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

Posted on May 28, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

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.

Annie 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.”

UCP Extends Overall Development Deal with Tanya Saracho

Posted on January 22, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Tanya Saracho is getting an extension…

UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, has extended an overall development deal with the Latina Mexican-American actress, playwright, dramaturge and screenwriter.

She will develop and produce original projects for broadcast, cable and streaming platforms under the agreement.

Saracho is currently in development on several projects including the series The Wild Wild, inspired by the lives of Annie Oakley, America’s most famous sharpshooter, and the renowned trick-rider Señorita Rosalie, who were both stars of the famed Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.

She’ll serve as co-creator and executive producer of the project along with Jenniffer Gomez, with Jamie Babbit attached to direct and executive produce.

“It’s a pleasure and honor working with Tanya and her company, Ojalá. Their creative brilliance and entrepreneurial approach to producing and writing is so rare, and we are thrilled to continue our partnership,” said Beatrice Springborn, President, UCP and Universal International Studios, in a statement to Deadline.

“I am grateful to continue my relationship with UCP and be able to keep crafting the stories that matter most to me – brown, queer narratives which are still missing from the landscape and are so important to tell, and which UCP has proven a commitment to nurturing,” shared Saracho.

Saracho most recently served as creator, showrunner and executive producer of the critically acclaimed series Vida on Starz. The show featured all Latine writers and directors, including Saracho, who made her TV directorial debut. Vida won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comedy Series and was also honored by the National Hispanic Media Coalition with the 2019 Impact Award.

Additionally, the series won the Audience Award at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival and made its Season 2 premiere as an Official Selection of the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival.

She was the recipient of the Norman Lear Writers Award at the Imagen Awards in 2021 and was honored by the LGBTQ California Legislative Caucus as their 2020 Pride Month Honoree. She received the Rising Star Award at the Outfest Legacy Awards and was awarded the New Voice Award by Final Draft.

Saracho co-founded the Untitled Latinx Project, whose mission is to increase Latine representation in television through content created by Latine writers, along with co-founding the Writers Access Support Staff Training Program to help increase representation and opportunities for underrepresented communities.

In addition, Saracho launched the Ojalá Ignition Lab in 2021, aimed to nurture, amplify and empower intersectional Latine voices.

Aaron Dominguez to Star in the Indie Action Thriller “Red Dirt”

Posted on November 6, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Aaron Dominguez is hitting pay dirt…

The 29-year-old Latino actor, who stars on Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, will star in Red Dirt, an indie action thriller from director Crash Buist that has been handed an interim agreement from SAG.

Dominguez is among a cast that includes Melissa Fumero, Alejandro Edda, Sebastian Chacon and Carlos Pratts.

Written by Buist, Jonathan Medina and Lauren Senechal, the film is a family-driven revenge tale about two brothers, Miguel (Dominguez) and Dom (Edda) who are thrust back together after years apart when their family is murdered by cartel gangsters in a New Mexico border town. The brothers are the only surviving members of a family that dies crossing the border between Mexico and the United States. Upon doing so, they’re found and cared for by a white couple, Brent and Margaret. The backdrop of their struggle arises with the opposing realities of where they were born and where they are raised. This is reflected in the choices they make as the younger Miguel becomes a cop, and his older brother, Dom, is forced to work in the world of drug trafficking.

Buis and Senechal are producing under their Sthenic Studios banner, alongside Medina. Jamie Ember and Marisa DeFranco handled casting.

In a statement accompanying the project announcement, Buist shared that he’s been “humbled and inspired by the level of talent and innovation in the New Mexico film community, and there is no richer backdrop for the world of Red Dirt.”

Co-writer and producer Senechal praised the film’s “truly…special” cast and the “depth, gravity, and creativity” they’ve brought to their work.

Added Medina: “Beyond excited to bring this latine-led story to life, and support SAG-AFTRA, my fellow writers, crew, teamsters, and everyone involved in our amazing business. The interim agreement works, so we can too!”

Recently appearing in the films Sitting in Bars with Cake and The Inspection from Amazon and A24, respectively, Dominguez is also known for a starring role in the first season of Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building. Among other upcoming projects for the actor is a reimagining of the 1986 horror classic Witchboard from filmmaker Chuck Russell, which sees him starring alongside Madison Iseman and Jamie Campbell Bower.

Known for starring on Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Netflix’s comedy series Blockbuster opposite Randall Park, Fumero has also been seen of late on George Lopez series Lopez vs. Lopez, also getting behind the camera to direct episodes of shows like Primo, Shea Serrano and Mike Schur’s hit comedy for Amazon Freevee.

Edda will next be seen starring in Kevin Costner’s Western epic Horizon: An American Saga, having previously been seen in film and TV projects like American Made, The Forever Purge, Narcos: Mexico and Snowfall.

Most recently seen starring in Amazon’s hit series Daisy Jones & The Six and comedic thriller Emergency, Chacon will next appear alongside Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire, Peter Gallagher and Enrico Colantoni in the thriller Humane.

Paramount+ to Premiere Nick Barili’s New Docuseries “De La Calle” in November

Posted on October 7, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Nick Barili is hittin’ the calle next month…

Paramount+ will premiere the 44-year-old Argentinian-American award-winning journalist, executive producer, director and writer’s new docuseries De La Calle in the U.S. and Canada on Tuesday, November 7.

Across 8 episodes, Barili explores Latino urban music from the U.S. to Panama, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Spain and beyond.

The series takes a journey into the Latine diaspora to map the evolution of Urbano music and cultures that ignited the musical revolution of Rap, Reggaeton, Bachata, Latin trap, Cumbia and other sounds that influence music and culture worldwide.

