Jesse Garcia to Star in Disney+’s Film “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”

Jesse Garcia is preparing for a terrible, horrible project…

The 40-year-old Latino actor will star opposite Eva Longoria and George Lopez in the Disney+ film Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

Jesse GarciaThe project marks his return to the franchise, having previously portrayed the character of Dwayne in the Miguel Arteta film of the same name released in 2014.

Garcia will portray Frank Garcia, a happily married vegan chef, and father of Mia, David, and the titular Alexander. Frank clashes with his family when he refuses to modify his recipes to more traditional Mexican food even if it means missing out on opportunities.

From writer Matt Lopez and director Marvin LemusAlexander tells the story of 11-year-old Alexander Garcia who thinks he has the worst luck in the world. When his family sets off on a road trip to California, he’s pretty sure disaster awaits at every corner. His anxiety only increases when a family secret is revealed.

The film is produced by Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, and Lisa Henson.

Garcia is a rising star with various credits in both film and television. He will be on-hand at the upcoming SXSW festival on March 11 to premiere his latest film, Flamin’ Hot, about how Frito Lay janitor Ricardo Montañez (Garcia) would go on to climb the ranks and create the spicy Cheeto snack. Up next is the release of the Netflix action-thriller The Mother, starring opposite Jennifer Lopez, Gael Garcia Bernal, Joseph Fiennes, and Omari Hardwick.

Prior credits include The AvengersTell It Like a Woman, Ambulance, and the award-winning film Quinceañera for the big screen; The Shield, Snowfall, Narcos: Mexico, and From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series for TV.

Otmara Marrero to Star Opposite Edgar Ramirez in Netflix Series “Florida Man”

Otmara Marrero is headed to The Sunshine State

The 32-year-old Cuban American actress will star opposite Edgar Ramirez in Netflix’s eight-episode series Florida Man. 

Otmara Marrero

Marrero joins a roster of new cast additions that includes Anthony LaPagliaAbbey Lee, Lex Scott Davis and Emory Cohen as series regulars, with Clark Gregg joining in a recurring role in the hourlong series from veteran television writer producer Donald Todd and Jason Bateman & Michael Costigan’s Aggregate Films.

Additionally, Netflix has tapped Miguel Arteta to direct the pilot and second episode and executive produce. This reunites him with Ramírez with whom he worked on the Netflix feature Yes Day.

Rounding out directors for the season are Julian Farino (eps 3/4), Haifaa Al Mansour (eps 5/6) and Kevin Bray (eps 7/8).

In Florida Man, created by Todd, when a struggling ex-cop (Ramírez) is forced to return to his home state of Florida to find a Philly mobster’s runaway girlfriend, what should be a quick gig becomes a spiraling journey into buried family secrets and an increasingly futile attempt to do the right thing in a place where so much is wrong. The series is described as a wild odyssey into a sunny place for shady people in the spirit of Body Heat and Elmore Leonard’s Out of Sight.

Marrero is Patsy, Mike’s sister, living in Orlando, is relentlessly upbeat, churchgoing, and bravely soldiering on in the life she made too early with husband Deacon and daughter Tyler.

Marrero’s credits include comedy series Connecting and the role of Izzy Morales on StartUp.

Netflix Releases First Look at Edgar Ramirez’s Family Comedy “Yes Day!”

Edgar Ramirez is having a day like no other…

Netflix has released a first look at the family comedy Yes Day!, starring the 43-year-old Venezuelan actor and Jennifer Garner.

Yes Day!, Edgar Ramirez

The film is an adaptation of Amy Krouse Rosenthal‘s book Yes Day!

Garner, produces and stars in the Miguel Arteta-directed project as Allison Torres, a once-cool and carefree singleton. She traveled the world, went skydiving — no adventure was too risky. But as a wife and mother, Allison is the queen of mean (according to her three kids) and she’s ready to make a change.

Ramirez plays Garner’s husband, Carlos, in a rare comedy project for the actor.

