Selena Gomez Releases Emotional New Single “My Mind & Me”

Selena Gomez is getting personal…

The 30-year-old Mexican American singer/actress has released “My Mind & Me,” one of her most vulnerable songs ever.

Selena GomezThe single dropped ahead of the release of Gomez’s Apple TV+ documentary My Mind & Me.

Gomez unveiled the emotional new song and lyric video of the same name — before teasing that more new music will soon follow.

Gomez’s first solo release since 2021’s Spanish album Revelación, “My Mind & Me” hit streaming services at 8:00 am ET one day prior to the documentary’s Friday premiere on Apple TV.

“My mind and me, we don’t get along sometimes / And it gets hard to breathe,” she sings on the track, a sprawling piano ballad written by the Only Murders in the Building star, Amy Allen, Jonathan Bellion, Michal Pollack, Stefan Johnson and Jordan K. Johnson.

“But I wouldn’t change my life / And all of the crashing and burning and breaking, I know now / If somеbody sees me like this, then thеy won’t feel alone now.”

Directed by Alek Keshishian, Gomez’s raw My Mind & Me film follows the singer-actress over the course of six years as she deals with lupus, depression, anxiety and other mental health struggles. O

ne particularly devastating time in her life was marked by an episode of psychosis in 2018, something she opened up about in a Thursday (Nov. 3) cover story interview with Rolling Stone.

The Grammy nominee told the publication that she heard voices and experienced severe long-term paranoia during the episode and was eventually diagnosed as bipolar. “It took a lot of hard work for me to (a) accept that I was bipolar, but (b) learn how to deal with it because it wasn’t going to go away,” she said.

Gomez also shared in the interview that she’s written 24 songs or so for her next album, something she also talked about at her documentary’s Wednesday (Nov. 2) premiere at the AFI Festival. Speaking to Variety, the former Disney star shared that new music is coming “hopefully next year,” potentially followed by a tour.

“Maybe!” she said about possibly hitting the road. “I know. I should, right?”

Endemol Shine Boomdog Acquires Rights to Carlos Fuentes Vampire Novel “Vlad,” Developing TV Series

Endemol Shine Boomdog is vlad about Carlos Fuentes’ work…

The Mexico City-based production company, a unit of Banijay Americas, has acquired the rights to the late Mexican novelist and essayist’s vampire novel “Vlad.”

Carlos FuentesEndemol Shine Boomdog will develop a series based on the bestseller with lauded showrunner J.M. Cravioto attached as both showrunner and executive producer.

Jerry Rodriguez, Endemol Shine Boomdog’s senior VP and head of scripted content, and Clara Machado are developing the project for Endemol Shine Boomdog.

Carl Zitelmen is adapting Fuentes’ novel for television.

The story follows the mythical vampire who arrives in Mexico City in search of the soul of his beloved Mina, reincarnated as a Mexican woman. To his consternation, Vlad finds her inhabiting a progressive liberal who is not impressed at all by him. Having lost touch with the modern world, the 600-year-old predator struggles with panic attacks and blackout episodes, while he satiates his cravings for fresh blood.

“Vlad offers us the opportunity to reimagine a classic horror story and transform it into a modern thriller. It’s a love story, a high-concept drama that shows us both the savage and the vulnerable side of an immortal being,” said Rodriguez, adding: “We are always seeking out, adapting and creating interesting stories that navigate between genres with ease, stories that can take us from terror to tenderness, from tears to laughter and connect with different audiences in many levels and ‘Vlad’ is a great example of this kind of story.”

“We are looking at ‘Vlad’ as a multi-season series; It’s a character-driven show with complex characters that everyone can relate to,” Rodriguez told Variety. “The vampire himself is going to face a lot of conflicts that are part of the human condition nowadays,” he said, adding that rights negotiations with Silvia Lemus, Fuentes’ widow, was “always amicable and in the best of terms.”“She cares a lot about the property and we went to great lengths to ensure that we would produce a high-concept series that would honor both the author and his story,” Rodriguez explained.

