At a recent Zoom television press conference to discuss the upcoming 10-part Hulu series, Only Murders in the Building, Selena Gomez was asked if she was excited to team up with such brilliant comedic legends as Steve Martin and Martin Short. Gomez stared blankly and replied, “I had no idea who they were.”

As Martin and Short nodded solemnly in agreement, Gomez smiled broadly. “I’m kidding. Of course, I was so excited. I was very nervous, to be honest, I didn’t know what to expect. Sometimes I find that comedy people can sometimes be a little bit distant, so I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. And now I have these two crazy uncles in my life that basically give me boy advice and I sing rap songs to them.”

Martin nods again, “Naughty rap songs, I have to add.”

Short interjects, “And I think that, for me, what I love about the end-product of the show are the three different energies of the actors. I kind of play it very real. Steve goes way over the top. And Selena grounds everything in this kind of dry, hilarious delivery. And the combination, I think, is perfect. It was a dream to work with this brilliant, young lady.”

It is easy to understand Gomez’s original nervousness about working with two such established comedy pros. She readily admits she was launched into show business at too young an age. “I was a kid. I was just riding around on set.”  

Born and raised in Texas, Gomez began her career at age 10, appearing on the children’s television series, Barney & Friends (2002–2004). In her teens, she rose to prominence for her role as Alex Russo in the Disney Channel series, Wizards of Waverly Place (2007–2012).

“I signed my life away to Disney at a very young age,’ says Gomez. “So, I didn’t know exactly what I was doing.” Whatever Gomez was doing, it was working. Following her turn on Waverly Place, she starred in ten films and released three albums with her former band. As of 2017, Gomez had sold over seven million albums and 22 million singles worldwide.

“Now, working with Steve and Martin and this whole crew has been a much different experience,” says Gomez. “The level of sophistication of the material is the reason why I first wanted to do this. I feel like a sponge, and I soak up all the wisdom that I can. It’s really nice to be back on TV and it’s nice to be cast as my actual age, which never happens.”

Gomez plays Mable Mora, a resident in an upscale West Side Manhattan apartment, who becomes allies with two strangers, fellow apartment residents Charles (Martin) and Oliver (Short). The three share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves involved in one when a grisly murder occurs inside their apartment building. The series was created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman. Martin, Short and Gomez all serve as Executive Producers on the project.

“I haven’t done a television series since The Wizards of Waverly Place,” said Gomez. “It has been a while, but how Steve and Martin lead a set is so commendable. They are so humble and kind. They are there till the very end and they’ve set such an example for me. I love the way they talk to people. I love the way that they just come to set and make everybody feel good and that makes me want to be like that and do that more. I’m just so lucky. I just sit down and laugh all day.”

One of the things that all three stars had to adjust to was shooting on the streets of New York with a constant swarm of paparazzi photographers taking pictures. “Yeah,” said Martin. “I mean, Marty and I can barely walk down the street, the paparazzi were so crazy. We actually had to throw Selena out there so we could get to our trailers.

“That’s right, said Short. “And for some reason, the paparazzi stayed with her and we got away.”

“Our plan worked,” quipped Martin. “I don’t know why.”

Short added, “We even turned to the paparazzi and said, ‘We’re leaving!’ They didn’t seem to care.”

Gomez smiled at this interplay between Martin and Short.  She then added, “What I think is really special is that Steve Martin and Martin Short have a sense of humor that doesn’t exist anymore. I love that their humor is not typical, like, crass, or kind of dark. It’s very light, and I think for me, that was something that I really appreciated. But I have to be honest, I don’t know if I’m a good actor. I just do my job. And I just really hope that I can live up to these incredible people. I learned a lot from the first episode to the end. I even made a joke to John (Hoffman) that I now wish I could redo the entire first episode, because of how much I had developed by the end of the shoot.”

Martin concludes the interview session with, “I believe when Selena’s on screen, the show is suddenly elevated. It’s more mysterious, it’s more interesting. There’s an old cliché, the camera loves her. And I would say the camera likes me, and it’s fine with Marty.”Only Murders in the Building debuts on August 31 on Hulu.

Featured Photo: (Credit: Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu)

The post Selena Gomez Returns to TV With Hulu’s ‘Only Murders in the Building’ first appeared on .

The upcoming luchador superhero series from Disney has a new title and actor J.R. Villarreal as a new co-lead after the previous star was abruptly dropped.

Villareal (Akeela and the Bee) will play Cruz De La Vega, a luchador wrestling coach with the secret superhero identity Black Scorpion in Disney Channel’s new live-action comedy series Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion. The other name in the title refers to character Violet Rodriguez, a teenager chosen by a magical luchador mask to be a superhero, just like her uncle De La Vega. Rodriguez/Ultra Violet is played by Scarlett Estevez (Bunk’d). 

