In 1995 Marius Iliescu graduated Hyperion University, a private conservatory in Bucharest, Romania majoring in acting. Acting was a form of expression in a distressed society where life was not permitted to be free even after the anti-communist revolution of 1989, in which Iliescu took up arms. Iliescu would discover Stanislavksi’s psychological acting and approaches of physical actions, which would result in his travels throughout the European countryside (Vienna, Amsterdam, Avignon, Paris, Rome, Glasgow, Birmingham and Dublin) with the Greek play The Suppliants. The production was performed in French, a language that Iliescu speaks fluently.
In 1997, Iliescu performed the play at the Lincoln Center Festival in New York City, that moment being conclusive in his choice to continue pursuing his career in the United States. In 2005, Iliescu graduated in Dance Performance and Choreography, becoming the principal dancer with the most captivating contemporary dance company in the middle of the United States, the Detroit Dance Collective, lead by the explosive Artistic Director Barbara Selinger.
Settling in the Chicago, Iliescu would pursue acting opportunities in Hollywood where he helped launch Ave Fenix Pictures, a movie studio founded by Mexican native, Mónica Esmeralda León, that has been hailed the first Latino film studio in the American Midwest. Ave Fenix Pictures is an independent film hub with two functioning branches, León covering Chicago and Iliescu operating Los Angeles. Iliescu debuted an iconic character in the award winning and nominated independent film Adios Vaya Con Dios, an Official Selection at the Bel-Air Film Festival and Runner up for Best Audience Feature Film Award. The movie stars and is written by Zachary Laoutides, about a half Mexican and Irish gang member trying to leave the violent streets of Chicago. The Mexican Irishman soon collides into Iliescu’s character, the sadistic Olmec gang leader, Tiger De’Leon, who finds satisfaction in torturing and sexually abusing his young recruits. Although the scene was short-lived, Iliescu directed the scene with real gang members and neighborhood locals. The scene was impacting and gained exceptionally good reviews from most critics. Critics and fans soon asked the questions – who is Marius Iliescu and where can we see more of him?
We caught up with the Romanian Dramatic and asked him how, where and when…
Ave Fenix Pictures is interesting because it came out of nowhere very suddenly. It has secured itself on the independent stage with the unique film of Adios Vaya Con Dios, where everyone seemed to contribute an artistic vision. How did a film from the streets get to Hollywood?
(MI): Streets dictate cinema. You can’t fool the streets, they dictate the successes of your film and they can feel the pulse of when a movie is real, that’s when a movie is able to transcend. This is what happened on the streets of Chicago; our successes was dictated by the voice of the streets.
You gave us a memorable performance in Adios Vaya Con Dios. I heard that Zachary Laoutides was actually injured on set and you were working with real street gang members. How did you direct the scene with injury and take real people off the streets coaching them into a noteworthy piece of cinema?
(MI): Somebody’s pain can by a catalyst through which all others unite. We all have pains of all kind: physical, emotional — When an actor is in this situation you help him go through it by raising the stakes in the scene. My connection to Zach’s pain created such a depth in between our characters — the effect felt and acclaimed by public and critics alike. In Chicago’s gang worlds ‘respect’ is more valuable than gold. If on set these people feel the ‘respect’ they will give the director all their life experience without restrictions. I needed exactly that to create the authenticity of the scene and implicit, the film asked for it.
Being a guy of average stature you made Tiger De’Leon into an intimidating goliath who felt larger then life. Where did you go mentally to mold yourself into that temperament?
(MI): To me acting is a slice of life larger than life itself. Even in the most banal moments, on screen must exist an element of surprise, an unseen depth, a rhythm change… Tiger De’Leon is a bomb with delayed effect. All I had to do is to find and fire my own wicks — Tiger De’Leon belongs to a powerful cartel family, which the sky is the limit. In his cognizance, no law applies to him and the fact that he’s not holding real supremacy in Chicago makes him violent. His own malice feeds his own misery, creating a venomous circle — ancient coming to manhood traditions and physical abuse. His name says it all; what’s the use of being a Tiger and a Lion if caged with limitation in Chicago?
What is your goal of expanding Ave Fenix Pictures in California?
(MI): Filmmaking with a message; recreating a positive image of the Latino community through film. California is the perfect place to work on those goals.
Rumor has it there’s an Adios Vaya Con Dios sequel in the works. Everyone wants to see Tiger comeback, but how and when is that going to happen?
(MI): I don’t know yet (laughs)…. Paraphrasing Zachary Laoutides, it’s a personal story to him that was never fully told. There’s more story to his character Rory King and more narrative surrounding all the characters in the film. I truly believe he wants to go back and show what wasn’t used in the screenplay. The movie became art house and that’s rewarding, but there’s too much culture and depth to be satisfied. I think Tiger’s brother is not too happy about what went down, and I hear the brother looks a lot like Tiger (laughs)!
For more information:
Marius Iliescu: www.mariusiliescu.com
Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Jr., affectionately known as Jr NTR, has consistently enthralled audiences with his dynamic performances and versatile acting prowess. Following the successful release of “Devara: Part 1” on September 27, 2024, fans are eagerly anticipating his forthcoming projects. Here’s an overview of what’s next for this action superstar.
1. Devara: Part 2
After the resounding success of “Devara: Part 1,” which grossed over ₹466 crore globally, the sequel is highly anticipated. Director Koratala Siva has hinted that “Devara: Part 2” will be even more intense, stating that if Part 1 showcased 10% of Jr NTR’s capabilities, Part 2 will unveil the remaining 90%. Filming is slated to commence in the first half of 2026, with a targeted release by the end of that year.
