TradeVine – Entertainment Industry News – April 22nd, 2011 with Judy Echavez sitting in for Danika Quinn

Welcome to the TradeVine, Friday, April 22nd, 2011. Danika Quinn is on location … Judy Echavez hosts this week’s TradeVine for the week’s entertainment news highlights you may have missed. Our producer Pepper Jay chose these articles to share with you:

Back Stage, April 14th-20th. “Gangbangers and maids no more,” by Daniel Holloway. As the Hispanic population increases, so do on-screen opportunities for Latinos. The recent census in the United States counted 50.5 million Hispanics, up from 35.3 million in 2000, representing a 16.3 percent of the total population. Traditionally, Hispanics have been underrepresented on screen. Recently, however, there have been advances in Latin casting. For example, one of the most prominent Hispanic performers on television is Sofia Vergara of ABC’s “Modern Family.” In the acting world, as for all actors, the vast majority of roles and characters that are written are called “nondescript” characters, the judge, the jury, the grocery store clerk, etc. Those are the roles where most of the employment opportunities lie. This next year’s crop of pilots features several prominent roles for Hispanic actors, including an untitled NBC show, starring Jimmy Smits as the mayor of Los Angeles.

Daily Variety, Monday, April 18th. “New breed of stoner pics build fresh buzz,” by Peter Bart. Peter Bart ran into Cheech Marin, of Cheech and Chong fame, and asked his opinion on the fast-growing subgenre of stoner films. Bart asked Marin, “Do you have to be stoned while you’re shooting them as well as when you’re seeing them?” Cheech Marin responded that, “Making a movie is too damned difficult. You’ve got to be straight to get through it.” Peter Bart finds that there is little entertainment value in the new breed of stoner movies. The most recent “Your Highness” is a case in point, which was pricy but prurient. When asked if he was going to see “Your Highness,” Cheech Marin says no, he doesn’t plan to do so. Apparently, he doesn’t want to see his old genre go up in smoke.

Hollywood Reporter, April 22nd. “How rock music is saving books,” by Shirley Halperin. The sudden surge in memoirs is bringing boomers to bookstores. From Keith Richards’ assertion that he really did snort his father’s ashes to Sammy Hagar’s revelation that he’s been abducted by aliens, out-there autobiographies by aging rock stars are helping to fuel the ailing book-publishing business. “There’s clearly a demand,” says Mauro DiPreta, vp of It Books. Hagar, the former Van Halen frontman was paid about $3 million. DiPreta adds, “What you have with a book is a memento. You can buy a CD, but you’ve probably heard the songs many times already. For $25 you get to hear all the stories, not just behind the songs but how these guys lived” So who is buying these tomes? Boomers are still big book buyers and are a large part of the audience, but DiPreta believes there is a multi-generational appeal. “You’ll find parents at book signing events with their high school or college age kids, just like when you go to a concert. They want to share that experience.”

Well, that’s it for the TradeVine this week. Thank you very much for watching. And remember, you heard it through the Tradevine!