Tag Archives: Chris Stokes

Erica Mena to Reprise Role in Tubi’s Original Thriller “The Stepmother 2”

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Erica Mena is stepping up…

The 34-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican American actress will star in The Stepmother 2, which has received the green light from Tubi.

Erica MenaFrom Marques Houston and Chris Stokes, the original thriller is a sequel to The Stepmother, with Mena portraying the role of Elizabeth Carter/Diana Valdez.

The project is slated to premiere in December.

The Stepmother 2 picks up after Elizabeth, a woman with dissociative identity disorder, cheats death in a showdown with the Linbrook family, as she breaks free from the hospital with a new mission— find a new family and live happily ever after. Yet, as much as she longs for normalcy, she can’t escape her tormented past and will fight to protect her fairy tale at all costs.

The cast will also include Daniel Johnson in the role of Kevin Smith, a loving, caring father who has fallen in love with a woman that he knows as Diana, who we know as Elizabeth Carter. Kevin becomes conflicted when his ex-wife shows up and wants to reconcile; LaVell Thompson Jr. as Dustin Smith, Kevin’s teenage son who also happens to love his new mother figure, Diana. Dustin has questions when his real mother shows up out of nowhere after 10 years; Wesley Jonathan as Chris Harris, a retired cop, now private investigator, who happens to be Kevin’s best friend. Chris is very smart and observant. He becomes suspicious of Diana almost immediately; Judi Johnson as Janet Smith, Kevin’s ex-wife who shows up after 10 years of no communication following the death of their daughter. She wants to reconcile, but Kevin doesn’t feel the same.

The thriller also stars Houston, Justin Sweat, Michael Toland, Alfred Nolan Thomas and Billie King in undisclosed roles.

The Stepmother 2 is directed by Stokes who executive produces alongside Houston, with Juanita Stokes, president of Footage Films, serving as producer.

Mena’s previous credits include Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, CSI: Cyber and Master of None.

UMC & RLJE Films to Release Rocsi Diaz’s Indie Drama “Always and Forever” in November

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Rocsi Diaz has found her always and forever home…

UMC and RLJE Films are partnering for the release of the indie drama Always and Forever, starring the 38-year-old Honduran and Chilean actress and television/radio personality.

Rocsi Diaz

In addition to Diaz, the film also stars Lauren London, Loretta Devine, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Robbie Jones and Wood Harris.

Directed by Chris Stokes, the film will get a day and date release in limited theaters and on VOD platforms on November 20 then UMC will exclusively stream the film beginning in early 2021.

The plot follows Nicole (Addai-Robinson), who seems to have it all – a great job, an adoring husband (Jones) – but her perfect world is shattered when her childhood friend is suddenly found dead. The tragedy reunites Nicole with her best friends from years ago, but they each soon find themselves in danger, targets of a deranged stalker. As the secrets of their past come back to haunt them, they’ll soon realize that a deadly nightmare is just beginning for those who long ago pledged their loyalty to each other, “always and forever.”

Patrick Johnson Jr., Marques Houston, Jerome Jones, Jarrell Houston, Shondrella Avery, and Alana Brown produced the film in association with Footage Films and Novus Content.

“Last year, UMC began testing the waters of the theatrical game with the release of Master P’s I Got the Hook-Up 2 to great success,” said Brett Dismuke, Chief Content Officer of UMC. “While a lot has changed in our industry over the last few months of the pandemic, we’re excited to continue developing our film distribution efforts with Always and Forever – a star-studded, jaw-dropping thriller that is sure to have audiences at the edge of their seats.”

Diaz, who was a correspondent on Entertainment Tonight during 2012–2014, previously appeared in the films Gangs of Roses 2: Next Generation, Soul Ties and The Last Letter.

Liliana Montenegro to Star in BET’s Television Adaptation of Its Original Legal Thriller “Sacrifice”

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Liliana Montenegro is making a big sacrifice…

BET has handed a 10-episode series order to the legal thriller Sacrifice, starring the Latina actress.

Liliana Montenegro

Headlined by Paula Patton, the project from Footage Films originated as a movie written, executive produced and directed by Chris Stokes, which served as a back-door pilot. It debuted in December 2019 on BET+ as the streaming service’s first original film.

Sacrifice takes place in Los Angeles and follows Daniella Hernandez (Patton), a highly sought-after entertainment lawyer, as she navigates the nefarious lives of her rich and famous clients.

Patton will reprise her role in the series, accompanied by returning cast members Montenegro, Marques Houston, James Trevena, Veronika Bozeman, Altonio Jackson, Michael Toland and Nelson Bonilla.

The series will delve deeper into Daniella’s complicated personal life. She is a recovering alcoholic who compensates for her suppressed addiction with men and the adrenaline of defending the worst in the entertainment world against an over-zealous D.A. sworn to bring them all to justice. Daniella’s unimpeachable clients need her help, wisdom and resourcefulness – as do all the corrupt ones. She is the classic conundrum of doing good for bad reasons and doing bad for good reasons. Maybe it’s luck, maybe it’s skill, maybe it’s because she’s beautiful, but Daniella gets away with it… so far.

“Sacrifice takes an in-depth look at the entertainment business in a way that no television show ever has, by capturing the glamorous yet mysterious sides of the music industry from the perspective of an entertainment attorney. The suspense and excitement will have you on the edge of your seat in every episode,” said Chris Stokes, Chairman, Footage Films. “When I created the show, the only woman I could see playing the role of Daniella was Paula Patton. Sacrifice’s big cliffhangers, coupled with incredible acting, is sure to keep viewers completely locked in!”

There are several main cast members from the movie who are not continuing on the series, including Erica Ash, Juan Antonio and Josué Ramon Gutierrez whose character is not expected to be a part of the show. It is unclear whether the other roles will be recast. The options on the actors from the movie lapsed in June.

BET asked for free extensions, citing “production uncertainty related to the COVID-19 pandemic.” Not all cast members agreed to do it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=8Ztc2UUAd2Q&feature=emb_logo

It has not been decided yet whether Sacrifice, the series, will run on the linear network or the streaming service BET+, which carried the movie.