Enrique Murciano to Star in Michelle Danner’s Courtroom Drama “Miranda’s Victim”

Enrique Murciano is heading to court

The 48-year-old Cuban American actor will star in Michelle Danner’s courtroom drama Miranda’s Victim.

Enrique MurcianoMurciano appears on a list of new cast additions that includes Emily VanCamp, Sebastian Quinn, Brent Sexton and Josh Bowman.

They join a stacked ensemble led by Abigail Breslin, which also includes Luke Wilson, Andy Garcia, Donald Sutherland, Ryan Phillippe, Mireille Enos, Kyle MacLachlan and Taryn Manning, as previously announced.

The film will tell the true story of Trish Weir (Breslin), who in 1963 was kidnapped and brutally raped by Ernesto Miranda (Quinn). 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. Her case notably results in the establishment of the Miranda rights afforded to criminal suspects taken in police custody, to ensure the admissibility of statements made during interrogation, as part of subsequent criminal proceedings.

Murciano will portray Detective Cooley.

The film, written by George Kolber and J. Craig Stiles, is currently in production in New Jersey.

The production company involved is Navesink River Productions.

Murciano played Detective Marco Diaz on Netflix’s popular crime drama Bloodline and has also been seen on such series as PanicTell Me Your SecretsBriarpatch, The Blacklist, Hap and Leonard and Power. Notable film credits include Bright, Rough NightDawn of the Planet of the Apes and Black Hawk Down. He’ll next be seen in the HBO Max rom-com Father of the Bride and Netflix’s series The Night Agent.

Rachel Zegler to Star in “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”

It’s (hunger) game on for Rachel Zegler

The 21-year-old half-Colombian American Golden Globe-winning actress/singer and West Side Story star has joined the cast of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the highly anticipated prequel to Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games

Rachel Zegler,Zegler is joining the Francis Lawrence-directed film in the lead female role of Lucy Gray Baird.

She joins recently announced Tom Blyth, who’s playing the young Coriolanus Snow, that role made famous by Donald Sutherland in the original trilogy.

Years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird, the girl tribute from impoverished District 12. But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird, and who is a snake.

“When you read Suzanne’s book, Lucy Gray’s emotional intelligence, physical agility, and fiercely powerful, determined singing voice shine through. Rachel embodies all of those skills – she is the perfect choice for our Lucy Gray,” said Nathan Kahane, president, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group.

“Like everybody, I first saw Rachel Zegler in West Side Story, and like everybody, I knew I was watching a star who would command the screen for a generation,” said Lawrence. “Lucy Gray is a perfect match for her as an actress: the character is bold, independent, and defiant, but also vulnerable, emotional, and loving. Rachel will make this character unforgettable.”

“Lucy Gray is an incredibly complex character, a performer who has to use every skill in her arsenal to survive. Our casting team, Deb Zane and Dylan Jury, spearheaded an exhaustive search, reading hundreds of actors in search of our perfect Lucy Gray. That search ended when Rachel Zegler blew the roof off with her depth and breadth of talent as an actor, singer, and performer. Rachel is utterly compelling; just like Lucy Gray, her voice and charisma command the stage while her inner strength and humanity transform those around her,” said Hunger Games producer Nina Jacobson.

Lionsgate recently announced that the prequel will hit theaters around the world on November 17, 2023.

The entire Hunger Games franchise has grossed more $3 billion worldwide.

Lawrence previously helmed The Hunger Games films Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part One, and Mockingjay Part Two. Jacobson is producing with her partner Brad Simpson, along with Lawrence. Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins, Tim Palen, and Jim Miller will serve as executive producers.

The latest draft of the screenplay is by Michael Lesslie, who is building on the work of Collins and Michael Arndt. The screenplay is based on Collins’ bestselling novel.

Zegler was lauded with Best Actress wins from the National Board of Review and the Golden Globes for her turn as Maria in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story. She is next set to appear in DC Comics’ Shazam! Fury of the Gods alongside Zachary Levi, Helen Mirren, and Lucy Liu, which debuts in December.

She is currently filming the title role in Disney’s live action Snow White, directed by Marc Webb.

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

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.

Andy GarciaGarcia will star opposite Abigail BreslinLuke 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’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 RebelFlipped 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.

Michael Peña to Star in Roland Emmerich’s Sci-Fi Epic “Moonfall”

Michael Peña is out of this world

The 45-year-old Mexican American actor has been cast in the Roland Emmerich-helmed sci-fi epic Moonfall.

Michael Peña

Peña joins an A-list ensemble cast that includes Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, John Bradley, Eme Ikwuakor, Charlie Plummer and Donald Sutherland.

