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Bad Bunny is never leaving Puerto Rico. To celebrate his 31st birthday, the reggaeton star shared the video for “La Mudanza,” which stresses his eternal love for his native island and his family’s history.

The video opens with Bad Bunny reciting the story behind his family tree as old-school photos of his ancestors flash onscreen. Then, baby Benito is born. The video sees Bad Bunny’s fictional parents (his brother Bernie plays his dad) as they drive the newborn through a sunrise after coming into the world.

The camera pans to the newborn,...

Bad Bunny is taking over the world with his new album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.

One of the songs, “NUEVAYoL,” is rapidly gaining attention online as a love letter to New York City and Latin culture.

With the track, Benito samples “Un Verano en Nueva York” by El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico and Andy Montañez, a Puerto Rican salsa hit from the ’70s.

There are multiple cultural lyrical references to everyone from Big Pun to Juan Soto to Frida Kahlo to Willie Colón, a Puerto Rican salsa singer born in 1950, and his debut album titled El Malo.

He also references a bar called Caribbean Social Club, popularly known as Tonita’s because owner María Antonia Cay, located in Brooklyn, New York. It is one of the last remaining Caribbean clubs in Brooklyn. Bad Bunny even visited the spot alongside Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Nydia Velazquez, the first Puerto Rican woman to serve in Congress!

Rauw Alejandro stopped by The Tonight Show to showcase his songs “Qué Pasaría” and “Amar De Nuevo.” The Puerto Rican musician, who appeared alongside his band and backup dancers, created a soulful medley of the tracks with a vibe-y red backdrop. During the stylish performance, Alejandro seamlessly transitioned between the two numbers, offering a glimpse of his most recent release.

“Qué Pasaría,” a collaboration with Bad Bunny, comes off Alejandro’s new album, Cosa Nuestra. “Amar De Nuevo” also appeared on the LP, which arrived earlier this month and was...

Rauw Alejandro is already a star. But his new album, Cosa Nuestra, named after a classic 1969 LP by Puerto Rican salsa icons Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe, sees Alejandro striving for something grander: to put himself in the same timeless Puerto Rican canon as his idols. It’s an album inspired in near-equal parts by R&b and the Fania All-Stars; a record that draws equally from Pharrell Williams, who is featured on “Committed,” as much as it does from salsa legends like Frankie Ruiz, covered by Alejandro on “Tú Con Él.

At the beginning of his video for “No Es Culpa Mía,” Pink Pablo traipses into frame, pours a beer over his head, takes off his shirt, kicks a keyboard off its stand, knocks over a rack of clothes, and starts screaming into a mic. What you might not know is that you’re watching someone with a master’s in neuroscience practicing what he’s learned.

Pink Pablo, whose real name is Juan Pablo Rivera, has been making music on and off for more than four years now. But it...

“Dancing with the Stars” will spice things up on Latin Night on Tuesday, so get ready for some major hip action.

The samba and rumba will make their debut this season with three couples performing the former and just one, Jason Mraz and Daniella Karagach, doing the latter. Guess they’re really gonna test his extra vertebrae. The other nine couples will either perform a cha-cha, salsa or tango.

See the full list below.

Tyson Beckford and Jenna Johnson: salsa (“Aguanile” by Willie Colón and Héctor Levoe)

Xochitl Gomez and Val Chmerkovskiy: salsa (“Don’t Go Yet” by Camila Cabello)

Alyson Hannigan and Sasha Farber: tango (“Can’t Remember to Forget You” by Shakira feat. Rihanna)

Harry Jowsey and Rylee Arnold: salsa (“Arranca” by Becky G feat. Omega)

Charity Lawson and Artem Chigvintsev: cha-cha (“She Bangs” by Ricky Martin)

Ariana Madix and Pasha Pashkov:...

In his brownstone in Manhattan’s Chelsea district, Rubén Blades is wrapping up a call with a business associate when one last question comes to mind: “Hey, when you seeing Bad Bunny?”

The friend doesn’t know.

