I’ll admit that even the thought of Improv leaves me scared stiff, so, it was no surprise to me that when I arrived at a special Daddy’s Home 2 promotional class at the Groundling’s theatre, Will Farrell’s alma mater, my mind went wild with all the ways that day could blow up in my face.
Photo By Jason Bell
DeWanda Wise is proving to be one of the most charming and adroit young talents out there today.
Earlier this week, I caught up with some of the cast and creative team at the Hollywood premiere of their new movie Tragedy Girls, a horror comedy that flips the slasher genre on its head.
According to a study conducted by Columbia University in 2014, Latinos were better represented in the mainstream media in the 50s than they are today. The report cited a “narrower range of stories and roles” – something that Shayla Rivera, one of the three stars of HBO Latino’s Entre Nos: Part 2, reiterated on the red carpet before the premiere.
Shayla Rivera, Puerto Rican comedian, mother, ex-rocket scientist, and one of three stars of Entre Nos: Part 2.
The second installation of the purely Latino-comic special, and the first original comedic content aired by HBO Latino, revolves around three distinctly different yet equally successful comedians. In watching the premiere, I found, surprisingly, that though my roots are Latina, I did not have to relate to the comedians’ nationalities to understand and relate to the humor. Much of the sketches were spoken in English with some “Spanglish,” yet I found that the non-Spanish speakers were left all but confused.
The special really did illuminate the gaping void in Hollywood and in comedy. Latinos in media are almost always the sassy, spunky, comic relief – but Entre Nos depicted them as also nerdy, goofy, and most of all, intelligent. This is a realm that is starkly misrepresented and extremely difficult to ignore; when asked to name Hollywood’s big name Latinos/as, most people are not so quick to answer.
Mexican-American comedian Frankie Quiñones getting some laughs before the premiere.
Entre Nos: Part 2 is a spontaneous and hilarious addition to this Hispanic Heritage Month, and more importantly, to the continued efforts of diversification in Hollywood. Shayla Rivera, Vladimir Caamaño, and Frankie Quiñones, are no doubt Latinos, no doubt native Spanish speakers, but moreover, they are comedians just like Jerry Seinfeld, Louis C.K., Sarah Silverman. And they deserve the same recognition. There is an overwhelmingly large fount of Latino talent that is just waiting to be discovered, and HBO Latino achieved what I’m sure will be the first of many successes for the Latino community.
This past Thursday, September 7th at the Bing Theater at LACMA in Los Angeles, Film Independent held a screening of the first two episodes of One Mississippi’s second season.
On Friday, September 8th at 9 pm, Gary Owen’s third Showtime comedy special “I Got My Associates” will premiere. We wanted to hear from Owen himself before the hilarious special takes over.
Inspired loosely by events in his real life, ‘In Living Color’ star Marlon Wayans stars in the new NBC comedy focusing around keeping a family together.
Fresh off her nation wide release of “The Little of Hours”, Aubrey Plaza produces and stars alongside Elizabeth Olsen in “Ingrid Goes West”, a dark comedy made for the modern age.
‘Brigsby Bear’ is a strange film, peculiar in premise, almost singular in its complete departure from cynicism, the flavor of the millennium, and unusually heartwarming and bold.
Joe Mande is a stand-up comedian, and writer for such shows as ‘Parks & Recreation’ and ‘The Good Place.’ In this interview, Mande talks about his new Netflix special, his comedy mixtape, the Cannibal Cop, and being called an “internet troll.”