From left: Eva Longoria, Isabela Moner and Michael Peña. Credit: Getty Images
"There was no forcing or checking the box of diversity," Longoria told The Hollywood Reporter at the premiere in Los Angeles, California which also featured the film's stars Benicio Del Toro, Danny Trejo and Eugenio Derbez.
At the Los Angeles premiere of Dora and the Lost City of Gold, the Nickelodeon favorite made her live-action film debut and brought her Latino community along for the ride.
The film's stars — including Isabela Moner, Michael Peña, Eva Longoria, Benicio Del Toro, Danny Trejo, and Eugenio Derbez — filed down the red carpet at Regal Cinemas L.A. on Sunday. The stars were just a handful of the all-Latino cast who populated the movie's live-action take on Dora's world.
Longoria, who plays Dora's mother, Elena, told The Hollywood Reporter that being part of an all-Latino cast made sense for the movie and for the source material.
"If you think about Dora being Latina, you automatically get to populate her world with Latinos," Longoria told THR. "There was no forcing or checking the box of diversity if you represent Dora and her natural culture."
Ensuring authentic representation of Dora's community was an important aspect of extending her impact to the big screen, director James Bobin said. He noted that for a number of girls and Latino children, it was the first time they saw themselves truly represented onscreen, so bringing that impact to the theaters was significant to him.
"Being part of the movie, of quite a good size, and having the lead character be a 16-year-old Latina, it's fantastic and I'm really proud to have done that," he said.
The film's producer, Kristin Burr, also noted that truthfulness to the story was a cornerstone for the project. This push for authenticity was one of the factors that persuaded a number of stars, including Derbez, to sign on in the first place.
Derbez, who takes on the role of explorer Alejandro Gutierrez, revealed that he signed onto the project after learning it would feature an all-Latino cast. Additionally, the project's focus on a character whom he deems a "Latina superhero" and positive portrayals for the community also brought him on board.
"I always wanted to change the image of Latinos in Hollywood because they're always portraying us as criminals and drug lords," he told THR.
Similarly, Peña, who stars as the heroine's father, said that Dora and the Lost City of Gold would be his first time starring in a big-budget, Latin-led project. He also noted that projects like the August film is a step toward normalizing authentic stories and casting in Hollywood.
Though Dora and the Lost City of Gold adds to the year's list of live-action films inspired by previous material, what sets it apart from other projects is its focus on a strong, young Latina, Burr said.
Moner, who plays the renown explorer Dora, said that taking on the beloved animated character's courageous aspects didn't feel forced and allowed her to highlighted a different kind of female bravery.
"Whenever people think that a woman needs to be strong, they think that she has no emotions, is super serious, but Dora loves pink, she wears orange shorts, she loves dancing to Gloria Estefan, she's super girly," she said. "It's important to break up the stereotype that women have to act like men in order to be strong."
Dora and the Lost City of Gold hits theaters across the U.S. on Friday, August 9, 2019, and cinemas across the U.K. on Friday 16th August 2019.
Follow the movie online:
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From Reality TV World:
Eva Longoria says her maternal instincts went 'bonkers' on 'Dora' set
Dora and the Lost City of Gold star Eva Longoria says her maternal instincts went "bonkers" on the movie's set.
The 44-year-old actress discussed motherhood while attending the film's Los Angeles premiere Sunday at the Regal Cinemas L.A. Live movie theater.
Longoria welcomed her first child, son Santiago, with husband Jose "Pepe" Baston in June 2018. She plays Dora's mom, Elena, in the new film.
"My instincts in this movie were completely bonkers because I was a new mom," Longoria told Entertainment Tonight.
"Dora's, like, running in the jungle, holding a snake, running into crumbling falling rocks, [and] I'm like, "I would never let my child do that!'" she said. "The director was like, 'Right, but it's Dora!' I'm like, 'Okay, okay.'"
Longoria wore a bright yellow Vitor Zerbinato dress and strappy white sandals to the premiere.. She shared a photo of her look on Instagram, saying she was "feeling bright."
"I'm feeling bright for @doramovie premiere!" the star captioned the post.
Dora and the City of Gold is a new live-action movie based on the Nickelodeon animated series Dora the Explorer. The film co-stars Isabela Moner as Dora, Michael Pena and Danny Trejo, and opens in theaters Aug. 9.
Longoria had shared similar sentiments about motherhood and her experience with Dora and the Lost City of Gold in an interview with Extra last week.
"It changed all my instincts. Like, my moral compass was totally bonkers because I just had new eyes on the world," the star said.
"I remember there was a scene when Michael and I are standing there and Dora runs back into the crumbling temple," she recalled. "Michael and I were like, 'No, no, no. We would never let our child run into a crumbling temple. That's very dangerous.' It was just against every instinct in my body to not keep my child safe."
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From E! News:
Eva Longoria Looks Like a Ray of Sunshine at the Dora and the Lost City of Gold Premiere
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
Eva Longoria is shining bright!
On Sunday, the 44-year-old actress showed up and showed out at the Dora and the Lost City of Gold movie premiere in Los Angeles. She looked like a ray of sunshine in a bright-yellow strapless cocktail dress by Vitor Zerbinato. She tied her dazzling ensemble together with dainty jewelry pieces and white strappy heels. As for her beauty look? She rocked a smoky eye, nude lips and luminous bronzer.
Overall, the Hollywood star was a total stunner!
Along with Eva, Michael Pena and Isabela Moner graced the red carpet in fashion-forward 'fits. The Dora and the Lost City of Gold stars posed for pictures at the Regal Cinemas at L.A. Live. The 18-year-old actress looked absolutely radiant in a white sparkly Rodarte dress that featured a sexy sheer cut-out. She paired her gown with Stuart Weitzman heels and flashy rings.
Pena opted for a grey suit and polka dot tie.
The trio's co-stars also stepped out for the special occasion, including Eugenia Derbez, Jeffrey Wahlberg, Danny Trejo, Q'orianka Kilcher, Nicholas Coombe, Madeleine Madden, and Joey Vieira.
Mario Lopez and his two kids also attended the movie premiere. Despite welcoming baby number three earlier this month, the daytime host couldn't miss the family movie! However, his newborn didn't get to join the fun.
