Kid Cudi to Perform at This Month’s Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards

Posted on April 1, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Kid Cudi is preparing to Kid’s around…

The 38-year-old part-Mexican American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor, whose real name is Scott Mescudi, will perform on the 2022 Kids’ Choice Awards, which will air live on Nickelodeon channels on Saturday, April 9, at 7:30 p.m. (ET/PT) from Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif.

Kid Cudi will perform a medley of his new single “Stars in the Sky,” from the animated film Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and his 2010 hit “Pursuit of Happiness,” from his acclaimed debut album, Man on the Moon: The End of Day.”

While Kid Cudi is out of the Nickelodeon target demo, he’s still a kid at heart.

Said the rapper/singer in a statement: “I can’t believe my late 30-something butt gets to party at the Kids’ Choice Awards! I grew up loving Nickelodeon and it’s been a dream of mine to get slimed.”

Kid Cudi is nominated in the album of the year category at the Grammys, albeit as a featured artists on another artists’ albums.

Kid Cudi appears on Kanye West’s DONDA.

Hosted byiCarlyactress Miranda Cosgrove and NFL star Rob Gronkowski, Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards 2022 will feature stars from the worlds of film, television, music, sports and more. The show will simulcast – or should that beslimulcast— across Nickelodeon, Teen Nick, Nicktoons and the Nick Jr. channel.

Fans may cast votes on the official Kids’ Choice Awards website, KidsChoiceAwards.com, and through the Screens Up app on supported iPad, iPhone and Android devices in the U.S. International fans may cast votes via the web at KCA.NICKELODEON.TV.

Cardi B to Lend Voice to #SharkiB on Nickelodeon’s “Baby Shark’s Big Show!”

Posted on March 24, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Cardi B is headed into deep waters…

Nickelodeon has announced that the 29-year-old half-Dominican American singer will appear in a special episode of the hit preschool series Baby Shark’s Big Show! airing on April 15 at noon ET/PT on Nickelodeon.

Grammy-winner Cardi will appear alongside her musician husband Offset.

“The Seaweed Sway” follows Baby Shark (voiced by Kimiko Glenn) and William (Luke Youngblood) as they meet the ferociously fun rap icon Sharki B, who is swimming into Carnivore Cove to perform her splash hit dance craze, The Seaweed Sway.

Sharki asks Baby Shark and William to show her around town before her big concert and perform The Seaweed Sway with her on stage that night. As hard as William tries, he keeps messing up the final move of the dance. Luckily, thanks to the help of his friends and his musical icon Sharki, William learns that the true secret to great dancing is doing it his own unique way.

It’ll be the first time Cardi B lends her voice to an animated character.

Her finned alter ego is described as seven seas-flashy, awe-inspiring, and ruthlessly fun—but always 100% herself and fin-spires other fishies to do the same.

Guest stars Offset plays Offshark, a cool fish with a great vibe and a huge Sharki fan; and the couple’s real-life baby shark Kulture will bring to life Kulture Shark, Offshark’s three-year-old daughter who is excited to attend Sharki’s big concert with her dad.

Season 2 of Baby Shark’s Big Show! is set to debut later this year.

Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias to Produce & Lead the Cast of Netflix’s Animated Feature “I, Chihuahua”

Posted on March 23, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias is luchando…

The 45-year-old Mexican American stand-up comedian and actor will produce and lead the voice cast of Netflix’s animated feature I, Chihuahua.

The project will be Maya and the Three creator Jorge Gutiérrez’s first animated feature for Netflix.

Written by Gutiérrez, Doug Landale and Candie Kelty Langdale, I, Chihuahua is billed as the ultimate underdog tale of Chacho, a scrappy masked Luchador Chihuahua, who embarks on a hilarious and action-packed journey around the world to fight for his family. After learning his beloved home is in danger, Chacho dons a Lucha Libre mask to become Luchacho. Our masked underdog then enters an international fight tournament, competing against a hilarious and eclectic mix of animal fighters from all over the world, in the lead-up to a final, epic fight against the nefarious beast known as Chamuco, The Widow Maker. Iglesias will produce alongside Tim Yoon.

“I cannot wait for everyone to see this wonderful film that celebrates underdogs in and out of the ring! It has action, drama, laughs and twists & turns, like any great Lucha storyline movie should have,” said Iglesias. “When I first had the idea of a Lucha Libre cartoon, there was no one else I wanted to partner with other than Jorge Gutierrez. He has a brilliant mind that can expand this story in unimaginable ways.”