“I’m a very curious person, and one of the most beautiful things about being an actor is that I get to try new things,” says Ramirez. “When Jennifer and Miguel reached out about a movie specifically about being open to new adventures, it encouraged me to get out of my comfort zone. What I love about the idea of a yes day is how everyone can benefit from having one, not just kids. Try it! It might benefit your relationship at home and at work, and most importantly with yourself.”

The film will premiere on the streamer on March 12.

Salma Hayek to Star in the Comedy “Limited Partners”

There’s a new partnership in Salma Hayek’s future…

The 52-year-old Mexican actress will star alongside Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne in Limited Partners, the Paramount Pictures comedy that Miguel Arteta will direct from a script by Sam Pitman and Adam Cole-Kelly.

Salma Hayek

Haddish and Byrne play two hard-charging best girlfriends who build a juggernaut company and find their relationship tested when they are made a big buyout offer. Suddenly all the differences that made them the perfect odd-couple partners put them at war, threatening their business and personal relationships.

Hayek plays the executive who makes the buyout offer, and becomes the corporate puppet master pulling the strings in creating acrimony among the partners. That drives the duo into a display of a one-upsmanship fued that gives the comedy shades of Superbad meets Bridesmaids.

It’s a reteaming for Hayek with Arteta, who directed her in the critically acclaimed film Beatriz at Dinner, which earned her an Independent Spirit Awards nomination for Best Female Lead.

Production begins in October.

Hayek, who earned an Academy Award nomination for her starring role in Frida, recently starred in The Hummingbird Project and will reprise her role in The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, the sequel to The Hitman’s Bodyguard.

Miguel Arteta to Direct Tiffany Haddish in The Comedy “Limited Partners”

Miguel Arteta is feeling Limited

The 53-year-old Peruvian and Spanish director is set to direct Tiffany Haddish in the Paramount Pictures comedy Limited Partners.

Miguel Arteta

Written by Sam Pitman and Adam Cole-Kelly, the film is described as a friendship comedy about two hard charging best girlfriends who build a juggernaut company, and find their relationships tested when they are made a big buyout offer. Suddenly all the differences that made them perfect odd couple partners put them at war, threatening their business and personal relationships.

Production is set to begin in October.

Arteta’s film credits include The Good Girl, Beatriz at Dinner and Cedar Rapids,

Salma Hayek Earns Movies for Grownups Awards Nomination from AARP

Salma Hayek’s all grown up with reason to celebrate…

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) has announced its nominees for the 17th Annual Movies for Grownups Awards, with the 51-year-old Mexican actress earning a nod.

Salma Hayek

Hayek is nominated in the Best Actress category for her performance in Miguel Arteta’s Beatriz at Dinner.

She’s nominated opposite Annette Bening (Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool), Judi Dench (Victoria & Abdul), Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) and Meryl Streep (The Post).

Guillermo del Toro earned a nod in the Best Director category and one in the Best Screenwriter category for the 53-year-old Mexican filmmaker’s Golden Globe-winning drama The Shape of Water, which earned a nod for Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups.

Meanwhile, Mexico’s Chavela, a film about the life of Mexican singer Chavela Vargas, who gained worldwide fame for her beauty and charm and her interpretation of traditional ranchera, earned a nomination in the Best Foreign Film category.

Winners will be honored at the annual awards at the Beverly Wilshire in Los Angeles on Monday, February 5 with Alan Cumming as host.

Co-produced by the Great Performances series, the awards will be broadcast for the first time on Friday, February 23 at 9:00 pm on PBS.

Here’s the complete list of nominees:

Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups
Get Out, Lady Bird, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, The Shape of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Actress
Annette Bening (Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool), Judi Dench (Victoria & Abdul), Salma Hayek (Beatriz at Dinner), Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) and Meryl Streep (The Post)

Best Actor
Steve Carell (Battle of the Sexes), Daniel Day-Lewis (Phantom Thread), Tom Hanks (The Post), Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour), Denzel Washington (Roman J. Israel, Esq.)

