Latest news with #ThreeAmigos
Los Angeles Times
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Actor Diego Boneta is creating his own stories. Tom Cruise would be proud
The single most significant piece of career advice Diego Boneta ever received came from none other than Tom Cruise — and it wasn't a tip about how to jump off airplanes. 'Tom Cruise told me, 'Listen Diego, don't just be an actor,'' Boneta, 34, recalls during a recent phone conversation. The two met while making the 2012 musical comedy 'Rock of Ages.' For the then-burgeoning Mexican star, that film represented a turning point. He remains grateful that the movie icon took the time to mentor him when he was trying to break into Hollywood. It's not that Boneta had any trouble diversifying his skill set before. He had already acted in plenty of soap operas in Mexico and released two pop albums as a singer prior to trying his luck in the English-speaking market. But landing roles in American productions as a Mexican actor proved uniquely challenging. 'In this business you have very little control of any outcome, and it's not a meritocracy,' Boneta says. 'As an actor you're stuck with what's being cast. Tom's point was for me to try to create my own stories.' And that he's done. Through Three Amigos, the production company he established with his manager and friend Josh Glick in 2017, Boneta developed, produced and starred in Netflix's 'Luis Miguel: The Series' about the famed singer. His debut novel, 'The Undoing of Alejandro Velasco,' a contemporary mystery set amid the Mexican upper crust in the picturesque town of San Miguel de Allende, is out Thursday via Amazon Crossing. The tome evolved from what Boneta originally envisioned as a screenplay inspired by some of the roles he had auditioned for and lost. Around that time, his sister, Natalia González Boneta, joined Three Amigos and made a radical suggestion. 'She was like, 'Instead of writing a script, why don't you try to write a novel?' I thought, 'You're out of your mind. I'm barely trying to write a script here,'' Boneta recalls laughing. Their company already had an overall deal with Amazon, and its publishing and television arms both showed interest. For the last three years, Boneta and his partners have been simultaneously developing the novel and a limited series adaptation. 'As a production company, you hear all the time that you need [intellectual property],' he says. 'And the idea was for us to create our own IP.' At this point he enlisted media and content development company Glasstown Entertainment to guide him through the process. Boneta's initial concept invoked stories about alluring usurpers such as the protagonists in Patricia Highsmith's 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' and the more recent black comedy 'Saltburn.' 'In a bunch of these stories, the con man tends to be the more introverted, quiet, shy guy,' he says. 'We're like, 'What if we flip this around and we have the con man here be like Jude Law, this bon vivant, outgoing guy. That was one of the first things that we thought of.' From the onset, Boneta intended to play the lead role of the unnervingly magnetic Julian Villareal in the subsequent on-screen adaptation. 'I really wanted Julian to feel like a chameleon because, as an actor, it's just so much fun to play characters who are contradicting and complex,' he says. The titular Alejandro Velasco is dead by suicide before the story begins. The novel follows Julian as he visits the wealthy Velasco family in San Miguel de Allende with ulterior motives to slowly infiltrate their manicured lives. 'Mexico has a kind of oligarchy, and these families, they care so much about their appearance in society,' Boneta says. 'That's something I've never really seen anywhere else in the world. And it's hard to explain unless you go to Mexico and you live it.' Details about Alejandro's friendship with Julian, both Mexican students in the United States with a shared passion for tennis, will eventually come into the foreground. Along the way, Julian must confront an opposing force: Alejandro's astute sister, Sofia, a compelling character that Boneta says his own sister helped him create. For Boneta, who grew up bilingual — the son of a Mexican father and an American-born mother — straddling the nuances of both cultures and languages came naturally. He recorded the audiobook version of the novel in English and Spanish. On every level, the novel reflects aspects of Boneta's life. He grew up visiting relatives in San Miguel de Allende — a town now heavily gentrified by American immigrants — wishing to one day film a project on its cobblestone streets. Boneta refers to it as 'the Florence of Mexico.' As for tennis, Boneta believes he wouldn't be here if it weren't for the sport. His father played throughout college and received a scholarship to attend Texas A&M University, where he met Boneta's mother at engineering school. Boneta has also played over the years. 'It's both a mental sport and a cinematic sport,' he says. 'I really wanted to have it be woven into the story in a very metaphoric way, where how these characters play tennis, their technique, tells you who they are.' Facing the blank page perturbed Boneta at the beginning of his first foray into long-form writing, so he asked his writer friends for advice. The collective recommendation was to not rush the outline, to focus on having a solid foundation for the structure and characters. 'We spent a lot of time on that part of the process,' Boneta says. 'And it was incredible, once we really had that down, the writing came — I'm not going to say easier — but in a more organic way.' Deeper into the parallel crafting of the novel and the limited series, Boneta also received input from one of his favorite filmmakers, Alfonso Cuarón, who recently adapted Renée Knight's novel 'Disclaimer' as a limited series for Apple TV+. 'A piece of advice that Alfonso gave me that really helped was, 'Diego, have each format be its best version for that format. It's going to be impossible for the show to be exactly like the book, nor should you try to make it,'' Boneta recalls. ''You have to be open to how maybe some things change in the TV show version because it's a different format.'' Boneta sourcing solutions to professional obstacles from industry veterans he admires evinces a willingness to admit that he's learning as he goes. One step at a time. 'I'm not going to sit here and call myself an author,' Boneta says with detectable sincerity. 'This is my first book, and it's something that I put a lot of work and heart into. But I'm a storyteller, man, and I realized that the only way I was going to be able to play my dream roles was by creating my dream projects.' Asked if there's more writing in his future, Boneta enthusiastically suggests he's willing. 'We've been approached already about a sequel, and I'm like, 'What? The book hasn't even come out yet,'' Boneta says with a chuckle about his prospects as an author.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Martin Short turns 75: a look back
Actor and comedian Martin Short, best known for his roles in "Only Murders in the Building," "Saturday Night Live," "Three Amigos" and "Father of the Bride," turns 75 on Wednesday. Here's a look back at his career through the years.
