Wagner Moura to Star in the Action Epic “Civil War”

Posted on January 22, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Wagner Moura is headed to War…

The 45-year-old Brazilian actor, who rose to global acclaim after starring in Netflix’s Narcos, will star in Oscar-nominated filmmaker Alex Garland and A24 for Civil War.

In addition to Moura, the action epic also stars Kirsten Dunst, Stephen McKinley Henderson and Cailee Spaeny.

Garland will direct the film set in a near-future America from his original screenplay. Details as far as its plot are being kept under wraps.

A24 will produce, alongside Andrew Macdonald and Allon Reich of DNA and Gregory Goodman, and handle the film’s global release.

Garland received his first Oscar nomination in 2016 for his Ex Machina screenplay and has also garnered accolades over the course of his career including a DGA Award and three BAFTA Award noms, among others.

He’s previously teamed with A24 on Ex Machina, as well as Men, a horror-drama starring Jessie Buckley and Rory Kinnear that is set for release later this year.

He also helmed the 2018 film Annihilation and created, wrote, directed and executive-produced the FX on Hulu series Devs.

Moura is best known stateside for his Golden Globe-nominated turn as Pablo Escobar in Netflix’s Narcos. He also wrote, directed and produced the film Marighella, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, and will next be seen in the Apple TV+ series, The Shining Girls.

Melissa De Sousa Signs with Mainstay Entertainment

Posted on December 2, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Melissa De Sousa has new management…

The 54-year-old Panamanian American actress has signed with Mainstay Entertainment for management.

De Sousa, best known for her role as the infamous Shelby in Universal’s The Best Man and The Best Man Holiday, films will next be seen starring opposite Morris Chestnut in the Peacock limited series The Best Man: The Final Chapters based on the films, which set to begin shooting in 2022.

Also on the television side, De Sousa recently wrapped the first season of Our Kind of People opposite Chestnut for Fox.

Her other recent credits include recurring as Chief Ana Lopez on CW’s Black Lightning and as the pill popping journalist Mirta Herrera on Showtime’s On Becoming a God in Central Florida, opposite Kirsten Dunst.

De Sousa continues to be repped by A3 Artists Agency and Meyer & Downs.

Mel Rodriguez to Star in CBS’ Upcoming Series “CSI: Vegas”

Posted on February 14, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Mel Rodriguez is joining the force…

The 47-year-old Latino actor has been cast as one of the leads in CSI: Vegas, which Deadline.com reports is nearing a formal straight-to-series order at CBS.

Rodriguez will star opposite Paula Newsome and Matt Lauria in CSI: Vegas, which serves as a sequel to the mothership CSI series, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

William Petersen and Jorja Fox are reportedly finalizing their deals to star in CSI: Vegas, reprising their roles as Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle, respectively.

While billed as an event series, CSI: Vegas, from writer Jason Tracey, CBS Studios and Jerry Bruckheimer Television, could become an ongoing series running for multiple seasons.

With CSI: Vegas, the most watched drama series of the 21st century, CSI, opens a new chapter in Las Vegas, the city where it all began. Facing an existential threat that could bring down the Crime Lab, a brilliant team of forensic investigators must welcome back old friends and deploy new techniques to preserve and serve justice in Sin City.

Rodriguez is said to be playing Hugo, who took over as Head Medical Examiner three years ago. He has an endless fascination with the bodies that find their way onto his slab, and the morgue is his happy place. Rodrigues previously guest starred in an episode of CSI: NY (character name: Al McGrath).

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation bowed out in 2015 after 15 seasons, having launched a $1 billion franchise for CBS that spanned four series; CSI and spinoffs CSI: Miami, CSI: New York and CSI: Cyber.

Rodriguez was most recently a series regular on the Showtime series On Becoming a God In Central Florida opposite Kirsten Dunst. He was also seen opposite Anne Hathaway in Dee Rees’ The Last Thing He Wanted for Netflix. Additionally, Rodriguez recently voiced Officer Colt Bronco in the Disney–Pixar animated feature Onward.

Melissa De Sousa to Appear on Fourth Season of the CW’s “Black Lightning”

Posted on February 9, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Life’s a flash for Melissa De Sousa.

The 53-year-old Panamanian American actress will appear on the fourth season of the CW’s Black Lightning in a key recurring role.

