HOLA Member Bochinche

Bochinche refers to “gossip”. In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members or Friends of HOLA who are getting acting, performance or similarly artistic gigs and/or recognition in the media. The names of HOLA members and Friends of HOLA are listed below in boldface. To see what other HOLA members are doing currently, click here.

Sebastian Stimman, shown at right, wrote and will be starring in the short film Red, to be directed by Pierre Taisne and Paul Bomba, and produced by B10 Productions. For more information on the psychological thriller, including a video in English, Spanish and German (with French subtitles), starring Stimman, click here.

Caridad del Valle and Claudio Weisz will star in Delirio furioso. Written by del Valle and directed by del Valle and Paul Montoya, the play will also star Eric Robledo and Miriam Pinedo and take place in May at the V Festival del Comisionado Dominicano at the Comisionado Dominicano de Cultura en EEUU, located in Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood. For more information, click here.

Elaine Del Valle, shown at left, will be hosting the ASPIRA of New York's 2015 annual Circle of Latino Achievers Gala Event due to an HOLA referral. Titled "Building on 50 Years of Investing in Latino Youth", the event will mark ASPIRA of New York's 54th anniversary and honor City University of New York Chancellor James B. Milliken, Verizon Senior Vice President of Global Real Estate John M. Vázquez, and ESPN Deportes General Manager Lino García. The gala event will take place on Thursday, April 9, 2015 at eSpace, located in the Hell's Kitchen/Clinton area of Manhattan. For more information, click here.

Andrea Navedo was featured, along with the rest of the cast of the television series "Jane The Virgin" in a comical Yahoo! TV vlog on "Telenovela Faces 101". To see the tutorial (it is mostly wordless with music, with some words in Spanish with English subtitles), click here or on the video below.



If you are an HOLA member or a Friend of HOLA and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail. If you live in the New York metropolitan area and want to be an HOLA member, why not join? If you live outside the New York metropolitan area and want to be an HOLA member, you can find out more information on how to do so by clicking here. If you are not a Friend of HOLA, why not become one?

The 2015 ScreamCraft Screenplay Competition Is Ready for Your Horror Scripts

The ScreamCraft Horror Screenplay Contest is back for yet another round of impressive prizes and an even more impressive jury. Known for putting screenwriters' scripts in front of industry professionals that can actually do something with them, ScreenCraft has enlisted a team of top Hollywood representatives and producers to judge the contest:

• Scott Henderson: Agent at Paradigm Talent Agency, represents renowned horror filmmakers James Wan and Leigh Wannell (Saw, Dead Silence, Insidious)
• Andrew Wilson: Literary Manager at Zero Gravity, represents acclaimed horror writer Clive Barker (Hellraiser, Night Breed, The Midnight Meat Train)
• Ryan Turek: VP of Development at Blumhouse Productions (company credits include Paranormal Activity, Insidious, Sinister, Oculus, The Purge, Academy Award nominee Whiplash, and Unfriended)
• Miles Fineburg: Development Executive at Terror Films (Trace, The Chosen)

ScreamCraft winners not only receive cash prizes of up to $2000, but they also receive access to Hollywood executives specializing in the horror genre, including receiving development notes and phone calls from literary managers and agents. And just to sweeten the deal, the grand prize winner gets a phone call with C. Robert Cargill, who penned the screenplays forSinister and Sinister 2.

Submissions must be received by July 1st, 2015. The early entry fee is $29, but after Wednesday, April 15, 2015, it goes up to $49. All contestants must be at least 18 years or older, and although anyone from anywhere in the world may participate, all screenplays must be written in English. For more on rules and eligibility, click here. If you're ready to roll, you can enter your horror script by clicking here.

Netflix Steps Up Production on Spanish-Language Original Series

Netflix is in production on two Spanish-language projects in a bid to boost membership in Latin America: “Narcos,” a Colombia-set drug crime thriller co-helmed by Brazilian director Jose Padilha, and soccer-set satire “Club de Cuervos,” from the producers of Mexican blockbuster film Nosotros los Nobles.

