EXCLUSIVE: Carlo Mendez (Parks and Recreation, 90210) will take over Alvaro Orlando’s role in the indie The Legend of Jack and Diane, following Orlando’s departure due to a scheduling conflict.
He joins a cast led by Tom Sizemore, which also includes Robert LaSardo, David Timlinson and newcomer Lydia Zelmac, with production currently underway in and around the Los Angeles area.
The film directed by Bruce Bellochi is a revenge thriller, which takes its name from John Mellencamp’s classic song “Jack & Diane.” It centers, of course, on Jack (Tomlinson) and Diane (Zelmac), who decide to leave Indiana for a new life in Los Angeles. When the pair discover secrets about the death of Diane’s mother, their worst fears are confirmed, and they are forced to run. On the way to Los Angeles to confront evil, they create a hit list to exact revenge on everyone involved.
Mendez will play Detective Stanley Montana, the son of LaSardo’s reputed drug lord Cesar. Never accepted by his father, Montana has since fallen from his family’s good graces after choosing to become a cop.
Bellochi, Zelmac and Rick Geller scripted the project, which was originally set up as an episodic series for HBO but lost its footing amid the Covid-19 pandemic, with Bellochi and Geller reworking it as a feature. Bellochi and Geller are exec producing it with Jackie Kallen.
The younger brother of actress Eva Mendez, Carlo Mendez has garnered 64 screen credits over the course of his career, finding most within the last 15 years. He’s primarily known for his work in television, on such series as NBC’s Parks and Recreation and The CW’s 90210.
Mendez is represented by manager Becky Poliakoff of Hg5 Entertainment.
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EXCLUSIVE: Two-time Emmy nominee Wendie Malick (Young Sheldon, Hot in Cleveland) has signed on to star alongside Melissa D’Agostino in her feature directorial debut Mother of All Shows, which will enter production in Ontario this week, and will ultimately be made available on her Canadian VOD subscription service HighballTV.
The musical penned by D’Agostino and David James Brock centers on Liza (D’Agostino), a woman who retreats to a ’70s variety show in her mind as she struggles to cope with the impending death of her estranged mother, Rosa (Malick). Her mother presents as the show’s all-powerful host, leading an all-singing, all-dancing cast of players from Liza’s past and present, such that scene by scene, song by song, Liza is able to work through parts of their past without losing herself in the process.
Mother of All Shows will also star Ann Pornel (Baroness Von Sketch Show), Darryl Hinds (Royal Canadian Air Farce), Juan Chioran (Six Guns for Hire), Phil Luzi (Bad Blood), Tarah Consoli (Kim’s Convenience), Michael Miranda (Murdoch Mysteries) and Trevor Martin (Six Guns for Hire). Matt Campagna is co-directing the film, featuring original songs by D’Agostino, Brock and Rebecca Everett, with Matt Schichter serving as its producer.
Malick earned her Emmy nominations in 1999 and 2002 for her turn as Blush fashion editor Nina Van Horn in Steven Levitan’s NBC series Just Shoot Me!. She’s also appeared in series including Young Sheldon, Dear White People, Physical, American Housewife, BoJack Horseman, The Ranch, Rush Hour and Hot in Cleveland, appearing on the film side in Waiting… and Adventureland, among many other titles.
Malick is represented by Innovative Artists; D’Agostino by Oldfield Talent Management (Toronto); Pornel, Hinds and Martin by The Baxter Agency (Toronto); Chioran by Oscars Abrams Zimel & Associates (Toronto); Luzi by Grand Wave Entertainment (Toronto); Consoli by Butler Ruston Bell (Toronto) and Aligned Entertainment; and Miranda by Ankrum Artists.
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