Tag Archives: Diego Luna

Diego Luna Scores Two Goals Against Guatemala to Lead United States to Concacaf Gold Cup Final

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It’s the golden hour for Diego Luna.

The 21-year-old Mexican American soccer player scored twice in the first 15 minutes helping the United States beat Guatemala 2-1 on Wednesday night to reach its first Concacaf Gold Cup final since 2021.

Diego LunaLuna put the U.S. ahead with a left-footed shot in the fourth minute, then scored with his right in the 15th for his third goal in two games.

Olger Escobar, an 18-year who was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, cut inside and slid a shot from inside the area between Matt Freese and the far post in the 80th for his second goal of the tournament. Freese parried José Morales’ shot toward the far post in the second minute of stoppage time.

The U.S. plays defending champion Mexico or Honduras for the title Sunday at Houston, the Americans’ last competitive match before their World Cup opener next June.

Mexico has won nine Gold Cups, the U.S. seven and Canada one.

The 16th-ranked Americans advanced to the Gold Cup final for the 13th time.

All five losses in finals have been to Mexico.

Jennifer Lopez Reveals European “Up All Night Tour” Dates

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Jennifer Lopez is ready to pull some all-nighters this summer…

The 55-year-old Puerto Rican superstar has announced plans to take her Up All Night Tour to Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia this summer, writing on social media, “Are you ready for UP ALL NIGHT #JLoLiveIn2025?! I can’t wait to see you this summer ✨🎤🎶 It’s almost time…”

Jennifer LopezLopez posted the full routing for the Euro swing, her first road show in five years, which is slated to kick off on July 8 in Vigo, Spain, at Parque Tafisa, and includes six more stops in the country before moving on to Hungary on July 20, followed by shows in Italy, Turkey, Poland and Romania.

The tour will then move on to the Middle East with gigs in the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, before hitting Kazakhstan, Armenia, Turkey and Uzbekistan, wrapping up on August 10 at the Central Stadium in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Last week, Lopez posted rehearsal footage with choreographer Derek Hough, following on the heels of a June 20 photo dump of photos from her intense prep for the tour.

Lopez has not mounted a proper tour since 2019’s It’s My Party global outing; she announced a North American tour in support of her 2024 This is Me… Now album only to cancel it less than a month before launch in order to take time off “to be with her children, family and close friends.”

Lopez is also gearing up for a return to the big screen on October 10 when she stars in director Bill Condon’s adaptation of the 1993 Broadway play Kiss of the Spider Woman.

JLo stars as Ingrid Luna in the film, in which two prisoners (Diego Luna and Tonatiuh) cook up song-and-dance routines based on the legendary actress’ roles while stuck in a prison cell during the waning days of Argentina’s Dirty War, which ravaged the nation from 1974 until 1983.

Here’s the list of Lopez’s summer 2025 European shows:

Jennifer Lopez

Diego Luna Delivers Powerful Immigration-Themed Monologue While Guest-Hosting ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live”

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Diego Luna is speaking out against U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.

On his first night as a guest-host of Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday, June 23, the 45-year-old Mexican actor, director and producer delivered a powerful monologue on the importance of immigrants amid Trump’s “authoritarian policies.”

Diego Luna“I come from a galaxy far, far away, called México,” the Andor star said in his monologue.

In Kimmel’s absence, Luna will host the ABC late-night talk show for the whole week, saying it was one of his dreams to do so.

Luna touched on deportations in his monologue, noting, “English is not my first language. So, I hope you guys will help me if I get… What’s the word? Deported!”

The Mexican actor joked that Kimmel “was very smart to hand his show over to me just as Trump decided to go crazy and drop his bombs over the weekend. Thanks a lot Jimmy. Good luck!”

Luna got serious momentarily and said he wanted to address the issue affecting Los Angeles and the United States, “around immigration and the authoritarian policies of Donald Trump.”

“It is no small thing that a Mexican is hosting such an important show,” Luna said. “It’s a big deal and I really hope not to f**k it up.”

Luna recalled visiting the U.S. for the first time at the age of 20 following the success of Y Tú Mamá También and traveling to California for work, making L.A. a city he visited frequently.

“I spent great part of my earnings on laundry services and alcohol here. A lot of my brain cells died in this city,” he joked. “I met people that to this day are very close to my heart. Great things happened to me here. In fact, my son was born here. Yes, I have an Angeleno son. The only Mexican-American of the family, and I’ll always be grateful to Los Angeles for that and every Angeleno.”