Dora and the Lost City of Gold hits theaters on Friday, August 9th! So get your tickets and your popcorn ready.
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From Slanted:
Isabela Moner Sparkles at the ‘Dora and the Lost City of Gold’ Premiere
Paramount Pictures hosted the premiere of “Dora and the Lost City of Gold” over the weekend. Select members of the cast and crew met with fans on the red carpet to promote the film, which is scheduled to hit theaters on August 9th. Dora herself, Isabela Moner, joined stars Eva Longoria, Michael Peña, Jeff Wahlberg, Nicholas Coombe, Madeleine Madden, and Danny Trejo at the event, where they discussed the live-action adaptation and bringing the iconic character to life on the big screen.
James Bobin directed the film for the studio, and the story picks up with Dora when she begins her high school years. Always the explorer, Dora quickly finds herself leading Boots (her best friend, a monkey), Diego (Jeff Wahlberg), a mysterious jungle inhabitant (Eugenio Derbez), and a ragtag group of teens on a live-action adventure to save her parents (Eva Longoria, Michael Peña) and solve the impossible mystery behind a lost city of gold.
Julia Pistor, Eugenio Derbez, and John G. Scotti served as executive producers on the film, with Kristin Burr serving as producer.
As we mentioned earlier, the movie is scheduled to open on August 9th, a busy weekend at the box office. Not only will “Dora and the Lost City of Gold” release one week after “Hobbs & Shaw,” the film opens against “The Art of Racing in the Rain,” “Brian Banks,” “The Kitchen,” and “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.” The following week won’t be any easier for Dora since Sony Pictures is releasing “Angry Birds 2” in theaters nationwide.
Fans of Isabela Moner might remember her from her work on “Instant Family” and “Sicario: Day of the Soldado,” when she played Lizzy and Isabel Reyes respectively. Moner is also set to star in the rom-com “Let it Snow” from director Luke Snellin, based on a short story by John Green. That movie also features Kiernan Shipka, Jacob Batalon, Odeya Rush, Joan Cusack, Shameik Moore, Liv Hewson, Miles Robbins, and Genevieve DeGraves.
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From Variety:
Isabela Moner, Eva Longoria Celebrate Latinx Representation in ‘Dora and the Lost City of Gold’
“It was amazing,” Isabela Moner said of playing beloved animated character Dora the Explorer at the world premiere of the live-action movie adaptation, “Dora and the Lost City of Gold.” “I’m half Peruvian so the opportunity to be able to represent at this level is unheard of. Peru is never mainstream unless it’s for the hippies that go to Machu Picchu, so to be able to represent like this is just insane to me.”
Moner, who learned the indigenous Peruvian language, Quechua, while prepping to portray the hyper-intelligent Dora, is excited to see how the film will be received by Latin American audiences, especially the Peruvian community. “I want to push for a premiere in Peru and if they are not going to have one themselves, I’ll probably just go and do my own little event,” Moner said on the jungle-themed green carpet at L.A. Live in Los Angeles on Sunday. “I’m going there to work with UNICEF soon and that’s around the time that the movie comes out so hopefully it works out.”
Featuring a teenage Latina lead and an almost all-Latinx cast, “Dora” is already being hailed for promoting representation among blockbuster releases. Michael Peña, who stars as Dora’s father in the film, told Variety, “It’s a reason to do this kind of movie. Number one, it’s going to be a fun movie and people are going to like it, but number two, 24 years ago when I started acting, this would have never happened. There was no big-budget movie that I know of that any Latin person was even starring in. It’s cool that this is just kind of normal now in a way but for me, it’s especially satisfying.”
Director James Bobin is hoping that story changes made during the adaptation process, which includes aging up Dora from a 6-year-old to a teenager, will appeal to a broader audience while still resonating with the Nickelodeon cartoon’s fanbase. “When I read the script, I realized that they (writers Nicolas Stoller and Matthew Robinson) were doing a very clever thing by making her the same person now at sixteen as she was at six. It’s a charming way of getting into the movie and there were so many great opportunities for comedy. She’s grown up with the audience but she hasn’t changed, even if they have, and that’s kind of great.”
Eva Longoria said she was surprised to discover Dora the Explorer’s international popularity when she first signed on to play Dora’s mother in the movie. “I thought she was an icon for the Hispanic community but she’s global,” she told Variety. “She taught English all over the world and people were learning Spanish through her. The representation matters. The fact that it’s authentically an all-Latino cast matters and I’m so proud to be part of this project in that way.”
Longoria recalled that seeing iconic singer Selena perform was the first time she saw someone who looked like her represented in entertainment. “I don’t remember a lot of that representation growing up,” she said. “It was Selena. Not the movie, not Jennifer Lopez, the performer. Because I’m from Corpus [Christi, Texas] so I would watch her and go to her concerts and I was like, ‘Wow!’”
The star, who is set to make her feature-film directorial debut with the female comedy “24/7” co-starring Kerry Washington, also discussed the current landscape for female directors in Hollywood. “I hope it’s changing. Cannes was the first time that they had 50/50 submissions for directors and that made me happy. But if you look at feature films on this scale, blockbusters, we are not moving fast enough.”
For Longoria, the key is not just awareness but access. “We have to educate gatekeepers who are making these decisions that women are just as talented and just as profitable as male directors,” she explained. “But not only educate the gatekeepers, change the gatekeepers. We have to replace them. Get those women in executive positions. And once a woman is there, make sure she’s held accountable in pulling others up. Because there are some women in executive positions that aren’t doing a whole lot and we need to make sure that they do.”
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From The Washington Post:
‘Dora’ fan Isabela Moner didn’t leap at first to play the explorer as a teen
Actress said she didn’t want the character she loved to be too grown-up.
When Isabela Moner first heard that the beloved animated Nickelodeon show “Dora the Explorer” was getting an aged-up, live-action adaptation, she was admittedly concerned about the idea.
“It’s natural to wonder if what you love is going to be corrupted just to make money off us fans,” said the 18-year-old star of “Dora and the Lost City of Gold” (opening August 9). “I was skeptical about what Hollywood would do to something that was special to me.”
But that’s not the case here, stresses Moner, because the movie has everything kids and parents remember about the series, which debuted in 2000. That includes Dora’s signature look: bangs, a hot pink shirt and bright orange shorts.