“Just tell him that I would like for him to help me in a production of something I’m doing,” Blades asserts. “See what he says. And let me know.”

Despite their four-decade-plus age difference, the request isn’t surprising. Blades has met Bad Bunny a few times, starting with the time a...

Immediately after the podcast La Brega launched in February of 2021, it was met with rave reviews from listeners and critics alike. The first season of the show — co-produced by Futuro Studios and Wnyc — focused on historical and sociopolitical events that have shaped Puerto Rico over the past few decades. The storytelling struck a chord both with locals living on the archipelago and Puerto Ricans in the diaspora — and the program also drew in non-Puerto Ricans, who have been enthralled by the meticulous reporting showcased in each episode.

The story of...

The 7th annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards unveiled its winners in a gala event that was live-streamed from New York City. It was Amazon Studios’ Good Night Oppy that was the biggest winner of the night taking home five trophies including the top accolade of the night — winning Gold for Best Documentary Feature.

Good Night Oppy also made Ryan White a winner for Best Director, Best Score went to Blake Neely, Best Narration and Best Science/Nature Documentary.

The Critics Choice Documentary Awards recognize the year’s finest achievements in documentaries released in theaters, on TV and on major digital platforms, as determined by the voting of qualified Critics Choice Association (Cca) members.

Christopher Campbell, Co-President of the Critics Choice Association’s Documentary Branch said, “Tonight was a whole new Doc Awards – hosting the ceremony in a new, bigger...

The first time Howard Grimes met Al Green, he wasn’t sure the singer was who he claimed to be. Grimes was touring with Willie Mitchell’s band as a drummer when a man approached the ensemble at a show in Fort Worth, Texas, asking to perform a song. At the time, Green had released “Back Up Train,” a modest hit, but he was hardly a household name. Mitchell didn’t want to be conned, so he checked with the club owner to see if the singer was legit. Once Green’s identity was confirmed,...

“This gun is my judge, my jury… and my executioner!”

Robert Forster and Fred Williamson in Vigilante is coming to 4K Uhd and Blu-ray December 15th from Blue Underground’s. Check out the retsoration trailer:

New York City factory worker Eddie Marino is a solid citizen and regular guy, until the day a sadistic street gang brutally assaults his wife and murders his child. But when a corrupt judge sets the thugs free, Eddie goes berserk and vows revenge. Now there’s a new breed of marauder loose on the city streets, enforcing his own kind of law. His justice is swift. His methods are violent. He is the Vigilante.

Fred Williamson (From Dusk Till Dawn), Richard Bright (The Godfather), Rutanya Alda (Amityville II: The Possession), Carol Lynley (The Poseidon Adventure), Woody Strode (Spartacus), Joe Spinell (Maniac) and Salsa legend Willie Colón co-star in this hard-hitting exploitation classic from director...

Exclusive: Concord’s Film & TV unit has teamed with Pose and Vikings executive producer Sherry Marsh of Marsh Entertainment as well as Jane the Virgin executive producer Jorge Granier of Aquarius Pictures and Sergio Pizzolante (Nicky Jam: El Ganador) to develop a scripted film and/or television project about the history of Fania Records, the label that popularized salsa music. Concord’s Sophia Dilley and Fania’s Bruce McIntosh will co-developing the project and serving as executive producers.

Founded by Johnny Pacheco and Jerry Masucci, New York-based Fania Records is considered by many to be “the Motown of Latin Music.” It flourished from the late 1960s to the mid-’80s, becoming highly influential both musically and culturally. The label spread the sound of salsa music from the clubs of New York City to the rest of the world and became a revered global brand in the process.

Fania created...

This week was all about the all-star collaborations. Fat Joe locks in Anuel AA and Cardi ‘La Cardi’ B on Spanglish track, “Yes”; Tito El Bambino, Pitbull and El Alfa run wild in “Imagínate”; and Piso 21 recruits Christian Nodal on “Pa’ Olvidarme de Ella.” In case you missed it, here are some highlights from the week in Latin music — now with a Spotify playlist!