Luna talked about how L.A. felt like home when he was away from home and took a jab at Elon Musk saying people liked to show off their Tesla’s before its founder “became a MAGA space Nazi.”

The actor said the community he found in L.A. that what holds all of us together are “our common roots. The people that lifted me up were mostly people that had left their countries to find a new life or the songs and daughters of immigrants that had come here in order to work and build a healthy enjoyable and dignified life away from their place of origin. A moment of that scale is not natural. Nobody leaves their land unless their survival depends on it.”

“All the people that I met share an unspoken gratitude to this country,” he continued. “A country that opened its doors to them. And the most beautiful thing of all is that all these immigrants brought their stories with them. They brought their loyalties, their love, their traditions, always with the openness to adopt new ones, to grow, and to complement each other in this vast cultural exchange.”

Luna noted that what makes L.A. great is people coming together “from different cultures and realities” agreeing “to give each other a chance and build something remarkable together,” adding, “This place is a powerful example of what’s possible of what can be achieved when we put empathy first.”

“I have never been able to fully understand how it is that someone like Donald Trump is able to acquire this level of power,” he said. “I always struggle to understand how his hate speech can take root in a country whose nature has always been a welcoming one. Today many people feel persecuted far too many people live in fear of taking their kids to school or going to places where they earn an honest living.”

He continued, “These people, they’re you’re neighbors, your friends, immigrants. This is very unfair. The multiple times that this country has had to rebuild itself, immigrants were always there to pick up the slack.”

Luna recalled the L.A. fires and how immigrant workers risked their lives to put the flames out.

“There are a lot of lies flying around about immigrants,” he added. “But I’m sure you have more than one story that can attest to the contrary. Today, they need to know that they’re not alone. These have been a dark few weeks. It is not acceptable, nor is it normal to separate families. Violence and terror are not OK. Immigrants need to know that their struggle is yours. Politicians have been dozing on this problem because it’s easier than acknowledging it, because this country benefits from the work of immigrants but refuses to recognize their importance. That is what needs to change. It’s about acknowledging the work of millions and how unfair it is that they have to live in hiding. The only solution is clear now, and it’s been clear for decades. Give them a path to legal certainty.”

Luna made a call for everyone to call their Congress representatives and support organizations that help immigrants in need.

“I hope what I said inspires you to get involved or look at this from a different point of view. If my comments have angered you, I just want you to know it was all written by Guillermo. Blame him,” Luna joke, ending his monologue on a light note.

Diego Luna to Serve as Guest Host for ABC’s Late Night Show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Next Week

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Diego Luna is ready for his late night close-up…

The 45-year-old Mexican actor, director, and producer is among the A-listers Jimmy Kimmel has lined up to fill in for him during his summer break.

Diego LunaIn addition to Luna, best known for his portrayal of Cassian Andor in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and the Disney+ series Andor, Jimmy Kimmel Live! will also welcome Anthony Anderson, Nicole Byer, Alan Cumming, Chris Distefano, Fortune Feimster, Jelly Roll and Kumail Nanjiani.

Anderson, Byer and Nanjiani have previously guest hosted the show, but it marks new territory for Cumming, Distefano, Feimster, Luna and pop star Jelly Roll.

Luna will kick off proceedings on Monday June 23 with guests including Patton Oswalt, David Corenswet, Nicholas Hoult, Emma Stone, Adria Arjona, Alan Tudyk, Ariela Barer, Heidi Klum and Dolores Huerta, as well as musical performances by NEZZA, Hermanos Gutiérrez, and Good Charlotte.

The show, which films at the El Capitan Entertainment Centre on Hollywood Boulevard, is produced by 12:05 AM Productions, in association with Kimmelot and 20th Television. Kimmel, Erin Irwin, Molly McNearney, Jennifer Sharron and David Craig serve as executive producers with Douglas DeLuca and Danny Ricker as co-executive producers.

It marks the fifth year that Kimmel, who baked his summer break into his ABC contract, has taken the summer off, starting in 2020 with no shows during the summer of 2023 as a result of the dual labor strikes in Hollywood.

Over that period the likes of Ryan Reynolds, Jennifer Lawrence, Martin Short, Dana Carvey, Chelsea Handler, Al Franken, Nikki Glaser, Jeff Goldblum, RuPaul, Kerry Washington, Lamorne Morris, Sean Hayes and Hugh Jackman have all led the Hollywood-set show.

