Apr 22
Pimping the Reel Rasquache Art & Film Festival Fundraiser with Lalo Alcaraz
L-r: Lalo Alcaraz, Angela María Ortíz S. and Juan Escobedo
The Reel Rasquache co-director and publisher of Se Fija! Angela María Ortíz S. and RRAFF13 producing consultant, Juan Escobedo, director of Tela Sofa, were on the Pocho Hour with Lalo Alcaraz on Friday, April 19. They Talked about the big fundraiser coming up on Saturday, April 27 at Self Help Graphics in Boyle Heights. If you missed it, you can listing to the show here. A great time time was had by all.
Photos: ©2013 Anselmo S. Ortiz
Feb 07
2013 RRAFF Trailblazer Award: KENNETH CASTILLO
Kenneth Castillo began his writing/directing career in 1996 at the Two Roads Theatre in Studio City. After producing, writing, and directing several three- and one-act plays, he turned his full attention to film. In 2000, he formed Valor Production, along with his producing partner (and now wife) Karla Ojeda. Their first venture, The Misadventures of Cholo Chaplin, was a series of silent short films shot in the style of the serials of the 20s and 30s and set in the world of The Day of the Dead. Several of the Misadventure episodes were screened at film festivals across the country, including HBO’s New York International Latino Film Festival and the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival. In 2007, the episode entitled V-A Day at the Theatre was accepted and screened at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in France; the following year it won the Imagen Award for Best Theatrical Short Film.
Kenneth was featured on American Latino T.V. in 2007 as well, as an up-and-coming Latino filmmaker. His story caught the attention of Plus Entertainment, and since July of 2008, Kenneth has written and directed four feature films for Plus, as part of The Drive-By Chronicles feature film series. The urban Latino series have all been produced and distributed by Plus Entertainment; his first two features, Sidewayz and Ghostown, are currently available for purchase at Walmart, Target, and Blockbuster stores across the country. Ghostown was awarded Best Dramatic Feature at the 2010 Reel Rasquache Film Festival. His third feature in this series, Confession of a Gangster, was released in the fall of 2010. All three films have been picked up by Comcast and Time Warner Cable for VOD distribution.
The Hearts of Men was released in 2011. His fifth film, Counterpunch (starring Danny Trejo, Steven Bauer, and Alvaro Orlando), is the true story of a Cuban boxer from Miami who suffers from bipolar disorder, and once again Castillo is both writer and director. The film was picked up by Lionsgate Entertainment, and was released on DVD on January 15, 2013.
Kenneth has now moved on to his next project-adventure.
Jan 28
The 2013 RRAFF Featured Artist: JUAN SOLIS
“…there is a reality about his work that puts it one step above the heroic images captured by other artists.” Armando Duron, Art Collector
Juan Solis is an artist whose passion for his art takes him to the outer limits of his imagination to capture his own reality of life and through his art demonstrate the beauty of his community.
As a struggling artist Solis, who began painting when he was 12, never gave up hope that the talent with which he had been endowed would one day be recognized. In the meantime he spent years studying his craft at various art academies in the United States and Mexico. Returning to the states, he spent eight years at the Academia de Arte Yepes of East Los Angeles, developing and creating his own distinctive techniques under the guidance of world-renowned artist-muralist George Yepes.
In 1995, Solis was one of eight young Hispanic master painters who worked on the Cassini mural with Charles Kohlhase of the Cassini project. This 12’x25’ mural was commissioned by JPL/NASA through the Academia de Arte Yepes. The painters of this stunning blend of art and science were lead by artist Ulysses Garcia. The mural can be seen at JPL in Pasadena, CA.
Solis is committed to his community. You often find him painting in his community and being part of philantrophic causes that also benefit the community. Issues dear to him are, education, arts, culture, children and families.
Juan Solis is a resident artist at ChimMaya Art Gallery located in East Los Angeles, CA.
Photos: Juan Escobedo
Jan 07
Guillermo del Toro Shows Us “Mamá”…
Originally published at sefijaonline.com
…the short that was so scary, he had to make it into a movie
On January 11, Guillermo del Toro—working as a producer this time, as he has so often in the last few years–will be premieringMama, a horror film about two young orphan girls adopted by a nearly unrecognizable Jessica Chastain…who seem to bring the mad spirit of their deceased mother with them.
The film is the first feature-length effort of a Spanish brother-and-sister team, Andrés and Barbara Muschietti (writer and producer respectively). Guillermo got a glimpse of it and was so impressed that…well, here, let him tell you the story, in this beautifully produced commentary from Guillermo that include the complete short that started it all.
Scared yet? You’ll be able to see the full-length feature in theaters nationwide beginning January 11.
Jan 07
Jennifer Lopez Returns to Her Action Roots in “Parker”
Originally published at sefijaonline.com
Given her stellar career in music and her great work in romantic comedy, it’s easy to forget that Jennifer Lopez had some of her first big successes in thrillers and action pictures, notably Steven Soderberg’s Out of Sight with up-and-comer George Clooney and the still-cult-classic Anaconda. Now she’s returning to her sexy-action roots in Taylor Hackford’s (Officer and a Gentleman, Proof of Life) new high-octane thriller Parker, where she’ll co-star with action hero Jason Statham. It’s about what you’d expect from this multi-faceted woman; she recently told Harper’s Bazaar: “I’m a singer. I’m a dancer. I’m a performer. I’m an actress. That’s what I’m supposed to be doing. It makes me a better parent, a better person.”
