News

Star of the 1984 hit 16 Candles, Anthony Michael Hall has given his approval of Selena Gomez's 15 Candles spin-off.

In 2022, Variety reported that Gomez, Tanya Saracho, and Gabriela Revilla Lugo are teaming up to develop a TV comedy based on John Hughes' Sixteen Candles. 

Titled 15 Candles, the half-hour Peacock series is set to follow four young Latinas in high school as they navigate feelings of invisibility and explore the transition from childhood during quinceañera season. 

Read full article on The Direct.

Following the success achieved by the Alliance of Women Directors with its Black Directors Advancement Initiative, the organization has launched the Mentor Latina Director Fellowship. Their #MentorLatinaDirectors Initiative is a fellowship program for current directing members who are Latina/x/e-identifying.

The fellowship’s Class of 2024 includes Melissa Balint; Evelyn Belasco; Maria Gabriela Cardenas; Marissa Chibás; Sophia Costanzo; Fiorella Vescovi Garcia; Saray Guidetti; Bettina Hanna; Silvia Lara; Eunice Levis; Gabriela Revilla Lugo; Paulina Manseau; Luisa Novo; Marcella Ochoa; Gabriela Paciel; Jp Perez; Jessica Rae; Michelle Salcedo; Sacha Smith; Ann Valdés; Maria Valdez; Evette Vargas; and Donna Bonilla Wheeler.

“The program was created and developed in response to a pressing need for much higher levels of equality and inclusion, specifically for Latina/x/e-identifying female directors in our industry. We trust this Fellowship will help eliminate barriers to access and success that have systematically excluded such directors. With these goals in mind,...

Exclusive: Jessica Marie Garcia has signed with CAA for representation.

Garcia currently recurs on the NBC comedy series Lopez Vs. Lopez opposite George and Mayan Lopez, as cousin ‘Yesika’. Before that, she starred on Netflix’s “Most-Binged Original” hit series On My Block as the spitfire ‘Jasmine Flores’, a role that earned her a Teen Choice Award nomination for Best Summer TV Actress and an MTV Movie & TV Award nomination.

She also appeared in Gina Rodriguez’s Disney+ series Diary of a Female President as ‘Camila,’ as well as recurring on Shonda Rhimes’ How To Get Away With Murder playing ‘Rhonda’ opposite Viola Davis. Additionally, she starred in all four seasons of the Disney Channel original series Liv and Maddie as ‘Willow Cruz.’

Her feature film Avenge the Crows, in which she plays ‘Peaches,’ a tough inner-city gang member, starring alongside Danny Trejo and Lou Diamond Phillips,...

Exclusive: An authorized biopic about the life of Jenni Rivera has been greenlit at ViX with Annie Gonzalez set to star and executive produce. Filming of Jenni (wt) is underway in Bogota, Colombia, and will be completed in Los Angeles.

The project is set to premiere exclusively via ViX and in select movie theaters in the United States and Mexico later this year.

Jenni (wt) will follow Rivera’s journey from her humble beginnings in Long Beach, California, to her meteoric rise to the top of the charts, and her final days before her tragic and unexpected death. The film will also share a look at the struggles she endured in her personal life and how she became the artist fans all know and love today, and how she persevered and found strength from within.

Jenni Rivera portrayed by Annie Gonzalez in Jenni (wt)

The streamer notes,...

Exclusive: The Starz #TakeTheLead Writers’ Intensive has selected Corey Dashaun, Gabriela Revilla Lugo, John Lowe, Naiyah Ambros, Raymond Arturo Perez, and Tennessee Martin as the program’s finalists.

The second and final phase, which kicks off on October 3, will see the 6 writers develop, write and pitch a spec episode script for a current Starz series with the support of writers Danny Fernandez and Sahar Jahani as well as Starz executives Samantha Offsay-Nissen, Senior Vice President, Original Programming; Alex Alberts, Director, Original Programming; Giovanna Desselle, Director, Original Programming; and Tara Roy, Director, Original Programming.

