John Quiñones Named Gold Circle Inductee by National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences

Posted on August 30, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

It’s the golden hour for John Quiñones…

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences will celebrate its 2023 Gold and Silver Circle Inductees at the 44th Annual News & Documentary Awards on September 27-28 in New York, with the 71-year-old Mexican-American broadcast journalist and news correspondent among the honorees.

The Gold and Silver Circle is a society of honor. Inductees are professionals who have performed distinguished service within the television industry, setting standards for achievement, mentoring, leadership and professional accolades for 50 or 25 years.

Quiñones, an ABC News correspondent who hosts What Would You Do?, is among the Gold Circle inductees, alongside David Martin of CBS News and journalist Dan Rather.

Active in the industry since 1975, Quiñones is a seven-time Emmy Award winner, a George Foster Peabody Award winner and a recipient of the National Hispanic Media Coalition‘s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Meanwhile, Otto Padron has been named a Silver Circle inductee.

Padron is the president & CEO of Meruelo Media, one of the fastest growing minority-owned media companies in California. Padron’s mass media experience, leadership skills and vision were key in the reorganization and expansion of Meruelo Media in 2012. Today, Meruelo Media stands as one of the most diverse media companies in the Nation with four key broadcast properties in Los Angeles.

Before joining the Meruelo Media team, Padron was the Senior Vice President of Programming for Univision Television Network, the leading Spanish language network in the U.S. He is the only executive to have successfully headed programming for both major US Spanish language networks, Univision and Telemundo.

Other Silver Circle inductees are Steve Fastook, Senior Vice President of Operations, CNBC; Kim Godwin, President, ABC News; Rand Morrison, Executive Producer, CBS News Sunday Morning, CBS News; Steve Osunsami, Senior National Correspondent, ABC News; and Thomas Snowden, Editor, NBC News.

Gold Circle Documentary Inductees are Jon Alpert, Documentarian, Journalist, Co-Founder of DCTV, and Keiko Tsuno, Documentarian, Journalist, Co-Founder of DCTV.

Silver Circle Documentary Inductees are Daniel H. Birman, Documentarian, Birman Productions; Lois Vossen, Executive Producer, ITVS; and Christopher White, Executive Producer, American Documentary.

“This year’s Gold & Silver honorees are recognized for their phenomenal and continuing contributions to our television industry,” said Adam Sharp, President and CEO, NATAS. “Their persistent excellence of craft has enabled viewers to be better informed about the issues of the day, even as the character of the news cycle has evolved so markedly over the storied course of their careers. We celebrate the courage of these professionals and salute the vital storytelling they bring to our screens.”

Maritza Cabrera Launching Limitless Management

Posted on August 24, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Maritza Cabrera’s future is limitless…

The Latina talent and literary manager, producer and executive, formerly of Zero Gravity Management, is launching a new company, Limitless Management, with her existing clients, Cassandra Blair, Julia Harnett and Raphael Corkhill.

Other clients following Cabrera to Limitless include Sarah Alami, Kyle Coffman, Kathryn Boyd Brolin, Sarah Cortez, Christine Lin and actress/viral sensation Cassidy Davis. Writers include Kate Bailey, Christene Seda, Timmy Tamisiea and Lamont Ferrell.

The company will also represent several multi-hyphenate artists including Juan Francisco Villa; Emmy nominee LaNisa Renee Frederick; Minita Gandhi; Paloma Nozicka and Will Allan, who were both recently nominated for The Jeff Awards for their new works.

“Eleven years ago, I moved to Hollywood from Chicago as a multi-hyphenate artist with a foundation in theater and improv,” Cabrera told Deadline. “I pivoted into management over 8 years ago and combined those skills along with a passion to develop and support other multi-hyphenate artists and those with a stage background.”

She continued, “As a Latina, it has also always been important to me to champion women and diversity in our industry as well as my roster. I am incredibly grateful for the support from my clients, casting, agents, and other industry colleagues as well as my family and friends. Azucar!”

Cabrera’s first feature film as a producer, Clocked, starring her clients Danell Leyva and Brandon Hudson, is currently on the festival circuit and seeking distribution.

She’s also in pre-production for the next feature she is producing, A Woman Abroad, written by Amy Kersten.

Guillermo del Toro Finalizing Plans to Write & Direct His Next Netflix Project “Frankenstein”

Posted on March 16, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Guillermo del Toro is inching closer to his next live-action film…

The 58-year-old Mexican history-making Academy Award winner is thisclose to finalizing a deal to write and direct the film Frankenstein, with Andrew Garfield, Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth in early talks to star in del Toro’s next Netflix project.