CBS News
03-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Steve Martin and Martin Short bringing comedy tour to Pittsburgh
The iconic comedy duo of Steve Martin and Martin Short are bringing their comedy tour to Pittsburgh. "The Dukes of Funnytown!" will hit the Benedum Center stage on Nov. 21-22, 2025. This new tour "redefines the form in unexpected and profound ways, from two of the funniest, most influential and acclaimed talents of the past century," according to a news release from the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. Martin and Short will "mock Hollywood and the fickle nature of celebrity, but the comedy truly soars when they lovingly (and relentlessly) roast each other." The team's chemistry has been nearly 40 years in the making since both first met on the set of the 1986 film "Three Amigos," and have been touring together since 2015, when they launched their first live show, "A Very Stupid Conversation." Both comedians will be joined by special guests Jeff Babko and The Steep Canyon Rangers. Tickets go on sale to the public on Friday, March 7, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. ET. More information can be found here.
CBC
22-02-2025
- CBC
RCMP's discipline board refuses to step aside for referring to impugned Mounties as 'Three Amigos'
Social Sharing The members of an RCMP disciplinary tribunal tasked with hearing allegations of sexism and racism against a trio of Coquitlam Mounties say they don't need to step aside for having referred to the men as the 'Three Amigos.' A lawyer for Constables Philip Dick, Ian Solven and Mersad Mesbah had argued that by referring to his clients as the 'Three Amigos' in a handful of emails and a file name, the three-member conduct board had tainted the proceedings with an appearance of "real or perceived bias." But board chair Sara Novell told the impugned officers Friday that while the use of the term may have been "inappropriate and regrettable" — it was hardly grounds for recusal. Novell said the 'Three Amigos' term showed up on a file folder and about 10 administrative emails referring to the folder, something she said may have appeared "unprofessional," but that would not lead a regular person to conclude that the board was biased against the three men. 'A strong air of superiority' The decision means a code of conduct hearing against Dick, Mesbah and Solven will now move ahead, with testimony slated Monday morning from the whistleblower who launched the complaint in 2021. The RCMP wants all three Mounties fired for their alleged involvement in private chat group conversations in which officers are accused of bragging about "Tasering unarmed Black people," calling a sexual assault investigation "stupid," and mocking the body of a new female employee. Those allegations came to light last fall after the release of a search warrant detailing the circumstances which allegedly led the officer who sparked the investigation to complain to RCMP brass about what he saw as "atrocious" and "racist and horrible" activity by his colleagues. The court documents claim investigators also reviewed 600,000 messages posted to the RCMP's internal mobile data chat logs — finding evidence of "frequently offensive" usage by the three officers facing termination for "homophobic and racist slurs." "The reviewers had identified a variety of comments that were 'chauvinist in nature, with a strong air of superiority, and include flippant or insulting remarks about clients (including objectifying women), supervisors, colleagues, policy and the RCMP as a whole,'" the search warrant said. The hearing against the men was supposed to have started last Monday but was derailed by the last-minute challenge to the board's credibility — which arose after the disclosure of internal board documents referring to the case as the 'The Amigos.' A lawyer for the men claimed the use of the term gave rise to concerns the board viewed the men as friends who would stick together to protect each other despite facing individual accusations — separate from each other. But Novell rejected those concerns, pointing to the fact the board chose to disclose the internal documentation that gave rise to the 'Three Amigos' allegations as proof of a dedication to transparency and a lack of bias. 'Constant negativity' According to the search warrant, the whistleblower — Const. Sam Sodhi — was posted to Coquitlam in 2019. Sodhi claimed there were two chat groups for members of the Coquitlam detachment assigned to Port Coquitlam — one for all members of the watch and a second private group that began on WhatsApp but then moved to Signal. He said he was told once he was "worthy" of the private chat group, "we'll add you to it." The officer claimed he was admitted to the private chat group in March 2021 but left after a few days because of the "constant negativity." He said he was then accused of "not being a team member" and encouraged to return. The warrant says Sodhi claimed that outside of the private chat group, members of the group also "belittled Indigenous people, talking about how they were 'stupid' or 'drunk' and saying they have 'unfortunate bodies' and all have fetal alcohol syndrome." According to the search warrant, Sodhi complained to his superiors in May 2021. Dick, Solven and Mesbah have all denied the allegations against them.
