Luis Guzmán to Star in Jacquelyn Quinones Feature Directorial Debut “Miles Away”

Luis Guzmán is miles away

The 65-year-old Puerto Rican actor has joined the cast of Miles Away, an upcoming indie from writer, director and producer Jacquelyn Quinones.

Luis GuzmanProduced by Quinones, Miles Away is a dramedy that explores a day in the life of a rideshare driver, with short vignettes of passengers all feeding into the story of the driver learning to deal with no money, a thankless job and a sister with mental illness.

Andre Royo, Noel Gugliemi, Alberto Frezza, Norma Maldonado, Henri Esteve, Jennifer Bartels, Eddie Martinez, Jessica Sarah Flaum, Marilyn Camacho and Charo Toledo round out the cast of the Puerto Rican filmmaker’s feature directorial debut, in which she also appears.

“Excited to be part of this project. Jackie Quinones is a new voice for a new generation. Her work personifies the social and cultural diversity reminiscent of the now and necessary for the future,” said Guzmán. “She is an insightful creative, her work transcends stereotypes. Miles Away finds a unique harmony toeing the line of conventional storytelling and inventive hybrid genre narratives focusing on social change.”

Guzmán is an Independent Spirit Award nominee who has garnered nearly 160 screen credits over the course of his five-decades and change in entertainment.

He can currently be seen in the Starz drama Hightown and will next appear in Tim Burton’s Netflix series Wednesday, among other projects.

The actor is also known for turns films like Top FiveWe’re the MillersJourney 2: The Mysterious IslandHe’s Just Not That Into YouYes ManSchool for ScoundrelsFast Food NationWaiting…A Series of Unfortunate EventsDumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met LloydAnger ManagementPunch-Drunk LoveBoogie Nights and Traffic, among many others.

Additional television credits include Ultra City SmithsShamelessGodfather of HarlemCode BlackRoadies, Narcos and Oz.

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.

Guzman to Star in the Drama “The Padre”

It’s padre time for Luis Guzman

The 60-year-olld Puerto Rican actor will star opposite Tim Roth and Nick Nolte in Darius Films’ forthcoming  drama The Padre.

Luis Guzman

Directed by Jonathan Sobol from a script by Stephen Kunc, the film will also star Colombian actress Valeria Henriquez.

The Padre tells the story of the Padre (Roth), a small-time con man on the run from his dogged pursuers, U.S. Court Justice Nemes (Nolte) and local police officer Gaspar (Guzmán). When the Padre is caught mid-con, he flees the scene in a stolen car, unaware that a precocious 16-year-old girl, Lena (Henriquez), is stowing away in the back seat. After she blackmails him into letting her join his journey, the duo plan their biggest heist yet — not always aware of the dangers of working with each other and the law closing in on them.

Guzmán is a regular on the CBS medical drama Code Black. His other film credits include The Do-Over, Keanu, Top Five, We’re The Millers and Turbo.

The Padre is shooting in Bogota, Colombia.

Trailer Released for Thorne’s Latest Film “Boo! A Madea Halloween”

Bella Thorne is Mad(ea) about Halloween

The official trailer has been released for Tyler Perry’s latest Madea installment, Boo! A Madea Halloween, which stars the 18-year-old half-Cuban American actress/singer.

Bella Thorne

What started as a joke in Chris Rock‘s Top Five prompted Perry to launch the latest installment in the Madea franchise (also the original title Rock created as a spoof).

During an appearance on The Tonight Show, Perry told host Jimmy Fallon that Lionsgate called him because they loved the idea.

“Dude, it’s a joke in Chris’ movie!” Perry said. “But then I came up with the concept, and it’s pretty damn funny.”

As per usual with Perry’s movies, he wrote, directed, produced and stars in Boo! 

The trailer opens with what appears to be a customary horror film, until Madea steps in and punches a clown. It’s Halloween, and she’s eager to make some money — even if it means keeping her eye on a group of rebellious teens (Thorne, Diamond White) who want nothing more than to hit the party around the corner.

The girls won’t be Madea’s only challenge, though. Throughout the trailer, she encounters ghosts, zombies and killers, among others.

“You see white people?” Joe whispers, prompting screams from the entire room.

Jimmy Tatro and Cassi Davis round out the film’s cast.

Boo! A Madea Halloween hits theatres this October.

Colón to Receive National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama

Miriam Colón has proven her medal

The 79-year-old Puerto Rican actress is among the 2014 National Medal of Arts recipients who’ll be recognized by President Barack Obama at a special White House ceremony, according to the National Endowment for the Arts.

Miriam Colón

Designed by Robert Graham, the medal is awarded by the president to individuals or groups for their outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support and availability of the arts in the United States.

Colón is being heralded for her contributions as an actress. “Ms. Colón has been a trailblazer in film, television, and theatre, and helped open doors for generations of Hispanic actors,” according to a statement from the National Endowment for the Arts.

In 1953, The Puerto Rico-born actress moved to New York City, where she was accepted by Actors Studio co-founder Elia Kazan after a single audition, becoming the Studio’s first Puerto Rican member. While in the Big Apple, Colón worked in theater and later landed a role on the soap opera Guiding Light.

Miriam Colón

Early on in her career, she appeared mostly in westerns such as Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The High Chaparral, and Have Gun, Will Travel.

