The Emmy nominations were announced this morning, and while the 75th Emmy nominations are being touted by industry trades as record breaking, especially for Black women who garnered four Emmy nominations in just the supporting comedy actress category, nominations for Latino/as as a whole were down. Even though Latinos are the largest minority in the U.S. at 18% of the population, the Asian Pacific community (7% of the US population) had one more nominations, with four to only 3 for Latino performers. Black Americans are 13.6% of the U.S. population.

The three Latinos nominated for the coveted television acting categories, Pedro Pascal, Jenna Ortega and Aubrey Plaza represent less than 3% of the total number of actors (102) nominated for an Emmy this year.

Pedro Pascal is top of the list with two Emmy nominations, one for HBO’s The Last of Us and the other for Lead Actor in a Drama Series and Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his appearance on Saturday Night Live.  Jenna Ortega has received her very first Emmy nomination as Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance in the title role in Netflix’s Wednesday, which was the second-most watched English-language Netflix series last year.  Aubrey Plaza received her nomination for her role in HBO’s social satire The White Lotus as Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

Once again, the underrepresentation of Latinos at the Emmys is glaring. However, Ortega’s nomination makes her only the third Latina to ever be nominated in this category. Jenna Ortega is a favorite to take the Emmy for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, and if this happens it will be a big win for our community. and this nomination

In the interest of not being redundant, citing stats (as we do year after year on these occasions and nothing ever changes) that prove the lack of Latino representation in Hollywood, let me just say, aqui estamos y no nos vamos! We are here to stay, we are not going away anytime soon. With a U.S. Latino economic power of $1.9 trillion annual GDP, is it time to leverage our community’s buying power for equal representation? For now our voice is our power, and we need to speak up.

Selena Gomez, snubbed again? There are three leads in Only Murders in the Building.  Martin Short, Steve Martin and Selena Gomez. Both Short and Martin were both nominated last year in the Best Lead Actor category, but the third lead, Gomez was overlooked. Why? Some would say (like her 426 Million instagram followers) that her acting chops are on par with her co-stars.  This year Martin gets a 2nd Emmy nomination and Gomez is once again overlooked. Something is just not making sense. Her Mabel Mora character is the linchpin in the whole dang series!

We are grateful to the writers and producers who write the kind of roles that merit the attention of the Television Academy members.  We are grateful for the showrunners that cast a wide diversity net and think “out of the box”.  Thank you to the casting director of Wednesday Florina Fernandes and director Tim Burton for casting Ortega.  

But what about the Latino writers who have created and cast Latinos in some of the most lauded shows on TV? Where is the recognition for them?   For one, I am talking about Gloria Calderon Kellett who created and was the showrunner on the Netflix TV show, One Day at a Time (2017 – 2020). The critics raved about it. Lead actress Justina Machado was even named as one of the most “Most Dynamic Actresses on TV” by Harper’s Bazaar. But where was Kellett’s writing Emmy nomination or Justina Machado’s Best Lead in a Comedy Series Emmy nomination? 

We will keep asking the questions, as we celebrate Pascal, Plaza and Ortega on their Emmy nominations, and acknowledge the behind the camera Latino Emmy nominees for 2023: 

Outstanding Production Design For A Variety Special

The Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show Starring Rihanna / FOX – Maria Garcia, Art Director

Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes

Hocus Pocus 2 / Disney+ / Walt Disney Pictures – Salvador Perez, Costume Designer

The Mandalorian / Chapter 22: Guns For Hire / Disney+ / Lucasfilm Ltd. – Elissa Alcala, Assistant Costume Designer

What we do in the Shadows / The Wedding / FX / FX Productions – Barbara Cardoso, Assistant Costume Designer

Outstanding Contemporary Costumes For A Series – Only Murders In The Building / Framed / Hulu / 20th Television / Dana Covarrubias, Costume Designer

Outstanding Contemporary Hairstyling – Only Murders in the Building / Fabian Gonzalez, Hair Stylist

@belscoolist @latinheatmag

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Aubrey Plaza’s next film Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, will premiere March 18.  