The space drama takes off with a mysterious force that knocks the Moon from its orbit around Earth and sends it hurtling on a collision course with life as we know it. With mere weeks before impact, and against all odds, a ragtag team launches an impossible last-ditch mission into space, leaving behind everyone they love and risking everything to land on the lunar surface and save our planet from annihilation.

Peña is taking over the role previously held by Stanley Tucci, who had to exit the project due to government-imposed travel restrictions banning UK flights into Canada.

Peña will play Tom Lopez, a wealthy car dealer who is married to Brian Harper’s (Wilson) ex-wife, the loving and fierce Brenda, played by Carolina Bartczak.

Emmerich, Harald Kloser, and Spenser Cohen penned the screenplay.

Centropolis is overseeing all aspects of production, financing, delivery, and distribution and marketing in collaboration with Lionsgate, AGC Studios, and other distribution partners. Lionsgate is distributing the film in North America.

Moonfall is set to hit theaters in 2022.

Peña will soon be seen starring in the Warner Bros. live-action/animation hybrid Tom & Jerry, slated to debut on HBO Max and in theaters on February 26.

Tyler Posey to Star in “Brut Force”

The forceis with Tyler Posey

The 28-year-old half-Mexican American actor and former Teen Wolf star will star opposite Lelia Symington in Brut Force, the first feature from writer-director Eve Symington.

Tyler Posey

Scheduld to go before cameras this fall in California, the film follows Sloane (Symington), a reporter who returns to her rural California hometown to investigate harassment of local vineyard workers, uncorking a tangled web of crime, corruption and murder behind wine country’s shiny façade.

Posey, who recently appeared in the Blumhouse thriller Truth or Dare, will play her love interest and “homme fatale.” 

Vico Escorcia will also co-star as the missing girl and catalyst to the neo-noir tale.

The production has used the multi-union white paper “The Safe Way Forward” to create a risk assessment and production prevention plan, which will continue to be a collaborative work-in-progress, keeping the safety of the cast and crew at the forefront of the production and with the necessary union approvals.Posey will next be seen starring opposite Donald Sutherland in the thriller Alone.

Oscar Isaac to Star in HBO’s Adaptation of Ingmar Bergman’s “Scenes From a Marriage”

Oscar Isaac is going to the chapel…

HBO has given a green light to Scenes From a Marriage, a limited series adaptation of Ingmar Bergman’s classic miniseries, starring the 41-year-old Guatemalan & Cuban actorand Michelle Williams

Oscar Isaac

The project hails from Hagai LeviMichael Ellenberg’s Media Res and Endeavor Content.

Written and directed by Levi, the series adaptation re-examines the show’s iconic depiction of love, hatred, desire, monogamy, marriage and divorce through the lens of a contemporary American couple, played by Isaac and Williams.

Ingmar Bergman wrote and directed the original 1973 Swedish miniseries Scenes From A Marriage, which starred Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson. Bergman’s teleplay, the story of a disintegration of a marriage, drew on his own experiences, including his relationship with Ullmann.

Isaac, star of the HBO miniseries Show Me A Hero, will next be seen starring in the Dune reboot, an adaption of the bestselling novel of the same name by Frank Herbert. He’s also set to star in James Gray’s period drama Armageddon Time, alongside Robert De NiroDonald SutherlandAnne Hathaway and Cate Blanchett and Paul Schrader’s The Card Counter, with Martin Scorsese executive producing. 

Isaac is set to produce Lionsgate’s upcoming film London,under his Mad Gene Media Banner, with Ben Stiller set to direct. He’s also set to star in and produce the adaptation of Brian K. Vaughn’s Ex Machina comic retitled The Great Machine

Oscar Isaac to Star Opposite Cate Blanchett in Period Drama “Armageddon Time”

It’s Armageddon Time for Oscar Isaac

The 41-year-old Guatemalan & Cuban actor will star alongside Cate Blanchett in Armageddon Time, the period drama to be directed by James Gray for RT Features.

Oscar Isaac

Isaac joins a list of new cast members that includes Robert De NiroDonald Sutherland and Anne Hathaway

Gray wrote and will direct, and re-teams with RT Features following their recent collaboration on Ad Astra, the Brad Pitt space thriller that co-starred Sutherland. RT Features’ Rodrigo Teixeira will produce, with Lourenço Sant’Anna and Rodrigo Gutierrez executive producing.

Gray crafted a drama based on his childhood memories, a big-hearted coming-of-age story that explores friendship and loyalty against the backdrop of an America poised to elect Ronald Reagan as president. It’s very different from his recent pictures, and he hopes to shoot in New York as soon as post-pandemic opportunities make it possible. 

