The upcoming 94th Annual Academy Awards Ceremony scheduled to air on ABCon March 27 could be a Starry, Starry Night for Latino Hollywood. This year saw an amazing array of Latino talent become strong contenders in several different competitive categories plus the emergence of one exceptionally bright star in the Latino Hollywood night sky. Here’s a look at the nominees, their categories, and their chances of taking home the coveted gold-plated statue.

Best Animated Feature

Two good to be true?  There are two excellent Disney Studio animated feature films up for Best Animated Feature with Latino talent: 

Encanto the Latino-themed story about the Columbian family, the Madrigals. Directed by Byron Howard  and Jared Bush who also shares the screenplay credit with Charise Castro Smith.  Yvette Merino is one of the producers and the music is by Germaine Franco.  

Raya and the Last Dragon is directed by Mexico City-born Carlos López Estrada along with Don Hall both nominated for Best Director.

There is frequently the possibility two Disney Studio nominees will cancel each other out. But these are two very different animated features with radically different approaches to animation.  Encanto uses a more traditional narrative animation style that is the hallmark of Disney animation. It’s nice to see the characters in Encanto are unmistakably and decidedly Latino. There are also several marvelous songs and musical segments in Encanto.

Raya and the Last Dragon, on the other hand, is strictly a fantasy narrative. The animation of the human characters in Raya and the Last Dragon is so life-like and realistic in their facial expressions you feel as though they could jump off the screen, sit next to you on the couch and enjoy the story with you. The so-called “last dragon”, voiced by that crazy, rich, funny Asian comic actress, Awkwafina, is an impish feathered serpent who appears to be half Big Bird and half Quetzalcoatl.

What Encanto and Raya and the Last Dragon have in common are two strong female lead characters and stories with underlying messages of hope, detterminationand the triumph of the human spirit.

Best Song

Is there anything this guy can’t do? The multi-talented Lin-Manuel Miranda gets a richly deserved Oscar nomination for the Encanto song “Dos Oruguitas”. It boggles the mind to ponder what this actor, producer and musical theater genius would have produced had he been at MGM during the Golden Age of Hollywood Musicals.

Best Supporting Actress

It’s like deja vu all over again. Ariana DeBose is well-positioned to accomplish an acting awards hat fete by taking the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in West Side Story. As the fiery Anita, DeBose overshadows the two leads in the film and overpowers the screen with her explosive, show-stopping performance of America.

Sound familiar? It should because it is the exact same thing Rita Moreno did sixty years ago when she won the Best Supporting Actress award for her dynamic dominating portrayal of Anita in the 1961 version of West side Story. DeBose has already won the Golden Globe and SAG awards and is the odds on favorite to win the Oscar. The super talented DeBose will hopefully follow in Moreno’s footsteps and become a member of the exclusive EGOT Club, winner of an Emmy, Golden Globe, Oscar and Tony. It will be like deja vu all over again…again.

Best (Overlooked) Supporting Actor

Eugenio Derbez was superb as the eccentric but caring and nurturing Mexican music choir teacher, Bernardo Villalobos, in CODA. Derbez puts a nice Latin American spin on his Mr. Holland’s Opus-like character. But the award will likely go to his deaf actor co-star, Tony Kotsur, in a sentimental well-deserved win.

Best Actress

Behold a pale dark horse wearing way too much mascara. The Best Actress race is always a tough one to handicap. There are so many fine actresses working today and this year’s field of Oscar contenders is proof of that.

Penelope Cruz gets her fifth Academy Award nomination for her performance in Parallel Mothers. Cruz won Best Supporting Actress in 2018 for her work in Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona. But the beautiful Spanish actress faces stiff competition from perennial Academy favorite, Nicole Kidman, for her stellar performance as Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos. Kidman won the Best Actress Oscar for The Hours in 2002 for her haunting portrayal of tragic writer Virginia Woolf. Kidman has proven her biopic acting chops.

But I believe the Academy is going to ignore the subtle and the sublime of Parallel Mothers and “Cruz” right past Penelope and go for the quirky and give the Oscar to Jessica Chastain for The Eyes of Tammy Faye. Tammy Faye’s grotesque garish harlequin eye makeup could paralyze a clown dead in his tracks and intimidate some Academy members to vote for her.

