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This November Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein on Netflix

We can’t wait to watch this new adaptation of Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro of Mary Shelley’s classic tale of Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but egotistical scientist who brings a creature to life in a …

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Renée Victor Has Passed Away, and We Will All Miss Her

Renée Victor has–will always have–one of those faces. You will recognize her immediately…and not just her face, but her voice, the characters she played, and the strong, brave spirit she always embodied. For almost forty …

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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 …

This November Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein on NetflixRenée Victor Has Passed Away, and We Will All Miss HerLOCKED Is Intense and Entertaining A talk with the DirectorAt a Screening of Dog Man the MovieUnstoppable Streaming on Prime Video

Yvette Yates in “Free Ride” to Premiere at Cannes

Free Ride, a real-life story of writer/director Shana Sosin set in the 1970’s, stars Anna Paquin, Cam Gigandet, and Yvette Yates as “Gia,” an undercover DEA agent, and it’s secured both internatonal and domestic distribution, and will be featured at the next Cannes Film Festival. Yvette’s also recently finished up In the Blood, an action thriller with Danny Trejo, Luis Guzmán, and Amaury Nolasco. You can keep up with her on facebook at YvetteYatesOfficial and on twitter at @yvetteyates.

Zoë Saldaña on Jimmy Kimmel Live

Zoë Saldaña has plenty to talk about, whether it’s Star Trek, Nina Simone, or Guardians of the Galaxy, and she’ll be talking about it all on Jimmy Kimmel Live at 11:35p on ABC, Wednesday night.

Big Wednesday on Network and Cable for Latinos in New Programming

It doesn’t feel like the end of the season tonight. Not with Shakira and Latino entertainers competing on The Voice at 8P, Danny Pino, Raúl Esparza with guest stars, Yul Vázquez, Jessica Camacho, Emilio Rivera and La La Anthony on Law & Order: SVU at 9P on NBC, and Monica Raymund, Joe Minoso and Jon Seda on a new episode of Chicago Fire at 10P on NBC. Then there’s a new Modern Family with Rico Rodriguez and Sofía Vergara at 9:30 on ABC, Yara Martinez, Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer and Alejandro Furth are guest-starring on Criminal Minds at 9P on CBS, and James Roday (Rodriguez) still making Psych work after more than 100 episodes, 10P on USA.

Great News: Dennis Leoni is Developing a Latino Drama Series for PBS

L-r: Eddie Ruiz, Mauricio Mendoza, Sam Boyer, Yvonne Delarosa, Dennis Leoni, Miguel Torres, Lorena Alvarado, Marlene Dermer, Al Coronel and Monica Huarte at the 2012 Imagen awards—which Los Americans won the 2012 Best Drama Web Series.

Dennis Leoni

Variety reported it just a couple of days ago: PBS has ordered a pilot script from Dennis Leoni called Alta California, a period drama about two family set in the late 1800’s. It’s part of a new development deal between the Public Broadcasting system and Leoni, who is best remembered as writer and director of Resurrection Blvd. the first and longest-running Latino dramatic series on U.S. television.

The overarching plot for Alta California is familiar but potentially powerful: “Set in the mid to late 1800s,” the Variety article says, “Alta California tells the story of an arranged union between two families–one Mexican-Californian and the other European-American.” Leoni is slated to write and exec produce the series if it comes to pass, along with the former president of Showtime Jerry Offsay. The two worked together on Resurrection Blvd. back in the day.

Not that Leoni has been resting on his laurels the last few years. He’s been a major player in Latino Hollywood for years; he’s written drama and comedy pilots for NBC, Showtime, ABC and Fox Television Studios, and he created the web series Los Americans, still available for viewing right here.

Casting and filming are still months in the future, but we’ll keep a sharp eye on the project as it develops.

Photos: ©2012 Angela María Ortíz S.

Benjamn Bratt is All Over the Place (in a good way)

Benjamin Bratt

Don’t underestimate Benjamin Bratt. We all became very comfortable with his quiet, intelligent persona in almost a hundred episodes of Law and Order in the late Nineties, and more recently as an equally suave doctor in the last couple of years of Private Practice, but he’s done plenty more–and not always playing the same kind of character. This is a good week to point that out: Bratt has just replaced Al Pacino as the voice of the villain “Eduardo” in Despicable Me 2 (Pacino, in turn, had replaced the original “Eduardo,” Javier Bardem), his performance as the romantic lead in the classic James Michener’s Texas is just now available on DVD, and he was back on Modern Family as Gloria’s ex-husband just a couple of weeks ago.

The ‘romantic lead’ stuff is what we’ve come to expect. But in fact there’s much more to Bratt and his career. He’s worked as a narrator and voice-over talent for years, and “Eduardo” isn’t his first cartoon voice. He was “Manny” in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and he’ll be reprising that role in the sequel later this year. He was one of the narrators of The American Experience in 2009, and he will be the voice of the landmark PBS series American Latinos when it premieres this fall.

In the The Cleaner

Bratt, in fact, is always full of surprises. He’s played cops, doctors, and soldiers over the years, just as we expect…but he’s also played bad guys (as in the recent Snitch), ex-addict crusaders (is in the short-lived cable series, The Cleaner) and suspiciously suave ex-husbands (in at least three episodes of Modern Family). And he’s been doing it for far longer than you might realize, and the talent he’s worked with reads like a who’s who of Hollywood: Meryl Streep in The River Wild, Harrison Ford in Clear and Present Danger, Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes in Demolition Man. And he was Sandra Bullocks’ cop-boyfriend in Miss Congeniality and Halle Berry’s main squeeze in the best-forgotten Catwoman.

The only really surprising thing about Bratt’s career is how long he’s been around, how wide his range, and how little he’s changed in more than twenty-five years of work. We can’t really know what to expect next–except it’ll be unexpected and, inevitably, worth watching.

Jessica Alba on Live with Kelly & Michael, Wednesday

She hasn’t been seen on the chat shows recently, so it’s nice to see Jessica Alba out and about to talk with Kelly and Michael on–strangely enough Live with Kelly & Michael on Wednesday morning.

“The Voice,” “NCIS,” “Golden Boy,” and “Body of Proof” New on Tuesday

A set of powerhouse performances new on Tuesday: Shakira on The Voice at 8P on NBC, opposite Cote de Pablo in the ever-popular NCIS at 8P on CBS. Then at 10P, Kevin Alejandro is deliciously evil on Golden Boy on CBS, with José Zúñiga as a guest-starts and Marisa Ramirez continues her arc on ABC’s Body of Proof.

Lyrical and Horrific “Mama” out on DVD

Mama was a moderate hit in theaters a few months ago. Now this horrific but visually stunning horror film about children abandoned by their mad father and raised by…something else…is available on DVD. Directed by first-time Spanish director Andrés Muschietti and produced and developed by Guillermo del Toro, this visually stunning ghost story offers something a little different: first-class acting from the likes of Jessica Chastain and a surprisingly uplifting ending.

George Lopez on Tuesday’s “The View”

Set your DVR’s tonight: George Lopez is Guest #1 on Tuesday morning’s edition of The View on ABC.

Drama, Horror, and Fantasy with Latinos in the Mix on Monday Night Cable

A little bit of a lot with Latinos, all original on Monday: Francia Raisa on The Secret Life of the American Teenager at 8P on ABC Family, Nicole Muñoz in Defiance at 9P on SyFy, and in Bates Motel at 10P on A&E.

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