NBC Developing Drama Series Starring Jon Huertas Based on Candace Fox’s Novel “Fire with Fire”

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Jon Huertas is returning to acting…

NBC is developing a drama starring the 55-year-old Puerto Rican actor, who will executive produce alongside The Rookie and The Recruit creator Alexi Hawley.

Jon Huertas

Wendy Mericle is writing the untitled project based on the novel Fire with Fire by bestselling author Candice Fox.

Executive producer Sherry Marsh acquired the rights to the book while under her deal at eOne. It comes from Lionsgate Television, where Hawley is under an overall deal, and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

Huertas and Mericle executive produce alongside Hawley, through Perfectman Pictures and Marsh for Marsh Entertainment. Perfectman’s Rachel Abarbanell will co-executive produce.

This is Huertas’ return to acting following a two-year break while focusing on directing, and to NBC where he starred on their smash hit series This Is Us in the series regular role of Miguel Rivas.

The official logline for the new project: When a pair of grieving parents hijack an LAPD forensics lab and threaten to start destroying evidence until the police find their missing daughter, an unlikely partnership between grizzled undercover cop Enrique Arroyo (Huertas) and rookie flame-out Lynette Lamb is forged as they race to solve this cold case before the situation explodes.

If the show goes to series, Huertas will be one of the growing number of Latino leads currently on TV alongside George Lopez in NBC’s Lopez vs. Lopez, Ramon Rodriguez on ABC’s Will Trent, Manuel Garcia Rulfo in Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer, Eugenio Derbez in Apple’s Acapulco and Diego Luna in the Disney+ series Star Wars: Andor.

Huertas is best known for his roles in HBO’s Generation Kill, ABC’s Castle and the Emmy-winning series This Is Us. He is developing the new show with his longtime manager Marsh and bringing it to his longtime collaborator Hawley.

Selena Gomez Earns Two Golden Globe Nominations

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Selena Gomez is celebrating a special double…

The 2025 Golden Globes nominations have been announced, with the 32-year-old American singer, actress, producer, and businesswoman scoring two nods.

Selena GomezGomez picked up her third consecutive Golden Globe nomination for her acclaimed work as Mabel Mora in Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building.

Additionally, Gomez picked up a nod in the Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture category for work in Emilia Perez, a Netflix musical that received the most nominations from the Golden Globes Foundation with 10.

Gomez and her Emilia Perez co-stars won the Best Actress prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Gomez’s Emilia Perez cast mates, Karla Sofia Gascon and Zoe Saldana, have also earned Golden Globe nods. 

Gascon, a 52-year-old Spanish actress who was recently named Best Actress at the European Film Awards, earned a nod for Best Comedy/Musical Actress – Motion Picture, becoming the first out transgender woman to be nominated in a film category.

Meanwhile, Saldana will compete against Gomez in the Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture category. It’s the 46-year-old Puerto Rican and Dominican American actress’ first-ever Golden Globe nomination.

Colman Domingo has picked up a nod in the Best Drama Actor – Motion Picture category.

The 55-year-old Emmy-winning Belizean-Guatemalan American actor and activist, who recently won the Outstanding Lead Performance at the Gotham Awards, earned the nod for his work in Sing Sing.

Fernanda Torres has earned her first-ever Golden Globe nomination.

The 59-year-old Brazilian film, stage and television actress and writer is up for Best Drama Actress – Motion Picture for her performance in the Brazilian film I’m Still Here, which earned Brazilian director Walter Salles his fourth Best Foreign Language Film nod.

It’s an award her previously won in 1999 for his film Central Station.

Sofía Vergara is nominated in the Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actress category for Griselda.

It’s the 52-year-old Colombian actress’ fifth Golden Globe nod.

Javier Bardem has picked up a monster nod.

The 55-year-old Spanish Oscar-winning actor, who previously won a Golden Globe for No Country for Old Men, is nominated in the Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film category for Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.

Bardem will compete against Diego Luna in the Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film category.

The 44-year-old Mexican actor, director and producer, who previously earned his first-ever Golden Globes nod last year for his work on Andor, received the nod for his performance in La Máquina this year.

Liza Colón-Zayas has earned her first-ever Golden Globes nod.

The 52-year-old Latina actress and playwright is up for Best TV Supporting Actress for her work on The Bear, a role that earned her a Primetime Emmy earlier this year.