Best Actor

Javier Bardem should be a shoo-in to win the Oscar for his performance as Desi Arnaz in Being the Ricardos. Bardem shows us the complicated layers that made up this often misunderstood and underappreciated man who was the backbone of I Love Lucy, the Desilu Production empire, and an early TV sitcom innovator. Arnaz was much more than a chronic womanizer, conga drum playing Cuban bandleader singing Babaloo and delivering his lines in his signature Cuban accent. He was an astute businessman, tough negotiator and eternally devoted to Lucille Ball. Bardem shows us all those colors brilliantly in Being the Ricardos.

Bardem’s competition comes from two popular Black Hollywood favorites: Will Smith in King Richard and Denzel Washington in The Tragedy of Macbeth. The Academy loves anything from the British Isles and feels it must be good due to that cultured British accent. English actor, Benedict Cumberbatch, whose name alone conjures up fish ‘n chips, is nominated for his role in Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog.

But like Glen Close in Fatal Attraction, Javier Bardem will not and should not be ignored. If he is ignored and doesn’t win the Oscar for Best Actor, the Academy will have a lot of ‘splaining to do!

Best (Overlooked)Director

Mexicans coming across the border and taking away those good paying jobs. Guillermo del Toro’s remake of Nightmare Alley has been nominated for Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best set Design and Best Production Design. Somehow the maestro, the orchestra conductor, the artist who puts all those musical notes, colors into a finished work of art resulting in a Best Picture nomination gets overlooked. Critics praise Guillermo del Toro, an acknowledged film auteur, for remaking Nightmare Alley with a modern film noir flare and a surprise ending.

The past few years have seen Mexican born directors dominate the Best Director category:  Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Roma), Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman, The Revenant and del Toro won in 2018 for The Shape of Water.  

There are no directors with Spanish surnames on this year’s list of nominees for Best Director. Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog) is Variety’s best bet to win.  Bueno, asi es la vida.

Best Picture

Deja vu all over again, part three? West Side Story which is nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture could make motion picture history on March 27 and culminate what could be a glittering, success story for Latino Hollywood

Should West Side Story take home the big cinematic enchilada on Oscar night, it will be the first time in the Academy Awards 94-year history a virtual remake of a movie that had previously won Best Picture wins again.

Sixty years ago, Rita Moreno was the vanguard for Latino pride when she won Best Supporting Actress for her work in West Side Story. In a very moving, emotionally charged scene in the new version of West Side Story, Moreno is the voice of Latino hopes and dreams for Oscar night when she sings There’s A Place For Us.

The 94th Annual Academy Awards airs on ABC on March 27 (Sunday) at 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT

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DeBose recived the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for her role in West Side Story. The honor adds to more than a dozen awards, including a Golden Globe, that the proud Afro-Latina has won for playing Anita in the reimagined version of the musical film by Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg.

“It’s taken a long time for me to feel comfortable calling myself an actor,” said DeBose, before talking about her background in musical theater. “I really do believe that when you recognize one of us, you recognize all of us.” She said her Anita took a decade to make and that she was proud of the character and expressed gratitude to Spielberg for believing in her talent and her colleague actors. In thanking the musical’s cast and crew, she called WSS a “labor of love” and “beautiful cinematic experience.”

DeBose is also an Academy Award nominee for the same role this year.

For their part, Mexican actors Derbez and Fernandez won their awards as part of ensemble casts the former for a film, the latter for a TV series. It is notable that both actors played characters with Spanish surnames that defy Latino stereotypes.

Derbez received his prize for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for his role in the indie film CODA. The feature centers on a young woman who is the only hearing person in her deaf family who is torn between going away to college to study music and staying with her deaf parents. The Mexico City-born actor plays Bernardo Villalobos, the music teacher of the central character. The Derbez shared the honor with Daniel Durant, Emilia Jones, Troy Kotsur, Marlee Matlin and Ferdia Walsh-Peelo.

“We’re smiling from ear to ear: Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture,” tweeted Derbez, adding the hashtags #sagawards and #CODAFilm. He concluded with, “My CODA Family!!!”

??

