Oscar-winner Bardem recently joined a protest in front of the Russian Embassy in Madrid soon after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized the invasion of Ukraine.

“I am here to demonstrate my condemnation of the Russian Federation’s warlike actions against Ukraine,” he told the news agency Reuters at the demonstration where about a hundred people, many bearing Ukraine’s blue and yellow flag, had gathered. A video showed the 52-year-old actor wearing a black mask and hoodie and chatting with people at the rally. 

“It is an invasion… It violates Ukraine’s fundamental right to territorial sovereignty, international law, and many other things,” told Bardem to a reporter, adding he was concerned about a possible refugee wave of Ukrainian fleeing war and looking for safety abroad. A week later, the actor’s worries proved prescient. Media reports say that more than 840,000 Ukrainians, including many women and children, have crossed into Poland and other neighboring countries. An order from the Ukrainian government prohibits men 18 to 60 years of age from leaving the country in order to help fight the Russian invasion.

Bardem is among Spain’s most famous artists. He has been nominated four times for the Oscars, winning for best supporting actor in 2008 for his role in No Country for Old Men. This year he competes in the best actor category for his portrayal of  Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz in the biopic Being the Ricardos. 

The Spanish star has also advocated for other causes like climate justice and the protection of Palestinian civilians in the Israeli-Occupied Territories during armed conflicts.

Shakira is another artist expressing concerns about Russia’s war against Ukraine, especially its impact on the most vulnerable. A few days ago, she retweeted a UNICEF post saying, “The children of Ukraine need peace, NOW.” The Grammy winner has also supported other causes, like children’s education through her own nonprofit, Fundación Pies Descalzos. On Feb. 15, she celebrated International Childhood Cancer Day by posting a video of children completing their chemotherapy. 

Chef Jose Andres, who has ventured into filmmaking as an executive producer of several documentaries, tweeted a video informing that his nonprofit World Central Kitchen was ready to serve food to Ukrainians leaving their homeland, which is under attack by the Russian military. Tweeting from Poland, he asked for donations to help feed the new refugees. He said, “People of the World…Like you, I am distraught watching Ukraine under attack. We must come together as a force for good! @WCKitchen is on Poland border delivering meals tonight—Romania soon. In addition to your donations…I am committing support from the Bezos award to Ukraine.”

Last year, Andrés received a $100 million grant from Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos for the Spanish chef’s humanitarian work.

People of the World…Like you, I am distraught watching Ukraine under attack. We must come together as a force for good! @WCKitchen is on Poland border delivering meals tonight—Romania soon. In addition to your donations…I am committing support from the Bezos award to Ukraine.?? pic.twitter.com/ws0EFl8zLd

— José Andrés (@chefjoseandres) February 25, 2022

The world-famous chef has executive produced TV specials and series docs, including What’s Eating America, Who’s Feeding America?, Diana Kennedy: Nothing Fancy, Undiscovered Haiti with José Andrés and Made in Spain.

Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. More than 2,000 Ukrainian civilians have so far been killed during Russia’s ongoing invasion, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service. A U.N. agency anticipates the number of Ukrainian refugees could soon surpass 1 million.

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This morning’s Oscar nomination for Javier Bardem for Best Actor for his role as Desi Arnaz makes it the fourth time he has been singled out for his work by the Academy of Motion Pictures members. In 2008 he took home the Best Supporting Oscar for his portrayal of the psychopathic assassin Anton Chigurh in the Coen Brothers’ No Country for Old Men.

This year he joins Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Benedict Cumberbatch and Andrew Garfield, all competing in the Best Supporting Actor category. 

The nomination comes for his portrayal of Desi Arnaz, the Cuban half of one of the most successful TV couples—and in real life—who starred and produced I Love Lucy for six seasons on CBS. It is the story of TV’s golden-age and best-loved couple, still to this date. 

“To embody Desi Arnaz’s spirit was a privilege and an honor and to be connected to his energy and legacy is something I will never forget,” said Bardem upon hearing of his nomination.  “Thank you to his family for trusting me with the responsibility of bringing this larger-than-life entertainer and entrepreneur to screen.”

This nomination comes on the heels of a very public discussion by some U.S. Latinos objecting to Bardem playing Arnaz because he is a European “White” and not a “person of color.” Bardem’s response to this was short and succinct. “I’m an actor, and that’s what I do for a living: try to be people that I’m not,” he said in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

Obviously, the nominating membership of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences who do the actual nominating focused on the execution of the role and not the controversy.