The 2025 Golden Globes take place on Sunday, January 5, 2025, beginning at 8:00 pm ET/5:00 pm PT. The ceremony will air live on CBS linear television and also stream live via Paramount+ for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers.

This year’s show is hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser.

Here’s a look at the complete list of nominees:

The 2025 Golden Globes Nominees:

FILM

Best Drama
“The Brutalist”
“A Complete Unknown”
“Conclave”
“Dune: Part Two”
“Nickel Boys”
“September 5”

Best Drama Actor
Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist”
Timothée Chalamet, “A Complete Unknown”
Daniel Craig, “Queer”
Colman Domingo, “Sing Sing”
Ralph Fiennes, “Conclave”
Sebastian Stan, “The Apprentice”

Best Drama Actress
Angelina Jolie, “Maria”
Nicole Kidman, “Babygirl”
Tilda Swinton, “The Room Next Door”
Fernanda Torres, “I’m Still Here”
Pamela Anderson, “The Last Showgirl”
Kate Winslet, “Lee”

Best Comedy/Musical
“Anora”
“Challengers”
“Emilia Pérez”
“A Real Pain”
“The Substance”
“Wicked”

Best Comedy/Musical Actor
Jesse Eisenberg, “A Real Pain”
Hugh Grant, “Heretic”
Gabriel LaBelle, “Saturday Night”
Jesse Plemons, “Kinds of Kindness”
Glen Powell, “Hit Man”
Sebastian Stan, “A Different Man”

Best Comedy/Musical Actress
Amy Adams, “Nightbitch”
Cynthia Erivo, “Wicked”
Karla Sofía Gascón, “Emilia Pérez”
Mikey Madison, “Anora”
Demi Moore, “The Substance”
Zendaya, “Challengers”

Best Supporting Actor
Denzel Washington, “Gladiator II”
Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain”
Guy Pearce, “The Brutalist”
Jeremy Strong, “The Apprentice”
Yura Borisov, “Anora”
Edward Norton, “A Complete Unknown”

Best Supporting Actress
Zoe Saldaña, “Emilia Pérez”
Ariana Grande, “Wicked”
Selena Gomez, “Emilia Pérez”
Felicity Jones, “The Brutalist”
Margaret Qualley, “The Substance”
Isabella Rossellini, “Conclave”

Best Director
Jacques Audiard, “Emilia Pérez”
Sean Baker, “Anora”
Brady Corbet, “The Brutalist”
Edward Berger, “Conclave”
Coralie Fargeat, “The Substance”
Payal Kapadia, “All We Imagine as Light”

Best Screenplay
“Emilia Pérez”
“Anora”
“The Brutalist”
“A Real Pain”
“The Substance”
“Conclave”

Best Original Score
“The Brutalist”
“Conclave”
“The Wild Robot”
“Emilia Pérez”
“Challengers”
“Dune: Part Two” 

Best Original Song
“The Last Showgirl” – “Beautiful That Way”
“Challengers” – “Compress/Repress”
“Emilia Pérez” – “El Mal”
“Better Man” – “Forbidden Road”
“The Wild Robot” — “Kiss the Sky”
“Emilia Pérez” – “Mi Camino”

Best Animated Feature
“Flow”
“Inside Out 2”
“Memoir of a Snail”
“Moana 2”
“Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl”
“The Wild Robot”

Best Film In a Language Other Than English
“All We Imagine as Light”
“Emilia Pérez”
“The Girl With the Needle”
“I’m Still Here”
“The Seed of the Sacred Fig”
“Vermiglio”

Best Cinematic and Box Office Achievement
“Alien: Romulus”
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”
“Deadpool & Wolverine”
“Gladiator 2”
“Inside Out 2”
“Twisters”
“Wicked”
“The Wild Robot”

TELEVISION 

Best Comedy Series
“Hacks”
“Abbott Elementary”
“Only Murders in the Building”
“Nobody Wants This”
“The Gentlemen”
“The Bear” 

Best TV Comedy Actor
Adam Brody, “Nobody Wants This”
Ted Danson, “A Man on the Inside”
Steve Martin, “Only Murders in the Building”
Jason Segel, “Shrinking”
Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”
Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear”

Best TV Comedy Actress
Kathryn Hahn, “Agatha All Along”
Jean Smart, “Hacks”
Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”
Selena Gomez, “Only Murders in the Building”
Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear”
Kristen Bell, “Nobody Wants This”