We’re smiling from ear to ear:
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture #sagawards #CODAFilm
My CODA Family!!! pic.twitter.com/bi3hRM6Xs7

— Eugenio Derbez (@EugenioDerbez) February 28, 2022

Fernandez earned his honor for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for his role in the Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso. The series follows American college football coach Ted Lasso, who heads to London to manage AFC Richmond, a struggling English Premier League soccer team. Guadalajara-born Fernandez plays Dani Rojas, a striker for AFC Richmond. Incidentally, the actor once wanted to be a professional soccer player.

Ay ay ay ay ay Dios mío, ganamos, we won, thank you to everyone watching and supporting us @TedLasso @SAGawards @sagaftra @sagaftraFOUND ???? https://t.co/qjMH6cvGwW pic.twitter.com/VRfsMeh5bF

— Cristo Fernández (@cristofernandez) February 28, 2022

“Ay ay ay ay ay Dios mío, ganamos, we won, thank you to everyone watching and supporting us,” tweeted in Spanglish Fernandez, adding the handles @TedLasso @SAGawards @sagaftra @sagaftraFOUND.

Fernandez shared the prize with Annette Badland, Kola Bokinni, Phil Dunster, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Toheeb Jimoh, Nick Mohammed, Sarah Niles, Jason Sudeikis, Jeremy Swift, Juno Temple and Hannah Waddingham.

This is the second award Fernandez has won for Ted Lasso. Last year the series also won best ensemble at the Pena de Prata Awards in Portugal. His role also earned him an Imagen Award nom in 2021.

Other actors honored with individual awards were Will Smith, Jessica Chastain and Troy Kotsur for performances in motion pictures, and Michael Keaton, Kate Winslet, Lee Jung-Jae, Jung Ho-Yeon, Jean Smart and Ted Lasso’s Sudeikis for performances in television. The award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series went to HBO’s Succession.

The stunt ensemble from the James Bond sequel film No Time to Die was honored for motion picture and the stunt ensemble from South Korea’s Squid Game was honored for television.

Actresses Winslet and Cate Blanchett presented the legendary thespian Helen Mirren with the 57th Life Achievement Award.

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I have built my career in journalism highlighting the triumphs of our Latino community collective through our publication, now online www.latinheat.com. Believe me when I say that we are finally being given opportunities in all aspects of the entertainment industry. The days of slim pickings are behind us. There is still work to be done to reach parity, but we have made progress. However, there is also much more to do and more competition. Talent is key for the continued growth of the presence of Latinos in Hollywood and beyond; with that comes the raising of the bar and the need for everyone to up their game!

It’s an exciting time and we will record the milestones in this column, by following the “Latino surge” in the industry as well as spotlighting the issues that pertain to Latino/as. As an opinion piece, it will represent my voice and not necessarily the position of Latin Heat, a news platform that strives to be impartial.
It will be a fun ride and I hope you will want to chime by leaving a comment to enrich the discussion.

So let the Talks begin.

First off we cannot let the month of January pass without acknowledging major firsts in Hollywood.

HISTORIC THREE GOLDEN GLOBE WINSThis year in their non-televised and no-celebrity awards show, the Golden Globes upped their past record of one Latina award winner. This year three Latinas took home the GG. Rachel Zegler became the first Latina in GG history to win the Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical award, Ariana DeBose took the Supporting Actress prize, both for their work in Steven Spielberg’s re-dux of West Side Story. On the television side, MJ Rodriguez won for her role on the FX show Pose. Encanto and its producers, among them Yvette Merino, writer Charise Castro Smith, and composer Germaine Franco, all noted for their work on the animated feature that took the top prize of Animated Film.

What other mainstream awards shows have this track record?

I have always had a special connection to the Golden Globes as I have observed the inclusion of more Latinos at these high-profile awards than any other mainstream awards show. The GG were the first to nominate and bring attention to Latina and Latino talent before other awards shows. (full disclosure, last year I was appointed to the Credentialing Committee for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association who produce the Golden Globes. My feelings towards the inclusion of the GG were formed prior to the recent snafu that they are currently facing.

The list of Latinos who have won a GG is impressive. Latinos honored include: Benicio del Toro, Guillermo del Toro, Gina Rodriguez, America Ferrera, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Andy Garcia, Jimmy Smits, and Rita Moreno, among others. It put them on the map. Both del Toros and Iñarritu were the only ones that went on to win an Oscar for the same projects they received their GG for. But the careers of Rodriguez and Ferrera literally took off with their GG wins.

