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Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong first established their "wastoid" characters while working together in a Canadian improv troupe in the late 1960s. They first found success performing as "Cheech & Chong" as the opener for a touring bad. The story goes that Cheech & Chong were so funny, the band never came on stage. They began releasing their best bits on comedy albums starting with 1971's "Cheech and Chong," a must-have for comedy record collectors. Their bits were played by hip DJs, and they appeared regularly on "The Dr. Demento Show."

Their success was helped by a growing drug culture in the early 1970s. Cheech & Chong were stoners through and through, and their jokes hit harder for those who were under the influence. Those who are inexperienced with marijuana may not find Cheech & Chong terribly funny. The stoner shtick has continued to the present day, and now Marin and Chong have...

Exclusive: Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Woody Harrelson, Emmy nominee Kaitlin Olson, Grammy nominee Cheech Marin and Matt Cook will lead Champions, a recently-wrapped film that Bobby Farrelly directed for Focus Features and Gold Circle Entertainment.

Champions is based on the Goya Award winning Spanish film Campeones, which Universal Pictures International released in 2018. It centers on a stubborn and hotheaded minor league basketball coach who is forced to coach a Special Olympics team when he is sentenced to community service. Actors with intellectual disabilities rounding out the cast to ensure authenticity in the storytelling include Madison Tevlin, Joshua Felder, Kevin Iannucci, Ashton Gunning, Matthew Von Der Ahe, Tom Sinclair, James Day Keith, Alex Hintz, Casey Metcalfe, Bradley Edens and Champ Pederson.

There’s no A Million Little Things this week, but it’s all good: We’ve got a sneak peek of what will happen when Gary’s dad shows up in the next episode.

Javier Mendez, played by comedian Paul Rodriguez, makes his debut in the May 5 episode (ABC, 10/9c). And from the look of these exclusive photos from the hour, it appears that the senior Mendez gets along very well with his son’s new girlfriend.

More from TVLineMay TV Calendar: 115+ Finales, Series Finales, Premieres, Returns and MoreGrey's Sarah Drew: The 'Japril' Reunion Has 'Elements of Closure, But.

When Cheech Marin was promoting 1987’s “Born in East L.A.,” his first without Tommy Chong, he invited a critic to watch the film and to interview him. But Marin said the reaction he got from the journalist made his jaw drop.

“He just stared at me. And I said, ‘What’s up, dude?’ And he said, ‘You don’t speak with an accent.” And I go, ‘Am I supposed to?'” Marin told TheWrap.

For much of his career, Marin has had to shake the perception that he is not his stage or screen persona Pedro. And he even fooled a film critic into thinking he was someone other than a performer.

Also Read: How Cheech and Chong's 'Up in Smoke' Changed the World, One Hit at a Time

“It’s called acting,” Marin said. “If it helps with a good review, I’ll speak with an accent up the ass!

IndieWire’s Springboard column profiles up-and-comers in the film industry worthy of your attention.

A working actress since the early ’70s, Kamala Lopez has appeared in films like “Born in East L.A.,” “I Heart Huckabees” and “Any Day Now,” as well as a lengthy list of televisions shows, from “Miami Vice” to “Walker, Texas Ranger” and “Resurrection Blvd.” Not content with the roles offered to actresses in Hollywood, Lopez began making her own films, and thereby her own opportunities.

With her latest, “Equal Means Equal,” this ambitious filmmaker aims to make new opportunities for women across America, changing the trajectory of her career in the process. Diving into ten topics of gender inequality — from rape culture to the Pay Gap to pregnancy discrimination — the daring documentary connects the dots to reveal a shocking source to all of the above: the failure to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. Lopez’s doc...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has revealed its 276-member-strong class of 2013.

The list, published by The Hollywood Reporter, includes actors, cinematographers, designers, directors, documentarians, executives, film editors, makeup artists and hairstylists, "members-at-large," musicians, producers, PR folks, short filmmakers and animators, sound technicians, visual effects artists, and writers.

