Roadside Attractions Acquires Rights to John Leguizamo-Starrer “Bob Trevino Likes It”

Posted on August 16, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

John Leguizamo’s latest project is getting Roadside attention…

Roadside Attractions has acquired rights to Bob Trevino Likes It, an indie drama starring the 64-year-old Colombian actor.

The film, which also stars 27-year-old Brazilian American actress Barbie Ferreira, won the Audience Award and Grand Jury Award.

Bob Trevino Likes It was written and directed by Tracie Laymon and also stars French Stewart, Lauren “Lolo” Spencer and Rachel Bay Jones.

Roadside is aiming for an early 2025 theatrical release.

Inspired by the true story of a friendship Laymon struck with a stranger when looking for her father online, the film centers on Lily (Ferreira), who longs for a familial connection, having been abandoned by her mother as a child and then by her father in her 20s. A Facebook message to a stranger named Bob (Leguizamo) turns into a friendship that becomes a source of healing in both their lives.

Ferreira, Leguizamo, Carl Effenson, Mike Sobiloff, Peter Sobiloff, Kirk D’Amico and Kevin D. Forester are executive producers.

Presented by Myriad Pictures, Bob Trevino Like It is a Laymon’s Terms and Five By Eight production in association with Purple Intuition, Artimage, BondIt Media Capital, Daydream Studios, Seasick Studios, Myriad and Off Media.

“Tracie Laymon’s beautiful film is about finding family and community where you least expect it, and has revelatory performances from Barbie Ferreira and John Leguizamo,” Roadside’s co-president Eric d’Arbeloff said. “We think it will be a special communal experience when people see it in theatres.”

Leguizamo last appeared on the big screen in Violent Night and The Menu.

Ferreira last starred in the film Nope.

John Leguizamo Starring in “Bob Trevino Likes It”

Posted on August 24, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

John Leguizamo likes it!

The 63-year-old Colombian actor, comedian and film producer stars in Bob Trevino Likes It, which recently wrapped production in Louisville, Ky.

Bob Trevino Likes It marks the feature debut for writer and director Tracie Laymon.

In addition to Leguizamo, the film also stars Barbie Ferreira, best known for her work on Euphoria.

They appear alongside the previously announced French Stewart, Lauren “Lolo” Spencer and Rachel Bay Jones.

The film is inspired by Laymon’s life. It centers around a people-pleasing young woman who, while searching for her estranged father online, unexpectedly forms a close bond with a grieving, childless man with the same name on Facebook.

“This is a story about learning to let go of the people who continually hurt you to make room for the people who want to love and support you,” says Laymon. “Having personally experienced many of the events that inspired this film, I’ve witnessed how our small acts of kindness toward others create a ripple effect that can change the world for the better.”

“We are so pleased to have been able to help Tracie Laymon and her team get through principal photography. The cast has provided extraordinary performances,” says executive producer Kirk D’Amico. “I think distributors will be pleasantly surprised to see this unique comedy with heart come to life on the screen. We look forward to introducing the film to distributors around the world during this upcoming TIFF.”

Myriad Pictures has acquired worldwide sales rights and will launch sales out of Toronto in September.

The film is one of the first independent productions to be approved for a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement during the actors strike.

Steve Treviño Signs with Creative Artists Agency (CAA)

Posted on November 13, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Steve Treviño has new representation…

The 44-year-old Mexican American rising stand-up comedian, writer and producer has signed with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) for representation.

Dubbed “America’s Favorite Husband” for his relatable style, Treviño’s videos have been viewed more than 223 million times. He has sold out shows coast-to-coast, has amassed more than two million social media followers, and has headlined specials for Amazon, Netflix and Showtime, among others.

Treviño’s specials include Grandpa Joe’s Son, his first for Showtime, which was ranked among the Nielsen Top 20. He also funded, produced, and shot his 2014 Netflix hit Relatable. To promote the special, he uploaded a clip titled “When Your Wife Comes Home From Shopping,” which generated 56 million views on Facebook.

He also expanded his social media presence through fans imitating bits of his comedy specials on TikTok. In less than two years, the grassroots effort helped him build a worldwide fan base on the platform, garnering 4.8 million likes and more than 50 million views.

In 2020, he and his wife, Renae, unveiled a weekly podcast entitled Steve Treviño and Captain Evil that has earned more than 1.5 million views/streams and is now in its third season.

He also filmed his fourth self-produced comedy special, My Life In Quarantine, which was picked up by Amazon Prime.

His self-produced fifth special filmed in Waco, Texas, entitled I Speak Wife, independently released on October 21 for free, exclusively to his global audience on YouTube.

