In a career-defining role as Jenni rivera, Annie Gonzalez stars in the VIx biopic Jenni, which makes its premiere at the Newport Beach Film Festival on October 21, 2024.  Gonzalez’ career has been on a fast track since a little over a year ago when she starred in her first female lead role in Eva Longoria’s directorial debut of Flamin’ Hot.  Now Gonzalez takes another career leap, in her first title role where she not only stars in the title role, she is also executive producing!  

Jenni, is directed by Gigi Saul Guerrero (Bingo Hell) and is the life story about  “La Diva de la Banda” Jenni Rivera, the Mexican-American singer, songwriter, actress, producer, and entrepreneur who passed away in 2012. She was known for her work in the banda, mariachi, and norteño genres of regional Mexican music. Rivera was the most successful female artist in the male-dominated banda genre who also became a reality TV star (I Love Jenni), businesswoman, and activist. On a flight back home after a performance in Mexico, Rivera’s plane crashed.

The film will highlight Jenni Rivera’s resilience, her journey to stardom, and the personal battles that shaped her legacy. Gonzalez has expressed how deeply honored she feels to portray Rivera, calling her a “phenomenal survivor” who, despite facing adversity, never saw herself as a victim. She emphasized the importance of Rivera’s messages of feminism, civil rights, and empowerment, which resonate with women and Latinas everywhere.

The Rivera family has been actively involved in the film’s production. Jacqie Rivera, Jenni’s daughter and CEO of Jenni Rivera Enterprises, expressed excitement over the project, stating that her mother’s story will continue to inspire future generations. While it has been an emotional journey for the family to see their mother portrayed on screen by Gonzalez.

Although it has been more than a decade after her untimely death in 2012, Jenni Rivera’s fan base remains loyal.  Her life has also inspired her eldest daughter, Chiquis Rivera to pursue a career in banda music and continue the family legacy.   Chiquis has won two Latin Grammys for Best Banda Album for her 2020 album “Playlist”, being the first solo woman to win in this category. She also has a Latin Grammy for her album “Abeja Reina” in 2022. Her mother, Jenni would be proud.

Tickets for the screening of Jenni (you csn choose from Screening and After Party or just the Screening) at the Newport Beach Film Festival can be purchased HERE. For a discount courtesy of LATINAFest and the Newport Beach Film Festival use this code: Mexican2024

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By Xavier LeBlanc

The 2021 Latin Heat Rising Star Award recipient, Annie Gonzalez, is living up to that title as she has now officially been cast in the lead role of iconic Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera in the aptly titled film Jenni. The film is being directed by fellow Mexican actress and filmmaker Gigi Saul Guerrero, who is currently signed to a first-look deal with Blumhouse Productions. Jenni is the first feature film to be authorized by Rivera’s estate, and is being produced by Mucho Mas Media and De Line Pictures.

This will be Gonzalez second lead role in a feature film and she is doing it up in a big way. She will not only star in the title bio-pic she will also executive produce for Greenlit At Vix. Filming began in Bogota, Colombia and will wrap up in Los Angeles and is set to premiere exclusively via ViX and in select movie theaters in the United States and Mexico later this year.

Jenni will center on Rivera’s rise as a Spanish singer who successfully crossed over to U.S. and global audiences, as well as her work as a women’s rights activist. Rivera’s unprecedented, groundbreaking career as a female entertainer within an industry formerly dominated by men, made her one of the best-selling regional Mexican artists of all time. Rivera earned 15 gold and platinum selling records, top-drawing international tours and in 2012 she was named one of the top 25 most powerful women by People en Español. 

Gonzalez is a talented young Latina actress who first began her career as a child with appearances on shows such as ABC’s Without a Trace, and has rapidly established an impressive resume for herself in recent years. This includes her most notable breakout role on the 2020 Netflix series Gentefied, in which she played the character of Lidia Solis. The show’s themes revolved around gentrification, family and dreams of three Mexican-American cousins in the East L.A. As a Mexican-American woman herself, Gonzalez identifies as being proudly Chicana. 