Best Supporting Actress
Holly Hunter (The Big Sick), Allison Janney (I, Tonya), Melissa Leo (Novitiate), Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread), Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird)

Best Supporting Actor
Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project), Laurence Fishburne (Last Flag Flying), Woody Harrelson (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), Richard Jenkins (The Shape of Water), and Christopher Plummer (All the Money in the World)

Best Director
Kenneth Branagh (Murder on the Orient Express), Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water), Reginald Hudlin (Marshall), Ridley Scott (All the Money in the World) and Steven Spielberg (The Post)

Best Screenwriter
Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water), James Ivory (Call Me by Your Name), Anthony McCarten (Darkest Hour), Steven Rogers (I, Tonya), Aaron Sorkin (Molly’s Game)

Best Ensemble
Get Out, Girls Trip, Last Flag Flying, Mudbound, Murder on the Orient Express

Best Grownup Love Story
Breathe, Films Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, The Leisure Seeker, Our Souls at Night, The Greatest Showman

Best Intergenerational Film
The Big Sick, The Florida Project, Lady Bird, Marjorie Prime, Wonder

Best Time Capsule
Battle of the Sexes, Darkest Hour, Dunkirk, I, Tonya, The Post

Readers’ Choice Poll
Beauty and the Beast, Dunkirk, Get Out, Girls Trip, Last Flag Flying, Murder on the Orient Express, The Post, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Wonder, Wonder Woman

Best Documentary
Dolores, Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story, I Am Not Your Negro, Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold, Mission Control: The Unsung Heroes of Apollo

Best Foreign Film
Chavela (Mexico), The Insult (Lebanon), Like Crazy (Italy), A Taxi Driver (South Korea), The Women’s Balcony (Israel)

Salma Hayek Earns First-Ever Film Independent Spirit Award Nomination

Salma Hayek has the spirit, yes she does…

The 51-year-old Mexican Academy Award-nominated actress has earned her first-ever Film Independent Spirit Award nomination.

Salma Hayek in Beatriz at Dinner

Hayek received the nod in the Best Female Lead category for her critically-acclaimed “powerful, layered” performance in Beatriz at Dinner, which was directed by Miguel Arteta.

But Hayek isn’t the only Hispanic artist in the running…

Spanish writer/director Antonio Méndez Esparza is nominated for the John Cassavetes Award for his film Life and nothing more, as is Spanish writer/director/producer Ana Asensio for her film Most Beautiful Island.

Meanwhile, Argentinian-born Chilean director Sebastián Lelio has earned a nod in the Best International Film category for his Chilean film A Fantastic Woman.

The Spirit Awards ceremony will air live on IFC from the Santa Monica beach on March 3, and will be hosted by Nick Kroll and John Mulaney for the second year in a row.

Here’s the full list of nomimations:

BEST FEATURE
Call Me By Your Name
Get Out
Lady Bird
The Florida Project
The Rider

BEST FIRST FEATURE
Columbus
Ingrid Goes West
Menashe
Oh Lucy!
Patti Cake$

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
Dayveon
A Ghost Story
Life and nothing more (
Writer/Director: Antonio Méndez Esparza; Producers: Amadeo Hernández Bueno, Alvaro Portanet Hernández, Pedro Hernández Santos)
Most Beautiful Island (Writer/Director/Producer: Ana Asensio; Producers: Larry Fessenden, Noah Greenberg, Chadd Harbold, Jenn Wexler)
The Transfiguration

BEST DIRECTOR
Sean Baker, The Florida Project
Jonas Carpignano, A Ciambra
Luca Guadagnino, Call Me by Your Name
Jordan Peele, Get Out
Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Good Time
Chloé Zhao, The Rider

BEST SCREENPLAY
Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
Azazel Jacobs, The Lovers
Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Jordan Peele, Get Out
Mike White, Beatriz at Dinner

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Donald Cried
The Big Sick
Women Who Kill
Columbus
Ingrid Goes West

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Thimios Bakatakis, The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Elisha Christian, Columbus
Hélène Louvart, Beach Rats
Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, Call Me by Your Name
Joshua James Richards, The Rider 