Treviño regularly raises money for Helicopters for Heroes, an organization benefiting veterans, for whom he has helped raise over $1.5 million in the past two years.

Blessd Releases Virtual Reality Version His Hit Single “Quien TV”

Posted on October 9, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Blessd is taking his recent hot a step further…

The 22-year-old Colombian singer-songwriter and rapper has released a virtual reality version of his 2021 hit “Quien TV,” marking Warner Music Latina’s first full VR video in Meta Horizon Worlds.

In the more than three-minute video, Blessd is seen entering the recording studio and begins to chat with his love interest.

“Hi love, when can we see each other?” he asks. “Any time. I live in Horizon Worlds,” a character named Laura replies. After asking how he can get to her, a Meta Quest 2 system magically appears at the studio. Blessd wears the gear and is instantly transported to the virtual world, where he begins his journey to find Laura. Toward the end of the clip, a phone call interrupts Blessd and transports him back to his reality at the recording studio.

The video was brought together by Warner Music Latina, Blessd, Meta, NSpire Create Labs and Merc Holdings Inc. A two-dimensional version of the video will be available on Blessd’s Facebook page. “Quien TV” officially premiered December 6, 2021. A remix featuring Ryan Castro was released on January 27, 2022.

The virtual reality video comes on the heels of Blessd taking part in the 2022 Billboard Latin Music Week, where he joined Colombian hitmaker Ovy on the Drums in the “Making the Hit Live!” panel.

In a span of 30 minutes, the producer and the artist worked together to create a promising reggaeton track, on which Blessd improvised, singing lyrics about heartbreak. While the track — which they broke down as they were making it — was not completed due to the limited time, attendees encouraged the duo to release the song after hearing a teaser that left everyone in the room wanting more.

Click this link to watch the video on Facebook.

Camila Cabello Teams Up with Hans Zimmer to Pen Song for BBC Studios’ “Frozen Planet II”

Posted on August 21, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Camila Cabello is embracing the cold…

The 25-year-old Cuban and Mexican singer/songwriter and former Fifth Harmony member has teamed up with Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer to write a new song for Frozen Planet II.

The new track will be featured in the debut extended trailer for the highly-anticipated David Attenborough-narrated series.

A sequel to the 2011 series, Frozen Planet II is a six-episode journey through Earth’s icy regions including the North and South poles, produced by BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit.

The collaboration on “Take Me Back Home” marks the first time a new song has been written to support a BBC One natural history show.

BBC Radio 1 will globally debut “Take Me Back Home” on the Greg James Show on August 26 with a little help from Cabello and Zimmer themselves ahead of the Frozen Planet II first-look trailer’s debut at 12:00 p.m. UK BST that same day on BBC Earth and BBC Studios Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube accounts.

It will also launch on Cabello’s social media accounts, to her millions of followers.

Cabello says, “To be able to combine my passion for the planet we live on and my music is a dream come true – never mind also getting to work with the legend that is Hans Zimmer.” She continues, “Sir David’s narration is deeply powerful as we try to protect these incredible ecosystems from global warming.”

In putting together the orchestration, Zimmer also worked with long-term collaborators — arranger Anže Rozman and producer Russell Emanuel for Bleeding Fingers Music. He says, “It was hugely exciting composing and recording ‘Take Me Back Home’ with Camila and discovering that her musical talents are as powerful as her voice.”

The show’s executive producer Mark Brownlow calls the show “a celebration of wondrous wildlife overcoming the challenges of life in the extremes. Yet today it faces the even greater challenge of climate change. Hans and Camila’s profoundly moving original song captures the fragility of these magical realms at a time when their very future hangs in the balance.”

The song soundtracks an extended trailer that features additional scenes of wolves hunting huge bison across vast snowy plains, killer whales using cunning techniques to stalk their prey and the rarely seen Siberian tigers padding through the crisp white snow.

El Fantasma to Help Kick Off Latin Recording Academy’s 2022 Latin Grammy Acoustic Sessions

Posted on July 12, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

El Fantasma is going acoustic…

The Latin Recording Academy has announced plans to kick off the 2022 Latin Grammy Acoustic Sessions later this month with a star-studded Regional Mexican lineup that includes the 32-year-old Mexican singer-songwriter.

This year’s series, presented in partnership with Meta, will showcase two digital concerts filmed in Mexico City and São Paulo, where the artists will perform renditions of their personal favorite songs with surprising collaborations and storytelling, at remarkable settings.

