Cameron Diaz to Star in DreamWorks Animation’s “Shrek 5”

Posted on July 9, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Cameron Diaz is seeing green…

A fifth Shrek film is in the works, with the the 51-year-old Cuban American actress and fellow stars Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy set to return, per DreamWorks Animation.

“Not too Far, Far Away…” wrote a spokesperson for the studio on X. “@Shrek 5 is coming to theaters on July 1, 2026 with Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz.”

Walt Dohrn, who worked on the second and third films as a writer and artist and as Head of Story on the fourth film, will direct Shrek 5.

Gina Shay is returning to produce alongside Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri, with Brad Ableson co-directing.

Murphy hinted that the project was in motion in a video interview with Collider just last month. “We started doing Shrek four or five months ago,” he said. “I recorded the first act, and we’ll be doing it this year. We’ll finish it up.” In that interview, Murphy let slip that his character Donkey, the trusty sidekick of Myers’ ogre Shrek, also will be getting his own spinoff movie.

One of DreamWorks’ most celebrated animated franchises, Shrek is based on the 1990 picture book from writer and cartoonist William Steig. The franchise kicked off with the 2001 film that introduced viewers to Shrek, an ogre embarking on a quest to rescue Princess Fiona (Diaz).

Winning the first Oscar for Best Animated Feature and grossing more than $488 million worldwide, the original film’s success paved the way to sequels Shrek 2 (2004), where Shrek meets Fiona’s parents, and Shrek the Third (2007), which follows Shrek’s journey to find the next heir to the throne.

The fourth installment, Shrek Forever After (2010), explores Shrek’s midlife crisis and his wish to erase his past.

The franchise also includes the spin-off Puss in Boots (2011), starring Antonio Banderas as the swashbuckling feline, and its sequel Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, which was Oscar-nominated and grossed $481M globally upon its December 2022 debut.

The first four Shrek films have earned more than $2.9 billion worldwide, spawning a global live-touring show, a Broadway musical that earned eight Tony nominations and 12 Drama Desk nominations, plus an immersive tourist destination in London and popular events and attractions across Universal Destinations & Experiences’ theme parks.

Kid Cudi Joins Voice Cast of Trolls Threequel “Trolls Band Together”

Posted on March 28, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Kid Cudi is on a t(roll)…

The 39-year-old half-Mexican American rapper, singer, songwriter record producer and actor has joined the voice cast of Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation’s next Trolls film.

The studios have unveiled the official title for the third film in their hit animated musical franchise, which opens in theaters nationwide on November 17.

Returning to lead the threequel, Trolls Band Together, as expected, are Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick.

In addition to Kid Cudi, others set for the film include Eric André, Daveed Diggs, Troye Sivan, Camila Cabello, Amy Schumer, Andrew Rannells, RuPaul Charles, Zosia Mamet, Zooey Deschanel, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Icona Pop collaborators Aino Jawo and Caroline Hjelt, Anderson .Paak, Ron Funches , Kunal Nayyar and Kenan Thompson.

Trolls is a jukebox musical franchise that has thus far grossed over $396M worldwide between 2016’s Trolls, which landed a Best Original Song Oscar nom for the Timberlake-voiced pop hit “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” and 2020’s somewhat pandemic-hampered Trolls World Tour.

The new film will pick up with trolls Poppy (Kendrick) and Branch (Timberlake) after two films of true friendship and relentless flirting, at a point when they’re now officially, finally, a couple (#broppy)! As they grow closer, Poppy discovers that Branch has a secret past. He was once part of her favorite boyband phenomenon, BroZone, with his four brothers: Floyd (Sivan), John Dory (André), Spruce (Diggs) and Clay (Cudi).

BroZone disbanded when Branch was still a baby, as did the family, and Branch hasn’t seen his brothers since. But when Branch’s bro Floyd is kidnapped for his musical talents by a pair of nefarious pop-star villains —Velvet (Schumer) and Veneer (Rannells) — Branch and Poppy embark on a harrowing and emotional journey to reunite the other brothers and rescue Floyd from a fate even worse than pop-culture obscurity.

Walt Dohrn returned to direct Trolls Band Together after helming both past installments, with Trolls World Tour’s head of story Tim Heitz coming aboard as co-director, and Gina Shay returning as producer.