Fat Joe, Cardi B, Anuel AA Team Up on Scorching New Song ‘Yes’

The Bronx stands tall in “Yes,” the latest single by hometown hero Fat Joe.

The Bronx stands tall in “Yes,” the latest single by hometown hero Fat Joe. With help from two of hip-hop’s most monumental Latinx voices — Grammy-winning rapper Cardi B and Latin trap star Anuel AA — the prolific Puerto Rican-Cuban Mc dropped the surprise new track at midnight on Thursday.

Fat Joe makes his mission crystal clear from the track’s onset. “Ass up, face down,” he repeats like a magic spell — presumably manifesting booty over a sample of Hector Lavoe and Willie Colón’s 1972 salsa hit, “Aguanilé.” The original song...

Colombia’s viral chart is generally awash in tuneful reggaeton — the dominant sound of commercial pop in that country, with its tightly programmed beats and curt rumbles of bass. But in June 2018, an unusual song rocketed to the top of the Spotify ranking: “La Mitad De La Mitad” by Crudo Means Raw. The looping rhythm section evokes old funk records, rather than laptop wizardry, and instead of sketching tales of love (or at least lust), the lyrics rallied against new anti-drug laws in the country.

“La Mitad De La Mitad...

A nine-time Grammy-winner and all-star vocalist of the illustrious salsa label, Fania Records, Rubén Blades is a living legend. Following a 2017 collaboration with Lin-Manuel Miranda, as well as Salsa Big Band, his 2017 album with Roberto Delgado & Orquesta, Blades has announced a live LP out October 19th, titled Una Noche con Rubén Blades.

The album was recorded live in 2014 with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, in New York City’s Rose Theater. Blades performed some of his most treasured hits from over the last four decades, including “Pedro Navaja” and “El Cantante,...

London-based label Independiente Records has been acquired by Concord Music. Founded in 1997 by Andy Macdonald, the label is home to such artists as Travis, Embrace, So Solid Crew, Archive, Martina Topley-Bird and Paul Weller, among others.

Independiente joins Concord’s stable of historical labels managed by its Craft Recordings team. They include Fania, Milestone, Musart, Nitro, Pablo, Prestige, Riverside, Savoy, Specialty, Stax, Telarc, Vee-Jay, and Wind-up.

Concord active labels include Concord Records, Fantasy Records, Fearless Records (including Razor & Tie), Loma Vista Recordings, Rounder Records, Varèse Sarabande and Kidz Bop. The company collectively releases more than 100 new recordings annually.

Independiente’s top-selling artist is Travis (pictured), whose 1999 album, “The Man Who,” was a No. 1 seller in the U.K. and moved over 3.5 million copies world-wide. The band followed up with 2001’s “The Invisible Band” which yielded the radio hits “Sing” and “Flowers in the Window.”

Said Independiente’s Macdonald: “It...

Latin music company Fania Records and Publishing has been bought by Concord Music from Miami-based Codigo Entertainment. Fania assets include some 19,000 master recordings and 8,000 compositions, among them works by such iconic Latin and R&B artists as Celia Cruz (pictured), Willie Colón, Héctor Lavoe and Rubén Blades. It is also home to important records in genres like Salsa, Latin big band and boogaloo, the latter of which — performed by Pete Rodriguez in “I Like It Like That” — can be heard on the hook to the current Cardi B hit “I Like It.”

On the publishing side, Fania’s catalog includes tunes written by Louis A. Perez and Luis Diaz. Songs sampling Fania publishing works include Christina Aguilera’s “Ain’t No Other Man” and Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie.”

Said Concord CEO Scott Pascucci: “We are huge fans of Fania and its extraordinary musical legacy. As investors, the acquisition...

Hundreds of people rallied in support of Colin Kaepernick in NYC Wednesday -- including Susan Sarandon -- who said proudly, "I'm With Kaep." The "United We Stand" rally went down in front of the NFL headquarters in New York -- stars like Kurtis Blow, ex-nfl player Willie Colon and rapper Mysonne were all there. Rally in support of Colin Kaepernick in front of @NFL. Together we win. I stand with Colin. #ImWithKap pic.twitter.com...

