Omar Apollo to Perform at This Year’s Life is Beautiful Festival in Las Vegas

Omar Apollo is readying for a beautiful moment…

The 25-year-old Mexican American singer and songwriter will perform at this year’s Life is Beautiful festival in Downtown Las Vegas.

Omar Apollo,The star-studded lineup for its 10th anniversary installment includes headliners Kendrick LamarThe Killers, ODESZA and Flume. 

The three-day event will take place from September 22 to 24, and will also feature a number of newcomers, set to take the Life Is Beautiful stage for the first time, including Khalid, The 1975, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Apollo, Kim Petras and more.

Additionally, the festival will honor the iconic entertainment of Sin City with performances and appearances from Vegas headliners including Cirque du Soleil, Blue Man Group, Jabbawockeez, Magic Mike Live, Piff the Magic Dragon and Tape Face.

“This year’s lineup is a reflection of the 10 years we’ve spent striving to give fans incredible experiences, centered around a weekend of revelry in Las Vegas,” said Craig Asher Nyman, director of music, programming and development for Life is Beautiful. “They asked, and we listened! Our fans are the heartbeat of this festival, and it’s our intention to deliver a festival that is a true representation of their interests.”

General Admission passes start at $380. Life is Beautiful has also added an all-new GA+ ticket tiers, which gives fans express festival entry, a private GA+ lounge with food and beverage offerings and air conditioned restrooms.

Robert Rodriguez’s Ben Affleck-Starrer “Hypnotic” to Hit Theaters in May

Robert Rodriguez is hoping to hypnotize moviegoers in May…

Fresh off a surprise “work in progress” screening at SXSW, the 54-year-old Mexican American filmmaker, composer and visual effects supervisor’s action-thriller Hypnotic, starring Ben Affleck, will be released in U.S. theaters on May 12.

Robert RodriguezKetchup Entertainment will be launching the film on more than 2,000 screens nationwide.

The looming release for a film that remains unfinished is yet another talking point in the project’s tumultuous journey to screen.

Little has been straight-forward for Hypnotic but the warm reception it received on Sunday night was a welcome respite for its creatives and financiers. It’s unusual for a big budget film to get a public “work in progress” screening at a festival but Austin was a smart choice given the home crowd’s reverence for Texas-native Rodriguez.

The director has said: “I’ve been working on this film for many years now, and to see the reaction from my home town audience at SXSW was humbling and validating. I look forward to now sharing it with all movie lovers who want to experience a crazy fun ride full of unexpected twists and turns.”

The $70M feature, which El MariachiSin City and Alita: Battle Angel director Rodriguez has been wanting to make for two decades, was delayed by the pandemic, shut down three different times and involved in an insurance lawsuit. Its main financier and U.S. distributor Solstice imploded during production and the movie spent two years in post-production without a domestic buyer. In an upcoming interview with Deadline, Rodriguez admits the film faced “otherworldly” challenges and said “pages were changed daily to get it done.” He also confirms that scenes will be added to the movie.

Finding a domestic theatrical home for Hypnotic was complicated by a hefty screen commitment, an eight-figure pay-TV pre-sale to Peacock and by material that isn’t straightforward.

In the film, Affleck stars as a detective who finds himself spiraling down a rabbit hole while investigating a series of reality-bending crimes mysteriously connected to his missing daughter. Aided by a gifted psychic, he is pursued by a lethal specter who he believes holds the key to finding his daughter. But more rabbit holes await. One trade in SXSW called the film “ingenious”, but our critic said it was “all over the place”.

The film’s international buyers, who played a key role in getting the movie financed, have been sweating over their investment and a number are keen to renegotiate their contracts. Those buyers — who were concerned by the version of the film they saw at the EFM in Berlin last month (we understand Rodriguez has been in listening mode and made changes after) — are now anxious about the short lead time before the film’s domestic release and the lack of studio distribution.

Meanwhile, a collection of former Solstice execs have been drafted in stateside to try to do the film and its release campaign justice. They will have been cheered by the audience response at SXSW and at least one positive trade review.