The funny actress of Puerto Rican descent stars opposite action star Jason Statham (Crank) in the humorous spy flick. 

The film is about MI6 agent Orson Fortune (Statham) recruited by a global intelligence alliance to track down and stop the sale of deadly weapons technology that threatens the world order. Against his wishes, the agent is paired with CIA high-tech expert Sarah Fidel (Plaza) to go on a globe-trotting mission. Fortune will have to use his charm, ingenuity, and stealthiness to infiltrate billionaire arms dealer Greg Simmonds.

The cast includes Josh Hartnett (Lucky Number Slevin), Hugh Grant (Love Actually), Cary Elwes (Saw) and Bugzy Malone (The Gentlemen). 

Plaza is best known for her role in the TV series Parks and Recreation, which won a Peabody Award in 2011. 

Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre is directed by Guy Ritchie (The Gentlemen), who also exec produces with a screenplay by Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies. Both writers previously worked with the director in the international blockbuster The Gentlemen. 

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The film Ya No Estoy Aquí, series Love Victor and Pose and actors Demian Bichir, JD Pardo, Aubrey Plaza and MJ Rodriguez are among the winners of the 2021 Imagen Awards.

The awards recognize Latino talent and executives in television and film that contribute to the accurate portrayal of Latino in Hollywood. 

Mexican director Fernando Frias’s Ya No Estoy Aquí (I’m No Longer Here) won the award for Best Feature Film. It tells the story of the young leader of a street party gang forced to immigrate to the U.S. after a mixup with a local cartel, but who quickly longs to return home. The film also won two additional Imagen Awards, one for Frias for Best Director and another for Joe Rodríguez and Javier Nuño for Best Music Supervision for Film or Television.

The three prizes for Ya No Estoy Aquí  add to the accolades the film has collected since its release last year. Ya No Estoy Aquí swept at the 2020 Ariel Awards, Mexico’s equivalent of the Oscars, winning in 10 categories, including top prizes–Best Film, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. Also, it was shortlisted for the 2021 Oscars in the Best International Feature as Mexico’s official entry.

Bichir won Best Actor Feature Film for his role of Miguel in Land, a drama about a bereaved woman seeking out a new life off the grid in Wyoming. 

The award to Best Actress Feature Film went to Plaza for her lead in Black Bear. She plays a filmmaker at a creative impasse seeking solace from her tumultuous past at a rural retreat, only to find that the woods summon her inner demons in intense and surprising ways.

MJ Rodriguez took home the prize to Best Actress Television Drama for her role as Blanca Evangelista in the FX series Pose. That same role earned her a nod for a Primetime Emmy Award, making history as the first transgender woman to be nominated in a major acting category of the coveted prize. Pose also won Best Primetime Program Drama.

Another major winner was Hulu’s Love Victor, which also scored twice, for Best Comedy Primetime Program and Best Actor Michael Cimino.

The 36th Annual Imagen Awards winners were determined by an independent panel of entertainment industry executives and Latina and Latino community leaders. The award ceremony was live-streamed on PBSSoCal.org and KCET.org.

The Imagen Foundation’s Norman Lear Writer’s Award went to television writer Tanya Saracho, the creator, showrunner and executive producer of the Starz series Vida. Her producer credits also include the popular series How to Get Away with Murder, starring Viola Davis, and HBO’s Looking.

Below is the complete list of winners:

FILM

Best Feature Film: Ya No Estoy Aquí / I’m No Longer Here (Netflix; Panorama Global for Netflix)

Best Director – Feature Film: Fernando Frías De La Parra, Ya No Estoy Aquí / I’m No Longer Here (Netflix; Panorama Global for Netflix)

Best Actor – Feature Film: Demián Bichir, Land (Focus Features / a Big Beach Production / Flashlight Films)

Best Actress – Feature Film: Aubrey Plaza, Black Bear (Momentum Pictures, an Entertainment One Company; Tandem Pictures, Oakhurst Entertainment & Blue Creek Pictures, in association with Productivity Media and Radiant Films International)

TELEVISION

Best Primetime Program – Drama: Pose (FX; 20th Television)