Jason Bateman, Rosario Dawson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Milla Jovovich, Lucy Liu, Jennifer Lopez, Emily Mortimer, Sandra Oh, Jason Schwartzman, and Michael Peña are among the roster of actors, while "The Heat" and "Bridesmaids" helmer Paul Feig made the directors' cut.

"We did not change our criteria at all," says Academy president Hawk Koch of this year's larger-than-usual class. "Yes, this year there is a tremendous amount of women, a tremendous amount of people of color, people from all walks of life. This year, we asked the branches to look at everybody who wasn't in the Academy but who deserved to be.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today the 276 members of the entertainment industry invited to join organization. The list includes actors, directors, documentarians, executives, film editors, producers and more. Of those listed below, those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy's membership in 2013. "These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today," said Academy President Hawk Koch in a press release. "Their talent and creativity have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide, and I am proud to welcome each of them to the Academy." Koch also told Variety, "In the past eight or nine years, each branch could only bring in X amount of members. There were people each branch would have liked to get in but couldn't. We asked them to be more inclusive of the best of the best, and each branch was excited, because they got...

The Academy just added 276 Oscar voters.

That’s 100 more than last year, and part of an easing of a longstanding cap on the number of new members allowed to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences each year.

AMPAS usually adds between 130 and 180 new members, replacing those who have quit or passed away. The membership now stands around 6,000.

Jason Bateman, Jennifer Lopez, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emmanuelle Riva, and Chris Tucker are among the actors who have been invited to join, the organization announced today.

Other interesting additions: the musician Prince, Girls and Tiny Furniture writer/director/actress Lena Dunham,...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is extending invitations to join the organization to 276 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures. Those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy’s membership in 2013.

“These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today,” said Academy President Hawk Koch. “Their talent and creativity have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide, and I am proud to welcome each of them to the Academy.”

The 2013 invitees are:

Actors

Jason Bateman – “Up in the Air,” “Juno”

Miriam Colon – “City of Hope,” “Scarface”

Rosario Dawson – “Rent,” “Frank Miller’s Sin City”

Kimberly Elise – “For Colored Girls,” “Beloved”

Joseph Gordon-Levitt – “Lincoln,” “The Dark Knight Rises”

Charles Grodin – “Midnight Run,” “The Heartbreak Kid”

Rebecca Hall – “Iron Man 3,” “The Town”

Lance Henriksen – “Aliens,” “The Terminator”

Jack Huston – “Not Fade Away,” “Factory Girl”

Milla Jovovich – “Resident Evil,...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is extending invitations to join the organization to 276 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures. Those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy’s membership in 2013. “These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today,” said Academy President Hawk Koch. “Their talent and creativity have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide, and I am proud to welcome each of them to the Academy.” The 2013 invitees are: Actors Jason Bateman – “Up in the Air,” “Juno” Miriam Colon – “City of Hope,” “Scarface” Rosario Dawson – “Rent,” “Frank Miller’s Sin City” Kimberly Elise – “For Colored Girls,” “Beloved” Joseph Gordon-Levitt – “Lincoln,” “The Dark Knight Rises” Charles Grodin – “Midnight Run,” “The Heartbreak Kid” Rebecca Hall – “Iron Man 3,” “The Town” Lance Henriksen – “Aliens,” “The Terminator” Jack Huston – “Not Fade Away,” “Factory Girl” Milla Jovovich – “Resident Evil,...

For those of you living or heading to the Southern California area this summer, the biggest Movie Geeks in the world (the folks who run the Oscars) have got a treat in store for you under the stars.

Grab the blankets, lawn chairs, your friends and get ready to find a spot on the grass to enjoy The Academy’s 2013 Oscars Outdoors summer movie season. Tickets will be available starting this Wednesday, May 22, at www.oscars.org/outdoors.

The series kicks off with Joss Whedon’s “Much Ado about Nothing,” presented by Kcrw’s “Matt’s Movies,” on Wednesday, June 5. The movie stars Amy Acker, Alexis Denisoff, Clark Gregg, Nathan Fillion, Fran Kranz and Sean Maher, all of whom will join Whedon for a post-screening Q&A moderated by Kcrw’s Matt Holzman.

