Pele Teaming with Bunim/Murray Productions for Scripted TV Series Based on His Life

Pele is ready to shine a light on his legendary life…

The 76-year-old soccer legend and his manager Paul “PK” Kemsley are teaming with Bunim/Murray Productions for a scripted limited series based on the Brazilian fútbol star’s life.

Pele

The untitled program will focus on his life in New York while playing for the NASL’s New York Cosmos alongside other international footballers in the mid-1970s.

Considered arguably the greatest soccer player of all time, Pelé (née Edson Arantes do Nascimento) and Kemsley will executive produce the series with Bunim/Murray CEO Gil Goldschein and Jeff Jenkins, BMP’s Co-President of Entertainment & Development. No time frame for production has been announced.

“Growing up playing soccer competitively and now coaching my kids’ teams, I have always admired Pelé and aspired to share his story and approached PK about doing this series,” Goldschein said. “As soccer continues to gain legions of fans around the world, now is the right time to delve into and dramatize his story. Pelé’s talent, humility and charisma make him an outstanding role model, and we anticipate that this series will have mass global appeal.”

After joining Brazil’s national team at 16, Pelé led them to FIFA World Cup titles in 1958, 1962 and 1970. He was named World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics and Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee, Since retiring in 1977, Pelé has been a global ambassador for soccer and was named the Honorary President of the New York Cosmos in 2010.

“Bunim/Murray has an amazing track record for creating revolutionary TV shows, and it was clear to me that we share a passion for Pelé and soccer,” Kemsley said. “I have no doubt they will capture the magic that was New York City in the late ’70s and also honor the legacy of one of the greatest athletes this planet has ever known.”

Boneta to Star in Fox’s Comedy-Horror Series “Scream Queens”

Diego Boneta is a scream king…

The Mexican actor-singer has been cast as one of the male leads in Scream Queens, Fox’s comedy-horror series created by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan.

Diego Boneta

The project revolves around a college campus that’s rocked by a series of murders.

Boneta is reportedly set to portray a bookish but handsome guy in the first installment of the anthology series slated for fall.

Boneta, who starred in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Rock of Ages, joins an ensemble cast that includes Lea Michele, Jamie Lee Curtis, Emma Roberts, Skyler Samuels, Nick Jonas, Keke Palmer, Joe Manganiello, Ariana Grande and Abigail Breslin.

Boneta will next be seen in CBS miniseries The Dovekeepers, produced by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, and the Imagine feature Pelé.

Boneta Lands Recording Contract with Sony Music U.S. Latin

Diego Boneta is ready to make sweet music in America…

The 23-year-old Mexican actor and singer, who has made a name for himself in television and film, has landed a recording deal Sony Music U.S. Latin.

Diego Boneta

Boneta, best known for portraying Rocco on the Mexican telenovela Rebelde, is a rising star in Hollywood who has become a fixture on U.S. television with roles on MTV’s Underemployed, CW‘s 90210 and ABC Family‘s Pretty Little Liars. He’s also starred in several films, most notably the film adaptation of the Broadway hit musical Rock of Ages, where he starred as Drew Boley and performed nine tracks on the film’s acclaimed soundtrack.

Now, Boneta is hoping to advance his musical career further with his newly inked record deal with Sony Music U.S. Latin. The label plans to release material in both English and Spanish, beginning with an EP that could come out in early 2015.

“Diego is a brand and music is an integral part of his artistic identity,” says Sony Music U.S. Latin president Nir Seroussi, who plans to find Boneta opportunities in multiple media, including opportunities for Boneta’s music in the many films he acts in.

His upcoming projects include the horror flick Summer Camp and Pelé, the biopic about the legendary Brazilian soccer player, in which Boneta plays archrival Pedro alongside Vincent D’onofrio and Rodrigo Santoro.