CBC
20-02-2025
- CBC
'Undignified and silly': RCMP conduct board accused of bias over 'Three Amigos' references
Social Sharing The members of an RCMP conduct board sat stone-faced Wednesday as a lawyer for three Mounties facing allegations of racism and sexism accused them of "undignified and silly" behaviour by referring to his clients as "the Three Amigos" in emails and file names. Wes Dutcher-Walls asked the tribunal members to recuse themselves from the case — claiming the Three Amigos references conjure up connotations including loud-mouthed tourists, a slapstick 1986 movie and the "all-for-one-and-one-for-all" brotherhood of the Three Musketeers. The lawyer claimed the board members had created the appearance of "real or perceived" bias that suggested a broader pattern of skepticism and dismissiveness toward Coquitlam RCMP Constables Philip Dick, Ian Solven and Mersad Mesbah. "I can imagine that you are angry at me for bringing this allegation," Dutcher-Walls told the board members before telling them that he could "take it" if they were. "You don't need to go on record and say, 'Actually I am biased' … You can just say a reasonable person might perceive bias ... Please do the right thing … remove yourself." 'Tasering unarmed Black people' Code of conduct hearings against Dick, Mesbah and Solven were slated to begin in Surrey this week, but were delayed after the last minute recusal application. The board members are expected to decide on Friday morning whether to step aside. The RCMP wants all three Mounties fired for their alleged involvement in private chat group conversations in which officers are accused of bragging about "Tasering unarmed Black people," calling a sexual assault investigation "stupid" and mocking the body of a new female employee. Those allegations came to light last fall after the release of a search warrant recounting behaviour which led the officer who sparked the investigation to complain to RCMP brass about what he saw as "atrocious" and "racist and horrible" activity by his colleagues. The court documents claim investigators also reviewed 600,000 messages posted to the RCMP's internal mobile data chat logs — finding evidence of "frequently offensive" usage by the three officers facing termination for "homophobic and racist slurs." "The reviewers had identified a variety of comments that were 'chauvinist in nature, with a strong air of superiority, and include flippant or insulting remarks about clients (including objectifying women), supervisors, colleagues, policy and the RCMP as a whole,'" the search warrant said. 'How far are we going to take this?' The three Mounties have denied the allegations against them. They sat side by side behind their lawyers Wednesday as Dutcher-Walls traded barbs with RCMP lawyer John McLaughlan, who said there was "no substantive evidence" to say the word "Amigos" was meant to convey anything beyond its Spanish meaning — "friends." "Here we go again," McLaughlan said at the outset of his reply, mocking Wes-Dutcher for including a Three Amigos movie poster in his submissions. The RCMP lawyer noted — as did Dutcher-Walls — that Amigo also happens to be the name of a pancake house in Port Coquitlam that was a popular meeting place for RCMP officers. "How far are we going to take this?" McLaughlan asked. "There's a TV show called Friends" McLaughlan accused Dutcher-Walls of mounting an 11th-hour attempt designed to sidestep previous decisions of the board. He also said the 'Three Amigos' line of attack came about as the result of a "fishing expedition" through the board's files. 'The 11th hour is always a good time' Dutcher-Walls claimed the information arose in recent rounds of disclosure where it emerged the term Three Amigos had come up in meeting invitations and in emails between staff and board members. He said the term was also attached to a file folder about the case. "It is part of the vernacular of the way this board has come to refer to the matter," the lawyer said. "This case has had a long history. I can only imagine how many times you have looked at that folder." Dutcher-Walls told the board he "would be very surprised if you came out and admitted that you don't like my clients" but said the tribunal's members' own conduct had cast a "pall of potential bias" over the hearing. "The 11th hour is always a good time for the appearance of fairness," he said.