Moner, who starred in “Instant Family,” “Sicario: Day of the Soldado,” “100 Things to Do Before High School” and “Transformers: The Last Knight,” isn’t just your average teen nostalgic about the bilingual exploradora’s adventures — she was involved in the show’s animated 2014 spinoff “Dora and Friends,” which turned Dora from a 7-year-old to a tween. Moner was the voice of one of the friends, Kate, so playing the high school version of Dora came naturally to her.
“When I read the script and realized it was really clever and fun and kid-friendly, I thought ‘this will work,’ ” the Cleveland, Ohio, native said. “It’s very touching to see all the characters and animals, Boots, the backpack and the songs.”
In the movie, Dora lives with her archaeologist parents (Eva Longoria and Michael Peña) in the South American jungle, with only pet monkey Boots to keep her company. When her parents go to Peru to search for a legendary Incan city of gold, they send the previously home-schooled Dora to live with her cousin Diego (Jeff Wahlberg) and his family in Los Angeles, California.
Trusting and enthusiastic, Dora is the ultimate fish out of water when she attends public high school for the first time.
“She’s not sarcastic at all, she doesn’t have a phone, she doesn’t have social media. She’s completely out of the loop, which I think is funny and has a good dynamic,” Moner explains. Eventually Dora, Diego and two classmates end up in Peru, where Dora’s explorer skills guide them on a dangerous rescue mission.
Moner and fellow “Dora” actor Eugenio Derbez attend a screening of the movie at the National Zoo in Washington on July 21. The movie was filmed in Australia, and Moner said she enjoyed learning about that country’s wildlife. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images For Paramount Pictures)
Moner may be considerably more social media savvy than Dora, but she actually has a lot in common with her legendary character. Peruvian on her mother’s side, Moner is bilingual in English and Spanish (she even learned some lines in the indigenous language Quechua for the role). She also loves to sing and dance (she got her start in musical theater), and she adores animals.
During the four-month film shoot in Australia, which stands in for Peru, Moner learned a lot about the unique animal and plant life Down Under — a very Dora-ish thing to do.
“I did a lot of exploring, no pun intended. The plants, the animals, the insects . . . it’s like, where did these come from, how did they end up here? It’s crazy,” she said. “I visited the zoo and an animal hospital and even got to see a surgery on a koala.”
Moner believes, whether audiences watched the original show or not, Dora could be just the inclusive and intelligent role model today’s kids and teens need.
“Right now it’s really cool to not care, so Dora’s unwavering optimism, her unshakable nature, the strength of her character, her contagious sense of joy. That’s all important for kids and teens to see.”
More about Moner
Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio
Siblings: Two brothers. Jared is 22; Gyo is 15.
Pets: A dog that is a Staffordshire terrier-Rhodesian ridgeback mix. “His name is Pluto, and he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Education: Graduated from high school; studying psychology at a community college.
Favorite book and why: “Prayers for the Stolen” by Jennifer Clement. “It’s super empowering and educational. It’s about young Mexican girls, and one in particular who’s an immigrant to the U.S.”
Favorite movie to re-watch: “Elf” (2003). “My family loves it.”
Musical artist she loves: “The obvious answer is Beyoncé, but also right now, this Spanish artist Rosalía. She takes classic Spanish flamenco music and makes it modern.”
Favorite superhero: Wonder Woman. “I love Gal Gadot, who plays her. She’s so admirable.”
Actor she’d most like to work with: “Donald Glover. He’s also my celebrity crush. I love him so much.”
Hobbies: “Playing with my dog or making music with my little brother, who is actually a producer. He’s really talented. I do the vocals and the melodies.”
Upcoming projects: “Let It Snow” comes out around Thanksgiving on Netflix. “It’s a Christmas [romantic comedy] for older kids and teens.” It’s based on a holiday short-story collection by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle.
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From Access:
Eva Longoria Gushes About Being A Mom To Santi: ‘I’m Lucky That I Have An Amazing Baby’
Eva Longoria’s baby boy Santiago just turned one and being a mom has been a life-changing experience for the actress.
“I mean you never shut it off. Not even when you’re sleeping. It’s mommy mode all day long,” Eva told Access’ Sibley Scoles at the premiere for her starring role in “Dora and the Lost City of Gold.”
Eva explained, “I’m Santi’s mom now. I don’t know any other way to describe it…it’s just such a genuine blessing. I’m lucky that I have an amazing baby to take this journey with me. I’m so excited I’m finally in a movie that he can see.”
The 44-year-old actress plays Dora’s mom, Elena, in the Nickelodeon television series’ first live-action adventure and couldn’t contain her maternal instincts even while filming. “You know Dora’s with snakes, and Dora’s running around, and she’s going into a crumbling temple,” said Eva. “And as a new mom, and he (co-star Michael Pena) is a parent, we were like okay we would never let our daughter do that, so can we think of something else?”
But director James Bobin didn’t hesitate to remind the on-screen couple what the narrative is really about. “You guys the movie’s called Dora,” explained James. “It’s not called Dora’s parents. Dora has to save the day.”
Watch Eva go full ‘mommy mode’ as Dora embarks on her most dangerous adventure yet in theaters August 9.
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Isabela Moner and Jeff Wahlberg talk about 'Dora and the Lost City of Gold' | Miami Herald
The actors Isabela Moner (Dora) and Jeff Wahlberg (her cousin Diego) told us everything about the movie and how they solve the impossible mystery behind a lost Inca civilization.
Host: Eliane Gallero
Credit: Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies
Longoria, Pena's kid friendly movie | AP
At the premiere for “Dora and the Lost City of Gold,” actress Eva Longoria says she's excited that she's “finally in a movie my son can watch,” with Michael Pena adding his son is also excited. (July 29)
Dora and the Lost City of Gold Premiere (Isabela Moner, Eva Longoria) | Slanted
Isabella Moner shines at Dora and the Lost City Of Gold premiere | Daily Mail
After a career of sensational soaps, Eva Longoria is giving the family genre a try. She stars in Dora and the Lost City of Gold, a live-action adaptation of Dora the Explorer. Longoria joined friends and co-stars as she hit the red carpet of the movie's Los Angeles premiere Sunday at Regal LA Live.