Best Drama Series
“The Day of the Jackal”
“The Diplomat”
“Mr. and Mrs. Smith”
“Shōgun”
“Slow Horses”
“Squid Game”

Best TV Drama Actor
Donald Glover, “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”
Jake Gyllenhaal, “Presumed Innocent”
Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses”
Eddie Redmayne, “The Day of the Jackal”
Hiroyuki Sanada, “Shōgun”
Billy Bob Thornton, “Landman” 

Best TV Drama Actress
Kathy Bates, “Matlock”
Emma D’Arcy, “House of the Dragon”
Maya Erskine, “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”
Keira Knightley, “Black Doves”
Anna Sawai, “Shōgun”
Keri Russell, “The Diplomat” 

Best TV Movie/Limited Series
“Baby Reindeer”
“Disclaimer”
“Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”
“The Penguin”
“Ripley”
“True Detective: Night Country”

Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actor
Colin Farrell, “The Penguin”
Richard Gadd, “Baby Reindeer”
Kevin Kline, “Disclaimer”
Cooper Koch, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”
Ewan McGregor, “A Gentleman in Moscow”
Andrew Scott, “Ripley”

Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actress
Cate Blanchett, “Disclaimer”
Jodie Foster, “True Detective: Night Country”
Cristin Milioti, “The Penguin”
Sofía Vergara, “Griselda”
Naomi Watts, “Feud: Capote vs. the Swans”
Kate Winslet, “The Regime”

Best TV Supporting Actor
Tadanobu Asano, “Shōgun”
Javier Bardem, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”
Harrison Ford, “Shrinking”
Jack Lowden, “Slow Horses”
Diego Luna, “La Máquina”
Ebon Moss-Bachrach, “The Bear”

Best TV Supporting Actress 
Jessica Gunning, “Baby Reindeer”
Liza Colón-Zayas, “The Bear”
Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks”
Dakota Fanning, “Ripley”
Allison Janney, “The Diplomat”
Kali Reis, “True Detective: Night Country”

Best Stand-Up Comedian on Television
Jamie Foxx, “What Had Happened Was”
Nikki Glaser, “Someday You’ll Die”
Seth Meyers, “Dad Man Walking”
Adam Sandler, “Love You”
Ali Wong, “Single Lady”
Ramy Youssef, “More Feelings”

Season Two of Diego Luna’s “Andor” to Premiere on Disney+ in April 2025

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Diego Luna is returning to a galaxy far, far away next April…

Disney has revealed that Season 2 of the Disney+ Star Wars spin-off series  Andor, starring the 44-year-old Mexican actor, director, and producer, will premiere on April 22, 2025 on the streaming platform.

Diego Luna, Andor, The new season of Andor will premiere more than two years after Season 1 ended.

Andor stars Luna, reprising his role as the titular Rebel spy Cassian Andor after Rogue One (2016). Following his journey from thief to revolutionary during his formative years with the Rebel Alliance, Season 1 sees Andor take on difficult missions for the cause.

Ben Mendelsohn has joined the cast of Season 2, reprising his villainous Rogue One role as Orson Krennic. Luna has said in a teaser clip that the “stakes are greater” in the new season.

“This second part will follow Cassian over the period of four years as he grows into the hero we see make the ultimate sacrifice in Rogue One,” he explained.

Creator Tony Gilroy planned out the series as a two-season adventure with the second season leading up to the events in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, where audiences were first introduced to Luna’s Andor.

Season 2 comes after production was halted on the new episodes last July amid the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Selena Gomez Among Talent Named as Presenters for Upcoming Primetime Emmy Awards

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Selena Gomez has a date with Emmy…

The Television Academy and ABC have announced the talent lineup slated to appear on the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards hosted by Eugene Levy and Dan Levy, with the 32-year-old Mexican American signer/songwriter and actress making the list.

Selena GomezOthers on the lengthy roster include Gael Garcia Bernal, John Leguizamo, Diego Luna, Taylor Zakhar Perez, Martin Sheen, Jimmy Smits and George Lopez..

The 76th Emmy Awards, produced by Jesse Collins Entertainment, will broadcast live on ABC Sunday, September 15, 8:00 pm ET/5:00 pm PT from the Peacock Theater at L.A.

