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LOCKED Is Intense and Entertaining A talk with the Director

We caught up with the director of LOCKED David Yarovesky (Brightburn, Nightbooks), just before we screened the film with no spoilers. The film took nineteen days to shoot. Watch our quick interview. Synopsis: No escape. No …

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At a Screening of Dog Man the Movie

It was an enjoyable screening with two of the grandsons. The five year old said it was happy and sad at the same time. And he loved it! The twelve year old who has read …

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Unstoppable Streaming on Prime Video

Unstoppable is the inspiring true story of Anthony Robles (Jharrel Jerome) who was born with one leg but whose indomitable spirit and unbreakable resolve empowered him to defy the odds and pursue his dreams. With the …

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Sonic the Hedgehog 3 The Speed to the BoxOffice

“Sonic 3 will beat out Mufasa, for sure!” — JimmityCritic (12) Sonic the Hedgehog 3, what a fun evening with the grandkids it was. When you have a 12, 10 and 5 year-old clap their hands at the end …

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Mufasa: The Lion King the Prequel

Mufasa: The Lion King was entertaining and the production value was amazing to watch. Set in Africa, all-new film blends live-action filmmaking techniques with photoreal computer-generated imagery.  My 12 year-old grandson thought it was one …

LOCKED Is Intense and Entertaining A talk with the DirectorAt a Screening of Dog Man the MovieUnstoppable Streaming on Prime VideoSonic the Hedgehog 3 The Speed to the BoxOfficeMufasa: The Lion King the Prequel

What could they be thinking?

Some unusual off-season development activity at the networks puts a new emphasis on Latinos

When it comes to the development of new TV series, this used to be the “wait and see” season, while the networks watched their newest launches sink or swim for the first few weeks of their lives. But a set of otherwise unconnected stories from the last couple of weeks seem to indicate that there’s no waiting around anymore…and that the networks themselves may–just may–be showing a renewed interest in Latino programming. Read the rest of this entry »

The Art of the Arc, and How It’s Helping Latinos on TV

In looking at the new and returning TV shows for the Fall, two things jump out: 1) There are virtually no programs–none, nada–with a dominant or singular Latino theme (that is, a show about a Latino family, or where the lead is a Latino playing a Latino). And 2) There many, many shows–more than thirty this fall alone–in which a Latino actor is in the every-episode cast (sometimes playing a Latino character, sometimes not). Read the rest of this entry »

Four Generations of Estevez on “The Way”

There are movies made all the time that participants in front and behind the camera call “a labor of love.” It’s never been as true as it is for The Way, a gentle and moving new independent comedy written and directed by Emilio Estevez.

“A heartfelt project,
scrappy and engaging”

Now at the truly advanced age of 49, Emilio must be tired as hell of still being referred to as “Martin Sheen’s other son” or “Charlie Sheen’s brother,” or being remembered best as a straight arrow in a John Hughes movie thirty years ago. (Okay, we Read the rest of this entry »

Bad News for Al and Mario: “Free Agents” and “H8R” are already cancelled

Some fall TV season shows haven’t even premiered yet (like Tim Allen’s Man Up with Hector Elizondo, Once Upon a Time with Lana Parrilla and James Roday’s Psych on USA), but three new series have already been cancelled and shuffled off to the boneyard. Sadly, all three of the early casualties have some (all too small) Latino involvement.

Eddie Cibrian’s The Playboy Club got the ax earlier this week; now Hank Azaria’s Free Agents with comedian Al Madrigal and the CW’s unpleasant reality show H8R, hosted by Mario Lopez, have both been shown the door. The reason is simple and singular: ratings, ratings, ratings. In the case of Agents, even with successful (and already renewed) shows running on both sides, it couldn’t build or keep an Read the rest of this entry »

Eddie Cibrian’s “The Playboy Club” pulled from the schedule (to no one’s surprise)

There’s a sad little sweepstakes on TV every fall: “What Show Will Be Cancelled First?” This year the winner, to absolutely no one’s surprise, is on NBC, suffering the worst ratings of any fall premiere season ever, clear across the board. And the ‘winning’ show? The Playboy Club, starring, among many others, Latino actor Eddie Cibrian.

This isn’t a major blow to Latinos on TV (though it’s certainly not great news for Cibrian, who’s had to endure a long line of one-season wonders, from Tilt to Invasion to Vanished to Chase). Cibrian’s role was really not much more than a less-than-entirely-successful knock-off of Jon Hamm’s sleek dark-haired ladykiller on Mad Men, an icon of white anglo success c. 1961. Meanwhile, Cibrian’s own Latino background Read the rest of this entry »

Luis Guzmán and “How To Make It In America” Return on Sundays

…but Luis is never really far away

It’s actually hard to avoid him. Last night he had some key, hilarious scenes in the USA primetime rebroadcast of He’s Just Not That Into You. Earlier this week, you could glimpse his life-sized statue on NBC’s Community. And Arthur is now available on DVD; you can even watch it instantly on Amazon. And he’s got half a dozen new projects in production right now, alongside his great work in HBO’s How to Make It in America, Sunday nights at 10:30P.

But that’s the thing about Luis Guzmán: he works. For more than twenty-five years, this talented Latino has appeared in more than a hundred different movies and television shows, including a (regrettably) short-lived series of his own, Luis, back in 2003. Read the rest of this entry »

Don’t Forget Roberto Orci. Ever.

Roberto Orci is not the noisiest Latino creative in Hollywood. He and his longtime writing partner Howard Kurtzman are quite the opposite: quiet, un-flashy, hard working, and pretty amazingly successful. It’s true that Orci’s been relatively silent when it comes to new output for the last few months, but a recent announcement or two should serve as a reminder: don’t forget about him. Orci may, in fact, be one of the most powerful creative forces in Hollywood, based on his track record alone, and he’s getting more productive with every passing year.

Consider that Orci, (born in Mexico, but a resident of the U.S. for most of his 38 years) has been feeding the pop-culture beast since he and his partner worked on Read the rest of this entry »

“Dexter” and five more TV shows with Latinos premiere in October

It’s about time! We’ve been waiting to see what Dexter’s going to do now that (SPOILER! CENSORED!), and now the time has come: Dexter–along with the fiery and now finished couple, Lauren Vélez and David Zayas—is back with a new season, beginning Sunday 10/2 at 9P on Showtime. And this season Aimee Garcia and Edward James Olmos are joining the cast; in roles they’re not supposed to talk about (that’s the joy and frustration of Dexter, Read the rest of this entry »

The Fall TV Season: Lots of Latinos, But No Big Breakthroughs

Part of our series, “Looking at Latino Hollywood, 2012”

The good news, as we’ve said before: there are more than thirty original programs featuring Latinos as cast members or regulars on network and cable this fall. The not-quite-as-good news: most of those shows have now premiered, and none of the shows have proven to be ‘breakthroughs’ straight out of the gate. A couple, in fact, may already know that the light at the end of their tunnel is an oncoming train.

NBC brought in the most new shows and add-ins this season, and unfortunately the cracks are already starting to show. One of their very first new shows to premiere was Free Agents, where comedian Al Madrigal had a supporting role. Its numbers were low to begin with and, sadly, are getting lower. It’s already getting high scores on the Read the rest of this entry »

Look for Schneider, Cheech Marin, Lupe Ontiveros, Diana Maria Riva and more in this mid-season replacement

It hasn’t even got a title yet–they’re still calling it The Rob Schneider Comedy–but it’s been on the pilot-show radar for months. Now, after months of dithering at two pilots, CBS has ordered the three-camera sitcom as a midseason replacement.

The network has made plenty of changes along Read the rest of this entry »

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