The first concert, recorded at the Centro Cultural Roberto Cantoral in Mexico City, features performances by former Latin Grammy nominees El Fantasma and Lupita Infante, as well as Latin Grammy winners Los Dos Carnales. A digital concert from São Paulo will later premiere with more artists to be announced.

“Through our Latin GRAMMY Acoustic Sessions, we aim to foster inclusive spaces where music creators can feature their craft, inspiring cultural appreciation, promotion, and preservation of their respective genres,” said Manuel Abud, CEO of The Latin Recording Academy in a press statement. “With so much new energy in

the Mexican Regional genre, I’m thrilled that we are able to start the series with some of the new generations of talented artists.”

El Fantasma added: “It is an honor for me to get the chance to perform in this first-ever acoustic session focused on Regional Mexican music and to bring my culture and my country’s musical traditions to a global audience. The Latin Academy represents so much—respect, excellence, and the preservation and continued advancement of Latin music—and this is an experience that I will never forget.”

Fans can watch the full acoustic performances of Fantasma, Carnales and Lupita at 9:00 am ET on July 22 via The Latin Recording Academy Facebook page, where it will be available for 48 hours. The performance videos will also be available on the artists’ Facebook pages for 90 days.

The Latin Grammy Acoustic Sessions began six years ago to promote the new generation of up-and-coming talent focusing on diversity and equity within each genre. In 2020, they added a digital franchise, providing access to Latin musical excellence globally.

Rosario Dawson to Executive Produce the Border Crisis Documentary “Split At The Root”

Posted on February 10, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Rosario Dawson is laying down roots on an important new project…

The 42-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban American actress and activist has joined the upcoming SXSW documentary Split At The Root as an executive producer alongside Lana Parrilla.

The Linda Goldstein Knowlton-directed film is scheduled to play in the Austin festival’s Documentary Spotlight section.

Split at the Root follows the emotional journey of mothers separated from their children at the U.S. border and the grassroots initiative that, against all odds, reunites those families. When a Guatemalan mother seeking asylum was separated from her kids under the Zero Tolerance Policy, a Facebook post by a mom in Queens coalesced into a movement as thousands of like-minded women across the U.S. refused to stand by quietly. Immigrant Families Together was born – a rapid response group committed to doing what the government couldn’t – or wouldn’t do: reunite parents with their children separated by the Zero Tolerance Policy.

Producers for Split at the Root include Emmy-nominated writer/producer Marti Noxon of Tiny Pyro Productions, Noxon’s President of Production Maria Grasso, Miranda Bailey of Cold Iron Pictures.

Dawson has produced fiction and nonfiction projects ranging from This Is Not A War Story, nominated for The John Cassavetes Spirit Award, the award-winning documentary The Need To Grow which she also has narrated, and produced two projects for Free Speech Television, The Assembly as well as Telethon for America 2020, both of which she co-hosted.

Behind the cameras, Dawson is highly active in political, social and environmental causes and has been involved with many social justice organizations including Amnesty International, Voto Latino, Save The Children, Doctors Without Borders and RESPECT!

“When it comes to immigration policy in this country, it is more than just a political crisis—we’re suffering a crisis of our very humanity. And one way to change the debate in Washington is by changing the language we use and the stories we produce such as Split the Root, opening the lens wider so people get the full picture. By having those who have come to the US to seek asylum front-and-center in this film and showing how every person can make a true difference to create change is why I wanted to join the producing team of this film” said Dawson.

Noxon added, “From the moment I heard the story of mothers on this side of the border helping mothers and children on the other side, I was compelled to know more. I couldn’t imagine any parent who knows the wrenching pain of being separated from their children who wouldn’t relate. And I had total confidence that Linda Goldstein Knowlton and the whole team would capture the beauty, despair, and hope of these women’s journey. I’m proud to be part of it and am so pleased to have Rosario join the team in amplifying these women’s voices and helping to shine a light on the compassionate Americans who supported them along the way.”

“My intention with this film was to tell an intimate, personal story of families separated by the Zero Tolerance policy, told by powerful women from both sides of the border. I couldn’t be more grateful to Marti and Rosario for helping to make this film a reality and bring the spotlight back onto the ongoing experiences of these families” said Goldstein Knowlton.

Parrilla’s television credits include Once Upon a Time, Spin City, Swingtown, Boomtown, Windfall and 24. For her turn as The Evil Queen/Regina Mills in Once Upon a Time, she won a Teen Choice Award for Choice Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actress, an ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series and a nomination for Best Supporting Actress on Television from the 38th Saturn Awards.

