Colman Domingo to Receive Vantage Award from the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

Posted on August 13, 2026 by Tom Castaneda

Colman Domingo has a new vantage point…

The 56-year-old Emmy-winning Belizean-Guatemalan American actor and activist has been named as one of this year’s honorees of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ annual fundraising gala in October.

He’ll be honored alongside filmmaker John Carpenter and Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron.

The gala, co-chaired by Robert Rodriguez, Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, will take place on October 17.

Domingo will receive the Vantage Award honoring an artist who is helping to challenge dominant narratives around cinema.

Theron will receive the Icon Award, celebrating an artist whose career has had a significant global impact.

Carpenter, a director and composer, will receive the Luminary Award, given to an artist whose singular contributions have expanded the creative possibilities of filmmaking.

“The Academy Museum Gala is a celebration of the artists and storytellers whose work continues to shape the cultural impact of cinema around the world,” said Academy Museum Director and President Amy Homma. “For our sixth annual Gala, we are honored to recognize John Carpenter, Colman Domingo, and Charlize Theron, whose extraordinary careers exemplify the creativity, innovation, and excellence that continues to move the industry forward.”

The Academy previously announced upcoming programs that include Theron in conversation with the museum’s Teen Council on August 22, featuring a screening of Mad Max: Fury Road (2015); Carpenter will host three nights of screenings of his films, including Halloween (1978), on September 26, in celebration of The Horror Show, the Academy Museum’s new large-scale exhibition.

The 2026 Academy Museum Gala Host Committee, also announced today, includes Jessica Alba, Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann, Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Adrien Brody and Georgina Chapman, Jon M. Chu, Kirsten Dunst, Nicholas Galitzine, Ludwig and Serena Göransson, Regina Hall, Kate Hudson, Jessica Lange, Greta Lee, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, Rami Malek, Demi Moore, Olivia Munn, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Questlove, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen, Bird Runningwater and Teyana Taylor.

Olga Merediz to Star in A24’s Rom-Com “Eternity”

Posted on June 16, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Olga Merediz isn’t waiting an eternity to lock in her next project.

The 68-year-old Cuban actress and singer has joined the cast alongside John Early of A24’s Eternity.

The romantic comedy, in which people must decide who they want to spend eternity with, also stars Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen, Callum Turner and Da’Vine Joy Randolph.

David Freyne is directing the movie; Pat Cunnane wrote the script, which appeared on the 2022 Black List.

A24 is financing and distributing the rom-com, as well as producing with Star Thrower Entertainment and its founders Trevor White and Tim White. The film is currently in production.

Merediz is best known for originating the role of Abuela Claudia in the Broadway musical In the Heights. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance, and she reprised the role in Jon M. Chu’s film adaptation.

Merediz also voiced a role in Disney’s animated musical hit Encanto, and her television credits include Orange Is the New Black and Shades of Blue.

Rodolfo Salas Signs with Artists First for Representation Across All Areas

Posted on December 10, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Rodolfo Salas has new representation…

The 40-year-old Venezuelan actor and model has signed with Artists First for representation across all areas.

Salas has become one of the central faces of Netflix’s Latin American expansion, as he most recently starred in the platform’s hit series Fake Profile which follows a woman who creates a sexy profile on the online dating app Spice looking for the man of her dreams. Her dreams quickly turn into nightmares, and Camila ends up falling into a web of sex, lies, and deception. The show is headed into production on its second season in Colombia.

Prior to Fake Profile, he led the Mexican limited series Pact of Silence for Netflix. Next, he’ll star in the Lifetime original movie Padres, which is set to premiere in 2024.

Salas was also a mainstay of Telemundo after emigrating to the United States in 2014. He starred in their series La Fan, Neighborhood Butterfly, Blood of My Land, Betty In NY and most recently, Back To Me.

While not in production overseas, Rodolfo resides with his family in Miami, Florida.

Artists First is a talent management and production company focused on actors, writers, directors and producers in film, television and digital media, Artists First boasts a roster that also includes Martin Lawrence, Awkwafina, Kenya Barris, Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Niecy Nash, Ed Helms, Will Arnett, Ike Barinholtz, Paul Walter Hauser, Kate McKinnon, Michael Showalter, Jon M. Chu, Lior Raz, Mitch Hurwitz and Cristela Alonzo, among others.

Melissa Barrera Starring in New Genre Film “God’s Country”

Posted on February 6, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Melissa Barrera is heading to God’s country…

Matt Reeves’ 6th & Idaho is teaming up with ZQ Entertainment to produce God’s Country, a new genre film starring the 32-year-old Mexican actress and Scream reboot star.

