02.12.2014 | By Mariana Dussan |
New York Fashion Week is over this week and for those who have had the privilege to attend or for those who have not been able to attend or be a part of the festivities, we honor the Fall 2014 New York Fashion Week with the 5 Best Fashion Documentaries to get you New York Fashion State of Mind. Read More
01.10.2013 | By Jack Rico |
For the Latino moviegoers who have already seen Argo or those who will now see it due to the 7 Oscar nominations it received today from the Academy, you might be submerged into the controversy that has arisen from the big reveal in the movie… Ben Affleck who directs and stars in “Argo“, is named Tony Mendez, an obvious Latino. So why did Affleck (an Irish guy) play him as opposed to a true Latino actor? What did Tony Mendez, the real life CIA agent that inspired the film, think? And is he really Latino (I couldn’t find any detailed news on his heritage on the web)? Many Latinos are upset at Affleck’s logic here so I decided to go to the main source – Mendez himself. In this exclusive interview, I asked him about his Latino roots, Affleck’s decision not to hire a Latino thespian to play the lead role and much, much more. Read More
11.20.2012 | By Jack Rico |
Puerto Rican actor John Ortiz, who can currently be seen in David O. Russell’s Oscar buzz film ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ and who is known for his roles in ‘Miami Vice’ and ‘Fast and Furious,’ exclusively told ShowBizCafe.com that he is in the early stages of developing an Ozzie Guillen biopic baseball movie in the form of ‘Moneyball’. Guillen, the former Chicago White Sox manager who managed the team between 2004 to 2011, is considered one of the most controversial managers in recent baseball history.
When we asked Ortiz if he was interested in directing anytime soon, he revealed he was working on a baseball movie:
“Ozzie Guillen and I are going to meet when I’m in Chicago. I don’t want to make a straight up baseball movie, but something along the lines of “Moneyball”. It’d be a lot more than just 9 guys on the baseball diamond. I want to do something where we focus on the profession of him being a baseball manager, how complex of a man he is, the culture, immigration, Chicago, Miami, [Fidel] Castro, there is so much there. I’m fascinated with him, I think he’s such a charismatic dude and people seem to love him or hate him. So I think he’d be a great subject for a movie.”
Ortiz, who plays Ronnie, a stressed-out married man in ‘Silver Linings Playbook,’ is still unclear whether he will direct, produce or star in the film. It could be one of them or all of them, but he says he will have a better sense of his role in the movie as the project gets closer to pre-production. Ortiz would be perfect for the Guillen role since they have a similar look and Ortiz possesses the acting pedigree from the theater to give the character weight and credibility.
For those who are unfamiliar with Ozzie Guillen, he is a well-known Venezuelan baseball player since his days as a top flight shortstop for the Chicago White Sox back in the 80’s and 90’s. But later in his career, he became a controversial and larger-than-life personality as the manager for the same team he played for, including the Miami Marlins earlier this year. Amongst his polemic on various issues, he called a Chicago Sun-Times columnist a homosexual slur, said Asian players are treated better than Latino players, and was quoted as loving Communist dictator Fidel Castro, which infuriated Cubans residing in Miami. Despite his quarrels with the press, Guillen is an accomplished baseball mind. In 2005, he became the first Latino manager in major league history to win a World Series.
Ortiz made his film debut as Al Pacino’s young cousin ‘Guajiro’ in Carlito’s Way. He went on to appear in over 30 films including Pride and Glory, El Cantante, American Gangster, Before Night Falls, Amistad, Ransom, and Narc.
What other Latino baseball player do you guys think should have a movie based on their lives? Our money is on the Yankee’s Alex Rodriguez and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson should play him. Leave us your comments below.
09.16.2011 | By Jack Rico |
We just got our hands on the exclusive ‘Dream House’ Spanish language trailer from Universal Studios. You won’t find this video anywhere else except here. The film stars Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz and Naomi Watts in a half-ghost, half-mystery thriller about a family who unknowingly move into a home where several grisly murders were committed…only to find themselves the killer’s next target. Successful publisher Will Atenton (Craig) quit a job in New York City to relocate his wife, Libby (Weisz), and two girls to a quaint New England town. But as they settle into their new life, they discover their perfect home was the murder scene of a mother and her children. And the entire city believes it was at the hands of the husband who survived. When Will investigates the tragedy, his only lead comes from Ann Paterson (Watts), a neighbor who was close to the family that died. As Will and Ann piece together the disturbing puzzle, they discover that the story of the last man to leave Will’s dream house will be just as horrifying to the one who came next.
The buzz around the ‘Dream House’ is rooted in the original trailer that supposedly reveals the twist of the film half way through. But according to an executive producer, the twist shown in the original trailer (which is not shown in the Spanish trailer) is not the main twist of the movie. So is there another one? We’ll all have to wit for the reviews to come in and see.
Dream House will be released September 30th, 2011.
04.19.2011 | By Jack Rico |
Shalim Ortiz, known from his work in the critically acclaimed Dominican film Yuniol, and the NBC series Heroes, doesn’t know it, “but he just f@cked with the wrong Mexican” – Danny ‘Machete‘ Trejo. What we mean is that Ortiz is teaming up with Trejo, Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Cronos, Sons of Anarchy) and Charles Dutton (Alien, Gothika) in a movie called ‘Bad Ass‘, which has still to have an official release date, but is rumored to be aiming for a Toronto Film Festival premiere, September 8-18th.
The plot for the film has Trejo playing Frank Vega, a Vietnam veteran and senior citizen, who becomes a YouTube sensation and local hero when he takes on political corruption and a vicious street gang in an effort to solve and avenge his best friend’s murder.
Shalim plays the 17 and 25 year old versions of Danny Trejo’s character, Vega, in the film. He’s a high school football star who leaves his girlfriend Lindsay behind to enlist in the army and serve in Vietnam. He proves to be a skilled, brave and dedicated soldier, earning a Purple Heart and suffering a severe leg injury. Upon returning home, Frank discovers that Lindsay has moved on and his job prospects are bleak.
Ortiz just wrapped up the production a few days ago in Oklahoma and is on a work frenzy as he has 7 films in the can and 6 in development, including the highly anticipated ‘Gardel‘ about the Argentinian raised tango icon, Carlos Gardel, who died tragically in a plane crash in 1935. He’ll play Pizarro, and most likely, will speak with an Argentinian accent. Let’ see how he pulls it off. The movie is set for release sometime in 2013.
Below are the first exclusive movie stills from Bad Ass.
The film is directed by Craig Moss (The 41-Year-Old Virgin Who Knocked Up Sarah Marshall and Felt Superbad About It), and produced by Ash Shah, Ben Feingold and Jim Busfield.