Foto: EFE
Foto: EFE
Foto: EFE
Foto: EFE
Foto: EFE
Foto: EFE
Foto: EFE
Foto: EFE
From toofab.com:
Eva Longoria Says She Had No 'Choice' But to Film 'Dora' Movie Immediately After Giving Birth (Exclusive)
The Tejano actress tells TooFab how meaningful it was to take part in "Dora and the Lost City of Gold," a film that not only celebrates the Hispanic language, but also revels in its culture.
Eva Longoria took on the role of playing Dora the Explorer's mom in Nickelodeon's live-action adaption of the animated series just two months after giving birth to Santiago Bastón because she "didn't really have a choice."
TooFab had the opportunity to sit down with the Tejano actress and her on-screen husband, Michael Peña, to chat about just how meaningful it was for them to take part in "Dora and the Lost City of Gold," a film that not only celebrates the Hispanic language, but also revels in its culture.
"I loved Dora," Eva told us. "She was a global icon, I mean, an icon in our community; I didn't realize she was a global icon in the world. My friends from London called me and Germany, and they were like, 'Oh, my God! You're gonna be Dora's mom!' So I was really, really excited. And then I read the script, and I thought, 'Oh, my gosh! They really nailed this adaption of the cartoon.'"
Michael, whose parents emigrated from Mexico, agreed wholeheartedly.
"When you hear about a movie, like an adaptation of a TV show, I was interested for sure, but you don't know what the execution's gonna be like, so obviously the fact that the director is a great director, and he's tackled this kind of material before, is awesome," he told us. "But then, like [Eva] said, once I read the script, I thought, 'Oh, this is gonna be super fun and it's gonna be positive and it's a Latin-led cast."
"A lot of pros to do it," Eva added, but for her, there were seemingly way more cons to taking on the project. After all, she was a new and first-time mom when she agreed to fly to Australia, where the film was shot, in order to portray Elena.
"I didn't really have a choice," she said. "I could've said no, but I couldn't. I literally could not have said no to this movie. The opportunity that this movie provided, not only for me, but for my community and for people who look like me, I was like, I have to do this movie."
"And I remember freaking out, going, 'How am I gonna do this movie?!'" she continued, noting she eventually just had to pull the trigger and say, "'We're gonna do this. We're taking the family, we're taking everybody to Australia, and we're gonna do this. And you guys are gonna be there, and you're gonna support me, and you're gonna be happy, and you're gonna like it!'"
"And they did," she said with a laugh.
While Santiago, who she shares with husband José Bastón, is too young to have grown up watching Dora, Michael's son, Roman Peña, is not.
"My kid did grow up [watching Dora], and he loved the movie!" Michael told us. "He was laughing. He's at camp, so we saw it in a preview, but he was laughing. I made sure to sit right by him. I mean, that's the reason to do these movies, for your kids and for audiences like that and for his friends as well."
Eva explained that Spanish was not her first language, despite the fact that her parents are both Mexican. She said when she was growing up in Corpus Christi, Texas, the idea was to speak "English only. English, English, English."
"There's definitely, in our generation, this idea to assimilate," she said, looking at Michael. "And now, I think there's more celebration of returning to our language. Bilingual is better than monolingual, you know? When is two not better than one?"
"I learned Spanish late in life, and we're definitely raising Santi in a Spanish household," she added, "because he'll get English from school and society, but Spanish will be his home language."
Even though Spanish was Michael's first language, he had an experience similar to Eva's.
"I had parents that very much wanted to learn English, so my mom was at night school," he explained. "She was working in a factory, and then she was going to night school to finish high school here. And same thing with my dad. So at home, after a while, I think it was at 4 years old, we just started speaking English in the house. It was the cutest thing ever to see my mom making progress with years to come. And then she was fluent."
"Dora and the Lost City of Gold" hits theaters August 9.
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From toofab.com:
'Dora' Star Jeff Wahlberg Reveals Two Things Uncle Mark Wahlberg Told Him 'Never' to Do (Exclusive)
The 23-year-old actor tells TooFab about the best advice his Oscar-nominated uncle has ever given him.
Mark Wahlberg's nephew, Jeff Wahlberg, is taking on his first big acting role playing Diego in "Dora and the Lost City of Gold."
During an interview about Nickelodeon's live-action adaption of the wildly successful animated series, TooFab got the opportunity to ask the 23-year-old Miami native about the best advice his Oscar-nominated uncle has ever given him.
"In terms of acting, he hasn't really given me any," Jeff told us. "But in terms of business, just to never get comfortable and never lose my hustle."
"It's crazy," he added, looking at co-star Isabela Moner, who plays Dora. "Isabela actually worked with him twice, so when I met her, in a lot of ways, it felt like we knew each other already. It felt like she was my cousin."
But that wasn't the only "full-circle" moment Jeff experienced while working on the film; he watched "Dora the Explorer" as a kid and said getting to play the beloved character's equally adventurous cousin was a dream come true.
"It came full circle. It's crazy," he said. "For me, Dora was such a part of my childhood. And even shooting the movie, I feel like I really, in a lot of ways, got in touch with my inner child."
Jeff said his longtime best friend even flew with him to Australia, where the movie was shot, to spend the duration of filming with him there.
"[He] stayed with me and came to set for weeks, and it was like, 'Yo, this is crazy! It's full circle. It's weird,'" Jeff gushed.
Isabela, on the other hand, brought her mom, who kind of became like Jeff's mom, which isn't too far off from the pair's familial relationship in the movie: Dora goes off to live with her cousin and his family in San Diego after her parents (Eva Longoria and Michael Peña) come to the realization that their teenage daughter is better equipped to handle encounters with wild animals in the jungle than she is with kids her own age.
Peruvian-American Isabela, 18, said she also "grew up with Dora."
"I had the haircut growing up, so I was pretty much asking for people to call me Dora," she told us.
"You've been manifesting this for years!" Jeff interjected. She agreed, adding that the similarities actually caused her a bit of grief as a kid. Now, she's getting the last laugh.
"Everyone thought that it was an insult or something, or like they were teasing me or something, but now, I'm getting paid for it!" she said.
In the film, Eva Longoria plays Elena, Dora's mom. Isabela told us getting to work with the Tejano actress made the experience that much more unforgettable for her.
