Set for a Dec. 17 release this year, the film is executive produced by Argentina-born Victoria Alonso, one of the most powerful women in Hollywood who has also worked pretty much with every other superhero film of the Marvel Universe wheres she serves a executie VP of production at Marvel Studios. She has produced such hits as Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger among many.

In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter Parker, for the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man, is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life from the high-stakes of being a Super Hero. When he asks for help from Doctor Strange the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man. However, the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing Spider-Man to discover the true meaning of being the superhero whose motto is “with great power, there must also come great responsibility.”

British actor, Molina came into prominence for his work in theater. Since then he n West End, . Since then who has appeared in over 200 film, television, and stage productions. On of is standout performances was playing Diego Rivera opposite Salma Hayek in the title rold of Frida. Younger audiences know him as Docor Octopus.

Holland leads a cast that also features actress/singer Zendaya, Academy Award-nominated Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Jon Favreau, Jacob Batalon and Oscar winner Marisa Tomei. 

The film is directed by Jon Watts, who also helmed the previous two Spider-Man installments featuring Holland, too. The screenplay is by Chris McKenna and Eric Sommers, who also wrote the 2019 Spider-Man: Far from Home. The producers are Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal. 

Joining Alonso in exec producing are Louis D’Esposito, JoAnn Perritano, Rachel O’Connor, Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach.

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Argentinian-born Executive VP of Film Production at Marvel Studios Alonso is one of five executive producers who pulled all the financial resources needed to make the $200 million action movie. 

As the cinematographer, Mexico City native Beristain is responsible for the look and feel of the flick.

Delayed for more than a year due to the pandemic, Black Widow was shown exclusively for fans on a big screen on June 29. Alonso said that “there’s something really special about going to the movies,” while being interviewed on one of the first in-person red carpets to be held in Hollywood right after the pandemic restrictions were lifted. Beristain described attending an actual Hollywood premiere as “unbelievable.”

Black Widow opens in theaters nationwide on July 9. Scarlett Johansson is back as ex-Russian spy Natasha Romanoff in her quests between the films Civil War and Infinity War. Her co-stars are Florence Pugh, David Harbour, O-T Fagbenle, William Hurt, Ray Winstone and Rachel Weisz. The Marvel Studios film is directed by Australian filmmaker Cate Shortland, who has experience with flicks about strong women.

Alonso and Beristain come with much experience to the Avengers franchise, so much that they both crossed paths on all three Iron Man installments and two Thor sequels.

Alonso was born in Buenos Aires but her aspirations to be part of Hollywood led her to immigrate to New York in her late teens and later to Los Angeles. Her early credits include visual effects in Cats & Dogs, Big Fish and her first superhero movie in 2008, Iron Man, which she also co-produced. She became executive vice president of visual effects and postproduction at Marvel in 2005 and was later promoted to executive vice president of film production. The Argentinian has worked as a producer or executive producer in pretty much every other Avenger and Marvel superhero film, more than 20, including Captain America, Ant-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, Dr. Strange, Black Panther, Captain Marvel and Spider-Man, among others.

Avengers: Endgame won Alonso a Hollywood Film Award in 2019. She is also the recipient of the Harold Lloyd Award for her achievements in visual effects. 

Last year, Alonso received the Filmmaker’s Award from the Motion Picture Sound Editors during the 67th annual edition of the Golden Reel Awards.

For his part, Beristain initially studied engineering at Mexico City’s Instituto Politécnico Nacional but later pursued a master’s degree in film. After graduating he made documentaries on social issues and launched a commercials production company. In 1977 he decided to move to Italy and later to England to expand his filmmaking career. 

Organically, his documentary work turned him into a cinematographer. He eventually enrolled at the National Film + Television School in London, where he won a student competition sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1982, and then returned to his native Mexico. He worked in the Colombian film Carne de Tu Carne and then decided to go back to England, where he spent over a decade. “I was also shooting multi-million dollar commercials, which was glamorous work,” recalls Beristain in his biography.

At the suggestion of Oscar-nominated cinematographer Allen Daviau of E.T and The Color Purple fame, the Mexican filmmaker eventually relocated to Los Angeles in 1991. “He said I could be part of the future of the industry in America, because of my understanding of the Anglo and Hispanic cultures,” recalls Beristain. 