Bardem thanked Sorkin for the “beautiful” script and his direction. And of course, he took the opportunity to congratulate his wife Penelope Cruz for her nomination as Best Actress in Parallel Mothers.  Cruz previously won the Best Actress golden statue for her role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona and has two other Best Supporting Actress nominations, for Volver in 2006 and Nina in 2009. 

Bardem and Cruz join the list of six other married actor couples to be nominated for an Oscar in the same year, one other couple was Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

The Oscars air live on Sunday, March 27 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ABC.

The post ‘Becoming The Ricardos’ Marks Javier Bardem’s 4th Oscar Nom With One Win  first appeared on .

The film is directed by Fernando León de Aranoa, who also wrote the script. The executive producers are Pilar de Heras, Laura Fernández Espeso, Eva Garrido, Javier Méndez and Patricia de Muns, with Marisa Fernández Armenteros and Carles Montiel as co-executive producers. Also, Jaume Roures serves as a producer.

In addition to Bardem, the cast features Manolo Solo, Almudena Amor, Óscar De La Fuente, Sonia Almarcha, Fernando Albizu, Tarik Rmili, Rafa Castejón, Celso Bugallo, Martín Páez, Yael Belicha and Mara Guil.

The Good Boss premiered at the San Sebastián International Film Festival Sept. 21 and in Spain Oct. 15. In the United States, the film played at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.

Cohen Media Group owns U.S. rights.

The film was nominated to 20 Goyas, the Spanish equivalent of the Oscars.

Featured Photo: ‘El Buen Patrón‘ (Photo: Courtesy)

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Netflix’s tick, tick…BOOM! and 20th Century Fox’s West Side Story, directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Steven Spielberg, respectively, vie for the honor in two categories, Best Picture Drama and Best Picture-Musical/Comedy. tick, tick…BOOM!, a semi-biographical musical drama about a relatively young promising theater composer navigating romance, friendship and life’s challenges in New York City, marked the directorial debut of Miranda, the creator of the acclaimed stage musical Hamilton.

On the other hand, Spielberg’s new version of West Side Story features a sizable Latino cast portraying the musical film’s Puerto Rican characters–a welcome correction of the original 1961 movie. In fact, the 2021 film female lead, Zegler in the role of Maria, is also nominated for a Golden Globe in the Best Actress-Motion Picture-Musical/Comedy category. A newcomer to Hollywood, Zegler competes against established stars Marion Cotillard (Annette), Jennifer Lawrence (Don’t Look Up) and Emma Stone (Cruella) and the also newcomer Alana Haim (Licorice Pizza).

In both the Best Picture Drama and Best Picture-Musical/Comedy categories, tick, tick…BOOM! and West Side Story face Cyrano, Don’t Look Up and Licorice Pizza. 

Spanish actor Bardem is among the five candidates vying for the award for Best Actor-Motion Picture Drama for his role in the Amazon Original Movie Being the Ricardos, the Aaron Sorkin drama about the Hollywood power couple Dezi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. Bardem, a Golden Globe and Oscar winner, faces Mahershala Ali (Swan Song), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog), Will Smith (King Richard) and Denzel Washington (The Tragedy of Macbeth). As a side note, Being the Ricardos also won Sorkin a nod for Best Screenplay-Motion Picture and a nom for Nicole Kidman for Best Actress-Motion Picture for her lead as Ball.

With Latinos shining in two film adaptations of Broadway musicals, it isn’t surprising to see other Latinos competing in additional Golden Globe categories. 

Ramos is a nominee for In the Heights in Best Actor-Motion Picture-Musical/Comedy. Set in New York’s largely Dominican community of Washington Heights, the musical is written by Quiara Alegría Hudes and Miranda and directed by Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians). Ramos’s competition includes Leonardo DiCaprio (Don’t Look Up), Peter Dinklage (Cyrano), Andrew Garfield (tick, tick…BOOM!), and Cooper Hoffman (Licorice Pizza).

For her part, Ariana DeBose is a candidate in Best Supporting Actress-Motion Picture for her role of Anita in West Side Story–that’s the role played by Rita Moreno in the 1961 musical feature that won her both a Golden Globe and an Oscar. The other candidates in DeBose’s category are Caitriona Balfe (Belfast), Kirsten Dunst (The Power of the Dog), Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard) and Ruth Negga (Passing).