The program will wrap on November 4th when participants will pitch their spec episode to the Starz programming team.

“We are elated with the success of this inaugural program and our partnership with Starz and NewFilmmakers Los Angeles as we celebrate the finalists in phase two of the Writer’s Intensive,“ said Karla Pita Loor, chair of Nalip’s Board of Directors.

Exclusive: Starz’s #TakeTheLead Writers’ Intensive has revealed the 10 participants selected from 500 applicants for phase one kicking off on August 22nd.

The finalists are Corey Dashuan, Gabby Revilla Lugo, Ida Yazdi, John Lowe, Jorge Thomson, Naiyah Ambros, Nzinga Kemp, Raymond Arturo Perez, and Tennessee Martin. The cohort includes writers from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds and captures the kind of inclusivity that Starz celebrates in its programming, talent, and throughout its organization.

The program gives the finalists access to industry insiders including Starz executives Kathryn Busby, Kathryn Tyus-Adair, Giovanna Desselle, Sebastian Arboleda, and Jordan Lippetz; Jairo Alvarado and Tony Gil of Redefine Entertainment; Molly Breeskin of Gina Rodriguez’s I Can and I Will Productions; Gary Lennon, showrunner of Starz’s Power Book IV: Force, Kelly Goode at Warner Bros. Television; Lauren Jane Holland at Creative Artists Agency; Felicia Pride, writer and producer of Grey’s Anatomy. Serving as advisors,...

Selena Gomez, Tanya Saracho and Gabriela Revilla Lugo are teaming up to develop a TV comedy spin on John Hughes’ beloved 1984 coming-of-age film “Sixteen Candles.”

Titled “15 Candles,” the half-hour series will follow four young Latinas in high school, navigating feelings of invisibility while exploring what it means to leave childhood behind as quinceañera season approaches. The series, set at Peacock, hails from Universal Content Productions.

Saracho, under her Ojalá Productions banner, and Lugo write and executive produce “15 Candles,” while Gomez also executive produces under her July Moon Productions. Ojalá’s Christine Dávila co-executive produces.

Gomez stars in the recently renewed Hulu comedy “Only Murders in the Building” alongside Steve Martin and Martin Short. Saracho served as a writer, director and producer of the Starz drama “Vida.” Lugo is a writer, director and producer who has worked on projects like “Whiplash,” “Palm Springs” and “A Million Little Things.”

Written and directed by Hughes,...

Exclusive: Tanya Saracho (Vida), Gabriela Revilla Lugo, and Selena Gomez are developing the single-camera comedy 15 Candles, a reconfiguration of the world of John Hughes‘ 16 Candles.

The half-hour series—from UCP for Peacock—follows four young Latinas starting high school as they overcome their feelings of invisibility while exploring what it means to leave childhood behind through the lens of the traditional female coming-of-age rite: the quinceañera.

Saracho, under her Ojalá Production banner, and Lugo serve as writers and executive producers of the project. Gomez also executive produces under her July Moon Productions. Christine Dávila of Ojalá Productions co-executive produces.

Saracho is a playwright and TV writer who most recently served as creator, showrunner, and executive producer of Vida on Starz.

She co-founded the Untitled Latinx Project, whose mission is to increase Latine representation in TV, broadcast, cable, and streaming...

Hulu has released a commentary cut of its 2020 hit “Palm Springs,” Variety has learned exclusively, featuring stars Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti.

The Disney-owned streamer says this version is the first of its kind — a full cast and filmmaker commentary straight out of the DVD era, come to streaming. The commentary cut, available now, also features input from director Max Barbakow and screenwriter Andy Siara.

“As far as I know we’re the first,” Samberg told Variety of the new version. “We realized that ‘Palm Springs’ will always be on Hulu, which is great, but there are elements of the DVD experience that just don’t exist anymore. They were very amenable in talking about ways to get some fun stuff in there.”