Here’s the talent list so far:

Christine Baranski — Nominee, Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series
Kathy Bates
Meredith Baxter
Candice Bergen
Gael Garcia Bernal
Matt Bomer — Nominee, Outstanding Actor In A Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Zach Braff
Connie Britton
Nicola Coughlan
Billy Crystal
Viola Davis
Giancarlo Esposito
Colin Farrell
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Lily Gladstone — Nominee, Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie
Selena Gomez — Nominee, Outstanding Actress In A Comedy Series
Dulé Hill
Ron Howard
Brendan Hunt
Joshua Jackson
Allison Janney
Don Johnson
Mindy Kaling
Jimmy Kimmel — Nominee, Outstanding Talk Series, Outstanding Writing For a Variety Special, Outstanding Variety Special Live (Winner)
Padma Lakshmi
Greta Lee — Nominee, Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series
John Leguizamo
George Lopez
Diego Luna
Jane Lynch — Nominee, Outstanding Host for a Game Show
Steve Martin — Nominee, Outstanding Actor In A Comedy Series
Nava Mau — Nominee, Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series or Movie
Reba McEntire
Janel Moloney
Ebon Moss-Bachrach — Nominee, Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series
Niecy Nash-Betts
Taylor Zakhar Perez
Mekhi Phifer
Melissa Peterman
Da’Vine Joy Randolph — Nominee, Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series
Sam Richardson
Maya Rudolph
Richard Schiff
Martin Sheen
Martin Short — Nominee, Outstanding Actor In A Comedy Series
Jean Smart — Nominee, Outstanding Actress In A Comedy Series
Jimmy Smits
Antony Starr
Gina Torres
Dick Van Dyke
Susan Kelechi Watson
Damon Wayans
Kristen Wiig — Nominee, Outstanding Actress In A Comedy Series
Henry Winkler
Bowen Yang
Steven Yeun

In addition, there will be special appearances from Olympic gold medalist swimmer Caeleb Dressel and Olympic bronze medal-winning rugby player Ilona Maher.

Santiago Maza’s “State of Silence” Wins Best Feature at Sanfic Festival

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Santiago Maza is celebrating an inspiring win for his fourth documentary film…

The Mexican filmmaker’s State of Silence, a passion project of producer Diego Luna at Mexico-based label La Corriente del Golfo where he partners with Gael García Bernal, has walked off with the coveted best feature award at this year’s Sanfic Festival in Santiago de Chile.

Santiago Maza Documentary features have been made before on Mexico’s appalling death count of journalists: from 2000 to the beginning of 2024, 163 have been murdered and 32 remain missing, a pre-credit roll stat notes in State of Silence.

What sets State of Silence apart, however, is its sense of intimacy as its follows the lives of four journalists who refuse to be silent about Mexico’s crux: the toxic mix of organized crime syndicates and local governments, or narco-politics.

Two journalists chose exile, one is relocated, another sends his wife and kids to live with his mother, fearing for their safety. Two of them return, however, to high-risk zones to continue reporting.

World premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival this June, and recently picked up by Netflix for North and Latin America, State of Silence is fast-paced in its interviews and achieves an aesthetic cinematographic finish with the idea of ennobling the extraordinary courage of journalists portrayed, Maza explained to Variety.

The doc feature climaxes in scenes, which demonstrate what they are up against with now out-going president Andrés Manuel López Obrador at a press conference paranoically rejecting journalists’ criticism of his indifference to journalists’ fates as the opinions of paid underlings of opposition party PRI.

Other big winners were Agustín Toscano’s I Trust You, which took best direction in Sanfic International Competition and Our Memory from Matías Rojas Valencia and The Fabulous Gold Harvesting Machine, from Alfredo Pourally, which shared top best feature honors in Sanfic’s Chilean Film Competition.

Major winners at Sanfic Industria, Sanfic’s vibrant industry forum, were led by Caye Casas’ El Show del Gran Luciferio, his follow-up to The Coffee Table, which Stephen King consecrated by applauding it as “horrible and also horribly funny. Think the Coen Brothers’ darkest dream.”

Water Never Hurt, from Argentina’s Ana Clara Bustelo, and Concert for a Single Voice, directed by Peru’s Alejandra Carpio, won double in Sanfic Industria’s Ibero-American Work in Progress, its industry centerpiece.

More than anything else the Sanfic and Sanfic Industria prizes are a testament to the slew of new talent still breaking out in Latin America and Spain. 11 of the 13 winning films at Sanfic the year are first or second fiction, doc or solo features.

Three of the four biggest winners at Santiago Ibero-American WIP and Santiago Lab Fiction And Documentary were first fiction features.