Those marketing executives were hamstrung in terms of timing by a stacked summer release schedule and wanted to avoid the August “dumping ground” as it’s sometimes called. There was no easy solution given the challenges on deck but they’re confident that US audiences without preconceived notions about the project will spark to the Nolan-esque material in similar fashion to the SXSW crowd.

“It was great to see the reaction to the movie at SXSW, and we are excited to fast-track the film’s completion to bring it to theaters across the U.S. on May 12th”, said Ketchup Entertainment CEO Gareth West, who was an executive producer and financier on the movie before stepping in to the distribution breach.

West added: “We are honored to be working with visionary filmmaker Robert Rodriguez who has brought his signature style to Hypnotic, and delivered a must-see film for audiences who crave edge-of-your-seat excitement.”

Supporting cast includes Alice Braga, JD Pardo, Hala Finley, Dayo Okeniyi, Jeff Fahey, Jackie Earle Haley and William Fichtner.

Jessica Alba to Star In & Executive Produce Netflix’s Film Adaptation of “Confessions on the 7:45” Novel

Jessica Alba is headed to the confessional

The 40-year-old half-Mexican American actress and entrepreneur will executive produce and headline a series based on Lisa Unger’s international bestseller Confessions on the 7:45, currently in development at Netflix.

Jessica AlbaCharise Castro Smith, co-writer and co-director of Disney’s Oscar-winning amimated film Encanto, is attached to adapt Unger’s novel. She’ll also serve as showrunner and executive produces with Alba and 3 ArtsMichael Rotenberg and Oly Obst.

Confessions on the 7:45 is a psychological thriller in which a working mom (Alba) meets a stranger on a train as she’s commuting home who upends her life. As her life unravels and betrayals are revealed, she questions whether we can ever truly know the people closest to us.

Alba, a working mom herself, had a strong reaction when she read Confessions on the 7:45, leading to her involvement in the project.

“I could not put this book down. The moment I read the line, ‘If you want to keep a secret you must first hide it from yourself,’ I was hooked,” Alba said. “This book is about trying to bury secrets and the shame we carry until the truth exposes us. I can’t think of a more exciting person to partner with on this project. Charise is so ridiculously talented and truly gets every nuance under the skin of these characters and their web of lies.”

This would mark the second project Alba is starring in and executive producing for Netflix.

She also has the upcoming action thriller Trigger Warning. In the movie directed by Mouly Surya and produced by Thunder Road, Alba plays an active-duty Special Forces officer who takes ownership of her grandfather’s property after his sudden death.

Alba, a Golden Globe-nominated actress, advocate, bestselling author and founder of The Honest Company, has made more than 25 feature films that have earned a combined box office total of $800 million-plus, including Fantastic Four and Sin City.

In television, she and Gabrielle Union recently headlined and executive produced the action drama series, L.A.’s Finest, which has performed well on Netflix following its original run on Spectrum and Fox.

Alba is also the author of the New York Times bestselling book The Honest Life and co-author of A Bear to Share.

Bruno Mars’ Silk Sonic Announce 13-Show Las Vegas Residency, “An Evening with Silk Sonic”

Bruno Mars is headed to Sin City…

The 36-year-old part-Puerto Rican Grammy-winning singer/songwriter and Anderson .Paak‘s dynamic duo Silk Sonic has announced plans to set down roots for a 13-show run in Las Vegas as part of An Evening With Silk Sonic.

Silk Sonic Las Vegas Residency

Silk Sonic will be performing on the Las Vegas Strip beginning on February 25 at Dolby Live.

“Its happening! The sexiest party of the year! Them Silk Sonic Boyz are performing Live in Las Vegas!” Mars tweeted.

The run currently includes 13 dates at the 5,200-seat theater at the Park MGM, and the Live Nation presale kicked off at 1:00 pm ET today; the general public on-sale begins at 1:00 pm ET on Friday (Jan. 21).

The shows are subject to the venue’s Health Check standards to reduce exposure to COVID-19, which requires masks be worn by all attendees and which could also require proof of full vaccination, proof of a negative COVID-19 test before entering the event or a rapid on-site COVID test.