San Juan, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rican salsa legend Cheo Feliciano died in a car accident early Thursday, prompting the governor of the U.S. territory to declare three days of mourning. Feliciano, a member of the Fania All Stars, was one of the most recognized salsa singers, with hits including "Una en un millón," ''Mi promesa," and "Contigo aprendi." The 78-year-old Feliciano was alone in his Jaguar when he hit a light post before dawn in the northern suburb of Cupey. Police officer Jorge Hernandez Pena, who is overseeing investigation of the crash, said in a phone interview that Feliciano was not wearing his seatbelt. He said it is unclear what led to the crash, adding that officials did not find any drugs or alcohol in the car. His wife of 56 years, Socorro "Coco" Prieto Leon, told reporters that Feliciano had been at a casino Wednesday night. "He was...

New York -- One makes a video with Steve Buscemi and rockers Vampire Weekend. Another gets shout-outs from Whoopi Goldberg and Brooke Shields. A third hobnobs over cocktails with an actor from "The Sopranos."

No, it's not an awards show weekend. It's the New York City mayor's race, featuring a cast of celebrities like few other municipal elections.

Last weekend, Democratic mayoral contender Christine Quinn unfurled a star-dusted list of pro-gay-rights backers of her bid to become the city's first female and first openly gay mayor. Among them: singer Lance Bass, actor Neil Patrick Harris, director Rob Reiner and "Project Runway" style czar Tim Gunn, who said Quinn would "make the position of mayor the bully pulpit it needs to be to fight for all New Yorkers. "

Ten days earlier, Alec Baldwin announced that he'd raffle off two dinner invites to any-amount donors to Democratic candidate Bill de Blasio.

"There...

Boogaloo is back.

One of the musical genre’s innovators, the self-proclaimed “Afro-Filipino King of Latin Soul” Joe Bataan will play Friday at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

Called the “first Nuyorican music” by producer Rene Lopez, boogaloo was born in 1960s. Often sung in both English and Spanish, boogaloo blends Latin rhythms like mambo and son with R&B, soul and doo-wop into a distinctly New York mishmash with a driving backbeat. As Juan Flores explains in From Bomba to Hip-Hop: Puerto Rican Culture and Latino Identity, the musical fusion emerged in Manhattan dancehalls where Latino and black neighbors got together. At the same locale, mambo might dominate one night, and R&B another.

As Jimmy Sabeter of the Joe Cuba Sextet tells it in Flores' book, boogaloo’s birth occurred when the band first played its hit “Bang! Bang!” during a 1966 gig...

Pittsburgh is enamored with the Bat, my friends, and to take the big city’s union with The Dark Knight Rises up one more level, director Christopher Nolan will require the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers. Football fans may rejoice.

Boomtron delivered the first peek at Catwoman, Anne Hathaway. There were no tell-tale kitty ears, but the comic book goggles were on her pretty little face after a fashion. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of the third and final Batman starring Christian Bale? Click that link to see the first ever teaser trailer.

It was THR that announced Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and a dozen of his teammates, including Hines Ward, Willie Colon and Maurkice Pouncey were expected to be filming last weekend. That means the crew journeyed to Heinz Field for shooting and “thousands of extras” portrayed fans. I wonder if they pretended to be the Gotham Knights,...

The daily news reports and fan photos from the Pittsburgh shoot of The Dark Knight Rises, the final film in writer/director Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, turned somewhat comical yesterday as a stuntwoman for Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman character lost control of her giant motorcycle and wrecked an IMAX camera. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hathaway’s stunt double was riding the motorbike down the steps of a Carnegie Mellon University building when she lost control and plowed into the expensive camera. No one was hurt in the accident. The Catwoman crash might be the highlight so far of the elaborate shoot that included Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and his teammates including Hines Ward, Willie Colon and Maurkice Pouncey joining the film over the weekend for a big scene at Heinz Field.

