Leto Appears in The Joker Garb on the Cover of Empire Magazine

Posted on October 29, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

The joker’s up for Jared Leto…

The 43-year-old part-Spanish American actor, singer-songwriter and director has suited up in his The Joker gear on the cover of Empire magazine’s December issue.

Leto, portraying The Joker in the highly anticipated action film Suicide Squad, appears in full Joker regalia on one of the three covers hyping the superhero flick.

The Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman’s cover is nothing short of sexy, as Leto shows off his rock hard stomach.

The trio of new covers also features Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and Will Smith as Deadshot.

Directed and co-written by David Ayer, Suicide Squad is expected to hit theaters Aug. 5, 2016.

Sofia to Perform at This Year’s Latin Grammys

Posted on October 24, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Raquel Sofia is ready to make a big splash at the Latin Grammys…

The Puerto Rican singer-songwriter has been added to the roster of artists scheduled to perform at the annual awards show.

Sofia, who is nominated for Best New Artist at this year’s Latin Grammys, joins a list of performers that includes Juan Luis Guerra, J Balvin, Cho Quib Town, Natalia Jimenez, Will Smith and Bomba Estereo, and fellow best new artist nominees Matisse.

Sofia’s debut album, Te Quiero los Domingos, was released in July.

Sofia, who recently received a Vevo Lift nomination, previously performed backing vocals for Juanes, Shakira and Jean Carlos Canela, before making a name for herself.

Smith and Bomba Estereo will perform their version of “Fiesta,” which is nominated for record of the year in its original version. Balvin is nominated for best urban performance and best urban son for his hit “Ay Vamos” while Guerra is up for four awards, including album and record of the year.

The 16th annual Latin Grammys will air live on Univision on November 19 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

New Line Cinema Acquires Rights to Gomez-Rejon’s Will Smith-Starrer “Collateral Beauty”

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Life’s a beauty for Alfonso Gomez-Rejon…

New Line Cinema has acquired worldwide rights on the Latino filmmaker’s upcoming project Collateral Beauty.

In the Gomez-Rejon’s film, Will Smith stars as a New York advertising executive who experiences a personal tragedy and the subsequent unconventional plan from his colleagues to break him out of his depression.

Overbrook Entertainment is coming aboard to co-produce the project alongside Anonymous Content, PalmStar Media and Likely Story.

Written by Allan Loeb, the project will be directed by Gomez-Rejon (Me And Earl And The Dying Girl).

PalmStar and Likely Story paid $2.25 million for the script.

Principal photography is expected to begin in October.

Gomez-Rejon’s previously directed the film The Town That Dreaded Sundown, as well as episodes for Red Band Society, The Carrie Diaries, American Horror Story and Glee.

Martinez to Star in the Ensemble Film “37”

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Adrian Martinez has 37 reasons to smile…

The Latino actor, who has been hailed as “the sidekick to the stars,” has joined the ensemble cast of 37, a film inspired by the horrific 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese and a group of neighbors who witnessed the attack and did nothing as she screamed for help.

Written and directed by first-time filmmaker Puk Grasten, 37 stars Martinez, Samira Wiley, Michael Potts, Christina Brucato, Jamie Harrold, Maria Dizzia, Evan Fine, Thomas Kopache, Sophia Lillis and Lucy Martin.

37 examines the lives of a group of families living in the Kew Gardens area of Queens, New York in the 1960s who witness the murder of 28-year-old Genovese (Brucato) and do nothing to intervene. 37 is an expansion on the short film by Grasten, which premiered at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival.

Martinez, who most recently starred as Will Smith‘s sidekick in Warner Bros.’ Focus, has appeared in Piranha 3DD, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close and Kick-Ass.

Leto to Star as The Joker in DC Comics’ “Suicide Squad”

Posted on December 3, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

The joker’s on Jared Leto…

The 42-year-old part-Spanish actor has been cast as The Joker in David Ayer’s DC Comics’ villains team-up Suicide Squad.

With a script by Justin Marks, the film will see an assembly of baddies and anti-heroes brought together by a secretive government group and offered a shot at redemption if they’ll go on a mission. There’s just one slight drawback: they might not survive it.

In addition to Leto, the film will also star Will Smith as Deadshot, Tom Hardy as Rick Flagg and Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. Meanwhile, Jai Courtney will play Boomerang and Cara Delevingne will play Enchantress.

Ayer will begin shooting the film this coming April in Toronto, aiming for an August 5, 2016 release date.

Warner Bros. will release Suicide Squad in 3D and 2D.

Ramirez Hints at Possibly Starring in Marvel’s “Doctor Strange”

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Things could be become a little strange for Edgar Ramirez…

The 37-year-old Venezuelan actor has hinted that he may be starring in Marvel’s film adaptation of the Doctor Strange comics.

While speaking with IGN about his upcoming supernatural thrillerDeliver Us from Evil, Ramirez revealed that he’d been “talking” with director Scott Derrickson about joining the film.

“We’re talking. We’ve been talking,” he said cryptically.