Best Primetime Program – Comedy: Love, Victor (Hulu; Hulu, 20th Television, Temple Hill)

Best Primetime Program – Special or Movie: One Day at a Time – Animated Special (PopTV; Sony Pictures Television, Act III, Snowpants Productions, GloNation)

Best Director – Television: Tanya Saracho, Vida (STARZ; Big Beach and Chingona Productions in association with Starz Originals)

Best Actor – Television (Drama): JD Pardo, Mayans M.C. (FX Networks; 20th Television and FX Productions)

Best Actress – Television (Drama): Mj Rodriguez, Pose (FX; 20th Television)

Best Actor – Television (Comedy): Michael Cimino, Love, Victor (Hulu; Hulu, 20th Television, Temple Hill)

Best Actress – Television (Comedy): Barbie Ferreira, Unpregnant (HBO Max; HBO Max presents a WarnerMax / PictureStart / Berlanti / Schechter Films production)

Best Supporting Actor – Television (Drama): Colman Domingo, Euphoria Special: Part 1 Rue: “Trouble Don’t Last Always” (HBO; HBO in association with Reasonable Bunch, A24, Little Lamb, Dreamcrew, ADD Content Agency | HOT | Tedy Productions)

Best Supporting Actress – Television (Drama): Morena Baccarin, The Twilight Zone (Paramount+; CBS Studios in association with Monkeypaw Productions and Genre Films)

Best Supporting Actor – Television (Comedy): Harvey Guillén, What We Do In The Shadows (FX; FX Productions)

Best Supporting Actress – Television (Comedy): Diana Maria Riva, Dead to Me (Netflix; CBS Television Studios for Netflix)

Best Young Actor – Television: Madison Reyes, Julie and the Phantoms (Netflix)

Best Voice-Over Actor – Television: Justina Machado, One Day at a Time – Animated Special (PopTV; Sony Pictures Television, Act III, Snowpants Productions, GloNation)

Best Variety or Reality Show: Tie
A Tribute to Linda Ronstadt at The Soraya (PBS; KCET and The Soraya)
Shine True (Fuse; Vice Studios, OUTtv Canada, Fuse Media)

Best Young Adult Programming: Julie and the Phantoms (Netflix)

Best Youth Programming: The Casagrandes (Nickelodeon)

Best Music Composition for Film or Television: Cristobal Tapia de Veer, The Third Day (HBO; HBO in association with Sky Studios, Plan B, and Punchdrunk)

Best Music Supervision for Film or Television: Joe Rodríguez & Javier Nuño, Ya No Estoy Aquí / I’m No Longer Here (Netflix; Panorama Global for Netflix)

Best Documentary: Tie
Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado (Netflix; A Netflix Original Documentary / A Muck Media Production in Association with Key Rat, Inc. & Topic Studios)
POV: The Infiltrators (PBS; American Documentary | POV, Pueblo Sight & Sound, Chicago Media Project, Naked Edge Film, 3DMC, Baked Studios, The National Day Laborer Organizing Network)

Best Informational Program: Street Food: Latin America (Netflix; Boardwalk Pictures for Netflix)

Best Short Film: UNLADYLIKE2020: Jovita Idar (PBS American Masters; Unladylike Productions LLC in association with The WNET Group’s American Masters.)

Best Commercial Advertisement or Social Awareness Campaign: Latinos Are Essential (Latino Public Broadcasting; PBS)

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By Ana Perez

Eiza González to Star in Maria Felix Biopic

Eiza González is bringing legendary Mexican actress Maria Felix’s story to life on the big screen. The Baby Driver actress and director Matthew Heineman have partnered with the iconic Mexican film star’s estate for the project, the team is looking for a Latin American writer to adapt Felix’s life for the screen.

González will portray Felix and also produce the film alongside Dana Harris and Nicole King for Linden Entertainment. Walter Rivera will exec-produce the film on behalf of Felix’s estate.

