Peacock Releases Teaser Trailer for Melissa De Sousa’s New Limited Series “The Best Man: The Final Chapters”

Posted on October 29, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

It’s the final chapter(s) for Melissa De Sousa.

Peacock has released the teaser trailer for its upcoming series The Best Man: The Final Chapters, starring the 55-year-old Panamanian American actress.

The limited series will premiere all eight episodes on December 22.

Based upon the eponymous Universal film franchise written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee, the series will catch up with Harper, Robyn, Jordan, Lance, Quentin, Shelby, Candace, and Murch as relationships evolve and past grievances resurface in the unpredictable stages of midlife crisis meets midlife renaissance.

In addition to De Sousa, the cast of The Best Man: The Final Chapters includes Morris Chestnut, Taye Diggs, Regina Hall, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Nia Long and Harold Perrineau.

The Peacock original was filmed on locations like New York City, New Jersey and Dominican Republic. Malcom D. Lee of Blackmaled Productions is the creator of the Best Man franchise, which he co-developed, wrote, executive-produced, directed and served as a co-showrunner. Dayna Lynne North of Loud Sis Productions also co-developed, wrote, executive-produced and served as co-showrunner.

Directors for the series include Malcom D. Lee for four episodes, Charles Stone III, Robert Townsend and Stacey Muhammad.

Indican Pictures Acquires North American Rights to Rosario Dawson’s Youth Homelessness Doc “Lost in America”

Posted on August 31, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Rosario Dawson is ready to shine a greater spotlight on youth homelessness in the U.S. in theaters around the country.

Indican Pictures has acquired the North American distribution rights to the documentary Lost in America, executive produced by the 40-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban American actress/activist and Jewel.

Directed by Rotimi Rainwater, the documentary feature is the first film to take a national look at the issue of youth homelessness in America, highlighting the main issues that surround it: sex trafficking, the failure of the foster care system, and the rampant rejection of LGBTQ youth.

The doc is slated for a theatrical release in November.

Lost In America follows director Rainwater, a former homeless youth, on his six-year journey to shine a light on the issue of youth homelessness.

The film features interviews with more than 30 youth in 15 cities, as well as politicians and public figures including Tiffany Haddish, Halle Berry, Jon Bon Jovi, Miley Cyrus, Sanaa Lathan,Rebecca Gayheart-Dane.

The film gives an unflinching, honest look at what these youth have to endure just to survive, and why as a nation, this is one epidemic we just didn’t see coming. It also examines what many organizations and politicians are doing (or not doing) to help these youth in order to answer one major question: how, in the wealthiest country in the world, can 4.2 million youth experience homelessness every year?

“It took me 25 years to talk about my time on the streets, and this film is the result of my six-year journey to not only reconcile what I went through, and to hopefully help ensure that no other youth have to experience being homeless,” said Rainwater. “I am humbled and honored that it will finally be coming out. And I hope that it helps educate Americans to the truth of youth homelessness, and helps engage and enrage all of us to be a voice for those who truly need one.”

Rotimi is a writer-director and producer known for his narrative feature Sugar which was loosely based on his time on the streets. After screening the film for homeless youth organizations around the country, and even for Congress, Rotimi was inspired to make Lost In America.

“This is not just a film, it’s a call to action. This represents our chance to give those left on the streets a fighting chance to simply live a humane life,” said Randolph Kret,CEO and founder of Indican Pictures. “The first step is creating ongoing awareness, and Lost in America marks this first step.”

CBS All Access Orders Second Season of Zabryna Guevara’s “The Twilight Zone”

Posted on April 30, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Zabryna Guevara is still zoning out…

CBS All Access has ordered a second season The Twilight Zone, itsanthology series starring the 47-year-old Afro-Latina American actress.

The CBS All Access series is a modern reimagining of Rod Serling’s original, which aired from 1959-64 on CBS and became a worldwide phenomenon, using socially conscious storytelling to explore the human condition and culture of the times.

“Jordan Peele and Simon Kinberg’s reimagining of The Twilight Zone is off to an amazing start on CBS All Access, driving the most viewers on its premiere day for an original series to date,” said Julie McNamara, EVP Original Content at CBS All Access. “Jordan, Simon, the creative team and cast have done a phenomenal job translating the series’ legacy of socially conscious storytelling for modern-day audiences. They are master storytellers, and we look forward to bringing fans further into The Twilight Zone with a second season.”

CBS announced in 2017 that it would revive The Twilight Zone for streaming service CBS All Access with Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions and Simon Kinberg’s Genre Films.

The anthology series features Peele as host and narrator with cast members including Guevara, Ike Barinholtz, Zazie Beetz, John Cho, Lucinda Dryzek, Taissa Farmiga, James Frain, Betty Gabriel, Ginnifer Goodwin, Percy Hynes-White, Greg Kinnear, Luke Kirby, Sanaa Lathan, Kumail Nanjiani, Chris O’Dowd, Seth Rogen, Adam Scott, Rhea Seehorn, Alison Tolman,Jacob Tremblay, Jefferson White, Jonathan Whitesell, Jessica Williams, DeWanda Wise and Steven Yeun.

