Armisen to Participate in Comedy Central & Superfly’s “Colossal Clusterfest”

Fred Armisen is preparing for a colossal cluster

The 50-year-old half-Venezuelan American actor/comedian will take part in Colossal Clusterfest, Comedy Central and Superfly’s comedy event.

Fred Armisen

It’s slated to run June 2-4 at San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza and Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, culminating with a live Comedy Central special.

Colossal Clusterfest aims to do for the icons of Millennial comedy what Burning Man and Bonnaroo have done for music and other contemporary art happenings: Bring folks together for a paid communal experience featuring a wide range of programming, tons of food and ancillary experiences that will promote diversity and, not coincidentally, their brands.

In addition to Armisen, the inaugural lineup includes Sarah Silverman & Friends, Ice Cube, Hannibal Buress, Tig Notaro, Pete Davidson, Natasha Leggero, Tegan and Sara, Chromeo, Broad City’s Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, Bob Odenkirk, Vince Staples, Chris Hardwick, Reggie Watts, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Princess featuring Maya Rudolph, and Gretchen Lieberum. The full lineup is available at http://www.clusterfest.com.

“For a long time we’ve been really looking at the festival space,” Comedy Central president Kent Alterman said, discussing plans for the event at Superfly’s Midtown New York office. “It’s a great opportunity to connect directly with our fans and utilize the talent that is part of the fabric of what we do on a daily basis.

“We’ve had experience with comedy festivals in different regards – those festivals are always very fractured experiences that are all over town,” Alterman added. “Several years ago we got to know these guys at Superfly by going to Bonnaroo [and] Outside Lands, and those festivals are just complete holistic experiences that bring people together, where everything is happening in this almost communal atmosphere.”

The festival includes interactive attractions featuring three iconic comedy shows: Comedy Central’s South Park, FXX’s It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia and Seinfeld. It will also incorporate musical performances and collaborations between musicians and comedians across five indoor and outdoor stages.

“Music is in our DNA,” said Superfly co-founder Jonathan Mayers. “And we’ve always had comedy as an ingredient at Bonnaroo and Outside Lands.” Mayers said that San Francisco was chosen as the site of the new festival because of Superfly’s decade-long experience presenting Outside Lands in the city’s Golden Gate Park.

On June 4, as the festival comes to a close, Comedy Central will present a live 90-minute on-air special hosted by @midnight’s Chris Hardwick and will feature a team of on-the-ground comedian correspondents, taped performances, collaborations, highlights, interviews and behind-the- scenes segments from the Colossal Clusterfest weekend, as well as live wrap-arounds from the last day.

“Comedy has become such a huge part of the Millennial audience lives, in terms of how they identify themselves,” Alterman said. “In our generation growing up it was all about music…comedy over the last decade or so overtook music.”

Castro to Star in Netflix’s Original Film “Deidra & Laney Rob a Train”

Arturo Castro is training his sights on a new project…

The Guatemalan actor has been cast in Netflix’s upcoming original film Deidra & Laney Rob a Train.

Arturo Castro

The film, which stars Ashleigh Murray and Rachel Crow in the title roles, centers on two teenage girls who turn to train-robbing after their moms are sent to prison. Despite the Jesse James-era occupation, the film is set in the present day, with Netflix drawing comparisons to Raising Arizona.

Written by Shelby Farrell and directed by Sydney Freeland, the film also stars David Sullivan, Tim Blake Nelson, Danielle Nicolet and Sasheer Zamata.

Castro’s credits include Broad City, The Good Wife and Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll.

Deidra & Laney Rob a Train will be available globally in 2017.

Castro to Star in Ang Lee’s “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk”

Arturo Castro has a long walk ahead of him…

The 29-year-old Guatemalan actor has joined the cast of Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, Ang Lee’s feature adaptation of the Ben Fountain novel.

Arturo Castro

The film follows a group of servicemen sent on a “victory tour” after returning from combat in Iraq. Billy Lynn and his comrades will return to battle after the tour ends with a halftime show of a Dallas Cowboys football game on Thanksgiving Day.

Castro will play Marcellino “Mango” Montoya, a steady and skeptical member of Lynn’s Bravo Company who has become a pretty good amateur politician, speaking to Latino groups in Spanish in praise of military esprit de corps.

Castro portrays Jaime on Comedy Central’s Broad City. Other recent credits include appearances on television’s The Good Wife and the features Sun Belt Express and Indigo Children.

He next appears in Mi America, Kid Witness and Memoir.