Tag Archives: HBO

Justina Machado to Star in Broadway Production “Real Women Have Curves: The Musical”

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Justina Machado is preparing to take on a curvy new role on Broadway.

The 52-year-old Puerto Rican SAG Award-winning actress and Broadway newcomer Tatianna Córdoba have been cast as the leads in the upcoming Broadway production Real Women Have Curves: The Musical.

Justina MachadoCórdoba will make her debut starring as ambitious high school senior Ana Garcia (a role that marked America Ferrera’s breakout debut in the 2002 HBO film).

Starring alongside her will be Machado as Carmen Garcia, Ana’s hardworking mother who imagines a traditional life for her daughter.

Real Women Have Curves: The Musical is set to begin previews on April 1 at the James Earl Jones Theatre ahead of an opening night on April 27.

The official synopsis: It’s the summer of 1987, and Ana Garcia dreams of flying away from East Los Angeles. But when her family receives a make-or-break order for 200 dresses, Ana finds herself juggling her own ambitions, her mother’s expectations, and a community of women all trying to make it work against the odds.

The production also announced the full creative team for the Broadway run, which will feature direction & choreography by Sergio Trujillo, music and lyrics by Joy Huerta and composer/lyricist Benjamin Velez, book by Lisa Loomer with Nell Benjamin, and music supervision by Nadia DiGiallonardo.

The production will also feature music direction by Roberto Sinha, scenic design by Arnulfo Maldonado, costume design by Wilberth Gonzalez and Paloma Young, lighting design by Natasha Katz, sound design by John Shivers, video design by Hana S. Kim, and hair, wig, and make-up design by Krystal Balleza.

The musical is based on the play by Josefina López and HBO’s Real Women Have Curves (screenplay by Josefina López and George LaVoo). American Repertory Theater (A.R.T) at Harvard University produced the musical’s world premiere in 2023.

Machado’s previous credits include the television programs One Day at a Time, Queen of the South and Devious Maids, as well as the films The Purge: Anarchy and Final Destination 2.

Melissa Barrera’s “Your Monster” Making Global Streaming Debut Exclusively on Max

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Melissa Barrera’s monster project is headed to Max.

Following its theatrical release via Vertical, the Sundance genre-bender Your Monster, starring the 34-year-old Mexican actress and Tommy Dewey will make its global streaming debut exclusively on Max on Friday, January 24.

Melissa Barrera, Your MonsterThe film will debut on HBO linear at 8:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 25.

Marking the feature directorial debut of Caroline Lindy, who adapted the script from her own 2020 short film, Your Monster tells the story of the soft-spoken actor Laura Franco (Barrera), who is dumped by her longtime boyfriend (Edmund Donovan) while recovering from surgery and retreats to her childhood home to recover. With her future looking bleak, insult is added to injury when Laura discovers her ex is staging a musical that she helped him develop. But out of these gut-wrenching life changes emerges a monster (Dewey) with whom she finds a connection, encouraging Laura to follow her dreams, open her heart and fall in love with her inner rage.

Also starring Kayla Foster and Meghann Fahy, the film is produced by Foster, Lindy, Kira Carstensen, Melanie Donkers and Shannon Reilly, and executive produced by Bob Potter, Dewey, Sharon Horgan and Clelia Mountford. Jackson Sinder, Jack Taylor Cox and Alex Peace-Power were co-producers.

Barrera’s previous credits include In The Heights, Scream, Scream VI and Abigail.

Raúl Castillo to Star in 20th Century Studios‘ “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” Remake

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Raúl Castillo is ready to rock (the cradle)…

The 47-year-old Mexican American actor and playwright has joined the cast of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, 20th Century Studios‘ remake of the classic 1992 psychological thriller starring Maika Monroe and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

Raul CastilloCastillo takes over the part of Matt McCoy as the architect husband of Winstead’s character, portrayed in the original film by Annabella Sciorra.

Claire Bartel is happily married and pregnant for the second time when she becomes the target of a dark plot on the part of a nanny — originally portrayed by Rebecca De Mornay, and now by Monroe.

Directed by Curtis Hanson, the original watches as Peyton infiltrates the lives of the Bartel family after experiencing personal and professional ruin, slowly gaining their trust while manipulating them from within. Her ultimate goal? To destroy Claire and assume her place within her family.

Michelle Garza Cervera will direct the new take from a script by Micah Bloomberg.

Leaning into genre fare of late, Castillo can currently be seen supporting Naomi Scott in Paramount’s Smile 2, which has grossed over $131M to date.