The first season of The Twilight Zone is airing on-demand at CBS All Access. The series’ first five episodes are available with new episodes dropping weekly on Thursdays.

The Twilight Zone is produced by CBS Television Studiosin association with Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions and Kinberg’s Genre Films. Peele and Kinberg serve as executive producers.

Guevara’s previous television credits include appearances in New Amsterdam, The Handmaid’s Tale, Gothamand Chicago Med.

Rosario Dawson to Appear in the Homeless Youth Documentary “Lost in America”

Posted on October 26, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Rosario Dawson is raising awareness about homeless youth.

The 38-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban American actress and activist will appear in the upcoming documentary about homeless youth called Lost in America, executive-produced by Miley Cyrus and Russell Simmons.

Dawson will appear in the Rotimi Rainwater-directed film alongside Cyrus, Halle Berry, Jewel, Jon Bon Jovi, Sanaa Lathan and Rebecca Gayheart-Dane.

“I never thought in my wildest dreams that we would get this many people to shine a light on youth homelessness,” says Rainwater, who himself was a former homeless youth. “It’s phenomenal but also truly needed to make others aware of the problem.”

He noted that about 5,000 youth die each year on American streets from homelessness. “That’s 13 who die every day. It’s like Columbine happening every single day.”

Las Vegas will be the host town for Intersections: The 2017 Southern Nevada Youth Homelessness Summit taking place Nov. 2 and Lost In America’s Rainwater will be speaking. It’s being sponsored by Las Vegas Sands Corp. and the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth.

Lost in America follows the four-year journey of Rainwater and his team as they interviewed more than 30 youth in 15 cities, from the drainage tunnels of Denver to the streets of Orlando, you can continue reading about how it can be helpful – where Rainwater lived homeless for almost a year after getting discharged from the Navy to take care of his mother who was battling cancer.

While growing up in New York City, Dawson’s mother moved the family into an abandoned building, a squat on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, where she and her husband renovated an apartment and installed the plumbing and electrical wiring for the building, creating affordable housing where Rosario and Clay would grow up. Dawson has cited this part of her history when explaining how she learned that, “If you wanted something better, you had to do it all yourself.”

Camille Guaty to Star in Netflix’s Original Film “Nappily Ever After”

Posted on September 9, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Camille Guaty is ready for her Ever After…

The Puerto Rican and Cuban American actress has joined the supporting cast of the Netflix original film Nappily Ever After.

From director Haifaa Al-Mansour, the film centers on Violet Jones (Sanaa Lathan), whose seemingly flawless life is interrupted after an accident at the hairdresser leads to the realization that she isn’t living the life that she really wanted.

Guaty, one of the stars of VH1’s Daytime Divas, plays the fun-loving Wendy, one of Violet’s best friends.

The film is based on Trisha R. Thomas’ 2000 novel with an original script by Tina Chism and rewrites from Lisa Loomer, Adam Brooks and Gina Prince-Bythewood.

Filming is underway in Atlanta.

Guaty, who recently appeared in Fox’s The Exorcist and CBS’ Scorpion, is best known for her roles in Gotta Kick It Up! And Fox’s Prison Break.

De Sousa Returning for the Third “Best Man” Film, “The Best Man Wedding”

Posted on July 22, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Melissa De Sousa is returning for Best Man duty…

The 46-year-old Panamanian American actress, who starred as Shelby in 1999’s The Best Man and 2013’s The Best Man Holiday, is returning as part of the ensemble cast for the next installment in the franchise.

Written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee, the third film in the series will be titled The Best Man Wedding and feature the group getting back together for a most unexpected nuptials.

The film, from Universal Pictures, is slated for release on April 15, 2016.

The previous film in the franchise, $17 million sequel The Best Man Holiday, was a hit right out of the gate, with a $30 million opening in November. It was the fifth-largest bow for an R-rated romantic comedy, the second-highest for an urban romantic comedy and the sixth-biggest for an urban-themed film overall.

In addition to De Sousa, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Film at the NAACP Image Awards for her performance in the first film, Morris Chestnut, Taye Diggs, Regina Hall, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Nia Long, Harold Perrineau and Monica Calhoun also starred in Best Man Holiday and The Best Man.

De Sousa Reprising Her Star-Making Role in “The Best Man” Sequel

Posted on July 11, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

She earned rave reviews for her performance in 1999’s The Best Man… And now Melissa De Sousa is back to impress audiences all over again in the film’s upcoming sequel.

The 45-year-old Afro-Latina actress of Panamanian descent stars in The Best Man Holiday, the highly anticipated follow-up to The Best Man, which saw its trailer released recently.

De Sousa is back as Shelby – a role that earned her an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture in 2000 – in the sequel, which also sees Taye Diggs, Nia Long, Morris Chestnut, Harold Perrineau, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Monica Calhoun and Regina Hall all reprise the roles that helped propel their careers 14 years ago.

Writer-director Malcolm D. Lee made his debut with The Best Man and returns for the Christmas-set follow-up.

The Best Man Holiday will hit theaters on November 15.

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