"She's always been this entity to me growing up," Isabela explained. "I'd always seen her on TV, and I knew who she was, and people said I looked like her. Again, like, full circle. I got to work with her! She's amazing. She's everything you'd imagine and more."
"Really, really fun lady and great mother and multitasker. Definitely," she added. "Showed me how to multitask; still can't do it, though!"
"Dora and the Lost City of Gold" hits theaters August 9.
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From USA Today:
New mom Eva Longoria took role in the 'Dora' movie to represent 'people that look like me'
We seem to always be concerned about women returning to work after having a baby. Sigh.
So when Eva Longoria was asked by TooFab why she decided to accept the role of Dora's mom and film "Dora and The Lost City of Gold" shortly after the birth of her son Santiago, she had the best response.
"I didn't really have a choice," she joked.
Co-star Michael Pena ("Ant-Man and the Wasp"), who plays Dora's dad, chimed in saying, "You could have said no."
Longoria replied:
"I couldn't. I literally could not have said no to this movie. The opportunity this movie provided not only for me but for my community and for people that look like me...I was like, 'I have to do this movie.'"
So she loaded up her family and went to Australia to be a part of the Latin-led cast, she told the media outlet.
Longoria's son turned 1 in early July and she told Parents magazine that she takes him everywhere.
She also opened up about returning to work six weeks after giving birth, saying "breastfeeding while working was hard."
But added that Santi — as she calls him — has been a "dream baby."
"He’s healthy, he’s funny, he’s sweet, he sleeps, he eats — he’s made it easy for us."
"Dora and the Lost City of Gold," which is based off Nickelodeon's kids' TV show "Dora the Explorer," hits theaters Aug. 9.
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From USA Today:
Why is Dora the Explorer a teenager? Answers to all your biggest questions about the movie
Can you say "diferente?"
Dora the Explorer is swinging into theaters nationwide Friday for her first live-action movie, "Dora and the Lost City of Gold," adapted from her long-running Nickelodeon animated series.
But big changes are in store for the beloved bilingual brainiac (played by Isabela Moner), who's now a socially awkward teenager struggling to fit in at her new Los Angeles high school. Dora is soon whisked back to the rain forest on a rescue mission to find her explorer parents (Eva Longoria and Michael Peña), who have been kidnapped by bad guys in search of the mythical lost city of Parapata.
Rest assured, "Dora" fans: Cousin Diego (Jeff Wahlberg), monkey sidekick Boots (voiced by Danny Trejo) and the mischievous Swiper the Fox (Benicio del Toro) are all back for our Latina heroine's latest adventure.
But why is Dora so much older than in the kids' show? And where are Boots', well, boots?
We phoned director James Bobin to ask the big questions.
Isabela Moner stars in Paramount Pictures, Paramount Players and Nickelodeon Movies "Dora and the Lost City of Gold." Credit: Vince Valitutti
Dora is now 16, not 6
The biggest difference between the show and movie is that Dora is no longer a precocious youngster, but an exuberant, inquisitive teen navigating the treacherous waters of a suburban high school after moving from her lifelong jungle home.
"She's 16 but acts the same as she did at 6," Bobin says. "She’s super positive and the world hasn’t beaten her down yet. She’s unlike any other teenager you know: self-aware, somewhat self-conscious. That automatically makes Dora a fish out of water."
L-r, Michael Peña, Isabela Moner and Eva Longoria star in Paramount Pictures, Paramount Players and Nickelodeon Movies "Dora and the Lost City of Gold." Credit: Vince Valitutti
She still (occasionally) breaks the fourth wall
The educational show was known for its frequent use of call and response, as Dora asked viewers to repeat Spanish phrases or basic questions about themselves, such as "What's your name?" "Lost City" parodies that in the prologue during a family dinner where a young Dora (Madelyn Miranda) turns to the camera and asks "Can you say 'delicioso?'" Confused, Dora's parents ask who she's talking to and brush it off as just a phase.
Dora breaks the fourth wall a couple more times at the beginning of the film, although "not throughout because we didn't want it to get in the way of the narrative," Bobin says. "But I did want the audience to understand this is the same girl from the show, so when we first see Isabela, one of the first things she does is turn to the camera and say, “Hi, I’m Dora! I’m being chased by angry elephants.’"
Isabela Moner stars as "Dora" in Paramount Pictures' "Dora and the Lost City of Gold." Credit: Vince Valitutti
Map and Backpack don't talk, but Dora still sings about them
"Lost City" frequently tips its hat to the series, with iconic lines including "Swiper, no swiping," and a 2-D animated sequence in the middle of the movie featuring fan-favorite characters such as Benny the Bull and the Fiesta Trio. Dora also sings about her beloved Map and Backpack, although neither object actually speaks.
"The backpack is magic in the sense that it has endless capacity, but it doesn't talk because we thought that might be too much in the real world," Bobin says. "The movie (takes place) in an exaggerated reality, so we wanted to keep that tone within the ballpark of plausibility."
'Boots' stars in Paramount Players' "Dora and the Lost CIty of Gold." Courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
Boots is also grown up, meaning no more boots
The same logic applied to Dora's beloved pet monkey Boots, who is introduced as a baby wearing shiny red boots before Dora's parents advise her to take them off. The chimp reappears midway through the story sans shoes, which Bobin says seemed more realistic for a live-action movie.
"In the real world, monkeys don’t wear boots," Bobin says. "The first time we see Boots (as a baby), he’s eating his boots, as a real monkey would be doing if you put boots on him."
Isabela Moner and Eugenio Derbez star in Paramount Pictures' "Dora and the Lost City of Gold." Credit: Vince Valitutti
There are lots of new characters
After a museum field trip gone dangerously wrong, Dora and her classmates wind up on a plane to South America, where they team up with a bumbling explorer named Alejandro (Eugenio Derbez), who claims he wants to help Dora find her parents. Like the ragtag group of teens, Alejandro is a new addition to the "Dora" universe not based on any preexisting characters.
The film introduces this "idea that there are people who are explorers and there are people who treasure hunters," Bobin says. "Dora’s family (is) about the attainment of knowledge, research and respect of past cultures. That’s who Dora is. At the beginning, Eugenio's character seems to be thinking along similar lines but in the end, it turns out maybe he’s not."