Colman Domingo Among Voice Cast of DreamWorks Animation’s Animated Feature “Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken”

Posted on March 17, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Colman Domingo is getting animated…

The 53-year-old Belizean-Guatemalan American actor and social justice activist, an Emmy and Tony Award winner, will form part of the voice cast of DreamWorks Animation’s animated feature, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken.

The film is set for wide release via Universal on June 30th.

Domingo joins a voice cast that includes Lana Condor in the title role, Toni Collette, Jane Fonda, Annie Murphy, Sam Richardson, Blue Chapman and Jaboukie Young-White.

Directed by Kirk De Micco, with Faryn Pearl as co-director, the film is an action-comedy about a shy teenager who discovers that she’s part of a legendary royal lineage of mythical sea krakens and that her destiny, in the depths of the oceans, is bigger than she ever dreamed.

Sweet, awkward 16-year-old Ruby Gillman (Condor) is desperate to fit in at Oceanside High, but she mostly just feels invisible. She’s math-tutoring her skater-boy crush (Young-White), who only seems to admire her for her fractals, and she’s prevented from hanging out with the cool kids at the beach because her over-protective supermom (Collette) has forbade her from ever getting in the water. But when she breaks her mom’s #1 rule, Ruby will discover that she is a direct descendant of the warrior Kraken queens and is destined to inherit the throne from her commanding grandmother (Fonda), the Warrior Queen of the Seven Seas.

The Kraken are sworn to protect the oceans of the world against the vain, power-hungry mermaids who have been battling with the Kraken for eons. But there’s one major, and immediate, problem with that: The school’s beautiful, popular new girl, Chelsea (Murphy) just happens to be a mermaid. Ruby will ultimately need to embrace who she is and go big to protect those she loves most.

Rounding out the cast of Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken are Will Forte and Nicole Byer, Liza Koshy, Ramona Young, Eduardo Franco and Echo Kellum. While it’s not yet clear who wrote the script, Kelly Cooney Cilella served as the film’s producer, with Grammy-winning composer and Universal Composers Initiative alum Stephanie Economou penning the score.

Diego Calva’s Ensemble Film “Babylon” to Open in Wide Release Christmas Weekend

Posted on October 19, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Diego Calva will be spending the Christmas holiday in Babylon…

The 30-year-old Mexican actor’s latest ensemble project Babylon, starring Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt, will open in wide release in U.S. theaters on December 23.

The film was originally scheduled to open in limited release during the Christmas holiday, with its wide release on January 6.

Babylon will open in the wake of 20th Century Studios/Disney’s Avatar: The Way of Water on December 16 and will share the marquee nationwide with movies like Sony’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody, Universal/Dreamworks Animation’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and the expansion of United Artists Releasing’s drama Women Talking.

Set in the 1920s, during Hollywood‘s transition from silent films to sound films, the film follows Manny Torres (Calva) as he pursues a career within the industry, starting as a film assistant.

Written and directed by Damien Chazelle, the film was shot in Santa Clarita, CA, where many silent and early sound movies were made, like Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times.

In addition to Calva, Robbie and Pitt, the ensemble cast also includes Tobey Maguire, Olivia Wilde, Spike Jonze, Max Minghella and Jean Smart.

Salma Hayek to Reprise Kitty Softpaws Role in “Puss in Boots” Sequel “The Last Wish”

Posted on March 14, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Salma Hayek Pinault is pawing her way back to the big screen…

The 55-year-old Mexican actress will reprise the role of Kitty Softpaws in the long-awaited Puss in Boots movie sequel The Last Wish.

Hayek will re-team with Antonio Banderas, who voices the titular feline character, on the animated film.

Hayek and Banderas will contend with a third amigo this time around as Harvey Guillén (makes his franchise debut in the role of Perro, Kitty and Puss’ canine associate.

Also part of the A-list ensemble is Florence Pugh, Olivia Colman, Wagner Moura, Ray Winstone, John Mulaney, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Anthony Mendez and Samson Kayo.

The Last Wish follows the daring outlaw Puss in Boots as he discovers that his passion for peril and disregard for safety have taken their toll.

The original film, released in 2011, was a Shrek spinoff following Puss’ adventures prior to his debut appearance in Shrek 2. Puss in Boots made more than $149 million at the domestic box office, and close to $555 million worldwide.

Talks of a follow-up go as far back as 2014. Puss in Boots 2: Nine Lives & 40 Thieves was announced in June of that year with DreamWorks Animation setting a November release date. It was delayed by a month before it was removed from the schedule due to restructuring at DreamWorks.