Noting that Boomdog is currently developing a number of horror genre IPs, Rodriguez remarked: “This adaptation of “Vlad” goes way beyond a classic horror, or even a horror show; it’s a mixed genre project that has elements of a modern thriller, a love story, a powerful drama and even some comedy… just like life itself.”

“I find it very attractive and well-timed to propose a new look at classic genres such as thriller and horror through vampirism and romance,” Cravioto agreed. “I think ‘Vlad’ pays homage, preserves and rethinks this classic story from Fuentes’ novel, which on a personal level as a director and story seeker, poses a new narrative and formal challenge,” he added.

Cravioto, one of the most celebrated of film and television directors, producers and screenwriters in Mexico, served as showrunner and director for Netflix’s Diablero and as director of series Monarca, among others. His feature film Malvada will debut in theaters later this year while Corazonada is heading to Paramount+.

Winner of a slew of top literary honors, including the Miguel de Cervantes Prize and the Belisario Dominguez Medal of Honor, Fuentes was regarded as one of the illustrious writers in the Spanish-speaking world before his death in 2012. Some of Fuentes’ most acclaimed novels include The Death of Artemio Cruz, Aura, Terra Nostra, The Old Gringo and Christopher Unborn.

Vlad was first published in 2004 as a short story as part of Fuentes’ Inquieta Compañía and was later released as a novel in 2012, shortly before his death. The New York Times in its 2012 review of Vlad, said “it displays the strengths of a great writer’s late oeuvre to excellent effect” and Publisher’s Weekly stated the novel “follows the pattern of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, but infuses the story with a modern sensibility and vivid imagery.”

Interest in the legendary vampire has sparked recently in the wake of news in September about two separate takes on the making of the Spanish-language version of the Bela Lugosi classic, Dracula.

In the first project, Eugenio Derbez is attached to star and executive produce comedic series They Came at Night (working title), which is in development at TelevisaUnivision’s SVOD platform Vix+.

Separately, Gato Grande announced at Madrid TV event Iberseries & Platino Industria that Money Heist star Alvaro Morte would play the actor Carlos Villarias who took on the Dracula role in the Spanish-language version.

Ximena Lamadrid Named to Variety’s 2022 “10 Actors to Watch” List

Ximena Lamadrid’s star is on the rise…

The 26-year-old Mexican actress has been named to Variety’s 10 Actors to Watch list, the entertainment industry magazine’s list of thespians who are experiencing a major breakthrough on screen.

Ximena LamadridLamadrid is being recognized for her performance in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s acclaimed new film Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths.

Acting has always been in Lamadrid’s blood. But it wasn’t until age 5, when she rejected a role in a school play, that she experienced an epiphany.

“It was that ‘no’ that made me realize it’s a ‘yes’ for me, that for the rest of my life I’d be chasing this amazing dream.” She quickly corrects herself, “Well, what began as a dream, but no longer is a dream. It’s a reality.”

After roles in Sofia Coppola’s On the Rocks and the series Who Killed Sara?, Lamadrid plays a pivotal part in Iñárritu’s Bardo as Camila, the loving daughter of a man caught in the throes of an existential crisis.

She concedes her own history — being born in Mexico, growing up in Dubai and studying her craft in New York City — greatly colored her character’s experience.

“It feels like the universe and Alejandro wrote this for me,” she says,adding: “[Camila] has just graduated from university and is figuring it out. As soon as I graduated, I was figuring it out and came back to Mexico — and it connected. I saw all of the love, warmth and everything I had missed about my country all these years.”

The ability to tackle this role has only furthered her confidence. “As an actor, I have to surrender and trust that it’s going to show up, that everything is going to come out, which it did.” She now has her sights set on the literary world, seeking a publisher for her hybrid poetry-memoir Tulip Season. “I want to make this a very big, beautiful first book.”

Variety’s alumni group of 10 Actors to Watch includes more than 35 Oscar winners and nominees including Mahershala Ali, Adam Driver, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Lupita Nyong’o.

This year’s honorees will be feted at a brunch on October 16 at the Newport Beach Film Festival.

