Tag Archives: Faces to Watch

Actors, Filmmakers

2015 Faces to Watch

Leave a comment

(Re-posted from LimitéMagazine.com)

Each year, lovers of film and television debate the quality of that year’s crop of cinematic content channeled into TV and movie screens worldwide. And although opinions will differ, one undeniable fact is that each year ushers in a new crop of breakout talent, both in front of and behind the camera. Yes, some have been mastering their crafts for years, and each person’s journey is uniquely their own, but it’s often not until the artists are able to express their voices in a singular title that causes viewers to take notice.

Now in its seventh year, Limité is proud to announce the 2015 class of one of its longest-running features, “Faces to Watch.”

Continue reading 2015 Faces to Watch →

Actors, Filmmakers

2014 Faces to Watch

Leave a comment

NOTE: I edited and partly wrote the following feature for LimitéMagazine.com.

(Re-posted from LimitéMagazine.com)

Committed to its mission to seek and promote tomorrow’s trending topics, we are thrilled to announce its sixth-annual “Faces to Watch” feature. Compiled by Limité’s film team, “Faces to Watch” presents a curated look at this year’s newest and brightest in film – both in front of and behind the camera – as seen through the lens of Limité.

Ryan Coogler

Ryan Coogler / filmmaker

by Minnie Li

Ryan Coogler rose to critical acclaim with his directorial debut, Fruitvale Station. Its Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award wins at last year’s Sundance Film Festival were the first of a trail of recognition from festivals the world over, including the Prix de l’avenir at Cannes, which recognizes Coogler as a talent to watch. He, along with his star Michael B. Jordan, was named by Time as one of the 30 people under 30 changing the world. In December, the 28-year-old filmmaker took home best breakthrough director at the IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards.

Fruitvale Station chronicles the last day of 22-year-old Oscar Grant’s life. A white transit officer shot Grant, who was African-American, in 2002 on the BART platform. A decade later, George Zimmerman shot the unarmed young black man, Trayvon Martin. The film and its timely release suggest that life in post-racial America has changed little. Coogler is an Oakland native and has worked as a counselor at a juvenile hall in San Francisco and as a counselor and security guard in a home for troubled Bay Area youths. Grant’s story hit home.

Coogler’s next project is Creed, a spin-off of the Rocky franchise. Sylvester Stallone and Michael B. Jordan have already signed on.

Continue reading 2014 Faces to Watch →

Actors, Filmmakers

2013 Faces to Watch

Leave a comment

(Re-posted from LimitéMagazine.com)

Faces to Watch Graphic

As we continue to seek and capture the essence of modern world culture, Limité is excited to announce its fifth-annual “Faces to Watch” list. This feature focuses on select up-and-coming personalities in various facets of culture and lifestyle, such as film, fashion, culinary, and music. We’ve chosen 12 individuals for this year’s list. They were selected based on their potential to make a significant impact in their disciplines—in short, these are the names we’ll be talking about tomorrow.

Gemma Arterton

by Curtis John

Gemma Arterton

Since starring in a series of big-budget movies and independent darlings over the past six years, British actress Gemma Arterton, fresh off of Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, has not only become a favorite of film directors, but of audiences as well. Hansel & Gretel is her third film to open in the number one spot in the US box office—Quantum of Solace (2008) and Clash of the Titans (2010) being the others. In her current box office hit, Arterton plays a grown-up version of the fairy tale heroine Gretel, who with her brother Hansel (Jeremy Renner) become bounty hunters who eliminate witches worldwide, 15 years following their terrifying ordeal at the hands of a witch in a gingerbread house (but you already know thatstory). Celebrated for their travails but bored with the work, the duo is hired to save a small town’s children, who are being abducted by witches. During their investigation, the siblings discover dark secrets about their strange pasts.

Continue reading 2013 Faces to Watch →

Actors, Filmmakers

2012 Faces to Watch

Leave a comment

(Re-posted from LimitéMagazine.com)

April 2, 2012

Committed to its mission to seek and promote tomorrow’s trending topics, Limité Magazine is thrilled to announce its fourth-annual “Faces to Watch” list. The feature focuses on select up-and-coming personalities in various facets of culture and lifestyle. After much consideration, 10 names were chosen for this year’s list. They were selected based on their potential to make a significant impact on their disciplines—in short, these are the names we’ll be talking about tomorrow.

Demián Bichir

by Morgan Goldin

When the 2012 Academy Award nominees for Best Actor were being announced, one nomination came as a surprise to audiences and industry insiders alike. Alongside uber-famous Hollywood actors George Clooney and Brad Pitt, there was Jean Dujardin (who eventually won the category), unknown to most Americans but recognized for his work in the popular The Artist, and Demián Bichir, for his role in A Better Life. Bichir’s sensitive and soulful portrayal of an undocumented migrant worker was powerful enough to make the Academy take notice, despite the indie feature going largely unseen by moviegoers. However, to Hispanic audiences, this was an actor finally getting his due.

Bichir was born in Mexico City on August 1, 1963. He started his acting career in telenovelas, with productions filmed in Mexico, the United States, and Spain. He took a break from his television acting to focus on a movie career. His movie Sexo, pudor y lagrimas (1999) was a massive box office smash, breaking all kinds of records to win the accolade of being the number one film in all of Mexican cinema. His role earned him an Ariel, a Mexican version of the Academy Award. The film In the Time of Butterflies (2001) was Bichir’s American debut, in which he co-starred with Salma Hayek. He garnered other roles in American film and television productions, playing a major role as Esteban Reyes on the hit Showtime show Weeds, as well as portraying Fidel Castro for Steven Soderbergh’s Che (2008). However, with his role as Carlos Galindo in A Better Life, Bichir, only the second Mexican actor to be nominated for a Best Actor Oscar (after Anthony Quinn), will hopefully be a name that more American audiences recognize. And here’s a fun fact: he was the singing voice of Aladdin in the Spanish dub version of the 1992 Disney classic.

Bichir can next be seen in Oliver Stone’s 2012 release Savages, which also stars John Travolta, Blake Lively, Uma Thurman, Benicio Del Toro, and his Butterflies co-star Salma Hayek.

Continue reading 2012 Faces to Watch →