ANOTHER WIN FOR THE POWER OF LATINA LEADS

The film Scream, released earlier this month, has proven once again that Latinos will support Latino/a leads in a film franchise – especially if it’s a horror flick.

Melissa Barrera(In The Heights, Vida) and Jenna Ortega (Yes Day, Jane the Virgin) play sisters in the latest Scream franchise film. On its opening weekend it beat every other film at the boxoffice with a resounding $30M and to date has made $85.6 million internationally.
That box office could be due to the fact that Latinos LOVE horror flix…so maybe in this case Latinos did go support the film which had Latinas in the lead? We will take that.

‘PROMISED LAND’ AND LATINO WINEMAKERS

There is a new ABC TV series, Promised Land, that just premiered Jan. 24. It’s a Dallas-like TV show set in California’s wine country, Sonoma Valley, where Mexican-American families have gone from working in the fields picking grapes to becoming vintners and, ultimately, to owning the winery. Two of those families include Maria and Reynaldo Robledo who founded the Robledo Family Winery in Sonoma, the first winery established by Mexican Americans. In 1988 The Ceja winery was founded by Amelia, Pedro, Armando and Martha Ceja.

Promised Land is patterned after these families who are also multi-generational. That may be the only resemblance between real life and the television family. The TV show has the telenovela style of intrigue, power, jealousy and money. It follows more along the lines of past successful primetime shows like CBS’ Dallas, ABC’s Dynasty (1981) and CBS’ Falcon Crest which ran from 1981 to 1990 and did have some Latino regulars in the cast (Ana Alicia and Lorenzo Llamas). ABC describes the Promised Land as, “An epic, generation-spanning drama about a Latinx family vying for wealth and power.”

In 2006 CBS premiered Cane with the patriarch played by Jimmy Smits (In The Heights, How to Get Away With Murder). It was a generational series, however, this time about the Cuban-American Vega family and their sugarcane business. Seasoned and well known Latino actors lead the cast, Hector Elizondo (Last Man Standing), Rita Moreno (West Side Story), Nestor Carbonell (The Morning Show), Oscar Torre (7th & Union). However, it was cut short in its first season when the great writers’ strike of 2007 forced it off the air temporarily. It was forgotten after the strike, never to be seen or heard of again.

Here’s to a better fate for Promised Land which, pardon the pun, looks “promising.” John Ortiz leads a very talented cast which includes many fresh new faces.

ANOTHER HONOR FOR LEGENDARY EGOT

Rita Moreno has been selected to receive the 2022 Stanley Kramer Award at the 33rd annual Producers Guild Awards on March 19. That is another honor to add to more than 30 film, TV and music awards by the Puerto Rican star. She is among a selected group of artists who have won the four major American entertainment awards, the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony–hence EGOT. Moreno is also among a distinguished roster of performers who have accomplished what is known as the Triple Crown of Acting, with individual competitive Academy, Emmy and Tony prizes for acting. Furthermore, she has received several lifetime achievement awards, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a Kennedy Center Honor a Peabody Award.

LOOK OUT FOR JENNA ORTEGA

In 2022 Jenna Ortega started the year with a lead role in Scream and will next star in The Fallout, which premiered Jan. 27 on HBO Max. The film follows two teenage classmates navigating grief after surviving a school shooting. AND…many are anxiously awaiting to see her in the title role of Tom Burton’s Netflix’s live action film Wednesday, an offshoot of The Addams Family. She is one of the youngest and brightest stars in Hollywood. Ortega was seen last year in director Miguel Arteta’s Yes Day, starring alongside Jennifer Garner and Edgar Ramirez.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK: Actress Maria Canals-Barrera is a recent cast addition to NBC’s Kenan. Catch her work TONIGHT in the final episode on January 31, on NBC 8/7c.

Until next time.

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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

The post Latinos Stand Out Among Golden Globe Nominees first appeared on .

Rita Moreno cannot believe she has come full circle with West Side Story. 

Director Steven Spielberg’s version of the acclaimed musical feature is set to hit theatres Dec. 10. Moreno serves as an executive producer and stars as Valentina. 

In this video, the living Puerto Rican legend talks about working in the new musical movie and meeting actress Ariana DeBose, who plays Anita. Moreno had that role in the original film in 1961, which earned her an Oscar. Moreno turns 90 years old Dec. 11.