Here’s a look at this year’s winners:

SANFIC AWARDS, 2024

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION 

Best Performance (ex aequo)
Lorenzo Ferro, (“Simon of the Mountain”)
Franklin Aro, (“The Dog Thief”)

Best Director
Agustín Toscano, (“I Trust You”)

Special Mention
Itsaso Arana (“The Girls are Alright”)

Best Film
“State of Silence,” (Santiago Maza)

Special Mention
“The Universal Theory,” (Timm Kröger)

CHILEAN FILM COMPETITION 

Best Performance
Gastón Salgado, (“The Affections”)

Special Mention
Paola Lattus por (“Sariri,” “Las Cenizas”)

Best Director
Roberto Salinas, (“La Primera Dosis”)

Special Mention
Alberto Hayden, (“Una Luz Negra”)

Best Film
Shared by “The Fabulous Gold Harvesting Machine,” (Alfredo Pourally) and “Our Memory,” (Matías Rojas Valencia)

Special Mention
“Las Cenizas,” (Stejpan Ostoic)

SANFIC INDUSTRIA , 2024

IBERO-AMERICAN WORK IN PROGRESS 

Malaga Work In Progress Award
“Water Never Hurt,” (Ana Clara Bustelo, Argentina, Uruguay)

Yagan Films & Chemistry Award
“The Clearing,” (Maira Carrasco, Chile)

Marketing Movie Runner Award
“Concert for a Single Voice,” (Alejandra Carpio Valdeavellano, Peru)

E-28 Award
“Concert for a Single Voice,”

Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana Award
“Laureano,” (Claudia Ccapatinta, Peru)

LatAm Cinema Award
“Water Never Hurt”

SANTIAGO LAB FICTION AND DOCUMENTARY 

SAPCINE Award
“Southern channels,” (Pilar Higuera, Chile)

Atómica Award
“Southern channels,”

Malaga Festival Industry Zone (MAFIZ) Award
“The Queers Riots,” (Wincy Oyarce, Chile)

Festival Intl. de Cine Documental de Buenos Aires (FIDBA) Award
“The Criminal Record of Madame Wittmann,” (Anastasia Benavente, Nicolás Videla, Chile)

Guadalajara Film Festival Co-Production Meeting Industry Award
“Cupid’s Arrow,” (Ernesto Meléndez, Chile)

Cine Qua Non Lab Award
“Arde un reino,” (Catalina Arroyave, Colombia)

Bogotá Audiovisual Market (BAM) Award
“The Queers Riots,”

Nuevas Miradas – EICTV Award

“The Shorn Sheep,” (Rossana Castillo, Chile)

SANFIC MORBIDO LAB 

Morbido Award 30%
“El Show del Gran Luciferio,” (Caye Casas. Mexico, Spain)

Morbido Award 10%
 “El Silencio es la Musica del Diablo,” (Cremance, Mexico)

Fantastic Pavilion Award
“El Show del Gran Luciferio,”
“Loved Ones,” (Guillermo Amoedo, Mexico, España)

Lahaye Media Award
“Loved Ones,” (Guillermo Amoedo, Mexico, España)

Eiza González In Talks to Star in “Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice”

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Eiza González is thisclose to locking in her next project.

The 34-year-old Mexican actress and singer is in negotiations to co-star opposite Vince Vaughn and James Marsden in the 20th Century film Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice. 

Eiza GonzálezBenDavid Grabinski will write and direct, with Andrew Lazar producing.

While plot details are vague, the spec is described as a buddy action comedy set in the criminal underworld.

González currently stars in Netflix’s Emmy-nominated drama series 3 Body Problem from Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and True Blood producer Alexander Woo. Since its premiere, the show has been renewed for two more seasons.

Up next, González will be seen in the boxing limited series La Maquina opposite Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna. The show will debut as Hulu’s first Spanish-language series.

In 2025, she will reteam with Guy Ritchie in Lionsgate’s In the Grey opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and Henry Cavill, in theaters in January. She’ll also star in Ritchie and Apple’s Fountain of Youth opposite John Krasinski and Natalie Portman.

Also upcoming, González will star in the mystery sci-fi movie Ash directed by the musician Flying Lotus (aka Steven Ellison) opposite Aaron Paul. The film was snapped up by Prime Video for international rights at the Berlin Film Festival, which marked one of the biggest acquisitions out of EFM in February.