Up next, he’ll be seen in a trio of indie thrillers — Cold Wallet, Push, and Barron’s Cove — as well as the anticipated HBO limited series Task from Mare of Easttown‘s Brad Ingelsby.

Castillo is a Gotham and Independent Spirit Award nominee.

Oscar Isaac Officially Starring in Season Two of Netflix’s “Beef” Anthology Series

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Oscar Isaac is officially beefing up his resume…

Netflix has confirmed it is moving forward with a second season of its anthology series Beef, with the 45-year-old Cuban-Guatemalan actors among the cast members for the new installment.

Oscar IsaacIsaac will be joined by Carey Mulligan, Charles Melton and Cailee Spaeny for the new season.

In Season 2, a young couple witnesses an alarming fight between their boss and his wife, triggering chess moves of favors and coercion in the elitist world of a country club and its Korean billionaire owner.

Further Season 2 details will be revealed at a later time.

The first season of Beef starring Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, premiered in 2023 and went on to win a slew of awards including eight Emmy Awards, four Critics Choice Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, two Gotham Awards, two Film Independent Spirit Awards, two SAG Awards, as well as PGA, WGA and AFI Honors.

In the first season, Yeun and Wong play two strangers whose lives collide in a strange way after they’re involved in a road rage incident. The story is based off Lee’s personal experience with a road rage incident.

The upcoming installment will consist of eight 30-minutes episodes with Lee Sung Jin returning as creator, showrunner and executive producer. Yeun, Wong and Jake Schreier also executive produce. A24 is the studio.

Isaac earned an Emmy nomination for his performance in HBO’s Scenes From a Marriage.

He recently wrapped production on Julian Schnabel’s Hand of Dante, starring opposite Jason Momoa, as well as Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein movie in which he plays Doctor Frankenstein.

Colman Domingo to Make Film Directorial Debut with Miramax’s “Scandalous”

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Colman Domingo is preparing to make his scandalous film directorial debut.

The 54-year-old Emmy-winning Belizean-Guatemalan American actor and activist will make his film directorial debut in Scandalous, a fast-tracked Miramax drama about the clandestine love affair between film star Kim Novak and singer/dancer and film star Sammy Davis Jr. in 1957.

Colman DomingoSydney Sweeney will play Novak, and David Jonsson will play Davis.

The plan is to shoot the film — imagine a film about classic Hollywood being shot in Los Angeles — when Domingo and Sweeney complete Season 3 of the HBO series Euphoria.

Much the way she did with the sleeper hit Anyone But You, Sweeney was active in putting this one together and she’ll be a producer along with Tani Cohen and Bobby Rock, with Jon Levin executive producing.

Matthew Fantaci wrote the script.

Before he became Miramax CEO, Jon Glickman originated the project at Panoramic, and remained high on it.

Novak, star of Vertigo, and Rat Pack member Davis were at the peak of star power when they met while guests on The Steve Allen Show. They fell hard for each other, but as rumors spread, the rampant racism in America threatened to derail their careers. Novak experienced the ire of Harry Cohn, the Columbia Pictures chief who had the actress under contract. Their covert affair became big news when a Chicago gossip columnist in early 1958 wrote a detailed account of their relationship, including their plans to marry. This despite their denials. Davis nine days later married a Black chorus girl named Loray White.

Domingo is coming off acclaimed turns in Rustin and Sing Sing, and he’s also working on a film about Nat King Cole that he would star in and direct.

He has directed television in the past and he’s currently in production on Netflix and Tina Fey’s The Four Seasons and he has the Netflix limited series The Madness. He also plays Joe Jackson in the Michael Jackson biopic Michael.

Lights Out: Nat King Cole, which Domingo wrote with director Patricia McGregor, will premiere at New York Theater Workshop in the spring, after it premiered at the Geffen Theater in 2019.

Raúl Castillo to Lead the Cast of William Atticus Parker’s Suspense Sci-Fi Tale “The Auction”

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Raúl Castillo is headed to an auction…

The 46-year-old Mexican American actor will star as the lead in William Atticus Parker’s third film, The Auction.

Raul CastilloThe suspense science-fiction tale is loosely inspired by Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None.

The film is set at the Aztec Corp., a company that auctions off ancient antiquities and semi-distinct wild exotic animals.

Castillo will portray the newest sales representative, David Valdez, with Ben Vereen appearing as his father and K. Todd Freeman as the head of the corporation.

The previously announced cast also includes Audra McDonald, Mary-Louise Parker and Richard Kind. Details about their specific roles aren’t being released yet.