Insiders close to the film caution that del Toro is still working on the script and no formal offers have given to any actors. But sources add that he has has met with all three, and each is on board to star.

No comment from Netflix.

del Toro has been developing the Frankenstein project for some time and long has wanted to make a movie centered on the iconic Mary Shelley story. It is unknown whether his version would be a period pic or set in modern times. Also unknown is who would be playing Doctor Frankenstein or his creation; it is believed Goth would be playing the doctor’s love interest.

Even in its early days, del Toro seems to be pulling together an ensemble as on fire as any in town.

Isaac continues to be busy as he is coming off his Emmy-nominated work in HBO’s Scenes from a Marriage and the Marvel limited series Moon Knight. He was also recently tapped to play Kurt Vonnegut in the limited series Helltown.

Rita Moreno to Take Part in This Year’s Sundance Film Festival Semi-Virtual Edition

Posted on January 19, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Rita Moreno is ready to rock Sundance…

The 2021 Sundance Film Festival has announced a schedule of the talks and events to be presented on the Sundance platform, with the 89-year-old Puerto Rican actress, dancer and singer set to participate.

The festival, which runs from January 28 to February 3, opted for a semi-virtual option in lieu of its traditional exhibition in Park City, UT. Among the guests taking part in this year’s virtual “Cinema Cafe” talks are Moreno, Questlove, Robin Wright and others.

Moreno will be joined by beloved Sesame Street alum Sonia Manzano for a little café talk on Saturday, January 30 from 10:30-11:15 am.

The EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscars & Tony Awards) winner will also take part in the Conjuring the Collective: Womxn at Sundance Speakeasy later that night, from 8:00 – 9:00 pm.

The virtual speakeasy will feature performances from an array of talented women from the Festival and beyond, honoring a multiplicity of perspectives through our myths and stories, dance, art, music, and culture.

In addition to Moreno, guests include poet Apiorkor, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison (Ailey), actor Marlee Matlin and director Siân Heder.

The following is the roster of scheduled events. All talks and events are free to view, and all times are U.S. Mountain time.

2021 Sundance Film
Festival Opening Night Welcome
Thursday, January 28,
5:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

The Sundance Dailies
#SundanceDailies
Friday, January 29–Tuesday, February 2,
9:00 a.m.–9:30 a.m.

2021 Cinema Café guests:

Shaka King & Ahmir
“Questlove” Thompson
Friday, January 29, 10:30-11:15 a.m.

Sonia Manzano & Rita Moreno
Saturday, January 30, 10:30-11:15 a.m.

Rebecca Hall & Robin Wright
Sunday, January 31, 10:30-11:15 a.m.

Tyson Brown, Patti Harrison & Emilia Jones
Monday, February 1, 10:30-11:15am

The Big Conversation
#SundanceBigConversation
Friday, January 29-Monday, February 1,
1-2 p.m., individual slots TBA
The Big Conversation tackles science, art, culture, and the movements that are fueling the imaginations of today’s independent artists. A compelling selection of speakers discuss topics centered on the themes of this year’s program and explore broader trends in art and culture around the world. In considering how
artists — through their practice and their work — make meaning of the world, we’re reminded that it’s the big conversation that connects us to the big ideas. The topics are “Barbed Wire Kisses Redux,” “Come Together” and “The Past In the Present: A Personal Journey through Race, History and Filmmaking.”

Power of Story
Timing TBA
The Sundance Film Festival’s Power of Story looks to deepen public engagement with storytelling, delve into cinema culture, and celebrate artists whose work propels the form and reinvents storytelling as we know it.

Power of Story: Speculative Fiction Is the Place
Black speculative fiction and historiography, Afrofuturism, and utopian/dystopian visions speak to an enduring, evolving, and vibrant storytelling sensibility.

Conjuring the Collective: Womxn at Sundance Speakeasy
Saturday, January 30, 8-9 p.m.
A virtual speakeasy featuring performances from an array of talented women from the Festival and beyond, honoring a multiplicity of perspectives through our myths and stories, dance, art, music, and culture. Guests include: poet Apiorkor, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison (Ailey), actor Marlee Matlin and director Siân Heder (CODA), actor Rita Moreno (Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided to Go For It), actor SOKO (Mayday, The Blazing World), and more TBA.