The cinematographer film credits include the Mexican feature El Cometa, which earned him a nomination to the Silver Ariel, and Princess Ka’iulani. 

In Hollywood, he worked as part of the camera and electrical department in nearly 20 features that included superhero movies like The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor: Ragnarok.

His Hollywood cinematographer credits include the films Blood In, Blood Out, Blade II and Blade: Trinity and Guillermo Del Toro’s horror series The Strain.

Black Widow is the first Marvel superhero film in which Beristain works as director of photography. 

Featured Photo: Victoria Alonso (Credit: Marvel Cinematic Universe); Gabriel Beristain (Credit: Self)

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It took a while for Black Widow, the popular heroine of Marvel Comics’ The Avengers franchise to have her own film. Opening nationwide this weekend, Black Widow was made with the talents of director Cate Shortland, the creation of Stan Lee and the screenplay of Eric Pearson. The movie comes together with the talents of Producer Kevin Feige and executive produced for Marvel by Argentina-born Victoria Alonso (Avengers: End Game) and shot beautifully by Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Beristain (Iron Man).

Scarlett Johansson returns as ex-Russian spy Natasha Romanoff in her quests between the films Civil War and Infinity War. On the run and forced to confront her past before she became an Avenger, Black Widow faces a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down. 

Co-starring in the film are Florence Pugh, David Harbour, O-T Fagbenle, William Hurt, Ray Winstone and Rachel Weisz. The film is directed by Australian filmmaker Cate Shortland, who has previously helmed movies about strong women like Berlin Syndrome, Lore and Somersault.

Black Widow is produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Featured Photo: Scarlett Johansson in ‘Black Widow’ (Credit: Marvel Studios)

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After two decades in the making, Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings will arrive at movie theatres Sept. 3, and we have the trailer to give you a taste of this highly anticipated superhero movie.

Argentinian-born filmmaker Victoria Alonso is one of three executive producers of this flick starring Simu Liu and Awkafina. Shang-Chi, one of few Asian superheroes in films, is a master of the wushu martial art and an expert in weaponry like karate sticks and jian swords.

Alonso has extensive experience as an exec producer in the superhero genre: Spider-Man: Far from Home, Captain Marvel, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers, to name a few. She has also been a producer in Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor and Iron Man.

Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (Short Term 12).

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According to The Hollywood Reporter, the “Con Queen of Hollywood” has previously impersonated other producers and studio executives. Over the past several years, her targets have included major studio heads like Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy and former Sony head Amy Pascal. After assuming these identities, the Con Queen contacts actors, photographers, stunt performers, military veterans, make-up artists and more for potential sexual or monetary exploitation.

Alonso stated that she’s “spent many, many sleepless nights,” since she became a victim of this Hollywood con artist’s elaborate scam.

The FBI has taken over the investigation and has created a website for victims of the “so-called” Con Queen of Hollywood, who is being described as a sophisticated swindler who for several years has been impersonating prominent producers, studio executives and other entertainment industry professionals as part of some elaborate financial scam.

The FBI’s San Diego office announced the unveiling of the new site as they “seek victims in Indonesia Showbiz Scam Investigations.” The statement stated that this is an on-going transnational fraud scheme targeting U.S. citizens began in approximately 2013. The FBI is releasing this information to prevent individuals, primarily those who work in the entertainment industry from becoming victims of the scam.

Alonso wasn’t the only Marvel Studios employee affected by the scam. Longtime casting director Sarah Finn, who was responsible for casting almost every Marvel Cinematic Universe film, was also impersonated by the Con Queen. The Con Queen sent out emails claiming to be Finn, then followed up with phone calls in which she impersonated Alonso.

In one such call, the Con Queen instructed actor Brandon Wengrzynek to “audition” with a sexually explicit role. When the process became “uncomfortable,” he stopped and contacted a friend, who confirmed the audition was fake. “She was absolutely convincing,” Wengrzynek recalled. “It just blows my mind how professional the whole thing is.”

The Con Queen uses these “auditions” and fake offers of work to convince victims to come to Indonesia. Despite promises of reimbursement, she has victims pay upfront costs for services like translation, driving and logistical help, then likely pockets the money herself.