From MTV News: The NFL lockout might be over, but life for the Pittsburgh Steelers was certainly not back to usual on Saturday, when Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight Rises" swooped into Heinz Field and recast the team as the Gotham Rogues.

Clad in familiar black-and-gold uniforms, the Steelers-turned-Rogues included Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward, Willie Colon, Troy Polamalu and Heath Miller, according to multiple local reports. Former Steelers coach Bill Cowher returned to the sideline to play the Rogues' coach. Cowher and crew were joined by more than 10,000 extras, bussed in to film a fictional game between the Rogues and the Rapid City Monuments.

The shoot itself dives into some spoilery territory, so if you'd like to remain blissfully unaware of the goings-on in Gotham during "Dark Knight Rises," in which Batman faces off against Bane, turn back now!

Read the full story at MTV News!

It was a big weekend at Heinz Field, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Christopher Nolan used the stadium to film an important scene in “The Dark Knight Rises,” and more than a few people were there, including some very famous ones.

According to multiple local reports, more than 10,000 people were in the scene, making noise for the fictional gridiron squad, the Gotham Rogues. In addition to these extras, real players from the Pittsburgh Steelers got in on the action, including Hines Ward, Willie Colon, Ben Roethlisberger, Heath Miller, Ike Taylor, Aaron Smith, Ryan Clark, Troy Polamalu, and Brett Keisel; rather than being extras in the stadium, they were extras for the Rogues. Bill Cower, a former coach of the Steelers, was also there to play the coach. Even Pittsburgh mayor Luke Ravenstahl got involved.

There was also a part where Tom Hardy, playing Bane, got up and spoke to the crowd.

NFL team was snapped shooting scenes as fictional Gotham Rogues.

By Eric Ditzian

Christian Bale films "The Dark Knight Rises"

Photo: Jared Wickerham/ Getty Images

The NFL lockout might be over, but life for the Pittsburgh Steelers was certainly not back to usual on Saturday, when Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight Rises" swooped into Heinz Field and recast the team as the Gotham Rogues.

Clad in familiar black-and-gold uniforms, the Steelers-turned-Rogues included Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward, Willie Colon, Troy Polamalu and Heath Miller, according to multiple local reports. Former Steelers coach Bill Cowher returned to the sideline to play the Rogues' coach. Cowher and crew were joined by more than 10,000 extras, bussed in to film a fictional game between the Rogues and the Rapid City Monuments.

The shoot itself dives into some spoilery territory, so if you'd like to remain blissfully unaware of the goings-on in Gotham during "Dark Knight Rises,...

NFL team was snapped shooting scenes as fictional Gotham Rogues.

By Eric Ditzian

Christian Bale films "The Dark Knight Rises"

Photo: Jared Wickerham/ Getty Images

The NFL lockout might be over, but life for the Pittsburgh Steelers was certainly not back to usual on Saturday, when Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight Rises" swooped into Heinz Field and recast the team as the Gotham Rogues.

Clad in familiar black-and-gold uniforms, the Steelers-turned-Rogues included Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward, Willie Colon, Troy Polamalu and Heath Miller, according to multiple local reports. Former Steelers coach Bill Cowher returned to the sideline to play the Rogues' coach. Cowher and crew were joined by more than 10,000 extras, bussed in to film a fictional game between the Rogues and the Rapid City Monuments.

The shoot itself dives into some spoilery territory, so if you'd like to remain blissfully unaware of the goings-on in Gotham during "Dark Knight Rises,...

Hines Ward, Ben Roethlisberger and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl were just three of the 10,000 Pittsburgh area residents who participated in a massive scene for Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises" at Heinz Field Saturday. According to numerous reports including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pittsburgh Tribune Review and ABC Wtae, Roethlisberger and Ward were joined by fellow Pittsburgh Steelers Willie Colon, Troy Polamalu, Heath Miller, Ike Taylor, Ryan Clark, Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel as extras on the Gotham Rogues football team.  Legendary former Steelers Coach Bill Cower returned to the grid iron as a coach, but it appeared he was...