Awards Night
Tuesday, February 2, 6 p.m.
Free and open to all, the event will be live-streamed on our online screening platform.

It’s a Wrap
Wednesday, February 3, 9-9:30 a.m.
Festival director Tabitha Jackson leads a ceremonial end to this all-new Sundance experience by bringing audiences together for one last moment together in the virtual space.

Thalia Lending Her Voice to Latest Dora the Explorer Special

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Call it Thalia’s big adventure…

The 40-year-old Mexican singer/actress will be lending her voice to an upcoming television special featuring characters from Dora the Explorer.

Thalia will provide the voice of the mermaid’s mother in Nickelodeon’s Dora’s Rescue in Mermaid Kingdom, set to air Friday night.

The story centers on the efforts of Dora and Boots to help Maribel—a lost mermaid they encounter on the beach—get back to her mother in the Mermaid Kingdom.

“Dora is such an iconic and important Latina heroine, and I’m proud to now be a part of the show’s ever-growing legacy,” says Thalia, a mother of two. ““I was thrilled to play a role on Dora the Explorer, a show that has touched the lives of many children around the world including my own child.”

Dora, now voiced by 7-year-old Fatima Ptacek, is a 7-year-old bilingual Latina who explores an “imaginative, tropical world filled with jungles, beaches and rainforests.”

In its more than 10 year history on the air, the Emmy-winning show has featured guests like John Leguizamo, Cheech Marin, Ricardo Montalban, Esai Morales and Chita Rivera.

Louis C.K.’s Latest Comedy Special Available Online…

Posted on December 10, 2011 by Tom Castaneda

Louis C.K. is one of the most revered comics of the modern era… And, he’s apparently one of the smartest, too.

To give anxious fans instant access to his recent material, the 44-year-old part-Mexican comedian/actor has released Louis C.K. Live at the Beacon Theater straight to the internet.

The one-hour comedy special starts with Louis making his own kind of please-turn-off-your-cell-phone announcement and a warning not to text or tweet during the show: “Just live your life,” he says. And it builds to a moment where he has to pause and say, “Okay, that’s the worst thing I’ve ever said. It’s good to know I’ve hit bottom.”

Louis, who received an Emmy nomination for his starring role in FX’s comedy series Louie, is offering the one-hour special on his own website for only $5.

By purchasing the special, you’ll be able to stream it twice in your browser or download it twice as an unprotected MPEG 4 video file. Once downloaded, you’ll be able to view the special as often as you’d like, put it on your iPad or even burn it to a DVD.

But he asks that you please not illegally download it.

“I’d just like you to consider this: I made this video extremely easy to use against well-informed advice,” says the comedian. “I was told that it would be easier to torrent the way I made it, but I chose to do it this way anyway, because I want it to be easy for people to watch and enjoy
this video in any way they want without ‘corporate” restrictions.’”

To download the special, simply visit www.louisck.net.

Don Francisco Named to TV Hall of Fame…

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a momento gigante for legendary Spanish-language television host Don Francisco…

The 70-year-old Chilean television icon will be inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Hall of Fame next March for his extraordinary contributions to television.

Born Mario Luis Kreutzberger Blumenfeld, the Emmy-winning Univision star is best known for hosting Sábado Gigante, one of the most popular programs in the history of Spanish-language television. He’s also the host of Don Francisco Presenta, another variety show that features interviews with big-name artists.

Born in southern Chile, Kreutzberger is the son of German Jewish immigrants who fled to the South American country to escape Nazi persecution. His father hoped he’d follow in his footsteps by working in the garment industry. After working as an apprentice in New York City, Don Francisco returned to Chile and decided to work in broadcasting instead. On August 8, 1962, the show that went on to make television history, Sábado Gigante, was born. It has since been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the “… longest-running TV show in the Americas.”

Kreutzberger has received several honors throughout his career, including the “Gabriela Mistral Order of Merit,” the Chilean government’s highest grade of Grand Officer for his contributions to culture and solidarity in the country. Kreutzberger has also been honored with a
star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2001 and an Emmy in 2005 for being a leader in Spanish-language television.

In his home country, Kreutzberger created the Chilean Telethon which has resulted in the construction of 11 hospitals, where more than 80,000 disabled children are treated. His idea inspired 13 Latin American countries to create their own telethons.

Kreutzberger will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at the 21st annual ceremony on March 1 at Los Angeles’ Beverly Hills Hotel.

Image courtesy of AP Photo/Alan Diaz.

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