging Amy and Boomtown.