“Maria’s tenacity and fierce way of living through some of the hardest adversity I’ve witnessed have inspired me and many more,” González told Deadline. “I’m incredibly honored to be playing her and to be bringing her voice and story to the world.” She added, “Maria constantly pushed boundaries and lived by her own rules, while the world tried to tear her down. I’ve always believed her life needs to be seen around the world, for people to learn more about how society depicts successful and driven women.”

Felix was one of the most successful Mexican stars of all time as well as one of the biggest stars of Latin American cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. The actress starred in 47 movies in Mexico, France, Italy and Argentina and was the queen of the silver screen in Mexico, becoming known as “La Doña.” Her story will explore love, loss and Mexican culture.

“We have long been searching for the right partner to tell Maria’s story, and we are proud to be partnering with Eiza González as she embodies so much of Maria’s strength, intelligence, passion, character and beauty,” Rivera said. “We know Eiza and this film have the power to influence change, much like Maria Felix did, and we know in Eiza’s hands, Maria Felix’s legacy will be portrayed in the most authentic light.”

González’s feature credits include Baby Driver, Hobbs & Shaw, Netflix’s Golden Globe-winning I Care a Lot, Godzilla vs. Kong, Michael Bay’s upcoming Ambulance and the TV series From Dusk till Dawn.

González is also in talks to join the cast of the Netflix sci-fi series Three-Body Problem. The creative duo David Benioff and D.B. Weiss of Game of Thrones are adapting the series.

González is represented by Linden Entertainment, WME and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.

Cierra Ramirez Joins Cast of Indie Film The Re-Education of Molly Singer

Cierra Ramirez (Good Trouble, The Fosters) is set in the leading role in the indie filmThe Re-Education of Molly Singer. Ramirez will play Lindsay, a college student caught in a love triangle. 

The Good Trouble star joins a cast featuring Britt Robertson, Ty Simpkin, Nico Santos, Holland Roden, Jaime Pressly and Wendie Malick.

Robertson will take the titular role of Molly, a former college party girl who later becomes an attorney. Molly has just botched her biggest case due to her inability to let go of her hard-partying lifestyle, but instead of getting fired she is tasked by her overbearing and controlling boss Brenda (Pressly) to re-enroll at her old alma mater, to befriend her socially awkward son Elliot (Simpkins) and guide him through an already tumultuous freshman year. Elliot and Ramirez’s Lindsay attend the same school.

Todd Friedman and Kevin Haskin penned the script. Producers are Warner Davis and Friedman. The Warner Davis Company and Hemlock Circle Productions are producing.

Ramirez, who is of Columbian and Mexican descent, is currently a co-lead and producer on Freeform’s Good Trouble, a continuation of her earlier series The Fosters. She received an Alma Award and an Imagen Award in 2012 for her work in the Patricia Riggen-directed drama Girl In Progress.

Aubrey Plaza & Ramón Rodríguez to Headline in Olga Dies Dreaming Hulu Pilot

Aubrey Plaza (Parks & Recreation) is set to star as the title character in Olga Dies Dreaming, with Ramón Rodríguez (Gang Related) as the male lead in Hulu’s drama pilot based on the novel by Xochitl Gonzalez. Both Rodriguez and Plaza will also serve as producers on the project.

Written by Gonzalez and to be directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl), Olga Dies Dreaming is the story of a Nuyorican brother and sister from a gentrifying Sunset Park in Brooklyn who are dealing with an absentee, politically radical mother and their glittering careers among New York City’s elite in the wake of Hurricane Maria.

Plaza’s Olga Acevedo is a renowned wedding planner with a dark interior. For Olga, the pursuit of perfection has become a “compulsive survival mechanism as she tries to climb as far from her past as she can.” Despite her success, Olga feels that the important people around her don’t deem her as an equal and is always wanting more. 

Rodríguez’s Prieto is Olga’s (Plaza) older brother and is a popular congressman who wears his Puerto Rican pride like a badge of honor. He grew up playing a part: the cheerful, overachieving, involuntary patriarch of a broken home. He’s lonely and tired but wakes up every morning wholly prepared to be the fixer, continuing to present this facade to his constituents and his opponents alike.

Gomez-Rejon partnered with Gonzalez after reading her novel in manuscript form. Together, they developed the series from the ground up and will exec-produce the pilot. 20th Television is the studio.