While in Brazil, Netflix has been producing shows with local comics including Danilo Gentili (“Politicamente Incorreto”), Marco Zenni (“So Ria!”) and Fabio Lins (“Atira Sarro”).

“We are investing in content that would be attractive to [Latin America] but would also appeal to viewers across the world,” says Netflix communications chief Jonathan Friedland, who adds that original Netflix shows are also in production in France, the U.K. and Canada. Tony Wible, an analyst with Janney Montgomery Scott, estimated in a report this year that Netflix will spend almost $5 billion on original productions in 2016. 

To read more about Netflix's expansion plans in Latin America, including its recent decision to offer its subscription video-on-demand service to Cuba, read Anna Marie de la Fuente's article in Variety by clicking here.

"Jane The Virgin" star Andrea Navedo on Supporting Latino Representation in the Media

"Latinos come from different countries, and they tend to segregate with only their country instead of embracing all the other countries. In reality, all the Latinos are going through the same experiences of discrimination and racism. Latinos need to get together and support and bring everyone else with them (and studios will listen)." –ANDREA NAVEDO, of The CW series "Jane The Virgin" and of the upcoming feature film Superfast

Read more of HOLA member Andrea Navedo's thoughts about better representation of Latinos in the media by clicking here and here.

Univision Nabs Five 2015 Daytime Emmy Nominations; Multiple Noms For Hulu's "East Los High", CNN en Español and ESPN Deportes

The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) recently announced its 42nd annual Daytime Emmy Award nominations, which recognizes excellence in American daytime television programming. The ceremony will be held on Sunday, April 26, 2015 at Warner Bros. Studios in Los Angeles, California and be televised on the U.S. television network Pop. The masters of ceremonies will be Alex Trebek and Florence Henderson. (The Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Gala will be held Friday, April 24, 2015 at the Universal Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, California.)

Alex Lacamoire.

Linda Elena Tovar.

Among the Latinos nominated for a Daytime Emmy are Linda Elena Tovar, nominated for Outstanding Special Guest Performer in a Drama Series for her role as Rosalie Martínez in ABC's "General Hospital"; and Alex Lacamoire, who, with co-composer Bill Sherman and lyricist Belinda Ward, is nominated for Outstanding Original Song for "Raise Your Hand", from the PBS program "Sesame Street".

Univision received five Daytime Emmy nominations and CNN en Español racked up three noms. This is the second year that the Daytime Emmys have recognized Spanish-language daytime television. For Outstanding Morning Program in Spanish/Programa Matutino Sobresaliente en Español, the nominees are "Café CNN" (CNN en Español), "Despierta América" (Univision), and last year's inaugural winner, "Un Nuevo Día" (Telemundo). 

For Outstanding Entertainment Program in Spanish/Programa Sobresaliente de Entretenimiento en Español, CNN en Español's "Destinos" and "Dra. Azaret" will go up against "El Gordo y La Flaca" (Univision). "El Gordo y La Flaca" also executed a clean sweep of nominees for Outstanding Daytime Talent in a Spanish Language Program/Talento Sobresaliente en un Programa Diurno en Español, with correspondents Carlos Calderón and Tanya Charry, and co-host Raúl de Molina receiving nods. [Clockwise from left: "El Gordo y La Flaca" co-host de Molina, and correspondents Calderón and Charry.]

Left to right: Danielle Vega
and Vannessa Vásquez of the
Hulu series "East Los High".

Hulu nabbed three Daytime Emmy nominations, all for the drama series "East Los High", created, produced, directed and written by Carlos Portugal. "East Los High" is the first and only Hulu series with an all-Latino cast. The show is nominated for Outstanding New Approaches Drama Series, and racked up two additional nominations for Outstanding Performer in a New Approaches Drama Series for stars Vannessa Vásquez and Danielle Vega (who play Camila Barrios and Ceci Camayo, respectively).

ESPN Deportes also picked up three nominations, all for its broadcast of the "Central American Games". The sports network picked up nominations for Outstanding Directing Special Class, Outstanding Lighting Direction, and Outstanding Sound Mixing-Live Action, respectively. 