BEST EDITING
Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie, Good Time
Walter Fasano, Call Me by Your Name
Alex O’Flinn, The Rider
Gregory Plotkin, Get Out
Tatiana S. Riegel, I, Tonya   

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Salma Hayek, Beatriz at Dinner
Frances McDormand, Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
Shinobu Terajima, Oh Lucy!
Regina Williams, Life and nothing more

BEST MALE LEAD
Timothée Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name
Harris Dickinson, Beach Rats
James Franco, The Disaster Artist
Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out
Robert Pattinson, Good Time     

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Holly Hunter, The Big Sick
Allison Janney, I, Tonya
Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird
Lois Smith, Marjorie Prime
Taliah Lennice Webster, Good Time 

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Nnamdi Asomugha, Crown Heights
Armie Hammer, Call Me By Your Name
Barry Keoghan,  The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Bennie Safdie, Good Time

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
Mudbound
Director: Dee Rees
Casting Directors: Billy Hopkins, Ashley Ingram
Ensemble Cast: Jonathan Banks, Mary J. Blige, Jason Clarke, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Mitchell, Rob Morgan, Carey Mulligan 

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
BPM (Beats Per Minute)
France
Director: Robin Campillo
A Fantastic Woman
Chile
Director: Sebastián Lelio
I Am Not a Witch
Zambia
Director: Rungano Nyoni
Lady Macbeth
U.K.
Director: William Oldroyd
Loveless
Russia
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev 

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Departure
Director/Producer: Lana Wilson
Faces Places
Directors: Agnés Varda, JR
Producer: Rosalie Varda
Last Men in Aleppo
Director: Feras Fayyad
Producers: Kareem Abeed, Søeren Steen Jespersen, Stefan Kloos
Motherland
Director/Producer: Ramona S. Diaz
Producer: Rey Cuerdo
Quest
Director: Jonathan Olshefski
Producer: Sabrina Schmidt Gordon

BONNIE AWARD
So Yong Kim
Lynn Shelton
Chloé Zhao 

JEEP TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
Shevaun Mizrahi
Director of Distant Constellation
Jonathan Olshefski
Director of Quest
Jeff Unay
Director of The Cage Fighter

KIEHL’S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Amman Abbasi
Director of Dayveon
Justin Chon
Director of Gook
Kevin Phillips
Director of Super Dark Times 

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
Giulia Caruso & Ki Jin Kim
Ben LeClair
Summer Shelton

Justina Machado Wins First-Ever Imagen Award for Her “One Day at a Time” Performance

The third time’s the charm for Justina Machado

The 44-year-old Puerto Rican actress, a three-time nominee, picked up her first Imagen Award. The awards honor the positive portrayal and creative excellence of Latinos and Latino cultures on screen.

Justina Machado

Machado, who’d previously been nominated for her performances on HBO’s Six Feet Under in 2005 and 2006, took home the Best Actress – Television award for her performance in Netflix’s One Day at a Time, which was named Best Primetime Television Program – Comedy.

Machado’s on screen children, Isabella Gomez and Marcel Ruiz, also picked up awards. Gomez was named Best Supporting Actress – Television; Ruiz was named Best Young Actor – Television.

Scandal star Guillermo Diaz was named Best Actor – Television, his first Imagen Award in two attempts.

Peter Gadiot picked up his first Imagen Award, and his first acting prize in his first-ever nomination. The 31-year-old half-Mexican actor was named Best Supporting Actor – Television for his work on Queen of The South.

In film, Miguel Arteta won the best director award for Beatriz at Dinner, while Diego Luna was named best actor – feature film for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Best actress – feature film was awarded to Salma Hayek for her work in How to be a Latin Lover.

Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and his family were given the Imagen Foundation’s President’s Award for their humanitarian and artistic contributions.

The Imagen Awards were hosted by comedian/actress Aida Rodriguez before more than 600 attendees.

The Imagen Awards 2017 winners were judged and selected in seventeen categories by an independent panel of entertainment industry executives and Latino community leaders. The Imagen Awards program was established in 1985.