Kirstin Maldonado & Her Pentatonix Group Mates to Perform at iHeartRadio Holiday Special

Posted on November 6, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Kirstin Maldonado is helping people get into the holiday spirit…

The 29-year-old half-Mexican, part-Spanish American singer and her Pentatonix group mates will perform Christmas classics at the second annual iHeartRadio Holiday Special later this month.

Pentatonix is part of a lineup that includes Kelly Clarkson, Michael Bublé and Train.

Hosted by Mario Lopez, the virtual concert will take place on November 24 at 7:00 pm ET.

It will be broadcast across iHeart AC, Hot AC and Classic Hits stations and on the iHeartRadio app, with a video stream on the company’s YouTube and Facebook pages. Fans can also watch the concert in VR through the Horizon Venues app on Meta Quest.

The concert will mark the annual switch to exclusively holiday music through Christmas Day on more than 80 stations in key markets nationwide.

According to iHeartMedia, that switch sometimes doubles the audience size for a station from typical non-holiday programming.

“Our listeners always anxiously await the day our stations flip to Christmas music,” said Tom Poleman, chief programming officer for iHeartMedia. “Kelly Clarkson, Michael Bublé, Train and Pentatonix have some of the best songs of the holiday season, and we’re excited to have them perform on our show.”

Pentatonix dropped their sixth holiday-themed project Evergreen, which features collabs with Alessia Cara and Lindsey Stirling, on October 29; the a cappella group also kicks off a Christmas tour on November 27 in Baltimore.

In addition to local stations, listeners can head to the iHeartRadio Holiday page to see all the dedicated Christmas stations across the iHeartRadio app and beyond.

Mariah Carey Partners with Cryptocurrency Platform “Gemini” to Help Women Make Better Investments

Posted on October 20, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Mariah Carey is helping educate women on better ways to make money moves…

The 52-year-old half-Venezuelan American Grammy-winning songstress has revealed her partnership with the cryptocurrency platform Gemini, which aims to educate and inspire women to make better investments.

Founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Gemini is used to buy, sell, earn and store more than 50 cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin.

A portion of trading fees investors use with the code “Mariah” and through the link gemini.com/mariah will be donated to BlackGirlsCode — a not-for-profit organization that introduces young women of color to tech and skills in computer programming and technology.

Tyler Winklevoss shared his enthusiasm and strategy behind the collaboration with the pop superstar, saying, “It’s great to see Mariah and other celebrities discover bitcoin as an investment and hedge against inflation. Cryptos like bitcoin and ether were two of the best performing assets of the last decade. Our goal at Gemini is to help educate you on the promise of crypto and make it simple, easy, and safe for you to engage in this new asset class.”

Carey credited Gemini’s free resources for her education in better investment skills using cryptocurrency in a video on Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mariah Carey (@mariahcarey)

The Winklevoss twins were portrayed in the 2010 film The Social Network, where they were both portrayed by Armie Hammer as Mark Zuckerberg‘s classmates who accuse him of stealing the idea for Facebook from them.

Camila Cabello Among Celebrities Calling on Corporate America to Urge Congress to Support President Joe Biden’s Climate Plan

Posted on September 24, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Camila Cabello is urging the U.S. Congress to support President Joe Biden’s climate change plan…

While Democratic leadership tries to unite its progressive and moderate wings, a group of 80-plus artists, celebrities and activists, including the 24-year-old Cuban/Mexican singer, are calling on the leaders of Google, Disney, Amazon, Fox, Facebook to join them in urging Congress to support Biden’s Build Back Better plan.

The effort was spearheaded by the National Resources Defense Council Action Fund and Cabello, who convinced the sizable group of A-listers to speak out, specifically about the need to address climate change.

In addition to Cabello, signatories to the group letter included J.J. Abrams, Greg Berlanti, Cate Blanchett, Jack Antonoff, Don Cheadle, Ellen DeGeneres, Selena Gomez, Shakira, Chris Evans, Jimmy Kimmel, Lady Gaga, John Legend, Chuck Lorre, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sean Penn, Joaquin Phoenix, Billy Porter, Robert Redford, Ryan Reynolds, Shakira, Barbra Streisand, Wes Studi, Justin Timberlake, Kerry Washington and many more.

On Monday, a group of 17 Nobel Prize-winning economists also came out in support of Biden’s plan.

Manish Bapna, President and CEO of the NRDC Action Fund said, “These are the tastemakers of our time—and in moments like these they have an opportunity to be the changemakers, too. What started as an idea by Camila Cabello has exploded into a clarion call from entertainers overnight to take action. Congress holds in its hands our best chance at combating our biggest environmental challenge yet. We need all hands on deck to make sure they seize it, and these industry leaders can play a critical role in making sure that they do.”