Academy Nicholl Screenwriting Fellow Destin Cretton’s “Short Term 12” and festival favorite “Twenty Feet from Stardom...

Joss Whedon Much Ado About Nothing: Oscars Outdoors film series Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing will kick off the 2013 "Oscars Outdoors" summer movie season on Wednesday, June 5 at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ open-air theater in Hollywood. Much Ado About Nothing stars Amy Acker (Alias), Alexis Denisoff (How I Met Your Mother), Clark Gregg (Iron Man), Nathan Fillion (Waitress, Castle), Fran Kranz (Cabin in the Woods) and Sean Maher (The Playboy Club), all of whom are expected to join The Avengers director Joss Whedon for a post-screening Q&A moderated by Kcrw’s Matt Holzman. Oscars Outdoors screening films also include two upcoming releases: Morgan Neville’s documentary about backup singers, Twenty Feet from Stardom (June 6), and Academy Nicholl Screenwriting Fellow Destin Cretton’s relationship drama Short Term 12 (July 20), featuring Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr., and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2‘s Rami Malek.

The internet has been buzzing about Filly Brown. The film starring Gina Rodriguez, Lou Diamond Phillips, Edward James Olmos, and Jenni Rivera hit theaters this past Friday and made close to $1.5 million over the weekend. It’s an impressive opening for an independent Latino film.

Historically, Latino films have struggled at the box office but once in a while there’s a breakout hit. Last year’s most successful Latino film Casa de mi Padre, a Spanish-language comedy starring Will Ferrell, Diego Luna, and Gael Garcia Bernal, made $5.9 million. Only two other films were able to surpass the million dollar mark, For Greater Glory starring Andy Garcia, Eva Longoria, and Ruben Blades ($5.6 million) and Girl in Progress starring Eva Mendes ($2.6 million). The remaining top grossing Latino films of 2012 each made less than $200,000. (Take into consideration that mainstream Hollywood blockbusters make hundreds of millions of dollars.)

What does it take for a Latino film to hit it big?

It’s hard to predict what makes any film successful but there are a few factors that can help. Last year’s hits all had big name stars. So far this year’s Latino blockbusters (I’m using this term loosely) have also had the benefit of celebrity lead actors, an Oscar nomination, and being adapted from a popular Chicano novel. No, starring Gael Garcia Bernal, grossed $2 million and earned Chile its first ever Best Foreign Language Film nomination. Bless Me Ultima brought Rudolfo Anaya’s beloved book of the same title to the screen and reached $1.5 million.

Is that all it takes, a famous actor?

No, not really. There are lots of examples of films with celebrities attached that bombed at the box office. But, it definitely helps. So does using targeted traditional marketing, getting some good reviews, employing grassroots techniques such as advance screenings to build word of mouth, and engaging audiences with social media. It’s not rocket science; it’s the same for all indie films not just Latino ones. But, despite the fact that Latinos go to movies way more than other ethnic groups marketers have mostly failed at attracting Latino audiences to Latino films, en masse.

What’s been tried in the past?

There was a time in the eighties known as the “Hispanic Hollywood” when major studios distributed films like the smash hit La Bamba ($45 million), Born in East L.A. ($17 million), and Stand and Deliver ($14 million). For the first time they created bilingual marketing campaigns and even circulated film prints that were subtitled or dubbed in Spanish.

In the early nineties, studios moved away from grassroots campaigns and poured their money into English and Spanish-language television advertising. They also hoped for a few good reviews from newspaper critics to help raise a film’s visibility. Towards the late nineties, as it became apparent that Latino films were not likely to be box office hits distributors began to experiment with “hybrid films” that included multiethnic casts and targeted a general audience.

At the turn of the millennium, Latino and Latin American movies experienced a golden era in the States. Films like Frida, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Y Tu Mama Tambien, El Crimen de Padre Amaro, and City of God earned multiple Oscar nominations and millions at the box office. They achieved these numbers by not emphasizing the Latino elements of the films and targeting a more ethnically diverse audience including arthouse moviegoers. Despite the success of these films, a Latino box office slump quickly followed.

