Claudio Miranda Wins Best Cinematography Prize from New York Film Critics Circle for “Top Gun: Maverick”

Claudio Miranda is the New York critics choice.

The New York Film Critics Circle, the longest-acting film awards voting committee, has announced its 2022 winners, with the 57-year-old Chilean Oscar-winning cinematographer picking up an award.

Claudio MirandaMiranda claimed the Best Cinematography award for his work on the hit Top Gun sequel, Top Gun: Maverick.

Miranda previously won the Academy Award in 2012 for his cinematography on Ang Lee’s Life of Pi.

The NYFCC is known for bestowing wins to independent films and the organization can take as long as five hours to deliberate on the day they announce wins. Whatever film the group names as Best Picture doesn’t always translate to an Oscar Best Picture win; the last title to do so was 2011’s The Artist.

“NYFCC winners reflect the broad range of our tastes, as well as what’s exciting audiences at cinemas today,” stated NYFCC Chair Jordan Hoffman. “It’s a stimulating group of movies, and our gala event in January is bound to be a memorable one.”

Founded in 1935, the New York Film Critics Circle is the oldest critics group in the country. The NYFCC’s membership includes critics from daily and weekly newspapers, magazines and the web’s most respected online publications.

The group’s awards gala will be held in early January in New York City.

Here are all the winners of the New York Film Critics Circle Awards:

BEST FILM
Tár

BEST DIRECTOR
S.S. Rajamouli, RRR

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, Tár

BEST ACTOR
Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin and After Yang

BEST SCREENPLAY
Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
EO (Poland)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Claudio Miranda, Top Gun: Maverick

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Keke Palmer, Nope

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once

BEST NON-FICTION FILM
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Marcel the Shell With Shoes On

SPECIAL AWARDS
Jake Perlin, curator, distributor and publisher in recognition of his indispensable contributions to film culture.

dGenerate Films for its invaluable work bringing independent films to China.

Jafar Panahi, for “dogged bravery as an artist, and for the humanity and beauty of a body of work created under the most oppressive circumstances.

BEST FIRST FILM
Aftersun

STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS:
Undergraduate, Nico Pedrero-Setzer
Graduate, Greg Nussen

This year’s voting members include: Sam Adams (Slate), Siddhant Adlakha (freelance), Melissa Anderson (4 Columns), Michael Atkinson (freelance), Jason Bailey (Playlist), Richard Brody (New Yorker), Dwight Brown (NNPA Syndication), Kameron Austin Collins (Rolling Stone), Bilge Ebiri (New York), David Ehrlich (IndieWire), Kate Erbland (IndieWire), David Fear (Rolling Stone), Graham Fuller (freelance), Owen Gleiberman (Variety), Ed Gonzalez (Slant), Leah Greenblatt (EW), Steven D. Greydanus (National Catholic Register), Rafer Guzman (Newsday), Caryn James (BBC), Eric Kohn (IndieWire), Tomris Laffly (freelance), Richard Lawson (Vanity Fair), Violet Lucca (freelance), Soraya Nadia McDonald (Andscape), Sheila O’Malley (Rogerebert.com), Rex Reed (New York Observer), David Rooney (Hollywood Reporter), Nick Schager (Daily Beast), David Sims (The Atlantic), Kyle Smith (Wall Street Journal), Dana Stevens (Slate), Amy Taubin (Artforum), Peter Travers (ABC), Keith Uhlich (freelance), Elizabeth Weitzman (The Wrap), Stephen Whitty (freelance), Alissa Wilkinson (Vox), Alison Willmore (New York), Stephanie Zacharek (Time), and Esther Zuckerman (freelance).

Danny Ramirez to Star in AMC’s “Tales of the Walking Dead”

It’s all tales for Danny Ramirez

The 29-year-old Colombian and Mexican American actor has been cast in AMC’s Tales of the Walking Dead, the network’s new spinoff series set in The Walking Dead universe.

Danny RamirezHe’s among a roster of cast newcomers for the AMC Studios-produced episodic anthology series that includes Olivia Munn, Loan Chabanol, Embeth DavidtzJessie T. Usher and Gage Munroe.

Each of the six one-hour standalone episodes will focus on both new and established characters set in the world of the original series. It’s set to premiere this summer on AMC and AMC+.

The series will be executive produced by Scott M. Gimple, chief content officer of The Walking Dead Universe, and showrunner Channing Powell, writer-producer on The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead.

“Olivia, Danny, Loan, Embeth, Jessie and Gage are the latest massive talents that will bring new worlds of TWD to life with big, daring, different, emotional, shocking, scary, and crazy stories. We’re excited for them to come walk with us,” said Gimple.

“Somehow we have lucked into the greatest cast — Olivia, Jessie, Embeth, Danny, Loan, Gage… We’ve been hoping these episodes will feel like unique, little films and with this range of actors, we are well on our way,” added Powell.

Ramirez was most recently seen on television in the lead role of Joaquin Torres in The Falcon & The Winter Soldier. On the film side, he’ll next be seen in a starring role in Hulu suspense/thriller No Exit, produced by The Queens Gambit co-creator Scott Frank.