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From the Associated Press via INQUIRER.net USA:
‘Dora’ Features a More Grownup Explorer
Eugenio Derbez and Actress Isabela Moner say they didn’t expect so much action when she signed up for “Dora and the Lost City of Gold,” the upcoming film about the adventurous Latina explorer.
Moner said she thought it would be a funny film, with Dora in a “fish out of water” kind of situation as she starts high school.
“It’s a whole ‘Tomb Raider’ meets ‘Indiana Jones’ movie,” Moner, 18, said during a recent interview. “It just kind of takes you on this journey that has so many layers and so many characters and it’s wonderful. What I want, what I hope for is for not only kids but adults to really connect to the movie too, as well as people my age.”
While the live-action film is based on a popular children’s cartoon character that debuted in 2000, “Dora and the Lost City of Gold” presents a new, older version of the character. The film’s Dora is encountering society for the first time in years when she is sent to California for high school.
“It’s nothing like the TV show,” director James Bobin said. “We have nods to the TV show, but the TV show is education for kids.
This is a kind of adventure comedy that happens to feature the character of Dora you may know from the TV show. And in fact, plays with the idea that you do who she is and how she would behave if she were a real person.”
The film, which is in theaters Friday, features a large Latino cast, a rarity for a major Hollywood production.
This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Isabela Moner and Eugenio Derbez in “Dora and the Lost City of Gold.” Moner stars in the new live-action film out Friday, Aug. 9, 2019, that presents an older but still adventurous version of the popular animated character from the Nickelodeon Jr. series “Dora the Explorer.” (Vince Valitutti/Paramount Pictures via AP)
Mexican actor Eugenio Derbez, also a producer of the movie, plays a mysterious explorer; while Eva Longoria as Dora’s mom and actor Michael Peña is Dora’s dad.
Jeff Wahlberg, who is of Dominican descent, plays Dora’s famous cousin, Diego. And Benicio Del Toro is the voice of Swiper, the fox that steals Dora’s things in the animated series.
Longoria said that it was an honor to participate in “such a positive portrayal of a young Latina who is smart, and kind and brave and fearless and speaks Spanish and really celebrate that”.
“It’s definitely the biggest budget movie I have ever done so to see a studio invest in our (Latin) community like this was really, really cool to see”, she said.
“She is a Latina heroine, I think in many ways, and I think that’s so underrepresented in filmmaking. This film feels like an ‘Indiana Jones’ starring a girl who’s 16 and Latina, and that would never have happened 20 years ago,” Bobin said.
A kidnapping whisks Dora, Diego and two other teens to the jungle, where they must work to help save her parents and solve the mystery of a lost city.
For Moner, who was born in Cleveland and learned Spanish as a first language through her Peruvian mom, playing Dora presented the opportunity to explore her own heritage.
The movie contains several lines in Spanish as well as Quechua, prompting Moner to call her great aunt in Peru during filming so she could ask about some words in the indigenous language, spoken in the Peruvian Andes and the highlands of South America.
“I felt closer to my culture, my roots,” Moner said.
With the live-action movie, Derbez expects moviegoers to have fun.
“It has a lot of comedy so everyone is going to laugh. It is not one of those movies that you go with your kids and you get bored”, said Derbez.
Longoria agreed. “I am so excited I’m finally in a movie that my son can watch. He can’t watch it yet, but when he grows up, he’ll appreciate it,” she said.
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From TheWrap:
“Dora and the Lost City of Gold”
Having raised my own “Dora” and “Diego” on the iconic Nickelodeon cartoon, I expected Paramount’s live-animation adaptation of “Dora the Explorer,” starring Eunegio Derbez (“How to be a Latin Lover”), Eva Longoria (“Desperate Housewives”) and Isabela Moner (“Transformers: The Last Knight” ) to check off Hollywood’s requisite quota box.
But thanks to Derbez, who also co-produced the film, the movie goes beyond numbers to capture multiculturalism without treating it as a foreign object.
In the film, Dora’s parents transition effortlessly between English and Spanish while also knowing the inner-workings of a rave party, as any respectable American Gen Xer would. Dora, meanwhile, is a multilinguist who also speaks Quechua, an indigenous language still found in Peru. She and Diego, a cousin who feels more like a brother, must learn to navigate typical teen life at a Los Angeles high school.
Research shows Latinx millennials find it very relatable when storytelling on screens include characters who are bilingual or bicultural. Almost three in five wish there were more TV shows and films that feature bilingual or multicultural characters, according to “FOCUS Latino: The Media Landscape 2019” report published this summer by Horowitz Research.
As second-generation Latinos, my children are growing up in a world where English dominates but Spanish is sprinkled in, especially when Abuelo and Abuela are around. Their cousins are as close as siblings. And the complexion of their skin can fall anywhere on the color spectrum.
I’ll never forget the teacher at my son’s preschool who asked if he was “the cute boy with the great tan.”
“He’s cute,” I agreed, and, “That’s just his natural skin color.” My younger daughter still elicits questions about her “exotic” appearance.
When I first enrolled my son in kindergarten in South Florida, paperwork required us to identify his ethnicity and language spoken at home. I checked “Latino” and “English,” which prompted the woman at the school’s front office to scratch out my check mark on the “Latino” box and instead checked “White.” When I asked what she was doing, she explained that if I checked the “Latino” box, my son would be subject to ESL (English as Second Language) testing.
“Latinos can speak English as their native language,” I said, completely dumbfounded by the fact that I was saying those words out loud in 2010.
“It’s just easier this way,” she explained. “It’ll save everyone time.”
At that moment, I was torn: I didn’t want my son, who is now 14 years old and entering high school, to start his academic career at a deficit, real or perceived. So I left, drove home and talked to my husband. Within 15 minutes, we were back at the school demanding that our son be categorized as “Latino” and ensuring that there would be no English-language screening.
The world, it seems, can’t quite fit my children into a box. It’s in that nebulous space where Hollywood can make a real difference.
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From CNN Philippines:
'Dora and the Lost City of Gold' cast explores their very personal feelings about Dora
(CNN) — Dora the Explorer holds a special place in the hearts of millions of people around the globe, whether they grew up watching the plucky, multilingual world traveler's adventures in learning or enjoyed seeing their children do the same. She's become a backpack-laden icon -- one that the actors in the cast of the new film "Dora and the Lost City of Gold" knew had to be treated with respect.