De Sousa plays Chief Anna Lopez, the new Chief of Police of Freeland. Determined to rebuild the city and bring it to a place of peace and justice, Lopez has strong views on the metahuman population that differ from her predecessor, the late Chief Henderson. Seeing metahumans as “freaks” equally as bad as The 100 gang members, Lopez believes they should all be documented, tagged, and monitored at all times. In the end, Lopez will do whatever it takes to level the playing field and protect her officers from the metahumans.

Based on the DC characters, the series hails from Berlanti Productions and Akil Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.

De Sousa most recently starred opposite Kirsten Dunst on Showtime’s On Becoming a God in Central Florida. She also led the cult hit series Single Ladies for BET Networks.

In film, De Sousa is best known for her work in The Best Man and The Best Man Holiday, starring opposite Terrence Howard.

Showtime Renews Mel Rodriguez’s Comedy “On Becoming a God in Central Florida” for a Second Season

Posted on September 27, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

There’s more God-like action in Mel Rodriguez’s future…

One month after its season 1 premiere, Showtime has ordered a second season of its critically acclaimed comedy On Becoming A God In Central Florida, starring the 46-year-old Latino actor.

Hailing from Sony’s TriStar Television, the series was created and executive produced by Robert Funkeand Matt Lutskyand stars Kirsten Dunst.

On Becoming A God is a darkly comedic story about the cult of free enterprise and one woman’s relentless pursuit of the American Dream. In addition to Dunst and Rodriguez, the first season stars Théodore Pellerin, Beth Dittoand Ted Levine.

“With such imaginative storytelling and an absolutely inspired lead performance, On Becoming A God In Central Florida has been a revelation,” said Jana Winograde, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks. “Kirsten, Esta, Robert, Matt and Charlie have crafted a wondrous blend of satirical light within the economic and emotional melancholy that confronts so many Americans. We couldn’t be happier that On Becoming A God is on Showtime, nor more eager to see what wild events await our ensemble in the downline of season two.”

Set in a small Orlando-adjacent town in 1992, On Becoming A God In Central Florida follows Krystal Stubbs (Dunst), a minimum-wage water park employee who lies, schemes and cons her way up the ranks of Founders American Merchandise (FAM) — the cultish, flag-waving, multibillion-dollar pyramid scheme that drove her to ruin in the first place, run by the powerful Obie Garbeau II (Levine). Determined to make a better life for herself, Krystal dives deep into FAM and develops a tangled relationship with FAM’s most loyal and fanatical follower Cody (Pellerin), until her business begins to affect those closest to her, including Ernie (Rodriguez), her affable water park boss, and his FAM-skeptic wife Bets (Ditto).

Season 1 is currently airing on Sundays at 10:00 pm ET/PT on Showtime.

Mel Rodriguez to Star in YouTube Premium’s Dark Comedy “On Becoming a God in Central Florida”

Posted on September 15, 2018 by Tom Castaneda

Mel Rodriguez has landed a God-sized project…

The 45-year-old Latino actor has been cast in On Becoming a God in Central Florida, YouTube Premium’s a one-hour dark comedy series set in the 1990s.

Rodriguez will star opposite Ted Levine, Kirsten Dunst and Beth Ditto, the lead singer of Gossip, who’ll be series regulars, as well as Usman Ally, who has a recurring role.

The web series hails from George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures and Sony’s TriStar Television.

On Becoming A God In Central Florida, one of the passion projects for the late TriStar television head Suzanne Patmore Gibbs, was written by Robert Funke and Matt Lutsky based on a spec script they wrote.

Set near Orlando in the early 1990s, it centers on Krystal Gill (Dunst), a minimum-wage-earning water park employee who will eventually scheme her way up the ranks of the Founders American Merchandise, the cultish, flag waving, multi-billion dollar pyramid scheme that drove her family to ruin.

Rodriguez will play the manager of the low-rent waterpark where Krystal works.

Rodriguez’s previous credits include Getting On, The New Normal, Hot in Cleveland and The Middle.

Cannavale to Appear in “Variety Studio: Actors on Actors” Series

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Bobby Cannavale is ready to talk shop…

Variety and PBS SoCal have announced the line-up for the fourth installment of their awards season series “Variety Studio: Actors on Actors,” with the 45-year-old half-Cuban American actor making the final cut.

Available to stream on Variety.com, the new “Actors on Actors” season will feature one-on-one discussions between this year’s Emmy contenders.

