Carlos Alazraqui to Star in Quibi’s “Reno 911” Reboot

Carlos Alazraqui is joining the force

The 57-year-old Argentine American actor has been cast in Quibi and Comedy Central Productions’ Reno 911 reboot,starring co-creators Robert Ben GarantThomas Lennon, and Kerri Kenney-Silver.

Carlos Alazraqui

Alazraqui portrayed deputy James Garcia on the original Reno 911!, which ran for six seasons on Comedy Central, ending in 2009

In addition to Alazraqui, the new additions include Niecy NashWendi McLendon-Coveyand Cedric YarbroughIan RobertsJoe LoTruglioand Mary Birdsongwill all be featured.

Reno 911

Reno 911 is an ensemble comedy created by and starring Garant, Kenney-Silver and Lennon, all attached to write and star in the new season. 

Reno 911let viewers ride shotgun with the “courageous” men and women of the Reno Sheriff’s Department.

Quibi launches April 6.

Alazraqui is also known for his voice work, including roles in Toy Story3A Bug’s Lifeand The Book of Life.

Anthony Gonzalez’s Disney-Pixar Film “Coco” Wins Thanksgiving Holiday Box Office

He’s nowhere near voting age, but Anthony Gonzalez is beating superheroes at the box office…

The 13-year-old Latino actor voices the character of Miguel, a young Mexican boy with musical dreams who has a wondrous adventure in the Land of the Dead in DisneyPixar’s animated film Coco, which won the Thanksgiving holiday box office.

Anthony Gonzalez

Gonzalez’s Coco earned $71.2 million at 3,987 North American sites during the Wednesday-Sunday period, while Warner Bros.DC Entertainment’s Justice League pulled in $60 million at 4,051 locations during the same timeframe in its second weekend in theaters.

Coco posted for the fourth-best Thanksgiving holiday opening ever, trailing three other Disney titles — Frozen with $93 million in 2013, Moana with $82 million in 2017 and Toy Story 3 with $80 million in 2010.

Audiences surveyed by comScore’s PostTrak gave Coco strong ratings with 66% calling it “excellent,” and another 23% rating it “very good.”  Surveys also showed 77% of viewers saying they would “definitely recommend” the movie to friends and 20% saying they would watch it again in a theater.

Coco

Coco, directed by Lee Unkrich and co-directed by Adrian Molina, is based on the traditions surrounding the Day of the Dead holiday in Mexico and centers on a 12-year-old boy who dreams of becoming a musician and explores his family history in the Land of the Dead. The studio hasn’t released a price for the movie. Disney-Pixar titles are usually budgeted in the $175 million to $200 million range.

In addition to Gonzalez, in his breakout role, Coco’s ensemble voice cast includes Benjamin Bratt, Gael Garcia Bernal, Renee Victor, Edward James Olmos, Ana Ofelia Murguia, Jaime Camil, Sofia Espinosa, Gabriel Iglesias, Cheech Marin and Lombardo Boyar.

The holiday weekend is one of the busiest moviegoing periods of the year. According to comScore, this year’s five-day Thanksgiving weekend saw total grosses his $268 million — $7.5 million better than last year’s when Moana opened with $82 million, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them taking in $65 million in its second weekend.

The strong holiday performance left the 2017 overall domestic total at $9.71 billion, or 4% behind the same point last year, according to comScore. The industry fell behind last year’s record-setting total due to downbeat performances in August and October — so much so that the much-anticipated Dec. 15 opening of Star Wars: The Last Jedi will probably not be enough to pulled this year even.

Pixar to Release the Dia de los Muertos-Themed Animated Film “Coco”

Mexico’s El Dia de los Muertos celebration is getting the Pixar treatment.

Pixar has revealed plans to release a new film, Coco, about Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebration, helmed by Toy Story 3 director Lee Unkrich and producer Darla Anderson.

Pixar's Coco

The duo unveiled a first look at the film’s protagonist, a teen named Miguel, and showed a film clip of a musical celebration at Disney’s D23.

Unkrich learned more about Dia De Los Muertos through the artwork for the holiday, which begins on October 31 and ends of November 2. His appreciation for the colorful skeleton folk art led to his emotional investment in the holiday, which Unkrich described as a sort of “big family reunion between the living and the dead.”

The premise of the story comes from a simple question: “What if you could meet your long dead family members?” For research, Unkrich traveled to Mexico to see how the holiday was celebrated in different places, meeting many families and experiencing the traditions with them.

Pixar's Coco

Described as “breathtaking, beautiful, and fun” by John Lasseter and “emotional” by Unkrich, Coco follows Miguel, who sets off a chain of events relating to a century-old mystery.

The official story description is: “Coco is the celebration of a lifetime, where the discovery of a generations-old mystery leads to a most extraordinary and surprising family reunion.”

Pixar has not set a release date for Coco yet.

Alazraqui Replacing Piolin in “Free Birds” Voice Cast

Carlos Alazraqui will be flying high in the near future…

The 51-year-old Argentine American voice actor and impressionist has replaced Eddie “Piolin” Sotelo in the voice cast of the computer animated 3D comedy Free Birds from Relativity Media and Reel FX Creative Studios.

Carlos Alazraqui

Alazraqui, best known for voicing the Taco Bell chihuahua, will have a supporting role in the voice cast along with Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Amy Poehler and George Takei.

His credits include voicing characters in the recently released Disney animated film Planes, Toy Story 3 and Happy Feet Two, as well as an acting role on Reno 911.

Sotelo hosted the nationally syndicated Piolin por la Manana radio program until Univision let him go July 22 after an employee made allegations of sexually harassment. Sotelo has denied the allegations.