Batman 3,Dark Knight Rises get pro football players to help film big football scene. According to Batman-news, the big "Batman 3: The Dark Knight Rises" production team has enlisted the help of pro football players Pittsburgh Steelers Qb Ben Roethlisberger,Hines Ward, Willie Colon, Maurkice Pouncey, Mike Wallace, Heath Miller, Aaron Smith, Ryan Clark, Troy Polamalu, James Farrior,and Casey Hampton to help out as extras in filming the big football scene that is currently filming this weekend. They will reportedly be joining the Gotham Rogues team,and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette were the first to break the story. In related news,actress Anne Hathaway finally showed up on set this week to film her iconic,action-filled Catwoman scenes,and they looked cool too as she was riding a sleek motorcycle through town.

Batman 3,Dark Knight Rises Get Pro Football Players To Help Film Big Football Scene is a post from: ontheflix.

"The Dark Knight Rises" is going to film a scene with members of the Pittsburgh Steelers professional football team. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has revealed that he and about a dozen of his teammates are billed to join the shooting on Saturday morning, August 6 at Heinz Field.

Sharing what he knows about the scene, Roethlisberger said, "From what I've heard, it's going to be like a pre-game, warming-up type thing. I don't know the whole concept. There's a Gotham team, a football game. We'll be wearing uniforms." Among his teammates who will take part in the filming are Hines Ward, Willie Colon, Maurkice Pouncey, Mike Wallace, Heath Miller, Aaron Smith, Ryan Clark, Troy Polamalu, James Farrior and Casey Hampton.

"I'm kind of getting everybody together," Roethlisberger added when admitting that he is excited to be part of the film. "I heard it's going to be a neat thing at the stadium.

Filming continues on the overly-hyped, news-worthy final Batman film – The Dark Knight Rises – for Christopher Nolan in Pittsburgh, and they’re getting set up at Heinz Field this weekend for a scene involving Batman, Bane, and a Gotham football team (probably Bane interrupting a game in progress for added anarchy).

With that, and because they need some football professionals, the film will be using the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger and Hines Ward, Willie Colon, Maurkice Pouncey, Mike Wallace, Heath Miller, Aaron Smith, Ryan Clark, Troy Polamalu, James Farrior and Casey Hampton.

Says Big Ben, “I heard it’s going to be a neat thing at the stadium. I don’t think it will be a big part, it’s not like we’re chasing Batman down or anything. From what I’ve heard, it’s going to be like a pre-game, warming-up type thing. I don’t know the whole concept.

Christopher Nolan recently started shooting exterior scenes on location in Pittsburgh for The Dark Knight Rises, and a flood of set photos and information have been hitting the web all week. Earlier today, we got our first official look at Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman merely hours before set photos hit showing Hathaway’s stunt double filming scenes on set. Today, word comes that Ben Roethlisberger and a number of his Pittsburgh Steelers teammates will appear in the film. Since this is The Dark Knight Rises, and many people are trying to stay away from any and all information regarding the film until the release date (good luck), I’ll elaborate more on this mild-spoiler story after the jump. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Heat Vision) reported today that Roethlisberger and a number of his teammates (including Hines Ward, Willie Colon, Maurkice Pouncey, Mike Wallace, Heath Miller, Aaron Smith, Ryan Clark,...

The Dark Knight Rises is currently shooting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, working towards a July 20, 2012 release date. The crew is getting ready for tomorrow's shoot in the home of NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers, Heinz Field, which will also feature members of the Steelers team including quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. A new set of photos have been released which show how Heinz Field has been transformed into the home stadium of the Gotham Rogues. Take a look at these new photos below, plus read on for more information on The Dark Knight Rises' Pittsburgh production.

Saturday's shoot at Heinz Field will feature over a dozen Steelers players as extras, with thousands of other extras being recruited to fill the stands. The scenes being shot tomorrow are of a high school football game featuring the Gotham Rogues. Here's what Ben Roethlisberger had to say about the shoot.