After many more internal changes, The Last Wish finally received a September 23, 2022, release date with Banderas’ return confirmed.

Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado serve as director and co-director of The Last Wish, respectively; Mark Swift will produce.

The film is executive produced by Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri. Universal is set to handle distribution.

The first trailer for the project will debut March 15.

Anthony Ramos to Star in “Trolls” Half-Hour Animated Musical Special “Trolls Holiday in Harmony”

Posted on October 19, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Anthony Ramos is about to let it troll….

The 29-year-old Puerto Rican actor/singer has joined the voice cast of Trolls Holiday in Harmony, starring Trolls alums Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Kenan Thompson and Rachel Bloom.

The new half-hour animated musical special hails from the DreamWorks Animation franchise set on NBC.

Other Trolls alums joining the cast include Ron Funches, Kunal Nayyar, Anderson .Paak, Ester Dean, Walt Dohrn, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Karan Soni.

The special will air on Friday, November 26 at 9:00 pm on NBC.

In the special, as the holidays near, Queen Poppy (Kendrick) plans the first annual Trolls Kingdom Secret Holiday Gift Swap. Things take an unexpected turn, however, when she and Branch (Timberlake) draw each other’s name. Meanwhile, Tiny Diamond (Thompson) comes down with a bad case of writers’ block trying to think of a special holiday rap for his dad.

The special, which includes four original songs, is written and directed by Sean Charmatz and Tim Heitz with Gina Shay and Walt Dohrn serving as the executive producers.

The Trolls DreamWorks Animation franchise includes the 2016 film Trolls and 2020’s Trolls World Tour starring Kendrick, Timberlake, among others, as well as two original TV series, digital content, videos games and more.

Following its premiere on NBC, Trolls Holiday in Harmony, will be available for purchase on digital and DVD November 30 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. A digital soundtrack for the special will be released by RCA Records on November 26 to coincide with the special airing on NBC.

Isabela Merced to Portray Juliet in “Rosaline,” 20th Century Fox’s Revisionist Take on “Romeo & Juliet”

Posted on July 2, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Wherefore art thou Isabela Merced?

The 19-year-old Peruvian American actress has been cast to play Juliet in 20th Century Fox’s Rosaline, a comedic and revisionist take on Romeo & Juliet with Kaitlyn Dever attached to star.

Karen Maine will direct, with 21 Laps, Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen producing.

The script is based on the novel When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle and is a modern twist on the classic William Shakespeare tale. We see “the most famous love story ever told” through the eyes of Juliet’s cousin Rosaline (Dever), a sharp but idealistic young woman—who happens to be Romeo’s recent ex. What begins as an attempt to foil the famous romance and win back her guy becomes a journey of self-discovery as she ultimately works to help get the star-crossed lovers back together.

Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber penned the script.

Merced is best known for her roles in Sicario: Day of the Soldado and as Dora the Explorer in Paramount’s Dora and the Lost City of Gold movie.

She was most recently seen in Netflix’s Let It Snow and also voiced the lead character in DreamWorks Animation and Universal’s Spirit Untamed.

She is currently filming Warner Bros.’ new Father of the Bride film starring Andy Garcia.

Netflix & DreamWorks Animation Release Full Trailer for Guillermo del Toro’s “Trollhunters: Rise Of The Titans”

Posted on June 16, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Guillermo del Toro on the hunt…

Netflix and DreamWorks Animation have released the first full trailer for Trollhunters: Rise Of The Titans, which was co-written and executive-produced by the 56-year-old Mexican Oscar-winning filmmaker.

The animated film, which will be released on the streaming service on July 21, is set in the world created by del Toro in his epic Emmy-winning Tales Of Arcadia trilogy.

In the animated fantasy adventure, Arcadia may look like an ordinary town but it lies at the center of magical and mystical lines that makes it a nexus for many battles among otherworldly creatures including trolls, aliens and wizards. Now, the heroes from the Trollhunters series team up in their most epic adventure yet, where they must fight the Arcane Order for control over the magic that binds them all.

“From the beginning, I tried to get together a group that would bring things to the table that were different,” says del Toro of the team behind the project.