Another two Latino actors vying for Golden Globes are Oscar Issac and Michaela Jaé Rodriguez.

Issac is nominated for Best Actor-Television Motion Picture for his role in HBO Max’s Scenes From a Marriage while Rodriguez got a nod for Best Television Actress-Drama Series for her role in FX’s Pose.

Two films with Latino connections compete in the Best Picture-Animated category. Disney’s Encanto is set in a fantastical Colombia and stars Stephanie Beatriz, María Cecilia Botero and John Leguizamo. The movie is directed by Jared Bush, Byron Howard and Charise Castro Smith, all of whom also share writing credits. The other film, Raya and the Last Dragon, is helmed by Mexican director Carlos López Estrada along with Don Hall and Paul Briggs. 

In the category of Best Picture-Non-English Language, the Spanish film Madres Paralelas by Pedro Almodóvar faces Compartment No. 6, a co-production of Germany, Russia and Finland; Drive My Car from Japan; The Hand of God, from Italy; and A Hero, a co-production of Iran and France. This is Almodóvar’s 11th Golden Globe nomination, winning on two occasions–for Pain and Glory in 2019 and All About My Mother in 1999.

Both Encanto and Madres Paralelas also earned a nomination for their respective film composers, Texas’ Germaine Franco and Spain’s Alberto Iglesias. Additionally, Encanto’s theme song “Dos Oruguitas” got a nod for Best Song Motion Picture. “Dos Oruguitas” is written by Miranda and performed by Colombian singer Sebastián Yatra.

The Golden Globes are presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The 79th awards ceremony will be held Jan. 9.

(See complete list of nominees below the video)

Featured Photos: Javier Bardem (Photo: Carlos Delgado/Wikipedia), Rachel Zegler (Photo: Courtesy, self), Anthony Ramos (Photo: Courtesy, self)

GOLDEN GLOBES 2022
Complete list of nominees

Best Picture Drama
CyranoDon’t Look Up
Licorice Pizza
tick, tick…BOOM!
West Side Story

Best Picture – Musical/Comedy
Cyrano
Don’t Look Up
Licorice Pizza
tick, tick…BOOM!
West Side Story 

Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter
Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos
Lady Gaga, House of Gucci
Kristen Stewart, Spencer

Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Mahershala Ali, Swan Song
Javier Bardem, Being the Ricardos
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog 
Will Smith, King Richard
Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth

Best Actress – Motion Picture – Musical/Comedy
Marion Cotillard, Annette
Alana Haim, Licorice Pizza
Jennifer Lawrence, Don’t Look Up
Emma Stone, Cruella
Rachel Zegler, West Side Story

Best Actor – Motion Picture – Musical/Comedy
Leonardo DiCaprio, Don’t Look Up
Peter Dinklage, Cyrano
Andrew Garfield, tick, tick…BOOM!
Cooper Hoffman, Licorice Pizza
Anthony Ramos, In the Heights

Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
Caitriona Balfe, Belfast
Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog
Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard
Ruth Negga, Passing

Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
Ben Affleck, The Tender Bar
Jamie Dornan, Belfast
Ciarán Hinds, Belfast
Troy Kotsur, CODA
Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog

Best Director Motion Picture
Kenneth Branagh, Belfast
Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter
Steven Spielberg, West Side Story 
Denis Villeneuve, Dune

Best Screenplay Motion Picture
Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza
Kenneth Branagh, Belfast
Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog 
Adam McKay, Don’t Look Up
Aaron Sorkin, Being the Ricardos

Best Picture – Animated
Encanto 
Flee
Luca
My Sunny Maad
Raya and the Last Dragon

Best Picture – Non-English Language (formerly Foreign Language)
Compartment No. 6, Germany, Russia and Finland
Drive My Car, Japan
The Hand of God, Italy
A Hero, Iran and France
Parallel Mothers, Spain

Best Score Motion Picture
Alexandre Desplat, The French Dispatch
Germaine Franco, Encanto
Jonny Greenwood, The Power of the Dog
Alberto Iglesias, Parallel Mothers
Hans Zimmer, Dune

Best Song Motion Picture
King Richard, “Be Alive”
Encanto, “Dos Oruguitas”
Belfast, “Down to Joy”
Respect, “Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)”
No Time To Die, “No Time To Die”