“THE TERMS ARE LOCKED AND VEGAS MIGHT NOT EVER BE THE SAME JACK!! YOU’RE INVITED TO THE HOTTEST SHOW IN SIN CITY!” .Paak added about the first substantial run of gigs in support of the pair’s debut album, An Evening with Silk Sonic.

The collection debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart on the list dated November 27, and No. 2 on the Billboard 200 after the lead single, “Leave the Door Open,” topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for eight weeks between April and July 2021.

So far, the announced dates are: February 25, 26, March 2, 4, 5, 16, 18, 19, 23, 25, 26, 31 and April 2.

Rosario Dawson to Help Reveal This Year’s SAG Awards Nominations

Rosario Dawson is helping with a big reveal…

The 42-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban American actress and activist will team up with Vanessa Hudgens to announce this year’s SAG Awards nominations on Wednesday, January 12, at 10:00 am ET/7 am PT via Instagram Live.

Rosario DawsonThis marks the second consecutive year the SAG nominations will be announced via Instagram Live as part of the @sagawardsInstagram Stories.

With the Golden Globes mired in a diversity scandal, resulting in a non-telecast of the awards show on NBC, the SAG Awards this year reps the first big awards show to honor the best of actors and actresses in television and film for 2021.

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher will give an introduction before the SAG nominations are revealed.

Nominations for the Outstanding Action Performances by Television and Film ensembles will follow, with announcements made by SAG Awards Committee members Jason George and Elizabeth McLaughlin.

The 28th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be simulcast live on TNT and TBS on Sunday, February 27, 2022 at 8:00 pm ET / 5:00 pm PT from The Barker Hangar in Santa Monica.

Dawson recently starred in the Hulu series Dopesickand stars next in the Disney+/Lucasfilm series Ahsoka as Ahsoka Tano and the HBO Max/DC series DMZ

She’s filming Disney’s new Haunted Mansion movie with Owen Wilson, Tiffany Haddish, LaKeith Stanfield and Danny DeVito.

Her feature credits include Harmony Korine’s KidsSpike Lee’s He Got Game and The 25th Houras well as Alexander, Rent, Clerks II, Top Five, Trance, Unstoppable and Men in Black II, as well as the Sin City franchise.

For her performance in Seven Pounds, she won Best Actress in a Motion Picture Award at the 2009 NAACP Image Awards.

Robert Rodriguez’s El Rey Network to Begin Streaming on the Roku Channel

Robert Rodriguez is livin’ a new stream

The 53-year-old Mexican American filmmaker’s El Rey Network, which is making a rare transition from cable television to free streaming, has set a deal for crucial real estate on the Roku Channel.

Robert Rodriguez

Starting tomorrow, the network founded by Rodriguez will start streaming as a 24-7 linear offering on the Roku Channel, one of more than 190 on the free outlet.

Launched in 2013 as a result of the agreement reached by Comcast and NBCUniversal with regulators yielding new commitments to diverse programming options, El Rey targeted young, English-speaking Latino viewers. It wound down its nearly decade-long run on traditional pay-TV at the end of 2020, having peaked at 40 million households. While other channels have gone dark on cable and returned as digital properties, El Rey is one of the first to attempt such a shift during the streaming era.

The Roku Channel, which has 40,000 on-demand film and television titles in addition to its linear offerings, reaches households with 70 million people. Since launching in 2017, it has become a leading home for free, ad-supported streaming, ranking as the No. 6 overall streaming site in a June Nielsen gauge of household reach. In the spring, Roku Channel launched an original programming banner, whose initial slate includes Quibi titles acquired last January.

With recent data suggesting that 60% of Hispanic viewers regularly stream free, ad-supported services, several other programmers have jumped into the fray. Pluto and Tubi have launched Spanish-language efforts and Univision (initially an investor in the El Rey network) just launched PrendeTV. But El Rey’s backers see little overlap in their streaming effort, which trades as the network always has on Rodriguez’s personal tastes and eclectic resume as the director of an eclectic roster of films from Spy Kids to From Dusk Till Dawn to Sin City.