"Dora meant a lot to me growing up, because I grew up with her," actress Isabela Moner told CNN at the movie's Los Angeles premiere. Moner plays the lead in the new film, which ages the character up from her 7-year-old animated iteration to a teenager finding her place in the world, and was born in 2001, a year after the series first debuted on Nickelodeon.
"I had the haircut and everything," she laughed. "I felt like it was a big part of my life as a multicultural person as well, so to be in a movie like this is amazing." Moner, whose mother was born in Peru, said she was also thrilled to celebrate the Dora's place in the pop pantheon as an early role model for Latinx children and share the screen with an A-list assortment of actors of Latino descent, including Eva Longoria, Michael Pena, Benicio del Toro, Danny Trejo and Eugenio Derbez.
Moner said she felt it was important to capture Dora's "unshakeable positivity and excitement for life" in her portrayal.
"I really think that was something really precious," she added.
Longoria, who plays Dora's previously little-referenced mother in the film, said she felt "so much responsibility" when it came to translating an aged-up Dora to live-action, big-screen life.
"When I heard they were doing the Dora movie, I was like, 'Oh, that could really go wrong,'" she laughed. "And when I read the script, it was perfect: it was like 'Tomb Raider' meets 'Raiders of the Lost Ark,' with a Latina lead. It was just all authentic to the world that was built through the cartoon. And to see her navigate the jungle of high school, that was brilliant, as opposed to the jungle-jungle...She's just intelligent and fearless and smart and really is true to herself, which is the message of the movie: be yourself."
What Longoria hadn't realized, she admitted, was Dora's global reach. The character doesn't just solve puzzles in English and Spanish, she learned.
"When I was announced that I was going to be the mom of Dora, all my friends called me -- but from London, from Germany, and I was like, 'Wait, what?'" she said. "I didn't know she was a global icon. I thought she was an icon for our [Latin] community."
Longoria also said the movie offers many pleasures for the Dora-obsessed.
"There's also a nod to the cartoon," she offered. "There's an animated section if you want to get your fix of like, 'Yeah, that's Dora. That's how we remember her first.'"
For actor Joey Vieira, who plays Nico in the film, the original Dora series carried a more personal meaning. "I come from a multilingual family, so I also grew up not speaking the language, because my parents don't speak English," he said. "So in my community I spoke Portuguese at home and Spanish with all my friends. I'm assuming a lot of people can relate to this: we have to grow up really quickly, because we become the translators for the family as well. That was me when I was 5, when I was 6, when I was 7, and I was still learning the language as well."
Vieira said the Dora phenomenon was something that struck a chord that still resonates with him. "A lot of us have had that experience coming here and trying to make a better life for ourselves," he said. "I also have an 8-year-old son and I also made sure that he spoke Spanish, he spoke Portuguese, and Dora was a great way to get that language in front of him. He had every single video."
"To see it come to life was just very exciting," said Q'Orianka Kilcher, who portrays the film's Inca Princess Kawillaka and also has treasured memories of watching Dora as a child. "It's such a great moment in time because I feel like, we need a positive role model out there for the young ones. And to me Dora really represents celebrating all of our uniqueness and being different and that's something to celebrate."
A more recent fan is Madelyn Miranda, who makes her film debut as the young 6-year-old Dora, much closer to the age of the TV original. "I watched her when I was little," said Miranda. "I even had a Dora birthday and there was a big pinata, and I didn't want to hit her because I loved her so much."
Miranda maintains a great deal of admiration for the character.
"She taught me how to speak Spanish, and she's so independent and brave and she loves exploring just like me. I like going to different places," Miranda said.
The life lesson the young actress says she took from Dora: "[Kids] should be independent and brave and do whatever they want, and don't let anyone else tell them what to do."
It's a message Moner said she believes has worked for her as she's built her career.
"Hollywood is a jungle of its own, right?" she laughed.
"Dora and the Lost City of Gold" debuts in theaters August 9.
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From TheWrap:
Will ‘Dora and the Lost City of Gold’ Catch the Box Office Crown From ‘Hobbs and Shaw’?
“The Kitchen,” “The Art of Racing in the Rain” and “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” also hit theaters this weekend
Hollywood studios will release a flurry of mid-budget films from all across the genre spectrum over the next several weeks. But don’t expect any more big opening weekends until “It Chapter Two” next month, as the remainder of August will likely see openings well under $30 million.
With that in mind, “Hobbs & Shaw” would seem likely to coast to another No. 1 finish. But some of the newcomers have a chance to steal the top spot should the “Fast & Furious” spinoff have a larger-than-expected second-weekend drop. Monday grosses were not a good sign at $5.8 million, a 63% drop from the film’s $15.8 million Sunday gross.
Analysts who spoke with TheWrap pointed to Paramount’s “Dora and the Lost City of Gold” as the film with the best chance of a possible No. 1 opening. Directed by James Bobin and produced by Paramount Players and Nickelodeon Movies, the film is a slightly more mature but still family friendly spin on the “Dora the Explorer” preschool TV series, as Dora (Isabela Moner) teams up with her cousin Diego and a strange jungle inhabitant (Jeff Wahlberg and Eugenio Derbez) to rescue her captured parents (Eva Longoria and Michael Peña).
Releasing on 3,500 screens, “Dora and the Lost City of Gold” is projected by Paramount for a $15 million opening, though analysts say that an opening in the low $20 million range is possible if family audiences choose it as a late summer outing over Disney holdovers like “The Lion King.”
Also projected for a mid-to-high teens opening is Lionsgate’s “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,” an adaptation of the young adult horror anthology series produced by Guillermo Del Toro and directed by André Øvredal. Lionsgate will release the film on 3,000 screens, with CBS Films and eOne producing.
But Exhibitor Relations analyst Jeff Bock is skeptical over whether “Scary Stories” will be able to perform outside of hardcore horror audiences and the cult millennial fanbase of the original books. He points to the film’s marketing, which he says hasn’t done enough over the last two weeks to build audience interest in the face of more popular films like “Hobbs & Shaw.”
“Don’t be surprised if you see a lot of underperforming on the charts this weekend,” Bock said. “There’s been very little of the sort of rise in audience interest that studios want to see with their films as release draws nearer. I don’t think the marketing on any of the August films after ‘Hobbs & Shaw’ has really worked at all.”