De La Vega replaces Blue Demon Jr., a famous Mexican wrestler. While Disney did not explain the change, media outlets have reported the ousted luchador was accused of domestic violence just months after the series had cast him in the superhero role early in the year. The show was originally titled Ultra Violet & Blue Demon. The luchador was also dropped as an executive producer.

According to the newspaper El Heraldo de Mexico, Blue Demon Jr.’s wife Mónica Carrillo publicly accused the wrestler of spousal abuse over two decades of marriage. The publication reported Carrillo filed a complaint with authorities. The woman also said she received death threats after going public with her story on the YouTube show No Chisme Like, the newspaper reported.

The “luchador enmascarado” also got involved in politics after being cast in Ultra Violet & Blue Demon Jr. He was also reportedly running for a mayoral seat in one of Mexico City’s 16 municipalities.  

Villarreal is a budding Texas-born actor best known for his role as Javier Mendez in the 2006 family/school drama Akeelah and the Bee, starring alongside KeKe Palmer and Angela Bassett. He was later featured in the Millennium Film action-drama Bobby Z along with Paul Walker and Laurence Fishburne. His credits include indie drama Magic City Memoirs, executive produced by Academy Award-nominated actor Andy Garcia, and Paramount’s comedy Ghost Team One. Other credits include guest appearances on FX’s The Bridge, Fox’s House M.D., Lifetime’s Strong Medicine and CBS’s Ghost Whisperer as well as mainstream series like Cold Case, Without a Trace and CSI: Miami.

Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion also star Marianna Burelli (Paramedicos) as Violet’s mother, Nina; Juan Alfonso (American Princess) as Violet’s father, Juan Carlos; Brandon Rossel (Fast Layne) as Violet’s brother, Santiago; Zelia Ankrum (Les Moore) as Violet’s best friend, Maya Miller-Martinez; and Bryan Blanco (Screwball) as Violet’s classmate, Luis León.

The series also names two new executive producers, Eric Garcia and Leo Chu, who also serve as showrunners. Also executive producing is Joe Nussbaum in addition to previously confirmed Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit, a pair that collaborated in Pokémon Detective Pikachu.

Featured Photo: Disney’s ‘Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion’ stars Scarlett Estevez as Violet Rodriguez and J.R. Villarreal as Cruz De La Vega. (Credit: Disney/Brian Roedel)

The post J.R. Villarreal Cast in Disney’s ‘Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion’ first appeared on .

Disney Channel, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company, has promoted eleven talented executives and staffers to SVP (Senior Vice President) and VP (Vice President) positions, after a significant surge in programming content for all its various channels (including Disney Junior and Disney XD) and streaming service Disney+. Among these Disney promotions include Rafael Garcia, from Executive Developer, Original Series Development, to Vice President, Original Series Development. 

Before Disney, Garcia had worked and expanded his creative skills with two other major names in family, child and adolescent television entertainment, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. During his time with Nickelodeon (2008-2013), as Director, Executive in Charge, Original Series, Garcia developed and supervised the production of animated Pelswick and oversaw live action comedy The Nick Cannon Show programs.  With Cartoon Network (2008-2012) as Director of Original Series, Garcia continued to develop his skills as executive producer for a variety of live action programming including comedies, game shows, docu-series and reality (Dude, What Would Happen) shows.

With the growth of the Latino consumption of Disney media and the financial success Disney has had with Latino orientated and Latino starring content (Elena of Avalor, Wizards of Waverly Place and Coco), Garcia’s promotion is essential to the growth of Disney’s Latino audience. By having a talented and experienced Latino in an influential position of creating original content, it increases positive and accurate Latino participation in Disney’s content both behind and in front of the camera.

From 2012-2014, Garcia began with Disney as Director, Current Series (Disney ABC Television Group and Disney XD) overseeing all phases of the production of multiple programs (Lab Rats). Later (2014-March 2020), Garcia was promoted to Executive Director, Original Series Development (Disney ABC Television Group, Disney Channel and Disney XD). He oversaw the forming and production of several original live-action series (Gamer’s Guide to Pretty Much Everything) on various platforms.

In his new role Garcia will be responsible for developing live-action series, with an emphasis on finding emerging content creators, for both Disney Channels and Disney+.

Outside of Disney, Garcia has been a board member of Colour Entertainment Groups since 2014. A non-profit, which is, a non-profit, which is, dedicated to maximizing the potential of executives of color who work in the entertainment industry.

Congratulations, Rafael Garcia.

The post Rafael Garcia, Disney’s Newest VP of Original Series Development first appeared on .