In today’s initiative, the artists call out the following execs by name: Lincoln Benet at Access Industries (Warner Music Group), Sundar Pichai at Alphabet (Google, YouTube), Andy Jassy at Amazon, Tim Cook at Apple, John Stankey at AT&T (WarnerMedia), Brian Roberts at Comcast, David Zaslav at Discovery (and soon Warner Bros. Discovery), Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook, Lachlan Murdoch at Fox, Reed Hastings at Netflix, Kenichiro Yoshida at Sony, Robert Bakish at ViacomCBS, Arnaud de Puyfontaine at Vivendi (Universal Music Group) and Bob Chapek at Walt Disney.

“It’s no secret that climate change is here and is already affecting people’s lives across the globe,” wrote Cabello in her post on Instagram about the effort. “We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to act boldly to fight the climate crisis, so I am honored to join over 60 fellow artists to call on leaders of the entertainment industry to use their power and demand that Congress pass @potus’s #BuildBackBetter agenda this fall.”

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A post shared by camila (@camila_cabello)

Here’s the full text of the letter and a list of its signatories:

Dear Entertainment Industry Executives:

Climate change has arrived on our doorstep: California is on fire, record-breaking and deadly storms are flooding New York City, hurricanes are devastating the Gulf. This summer alone, nearly one in every three people in the United States experienced an extreme weather event.

Scientists warn that if we fail to act now, every single one of us will feel the impacts, a billion people will be displaced, and low-income people and communities of color will continue to be hit first and worst. Right now, we have a critical window of opportunity to do something about it. And we need all hands on deck to demand that our leaders protect the people we love and the places they live before it’s too late.

Congress has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in a clean, just, and equitable future for all by passing the robust climate action that President Biden called for in his Build Back Better agenda. This legislation will create healthier communities, put millions to work in clean energy jobs, and free us from the fossil fuels that are driving climate change.

As the top leaders of the entertainment industry—one of the nation’s most powerful and influential business sectors—you are needed to lead our community’s call for action and embrace this vision for a better world. The entertainment community has a long, proud tradition of driving societal change. Our industry is already leading the charge toward more sustainable practices within our own businesses and productions. Now is the time to use your influence to shape our future.

Congress needs to hear you demand, unequivocally, that it put forward and pass the most ambitious climate change agenda in U.S. history.

The plan currently before Congress will protect people’s health and clean up our drinking water. It will create a just transition away from dirty fossil fuels and create millions of new jobs. It will protect communities from climate change through investments in clean energy, clean transportation, and infrastructure upgrades. And it will make sure we finally prioritize and invest in the low-income communities and communities of color that are hit hardest by both fossil fuel pollution and climate impacts.

This plan will create a stronger, brighter, and more just America—and we need you to help make this vision a reality.

At this pivotal moment, please lead the call. Demand publicly and loudly that our senators and representatives in Congress pass this critical legislation.

And we pledge to do our part as well. We will use our platforms to remind all Americans: Tell your senators and representatives in Congress that you demand climate action now. Advocate for Congress to take up the president’s climate agenda. And don’t stop there. Tweet. Post. E-mail. Call. Whatever it takes.

Sincerely,

J.J. Abrams
Anitta
Jack Antonoff
Troian Bellisario
Greg Berlanti
Cate Blanchett
Benny Blanco
Dave Burd aka “Lil Dicky”
Camila Cabello
Dove Cameron
Alessia Cara
Don Cheadle
Glenn Close
Coldplay
Jacob Collier
Lily Collins
James Corden
Ellen DeGeneres
Cara Delevingne
Leonardo DiCaprio
Zac Efron
Billie Eilish
Chris Evans
Jimmy Fallon
Finneas
Selena Gomez
Conan Gray
Grimes
Todrick Hall
Hugh Jackman
Jimmy Kimmel
Joey King
Liza Koshy
Lady Gaga
Cyndi Lauper
John Legend
Adam Levine
Kevin Liles
Dua Lipa
Lorde
Chuck Lorre
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Demi Lovato
Ziggy Marley
Shawn Mendes
Idina Menzel
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Sean Penn
Joaquin Phoenix
Billy Porter
Zachary Quinto
Addison Rae
Robert Redford
Ryan Reynolds
Mark Ronson
Kyra Sedgwick
Shakira
Lilly Singh
Troye Sivan
Barbra Streisand
Wes Studi
Ryan Tedder
Justin Timberlake
Kerry Washington
Sigourney Weaver
Shailene Woodley
Calum Worthy

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