He says the project was conceived as “three series that you can put together like a diorama and then you see how on an early episode of Trollhunters you’re going to see the characters of wizards and 3Below interacting, and then go back on a Möbius strip and see other episodes from the others’ point of view. Then finish with a movie.” He noted, “It sounded really crazy, but we were very careful in how we developed the assets, but also in the storytelling.”

del Toro previously pitched the series as live-action and set in the 1980s. Per del Toro, then-DWA chief Jeffrey Katzenberg replied, “We don’t do TV.” So, del Toro explained, “we started to try to cram it all into a feature. It was impossible.” Then, “One fateful morning Jeffrey invited me for breakfast, and when he pays for breakfast there’s something about to go, and he said, ‘Don’t kill me, but what do you think about doing it as a TV series?’ And I said, ‘That’s the best news we’ve ever had.’”

The extensive voice cast includes Emile Hirsch, Lexi Medrano, Charlie Saxton, Kelsey Grammer, Alfred Molina, Steven Yeun, Nick Frost, Colin O’Donoghue, Diego Luna, Tatiana Maslany, Cole Sand, Nick Offerman, Fred Tatasciore, Brian Blessed, Kay Bess, Piotr Michael, James Hong, Tom Kenny, Angel Lin, Amy Landecker, Jonathan Hyde, Bebe Wood, Laraine Newman, Grey Griffin and Cheryl Hines.

Along with del Toro, writers are Marc Guggenheim, Dan Hageman and Kevin Hageman.

Isabela Merced to Star in Warner Bros.’ Remake of “Father of the Bride”

Posted on April 29, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Isabela Merced is joining the wedding party…

The 19-year-old Peruvian American actress/singer, who starred in Dora and the Lost City of Gold, will star opposite Andy Garcia and Gloria Estefan in Warner Bros.‘ remake of Father of the Bride.

Gaz Alazraki, who helmed Club de Cuervos, is directing the feature, which goes before cameras in May.

Like previous iterations of Bride, which includes a Spencer Tracy-fronted 1950 movie and the Steve Martin-starring 1991 feature, the latest remake will center on the father of a soon-to-be bride coming to terms with his daughter’s nuptials.

The latest take, however, will be told through the relationships in a big, sprawling Cuban American family.

Merced will play the sister of the bride, who is being played by Adria Arjona. Garcia is the father.

Matt Lopez wrote the script for the update.

In addition to starring in Dora, in which she toplined as the globe-trotting adventuress, Merced co-starred with Mark Wahlberg in Instant Family, was part of the ensemble for Netflix’s Let It Snow, and appeared with Benicio Del Toro in Sicario: Day of the Soldado.

She next voice-stars in DreamWorks Animation’s Spirit Untamed and will be protected by Jason Momoa in action-thriller Sweet Girl. Both are due to be released this summer.

Merced is signed to Republic Records.

Guillermo del Toro’s Animated “Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans” Film to Premiere on Netflix in July

Posted on April 27, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Guillermo del Toro will be troll-ing Netflix this summer…

The 56-year-old Mexican filmmaker and two-time The Shape of Water Oscar has shared the release date and first teaser for his Netflix–DreamWorks Animation movie Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans.

Executive produced by del Toro, the filmwill hit the service on July 21.

The film is set in the world created by del Toro in his epic Tales of Arcadia trilogy. Arcadia may look like an ordinary town but it lies at the center of magical and mystical lines that makes it a nexus for many battles among otherworldly creatures including trolls, aliens and wizards. Now the heroes from the Trollhunters series team up in their most epic adventure yet where they must fight the Arcane Order for control over the magic that binds them all.

The film features the voices of Emile Hirsch, Lexi Medrano, Charlie Saxton, Kelsey Grammer, Alfred Molina, Steven Yeun, Nick Frost, Colin O’Donoghue, Diego Luna, Tatiana Maslany, Cole Sand, Nick Offerman, Fred Tatasciore, Brian Blessed, Kay Bess, Piotr Michael, James Hong, Tom Kenny, Angel Lin, Amy Landecker, Jonathan Hyde, Bebe Wood, Laraine Newman, Grey Griffin and Cheryl Hines.

https://twitter.com/NetflixFilm/status/1387074059884634118

Johane Matte, Franisco Ruiz Velasco, and Andrew L. Schmidt directed from a screenplay written by Marc Guggenheim, Dan Hageman, and Kevin Hageman. EPs with del Toro are Guggenheim, Dan Hageman, Kevin Hageman and Chad Hammes.

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