What do we do now?

What’s been tried in the past hasn’t worked, except for a few outliers. I personally think that the theatrical distribution of Latino films is a mistake. It is not a moneymaking venture. Yes, Latinos go to the movies a lot but these filmgoers are mostly young English-speaking Latinos who, up until now, have not shown interest in Latino films (in English or Spanish.) But, I do think there is way to make it work, to get Latinos to watch Latino films.

Let’s use what we know about this audience. Latinos watch movies more than other ethnic groups and they are the fastest growing group of internet users. The moviegoers are young, speak English as a first language, and use social media. They also watch a lot of television, in English and Spanish. Recently, the Spanish-language network Univision has been beating out NBC in primetime ratings for the key demographic of adults aged 18-49 (mostly because Latinos love novelas.)

Independent Latino films can’t spend a bunch of money on T.V. ads, print advertising, or make multiple copies to circulate in theaters. So, what’s the magic formula? Maybe a small theatrical run (N.Y. and L.A.) for a weekend preceded by a big bilingual social media push and then followed by a V.O.D. release and online streaming. On demand screenings via Tugg might help build buzz too.

Obviously, it’s all a gamble. Who knows if it will work but I truly believe that the failure to attract Latinos to watch these films is a marketing issue. Talk to Latinos in their language (maybe Spanglish) via media channels that they use (i.e. Facebook and Twitter) and give them the option to watch the film on a small screen as soon as they hear about it. It’s worth a try!

P.S. If anyone wants to give me money to employ this distribution strategy, I gladly welcome it.

Written by Juan Caceres and Vanessa Erazo, LatinoBuzz is a weekly feature on SydneysBuzz that highlights Latino indie talent and upcoming trends in Latino film with the specific objective of presenting a broad range of Latino voices. Follow @LatinoBuzz on Twitter and Facebook.

In the late eighties, a month after the release of La Bamba—at the time the biggest Latino box office hit ever—Newsweek magazine proclaimed that it was the era of the “Hispanic Hollywood.” That same summer came the release of the Chicano classic Born in East L.A. written, directed, and starring Cheech Marin. Compared to the box office smash La Bamba which made $54 million, Marin’s comedy was only a modest success making $17 million. But, for Latino films which struggle to make it to millions in ticket sales these two films were blockbusters that made Hollywood studios stand up and take notice of the moneymaking potential that laid in the hands of the Latino moviegoing audience.

The 1980 census had thrown the industry into a tizzy when it brought to light that the Latino population had grown by more than half since the previous decade. Then Variety published a report on the ‘Top 20 Hispanic Markets’ where it revealed that Latinos were a huge part of the total population of large cities like L.A. and New York, that they spent 30% more on entertainment than the average American, and that they held an overall purchasing power of $180 billion (now it’s more than $1 trillion). Movie studio bigwigs suddenly saw dollar signs in the barrios of the U.S.A. For the first time they saw the advantage of distributing films with Latino stories, creating bilingual marketing campaigns, and circulating movie prints that were subtitled or dubbed in Spanish.

In March of 1988, amidst Hollywood’s giddiness over the Latino box office, Warner Bros. released Stand and Deliver theatrically. It was a small, independently made Latino film starring the legendary Edward James Olmos and a young Lou Diamond Phillips. Based on actual events the movie tells the story of Jaime Escalante (Olmos), a Bolivian immigrant, who teaches math at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles to mostly Latino students. The school is facing losing its accreditation and the students are failing miserably. Mr. Escalante, or Kimo as his students call him, decides to teach AP Calculus against the advice of the school administration. The chair of the math department says, “You can’t teach logarithms to illiterates.” Kimo responds, “Students will rise to the level of expectation.” When a record number of students pass the AP Calculus exam they are accused of cheating by the Educational Testing Service.