The West Side Story movies are adaptations of the Broadway musical hit of the same title that, in turn, was inspired by Shakespeare’s tragic love story Romeo and Juliet.

Spielberg’s feature is a production of 20th Century Fox, a subdivision of Walt Disney Studios, which also distributes the musical.

Featured Photo: Rita Moreno as Valentina in West Side Story (Photo: 20th Century Fox/Disney)

Check out the video to learn what Moreno has to say.

The post VIDEO: Rita Moreno on ‘West Side Story’ first appeared on .

The new West Side Story is Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg’s version, some call it “reimagining,” of the 1961 multiple Academy Award-winning musical film that was an adaptation of the Broadway musical hit of the same title–which in turn was inspired by Shakespeare’s tragic love story Romeo and Juliet.

Check out the video of the world premiere featuring the film’s stars, including Latinos like Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose and David Alvarez sharing the spotlight with Spielberg and Moreno, who is also an executive producer of the feature. The film is a production of 20th Century Fox, a subdivision of Walt Disney Studios which is also distributing the musical.

Featured Photo: Screenshot of video of West Side Story’s world premiere (Photo: 20th Century Fox/Disney)

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From November 9 to December 12 of 2021, the Pasadena Playhouse will rock to the Go-Go’s fun-tastic musical Head Over Heels featuring two of Broadway’s busiest stage talents, George Salazar (Be More Chill, Godspell, Little Shop of Horrors) and Yurel Echezarreta (Moulin Rouge!, Aladdin, Matilda and Steven Spielberg’s new filmed version of West Side Story). I was privileged to interview both of these impressive artists who had plenty to say about ethnicity, career and Cheetos breath. 

CRIS FRANCO (CF):

To begin with, George, fill us in on your very unique background. 

GEORGE SALAZAR (GS):

My dad was born in Ecuador and my mom is Filipino. They met in New York City, which is about the only place that could happen. 

CF: If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere! ?

GS:  Exactly, exactly. I was just in Indiana and I’ll tell you that wouldn’t happen there. There aren’t that many of me.

CF: Yes, I’d say you cornered the market on Ecuadorian-Filipino musical comedy stars. How ‘bout you, Yurel?

YUREL ECHEZARRETA (YE): I’m Cuban-American from Miami.  

CF:  You’re an outstanding dancer. You can tell you’ve trained in ballet. 

YE: Yes. Ballet is so well-respected in Cuba. I studied and found myself at a performing arts high school where I was accepted into a musical theater program. Then I studied at Orlando Ballet and moved to New York to begin my Broadway career.

CF:  You’ve both done so many hit shows. What would you say was your first big break? 

GS:  That’s a great question.

CF:  I only ask great questions.

YE:  I’m not sure I know what you mean by “big break”? 

CF:  Meaning, when did you know you could make a career of performing? 

YE: Oh, for me that would have to be La Cage Aux Folles because it was my second Broadway show. The 2009 stage revival of West Side Story was my first Broadway show. You always wonder if being hired was a fluke.  It’s easy to doubt yourself, especially at such a young age. But getting La Cage really bolstered my confidence because the dancing was so different from that of West Side Story. I knew I could do this. I’m not just a one-hit wonder. I belong here. 

GS: Because I grew up in a multi-racial, multi-cultural household, with workaholic parents who wanted to give us the good life they never knew, my parents were really frugal. They saved to send me to college so I could become a doctor. That was the game plan. But I was the class clown who liked attention. I’d write and sing Weird Al Yankovic-style parodies in high school. One day the president of the drama club asked me to audition for Little Shop of Horrors. 

Suddenly, I was in a musical. I’d never even heard a Broadway score before. I discovered I had a knack for it. My love for performing grew into a passion and then into a career. So, I’d have to say my “big break” was simply discovering theater. I’ve been really fortunate as a person in a brown body having gotten to do a lot in a very white art form. 

CF: And you’re an Ecua-pino, you’re a double minority. 

GS:  Actually, I’m a triple minority – because I’m also gay. 

CF:  So am I!  Wow, we’re two gay guys into musical theater. How not rare!  I don’t usually get into this aspect this early in an interview. But because you brought it up, how has being Latinx impacted your career? 