Marvel is currently still looking for a perfect actor to play Stephen Strange a.k.a. Dr. Strange. Jared Leto has been mentioned as a possible frontrunner for the title role, especially after new reports emerged saying that he wouldn’t be replacing Will Smith in Brilliance.Tom Hardy and Benedict Cumberbatch are also rumored to be in contention for the role.

Casting is expected to start in a month or two, while production is scheduled to begin in spring 2015. No specific release date has been set for the film at this time.

After Deliver Us from Evil hits U.S. theaters on July 2, Ramirez will next be seen in The Liberator and Hands of Stone.

Santoro to Star in the Indie Drama “Dominion”

Posted on May 31, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Rodrigo Santoro is ready to establish a little dominion of his own…

The 38-year-old Brazilian actor has signed on to star in the indie drama Dominion.

The film, which also stars John Malkovich and Rhys Ifans, is based on the last day of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas’ short life at the White Horse Tavern in New York. Thomas died at the age of 39 of pneumonia but was a voracious drinker.

The film is being shot in black and white by Steven Bernstein, the cinematographer on Monsterand Like Water for Chocolate, from his own script.

Santoro, who reprised his role as Xerxes in this year’s 300: Rise of an Empire and was the voice of Tulio in Rio 2, will portray the bartender at the White Horse, a pivotal role as a character who continues to communicate with Thomas throughout the film. Diego Luna was previously linked to the role.

The tavern, which opened in 1880, became a well-known Bohemian hangout in New York in Greenwich Village in the 1950s and is still a going concern on Hudson and 11th St.

“It’s not a biopic at all, but rather a testament to the man and his legacy,” says producer Richard Gladstein.

Santoro will next star alongside Will Smith and Margot Robbie in the heist movie Focus and just wrapped The 33, the film about the Chilean miners.

Rapace to Co-Star Opposite Will Smith in “Brilliance”

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Noomi Rapace is ready to show her brilliance on the big screen once again…

The 34-year-old half-Spanish actress is in talks to star opposite Will Smith in Brilliance, the adaptation of the Marcus Sakey novel being made by Legendary Entertainment.

Directed by Julius Onah and written by David Koepp, the film takes place in a world where a minority set of people are born with extraordinary abilities and are called “brilliants.” A panic sets in among the human majority, bringing the world to a civil war, which is exactly what a nefarious faction wants.

Smith is playing a federal agent, a brilliant with great hunting gifts who is drafted to hunt down a terrorist, another such brilliant who intends to start the civil war.

Rapace will portray a tattooed and pierced brilliant that is identified as a terrorist by the government.

Universal Pictures will release the feature project, which is aiming to start production on the film this summer.

Rapace rose to acclaim as the tough and tattooed hacker Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo movies. She was last seen in Dead Man Down with Colin Farrell and has the crime thriller Child 44, with Tom Hardy and Joel Kinnaman, in the can.

Diaz Offers Her Twitter Followers a Glimpse at Her Evil “Annie” Character

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Cameron Diaz is showing off her evil side…

The 41-year-old half-Cuban American actress has introduced her on-screen alter ego, the oh-so-cruel Miss Hannigan in the contemporary take on the classic Broadway musical Annie.

“I want you to meet someone,” she recently tweeted. “Her name is Ms.Hannigan. She ain’t nice and she ain’t pretty. #Annie.”

Diaz pouts for the camera. In some on-set pictures landing online around the same time, she is seen wearing a grey sweater, cut-off denim shorts, sheer tights, and black boots. She finishes off her look with big hoop earrings and a selection of necklaces.

In the original story, Miss Hannigan is the wicked owner of the orphanage where Annie resides. Oscar nominee Quvenzhane Wallis plays the titular red-haired girl, Jamie Foxx stars as her savior, and Rose Byrne as her mother figure.

Directed by Will Gluck and produced by rapper Jay-Z and actor Will Smith, the modern-day musical adaptation will hittheaters in the U.S. on December 19, 2014.

Santoro to Star Opposite Will Smith in the Heist Film “Focus”

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Rodrigo Santoro is about to share the screen opposite Will Smith…

The 37-year-old Brazilian actor, who will next appear as Xerxes in 300: Rise of an Empire, will star opposite Will Smith in Focus.

The Warner Bros. heist movie, which is being directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, follows a con man (Smith) who becomes romantically involved with a novice, being played by Margot Robbie. He’s then thrown off his game when the former flame shows up just as he’s staging an elaborate con in Buenos Aires.

Santoro will play the magnetic and powerful owner of an international auto racing team who is vying for Robbie’s affections. He also hires Smith to gain a competitive edge for his racing team.

The picture will begin shooting in October in New Orleans and Buenos Aires.

Santoro just wrapped the Western Jane Got a Gun with Natalie Portman and is currently in Brazil starring in Carlos Saldanha’s segment of Rio I Love You. He’s also lending his voice for Saldanha’s animated film Rio 2, which opens May 14, 2014.

He was last seen in the indie feature Heleno, a black-and-white Portuguese-language film Santoro starred in and produced based on the life of one of Brazil’s greatest soccer players, Heleno de Freitas.

Warner Bros. is set to release Rise of an Empire, in which reprises his role of the mad Persian monarch Xerxes, on March 7, 2014.

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

Tag Archives: Will Smith