Interviewees include Fat Joe, NORE, Residente, Mala Rodriguez, Nicky Jam, Nicki Nicole, Villano Antillano, Sech, Goyo, Nathy Peluso, Santa Fe Klan, Jessie Reyes, Feid, Aleman and Gente De Zona, among others.

“As a first-generation immigrant who learned how to speak English through Hip Hop at Malcolm X Elementary, I grew up straddling two worlds, speaking English at school and Spanish at home,” Barili, the project’s co-creator, executive producer and host, shared in a statement.

He continued, “I was influenced by El General and Calle 13 as much as E-40 and Outkast. De La Calle was created to explore how the seeds from the street that inspired Hip Hop are also present throughout Latin America and Spain. Going to the neighborhoods where El Movimiento was created, talking to the pioneers who were actually there and sharing the origin stories of superstars of today and tomorrow. I’m thrilled to have MTV Studios and Paramount+ as partners to bring De La Calle to the world.”

Adam Rodriguez to Star in “Winter Spring Summer or Fall”

Posted on December 24, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Adam Rodriguez is celebrating the four seasons…

The 47-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban American actor will star opposite Jenna Ortega in Winter Spring Summer or Fall for MPCA.

Percy Hynes White is also on board for the film, which Ortega will also executive produce.

The romantic drama is being helmed by writer Tiffany Paulsen, marking her feature debut.

The script was written by Dan Schoffer with revisions by Paulsen.

The film is being described as Before Sunrise meets The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the story follows two teens (Ortega and Hynes White) on the cusp of adulthood who meet and fall in love over four significant days of the year. Rodriguez will play Ortega’s father in the film.

Rodriguez currently stars in Criminal Minds: Evolution for Paramount+ reprising the brainy and charismatic brawny fan favorite Luke Alvez.

In addition to starring in iconic shows like the international hit series CSI: Miami and Criminal Minds, Rodriguez  was also an executive producer on multiple projects including HBO’s The Real Magic Mike, a spinoff of Steven Soderberg’s original hit film which he starred opposite Channing Tatum and is also in the upcoming Magic Mike’s Last Dance.

The Motion Picture Corporation of America (MPCA) has a long history of producing successful romantic comedies, most recently the No. 1 Netflix holiday rom-com Falling for Christmas and The Princess Switch trilogy, starring Vanessa Hudgens.

Previously, Rodriguez starred in and executive produced A Christmas Proposal with MPCA for CBS and Paramout+, one of the first Christmas movies on CBS which encompassed an all Latine cast.

Sierra Teller Ornelas Developing Comedy Series “Amigos” for NBC with Marcos Luevanos

Posted on December 11, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Sierra Teller Ornelas is in the friend(s) zone…

The part-Mexican American showrunner, screenwriter and filmmaker and Marcos Luevanos are developing the half-hour comedy Amigos for NBC.

Teller Ornelas and Luevanos will draw inspiration from their own lifelong friendship for the Universal Television-produced project.

Amigos is about a group of six Latine friends living in Los Angeles who lean and rag on each other as they find love, grow up and figure out what success means in 2022.

Ornelas and Luevanos will write and executive produce alongside Morgan Sackett.

Most recently, Ornelas was showrunner of the Peacock comedy series Rutherford Falls, which she co-created with Mike Schur and Ed Helms.

Previously, she was a co-executive producer on Loot for Apple TV+ and NBC’s Superstore where she worked for three seasons. She has previously written for Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Splitting Up Together, and Happy Endings.

Luevanos is currently a co-executive producer on the new NBC multicam Lopez vs. Lopez starring George Lopez and his daughter Mayan Lopez.

Previously, Luevanos spent three seasons on the Hulu/Disney+ series Love, Victor produced by Aptaker & Berger and worked on Gloria Calderon Kellett’s With Love, Rutherford Falls, Charmed, and Life In Pieces.

He also currently has a project in the works at 20th Television with Steven Canals executive producing.

Tanya Saracho Developing Starz’s Half-Hour Drama “Lovesong”

Posted on May 19, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Tanya Saracho is seeing Starz again…

The Mexican American screenwriter, who created the network’s acclaimed series Vida, is currently developing the half-hour drama Lovesong for Starz.

Musician and actor Johnny Flynn will co-executive produce the project and serve as composer.

Lovesong follows two Mexican American childhood friends living in London as they both become entangled in a torturous love triangle with the same captivating singer-songwriter. A love story born out of betrayal and paid for with the cost of friendship. Steeped in the East London music scene, the series embarks on a cinematic contemplation of love, sex, identity, purpose, and the price of happiness.

The announcement came ahead of Starz’ inaugural #TakeTheLead summit on Thursday that will feature Saracho’s participation in the “Power of Allyship” panel about fighting for representation.

“We are beyond thrilled to partner with Tanya to bring her bold and tantalizing love story to life,” said Kathryn Busby, President, Original Programming, Starz. “Throughout her career and from Vida to Lovesong on Starz, her dedication to Latine representation embodies the spirit of #TakeTheLead.”

Through her overall deal with UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, Saracho will executive produce Lovesong, along with co-executive producer Christine Dávila, under her production banner Ojalá Productions.

“This story is very much a child of the pandemic, born from those times when we were yearning for love stories to soothe the soul and light the way through the dark times. This is also when the light of Johnny Flynn’s music found me and lit the way into the story. While I spent five months in London, Johnny was generous enough to lead me through his lived experience of the East London music scene, which now comprises the world of ‘Lovesong,’” said Saracho. “It’s wonderful to be coming home to Starz to conceive of my new story of love, a place that truly nurtured and supported me while I crafted the love story of the two Hernandez sisters in Vida, and I couldn’t be happier to return to bring this new narrative to life.”

Lovesong will be produced by UCP and Lionsgate Television for Starz.

Vida ran on Starz for three seasons.

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