Gigi Saul Guerrero to Direct Biopic About the Late Jenni Rivera

Gigi Saul Guerrero is bringing a Mexican American icon’s life story to the big screen…

The 32-year-old Mexican Canadian filmmaker and actress will direct “Jenni,” a film about the life of the late Jenni Rivera.

Gigi Saul Guerrero The biopic, which is authorized by the late artist’s estate, will be produced by Los Angeles-based multimedia company Mucho Mas Media and De Line Pictures.

Developed by Guerrero and screenwriter Shane McKenzie, the movie follows Rivera’s rise as a Spanish singer who successfully crossed over to U.S. and global audiences, as well as her work as a women’s rights activist. She died in a plane crash in 2012 at age 43.

Rivera’s variety of banda, mariachi and norteño music made her one of the best-selling regional Mexican artists ever, with 15 gold and platinum records and top-drawing tours.

She produced multiple television series like “Chiquis & Raq-C” and “I Love Jenni,” and in 2012 she was named one of the top 25 most powerful women by People en Español. She also established charities like the Jenni Rivera Love Foundation, which supports single mothers and children who have been victims of domestic abuse.

Jenni will premiere on TelevisaUnivision’s premium streaming tier VIX+ and in select theaters throughout the U.S. and Mexico. A release date has not been announced yet.

Saul Guerrero was named by Variety in 2019 as a Latinx talent to watch. Since then, she signed a first-look deal with Blumhouse Productions after the debut of her first movie, Culture Shock.

On the acting front, she has voiced characters in “Supernatural Academy” and “Angry Birds: Summer Madness.”

Gurrero also created and directed the 2017 web horror series La Quinceañera and short film El Gigante, and she co-founded the Latin genre-focused company LuchaGore Productions.

McKenzie, a frequent collaborator of Saul Guerrero’s at LuchaGore Productions, wrote the screenplays for “El Gigante,” “La Quinceanera” and “Bingo Hell.”

Jenni Rivera Enterprises will executive produce.

“Gigi is so confident in her voice and storytelling and has an innate understanding of Jenni’s life.

Jennifer Lopez to Perform at Charity Gala for Ukraine Children & Families

Jennifer Lopez is helping to raise funds for the children of the Ukraine…

The 53-year-old Puerto Rican superstar is set to perform on the Italian island of Capri at a Ukraine-focused charity gala for UNICEF.

Jennifer LopezExpected guests at the exclusive event, which is called LuisaViaRoma for UNICEF, include Leonardo DiCaprio; Jamie Foxx; Elon Musk’s mother, the supermodel Maye Musk; Naomi Campbell, Jared Leto, and Vanessa Hudgens.

The intimate Capri charity event will take place in the island’s Certosa di San Giacomo, a 14th-century monastery with a large grassy cloister area and a stunning view of the Mediterranean.

Lopez will be the main musical act at the exclusive gala, where the hit-making DJ Diplo and singer/actress Sofia Carson, as well as Switzerland’s DJ Cruz, are among other artists that are expected to take the stage, Italy’s La Repubblica reported.

Past editions of the charity concert have been complemented with performances by the likes of John Legend, Katy Perry and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, as well as Rita Ora, Ricky Martin and Ellie Goulding, according to Variety sister publication Women’s Wear Daily, which broke the news in May that Lopez would headline the Capri gala.

After kicking off with musical entertainment, the event will be followed by a lavish dinner and charity auction.

The guest list also includes Dutch supermodel and actor Lara Stone; U.S. producer and director Tonya Lewis Lee; Saudi producer and philanthropist Mohammed Al Turki; and, from Italy, singer and songwriter Sangiovanni and actor Matilde Gioli, according to La Repubblica.

During the charity gala, UNICEF representatives based in Ukraine will join the soirée remotely. A documentary will also screen, detailing the work being done by UNICEF at the Zaatari and Azraq refugee camps in Jordan that welcome Syrian children and their families.

It’s Lopez’s first stage performance since marrying actor Ben Affleck earlier this month.

Vanessa Gonzalez Named to Variety’s 10 Comics to Watch List

Vanessa Gonzalez is a comedian to watch…

The Latina improviser/sketch comedy writer/comedian has been named to Variety’s 10 Comics to Watch list.