Most recently, Gonzalez wrapped production on her starring role in the upcoming Searchlight Pictures film Flamin’ Hot as Judy Montañez, the wife of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos’ inventor Richard Montañez. The film, which also stars Jesse Garcia as the inventor, is being directed by the multi-talented Eva Longoria, who was recently signaled out by Variety as one of 20 Directors To Watch in 2023. Gonzalez previously credited Longoria and others for opening up doors for Chicanos in Hollywood, and is now primed to do so herself after landing such a coveted role in Jenni. 

Gonzalez’ work on Gentefied may have uniquely prepared her to take on the role of a legend like Rivera. In the past, Gonzalez described her role of Lidia Solis as “a woman anyone can relate to, who feels pain, has weaknesses, shows vulnerabilities, who has gone through so much and done a lot.” Her upcoming role as Rivera is likely to reflect many of those very same characteristics, and it shows that Gonzalez is very well suited to embody the fascinating traits that made Rivera a beloved figure around the world. 

Jenni is set to premiere on TelevisaUnivision’s premium streaming tier VIX+ and in select theaters throughout the U.S. and Mexico. A release date has not been announced yet for the highly anticipated biopic. Augusto Rovegno, the senior VP of acquisitions and SVOD programming at TelevisaUnivision was previously quoted as saying “This original film will celebrate her (Rivera’s) life and share how she inspired women and young generations in general to overcome obstacles and live their best lives.”

Gonzalez has always seen herself as a performer, and at an amazingly mere 7 years of age, imagined herself as an actress one day receiving prestigious Oscar and Tony Awards. She has openly expressed her desire to “demonstrate the full range of my acting chops”, and thanks to this groundbreaking new role she may very well be on her way to accomplishing all of this and more. The future is indeed bright for this gifted Chicana actress, and viewers everywhere are undoubtedly in for quite the treat when Gonzalez graces screens as the cultural and music icon that is Rivera. 

She is repped by Innovative Artists and Silver Lining Entertainment

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“They broke the mold and reinvented the rules, making millions of fans fall in love with them without having to change who they are,” said Rocio Guerrero, global head of Latin Music at Amazon Music.

Slated to tributes are new Amazon Originals from different genres, including a remake of the classic merengue hit “Suavemente” by legendary merenguero Elvis Crespo, out on October 21. Other Originals include a beautiful tribute to the one and only Jenni Rivera by Mexican music star Eden Muñoz, through his version of “Inolvidable,” out on September 23, and singer-songwriter and producer Cuco’s cover of the classic “Mi Querido, Mi Viejo, Mi Amigo” by beloved artist Roberto Carlos, to be released on October 7. Cuco’s song will be accompanied by a Hollywood-themed video shot by Mexican Academy Award-nominated director Carlos Lopez Estrada.

Amazon Music will also launch the The Game Changers playlist, featuring some of the greatest artists and songs that reshaped the music scene as we know it. These artists revolutionized the way music was consumed, expanding its reach globally and proving music is its own universal language. Artists featured include Daddy Yankee, who has the most-viewed music video in YouTube  history; Celia Cruz, known as “The Queen of Salsa,” who received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016 for her “outstanding artistic contributions to the field of recording;” Selena, whose album Dreaming of You was the fastest-selling album by a female artist in pop history per Billboard; Bad Bunny, the first artist to ever top the Billboard chart with a non-English album; and Romeo Santos, who holds four Guinness World Records. Other artists include: Ricky Martin, Jenni Rivera, Marc Anthony, Shakira, Aventura, Jennifer Lopez, Juanes, Carlos Vives, Roberto Carlos, Hector Lavoe, Luis Miguel, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Alejandro Sanz, Wisin & Yandel, Ivy Queen, Don Omar, Marco Antonio Solís, Juan Gabriel, and Vicente Fernández.

On October 5, Amazon Music will be premiering the podcast La Semanal, hosted by Christian Acosta and Jessica Flores. Inspired by the playlist of the same name, the podcast will dive deep into the top entertainment news of the week, the hottest new releases, and the most relevant artists in Latin pop culture, from every genre.

The campaign will also celebrate game-changing songwriters and producers who deliver hit after hit. On the “Written By” and “Produced By” playlists, Amazon Music recognizes the game changers behind all-time favorites that hold a place in music fans’ hearts and will feature demos from some of the most iconic and game-changing songs in history. Fans will be able to enjoy unreleased versions of their favorite songs, only on Amazon Music. 