Plaza will be seen starring in Guy Ritchie’s untitled thriller opposite Jason Statham and Best Sellers opposite Michael Caine. On TV, Plaza most recently starred in Noah Hawley’s FX series Legion. She is repped by MGMT, CAA and Schreck Rose Dapello.

Rodríguez recently wrapped filming the horror pic Lullaby from Annabelle director John R. Leonetti. He starred in Disney’s The One and Only Ivan alongside Bryan Cranston. Rodríguez is repped by Silver Lining Entertainment and UTA.

Aaron Diaz & Ana Brenda Contreras to Star in Series Toda La Sangre for Pantaya

Aaron Diaz (Quantico) and Ana Brenda Contreras (Dynasty) are set to star in the Mexican crime thriller series Toda La Sangre for Pantaya, Starzplay, Spiral International and Fremantle Mexico.

Produced by Fremantle Mexico and directed by Luis Prieto and Hari Sama, the series is based on the best-selling novels by Mexican author Bernardo Esquinca.

Diaz will play the role of Eugenio Casasola, a journalist who joins forces with Lieutenant Edith Mondragon, played by Contreras, in a quest to uncover the truth behind a series of murders that resemble Aztec sacrifices in modern-day Mexico City.

Prieto’s previous work includes Kidnap, White Lines and Pusher while Sama is best known for the movie This Is Not Berlin.

The ten-episode series is developed and produced by showrunner and exec-producer Zasha Robles from Spiral International, the creator behind the Emmy-winning series Falco.

“We are extremely lucky to be working with such talented creators, Luis Prieto, Hari Sama, Aaron Diaz and Ana Brenda Contreras, as well as the production team behind Fremantle Mexico, who together are the dream team in the creation of our Aztec thriller – Toda la Sangre,” Robles stated.

“Toda La Sangre is an atmospheric premium series that explores Mexico’s complex cultural heritage through unforgettable images and characters,” added Mario Almeida, head of content for Pantaya. “We are extremely proud of the team Zasha has assembled to bring Toda La Sangre to life, with A-list talent both behind and in front of the camera.”

Coty Cagliolo, Head of Production, Fremantle Mexico, added: “Bernardo Esquinca’s work is loved and admired all over the world, so we are excited to bring Toda La Sangre to life, a truly gripping series with a stellar cast both in front and behind the camera. Set against the iconic backdrop of Mexico City, Toda La Sangre is a crime thriller like no other, a race to catch a serial killer before they strike again, and where ancient worlds and present-day collide with devastating consequences.” 

Diaz is represented by Innovative Artists Agency and the Make Good Group. Ana Brenda Contreras is represented by 3 Management.

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The half-hour series is created and written by Darcy Fowler (Nightmare Time), Seth Kirschner (30 Rock) and Kieran Valla (Stop the Bleeding!), and features Danny DeVito (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), and Lucy DeVito (Deadbeat) and Plaza (Safety Not Guaranteed) among the voice talents. 

Plaza plays a mother who was impregnated by the Devil (Danny DeVito) who attempts to live a normal life with her teen Antichrist daughter (Lucy DeVito) in Delaware. The mother and daughter’s efforts for normalcy are foiled by monstrous forces, including Satan himself, who yearns for custody of his daughter’s soul.  

“Little Demon is a hilarious new animated horror-comedy featuring Danny DeVito, Aubrey Plaza, Lucy DeVito and a host of other great talent,” says Nick Grad, president of original programming for FX Entertainment, who describes the animated project as “unique.” FXX is a cable channel of the Disney-owned FX Networks that caters to a young adult audience.

Serving along with Plaza as executive producers are Fowler, Kirschner, Valla, Dan Harmon, as well as Monica Mitchell, Corey Campodonico and Alex Bulkley of ShadowMachine. Also executive producing will be three members of the DeVito family, father Danny and his two children Lucy and Jake DeVito, who lead the Los Angeles-based company Jersey Films 2nd Avenue.