"From what I've heard, it's going to be like a pre-game,...

In casting call news there was a mention of "special" player(s) in the football scene and that the extras were in for a treat. Well they weren't lying! I'll assume most of the extras will be diehard Steeler fans and they'll get to see their favorite star quarterback suiting up. Super Bowl champion quarterback Ben Roethlisberger who would probably be under Batman's radar for perving on drunk chicks, will actually be helping the Dark Knight with a key scene. As I mentioned yesterday rumors are spreading that this football scene will have an explosive opening kickoff. Also on hand will be: Hines Ward (Dancing with the Stars), Willie Colon, Maurkice Pouncey, Mike Wallace, Heath Miller, Aaron Smith, Ryan Clark, Troy Polamalu, James Farrior and Casey Hampton. Roethlisberger and about a dozen of his veteran teammates will take part in the filming of Dark Knight Rises playing -- what else?...

The daily doses of production reports and fan photos continued to roll out of the Pittsburgh shoot of The Dark Knight Rises, the final film in writer/director Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. In addition to the fan coverage, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures also provided images and news from the highly anticipated movie. Today's Batman buzz revolved around Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and his teammates including Hines Ward, Willie Colon and Maurkice Pouncey joining the film this weekend for a big scene at Heinz Field. "I'm kind of getting everybody together," Roethlisberger told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I heard it's going to be a neat thing at the stadium. I don't think it will be a big part. It's not like we're chasing Batman down or anything. It's something neat that in 10 years or 20 years we can tell our kids we were in a movie."...

DVD Playhouse September 2010

By

Allen Gardner

The Girl Who Played With Fire (Music Box Films) Follow up to the hit The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo finds Lisabeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) and Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) joining forces once again as Blomkvist is about to break a story on Sweden’s sex trade, which leads unexpectedly to a dark secret from Elizabeth’s past. Starts off well, then quickly nose-dives into sensationalism and downright silliness, with a pair of villains who are straight out of a Roger Moore-era James Bond film. A real letdown for those of us who felt Dragon Tattoo had finally breathed life into the cinema’s long-stagnant genre of the thriller. Bonuses: English language track; Trailer. Widescreen. Dolby 5.1 surround.

The Killer Inside Me (IFC Films) Michael Winterbottom’s adaptation of Jim Thompson’s classic, and notorious, novel about the psychotic mind of a small town sheriff (Casey Affleck,...

Death Wish (1974) spawned an endless array of clones both in the U.S. and Europe. The influence of Death Wish is so immense that filmmakers are still aping the source material. One of the entries in this multi-decade wave of thugs-kill-man's-family-so-man-kills-thugs movies is Bill Lustig's Vigilante (1982). The film, which will be available on a slick new Blu-Ray from Blue Underground on September 21st, is a grim spartan work that has enough edge to really stand out from the pack.

It is New York City in 1982. Rapists, hoodlums, and gangs dressed in bandanas and blue jean jackets are trolling every nook and cranny of the city in search of innocent middle-class prey. One of the victims is Eddie Martino (Robert Forster), a working class schlub who is ready for a vacation his wife (Rutanya Alda) and little boy. Eddie's vacation never happens because Rico (musician Willie Colon) slices up his...

There's one part of Ben Roethlisberger 's infamous night out in Georgia that's indisputable -- he and teammate Willie Colon were on a serious drinking spree, and they were not stingy with the gratuity. Newly released documents from the investigation… Read more...

Our outgoing mayor Mike gave a party for our ongoing senator Hillary. Intimate little gathering. The only Democrat not there was Obama. And everyone had a title. A congressperson, councilperson, alderperson, a deputy mayor, former mayor, wannabe mayor. More black cars around than at a state funeral. And checking VIPs through the gates, cops guarding Gracie Mansion were discussing what? Ketchup packets versus mustard for a hamburger.