2. War 2
Expanding his horizons, Jr NTR is set to make his Hindi film debut with “War 2,” directed by Ayan Mukerji. This sequel to the 2019 blockbuster “War” will see him sharing screen space with Hrithik Roshan and Kiara Advani. The film is part of the YRF Spy Universe and is scheduled for release on August 14, 2025, coinciding with the Indian Independence Day weekend.
3. NTR 31 (Tentative Title: Dragon)
In collaboration with acclaimed director Prashanth Neel, Jr NTR will star in a period drama tentatively titled “Dragon.” The film is set to delve into themes of immigration and is expected to be one of the most expensive projects for both the actor and the director. The movie is slated for a grand release on January 9, 2026.
Why Jr NTR is the Action Hero Everyone Wants to See
Jr NTR’s appeal as an action hero stems from his ability to seamlessly blend intense physicality with deep emotional resonance. His performances are characterized by a compelling screen presence, dynamic energy, and a remarkable ability to connect with audiences across diverse roles. This unique combination of skills has solidified his status as a leading figure in Indian cinema, making him the action hero everyone wants to see.
With a lineup of diverse and high-profile projects, Jr NTR continues to push cinematic boundaries and captivate audiences worldwide. His dedication to his craft and ability to reinvent himself with each role ensure that fans have much to look forward to in the coming years.
Headed to a wilderness retreat of a wealthy pharmaceutical CEO to hopefully land a lucrative job, widower Elliot and his reluctant daughter Ridley manage to have a car accident with a heretofore-thought creature out of legend, and hijinks ensue!
Oh this is an absolute gem of a movie y’all, brought to you by the genius minds of film production company A24, a delightful blend of horror and campy, almost idiotic, comedy. Make sure your seatbelt is buckled and let’s dive into this!
So Ridley (Jenna Ortega) is you typical teenager, angsty and missing her passed-on mother, full of acne troubles and secretly vaping while her dad Elliot (Paul Rudd) ignores her for much more than appearance purposes, while he schmoozes his way into the good graces of the family they’re going to stay with. Elliot ignores everything but his continued greed, for both money and continuous stability for him and Ridley, really, he swears, so when the misty mountains cause their electronics to go haywire and Elliot’s busy with that crisis, he doesn’t notice until it’s too late and BAM. You’ve hit an actual unicorn with your car.
Like most girls, Ridley can’t help but be fascinated by the poor mythical horse-like creature, and of course she reaches out to grasp the glowing horn, filling her head full of magic and her eyes full of stars and the cosmos, while Elliot has a much more, let’s say visceral, reaction. But rather than calling, I dunno, some sort of wildlife preserve or the cops or even considering burying the unfortunate horned horse, no, the baby is loaded like a downed stag into the back of Elliott’s car and they hurry on to the CEO’s wilderness retreat.
It makes sense that the changes to Ridley’s appearance are the first thing that allows O’Dell (Richard E. Grant) and his greedy, grasping family to understand that the body of the unicorn has healing properties. Wife Belinda (Tea Leoni) is your typical utterly vapid socialite who helps the poor downtrodden of whatever’s currently popular third world country, not for the do-gooder part of it, but for the optics. And their son Shepard (Will Poulter) is a walking poster boy for the arrogant frat boy type who could never settle on just one thing to be or do, and so he tries them all – archery, photography, mixology, music and various forms of pharmaceuticals, all while sporting these terrible fashion choices in shorts and rambling proudly about his nonexistent accomplishments. Griff (Anthony Carrigan) is the family butler and general verbal punching bag, and let us not forget the unfortunate pair of doctoral research scientists who get called in to examine the unicorn, Dr. Song (Steve Park) and Dr. Bhatia (Sunita Mani).
So we have a family of covetous types who all want to divy the unicorn up and sell its various parts for as much wealth and power as they can get, plus the pair of scientists who are flabbergasted to find themselves dissecting an actual unicorn that, hey, guess what, isn’t actually dead for really-real yet. Elliott’s trying to procure his and Ridley’s slice of the action, though honestly, his lawyerly powers of persuasion seem to be rather lacking in this regard, while Ridley is off doing some actual research on medieval unicorns and what the ancient legends in tapestries had to say about them. You know how the modern genie, with his Arabian lamp and his three wishes with their horrifically ironic consequences, actually stems from the ancient legend of that old monster, the creature born from fire that wants nothing more than to destroy all human life on Earth, the Djinn? Our modern legends and beliefs about unicorns is kinda like that.
So everyone, even our scientists with their experiments and O’Dell supposedly being an experienced animal hunter, seems to have forgotten that a horse is a mammal and therefore, has parents. And while everyone is concerning themselves with what to use the babies’ various parts for, only Ridley seems to have realized, that the babies’ sire and dam are coming for it!
We all know horses are smart, and that humans and horses can form an almost mythical bond, but when a stallion or even a dam’s ire is raised, they can attack and defend just as well as any rampaging beast, and do present a very real and dire threat. And these particular horses, with their shaggy midnight-black coats and hooves the size of monster-truck hubcaps, their fangs and absolute righteous rage at their baby being stolen, not to mention both mom and dad’s inherently magical nature, and those utterly badass war-unicorn horns, are here to wreak utter destruction and death upon the humans that would dare to eat, drink and snort, their baby!
Full of utterly ridiculous fun with human greed and the scarcely-remembered wonder of those magical creatures you heard about as a child, cheer along with the Jurassic Park-like screech of our rampaging parents to save their baby, in Death of a Unicorn, in theaters now!
Upcoming NTR Junior projects
“Death of a Unicorn: A24’s Twisted Fairytale You Won’t Forget”
WonderCon 2025: A Faith Full Dickens Tale & The King of Kings Animated Movie
WonderCon 2025: Fade to Black Interviews
Top 10 Unexpected Movies Where The Bad Guy Wins