YE:  Honestly, for me, being a Latin male in theater has been a blessing. But I’ve been lucky to be hired in shows about embracing our differences: La Cage, Head Over Heels, Moulin Rouge!, Matilda – are all stories about questioning the norm and welcoming diversity. But, as awesome as it’s been — it’s been hard to break into the principal world. Some directors still resist casting actors of color in major speaking roles. That’s been my challenge.  

CF: Thanks for being so candid, because I wholeheartedly agree. You’ll see productions where diversity is very calculated and measured by casting one Black, one Asian, one Latinx, one trans, etc. Hamilton is rare because inclusion is part of its DNA. At least today producers are compelled to cast ethnically specific roles appropriately. So you’ll finally see an entire cast of hispanos playing the Sharks in West Side Story. But there are very few plays like West Side Story out there.  How about you, George?

GS: Wow. (Takes a deep breath) Okay, at first I really resented being brown. In my high school notebook, I remember writing a bunch of last names that started with the letter “S” – I wrote George Sanders, George Samson, George Seltzer…

CF: That’s hilarious — 

GS: But it’s also really fucking sad. I thought I had to do that or there wasn’t going to be a place for me. My white college friends were booking lots of jobs in summer stock, but not me. It really hurt my confidence. Then, I finally got some internships in New York where I saw Karen Olivo and Eden Espinoza — stage stars who were making it. Once I graduated, I moved from Florida to New York City where they strive to make good art with solid talent. I got work and learned to love and accept myself and my dual ethnicity. 

CF:  Although we continue to grow in numbers relative to our percentage of the U.S. population, we remain grossly underrepresented in entertainment. How did your families react to your career choice? Being Cuban, pursuing a ballet career shouldn’t have been such a stretch for you, Yurel. Get it, “stretch”?  

YE: Got it, Cris. It was weird. Cuba has produced so many world-class dancers. Yet, my dad didn’t want to see me dancing in tights. He felt it wasn’t, um, masculine. He’s come around now – but initially… 

CF: Initially, he copped the American boys don’t dance ‘tude not realizing the strength, coordination and athleticism it takes to dance professionally. 

YE: Right. 

GS:   I’ve gotta say that even though my parents were not totally on-board with the acting thing – while I was interning in New York they totally supported me. It’s a testament to them because I’m sure they worried whether their mixed-race son could survive in this business. 

CF: You’re both not only surviving, you’re thriving. Yurel, tell us about working on Spielberg’s West Side Story remake. The film’s trailer looks beautiful.

YE: It is beautiful. It was a dream experience. Steven Spielberg is a legend who is open with a generosity of spirit. He knew us all by name and invited us to watch playback. And what a budget! They dressed the city to look like the old streets of New York. They brought in cars and props from the 1950’s. 

CF: It looks really real. Doesn’t look like Spielberg used much CGI.

YE: I do not know for sure.  If there are any moments of CGI in the film. My guess would be no. Mr. Spielberg shot it on film, so it’s got that classic warmth to it. 

CF: Did your body take a beating dancing on the hard cement and asphalt like the original 1961 movie cast complained about?

YE: Yes, and the weather was hot. But we had fans and misters all around to keep us cool while waiting between takes. The choreography by Justin Peck is genius, very exciting. It honors Jerome Robbins’ iconic original choreography, but it’s new. 

CF: That brings us to the new production of Head Over Heels at the Pasadena Playhouse.  George, what can we expect? 

GS: Well, you can expect to walk into a party.  We’re doing an environmental 90-minute one-act version of Head Over Heels.  The orchestra seats have been removed and the stage level has been extended over the orchestra. So you’ll have three ticketing options: up in the mezzanine, seated onstage on risers, or on your feet to shake that booty. Those floor tickets are like a choose your own adventure.

CF: Yurel, you were in the original Broadway cast of the show and now under the direction of Jenny Koons and Sam Pinkleton, you’re creating a new role for this reimagined production, right? 

YE:  Yes! I play “The Player” who facilitates integrating the live audience into the story. This Pasadena Playhouse production is more fluid and set in a less-specific time than the original concept. We’re winking at the audience and letting them in on the fun. As George said, it’s a celebration. 