The film will mark the American directorial debut of Egor Abramenko.

The film, which will head into production this summer, will see Barrera playing a young Salvadoran woman who travels to Kentucky to meet her fiancé. What she uncovers is something sinister beyond comprehension, as her American dream curdles into a nightmare of biblical proportions.

Will Soodik wrote the script. Reeves and Rafi Crohn will produce for 6th & Idaho, alongside ZQ Entertainment’s Ara Keshishian and Petr Jákl (who financed the development), Adam Kassan (End of Watch), and Barrera.

“Egor is an exciting emerging talent,” Reeves told Deadline, “and I’m thrilled to be making a monster movie together.”

Barrera is best known for her turns in Paramount/Spyglass’ Scream reboot, Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical In the Heights for Warner Bros. and HBO Max and the acclaimed Starz series Vida.

She’ll next be seen in Scream VI, which is out March 10; Sony Pictures Classics’ Carmen with Paul Mescal; and the Anthony McCarten-scripted feature The Collaboration, based on the acclaimed play.

Rita Moreno to Take Part in ABC’s Animated & Live-Action Blended Special “Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration”

Posted on September 11, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Rita Moreno has landed a beauty of a project…

The 90-year-old Puerto Rican Oscar-winning actress, dancer and singer will be part of the cast of ABC’s animated and live-action blended special, Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration.

Moreno, an EGOT winner (Emmy–Grammy-Oscar-Tony Award winner), will serve as the night’s narrator.

Josh Groban is set as the co-lead opposite H.E.R. in the project.

Groban, who previously recorded a song for the 2017 Beauty and the Beast live-action movie, will play Beast alongside previously announced H.E.R. as Belle. Joshua Henry has been tapped to play antagonist Gaston.

Presented by The Wonderful World of Disney, the two-hour reimagining of the beloved story of Beauty and the Beast will be taped in front of a live audience at Disney Studios and will air December 15 on ABC and on Disney+ the next day.

Jon M. Chu is set to executive produce the special and Hamish Hamilton set to direct.

Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration is produced by Done+Dusted in association with Walt Disney Television Alternative and Electric Somewhere.

Melissa Barrera to Star in the Warhol-Basquiat film “The Collaboration

Posted on September 8, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Melissa Barrera has a new collaboration…

The 32-year-old Mexican actress and singer will star in Muse of Fire’s Warhol–Basquiat film The Collaboration, based on the acclaimed play by four-time Oscar nominee Anthony McCarten.

Barrera will star alongside Jeremy Pope, Paul Bettany and Daniel Brühl in the project.

The Collaboration revolves around the relationship of the two iconic artists, starting in the summer of 1984. International superstar Andy Warhol (Bettany) and the art scene’s newest wunderkind, Jean-Michel Basquiat (Pope), agree to work together on what may be the most talked about exhibition in the history of modern art. But can these two creative giants co-exist with such opposing views of life and art?

Today, Warhol and Basquiat’s works sell for tens of millions.

Barrera will play the role of Maya, a formidable truth-teller who loves Basquiat and is wary of Warhol.

McCarten penned the screen adaptation of his play, which made its world premiere at London’s Young Vic Theatre in February, with Bettany and Pope as Warhol and Basquiat, respectively. Renowned theatre director and writer Kwame Kwei-Armah is making his feature directorial debut with the project, after directing the play in its original run.

Production on The Collaboration begins this month in Boston at Marina Studios’ Quincy location.

Once production on the Collaboration film has wrapped, the play will head to Broadway, with Kwei-Armah, Bettany and Pope again returning. December 20 has been set as opening night, with previews beginning at MTC’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on November 29.

Barrera is best known for her turns in Paramount/Spyglass’ recent Scream reboot, Jon M. Chu’s film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit Broadway musical In the Heights for Warner Bros. and HBO Max, and the acclaimed Starz series, Vida.

She more recently led Keep Breathing, the Netflix series, which rose to #1 on the streamer when it premiered in late July.

She’s currently in production on Scream 6, reprising her role as Sam Carpenter, and will next be seen in Benjamin Millepied’s musical Carmen, which is world premiering this month at the Toronto Film Festival.

Netflix Releases Trailer for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Feature Directorial Debut “tick, tick…BOOM!”

Posted on June 10, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Lin-Manuel Miranda is tickin’ ahead…

The first trailer has been released for tick, tick…BOOM!, directed by the 41-year-old Puerto Rican actor, singer, songwriter, rapper, director, producer, and playwright.

It’s a film adaptation of Jonathan Larson’s autobiographical pre-Rent musical.

Starring Andrew Garfield in the Larson-inspired lead role, Netflix’s tick, tick…BOOM! will hit the streaming service and theaters this fall.