He also stars opposite Tom Cruise in Paramount’s upcoming Top Gun: Maverick and in Netflix’s Plus/Minus opposite Lili Reinhart.

He also just completed filming The Stars at Noon for director Clair Denis opposite Joe Alwyn and Margaret Qualley.

Monica Barbaro to Star Opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in Global Spy Adventure Series

Monica Barbaro is joining a Terminator on the spy beat…

The 30-year-old Latina actress has been cast as the co-lead alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in a global spy adventure series, which is in the works at Skydance Television.

Monica Barbaro,

Created by Nick Santora, the series features a father (Schwarzenegger) and daughter (Barbaro) at the center of the story.

Barbaro was approached for the series on the heels of her starring turn as Phoenix, the sole female fighter pilot, in the upcoming Top Gun sequel, which Skydance co-produces with Paramount. It’s slated for a theatrical release in July 2021.

Schwarzenegger’s involvement in the show also stems from his existing relationship with Skydance on the feature side, having starred in Terminator Genisys and Terminator: Dark Fate for the studio.

Santora is developing and executive producing the untitled series as part of his overall deal with Skydance Television. He also serves as executive producer/showrunner of the studio’s upcoming Jack Reacher drama for Amazon.

Schwarzenegger executive produces the new series along with Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Bill Bost; Carolyn Harris will oversee the project for the company.

Barbaro’s television series credits include major roles on Stumptown, Splitting Up Together, The Good Cop, UnREAL and Chicago P.D./Chicago Justice.

Paramount/Skydance Moves Up Release Date for Monica Barbaro’s “Top Gun: Maverick”

Monica Barbaro has been cleared for takeoff earlier than expected…

Paramount/Skydance’s long-awaited sequel Top Gun: Maverick, starring the 29-year-old part-Mexican American actress, will fly into theaters on Wednesday, June 24 instead of Friday, June 26. 

Monica Barbaro,

That’s standard for Paramount to take a big summer event tentpole out on a Wednesday, ala their Transformers movies and even Tom Cruise’s Steven Spielberg-directed 2005 hit War of the Worlds

Joseph Kosinskidirects the Top Gunsequeloff a script by Ehren KrugerEric Warren Singer, and Christopher McQuarrie.

Barbaro stars as ‘Phoenix,’the sole female pilot in the action drama film that sees Tom Cruise return to his iconic role as Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.

Paramount Releases New Trailer for Monica Barbaro’s “Top Gun: Maverick”

Monica Barbarois ready to take flight…

Paramount has released the second trailer for Top Gun: Maverickthe studio’s long-anticipated sequel to the action classic about a U.S. Navy pilot’s daring airborne exploits starring the 29-year-old part-Mexican American actress.

Monica Barbaro,

The new footage unveils a little more plot of the film, with Tom Cruise’s fighter pilot Maverick now in an instructor role, training the next generation of pilots including Miles Teller’s Bradley Bradshaw, the son of the character Goose from the original movie.

Maverick appears to be putting his recruits through an intense training program, with the trailer featuring one hair-raising shot where he flies his jet narrowly between two of their planes.

It appears the film will also contain a tragic subplot, with shots of Maverick and Jennifer Connelly’s character – reportedly playing the protagonist’s love interest – getting emotional while attending a Navy funeral.

Rounding out the footage are the expected motorcycle shots, dialogue exchanges highlighting Maverick’s disregard for authority, plus some shirtless volleyball for good measure.

In addition to Cruise, Connelly and Barbaro, who portrays pilot trainee “Phoenix,”the movie’s cast also includes Jon Hamm, Glen PowellLewis PullmanCharles ParnellBashir Salahuddin, Jay EllisDanny RamirezGreg Tarzan Davis and Ed Harris.

The film, directed by Joseph Kosinski, flies into theaters on June 26, 2020.

Rodriguez Cast in Fox’s “Wild Blue” Drama Pilot

Gina Rodriguez is headed into the wild blue (yonder)

The Puerto Rican actress has been cast as the female lead in Fox’s Navy drama pilot Wild Blue, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Gina Rodriguez

The project, which has been described as a mix between ERThe West Wing and Top Gun, centers on the men and women working aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier. Equipped with a 500-foot landing strip, a nuclear reactor and 6,000 military personnel on board, the drama takes a closer look at stressful lives of the Navy’s elite.

Rodriguez, who was recently cast in the film Marching Banda, will portray Pilar “Maytag” Robles, an overachiever seemingly born to be a Naval open aviator. She’s described as athletic and graceful but by no means a pushover who is smart, driven and unafraid to fight for what she believes is right and fair.

Rodriguez, who starred opposite the late Jenni Rivera in Filly Brown, has previously appeared in Army Wives, Happy Endings and The Mentalist.

She joins a cast that includes Battle: Los Angeles Will Rotthaar, The Carrie DiariesJosh SalatinAlano Miller and Damages’ Mykelti Williamson.