Best Drama Series
Lupin
The Morning Show
Pose
Squid Game
Succession

Best Musical/Comedy Series
The Great
Hacks
Only Murders in the Building
Reservation Dogs
Ted Lasso

Best Television Motion Picture
Dopesick
Impeachment: American Crime Story
Maid
Mare of Easttown
The Underground Railroad

Best Actress – Television Motion Picture
Jessica Chastain, Scenes from a Marriage 
Cynthia Erivo, Genius: Aretha
Elizabeth Olsen, Wandavision
Margaret Qualley, Maid
Kate Winslet, Mare of Easttown

Best Actor – Television Motion Picture
Paul Bettany, Wandavision
Oscar Isaac, Scenes from a Marriage 
Michael Keaton, Dopesick
Ewan McGregor, Halston
Tahar Rahim, The Serpent

Best Television Actress – Drama Series
Uzo Aduba, In Treatment
Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
Christine Baranski, The Good Fight
Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale
Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Pose

Best Television Actor – Drama Series
Brian Cox, Succession
Lee Jung-jae, Squid Game
Billy Porter, Pose
Jeremy Strong, Succession
Omar Sy, Lupin

Best Television Actress – Musical/Comedy Series
Hannah Einbinder, Hacks
Elle Fanning, The Great 
Issa Rae, Insecure
Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish
Jean Smart, Hacks

Best Television Actor – Musical/Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Nicholas Hoult, The Great
Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building
Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building
Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso

Best Supporting Actress – Television
Jennifer Coolidge, The White Lotus 
Kaitlyn Dever, Dopesick
Andie MacDowell, Maid
Sarah Snook, Succession
Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso

Best Supporting Actor – Television
Billy Crudup, The Morning Show 
Kieran Culkin, Succession
Mark Duplass, The Morning Show 
Brett Goldstein, Ted Lasso
O Yeong-su, Squid Game

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Amazon Studios has dropped the full trailer of the highly anticipated Being the Ricardos, the movie about Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball starring Academy Award-winners Javier Bardem and Nicole Kidman.

The feature takes place in of a week on their hit show I Love Lucy on a soundstage. It digs deep into the couple’s complex romantic and professional relationship, with flashbacks during one critical production week of the show. The famous Hollywood power couple, Desi a creative production innovator, and she the redhead comedienne whose antics had audiences tuning in to the tune of 11 million viewers a week. This duo are one of the most beloved and legendary family ever created for television audiences. I Love Lucy was the total creation of Arnaz and Ball.

Being the Ricardos is executive produced by the two children of Ball and Arnaz, Desi Arnaz Jr. and Lucie Arnaz.

The film is directed by Oscar-winner Aaron Sorkin, who also wrote the script. Also starring in the film are J. K. Simmons, Nina Arianda, Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, Jake Lacy, Clark Gregg, Nelson Franklin, John Rubinstein, Linda Lavin, Robert Pine and Christopher Denham.

Sorkin defends dismisses criticism of his casting of a Spaniard in the role of Cuban-born Arnaz, telling The Hollywood Reporter, “As far as audience anticipation, that’s something I’m just not worried about,” adding, “I want to tell you my opinion on this and I stand by it, which is this: Spanish and Cuban aren’t actable, OK? They’re not actable”. 

The much-anticipated film millions of fans of these two iconic personalities Lucy and Desi will open in theaters Dec. 10 and start streaming on Amazon Prime Dec. 21.

Featured Photo: Being the Ricardos (Credit: Amazon Studios)

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A very busy week for Latinos in Hollywood.  From film premieres to castings, distribution news and award recognition. However, the top story goes to Gina Rodriguez.  This powerhouse actress, producer and outspoken advocate for Latinos in Hollywood is killing it.

Gina Rodriguez Owns This Week’s News

Coming off the premiere of her animated Netflix TV Show Carmen SanDiego (where she voices the title character) last week, this week is all about Gina Rodriguez playing a badass in Miss Bala which premieres today.  

There is only one new film release going wide this weekend due to the Superbowl and that is Miss Bala.  The preview screenings on Thursday brought in $650,000 at the box office with critics agreeing that Gina has a future as an action hero!

The unity that the famous 2017 Power Brunch organized by Gina and America Ferrera instigated was still evident as Latinas came out to support Gina at the L.A. the red carpet premiere of Miss Bala. In Attendance were America Ferrera, Eva Longoria, Gina Torres, Rosario Dawson, Wilmer Valderrama, casting director Blanca Valdez and so many more.