El Rey does not plan an initial investment in original programming, with its 150 hours of originals almost entirely consisting of previously produced fare. The Roku Channel will be the exclusive first AVOD destination for Rodriguez’s feature film Red 11, which had a festival circuit run. Rebel Without a Crew: The Robert Rodriguez Film School will be another exclusive, starting in the first quarter of 2022. Other shows from El Rey include The Director’s Chair, featuring conversations between Rodriguez and guests like John Carpenter and Quentin Tarantino; and Cutting Crew, which is centered at a barbershop outside of Philadelphia; and El Rey Nation, a geek-fandom panel series.

Roku VP of Programming Rob Holmes told Deadline in an interview that the arrangement would give El Rey access to “millions of engaged streamers.” In the streaming world, he added, networks need to do four things well: deliver compelling programming; create a compelling user experience; acquire and retain users; and then monetize those users. Most programmers are comfortable with only the first of the four, he said.

“You’ve seen huge investments from big folks like Disney,” he said, “but there are many people who aren’t prepared to do those other three things. Recognizing that, they can be very successful at doing that first thing, which they’ve always been good at. …. They can rely on the Roku Channel to bring these other three capabilities and do it at a really big scale.”

Cinedigm, a specialist in streaming, joined forces with El Rey to take its network into the digital realm and refine the user experience. Unlike many other cable networks during the 2010s, El Rey never built an authenticated TV Everywhere app.

John Fogelman, CEO of FactoryMade Ventures and a co-founder of El Rey, told Deadline Rodriguez had been envisioning a leap to streaming since at least 2020. The environment “feels much more right” than cable, he said, but “it just wasn’t available when we started.”

Fogelman said El Rey will aim to use Roku as the foundation for other streaming deals with other providers. The economics of digital distribution are different from traditional pay-TV, where programmers get a dual revenue stream via carriage fees and advertising. Streaming channels take part in a revenue share from both distribution and ads, but the margins are slimmer and the tech platforms control most of the viewership data. Along with the technical challenges involved in taking a channel from cable to streaming, Fogelman said the whole experience was tantamount to “ripping off the Band-Aid.”

Based on initial feedback through various channels, he said, viewers are grateful to have a chance to keep tuning in. “That beat-up crown that Robert designed” in the El Rey logo, Fogelman said, “really means a lot to a lot of people.”

Ashley Hovey, Director of AVOD, The Roku Channel, said El Rey fits the Roku business model and the realities of streaming. Nine out of 10 U.S. Hispanic households are now streaming in the U.S., she said, making it “clear there is a growing demand for engaging, high quality Latinx entertainment. El Rey is changing the programming world in an exciting way that speaks to the future of audience discovery and engagement.”

Robert Rodriguez Signs Two-Year First Look Deal with HBO & HBO Max

Robert Rodriguez has sealed a new partnership…

The 53-year-old Mexican American filmmaker has signed a two-year first-look deal with HBO and HBO Max, founder of Troublemaker Studios.

Robert Rodriguez

As part of the collaboration, Rodríguez will first bring projects to the cable company and streamer for potential development as original series. His son Racer Rodríguez will serve as lead development executive under the pact. Projects could potentially be completed at the studio’s production facilities in Austin, Texas.

“Robert’s masterful, high concept productions are a perfect match for our HBO Max audiences. We are excited to jump into this partnership and work on brand-new, provocative stories,” said Joey Chavez, executive vice president of original programming, drama, HBO Max.

Rodríguez said of the partnership, “It’s intriguing to be able to tap into the wealth of iconic IP available across the WarnerMedia portfolio and explore new stories to tell. I’m looking forward to a meaningful collaboration with the high caliber creative talent at HBO and HBO Max who have proven they’re willing to take risks, challenge norms and tell inclusive stories while producing a wide breadth of quality content.”

Rodríguez is currently the executive producer and director of the Disney+ series The Book of Boba Fett, a spin-off of The Mandalorian. He’s known for his work as a writer, director, and producer of many notable films including DesperadoFrom Dusk Till Dawn, the Spy Kids franchise, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Frank Miller’s Sin CityThe Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3D, Grindhouse, Machete, and Alita: Battle Angel.