Garfield plays Jon, a young theater composer who’s waiting tables at a New York City diner in 1990 while writing what he hopes will be the next great American musical. As described by Netflix: Days before he’s due to showcase his work in a make-or-break performance, Jon is feeling the pressure from everywhere: from his girlfriend Susan (Alexandra Shipp), who dreams of an artistic life beyond New York City; from his friend Michael (Robin de Jesús), who has moved on from his dream to a life of financial security. Amidst an artistic community being ravaged by the AIDS epidemic, Jon feels the clock ticking and faces the question everyone must reckon with: What are we meant to do with the time we have?

Larson would not live to see the success of his “next great American musical,” dying at age 35 on January 25, 1996, the morning of Rent’s first Off Broadway preview. The cause of death was an aortic aneurysm caused by undiagnosed Marfan’s Syndrome.

The trailer begins with Garfield singing “Boho Days,” a song from the earliest incarnations of tick, tick…BOOM! It was the title song when Larson first performed the musical as a one-man show in 1990.

The film, which also stars Joshua Henry, MJ Rodriguez, Bradley Whitford, Tariq Trotter, Judith Light and Vanessa Hudgens, will mark Miranda’s feature directorial debut.

In 2001, Miranda, then 21, was writing In The Heights when he attended an Off Broadway revival of tick, tick…BOOM! In 2014, Miranda, who would later say that Rent inspired him to begin writing musicals, portrayed Jon in a two-week Encores! production of tick, tick…BOOM!

The film adaptation of Miranda’s In The Heights, directed by Jon M. Chu, hit theaters and HBO Max today.

Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival to Host Special Screening of Anthony Ramos’ “In The Heights”

Posted on May 1, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Anthony Ramos will be reaching new heights sooner than expected…

The Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival will host a special screening of “In The Heights,” starring the 29-year-old Puerto Rican singer/actor.

The screening will take place on June 4 at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

It will come ahead of the world premiere of the Jon M. Chu-directed adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning musical five days later to open the Tribeca Film Festival.

It’s a coup for the L.A.-based fest, which is run by the Edward James Olmos-founded Latino Film Institute.

The preview is taking take one week before In the Heights premieres on June 11 in theaters and on HBO Max.

The news comes as LALIFF and Tribeca said they are partnering as a celebration of their 20th anniversaries this year.

Warner Bros. to Release Anthony Ramos’ “In The Heights” on June 11

Posted on March 20, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Anthony Ramos’ moment in the heights to happen a week earlier…

Warner Bros.’ has announced plans to release the Jon M. Chu-directed feature musical In The Heights, starring the 29-year-old Puerto Rican actor/singer on June 11, a week earlier than previously scheduled.

The movie, the feature adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes’ Tony Award-winning musical, recently dropped a new trailer.

In the Heights is set in the titular Latinx community of New York City’s bustling Washington Heights. When the neighborhood’s charismatic local bodega owner, and the film’s humble narrator, finally decides to fulfill his dream of going to the island his parents called home, his departure will change his beloved block forever.

In the Heights stars Ramos, Corey Hawkins, Leslie Grace, Melissa Barrera, Olga Merediz, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Gregory Diaz IV, Stephanie Beatriz, Dascha Polanco and icon Jimmy Smits.

The film was originally scheduled to be released last summer before COVID-19 pushed it to this year.

Anthony Ramos to Appear on Fourth Season of HBO’s Drama Series “In Treatment”

Posted on November 6, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Anthony Ramos has found his treatment…

The 29-year-old Brooklyn-born Puerto Rican actor/singer has landed a recurring role opposite Uzo Aduba in the upcoming fourth season of HBO’s Emmy-winning drama series In Treatment.

In Treatment, which ended a three-season run in 2010, is returning for a fourth season as a reimagined half-hour series. The series is in pre-production under COVID-19 guidelines, with a 2021 debut planned to air on HBO and stream on HBO Max.

The reimagining brings a diverse trio of patients in session with an observant, empathetic therapist (Aduba), who is wrestling with her own issues.

Ramos will play Eladio, a patient who works as a home health aide for a wealthy family’s adult son. Additional cast will be announced.

The HBO Entertainment production is produced in association with Leverage, Closest to the Hole Productions and Sheleg.

Ramos first made his mark in the Tony and Grammy award-winning Broadway smash Hamilton, now streaming on Disney+. He can currently be seen in the feature Honest Thief opposite Liam Neeson.

He will also star in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s anticipated feature, In The Heights, directed by Jon M. Chu, slated for premiere in summer 2021.

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

Tag Archives: Jon M. Chu