“After The Book of Life and the amazing experience on Maya and the Three, I’m now thrilled to collaborate with [VP Animated Films] Melissa [Cobb], [VP Animated Films] Gregg [Taylor], [Director of Animated Films] Tito [Ortiz] and all my friends at Netflix Animation on my follow up animated feature: I, Chihuahua! And to finally tag team a movie with my good friend and creative partner Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias is a dream come true!” added Gutiérrez. “Our internationally epic and heartfelt film will be a hilarious love letter to Lucha Libre (Mexican wrestling) movies, fighting video games and underdog sports films. I don’t want to overpromise, but this will be the greatest masked Chihuahua film ever made! What a time to be alive!”

Iglesias is one of America’s most successful stand-up comedians, performing to sold-out concerts around the world, and is also one of the most watched comedians on YouTube, with almost a billion views and more than 25 million fans across social media.

He is currently on his Gabriel “Fluffy” Back On Tour and will make history from May 6-7, as he’s the first comedian to perform at Dodger Stadium.

Iglesias previously collaborated with Gutiérrez as part of the cast of both The Book of Life and Maya and the Three and has also featured in such series as Disney+’s Monsters at Work and ABC’s Cristela, while leading his own Netflix sitcom, Mr. Iglesias.

He has also lent his voice to animated (or partially animated) films including Space Jam: A New Legacy, UglyDolls, Ferdinand, The Star, Coco, The Nut Job and The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature, Smurfs: The Lost Village and Norm of the North. Additional film credits include Magic Mike, Magic Mike XXL and A Haunted House 2.

Gutiérrez is an Emmy– and Annie Award-winning animator, painter, voice actor, writer and director whose Mesoamerican fantasy series Maya and the Three debuted on Netflix last year. That series won two Annie Awards upon its premiere, including the prize for Best Children’s TV/Media, with Gutiérrez moving to expand his relationship with the streamer, in writing, directing and producing new animated films, series and interactive projects across preschool, kids & family and adult animation.

Born in Mexico City and raised in Tijuana, the CalArts graduate has completed various films, cartoons, and paintings exploring his love affair with Mexican pop and folk culture. He was the director and co-writer of the Guillermo del Toro-produced animated feature The Book of Life for Fox, which earned him a 2014 Golden Globe nomination, and was also the writer-director behind the Emmy-nominated VR short Son of Jaguar for Google. Gutiérrez also created the multiple Emmy Award–winning animated series El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera for Nickelodeon, alongside his wife, Sandra Equihua.

Carlos PenaVega & Big Time Rush Release Music Video for New Single “Not Giving You Up”

Posted on February 25, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos PenaVega isn’t giving up on music…

The 32-year-old Spanish, Venezuelan and Dominican American singer/actor and his Big Time Rush band mates have released a dance-packed music video for their new song “Not Giving You Up.”

The song, which was released earlier in the week, follows the December 2021 track “Call It Like I See It,” the group’s first single since their Nickelodeon days eight years ago.

Originating in 2009 on the network’s Big Time Rush television series, they debuted their danceable new song four days before its release in a February 21 performance on Good Morning America.

Directed by Erik Rojas, the “Not Giving You Up” video shows Pena Vegas and his boys running what they assure is a “totally legit” love advice business, with which they assist customers in getting over heartbreak by dancing, working out and destroying teddy bears. If that sounds like the kind of help you need, the video displays a newspaper advertisement containing a phone number you can call — 1-903-BTR-9198 — to get instructions on signing up for Big Time Relationship Services’ phone book.

Big Time Rush first came back together after their years-long hiatus in June of 2020, virtually reuniting to perform an acoustic version of their fan-favorite song “Worldwide.”

Nearly two years and two new songs later, the band is set to embark on the Big Time Rush Forever Tour this summer.

Three of the four BTR members — Logan Henderson, PenaVega and Kendall Schmidt — sat down with ExtraTV a day prior to the release of “Not Giving You Up.” They revealed that the video concept was Schmidt’s idea, and Henderson said that the band’s reunion was a “long time coming.”

“It was two years in the making,” he said. “We always thought we would come back to the band at some point. During the pandemic, it kind of just showed us that life is short and it’s nice to have fun and we wanted some of that to bring to the fans.”

Cinedigm Acquires North American Rights to Fatima Ptacek’s Coming-of-Age Drama “Coast”

Posted on February 4, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Fatima Ptacek will be coasting into a theater near you…

Cinedigm has acquired North American rights to Coast, a coming-of-age drama starring the 21-year-old half-Ecuadorian and part-Colombian American actress.

