Edward James Olmos Praises The Late Jenni Rivera In Film Debut

Actor Edward James Olmos pays his respects to the late Mexican singer and upcoming costar Jenni Rivera after hearing of the plane crash that took her life yesterday. Olmos wasn’t short on praise for Rivera, who has yet to make her debut in her upcoming film Filly Brown. The film, which also stars Edward James Olmos is being marketed as a gritty drama.

Olmos opened up to Billboard about hearing the tragic news of Jenni River’s passing saying, “News of the plane crash tore my heart out.”

As for his expectations of Rivera and her Filly Brown film debut, Olmos sounds confident that her work will speak for itself in the wake of her death:

“Jenni was just an amazing force. From the very beginning I’ve said that she could garner an Academy Award for her work in Filly Brown. She has a tough life, but she also had an extraordinary gift. She touched millions of people and she’ll be missed.”

Earlier in the year, Rivera attended the Sundance Film Festival to promote her first and last film Filly Brown. The cast also includes Lou Diamond Phillips and Gina Rodriguez. When asked about Jenni’s involvement in the film, director Youssef Delara went on to explain the long rehearsal process, “It was a lot to ask of a woman of her caliber. We knew she had a lot of life experience in her. That’s what we worked on.”

Director Delara is hopeful the film will highlight Jenni Rivera, “A lot of women can relate to the fact that she’s not this ingenue. She’s just this woman who went through a lot and was forged by all the terrible things she went through.”

Filly Brown is set to be released in April.