Jessica Alba to Begin Filming Netflix’s “Trigger Warning” This Fall

Jessica Alba is pulling the Trigger

The 40-year-old half-Mexican American actress and entrepreneur will begin filming the action thriller Trigger Warning for Netflix in New Mexico this fall, starring and executive producing her first feature film in a few years.

 

Mouly Surya is directing from a script by Josh Olson and John Brancato.

Alba plays a traumatized veteran who inherits her grandfather’s bar, and is faced with a moral dilemma after discovering the truth behind his untimely death.Jessica Alba

This is believed to be a possible franchise starter with high hopes for its success, considering the reception of the streamer’s other action films, including Spenser Confidential and Extraction.

Best known for her work on James Cameron’s Dark Angel TV series, and the films Sin City and Fantastic Four, Alba recently starred and executive produced Spectrum Originals’ “LA’s Finest,” alongside Gabrielle Union. The series, an action-packed spinoff from Jerry Bruckheimer’s Bad Boys universe, returned for its second and final season this June.

Alba is also attached to the Disney+ documentary series with the working title Parenting Without Borders, which she will host and executive produce. She’s also the entrepreneur behind the billion-dollar Honest Company and Honest Beauty.

Alice Braga to Star in Robert Rodriguez’s Thriller “Hypnotic”

Alice Braga has landed a hypnotic role…

The 38-year-old Brazilian actress has joined the cast of Robert Rodriguez’s thriller Hypnotic, starring Ben Affleck.

Alice Braga

Cameras are set to roll starting on September 20, in Austin, Texas, after the film’s original start date in April 2020 was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then insurance issues.

Hypnotic will follow a detective who becomes entangled in a mystery involving his missing daughter and a secret government program while investigating a string of high-end crimes.  

The film is written by Sin City and Alita: Battle Angel filmmaker Rodriguez and Max Borenstein. Rodriguez, Studio 8 CEO Jeff Robinov and Studio8’s Guy Danella and John Graham are producing with Solstice.

Solstice has already sold the film well into international markets and is due to release Hypnotic in the U.S.

Braga will next be seen in The Suicide Squad, alongside Margo Robbie, Idris Elba and Viola Davis. She’s known for her starring role in the long-running USA Network series Queen Of The South, Luca Guadagnino’s limited series We Are Who We Are, and was one of the lead voices in Oscar-winning Pixar film Soul.

CBS Gives Straight-to-Series Order to “CSI: Vegas,” Starring Mel Rodriguez

Mel Rodriguez is officially hitting the (crime) scene

CBS has given a straight-to-series order to CSI: Vegas, a sequel – starring the 47-year-old Latino actor – to the mothership CSI series, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, for the 2021-21 season.

Mel Rodriguez

Headlined by returning CSI stars William Petersen and Jorja Fox, joined by new series regulars Paula Newsome, Matt Lauria, Rodriguez and Mandeep Dhillon, CSI: Vegas hails from writer Jason Tracey, CBS Studios and Jerry Bruckheimer Television.

Also coming back is another fan favorite CSI cast member, Wallace Langham, reprising his role as David Hodges.

With CSI: Vegas, the most watched drama series of the 21st century, CSI, opens a new chapter in Las Vegas, the city where it all began. Facing an existential threat that could bring down the Crime Lab, a brilliant team of forensic investigators must welcome back old friends and deploy new techniques to preserve and serve justice in Sin City.

Rodriguez is reportedly playing Hugo who took over as Head Medical Examiner three years ago.

“Twenty-one years ago, we launched CSI and watched in awe as this new cinematic series launched an entire genre and became a groundbreaking juggernaut that still has global resonance today,” said Kelly Kahl, President, CBS Entertainment. “We are thrilled to welcome the next generation of forensic criminalists to the CSI brand and unite them with the legendary characters from the past who we still love, including the extraordinary Billy Petersen and Jorja Fox. Crimefighting technology has advanced dramatically over the last several years, and combined with classic CSI storytelling, we can’t wait to watch this new CSI team do what they do best: follow the evidence.”