In addition to Ptacek, who has lent her voice as the lead role of Dora in Nickelodeon‘s animated television series Dora the Explorer since 2010, the film also stars stand-up comedian Cristela Alonzo, Melissa Leo and Ciara Bravo.

Cinedigm plans to release Coast day-and-date in theaters and on VOD on April 8.

Set in a farming community along the Central California coast, the story revolves around 16-year-old Abby (Ptacek), who is desperate to escape the trappings of small-town life. Stuck in a loop of sameness, she refuses to believe the lives of those around her are all she has to look forward to, longing for something more. Everything changes when she falls for the lead singer of a touring rock band and must decide whether to leave her family and friends behind in search of a better life.

Jessica Hester and Derek Schweickart directed the film from a script by Cindy Kitagawa, which was based on her own childhood experiences.

Mia Frampton and Mia Xitlali round out its cast.

Hester and Schweickart produced alongside Dani Faith Leonard, Sonya Lunsford, Wendy Guerrero and Alex Cirillo.

“We are excited to partner with Cinedigm and VMI to help audiences get to know the amazing talent in Coast. It’s thanks to the nuanced performances of all of our actors that we can bring to life the complexity of Abby’s teenage heart,” said Hester and Schweickart in a joint statement. “Nobody lives in a vacuum, and through Coast we wanted to explore the tangled web of what ‘home’ means to each of us. Plus, who couldn’t use a dose of mosh pit fun?”

“Coast reminds us of that exciting time when the world is a place of endless possibility, and we are searching for our place within it. Its rich, dimensional characters, including those of Latinx and Asian American heritage, are brought to life through the stellar cast,” added Cinedigm’s Chief Content Officer, Yolanda Macias. “Given its universally relatable storyline and fantastic soundtrack, we’re sure audiences will gravitate toward this rockin’ film when it releases in theaters and on digital this spring.”

Carlos PenaVega & His Big Time Rush Band Mates Release New Single “Call It Like I See It”

Posted on December 13, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos PenaVega is calling it like he sees it…

The 32-year-old Spanish, Venezuelan and Dominican American singer and his Big Time Rush mates have released “Call It Like I See It,” their first single in eight years.

On the sunny track, the quartet — who got their start on their eponymous Nickelodeon sitcom from 2009 to 2013 — sing over horn blasts and shimmery synths.

“Pull up on you, that’s an intro/ Just can’t help it when you look like that/ Spinning like a disco/ Make me wanna make a demo track,” Logan Henderson sings on the opening verse before PenaVega jumps in to croon, “Got me feelin’ like I’m retro/ Leave ya friends in the friend zone, right?/ You can meet me in the end zone, right?/ Let’s keep it simple, baby.”

In an interview with People, the boy band opened up about what it was like getting back into the studio together nearly a decade after their 2013 breakup.

“We definitely had some rough patches, had some issues kind of finding our sound and knowing the vision for the music. But the best part was whenever we all came together…we just went in with open hearts, open minds about the music and a little bit of tequila,” Henderson quipped.

Kendall Schmidt added, “[What’s different] from 10 years ago is that we all have grown individually. We all have different strengths. And now I think that we’re much more open to playing off each other’s strengths and it’s really kind of helped our relationship.”

After first reuniting via Zoom during the pandemic in June 2020, Big Time Rush announced a pair of reunion shows in New York and Chicago last July. The boy band’s last proper studio release was their third album 24/Seven, which bowed at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 upon its release in 2013.

Benjamin Flores Jr. Signs with Hyperion for Agency Representation

Posted on October 29, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Benjamin Flores Jr. is under new representation…

The 19-year-old Latino actor and rapper has signed with Hyperion for agency representation.

Flores most recently starred in the Leigh Janiak-directed Netflix feature trilogy Fear Street, released this past summer.

He’s also a series regular on the Showtime drama Your Honor alongside Bryan Cranston and Michael Stuhlbarg. The series, which has been picked up for a second season, became the most-watched debut season ever on Showtime as well as the network’s most watched series.

Flores was previously a lead in the McG-directed Netflix feature comedy Rim of the World and played a supporting role in the $605M-global grossing Transformers: The Last Knight for Paramount.

The actor got his start as a series regular on Nickelodeon’s The Haunted Hathaways followed by Game Shakers.

He is a recipient of the Imagen Award for Best Young Actor-Television.

Robert Beltran to Reprise “Star Trek: Voyager” Role on Paramount+’s New Series “Star Trek: Prodigy”

Posted on October 11, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Robert Beltran is heading back to space…

The 67-year-old Mexican-American actor has joined the voice cast of the new animated series Star Trek: Prodigy, which premieres on October 28 on Paramount+.