“The idea is not to simply release an album but create a strategy that’s congruent with my career,” Boneta said in an exclusive interview with Billboard. However, Boneta points out, “Diego the actor and Diego the singer are managed completely separate from one another.”

Boneta actually started out as a singer, taking voice lessons when he was only 8 years old and becoming a finalist on music reality show Codigo F.A.M.A. when he was 12. At 15, Boneta landed his star-making role on the popular soap opera Rebelde and went on to release two successful solo albums with EMI.

By 2010, at 20 years old, Boneta was already making a mark in Hollywood with his roles in Pretty Little Liars and 90210, plus a role in Mean Girls 2. He was signed briefly to Adam Levine‘s label but finally went to Sony, where he’ll work in both languages and across many mediums.

Now, Boneta is writing new tracks even as he prepares to begin shooting the miniseries The Dovekeepers, from Roma Downey and Mark Burnett (The Bible).

The trick to the balancing act, he says, is “finding the time. I’d like to be doing what Justin Timberlake does.”

Lopez to Pen His Memoir

Extra! Extra! Read all about Mario Lopez

The 40-year-old Mexican American actor and Extra host is writing his memoir, entitled Just Between Us.

Mario Lopez

The book’s publisher Penguin will release Lopez’s book on September 30.

Lopez is best known for playing athletic hunk A.C. Slater on NBC’s Saturday morning teen sitcom Saved by the Bell, which aired from 1989 to 1993. Saved by the Bell: The College Years, a primetime spin-off, lasted one season (1993-94). Other members of the cast included Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Dustin Diamond, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley and Lark Voorhies.

Specific details about what Lopez will cover in the book haven’t been released but Penguin is touting the book as “a behind-the-scenes look into his successes and disappointments in the entertainment industry” and the “most intimate never-before-told stories, including the details of his often tumultuous and largely public love life—giving readers a look at the ups and downs of his romantic past leading up to a happily-ever-after with his beautiful wife and their two children.”

Added Lopez in the statement, “I share my most intimate stories and pivotal moments, some of the best and most important times of my life and the heartbreaking mistakes that still haunt me. There are no do-overs in life, so I had to learn to pick myself up and move forward, never forgetting the hard-won lessons.”

Post-Bell, Lopez has been the host of the entertainment news show Extra since 2008. He was also a contestant on Dancing with the Stars in 2006, finishing second to former NFL great Emmitt Smith. He was also the subject of the VH1 unscripted series Mario Lopez: Saved by the Baby about the arrival of his first child with wife Courtney Mazza. He was also briefly married to Ali Landry in 2004.

Just Between Us will be published via Penguin’s Hispanic celebrity imprint Celebra, which has done books by Ricky Martin, Pele, George Lopez and Soledad O’Brien among others.

Lopez has previously published two health and fitness books with Celebra. Both were New York Times bestsellers.

Delayed “Pelé” Biopic Headed to Theaters After the World Cup

He’s considered one of the best soccer players of all time… And, now Pelé’s life story is heading to the big screen.

Pelé, the biopic about the legendary 73-year-old Brazilian soccer star, is scheduled to hit theaters sometime in 2014.

Pelé

But sadly, it doesn’t look like the film will be ready for delivery before this summer’s soccer World Cup, as previously planned, due to a lengthy spell in post-production and reshoots for the project.

Written and directed by Michael Zimbalist and Jeff Zimbalist, the film stars newcomers Leonardo Lima Carvalho and Kevin de Paula, who will both portray the soccer star at different stages in his young life.

Pelé

The film is described as an origins story, chronicling Pele’s rise from the slums of Sao Paulo to become the people’s hero when, as a 17-year-old, he led Brazil to its first World Cup victory, in 1958.

Carvalho will play Pelé between ages 10 through 13 and De Paula will play him between the ages of 13 and 17.

Vincent D’Onofrio, Rodrigo Santoro, Diego Boneta, Colm Meaney and Seu Jorge also star.