Plaza is best known for her role in the TV series Parks and Recreation which won a Peabody Award in 2011. The actress of Puerto Rican descent has earned accolades for her work in mainly independent movies doing both dramatic and comedic roles to critical acclaim. Earlier this year she received the the Hollywood Critics Association’s Acting Achievement Award for her performance in the experimental dramedy Black Bear. 

Three years ago, Plaza won the Film Independent Spirit Award for best feature for Ingrid Goes West, a film she starred in and co-produced. In 2012, the comedienne landed her first starring role in the comedy Safety Not Guaranteed, for which she received the Young Hollywood Award for breakthrough performance by an actress and the American Latino Media Arts (ALMA) Award for favorite movie actress in a comedy.

Little Demon is produced by FX Productions. Steve Levy serves as a producer on the project.

Plaza is represented by CAA.

Fowler is represented by Manage-ment, Feig Law, Dani Super Management and UTA.

Kirschner is represented by Manage-ment and Feig Law.

Valla is represented by Anonymous Content and The Nord Group.

Jersey Films 2nd Avenue, Danny DeVito and Jake DeVito are represented by CAA and Behr Abramson Levy LLP.

Lucy DeVito is represented by Talentworks and Gallant Management.

Harmon is represented by CAA. 

ShadowMachine is represented by CAA.

Featured Photo: Aubrey Plaza. Credit: NBC/Justin Lubin

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Funny actress Plaza (Parks and Recreation, Black Bear) stars opposite action star Jason Statham (Crank) in the humorous spy flick, which is currently shooting on location in Qatar, Turkey, and other world spots.

The film is about MI6 agent Orson Fortune (Statham) recruited by a global intelligence alliance to track down and stop the sale of  deadly weapons technology that threatens the world order. Against his wishes, the agent is paired with CIA high-tech expert Sarah Fidel (Plaza) to go on a globe-trotting mission. Fortune will have to use his charm, ingenuity, and stealthiness to infiltrate billionaire arms dealer Greg Simmonds.

The cast includes Josh Hartnett (Lucky Number Slevin), Hugh Grant (Love Actually), Cary Elwes (Saw), and Bugzy Malone (The Gentlemen). 

Ritchie is also exec producing the film which is based on a screenplay by Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies. Both writers previously worked with the director in the international blockbuster The Gentlemen and the recently wrapped-up action thriller Wrath of Man. Atkinson and Statham also produce along with Bill Block (District 9).

Plaza is best known for her role in the TV series Parks and Recreation which won a Peabody Award in 2011. In 2014 the half-Puerto Rican star proclaimed to Latina Magazine that she is “Boricua pa’que lo sepas!” 

The role in Five Eyes may be her biggest on the big screen to date. 

She has earned accolades for her work in mainly independent movies doing both dramatic and comedic roles to critical acclaim. Most recently the Hollywood Critics Association announced that she will be recognized with the Acting Achievement Award for her performance in the experimental dramedy Black Bear. 

Three years ago, Plaza won the Film Independent Spirit Award for best feature for Ingrid Goes West, a film she starred and produced along with Matt Spicer, Jared Goldman, Adam Mirels, and Robert Mirels. And In 2012, she landed her first starring role alongside Mark Duplass, in the comedy, Safety Not Guaranteed, for which she received the Young Hollywood Award for breakthrough performance by an actress and the American Latino Media Arts (ALMA) Award for favorite movie actress in a comedy.

Five Eyes can potentially raise the comedienne-turn-actress Plaza’s boxoffice standing worldwide. Although a budget is yet to be disclosed, the Miramax production is expected to cost millions. As a point of reference, Ritchie’s 2019 The Gentlemen for STX Films cost $ 22 million and made more than $115 million globally.

Ritchie recently posted an Instagram video showing Five Eyes cast and crew at work in Turkey, with Plaza walking alongside Statham in scenes. The director and crew members wear facemasks for the coronavirus pandemic.

Five Eyes is financed by Miramax and will be distributed by STX. 

Here is a sneak peek of the film on director Guy Ritchie’s Instagram:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Guy Ritchie (@guyritchie)

Featured Photo: NBC/NBCU

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