Castillo will next be seen in Paramount’s upcoming Smile 2 and alongside Mark Ruffalo in HBO’s untitled Brad Ingelsby series.

He’s known for movies including Steven Soderbergh’s Cold Wallet, Amazon’s Cassandro opposite Gael Garia Bernal, Army of the Dead, Cha Cha Real Smooth and A24’s The Inspection, as well as TV series including HBO’s Looking, Starz’s Vida and Netflix’s Atypical.

Agatha Christie’s book And Then There Were None is one of the world’s best-selling mystery novels, and it has been adapted multiple times for big and small screen.

Oscar Isaac In Talks to Star in Season Two of Netflix & A24’s “Beef”

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Oscar Isaac may be beefing up his acting resume…

The 45-year-old Cuban-Guatemalan actor and Carey Mulligan are in talks to star in Season 2 of Netflix and A24 Emmy-winning anthology series Beef.

Oscar IsaacCharles Melton and Cailee Spaeny have already been confirmed to appear in season 2.

Insiders say the second season is revolving around two feuding couples, adding that no official Season 2 order has been given, per Deadline.com.

The roles Isaac and Mulligan would be playing were rumored to be for Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway, but that ultimately did not come to fruition.

Isaac has had success as of late on the limited series front with his performance in HBO’s Scenes From a Marriage, which earned him an Emmy nomination.

Since then he has finished production on Julian Schnabel’s Hand of Dante, starring opposite Jason Momoa.

He’s currently shooting Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein movie in which he plays Doctor Frankenstein.

Season 1 on Beef starred Ali Wong and Steven Yeun as two strangers who get into a road rage incident that brings chaos into their lives.

Adria Arjona to Star in Ed Brubaker’s Graphic Novel Series “Criminal”

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Adria Arjona is getting criminal…

The 32-year-old Puerto Rican actress has joined the cast of Ed Brubaker’s graphic novel series Criminal  in a series regular role.

Adria ArjonaArjona joins previously announced cast member Richard Jenkins.

Criminal is an interlocking universe of crime stories based on the multi-Eisner Award-winning graphic novel series created by Brubaker and Sean Phillips.

Arjona will bring to life Greta, a sharp-tongued top-level car thief and driver and the widowed mother of Angie. Ever since her husband died in a bank job gone bad, Greta has been battling with herself about how to escape the only life she’s ever known – and the only place she’s ever thrived. The problem is, she’s good at this. She’s looking for a big score, a lump of money she can use like a gun to shoot her and Angie out of this life and into another one.

Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden will direct the first four episodes.

The series is executive produced by Brubaker and Jordan Harper, alongside Phillips, Sarah Carbiener and Phillip Barnett.

Legendary Television will also serve as an executive producer. The series is produced by Amazon MGM Studios.

Arjona can currently be seen in Richard Linklater’s Netflix movie Hit Man starring alongside Glen Powell. Before that, she starred as “Bix Caleen” in the Disney+ hit series, Andor, a prequel to Star Wars’ Rogue One film.

Arjona played a recurring role in HBO’s True Detective Season 2, Netflix’s Narcos and HBO’s Irma Vep, a limited series based on Olivier Assayas’ 1996 feature film.

Up next, she’ll be seen in Zoe Kravitz’s directorial debut film Blink Twice as well as Los Frikis, a film she stars in and executive produces.

Additionally, she will star alongside Wagner Moura in the feature film adaptation of Francisco Goldman’s bestselling book Say Her Name and Jayro Bustamante’s dystopian thriller El Sombreron opposite Edgar Ramirez.

Prior film credits include Father Of The Bride, Sony’s Marvel franchise Morbius, Netflix’s Sweet Girl, Michael Bay’s Six Underground, Marco Perego Saldana’s feature The Absence Of Eden, Pacific Rim: Uprising, Life of the Party and Triple Frontier.

Harvey Guillén Among National Hispanic Media Coalition’s Impact Award Honorees

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Harvey Guillén is being feted for his impact… 

The National Hispanic Media Coalition has revealed the 2024 Impact Award honorees for its annual gala taking place on June 14, with the 34-year-old Mexican American actor among those being recognized.

Harvey GuillénAnnie Gonzalez (Flamin’ Hot) and Mayan Lopez (Lopez vs. Lopez) will host the celebration.

The Impact Awards is a part of the NHMC’s overall mission to spotlight the importance of accurate, fair and positive representation in media.

Each year, the organization honors individuals who are truly making an impact, shifting societal narratives and setting an example for Latine communities.