Also in the cast are Brazilian actors Marianna Nunes, Milton Goncales, Rafael Henrique, Marcus Vinicius, Julio Levy, Thelmo Fernandes, Felipe Simas, Charles Myara, Jerome Franz and Roger Haag.

Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer and Seine PicturesIvan Orlic are producing Pele with Kim Roth and Colin Wilson executive producing.

Neymar Agrees to Five-Year-Deal with FC Barcelona

It looks like Neymar is heading to Spain…

Futbol Club Barcelona has agreed to a five-year-deal worth a reported $36.12 million with the 21-year-old Brazilian striker, wooing him away from his club in Brazil, Santos.

Neymar

“FC Barcelona and Santos have agreed terms for Neymar. The 21-year old is one of the most promising footballers on the planet,” said FC Barcelona in a statement.

“On Monday, I sign a contract with Barcelona. I want to thank the fans of Santos by these incredible nine years,” wrote Neymar on Instagram.

The statement in Portuguese added: “My feeling for the club and the fans will never change. Titles, goals, dribbling, celebrations and songs that fans created for me will be forever in my heart.

Neymar had been considering his future after Santos revealed they had accepted two offers for their star player, with Barcelona confirmed as one of the bidders and Real Madrid widely assumed to be the other.

His contract with Santos was due to expire at the end of next season.

Neymar will say goodbye to the Santos fans at Sunday’s season-opening game against Flamengo before joining Barcelona after the Confederations Cup, which starts in Brazil on June 15 and finishes on June 30.

The signing ends years of speculation about which team would be the first to persuade the player to make the move to Europe.

As well as Real Madrid,  he has also been linked with Chelsea  and Manchester United  since making his debut for Santos in 2009.

Neymar led Santos to their greatest run since Pele stopped playing for the club in the 1970s, helping the team win the 2010 Brazilian Cup, the 2011 Copa Libertadores and three straight Sao Paulo state championships.

He’s the club’s leading scorer in the post-Pele era with 138 goals in 229 matches.

Neymar is also considered Brazil’s key player for the 2014 World Cup.

Messi Scores History-Making 86th Goal of 2012…

He’s already considered one of the greatest soccer players of all-time… And Lionel Messi  has just shown the world another reason why…

The 25-year-old Argentine fútbol star broke German great Gerd Muller’s 40-year-old record for most goals in a year on Sunday by scoring for the 86th time in 2012.

Lionel Messi

Messi scored twice to lead FC Barcelona to a 2-1 win at Real Betis in the Spanish league match.

His first was an individual effort in the 16th minute to tie Muller’s mark, and he eclipsed the 1972 milestone with a left-footed finish nine minutes later.

“As I have said many times, the record is nice but the important thing is the victory that keeps us on the path we want to continue on,” said Messi. “As I always say, my objectives are on a team level: to win the league, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey again.”

Messi has scored 74 goals for Barcelona and 12 times for Argentina this year, and he still has three games left to add to his tally before the end of the year. Muller scored 85 for Bayern Munich and West Germany.

The 25-year-old Messi passed Brazil great Pele‘s single-season milestone of 75 goals for Brazil and Santos in 1958 with his 75th and 76th goals of the year on November 11 to move into second place behind Muller.

“We won’t see another player like (Messi),” said Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova. “Not just because of his ability to score. But also for his ability to pass, play defense, and his understandings of the game. He is a global star that helps us in so many ways.”

Messi  is one of the three finalists for the FIFA world player of the year award along with teammate Andres Iniesta and Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo. He’s won the Ballon d’Or for the past three years in helping Barcelona win three Spanish league titles and two Champions League crowns, along with several other competitions. He ‘s seeking to become the only player to win the award for a fourth time when the winner is announced on January 7.

“Leo is supernatural,” said Barcelona defender Gerard Pique. “He doesn’t have limits. We’ll always have to remember everything he gave us. We have to enjoy every minute we have with him.”