Along with Cannavale, who stars in HBO’s Vinyl, this year’s conversations, which will be printed in the June 7 issue of Variety, will also include Aziz Ansari (“Master of None”), Rachel Bloom (“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”), Emilia Clarke (“Game of Thrones”), Jamie Lee Curtis (“Scream Queens”), Kirsten Dunst (“Fargo”), Jay Duplass (“Transparent”), Billy Eichner (“Difficult People”), Sam Heughan (“Outlander”), Tom Hiddleston (“The Night Manager”), Felicity Huffman (“American Crime”), Lady Gaga (“American Horror Story”), Jennifer Lopez (“Shades of Blue”), Rob Lowe (“Grinder”), Rami Malek (“Mr. Robot”), Thomas Middleditch (“Silicon Valley”), Aaron Paul (“The Path”), Sarah Paulson (“American Crime Story”), Krysten Ritter (“Jessica Jones”), Tracee Ellis Ross (“Black-ish”), Patrick Stewart (“Blunt Talk”), John Travolta (“American Crime Story”), Courtney B. Vance (“American Crime Story”) and Kerry Washington (“Confirmation”).

“Variety is thrilled to cover the best actors on television in this season’s ‘Actors on Actors’ for PBS stations,” said Variety‘s executive TV editor Debra Birnbaum in a statement. “This season’s lineup includes actors from some of the top new television programs and showcases the wide diversity of roles for actors on broadcast, cable and streaming platforms.”

PBS SoCal will premiere the segment in two episodes, one on June 12 and the other on June 19.

“Through their craft, the actors interviewed on ‘Actors on Actors’ effortlessly spark our imaginations and take us to new places,” said PBS SoCal president and CEO Andy Russell in a statement. “Through this partnership with Variety we are pleased to enhance the experience of fans of great television – providing them greater insight into the people who bring them their favorite dramas, comedies and more.”

Hernandez Cast in Fox’s “Gang Related” Pilot

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Jay Hernandez is joining the gang at Fox…

The 35-year-old Mexican American actor has landed a role in Fox’s drama pilot Gang Related.

The project, written by Chris Morgan and directed by Allen Hughes, centers on Ryan Lopez (portrayed by Charlie’s Angels alum Ramon Rodriguez), a gang member sent in to infiltrate the San Francisco Police Department.

Hernandez, who most recently starred in ABC’s short-lived series Last Resort, will portray Dante Acosta, gang lord Javier Acosta’s son, and Ryan’s best friend since childhood.

Hernandez, who rose to acclaim after starring opposite Kirsten Dunst in Crazy/Beautiful, has previously appeared in Hostel, World Trade Center and LOL.

Solanas’ “Upside Down” Gets March Release Date

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Juan Diego Solanas’ second feature film will finally get its day in theaters…

The 46-year-old Argentine filmmaker’s latest film, Upside Down, will get a limited North American platform release beginning on March 15.

Starring Kirsten Dunst and Jim Sturgess, the film centers on star-crossed lovers separated by class, wealth and a pair of side by side planets whose gravities are mutually incompatible.

Solanas’ wrapped work on the ambitious science fantasy romance in late 2010.

A dual production by Studio 37 and Onyx Films, Upside Down is being distributed by Millennium Entertainment.

Solanas, the son of Argentina film director Fernando Solanas, saw his previous film Nordeste screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.

AMC Networks Acquires Braga’s “On the Road”

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

It looks like Alice Braga’s latest film will be released in theaters this fall…

The 29-year-old Brazilian actress’ On the Road has been acquired by AMC Networks a week before it premieres in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

Buying all U.S. rights to Walter Salles’ adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s classic novel of the same name, AMC Networks announced that its distribution labels IFC Films and Sundance Selects will release the film later this fall in theaters.

Along with Braga—who rose to fame following her starring role opposite Will Smith in I Am Legend—the film stars Twilight’s Kristen Stewart, TRON: Legacy’s Garrett Hedlund, Kirsten Dunst, Amy Adams, Elisabeth Moss and Viggo Mortensen.

Jose Rivera wrote the screenplay for the film, which brings to life the classic novel based on the spontaneous cross-country adventures of Kerouac and his friends during the middle of the 20th century.

On the Road is considered a defining work of the postwar Beat Generation that was inspired by jazz, poetry and drug experiences. While many of the names and details of Kerouac’s experiences are changed for the novel, hundreds of references in On the Road have real-world counterparts.

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