Film fans and journalists have long complained about the lack of home entertainment extras in the streaming era. Netflix has previously attempted podcast commentary companions for films...

Romantic comedy “Palm Springs,” starring Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti, will stream exclusively on Amazon Prime Video in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Netherlands, France and the U.K.

Australia and New Zealand will be the first to debut the film, on Nov. 20, followed by Canada on Dec. 18. The film will stream in the Netherlands, France and the U.K. in early 2021.

“Palm Springs” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year where it was a Grand Jury Prize nominee, and broke the record for the biggest sale in the history of the festival. It launched on Hulu earlier this year.

“Palm Springs” follows carefree Nyles (Andy Samberg) and reluctant maid of honor Sarah (Cristin Milioti) who have a chance encounter at a Palm Springs wedding. Things soon get complicated when the pair find themselves unable to escape the venue, themselves, or each other. The film also stars J.K. Simmons,...

The romantic.comedy will debut in the UK in early 2021.

Amazon Prime has acquired genre-bending Sundance hit Palm Springs for the UK, Australia, New Zealand, France, Canada and Netherlands.

The romantic comedy stars Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti in a story that on the face of it centres on two disillusioned people who fall for each other while attending a wedding.

Rounding out the key cast are J.K. Simmons, Meredith Hagner, Camila Mendes, Tyler Hoechlin, and Peter Gallagher.

Palm Springs will launch directly and exclusively on Amazon Prime Video in Australia and New Zealand on November 20, followed by Canada on December 18, and the UK,...

Rom-com to debut in UK in early 2021.

Amazon Prime has acquired genre-bending Sundance hit Palm Springs for the UK, Australia, New Zealand, France, Canada and Netherlands.

The rom-com stars Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti as disillusioned people who fall for each other while attending a wedding. Hulu acquired US rights with Neon during Sundance.

Palm Springs will launch directly and exclusively on Amazon Prime Video in Australia and New Zealand on November 20, followed by Canada on December 18, and the UK, France and Netherlands in early 2021.

Palm Springs is a Limelight, Lonely Island Classics, and FilmNation Entertainment presentation.

Rounding out the key cast are J.K. Simmons,...

We’ve all seen a million comedies with the Groundhog Day premise — someone down on their luck who is forced to repeat the same day over and over again — but the two protagonists of Palm Springs put a unique and raucous spin on the classic setup.

In a new trailer for the film, released on Tuesday, Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti star as two guests at a wedding in, you guessed it, Palm Springs. After a supernatural encounter out in the desert, maid of honor Sarah (Milioti) wakes up again...

Palm Springs, which scored a Sundance Film Festival record $22 million rights deal when Hulu and Neon co-acquired it this year in Park City, will premiere on Hulu and in drive-in theaters nationwide via Neon on July 10.

The existential romantic comedy stars Andy Samberg as Nyles and Cristin Milioti as a reluctant maid of honor who have a chance encounter at a Palm Springs wedding after he rescues her from a disastrous toast. Things get complicated when they find themselves unable to escape the venue, themselves, of each other. J.K. Simmons, Meredith Hagner, Camila Mendes, Tyler Hoechlin and Peter Gallagher also star.

It was one of the few big standout comedies at this year’s Sundance.

Max Barbakow directed the pic, which was written by Andy Siara and hails from Limelight and Lonely Island Classics. Samberg, Becky Sloviter, Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone, Dylan Sellers and Chris Parker are producers, and Gabby Revilla Lugo is executive producer.

Vcr board games: they brought tabletop entertainment to a new, interactive level. In Beyond the Gates, though, two brothers discover a video board game that's a little too interactive, transferring them to another world where their dad's soul is on the line and a roll of the dice could lead to eternal torment. The Barbara Crampton-produced movie is now filming with Jackson Stewart behind the camera and a group of talented cast members playing the mysterious game.

Press Release -- "Los Angeles, CA (April 27, 2015) – Jackson Stewart has set indie horror favorites Graham Skipper (Almost Human), Chase Williamson (The Guest), and Brea Grant (Halloween 2) as the leads in Beyond The Gates, a throwback paranormal movie in the spirit of horror classics such as Phantasm, The Beyond, and Poltergeist.