The movie is not the first to be based on Donald Westlake’s relentless tough-guy thief “Parker,” first seen in a long series of almost thirty novels written from the 1950’s until Westlake’s death in 2008 (other Westlake novels that have been made into movies include Payback, The Grifters, The Stepfather, and The Hot Rock).
Parker also opens the gateway to a lucrative new franchise for everyone involved. Bobby Cannavale and Clifton Collins, Jr. also appear in this story of heists, hostages, and double-crosses, opening nationwide on January 25.
Here’s a featurette on the film, including some face-time with J.Lo herself:
Jan 07
Andy Garcia, Eva Longoria Star in “A Dark Truth”
Originally published at sefijaonline.com
Very very quietly, a taut and revealing environmental thriller starring Andy Garcia, Eva Longoria, and Forrest Whitaker has appeared, RITER/Director Damian Lee’s A Dark Truth opened in a few theaters on Friday January 4, but it’s already available here and elsewhere on Video on Demand.
In it, Garcia plays a former CIA operative turned political talk show host who is hired by a corporate whistle blower to expose her company’s cover-up of a massacre in a South American village. When he arrives, he is plunged into a violent and chaotic situation, with the military cracking down on a group of protesters led by Longoria and Whitaker. Here’s an exclusive clip that shows all three of them in one of their first confrontations:
Dec 18
Guillermo del Toro: The Busiest Latino in Show Bidness?
Guillermo Del Toro
There are more than a few Latino actors, producers, writers, and hyphenates at work in Hollywood these days, from Eva Longoria andJennifer Lopez to Roberto Orci and Salma Hayek…but Guillermo del Toro has to be right up there at the top.
New footage from his giant monster/giant robot epic Pacific Rim has been leaking out recently, and all agree: it looks awesome. Word has also escaped that he’s already at work on a sequel for the blockbuster, and it won’t even premiere until July 2013.
Now, among many other projects, del Toro (as producer) is teaming up with Fox and Mexican animator and filmmakerJorge R. Gutierrez (director) forBook of Life, a “Day of the Dead” theme animated feature. Gutierrez’s credits include Nickelodeon’s award-winning animated television series El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera.
“Pacific Rim”
This year alone, he was a producer on DreamWorks’ animated Rise of the Guardian, and briefly the director ofThe Hobbit. In January, you’ll see him listed as executive producer on the strange family chiller Mama. He’s also announced his next directorial project after Pacific Rim, a haunted-house project called Crimson Peak, which he’ll begin in early 2014…after he’s shot the pilot for the cable version of The Strain, the modern-day-vampire trilogy he co-wrote a couple of years back with Chuck Hogan (Prince of Thieves, aka The Town).
Oh, and he’s working with near-legendary composer Paul Williams on a stage musical version of Pan’s Labyrinth. And that’s not even bringing up already-announced future projects like a feature filmed based on Pinocchio, anIncredible Hulk TV series, and Kung Fu Panda 3.
And that’s just the December news.
While you’re recovering, here’s the much-talked-about trailer for Pacific Rim. (In his spare time of course, del Toro actually did a commentary for it–for the trailer. It’s all just too much…)
Originally published at sefijaonline.com
Dec 15
A Few Latino Actors are Sprinkled Throughout the SAG Nominations, but There are Few Surprises in the Mix
Bardem, Vergara, and Louis C.K. get the nod–just three out of fifty noms
Daniel Craig and Javier Bardem in “Skyfall”
The SAG Award nominations for 2012 were announced recently, and Latinos were represented–a bit–in its long, long list. Still, there’s a sense of “the usual suspects” here, in a year where breakout performances and surprises could have used a little more light.
In the movie category, the total of 20 single-actor nominations, included just one Latino name: Javier Bardem for his remarkable work in Skyfall. SAG also offers up the welcome and innovative notion of nominating whole casts. Argo was one of those five nominations, starring Ben Affleck as Latino super-spy Tony Mendez (though the film actually had no Latinos in the cast at all). None of the other nominated casts included Latinos.
Out of the thirty single-actor nominations for television performances, comedy and drama combined, there were not Latinos nominated for the drama categories, and two for comedy: Louie C.K. for his own series on FX, Louie, and Sofía Vergara for Modern Family. In a fairly accurate representation of the 2012 TV year, Latino names appear in many of the ensembles that were nominated: Bobby Cannavale in Boardwalk Empire, Steven Michael Quezada for Breaking Bad,Morena Baccarin in Homeland puts three Latinos in three of the five nominated dramatic series, while 4 of the 6 nominated comedy series include Latino performers: Lea Michele, Naya Rivera, and Harry Shum, Jr. on Glee, Sofía Vergara and Rico Rodriguez in Modern Family, Bobby Cannavale and Jake Cannavale in Nurse Jackie (which most wouldn’t necessarily see as a comedy), and Oscar Nuñez on The Office.