“Every film you make is different, but I’m trying to do something that is the opposite of the vast, lonely and dark void of the movie I just directed,” Gray said. “I’m anxious to make something that is very much about people, about human emotions and interactions between people, and I want it to be filled with warmth and tenderness. In some sense, yes it’s about my childhood, but an illustration of familial love really on every level. I’m of the belief that most people do their best and that they try their best under difficult circumstances and in some sense that’s a beautiful thing and very moving to me.” 

Tyler Posey to Star in the Thriller “Alone”

Tyler Posey is ready for some Alone time…

The 28-year-old half-Mexican American actor and former Teen Wolf heartthrob will star opposite Donald SutherlandSummer Spiro and Robert Ri’chard in Alone, a film described as a Hitchcock’s Rear Window-esque infestation thriller from director Johnny Martin.

Tyler Posey

The film follows Aidan (Posey), who barricades himself inside his apartment when his complex is overrun by infected screamers. With the world falling into chaos, Aidan discovers a girl (Spiro) across his courtyard who is also trapped inside her house and now must find a way out for both of them. Over the course of the movie, the distance between Spiro and Posey turns into a tantalizing love story between these two characters stuck all alone.

The film, written by Matt Naylor, was financed by HIG Productions. In addition to Teen Wolf, Posey’s credits include The Last Summer and Scary Movie 5.

Ismael Cruz Cordova to Star in HBO’s Limited Series “The Undoing”

Ismael Cruz Cordovais Undoing things…

The 31-year-old Puerto Rican actor has been cast opposite Nicole KidmanHugh Grant and Donald Sutherland in The Undoing, HBO’s high-profile six-episode limited series written by David E. Kelleyand directed by Susanne Bier.

Ismael Cruz Cordova

An adaptation of Jean Hanff Korelitz’s book You Should Have Known, The Undoingcenters on Grace Sachs (Kidman), who is living the only life she ever wanted for herself. She’s a successful therapist, has a devoted husband (Grant) and young son (Noah Jupe) who attends an elite private school in New York City. Overnight a chasm opens in her life: a violent death, a missing husband, and, in the place of a man Grace thought she knew, only a chain of terrible revelations. Left behind in the wake of a spreading and very public disaster, and horrified by the ways in which she has failed to heed her own advice, Grace must dismantle one life and create another for her child and herself.

Cordova will play Fernando Alves.

The cast also includes Edgar Ramirezand Lily Rabe.

Cruz Cordova recently starred in Miss Bala for SonyMary Queen of Scots for Focus Films and Berlin Stationfor Epix

Alejandro G. Inarritu to Receive Special Oscar for His Virtual Reality Installation “Carne y Arena”

Alejandro G. Inarritu is getting a special Oscar…

The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has voted to give a special honorary Oscar to the 54-year-old Mexican filmmaker’s extraordinary virtual reality installation Carne y Arena

Alejandro G. Inarritu

It will be presented at the upcoming Governors Awards on November 11 at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland.

This joins previously announced Governors Award honorees this year including actor Donald Sutherland, director Agnes Varda, cinematographer Owen Roizman and filmmaker Charles Burnett.

In making the announcement of the Oscar to this unique achievement — full name: Carne y Arena (Virtually Present, Physically Invisible) — the Academy said it was in recognition of a visionary and powerful experience in storytelling. It was first unveiled at this year’s Cannes Film Festival in May in a nearby airport hangar where I was among the lucky ones to experience it. And experience is the word.

“The Governors of the Academy are proud to present a special Oscar to Carne y Arena, in which Alejandro Iñárritu and his cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki have opened for us new doors of cinematic perception,” said Academy president John Bailey. “Carne y Arena, Iñárritu’s multimedia art and cinema experience, is a deeply emotional and physically immersive venture into the world of migrants crossing the desert of the American southwest in early dawn light. More than even a creative breakthrough in the still emerging form of virtual reality, it viscerally connects us to the hot-button political and social realities of the U.S.-Mexico border.”

Los Angeles residents currently have the opportunity to see Carne y Arena as it is on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, as well as at Fondazione Prada in Milan, and Tlatelolco Cultural Center in Mexico City. It’s a collaboration between Iñárritu, Lubezki, producer Mary Parent, Legendary Entertainment, Fondazione Prada, ILMxLAB, and Emerson Collective.

The Oscar will be Inarritu’s fifth Academy Award. He won three for Birdman including Best Picture, Director, and Screenplay as well as becoming only the second helmer in 65 years to win back-to-back awards when he won Director again for 2015’s The Revenant.