The 2024 honorees include:

Harvey Guillén, star of the hit FX series What We Do In The Shadows which is gearing up to premiere its sixth and final season. He will receive the Outstanding Performance in a Series Impact Award.

Issa López, a multi-hyphenate who most recently co-wrote and directed HBO’s True Detective Season 5 starring Jodie Foster. NHMC will recognize López’s achievements with the Trailblazer Impact Award.

Fede Alvarez, writer, director and executive producer of the upcoming feature Alien: Romulus, the seventh installment of the Alien franchise. NHMC will give him the Outstanding Film Director Impact Award.

Tatyana Ali, who most famously portrayed Ashley Banks in the hit comedy series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, will receive the Advocacy Impact Award for her advocacy and policy work in maternal health and reproductive justice.

The Los Angeles Football Club will be honored with the Community Impact Award for their commitment to multiculturalism and creating change for marginalized communities

Tubi will be honored with the For the People Impact Award for its diverse programming providing a platform for Latine series showcasing authentic representations of our communities.

“We are honored to celebrate these powerful figures who represent the present and future of the entertainment industry. This year’s honorees embody where our community is headed and are pushing their industries forward simply by taking up space and using their platforms to uplift other Latine creatives.,” said Brenda Victoria Castillo, President & CEO of the NHMC. “This year more than ever, it is imperative that we continue to celebrate our Latinidad in all aspects of our society, and NHMC is committed to ensuring that our community is recognized – not just at our gala, but in every space.”

Freddy Rodriguez to Star in the Indie Horror/Thriller “You Lose You Die”

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It’s lose and die for Freddy Rodriguez.

The 49-year-old Puerto Rican actor and Emmy-nominee will star in Averted Vision Pictures indie horror/thriller You Lose You Die, written by Carlos “Spiff TV” Suarez, who will also be making his feature directorial debut.

Freddy RodriguezRodriguez will star opposite Ashley Elizabeth Fliehr in the film

Pre-production is currently underway.

You Lose You Die follows sociopathic tech expert, Mr. Fantastik (Rodriguez), who runs a popular show on the dark web with two other sociopathic tech experts, Ms. Perfect (Fliehr) and Mr. Creep (Anthony Alvarez). On the show, thousands of viewers vote on games and challenges for prisoners to participate in. If the prisoners lose, viewers vote on the weapons the sociopaths use to kill them.

In addition to Rodriguez, Fliehr and Alvarez, the cast includes Josh Bredl as Mr. Large; Sophia Zimba as Kara; Ashley Hernandez as Julie; Alejandro Duran as Alfonso; Noah Crider as Chase; Marcella Acuña as Christie; Mercy Grant as Darling; and Lydia Faith Gomez as Jamie.

Rodriguez, Josue “Sway” Mendez and Ulysses Terrero serve as executive producers of You Lose You Die with Mendez also producing.

“I’m excited to embark on this new journey as Executive Producer and star of You Lose You Die and help bring such a talented artist like Carlos ‘Spiff TV’ Suarez’s vision to life,” Rodriguez shared in a statement to Deadline. “I was humbled by the outpouring of love and support after working with Robert Rodriguez on Planet Terror and Scott Derrickson on VHS 85, so the decision to dive back into the elevated horror genre comes with a deep level of respect for its rabid and loyal fan base.”

Rodriguez most recently starred as Detective Wayne Johnson in V/H/S/85 and Detective Greco in the Hulu series Wu-Tang: An American Saga. He’s best known for his portrayal of Federico Diaz in the hit HBO series Six Feet Under, which earned him an Emmy nomination in 2002 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Rodriguez was part of the main ensemble cast alongside Michael C. Hall, Peter Krause, Frances Conroy and Lauren Ambrose across the show’s 5 seasons.

Across his nearly three decades in the industry, his big screen credits also include roles in A Walk In The Clouds (1995), M. Night Shyamalan’s Lady in the Water (2006), Grindhouse (2007) for Robert Rodriguez and David Ayers’ directorial debut, Harsh Times (2005).

Suarez most recently produced The Tax Collector, a gritty urban crime drama directed by David Ayer. He also contributed to the soundtrack production for Marvel’s acclaimed 2018 animated film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse—written by Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman—alongside reggaeton star Anuel. As a director, Suarez has helmed numerous music videos, showcasing artists such as Drake, Rick Ross and French Montana. In 2020, he founded Averted Vision Pictures LLC with a clear mission: to develop a dynamic hub for film and television production.