Presents:

THE STATE OF MODERN HORROR AND THE LATINO WRITER

The Latino Writers Committee invites you to a panel discussion about the state of the modern horror genre in both film and television with a group of creative Latino WGA screenwriters. We will examine the history, psychology, and popularity of the horror genre at a time when it is receiving wide acclaim on television and is considered by studios as one of the few genres left they can count on to be internationally marketable. Please join us for this candid conversation about the creative and financial possibilities growing out of our most macabre form of storytelling!

Panelists include writers:

Fede Alvarez (The Evil Dead) – Daniel Kenneth (True Blood) – Alvaro Rodriguez (From Dusk Till Dawn)

Al Septien (The Vampire Diaries, Candyman: Day of the Dead)

Moderated by: Trina Calderon & Daniel Dominguez

Tuesday, October 28^th / @ 7:00PM / WGAW, Multipurpose Room

**RECEPTION TO FOLLOW PANEL

RSVP: [email protected] with “Horror” in the subject line.

The Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC) in association with the Latina/o Theatre Commons proudly presents Encuentro 2014, a month-long celebration of Latina/o theater from October 12 through November 10. This groundbreaking month-long event is the first theater festival in the U.S. to bring together more than 19 theater companies and 150 artists from the U.S. and Puerto Rico to present 19 works that represent the multi-faceted Latina/o experience on stage – from violence at the border and pressing immigration concerns to the complexities of romantic relationships and families.

Through its poignant and powerful performances, the historic festival’s goal is to expose audiences to the complexLatina/o experience with a range of productions that offer something for all. The festival features Pulitzer Prize-winning plays, English and Spanish-language productions, devised theater, experimental work, ensemble-based and solo shows.

More than a festival, the national theater event seeks to provide an opportunity for artists to explore aesthetics and art making. Artists will not only perform but will work together during the month-long residency to share their creative methodologies in artistic workshops that will culminate in public performances of co-created devised works. Public conversations about the works will include post-performance discussions, roundtable conversations, symposia, with distinguished speakers such as members of established theatrical groups Culture Clash, El Teatro Campesino, and the Latino Theater Company.

More than three years in the making, the LATC Encuentro 2014 is made possible through generous support of Southwest Airlines, The Doris Duke Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Ford Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, The City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, TimeWarner Cable, and The L.A. County Arts Commission.

Check out the schedule and get your tickets!

 Nellie Andreeva @ Deadline|Hollywood

Absolutely no surprise here — after a strong ratings start, the CW’s two freshman series, The Flash and Jane The Virgin, which garnered some of the strongest reviews for new shows this fall, are getting full-season orders. The network was so bullish on both, it gave both additional three-script orders before they had gone on the air. Then The Flash shattered the CW’s ratings records with the most watched series premiere in the network’s history, 6.1 million in Live+3. The superhero drama held well in Week 2 with a modest decline.

Meanwhile, Jane The Virgin is holding ground on Monday, helping the night to post big year-to-year gains. Jane held very well in its second airing last night, currently running a tenth ahead of last Monday’s premiere. Both series are producing breakout stars, especially Jane‘s Gina Rodriguez, who is getting a lot of buzz.

“We have had a fantastic start to our season this year, with The Flash launching as our most-watched series premiere ever, and Jane The Virgin recognized as the best new show this season by critics across the country,” said the CW president Mark Pedowitz. “Over the past three seasons, we have made it our mission to grow and to broaden out our audience, and to keep raising the bar with the quality and impact of our new shows, and The Flash and Jane have both exceeded our expectations on all counts.”

The Flash, based on the DC characters, is produced by Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television, with executive producers Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, David Nutter  and Sarah Schechter.  This series is based upon characters published by DC Entertainment.

Jane The Virgin, based on the Venezuelan telenovela, is produced by CBS Television Studios and Warner Bros. Television, in association with Electus, with executive producers Jennie Snyder Urman, Ben Silverman, Gary Pearl and Jorge Granier.

Check this out at Deadline|Hollywood.

Justin Marrow @ No Film School

Fandor, the curated online distribution platform known for featuring indie shorts, features, and docs, announced the Filmmaker's Initiative (FIX) over the summer, and now they are kicking into high gear, and putting their money with their mouth is.

Working with filmmakers like Hal Hartley and Dario Argento, as well as lesser-known indie talents, FIX is, among other things, contributing to member filmmaker's crowdfunding campaigns. According to Fandor's Amanda Salazar, FIX is Fandor's attempt to build a "community of filmmakers," as well as "connect filmmakers and audiences in a meaningful way," so that the site isn't just a place for films to "sit and get clicked on."

The aim, according to Fandor, is for a filmmaker to have a place where all of their work can be displayed, like this page for legendary documentarian Al Maysles, as well as a resource for funding their new work. Fandor is working with its filmmakers' crowdsourcing campaigns, contributing a month's membership at the site for every $5 donated to a FIX filmmaker's project.

Right now, some of the FIX filmmakers with projects in development include Matt McCormick, horror legend Dario Argento, and filmmaker Gleb Osatinski, whose Kickstarter campaign for his sci-fi short, The Quantified Self, ends this week.

And how does a filmmaker get involved with FIX? Easy, says Salazar. Just submit a film to Fandor. If selected for the site, the filmmaker will automatically become a member of FIX. This "different approach to online distribution" aims to help "develop filmmakers," and if you're a filmmaker looking for a home for your work, as well as a platform to help raise money for your new projects, FIX might be worth checking out. Time will tell if this novel approach to online distribution and funding changes the existing paradigm of internet distribution, but so far, results have been good: FIX filmmaker Penny Lane's new work overshot its Kickstarter goal just last week.

Check this out at NoFilmSchool.com

Elizabeth Peña has passed away. The actress, with a professional career spanning nearly 40 years, left us on the night of October 14 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. She had recently wrapped work on the first season of the El Rey Network's action series, Matador, where she played the title character's mother Maritza.

Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey and raised by her Cuban immigrant parents, Peña was destined for a career in the arts. Her father, Mario, was a playwright, director, actor, and designer in their native Cuba, who opened up the Latin American Theatre Ensemble after establishing a life for him and his family in New York. As a teen, Peña began making a name for herself as a formidable young actress in the New York theatre scene. She attended, and graduated from, the High School of Performing Arts and began her professional film career in 1978 with León Ichaso's El Super. A few years later, the ambitious Cubana would set off to try her fortunes over on the west coast. 

That move would prove fruitful, as she would go on to land roles in several major films in the 1980s. By the end of that decade, she had a resumé that included La Bamba, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, *batteries not included, and Blue Steel. She even did something that was almost unheard of for a Latina actress: She had her own primetime ABC series, I Married Dora. She played the title role of Dora in the series, which became infamous and notable because of its controversial premise- which centered on a "green card marriage" that would eventually evolve into something more genuine. 

She kicked off the 90s with a prominent role opposite Tim Robbins in Jacob's Ladder. She continued her string of notable films with roles in the critically lauded John Sayles drama, Lone Star opposite Matthew McConaughey, as well as Rush Hour and Free Willy 2. Along the way, she racked up TV appearances on L.A. Law, Dream On, Shannon's Deal, and Drug Wars: The Camarena Story. 

Read More @ Latino-Review