Vanessa GonzalezGonzalez and her fellow honorees will be feted at Just for Laughs Montreal. They’ll attend a special cocktail reception and panel discussion on July 29 before performing at a showcase on July 30.

Gonzalez participated in Chelsea Handler’s Vaccinated and Horny Tour.

It was late 2020 and Gonzalez was riding out the pandemic, wondering when — or even if — her next gig was going to materialize. Then Handler slid into her DMs. Recalls the Laredo, Texas, native: “I was like: Is this for real? And then I felt bad because I didn’t follow her. That was like, ‘Oh, this is awkward — she’s going to see me follow her right now.’”

Cut to August and Gonzalez found herself the opening act for Handler’s tour.

Originally booked for one show, Gonzalez has since appeared in “most of the tour,” including its May 5 stop at the Wiltern Theater in L.A. as part of the Netflix Is a Joke festival.

For Gonzalez, who, following graduation from Texas State University, spent six years as a preschool teacher in Austin — experience providing ample fodder for her stand-up routine, from bits about “muffins for moms day” to the “$10 an hour” paycheck — zig-zagging the country with Handler has been “really surreal.”

“Chelsea’s been so amazing and generous and she’s always encouraging me. She’ll sit and watch my set every night,” says Gonzalez. “When I get off stage she’s there high-fiving me and telling me how great I did.I’ve never felt so supported. It’s been overwhelming — her generosity, her love. She wants me to succeed. Usually with comics, there’s a weirdness. They’re threatened, there’s always a competition. And this is the first time where I actually feel lifted up by a comedian. And it’s so cool.”

With a recent guest spot on HBO Max’s freshman sitcom The Garcias to her credit, Gonzalez, based in Austin, is now setting her sights on landing an “hourlong comedy special.”

“It’s on my bucket list, it’s on my vision board,” she says. “I have the material for it. So, I’m ready, for whomever wants it.”

Camila Cabello to Perform at UEFA Champions League Opening Ceremony

Camila Cabello is in a (Champions) League of her own…

The 25-year-old Mexican and Cuban singer is set to headline the Opening Ceremony of the 2022 UEFA Champions League final.

Camila CabelloCabello announced the news with a colorful video in which she sings her 2017 smash “Havana” in a colorful, blossoming AI universe. In it, she struts across a stage before spinning around as her blue dress transforms into a flowing pink gown, and she transitions into her recent single “Bam Bam” as a virtual version of the champion’s cup floats high above her.

“I’m excited to announce that I’ll be performing at the UEFA @championsleague Final Opening Ceremony presented by @pepsiglobal #PepsiShow. I’ve got lots of surprises in store for you,” Cabello wrote in a message to fans. The showdown between Liverpool and Real Madrid will take place at Stade de France on May 28.

Marshmello headlined last year’s opening ceremony with a mind-bending six-minute virtual performance that was two years in the making.

On May 5, Cabello was honored at Variety’s Power of Women event for her work with the Movement Voter Fund to launch the Healing Justice Project, and used her time on the floor to discuss the Supreme Court’s leaked draft opinion that experts suspect could lead to an overturning of the seminal 1973 Roe v. Wade case that has guaranteed women the right to an abortion.

“It’s atrocious,” the 25-year-old singer said during her speech in which she also encouraged people to get involved by voting on the local level and donating to relevant causes. “Obviously it’s going to affect poor women the most, because women that have resources — even like me — will be able to handle things if if they’re needed. The idea of having one moment transform the course of a woman’s life is tragic. And it’s tragic [that] the people affected are not having a say.”

Camila Cabello to Be Honored During Variety’s “2022 Power of Women” Event

Camila Cabello has the power

The 25-year-old Cuban & Mexican singer and former Fifth Harmony member, who released her third solo studio album Familia earlier this month, will be among the honorees at Variety’s 2022 Power of Women: New York event.

Camila CabelloCabello is among a list of honorees that includes Drew BarrymoreKim Cattrall, Queen Latifah, Amanda Seyfried and Venus Williams.

Cabello, a three-time Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum, and chart-topping singer/songwriter, is being honored for her work with the The Healing Justice Project.