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A newly discovered recording of an original song by the late Jenni Rivera, Aparentemente Bien (Apparently Well) has climbed up the music charts hitting number one on Billboards’ Regional Mexican Latin Charts (July 13th) since its release on July 2^, 2019, which would have been the late singers 50th birthday.  

As recently reported in Variety, a major motion picture on the life of Long Beach California native, Rivera, is in development by Jenni Rivera Enterprises and producers Javier Chapa and Simon Wise of Mucho Mas Media and Donald De Line of De Line pictures.  De Line’s producing credits include Ready Player One, Pain and Gain and The Green Lantern. The screenplay will be written by Katie Lanier, who wrote the 1993 Tina Turner Biopic What’s Love Got To Do With It, which earned Angela Bassett an Oscar nomination as Best Actress and a Golden Globe award. 

No word on casting, however, Jennifer Lopez would be an ideal choice to play the late Regional Mexican pop diva.

Rivera won over 22 Billboard Latin Music Awards, 18 Lo Nuestro Awards, and Four Latin GRAMMYs and sold over 20 million albums.   

The beloved singer’s strong personality and life struggles reflected in her music found her a strong fan base especially among Latina women who identified with her and empowering image through her songs. 

At the time of her death, Rivera was on the verge of entering mainstream popular music success much like the late singer Selena Quintanilla.

Jenni recorded the song Aparentamente Bien before her tragic death at age 43 in a plane crash in Mexico in 2012 and the never before heard recording, which among others, was discovered in a recording studio by her brother Juan Rivera.  

Despacito co-writer Erica Ender and Argentinian singer-songwriter Alejandro Lerner wrote Aparentamente Bien, a powerful and heartfelt ballad in which Rivera sings at the start of the song, “I am here in front of the mirror, who knows my truth”.

Despacito, sung by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber; spent a record 56 weeks at No. 1 on Billboards’ Hot Latin Songs and a record-tying 16 weeks atop the all-genre Billboard Hot 100.

The Jenni Rivera estate and Sony Music Latin released Banda, Mariachi and Pop versions of the single and Rivera’s image was part of a billboard campaign in New York’s Time Square.   

 The single is available on music streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.  A music video of the song was also released simultaneously on YouTube that has been trending since its debut with more than 4 million hits followed by an additional five million hits.   

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READ FULL COURT DECISION

Jenni Rivera’s ex-manager Pete Salgado wrote a book that Univision used to base a TV series Su verdadero nombre era Dolores (Her Real Name Was Dolores) that resulted in a lawsuit from Rivera’s Estate alleging that Univision producers intentionally interfered with a nondisclosure agreement between Salgado and the late pop star’s estate.

The case, while not as mega scale like Wikileaks’ Julian Assange, this smaller legal challenge reviews both the scope and limitations of the First Amendment in obtaining and then disclosing confidential information.

Back in February 2017, it was reported that Jenni Rivera’s estate sued Univision over the TV series and was seeking $10 million in damages. The tell-all book in question is Salgado’s. Su verdadero nombre es Dolores first aired on January 15, 2017, on the Spanish-language network, according to the Rivera estate, “leaves no doubt” that it “relies heavily on information that Salgado has disclosed in violation” of a non-disclosure agreement signed in 2013. Su verdadero nombre es Dolores is co-produced by BTF Media, a company co-owned by Salgado.

Univision was accused of interference and inducing breach of contract by providing Salgado with a financial incentive to develop the television series based on confidential information, a platform to broadcast the series that helps promote future sales of his book about Jenni Rivera’s life and “giving Salgado the prestige of being an executive producer of a TV series broadcast on Univision’s networks.”

The lawsuit created a big problem for the Spanish-language network which was the subject of a notable ruling on May 29, 2019, from a California appeals court:

Salgado was restricted from sharing the Mexican pop star’s secrets thanks to a nondisclosure agreement. That prompted a lawsuit from the Jenni Rivera Estate, and while her heirs couldn’t stop the series from airing, both Univision and BTF Media were unsuccessful in their attempts to immediately dismiss claims of interfering with a hush deal.  