Most recently, Colón appeared on television and film in Better Call Saul, Top Five and Bless Me, Ultima.

She’s also the founder and director of the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater in New York City.

This year’s ceremony will be held Thursday, September 10 at 12:00 pm in the White House’s East Room. First Lady Michelle Obama will also be in attendance.

Here’s the complete list of recipients:

John Baldessari, visual artist
Ping Chong, theater director, choreographer, and video and installation artist
Miriam Colón, actress
The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
Sally Field, actress and filmmaker
Ann Hamilton, visual artist
Stephen King, author
Meredith Monk, composer, singer, and performer
George Shirley, tenor
University Musical Society
Tobias Wolff, author and educator

González Iñárritu’s “Birdman” Earns 13 Critics’ Choice Movie Awards Nominations

Alejandro González Iñárritu has impressed the critics…

The 51-year-old Mexican filmmaker’s dark comedy Birdman has earned a whopping 13 nominations from the Broadcast Film Critics Association’s 20th Annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards.

Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman

González Iñárritu’s acclaimed film, which he wrote, directed and produced received nods in the Best Picture and Best Comedy categories.

In addition, he earned two individual nominations. He’s up for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.

Birdman’s composer Antonio Sanchez has earned a nomination for Best Score. He recently earned his first-ever Golden Globe nomination in the same category for his inspired work on the film.

Emmanuel Lubezki, meantime, picked up a nod for Best Cinematography for his work on Birdman.

In the acting categories, Zoe Saldana picked up a nod in the Best Actress in an Action Movie for her work in Guardians of the Galaxy, while Rosario Dawson earned a nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy for Top Five.

The Guillermo del Toro-produced film The Book of Life received a nod in the Best Animated Feature category.

The Critics’ Choice Movie Awards will take place on the same day that Oscar nominations are announced. The show airs – to the East Coast – live on new network partner, A&E from the Hollywood Palladium at 9:00 pm ET on January 15th with Michael Strahan hosting.

Here’s the full list of Hispanic nominees:

BEST PICTURE
Birdman
Boyhood
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Nightcrawler
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Unbroken
Whiplash

BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ava DuVernay – Selma
David Fincher – Gone Girl
Alejandro G. Inarritu – Birdman
Angelina Jolie – Unbroken
Richard Linklater – Boyhood

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman – Alejandro G. Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr., Armando Bo
Boyhood – Richard Linklater
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness
Nightcrawler – Dan Gilroy
Whiplash – Damien Chazelle

BEST CINEMATOGRAPY
Birdman – Emmanuel Lubezki
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Robert Yeoman
Interstellar – Hoyte Van Hoytema
Mr. Turner – Dick Pope
Unbroken – Roger Deakins

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Big Hero 6
The Book of Life
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Lego Movie

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Emily Blunt – Edge of Tomorrow
Scarlett Johansson – Lucy
Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
Zoe Saldana – Guardians of the Galaxy
Shailene Woodley – Divergent

BEST COMEDY
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
St. Vincent
Top Five
22 Jump Street

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Rose Byrne – Neighbors
Rosario Dawson – Top Five
Melissa McCarthy – St. Vincent
Jenny Slate – Obvious Child
Kristen Wiig – The Skeleton Twins

BEST SCORE
Alexandre Desplat – The Imitation Game
Johann Johannsson – The Theory of Everything
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Gone Girl
Antonio Sanchez – Birdman
Hans Zimmer – Interstellar

Dawson to Announce This Year’s Spirit Award Nominees

Rosario Dawson has the spirit, yes she does…

The 35-year-old Puerto Rican and Afro-Cuban American actress, who has earned critical acclaim for her work in Chris Rock’s Top Five, has been tapped to announce this year’s 2015 Spirit Award nominees, according to Film Independent president Josh Welsh.

Rosario Dawson

The Sin City: A Dame To Kill For star will be joined by Mexican actor Diego Luna, who directed Dawson in his Cesar Chavez biopic Chavez.

They’ll announce the nominees at 10:00 am PT on Tuesday, November 25, at the W Hollywood.

Spirit Award winners will be announced on February 21 under Film Independent’s signature tent on the beach in Santa Monica.

Dawson & Chris Rock’s “Top Five” to Open in Wide Release on December 12

Rosario Dawson’s latest film is set to open in full force in mid-December…

Paramount Pictures has shifted the release of the 35-year-old Puerto Rican and Afro-Cuban American actress and Chris Rock’s acclaimed film Top Five to a wide release on December 12, instead of a previously scheduled limited bow a week earlier.

Rosario Dawson Chris Rock Top Five

Written and directed by Rock, the film tells the story of New York City comedian-turned-film star Andre Allen (Rock), whose unexpected encounter with a journalist forces him to confront both the career that made him famous and the life he left behind.

Dawson stars as Chelsea Brown, the journalist assigned to interview Allen.

Along with Rock and Dawson, the film also stars J.B. Smoove, Gabrielle Union, Tracy Morgan, Cedric the Entertainer, Kevin Hart, Jerry Seinfeld, Adam Sandler, Whoopi Goldberg, Sherri Shepherd and Romany Malco.

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and earned critical acclaim. Days later, Paramount confirmed it had acquired the film’s worldwide distribution rights for $12.5 million.