Alonso first learned that she had been impersonated in mid-April, about 10 days before the April 26 debut of Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame. One of the movie’s stars told her that a stunt performer friend of his had received what he thought was a call from Alonso in which she purportedly said that Marvel planned to replace actor Jeremy Renner and was looking for another stunt performer. 

Alonso corrected her friend, thinking that would be the end of it. Instead, about a month later, she received a call from two lawyers who had been hired by Disney to investigate further. 

“Disney never said we think you did this,” says Alonso, “They just said, ‘We need to corroborate that you didn’t.’”

“I want my name to be loud and clear,” Alonso said in response to the incident. “This is not how we work. This is not who we are. We would never ask people to do that.”

Alonso says she wants as many people as possible to be aware that the scam is still ongoing, despite the involvement of law enforcement. 

“This person is preying on people’s dreams,” she says, “If something happens to you, report it. If it feels wrong, it is. Walk away.” 

Meanwhile, the FBI is advising that this is an ongoing fraud scheme and individuals who have plans to travel to Indonesia for a job opportunity in the entertainment industry should perform additional research and proceed with caution.  

So far, the Con Queen remains at large.

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By Elia Esparza

Spider-Man: Far From Home cashed in its second-best day– Friday, July 5th, with $32.7M, way up from $26.5M. Friday it jumped 30% over July 4th with a four-day running total now at $124.M for the Sony release.

Projected 3-day was projected between $87M to $93M, and it came in almost right on the money with $92,579,212

We can talk numbers up and down, about the stars and while we continue to push for more diversity in principal casting, we want to focus on the importance of one of the producers who makes magic happen.

Marvel Studios Executive Producer Victoria Alonso began working at Marvel in the late 2005. She began as a co-producer on Iron Man and visual effects producer and now she is the highest–ranking Latinx at the blockbuster Marvel team.

Once again she has worked her magic and Spider-Man is in the headlines for exceptional box-office revenue generated this past weekend.

Alonso impressive blockbuster credits include a string of Marvel hits– Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp.

As an Executive VP of Production at Marvel Studios, Alonso has garnered many awards including HPA’s Charles S. Swartz Award at the 2018 HPA Awards.

In 2017, she was the first woman to be honored with the Visual Effects Society’s Visionary Award, and the first woman to be honored with the Visual Effects Society’s Visionary Award.

Alonso is an important voice in Hollywood as a producer, as a Latina, and as a female senior executive. She was named to The Hollywood Reporter’s 2017 Women in Entertainment Power 100.

A native of Buenos Aires, Alonso moved to the U.S. on her own at the age of 19, beginning her career as a PA at Digital Domain.

Victoria Alonso may wear many hats as a producer, but at the heart of her talent, she’s a natural born storyteller displayed via her exceptional producer and visual effects visions.

She is an advocate for diversity, noting that inclusivity is good for business in a recent Reddit interview:

“Why wouldn’t we be? “Why wouldn’t we be? I’m so passionate about this. Our entire success is based on people that are incredibly different. Why wouldn’t we? Why wouldn’t we only want to be recognized by one type of person? Our audience is global, is diverse, it’s inclusive. If we don’t do it that way for them, we will fail. If we don’t put [the] pedal to the metal [in] diversity and inclusivity, we will not have continued success. Our determination is to have that for all of the people out there watching our movies.”

Reddit Interview, June 5, 2019

With super A-list star power like Tom Holland, who plays Spiderman, Jake Gyllenhall, Samuel L. Jackson, Zendaya and many others, we also want to recognize the Latinos who make up this stellar cast: — the actors in minor roles — Hemky Madera (Queen of the South) who plays Mr. Delmar, Tony Revolori (The Grand Budapest Hotel) who plays Flash Thompson and Jorge Lendeborg Jr. who reprises his role of Jason from Spiderman: Homecoming. And, to the dozens of behind-the-scenes professionals, technicians, engineers, and music/audio experts– Latinos from the U.S.A. and on location in Spain, Italy, Prague and where ever else Spider-Man was filmed! Latinos are there rocking it with their skills and experience.

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