According to Wednesday’s opinion, part of the trial court’s decision to allow the case to move forward was in error.

California Appellate Justice John Segal sets up the First Amendment showdown.

He writes that “speech on matters of public concern occupies the highest rung of the hierarchy of First Amendment values.” Yet, he also notes “precedent establishing that the right to speak and publish doesn’t carry with it an unrestrained right to gather information. While it may be true that the newsgathering of lawfully acquired information is protected, there are some activities — like using telephoto lenses to intrude upon private establishments — that are outside the bounds.”

Univision insisted that the First Amendment provided a complete defense to claims over the Rivera series because such claims arose out of a publication of a “truthful account of a newsworthy event about a public figure.

The Jenni Rivera Estate insists that Univision paid money to “intentionally encourage a breach of secrets, and that such activity went beyond “traditional means of news-gathering.”

TV creators, distributors, and networks must be asking: “Is paying for a television series that will divulge secrets like a reporter who asks questions of those in a position of confidence? Or is it akin to a reporter who trespasses into a home to score a scoop?”

Segal further writes, “California courts have not determined where intentionally interfering with a nondisclosure agreement falls on this continuum.”

The justice further stated that “jurisdictions and legal scholars have been wary of extending liability to the media on tortious interference claims, especially on matters of public significance.

“We need not decide the broad question whether the torts of inducing a breach of contract and interfering with a contract are ‘independent torts’ such that the First Amendment can never provide a defense to such claims when they arise from conduct that leads to the publication or broadcast of truthful and newsworthy information,” continues the appeals court. “Here, it is uncontroverted Univision had no knowledge of the nondisclosure agreement at the time it entered into the license agreement with BTF. The evidence of Univision’s actions, after it learned of the nondisclosure agreement, that arguably contributed to Salgado’s continued breaches of the agreement consisted of continuing to pay license fees to BTF and promoting Salgado’s involvement with the Series. Even if those actions were sufficient to serve as the basis of liability for tortious interference, they are not sufficiently ‘wrongful’ or ‘unlawful’ to overcome the First Amendment newsgathering and broadcast privileges.”

It’s a very favorable decision for Univision, which is able to reverse an order denying its SLAPP motion– strategic lawsuit against public participation. It provides a special motion that a defendant can file at the outset of a lawsuit to strike a complaint when it arises from conduct that falls within the rights of petition or free speech… “an anti-SLAPP motion stays all discovery.

As a result, Univision will escape the case. However, the producers of the series aren’t so lucky.

The BTF parties also brought a motion premised on California’s SLAPP statute, meant to deter frivolous actions targeting First Amendment activity. But the producers didn’t argue as Univision did that their activity constituted newsgathering and as such, the First Amendment provided a bar to the suit at hand. Instead, perhaps due to a closer relationship with Salgado, the producers focused attention on how the plaintiff’s claims were unlikely to succeed.

In the decision, the appeals court rules that the Jenni Rivera Estate made a prima facie showing that’s sufficient to establish causes of action including interference with contract.

“The Producers cite numerous cases from California and other states in support of their argument that they cannot be liable for inducing a breach of or interfering with the nondisclosure agreement because they did not have knowledge of the agreement at the time production of the Series began,” states the decision. “None of the cases they cite, however, stands for the proposition that JRE cannot state a cause of action based on Salgado’s continuing obligations under the agreement and his breaches of discrete obligations at different times.”

The full decision then goes on to shrug off the producers’ contention that they had reason to doubt the authenticity of the NDA based on Salgado’s declaration that he never signed it. Countering this is a notation stating that “On October 20, 2016, Salgado conceded the signature on the nondisclosure agreement was his. In support of his special motion to strike, Salgado argued instead that the fourth page of the agreement, which included his signature, was not attached to the rest of the document at the time he signed it.”

According to Segal, “At most, the Producers’ argument created an issue for the trier of fact regarding the Producers’ knowledge of the nondisclosure agreement; it did not defeat JRE’s showing of minimal merit.”

Unfortunately, Jenni Rivera’s legal saga continues. Stay tuned.

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