There are numerous Latinos working behind the scenes in many Daytime Emmy-nominated shows. To see a complete list of the 2015 Daytime Emmy Award nominees, click here.

HOLA Member Bochinche

Bochinche refers to “gossip”. In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members or Friends of HOLA who are getting acting, performance or similarly artistic gigs and/or recognition in the media. The names of HOLA members and Friends of HOLA are listed below in boldface. To see what other HOLA members are doing currently, click here.

Kiki Meléndez, shown at right, will be honored by the Dominican Film Festival in New York (DFFNY) at the latter's annual gala, scheduled to take place on Thursday, May 7, 2015 at Vacca Lounge in the Washington Heights/Inwood area of Manhattan. For more information, click here or here.

Mauricio Pita and Francisco Fuertes star in the Francisco Lupini Basagoiti short film Tú. Yo. Baño. Sexo. Ahora. The film is an official selection of the 2015 Short Film Corner at the world famous Cannes Film Festival (scheduled to take place in May in Cannes, France).

Natalia Ivana Escobar, Jorge Luis Figueroa and José Sepúlveda, shown above, clockwise from left, will star in the play San Salvador después del eclipse. Written by Carlos Velis and directed by Ricardo J. Salazar and produced by United Productions, it will be presented in May at the V Festival del Comisionado Dominicano at the Comisionado Dominicano de Cultura en EEUU, located in Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood. For more information, click here or here. [The director called these three actors in to audition after seeing their profiles on the HOLA online talent directory.]

Elaine Del Valle produced the short film A Good Egg (written by Emmy Award winner Sabrina McCormick and directed by McCormick and Simon MacLean). The film stars Kris Arnold, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Marlena Crowell, T.J. Mannix, and Oriana Oppice, and is scheduled to be screened in June at the Female Eye Film Festival (FeFF) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. For more information, click here and here.

Omar Pérez is performing in the solo show Life... Is But A Moment. Written by James Jannuzzi and directed by Verónica Caicedo, the show will run in April at Teatro Círculo, located in Manhattan's East Village. For more information about to show (and how to buy tickets), click here.

If you are an HOLA member or a Friend of HOLA and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail. If you live in the New York metropolitan area and want to be an HOLA member, why not join? If you live outside the New York metropolitan area and want to be an HOLA member, you can find out more information on how to do so by clicking here. If you are not a Friend of HOLA, why not become one?

Deadline Hollywood Editor Apologizes Over "Ethnic Casting" Article

Deadline Hollywood TV editor Nellie Andreeva wrote an article (published Tuesday, March 24, 2015) in the industry publication regarding "ethnic casting" in recent television series and pilots, where she questioned if the "trend" was "too much of a good thing". 

The article received quite the backlash from many in the show business community, including Axel W. Caballero, Executive Director of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP). Shortly thereafter, the website quietly changed its headline, getting rid of its subtitle.

Within a few days, Deadline Hollywood co-Editor-in-Chief Mike Fleming, Jr. apologized on the website in an interview with former Variety editor Peter Bart.

My co-editor-in-chief Nellie Andreeva’s goal was to convey that there was such an uptick of TV pilot casting of people of color that it pinched white actors who’ve historically gotten most of the jobs, and to question if this could last if it was being treated as a fad. All this was undermined by that headline (which we changed after the fact) and a repetition of the word “ethnic” that came off cold and insensitive.

Fleming also added the following.

I wanted to say a few things to our core readers who felt betrayed. That original headline does not reflect the collective sensibility here at Deadline. The only appropriate way to view racial diversity in casting is to see it as a wonderful thing, and to hope that Hollywood continues to make room for people of color. The missteps were dealt with internally; we will do our best to make sure that kind of insensitivity doesn’t surface again here. As co-editors in chief, Nellie and I apologize deeply and sincerely to those who’ve been hurt by this. There is no excuse. It is important to us that Deadline readers know we understand why you felt betrayed, and that our hearts are heavy with regret. We will move forward determined to do better.