Signature Entertainment Acquires Rights to Luis Guzman’s Mob Crime-Drama “The Birthday Cake” in UK-Ireland & Australia-New Zealand

Posted on March 17, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Luis Guzmán will be having birthday cake on four islands…

Signature Entertainment has acquired the mob crime-drama The Birthday Cake, starring the 64-year-old Puerto Rican actor, for distribution in the United Kingdom-Ireland and Australia/New Zealand.

In addition to Guzman, the film also stars Ewan McGregor, Val Kilmer, William Fichtner, Emory Cohen, Aldis Hodge, Penn Badgley, Ashley Benson, Lorraine Bracco and Shiloh Fernandez.

Currently in post-production, the film comes from first-time feature director Jim Giannopoulos, whose past work includes music video collaborations with A$AP Rocky, Miley Cyrus and Kid Cudi.

The Birthday Cake follows Giovanni (Fernandez) who, on the 10th anniversary of his father’s death, reluctantly accepts the task of bringing a cake to the home of his uncle, a mob boss, for a celebration. Just two hours into the night, Gio’s life is forever changed after witnessing a murder and learning the truth about what happened to his late father.

Guzman’s previous credits include television roles on Shameless, Hightown and the film The Padre.

Johnathan Fernandez to Star on HBO Max’s “Gossip Girl” Series Reimagining

Posted on March 3, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Johnathan Fernandez is ready to spill the tea…

The 46-year-old Colombian and Honduran American actor joined Emily Alyn Lindin Gossip Girl, HBO Max’s upcoming series reimagining of the pop culture phenomenon that made household names of stars like Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley, Chace Crawford and Ed Westwick.

Fernandez joins a roster of new cast additions that includes Whitney Peak, Eli Brown and Jason Gotay.S

The 10-episode series hails from Joshua Safran, Josh Schwartzand Stephanie Savage’s Fake Empire, Alloy Entertainment, Warner Bros Televisionand CBS Television Studios.

Like the original series, the new iteration of Gossip Girl, written by Safran, is based on the book by Cecily von Ziegesar. Eight years after the original website went dark, a new generation of New York private school teens are introduced to the social surveillance of Gossip Girl.

The prestige series will address just how much social media — and the landscape of New York itself — has changed in the intervening years.

No official character descriptions for the quartet are being released. The new series is said to have a similar character dynamic to the original, with Peak, Brown and Lind as the leading trio and Fernandez and Gotay as members of the core ensemble.

Gossip Girlran for six seasons from 2007-2012 on the CW across 121 episodes. Its influence extended beyond television.Fernandez was a series regular on another WBTV series, Fox’s Lethal Weapon. For three seasons, he played the dry-toned medical examiner on the series reboot. Fernandez will next appear in the Marvel feature Morbiusand the indie Together-ish.

Netflix to Premiere Season 2 of Drama Series “You,” Featuring Jenna Ortega, Next Month

Posted on November 13, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Jenna Ortegais making a You-turn this December…

Netflix will premiere the second season the Penn Badgley drama You, featuring the 17-year-old Puerto Rican and Mexican American actress in a key role, on December 26.

Season 2 of the former Lifetime, which will appearexclusively on the streaming service, will once again follow bookstore manager Joe Goldberg (Badgley).

In the freshman season, which was based on Caroline Kepnes’ bestselling novel and aired on Lifetime, Goldberg becomes obsessed with his customer Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail), using social media and the Internet to stalk her.

The show’s sophomore run is based loosely on the author’s second book in the series, titled Hidden Bodies, and will stream under the Netflix Originalsbanner. It will follow Goldberg to Los Angeles, where he meets Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti), an aspiring chef that isn’t into social media like his previous leading lady.

In addition to Ortega, who will portray Ellie Alves, James Scully will also appear in a key role inSeason 2, with Ambyr Childerspromoted to series regular and Carmela Zumbado joining as a regular. Chris D’Elia, Adwin Brown, Robin Lord Taylor, Marielle Scott, Melanie Field, Magda Apanowicz, Danny Vasquezand Charlie Barnettare set to recur in Season 2.

The series is produced by Berlanti Productions, Man Sewing Dinosaur andAlloy Entertainmentin association with Warner Horizon Scripted Television.

Ortega’s previous credits include Elena of Avalor, Stuck in the Middle, Jane the Virginand Bizaardvark.

Grindstone Entertainment Acquires North American Rights to Leguizamo’s “Cymbeline”

Posted on September 3, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

John Leguizamo’s latest project will hit U.S. theaters in the near future…

Lionsgate’s Grindstone Entertainment has acquired the North American rights to the modern-day film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Cymbeline, starring the 50-year-old Colombian actor/comedian.

The film, which had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, centers on a battle between dirty cops and a drug dealing biker gang, set in a corruption-riddled contemporary America. Shakespeare’s play centered on the daughter of the British king Cymbeline, who discovers she has secretly married a man raised in her father’s court, resulting in his banishment from the court.

In addition to Leguizamo, the film also stars Ethan Hawke, Ed Harris, Milla Jovovich, Penn Badgley, Dakota Johnson and Anton Yelchin.

Cymbeline, which re-teams director Michael Almereyda with Hawke more than a decade after their collaboration on Hamlet in 2000, will be distributed in the spring.

It’s Leguizamo’s latest appearance in a film adaptation of a William Shakespeare work. He previously starred in 1996’s Baz Luhrmann-directed Romeo + Juliet, an abridged modernization of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

Millennium Entertainment Acquires Dawson’s Sci-Fi Drama “Parts Per Billion”

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a billionparts deal for Rosario Dawson’s latest project…

Millennium Entertainment has picked up the U.S. rights to Parts Per Billion, starring the 35-year-old Puerto Rican and Afro-Cuban American actress, Josh Hartnett, Teresa Palmer, Penn Badgley, Frank Langella and Gena Rowlands.

The ensemble film centers on the three couples forced to make life-defining decisions in the face of a biological catastrophe that threatens to destroy the human race. As the pandemic spreads and civilization is thrown into chaos,generations old and young must each make the ultimate decision.

No release date has been setfor the sci-fi drama, which was written and directed by Brian Horiuchi.

Dawson to Star in “Queen of the Night”

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Rosario Dawson will be racing against time in her next project…

The 33-year-old Puerto Rican/Cuban American actress will star opposite Ryan Reynolds in the thriller Queen of the Night.

The film centers on the father of an abducted daughter who uncovers a series of disturbing clues eight years later that suggest she’s still alive.

Dawson, one of the best dressed Latinas at this year’s Golden Globes, will play the detective in charge of the investigation, and they race against the clock to rescue the imprisoned girl before the trail goes cold.

Dawson joins Scott Speedman and Mireille Enos in the David Fraser-directed film.

Dawson will soon be appearing in the Sin City sequel, Sin City: A Dame To Kill For. And she just wrapped Parts Per Billion with Josh Hartnett, Penn Badgley and Frank Langella.

Her upcoming films include Diego Luna’s biopic Chavez and Danny Boyle’s Trance.

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

Tag Archives: Penn Badgley