Matt Mercer (Contracted), Justin Welborn (FX’s “Justified”), Henry LeBlanc (“The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”), Jesse Merlin (Fdr: American Badass...

Around these parts we love a good slasher movie. The only problem is finding a good slasher movie. Will the killer in the recently announced Some Kind of Hate be able to bring the right kind of disturbing to the old chopping block? Read on for details.

According to THR, Ronen Rubinstein, Grace Phipps, and Sierra McCormick will star in Some Kind of Hate, a new take on the slasher genre from Adam Egypt Mortimer.

The flick centers on a tightly wound kid who is a favorite target for the local high school bullies. He is sent away to a remote reform school, where the teen accidentally summons a vengeful spirit -- herself a victim of bullying -- to exact retribution on his tormentors.

Mortimer co-wrote the script with novelist Brian DeLeeuw (In This Way I Was Saved). Caliber Media partners Dallas Sonnier and Jack Heller arranged the financing and...

Sierra McCormick (Disney's “A.N.T. Farm”) is set to star in Adam Egypt Mortimer's original slasher movie “Some Kind of Hate” alongside fellow rising stars Ronen Rubinstein (“It Felt Like Love”) and Grace Phipps (Disney's “Teen Beach”), production company Caliber Media announced Monday. Mortimer co-wrote the screenplay with novelist Brian DeLeeuw. Caliber Media partners Dallas Sonnier and Jack Heller arranged the financing and will produce alongside Amanda Mortimer and Gabriela Revilla's Revek Entertainment. Also read: Dylan Penn, Daughter of Sean Penn and Robin Wright, to Star in ‘Condemned’ The rest of the cast includes Michael Polish (“Big Sur”), Noah Segan...

Ronen Rubinstein (pictured), Grace Phipps and Sierra McCormick will star in Caliber Media’s slasher film that starts shooting this week in Los Angeles.

Adam Egypt Mortimer directs the story of a bullied child at a desert reform school who inadvertently summons a vengeful spirit.

Mortimer co-wrote the screenplay with novelist Brian DeLeeuw.

Caliber Media partners Dallas Sonnier and Jack Heller arranged financing and will produce alongside Amanda Mortimer and Gabriela Revilla’s Revek Entertainment.

Caliber is in post on Condemned, Chuck Hank And The San Diego Twins, Dark Was The Night and The Scribbler.

Ronen Rubinstein (pictured), Grace Phipps and Sierra McCormick will star in Caliber Media’s slasher film that starts shooting this week in Los Angeles.

Adam Egypt Mortimer directs the story of a bullied child at a desert reform school who inadvertently summons a vengeful spirit.

Mortimer co-wrote the screenplay with novelist Brian DeLeeuw.

Caliber Media partners Dallas Sonnier and Jack Heller arranged financing and will produce alongside Amanda Mortimer and Gabriela Revilla’s Revek Entertainment.

Caliber is in post on Condemned, Chuck Hank And The San Diego Twins, Dark Was The Night and The Scribbler.

The Fox Writers Intensive is designed to nurture the careers of experienced writers with diverse voices, backgrounds and life experiences and create a pipeline of talent for potential staffing as writers, story editors or producers on Fox productions as well as potential pitches for publisher HarperCollins. Last year, writer-director Yule Caise was selected as the Fwi Fellow from the class of 10 finalists. He inked a development deal with FX Networks. Here’s this year’s 10 finalists, culled from more than 400 nominations to make up the third-annual list: This year’s 10 Fwi finalists were selected from more than 400 nominations and submissions by talent representation and arts organizations across the country, including National Association of Latino Independent Producers, Sundance Institute, New York Foundation for the Arts, Outfest, Film Independent, NAACP, Women in Film Los Angeles, Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment and Visual Communications. They will spend the next 14 weeks honing their...