Only Ed Koch didn't mill about. He sat on the veranda. A whisper around me whispered: "Looks like he doesn't want to leave Gracie Mansion."

Bloomberg told me last weekend he...

TORONTO -- The downward spiral for the main characters in El Cantante begins in the first scenes, so all director Leon Ichaso can do to distract you from the depressing story of salsa king Hector Lavoe is put as much exuberance into the musical performances as in the drug highs. Thus Ichaso fills his movie with so many chart-busting hits, El Cantante almost feels like a party film. Unfortunately, the music is as irresistible as the tired story of a musician succumbing to substance abuse is resistible. What can you do with a character whose own wife admits that the greater he becomes as an artist, the deeper he sinks as a human being?

Real-life husband and wife Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez provide the real chemistry -- albeit the combustible kind -- as Lavoe and his wife of 20 years, Puchi. And Anthony's re-recordings of Lavoe's classics bring great energy to the movie. Even so, El Cantante may struggle to attract an audience beyond fans of the music and of the stars who re-create the tragedy behind such happy songs.

The framing device in the screenplay Ichaso wrote with David Darmstaedter and Todd Anthony Bello is an interview, shot in black and white, given by Puchi some time after her husband's death. Indeed, it is a ghost story because, as she sadly laughs, just about everyone is dead except her.

Hector Perez, as Lavoe was known before his record label renamed him, came to the isle of Manhattan from the isle of Puerto Rico intent on conquering the music world. According to Puchi, this proves all too easy. Record producers quickly recognize his talent in small clubs. They pair him with trombonist Willie Colon (John Ortiz) and set the duo out to "cook up" a stew of rumba, mambo, jazz, merengue and plena called salsa.

Hector and Puchi see each other around at Puerto Rican clubs and parties, and soon one thing leads to another. It takes a few years and a son for her to pin him down to marriage. By then she is his unofficial manager, only she cannot manage their offstage lives.

Both become druggies, only he is much worse. What the movie never makes clear is to what degree Puchi was Hector's enabler when it came to substance abuse. She warns him against drugs, in between hits, which is not the best anti-drug message you can deliver.

The movie keeps you at arm's length from its characters, possibly because the filmmakers don't understand them, either. The couple fights over the wrong things as drugs eat away at their bodies and souls. A son, Tito, is seen at various ages, but you get no idea of what family life may be like for the Lavoes. Or if such a thing exists at all.

The movie offers up pat, simplistic reasons for such self-destructive behavior -- a father's rejection, rough patches in a tumultuous marriage -- but they don't wash. Hector can clearly see what is happening to him and to those around him he holds dear.

Anthony and Lopez (who is one of the film's producers) are thoroughly convincing as a couple that cannot live with or without one another. He is a soothing, romantic singer whose songs capture the intoxicating island fever of good times and bracing tropical breezes. She is hot, tough and determined, a devastating combination of brains and beauty.

Even the movie skips the last five years of Lavoe's life, choosing to end with his failed suicide attempt rather than dwell on a slow death from AIDS. Along the way, the film catches glimpses of the heady days of salsa in the '70s as well as the decline of that musical craze the next decade. However, footage from Lavoe's funeral in New York in 1993 demonstrates that thousands still adored the man and his music.

EL CANTANTE

Picturehouse

A Nuyorican Prods./R-Caro Prods. production in association with Union Square Works

Credits:

Director: Leon Ichaso

Screenwriters: Leon Ichaso, David Darmstaedter, Todd Anthony Bello

Producers: Julie Caro, Jennifer Lopez, Simon Fields, David Maldonado

Director of photography: Claudio Chea

Production designer: Sharon Lomofsky

Costume designer: Sandra Hernandez

Co-producer: Margo Myers

Music: Andres Levin

Editor: David Tedeschi

Cast:

Hector Lavoe: Marc Anthony

Puchi: Jennifer Lopez

Willie Colon: John Ortiz

Eddie: Manny Perez

Papo: Antone Pagan

Ralph: Vincent Laresca

No MPAA rating

Running time -- 116 minutes...