The film, 25 years later, is now a Latino classic thanks in large part to Edward James Olmos. He not only produced and starred in the film but also participated in an aggressive grassroots marketing campaign. He traveled across the country championing the film, doing interviews, setting up community screenings, and even giving away free tickets to anyone who wanted to see the film. It’s now one of the most watched Latino films, ever.

LatinoBuzz got a chance to chat with Edward James Olmos about the 25th anniversary of the film, the state of Latino filmmaking, and the upcoming release of Filly Brown, a film his son directed and stars himself along with the late Jenny Rivera in her first (and sadly last) movie role.

LatinoBuzz: Stand and Deliver earned close to $14 million dollars at the box office. This is a huge feat for a Latino film, even today. Last year’s most successful Latino movie made a little under $6 million. What do you think contributed to Stand and Deliver’s success?

Ejo: The biggest contributor, the biggest factor of its success is the story, hands down the story. It’s a universal story and we wanted people see it. So, we allowed people to see it. We practically gave the film away to anyone who wanted to see it. And because of that the word of mouth was strong. Now practically everyone has seen this movie. Most students see it at least once before leaving high school. Sometimes they see it two or three times in school. The usage of the film by teachers has been incredible. And it’s because of the story. It’s an inspirational piece, it’s uplifting and it’s not only inspiring for the kids but for the teachers too.

LatinoBuzz: 25 years after the release of Stand and Deliver it is still incredibly difficult to raise funds for a Latino movie. How difficult was it to raise the money back then? Why do you think it still remains a challenge to fund a Latino film?

Ejo: I think the budget for the film was $1.2 million. It was really hard to raise the money. And today it hasn’t changed an inch. It’s still really difficult to make a Latino film, it’s nearly impossible. I think one of the major factors that make it difficult to raise the money is that studios have no need to make Latino films. Because Latinos will go see the Fast and Furious or some other big budget action movie or a horror film. In fact about 37% of the people who are going to theaters during the opening weekend of one of these big budget studio films are Latinos. And it’s even more so for something like the Fast and the Furious. It’s closer to about 50% Latinos. They are spending millions of dollars on movie tickets. The market is very ripe for these fast car action films so there’s no need to put in a Latino lead actor or have a Latino story. They can keep it more universal and then don’t nurture Latino talent.

The little Latino talent that is out there, they get cast in mainstream films and blockbusters—like Selena Gomez the actress in Spring Breakers—and will be whitewashed. The few Latino actors that are in the mainstream—someone like Jennifer Lopez, she’s done Anaconda, The Wedding Planner, mostly mainstream films. She’s done very few Latino-themed pieces, you can count them on one hand.

I did it differently. Had I done the movies that were offered to me in my prime, at the height of my career, I would have been alongside the likes of Denzel Washington. But, I chose not to do those movies. I chose to do Stand and Deliver, American Me, Zoot Suit—Latino movies that ended up being successful but were not blockbusters. I just wanted to do my part and get those stories out there before I pass.

Stand and Deliver has been the most successful thing I have done in my life. So many people have seen it. There was really no need for me to do anything else. And the fact that we were able to do the film, it was a miracle.

LatinoBuzz: Your performance in Stand and Deliver garnered you an Oscar nomination for Best Actor making you the first American-born Latino to receive this honor. Do you remember the day you found out you were nominated? What effect did the nomination have on your acting career?

Ejo: I was in Miami on the set of Miami Vice. It was around 8:30 in the morning. I was walking from my trailer to the set and someone walked up to me, someone I didn’t even know. They said, “You were just nominated for an Oscar.” I asked him, “Excuse me?” And he said, “Yeah, for Stand and Deliver” and then just walked away. Of course I called my family right away and then Jaime (Escalante). I called him and woke him up. It was around 5:30 in the morning over there, in California. I told him, “Congratulations, you just won me an Oscar nomination.” Jaime said, “What do you mean? That wasn’t my performance, it was yours.” And I said, “No, it was all you. I just impersonated you. It was all you.”