GS:  And it’s exactly what we need right now because we are emerging from two years of endless Zoom meetings. We sat on our couch, with Cheetos breath, in our pajamas, alone in the dark with the windows drawn, afraid of the outside world. Well, Head Over Heels is our welcome-back party and we’re going to blow the roof off!

CF:  With A-list cast members like Alaska 5000 (RuPaul’s Drag Race winner), Lea Delaria (Orange Is the New Black),  Tiffany Mann (Lucille Lortel Award-winner), Emily Skeggs (Tony and Grammy Award-nominee), Shanice Williams (“Dorothy” in NBC’s The Wiz Live!) and you two gents – the audience will be head over heels with delight. Did you guys notice how I brilliantly worked in the show’s title? Last question: You guys are making it. What advice do you have for aspiring actors?

YE:  Assuming that they’ve done the deep dive and concluded that this is the only thing that will fulfill them and they are willing to accept the rejection, I would tell them that it takes patience.  Separate your worth from your work. Yes, work on your craft but be kind and generous – especially to yourself. Even if you are not employed, you are not broken. You are whole. If you create a balanced life, the work will follow. Develop your own abilities and simply keep going. 

GS:  And go forth and conquer!  

To see the dazzling Yurel Echezarreta and the hilarious George Salazar in the Pasadena Playhouse’s Head Over Heels, log onto: pasadenaplayhouse.org. 

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There has been much written and discussed about the upcoming Steven Spielberg film adaptation of the musical West Side Story. The Walt Disney Company released the new “sneak peek” of the film this morning, adding fuel to the anticipation of this film by so many. 

One thing is certain, for the most part, everyone is awaiting the release of this film for many reasons. For some, it’s the nostalgia of having watched the 1961 film, which Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise directed back in the ’60s. For others, it’s a chance to finally see more Latinos in the lead roles they were not allowed to play in the original film production. And for others, it is the “come full circle” for the revered actress Rita Moreno who starred and won an Oscar for her portrayal of Anita in the original film. Fast forward and she now has a pivotal role in the new adaptation while taking on a new role as one of the executive producers.

One thing is for sure, we all await the release of West Side Story in the U.S. theaters on December 10, 2021. Expectations are high.

 The film stars, Rachel Zegler, a virtually unknown actress who will be making her feature film debut in West Side Story and Ansel Elgort, with Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, Josh Andrés Rivera, Corey Stoll, and Brian d’Arcy James. Choreography is by Justin Peck.

Starring as Maria, the female lead in the film is Zegler in her feature film debut. She is a singer and songwriter, raised in New Jersey with her dad and Colombian mother. She landed the role beating 30,000 persons auditioning. She plays opposite Elgort who plays Tony. They lead a cast of many hundreds. Quite a leap for Zegler, however she first played the role of Maria in a Performing Arts School presentation at Bergen Performing Arts Center.

West Side Story is one of the most beloved musical romantic dramas. The film, which is also co-produced by Spielberg, is written by Tony Kushner, who is also one of the executive producers.

The film went into development in 2014 at 20th Century Fox, and Kushner began writing the screenplay by 2017. Spielberg came on board in 2018, and casting began late that year. The filming began in July 2019 with the shoot taking place in New York and New Jersey. The production just missed running into having to film during Covid 19. However, the release was affected, with the release date having been pushed back to, finally, December 10.

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Christmas may be months away but Disney has announced what could be considered an early yuletide gift for America with a strong Latino flavor. The company announced the Disney Channel Original Movie Christmas Again, a heartwarming family dramedy starring Disney fan-favorite Scarlett Estevez, will premiere Dec. 3.

Directed by Paul Fickman, who has a long string of comedies and family films under his belt such as Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 and Race to Witch Mountain, the new Disney movie is a story about a Latino blended family that thankfully also features several talents with Spanish-language surnames in prominent roles. 

Several Latino actors stand out in the Disney movie. In addition to Estevez (Bunk’d, Daddy’s Home) also featured are Alexis Carra (Grey’s Anatomy), Ashlyn Jade Lopez (The Vampire Diaries), Priscilla Lopez (Maid in Manhattan) and newcomer Jacob F. Perez. 

Being a mixed family, Christmas Again also stars Daniel Sunjata (One for the Money), Beth Lacke (Mr. 3000) and Gary Anthony Williams (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows). Italian-American Tony Amendola (Annabelle) plays a Latino abuelo.