Beltran will reprise his Star Trek: Voyager role as Captain Chakotay on the new series, which will also includes Daveed Diggs, Jameela Jamil and Jason Alexander as part of the voice cast.

The series, produced by Nickelodeon and CBS Studios’ Eye Animation Productions, showcased a first-look clip from the series at New York Comic Con. It features a hologram of iconic Captain Kathryn Janeway (voiced by Kate Mulgrew).

The series will debut with a one-hour episode titled Lost & Found. In it, a group of lawless teens, exiled on a mining colony outside Federation space, discover a derelict Starfleet ship. Dal must gather an unlikely crew for their newfound ship if they are going to escape Tars Lamora, but the Diviner and his daughter Gwyn have other plans.

Developed by Emmy Award winners Kevin and Dan Hageman, the CG-animated series is the first Star Trek series aimed at younger audiences, and will follow a motley crew of young aliens who must figure out how to work together while navigating a greater galaxy in search of a better future. These six young outcasts know nothing about the ship they have commandeered – a first in the history of the “Star Trek” franchise – but over the course of their adventures together, they will each be introduced to Starfleet and the ideals it represents.

Victoria Justice to Star in Untitled Netflix Romantic Comedy

Posted on August 11, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Victoria Justice is hittin’ the Australian ranchland…

The 28-year-old half-Puerto Rican singer/actress and former Nickelodeon star will star opposite Adam Demos in an untitled romantic comedy, which Stuart McDonald is directing for Netflix.

Written by Elizabeth Hackett and Hilary Galanoy, the film centers on a hard-driving LA wine-company exec who travels to an Australian sheep station to land a major client. There, she ends up working as a ranch hand and sparking with a rugged local.

The film will be shot on location in Queensland, Australia.

Production and post-production will be supported by the Queensland Government through Screen Queensland’s Production Attraction Strategy. The film will create around 120 jobs for Queenslanders.

“This new Netflix film is the latest in a string of domestic and international productions continuing to fuel the state’s screen boom which is critical to our economic recovery,” said Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. “This project is a strong example of how our Production Attraction Strategy benefits Queensland’s local screen sector via exciting co-production arrangements for local businesses, such as Hoodlum Entertainment, one of the state’s most successful production companies.”

Justice will next be seen as the lead of the Netflix film Afterlife of the Party. She recently wrapped production on the indie California King, which also stars Jimmy Tatro and Travis “Taco” Bennett. On the television side, her credits include Fox’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show and MTV’s Eye Candy.

The actress broke through with her leading role in Nickelodeon’s Victorious. Other recent credits include director Joseph Cross’ Summer Night and the indie film Bigger, in which she appeared opposite Tyler Hoechlin and Julianne Hough.

Carlos Pena Jr. & His Big Time Rush Group Mates Reuniting for Two Shows

Posted on July 19, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Pena Jr. is feelin’ the rush…

The 31-year-old Spanish, Venezuelan and Dominican American singer/actor, who goes by Carlos PenaVega, and his Big Time Rush group mates are making a comeback.

After an eight-year hiatus, the boy band is returning for two performances in 2021.

The L.A.-based group will perform at Chicago Theater in Illinois on December 15, followed by a December 18 show at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York.

“WE ARE BACK! It’s been a minute, but we couldn’t be more excited to see you! Lets make up for lost time,” the group said in a post announcing their return.

Big Time Rush originated from the Nickelodeon series Big Time Rush in 2009 and released three studio albums between 2010 and 2013. The group set off on five tours from 2011 to 2014, when they ceased touring. The series concluded in the summer of 2013.

The Big Time Rush Live dates will consist of all four original members Kendall Schmidt, James Maslow, Pena Jr. and Logan Henderson.

The members conducted a virtual reunion in June 2020 for fans to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of their song “Worldwide.” The acoustic version of the track was uploaded to PenaVega’s YouTube channel.

The show announcements were accompanied by a short promo video featuring the members being called back to return to their gigs.

Tickets go on sale Friday through Ticketmaster. Fans can sign up for presale access here.

WE ARE BACK! It’s been a minute, but we couldn’t be more excited to see you! Lets make up for lost time.
Dec 15 – Chicago Theater, Chicago, IL
Dec 18 – Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY

Don’t forgot to sign up for first access to pre-sale tickets!
LINK IN BIO pic.twitter.com/Mokn5euLvV

— Big Time Rush (@bigtimerush) July 19, 2021

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