Here’s a look at the complete list of 2017 Imagen Awards winners:

Best Picture: How to be a Latin Lover
Best Director: Miguel Arteta, Beatriz at Dinner
Best Actor – Feature Film: Diego Luna, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Best Actress – Feature Film: Salma Hayek, How to be a Latin Lover
Best Primetime Television Program – Drama: Queen of the South
Best Primetime Television Program – Comedy: One Day at a Time
Best Primetime Program: Specials, Movies, & Mini-Series: American Crime
Best Actor – Television: Guillermo Diaz, Scandal
Best Actress – Television: Justina Machado, One Day at a Time
Best Supporting Actor – Television: Peter Gadiot, Queen of The South
Best Supporting Actress – Television: Isabella Gomez, One Day at a Time
Best Young Actor – Television: Marcel Ruiz, One Day at a Time
Best Variety or Reality Show: Fluffy Breaks Even
Best Children’s Programming: Elena of Avalor
Best Documentary: ESPN Features: SC Reportajes “The Heights”
Best Informational Program: Gaycation with Ellen Page
Best On-Air Advertising: Acura MDX: “Family Home”

Hayek’s “Beatriz at Dinner” to Open This Year’s Sundance Film Festival: London

Salma Hayek’s latest project is ready to see the Sun(dance) across the pond…

Miguel Arteta’s Beatriz at Dinner, starring the 50-year-old Mexican actress, will open this year’s Sundance Film Festival: London.

Salma Hayek in Beatriz at Dinner

The film, which had its world premiere earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, will be introduced to London audiences by Arteta, Hayek and screenwriter Mike White in the capital city’s Picturehouse Central cinema on June 1.

In the critically acclaimed film, Hayek plays Beatriz, an immigrant from a poor town in Mexico, who has drawn on her innate kindness to build a career as a health practitioner in Southern California. Don Strutt is a real estate developer whose cutthroat tactics have made him a self-made, self-satisfied billionaire. When the two polar opposites meet at a dinner party, their worlds collide and neither is ever the same.

The dark comedy also stars Connie Britton, Chloe Sevigny and Jay Duplass.

Roadside Attractions is set to release the title in the United States on June 9.

“We look forward to launching our fifth festival in London with Beatriz at Dinner, a masterful dramedy of errors from director Miguel Arteta and screenwriter Mike White and starring Salma Hayek,” said Sundance Film Festival director John Cooper. “This was a standout at our Utah Festival in January and is a wonderful example of the continued innovation and creativity of our independent filmmakers that we’ll showcase in London again this year.”

The full program for the fifth edition of Sundance’s London edition is expected to be announced soon. It will feature international and UK premieres of films from films that were featured in Sundance in January.

Sundance Institute will also be launching a festival in Hong Kong in September.

Sundance Film Festival: London will take place from June 1-4.

Freeform to Make All Episodes of Thorne’s “Famous in Love” Available Digitally Next Month

Bella Thorne is sharing all her Love in April…

Freeform will make all 10 premiere-season episodes of Famous in Love, starring the 19-year-old half-Cuban American actress/singer, available on its digital platforms on April 18, the same night as the Marlene King series’ television debut.

Bella Thorne

Based on Rebecca Serle’s novel, Famous in Love stars Thorne as college student Paige, who lands a starring role in a Hollywood blockbuster. Also in the cast: Carter Jenkins, Charlie Depew, Georgie Flores, Niki Koss, Pepi Sonuga, Keith Powers and Perrey Reeves.

The series was developed by King and Serle. King exec produces along with Christopher Fife, Miguel Arteta, Melissa Carter and Dan Farah, and Serle is co-executive producer. Warner Horizon Television is producing with Long Lake Media, Farah Films and Carmina Productions.

Freeform says the digital binge strategy proved successful for its series Beyond in January, generating more than 13 million starts across digital platforms to date “with 87% of bingers finishing the series within one week.”

Famous in Love will have its linear premiere at 9:00 pm ET on Tuesday, April 18, following the final-season premiere of Pretty Little Liars. The new show will be available that night on such digital platforms as the Freeform app, Freeform.com, On Demand and Hulu.