Gina made more news this week with the buzz around the Jane the Virgin Spinoff from the CW that she will narrate and produce; the Carmen SanDiego live action feature she is woking on; and her new film she is set to star in for Warner Bros., Bobbie Sue.

So for all you action hero film fans, Miss Bala is about a badass woman – in this case a Latina, go see it. Then make sure to go to Rotten Tomatoes and let them know how you liked it! #WomenActionHeroes, #BadassWomenUnite #LatinaBadass #MakeBoxofficeNews

Vergara Ventures off to The Big Screen

According to a Deadline, Sofia Vergara will not only be producing an upcoming untitled “female ensemble comedy with action” film with Original Film but she will also be producting.  Baywatch and Last Vegas writing duo Kyle Pennekamp & Scott Turpel will write

Dune A-Listers

Hunky Oscar Isaac (Star Trek) and Javier Bardem (Loving Pablo) will be joining director Denis Villeneuve in the adaptation of the 1965 Frank Herbert classic novel Dune.  Isaac will play Duke Leto Atreides, Timothee Chalamet dad in the film and Bardem will play Stilgar, the leader of planet’s nomadic tribes known as Fremen.

Dune is a sci-fi literary classic.  It tells the story of a fallen noble family’s attempt to control a desert planet named Arrakis.  Latinos into the sci-fi future!

Bryana Salaz to Star in Team Kaylie

Actress/Singer Bryana Salaz will be starring in the live-action comedy series Team Kaylie for Netflix. Salaz will play a selfie obsessed celebrity who assigned to community service, Created by Emmy-winning producer Tracy Bitterolf (Emma Approved).

Known to The Voice audiences for her appearance on NBC’s reality TV singing competition for season 7 in 2014.  Since then she has been cast in a pilot (Urban Cowboy) starred in Best Friends Forever for Disney and several other TV show and a few independent films.  You will be hearing more about her, so stay tuned!

Congrats to…

…Red Hot Busy Showrunner of Starz drama Vida, Tanya Saracho who was honored at the Final Draft Screening Awards this week. Here she is flanked by members of her cast and creatives on the red carpet. Gloria Calderon Kellett (another awesome talented showrunner (Netflix’s One Day at a Time) presented her with the award.

But wait there is more. Both of these talented showrunners, Saracho (Vida)  and Calderon Kellett (One Day at a Time), have been nominated for their respective for a GLAAD Award this week! This, just the latest in accolades they have received.

Chisme

Off of social media… @TanyaSaracho gave us an early glimpse of what she has cooking

Tanya Tweet – Jan 16th “Aaww! I’m so happy you like it! My play Enfrascada is sort of the inspiration or jumping off point for my next (hopefully) series called Brujas!” 

Sounds great!  We will light the “velitas” and hope to see “Brujas” soon.

And congratulations to Sophia Santi, a character actress whose work encompasses both TV and film, for receiving the Best Performance award for her role in the short film Sin Cielo at the PA Indie Shorts Film Festival 2018.  Her performance of a strong matriarch dealing with the injustice brought upon the women in Juarez, Mexico was highlighted with this award.

More Castings

Rosario Dawson has joined the cast of Zombieland 2 which is the next installment of the post-apocalyptic zombie comedy from Sony.  She joined Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, and Emma Stone. Ruben Fleischer will be back to direct the sequel.

Corey Hawkins has been cast in the role of Benny in the Quiara Alegria Hudes and   Lin-Manuel Miranda in the feature adaptation of In The Heights a Warner Bros. Prod.  He joins Hamilton’s star Anthony Ramos who will be playing the lead role of Usnai; Rita Moreno (One Day at a Time) as Abuelita Claudia, Joseph Velez as Kevin Rosario (Stranger Things, Iron Man 3)  and Daymien Valentino (Billions)

Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) is set to direct; Anthony Bregman, Mara Jacobs, Scott Sanders and Miranda are producing. Marc Klein wrote the script, with musical book by Hudes.

Indie Film News

Congratulations Writer/Director Anthony Solorzano on the upcoming release of his film Varsity Punks on February 26th.  If you have followed his journey this coming of age film about high school kids, you know his hands approach in creating buzz, 4-walling this film — could only lead to a wider distribution.  Stay tune for the full story but meanwhile here is the trailer

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