It’s really difficult to figure out how to make a performance work, it’s like putting lightning in a bottle. But, it was really just an impersonation of him. From meeting and watching and observing Jaime I realized there is a reason why he was successful at teaching, it’s his personality. And I found that out on set. He was always there on set while we were filming. He was always standing there next to the camera. I would look at him after finishing a scene and he would have his arms crossed on his chest, his head tilted, his eyes a little bit squinted and then he would put his thumb up. That’s it. He wouldn’t say anything, just the thumbs up.

And as far as the nomination it opened up a big opportunity for me with a big studio. I signed a development deal. Tom Pollock, who was head of Universal at the time, asked me what I wanted to make. I got the chance to make a movie that I had been trying to make for 18 years, American Me. And it was as strong a movie and as important as Stand and Deliver.

LatinoBuzz: Stand and Deliver is filled with witty dialogue that people quote even 25 years later. Some of my favorite lines are, “You burros have math in your blood” and “His body is decomposing in my locker.” Any favorite lines of dialogue?

Ejo: Oh yeah, there are so many of them. There’s the one that everyone quotes when he calls the kid, “the finger man.” And that was all Jaime, all those lines were Jaime. There was nothing of that stuff that we made up. I rewrote the script, him and I, we wrote it together. All the dialogue in the shooting script was ours. We were never credited but we wrote it. He told me line by line what he said. He remembered everything. The scene where he comes back from the hospital and surprises the kids. When they yell “Bulldogs, dog-dog-dog-dog” and he says, “Thank you for babysitting my canguros.” When he makes them line up, “Against the wall like a snake.” He told me exactly what he said to each kid while they were standing in line and I put it in there.

The scene where he talks to the guys from Ets (Educational Testing Service) and they accuse him of cheating, the part that Andy Garcia plays, he told me exactly what he said to those guys. Exactly that scene, word for word, was said by Jaime. That scene, the dialogue is meticulously written. If you go back and watch it again—the rhythm, beat by beat, it is incredibly written. It’s because Jaime is a mathematician, he was meticulous with details, you have to be.

I remember lines from a lot the movies I made like Zoot Suit and American Me but most of the ones I remember are from Stand and Deliver.

LatinoBuzz: You are part of some of the most iconic Latino films. We haven’t had a huge hit like that in a few years. What do you think it will take to get there again?

I don’t know but the main issue is distribution. Right now I am focused on April 19th, the release of Filly Brown. That movie is my cause right now. There have been some major mistakes around publicity. Pantelion took over the distribution after Indomina went under. Indomina, they were young and couldn’t handle it, they didn’t know what they were doing. So, we sold it to Lionsgate/Pantelion and they moved up the release date, they made it earlier. And I told them that they made the biggest mistake for a film of this caliber. They aren’t giving people a chance to find out about the film. They need time for word of mouth to spread. Latinos and Spanish speakers, they will show up because of Jenny Rivera, because of their love for her and their love for me. But they are losing out on the chance to attract an audience of non-Latinos that will love this film. The are going to do what is always done with Latino films and independent films—putting the movie out there without giving the audience a chance to find out about it. You need to give it away and then they will tell other people—and then thousands of people will find out about it. It takes time. Unfortunately, with this film, if it works, will probably be attributed to Jenny’s tragic accident.

It’s an issue. Studios want to tell universal stories. We want to do the same thing. But, we want to use Latino stories with Latino faces to tell universal stories. We’re only one group. We are all humans and we all want to tell human stories.

Filly Brown opens in theaters across the country on April 19. The film stars Gina Rodriguez as a rapper who needs to make it big so she can raise money to get her mom (Jenny Rivera) out of jail. In conjunction with the film's release the official soundtrack will be available beginning April 16. Filly Brown on Facebook.

Stand and Deliver is available for viewing on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, and Netflix.

Written by Juan Caceres and Vanessa Erazo, LatinoBuzz is a weekly feature on SydneysBuzz that highlights Latino indie talent and upcoming trends in Latino film with the specific objective of presenting a broad range of Latino voices. Follow @LatinoBuzz on Twitter and Facebook.