As an example, Bock also points to Warner Bros./New Line’s “The Kitchen,” which is the directorial debut of “Straight Outta Compton” screenwriter Andrea Berloff and the first major dramatic role for Tiffany Haddish since her comedy breakthrough. Based on the acclaimed Vertigo graphic novel, “The Kitchen” stars Haddish, Elisabeth Moss and Melissa McCarthy who take over their mobster husbands’ business after they are sent to jail.
Though it features an Oscar-nominated screenwriter and three lead stars with name recognition, “The Kitchen” is getting released on only 2,745 screens, the smallest wide release of Melissa McCarthy’s career. Opening estimates are currently being projected around $9-14 million, which would be similar to last year’s disappointing result for “Widows.” Also featuring women in the usually male-dominated crime genre, “Widows” only opened to $12 million and made just $75 million worldwide against a $42 million budget.
Finally, there’s Fox’s “The Art of Racing in the Rain,” which tells the story of an aspiring F1 driver (Milo Ventimiglia) through the eyes of his dog (voiced by Kevin Costner). Early reviews have been tepid with a 57% Rotten Tomatoes score, and the film is currently projected for a $6-8 million opening from 2,700 screens.
“The Art of Racing in the Rain” is shaping up to be the latest in a series of duds from Fox, both before and after the completion of its acquisition by Disney. “Alita: Battle Angel” needed overseas help to make back its budget, while other 2019 Fox films like “The Kid Who Would Be King” and “Dark Phoenix” have tanked at the box office. And in its earnings call on Tuesday, Disney reported a $170 million operating loss from Fox’s film division.
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From WrapPRO:
How Viacom Digs Into Vault to Boost Paramount Pictures
Nickelodeon and its younger preschool sibling Nick Jr. once dominated kids cable programming with a long list of iconic shows, including Rugrats, SpongeBob SquarePants, Blue's Clues, and Dora the Explorer.
Now, as parent company Viacom continues its charge to reposition its movie studio Paramount Pictures toward the top of the heap, the media and entertainment company continues to mine its deep cavern of untapped IP in hopes of returning the studio to iconic status.
The strategy is proving worthwhile, as Paramount's new film Dora and the Lost City of Gold opened this past weekend with a box office total of $17 million.
If Dora turns out to be even a modest hit, that would be the kind of stepping stone Paramount needs as the studio continues to put together a slate of films to boost its position in Hollywood, according to Comscore media analyst Paul Dergarabedian.
You have to take your biggest assets and apply them everywhere you can. Dora is the perfect example of that, Dergarabedian said. Paramount had its successes recently. It's just now about putting together a long-term run and building that consistency. So if you're Viacom and you have those brands, those characters and all of this IP, you have to go to your bench and capitalize on it.
Two years ago, Paramount Pictures' then-newly appointed CEO Jim Gianopulos launched a new division within the studio, Paramount Players, tasked with developing new film and TV projects with Viacom's biggest brands: Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and BET.
Paramount Players has already produced the Taraji P. Henson comedy What Men Want with BET films earlier this year, as well as Tyler Perry Nobody's Fool last year. Dora and the Lost City of Gold however, proceeds a slew of coming films meant to fulfill Viacom's newly mandated strategy, including a new SpongeBob SquarePants comedy that is set to hit theaters in 2020 and a Rugrats movie the year after.
Viacom also has recently brought back new versions of popular old shows like The Hills, The Real World and Jersey Shore.
"We realized that in the form of MTV, we actually have probably the most significant collection of pop culture IP for the last 20 years, and the reality is that a lot of it was laying dormant," Viacom CEO Bob Bakish told a packed house at the Paley Center for Media in June. "And with Nickelodeon, same thing. Look at Nickelodeon's library of IP. It's incredible, so doing we're doing some feature-length versions of it, why wouldn't we do that. We have an incredible library."
Dora the Explorer first aired on Nick Jr. during the summer of 2000, and the seven-year-old Spanish-speaking cartoon with her adventures, monkey named Boots and talking backpack and map was an instant hit.
In July of 2001, The New York Times wrote that in less than a year since airing, Dora had become the top-rated show for preschoolers, ages 2 to 5, a level of success that led the Nickelodeon to start selling Dora-themed toys and clothes much sooner than it usually takes to develop a market for such products.
Network executives at the time forecasted that Dora would reach the level of success and profitability the likes of Rugrats and Blue's Clues, which at the time generated roughly $1 billion in product sales a year.
Dora and the Lost City of Gold updates the long-running animated series for a new age. Now a teenager, Dora, played by 18-year-old actress Isabella Moner (Instant Family), has to leave the jungle where she has grown up and head to the dangerous halls of high school. She and a group of friends (though they don't start out that way) are then sucked into a jungle adventure to find Dora's missing parents, played by Michael Pena and Eva Longoria. Eugenio Derbez, Madeleine Madden, Jeff Wahlberg and Nicholas Coombe also star in the film, with Benicio Del Toro voicing an infamous fox named Swiper and Danny Trejo popping up for a surprisingly fun voice performance.
Dora and the Lost City of Gold, which cost $49 million in production costs, has gotten solid reviews in its early showings, with a Rotten Tomato score of 81%. Box office analysts had expected the film to pull in $20 million in its opening weekend, but it faced tough competition from The Lion King, in its fourth weekend of release.
Dora will need help outside of North America, though its predominantly Latinx cast should help
It's the first major show of Viacom's newly mandated strategy for Paramount, one that the media and entertainment company has already laid out on the TV side.
"The recipe is to look back, look at a piece of IP and then take creative people and have them brainstorm what is a contemporary version of this," Bakish said during the Paley center event. "The hardest thing in the world to do is build a brand, and we have this treasure trove of essential brands in that library. Why not take it and create new versions with new casts, new storylines, new situations, whatever. We are in the early stages of restoring Paramount's truly iconic status and that starts, as [Jim Gianopulos] says, by making films for everyone and films that are made for someone.
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More Nick: Isabela Moner Adopts Three-Legged Dog She Found Whilst Filming 'Dora And The Lost City Of Gold' in Australia!
Originally published: Saturday, August 03, 2019.
Additional sources: Telemundo, Noticias 24.
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