How did summer of 2018 pan out for Latino actors? Here’s the 4-1-1!
by Luis I. Reyes
Michael Peña in Antman and The Wasp
This summer of 2018 has seen a number of talented actors appear in major roles in blockbuster theatrical feature films beginning with the always reliable Michael Peña in his role as Luis, the security team expert in Ant Man and The Wasp. Andy Garcia (Best supporting actor Oscar Nominee Godfather 3) had the females swooning over his two romantic portrayals opposite two legendary Oscar winning leading actresses. He portrayed Fernando, Ruby’s, as portrayed by Cher, long lost love in Mama Mia! Here We Go Again and as the suave airline pilot opposite Diane Keaton in Book Club. Cher and Garcia’s duet recording of Abba’s “Fernando” hit the Billboard Top 100 list.
Diane Keaton and Andy Garcia in Book Club
J.A. Bayona directed Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which starred Oakland, California born and raised, Daniella Pineda as Zia Rodriquez. Eva Longoria starred as Grace in the ensemble canine comedy Dog Days with Vanessa Hudgens.
Vanessa Hudgens in Dog Days
This succession of leading film roles will continue into the Fall with Oscar Isaac as an Argentine Nazi hunter in Operation Finale and as Will, the romantic lead in the intense emotional family drama Life Itself, opposite Olivia Wilde. The film is a multigenerational story that spans two decades and two distinct locales, the streets of New York and the Spanish countryside.
Oscar Isaac in Operation Finale
The supporting cast includes Antonio Banderas and Annette Benning. Life Itself will have its world premiere in September at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival and limited release September 21.
Antonio Banderas in Life Itself
Michelle Rodriquez co-stars as Linda with Viola Davis in Widows (Nov 18 release), an action drama about four women who lose their law enforcement husbands during a bank robbery who vow revenge on the perpetrators and in a turn of events, decide to pull off the heist themselves. The film also co-stars, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall and Liam Neeson and is directed by Steve McQueen (Twelve Years a Slave).
Michelle Rodriguez, Viola Davis and Elizabeth Debicki in Widows
Jennifer Lopez and Vanessa Hudgens star in the Romantic comedy Second Act (November 21 release) in which Lopez as Maya plays a single middle aged Cosco worker in a dead end job who gets a chance to move up the corporate ladder with a little help from her friends. Lopez’s previous hit romantic comedy excursions include Maid in Manhattan, What to Expect When Your Expecting and The Back up Plan.
Jennifer Lopez feeling empowered on Second Chance
Newcomer Rosa Salazar (Mazerunner) stars as our first Kick ass Latina superhero in Robert Rodriquez’s $200 million dollar futuristic science fiction epic Alita: Battle Angel, (December 21 release) produced by James Cameron and David Valdes for Twentieth Century Fox based on a popular Anime.
Rosa Salazar in Alita: Battle Angel
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