Estevez’s leading character is Rowena “Ro,” an energetic teen experiencing a dull Christmas. Her parents’ recent divorce has upended her life and wishes things to go back to the way they were. Her dad (Sunjata) has a new girlfriend (Lacke) and son, whom she wants out of the picture. Ro wants their family traditions to remain the same. After a disappointing celebration with her family, including her sister Gabriela “Gabby” (Ashlyn Jade Lopez), Abuela Sofia (Priscilla Lopez) and abuelo Hector (Amendola), the teen girl makes a wish to a neighborhood Santa (Williams) for a “do-over” and unexpectedly finds herself reliving Christmas day over again and again. To break the magical loop, Ro must learn to appreciate her loving family as it is and the true meaning of Christmas.

Thirteen-year-old Cuban-American Estevez started acting at age 3 in TV commercials and a couple of years later shot her first feature film, And Then There Was You, starring Garcelle Beauvais. She co-starred in the Nickelodeon movie The Massively Mixed-Up Middle School Mystery and was a supporting lead in the films Daddy’s Home and Daddy’s Home 2 playing the daughter of Mark Wahlberg. She is currently a series regular as Trixie Espinoza on Fox’s Lucifer. Currently the star of Disney’s Bunk’d, she will co-star also in the Disney upcoming lucha libre superhero series Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion.

Carra, who is of Spanish, Cuban and Argentine descent, started as a series regular in the short-lived ABC series Mixology. Her credits include Grey’s Anatomy, Castle, The Mentalist and Bones. A trained ballet dancer since the age of two, she has performed on Broadway and is a choreographer for film and TV projects.

Up-and-coming actress Ashlyn Jade Lopez was only age 9 when she starred as young Nadia in The Vampire Diaries series. Her film and TV credits include Lifetime’s movie The Wrong House and the Netflix film Beneath the Leaves.

With a long career that included a child role in the Academy Award-winning 1961 film West Side Story, Priscilla Lopez may be best known for her work on the 2002 rom-com Maid in Manhattan alongside Jennifer Lopez, playing the pop singer’s lead character. Priscilla Lopez has also appeared in the comedy Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise and Sleeping With the Fishes, the latter of which won her an Imagen Award nom for Best Actress/Supporting Actress.

Christmas Again marks the feature film debut for newcomer child actor Jacob F. Perez. He appeared in the Silver Telly Award-winning short The Audition, a drama written and starred by Isaías Pérez about a Latino actor who doesn’t fit the Hollywood stereotype and goes to great lengths to make casting directors notice his talent. Jacob was also featured in the Fox series Proven Innocent. 

Christmas Again was filmed in Chicago. Director Fickman also executive produces with long-time producing partner Betsy Sullenger, both of whom worked together in the Disney Channel hit series Liv & Maddie. Christmas Again was written by Doan La (Black Friday).

Featured Photo: Disney’s Christmas Again stars Scarlett Estevez as Rowena “Ro”. (Credit: Disney/Ed Herrera)

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The highly anticipated reimagining of the Oscar-winning groundbreaking American classic film West Side Story will be opening in theaters on December 10, 2021.

During the Oscars, Sunday night premiered the first official trailer for 20^th Century Studio’s West Side Story. A colorful, visually breathtaking trailer.

Directed by the iconic filmmaker Steven Spielberg and written by Tony Kushner (Lincoln and Munich), this duo is breathing new life into this interracial interpretation of the timeless Shakespearean tale Romeo and Juliet.

West Side Story was originally a stage play, with music written by one of the influential composers of modern music, Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein was married to the Chilean actress Felicia Montealegre.

In West Side Story, two street gangs (The Jets and The Sharks) in 1950s New York fight for dominance of the though streets of the upper west side. However, issues arise when The Shark’s leader’s Bernardo’s (David Alvarez) sister Maria (Rachael Zelger) falls in love with Tony (Ansel Elgot), a member of The Jets.

The EGOT winning actress Rita Moreno, who was both a part of the main cast and won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Anita in the original 1961 West Side Story, will also be appearing in this version of the film as Valentina, a new and original character for the 2021 film.

This year marks the 60^th anniversary of the original West Side Story.

— Written By: Justina Bonilla

— Featured Photo: Disney Studios

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