In January 2021, Cabello and Movement Voter Fund launched the initiative to provide direct funding to provide culturally relevant mental health and wellness resources to youth activists and grassroots organizations working at the intersection of racial and economic justice, electoral organizing, and other movements that propel this country forward.

The in-person event will take place at The Glasshouse on May 5. Presented in partnership with Lifetime, the event gathers an intimate group of philanthropic women who have been selected as Variety’s honorees, as well as the most powerful women working in media and entertainment.

Each of the six honorees will be featured on the cover of Variety’s Power of Women issue, available May 4.

The issue will include the annual Women’s Impact Report, which highlights the top 50 women working in media and entertainment who made an impact this year on the industry.

Daniella Pineda to Star in AMC’s “Tales of the Walking Dead”

Daniella Pineda has a new tale(s)

The 34-year-old Mexican American actress will star in AMC‘s anthology series Tales of the Walking Dead.

Daniella Pineda  Pineda joins previously announced cast members Terry Crews, Parker Posey, Poppy Liu, Anthony Edwards, and Jillian Bell.

Details on the characters each will play in the series are being kept under wraps.

The six-episode episodic anthology series will feature both new and established characters from The Walking Dead universe.

Tales of the Walking Dead is scheduled to debut this summer on AMC and AMC Plus.

The show was first announced as being in development in September 2020 and ordered to series in October 2021. In an interview with Variety in 2020, then-AMC COO Ed Carroll said that “Tales” would serve as a “test kitchen” of sorts, meaning that if a particular episode is well received, it could lead to another spinoff.

Pineda most recently starred in the Netflix live-action remake of Cowboy Bebop in the role of Faye Valentine.

Her other television roles include What/If, The Detour, and The Originals.

In film, she appeared in the film Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom in 2018 and will reprise her role as Zia Rodriguez in the upcoming sequel Jurassic World Dominion. That film will debut in theaters on June 10.

She has also wrapped production on the feature The Plane starring Gerard Butler and Mike Colter for Lionsgate and Di Bonaventura Pictures.

Almudena Amor Named to Variety’s International Breakout Stars of 2021 List

Almudena Amor has had a break-out year… And, she’s being recognized for it.

The 27-year-old Spanish actress has been named to Variety’s International Breakout Stars of 2021 list.

Almudena AmorVariety’s international writers picked out a handful of global talents who had an incredible year, including Amor.

Amor had only appeared in a couple of shorts before this year, but 2021 saw the PR-grad-turned-actor cast by Spanish horror legend Paco Plaza as the lead in his San Sebastian competition film La Abuela.

Next, she was picked by Fernando León in what has proved to be her international break-out role, as a foil to Javier Bardem’s lead in the Spanish Oscar submission The Good Boss.

The role earned her a best new actress nomination at the Spanish Academy’s Goya Awards.

In November, she also starred in an entry of Amazon’s acclaimed Spanish horror anthology series reboot Stories to Stay Awake.

But Amor isn’t the only Latina to make the list…

Milena Smit is being celebrated for remarkable run the last two years.

The 35-year-old Spanish actress’ debut feature performance came just last year when she starred alongside Mario Casas, one of Spain’s most marketable leading men, in the award-winning thriller Cross the Line.

She was quickly picked out with a Goya nomination for best new actress. This year, Smit’s talents went global as she starred with Penelope Cruz in Pedro Almodóvar’s Parallel Mothers, earning her another Goya nomination, this time for best supporting actress.

In 2022, she will feature in Netflix’s sci-fi horror series The Girl in the Mirror before returning to the big screen in Tin & Tina, one of Spain’s most promising indies of the coming year.

Here’s the complete list of global artists recognized:

Toheeb Jimoh (U.K.)
Keung To (Hong Kong)
Swamy Rotolo (Italy)
Ondina Quadri (Italy)
Almudena Amor (Spain)
Milena Smit (Spain)
Benjamin Voisin (France)
Don Lee (South Korea-U.S.)
Jung Ho Yeon (South Korea)
Adarsh Gourav (India)
Azmeri Haque Badhon (Bangladesh)