According to our sources, we hear that DL Hughley’s hit sitcom The Hughley’s is making a return to television via Paramount (and most likely for Paramount Plus). Our sources tell us that the show is set up to bring back the cast and hopefully launch next season. We hear deals are still being worked on, and production staff is being discussed.
If you recall, the hit show The Hughley’s ran for four seasons from 1998-2002 and starred Hughley along with Elise Neal, John Henton, and Eric Allan Kramer. Hughley’s character, who owns his own vending machine business, moves out of South Central to West Hills, a predominately white neighborhood within the San Fernando Valley. He and his family try to adjust to living in an all-white area, at the same time trying to not forget who they are and where they came from. Darryl and Yvonne eventually befriend their new neighbors Sally and Dave who are literally the polar opposite of Darryl. As you probably have expected, the show featured many racial themes to it but are usually comedic as Darryl makes fun of other races, especially his white and Korean neighbors.
With that being said and in today’s climate we are sure that this new reiteration of The Hughley’s will have a ton to talk about in their upcoming season.
Stay tuned as this story is still developing.
Standing by his friends. Kevin Hart is not picking sides when it comes to Will Smith and Chris Rock following their infamous encounter at the Oscars.
“I can only hope that the two of them find a way to find some solace in that and move past it. I just like good energy. I love to see people be the best,” Hart, 43, told Entertainment Tonight.
The Philadelphia native noted that he has stayed on good terms with Smith, 53, and Rock, 57, adding, “I still love [Will], I still love Chris, and, you know, you can’t judge a person by one thing. Ultimately, life goes on and people grow, so give him the opportunity to do so.”
According to Hart, there is room for a reconciliation as the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air alum deals with the fallout of the infamous slap. “Will is apologetic, you know, he’s in a better space, of course, than what he was after,” the DC League of Super-Pets star continued. “People are human and as humans sometimes we make mistakes. So it’s not about talking about the past, it’s about acknowledging the present and doing your best to move forward.”
Source: US Weekly
Omar Epps, Demi Singleton, Miss Lawrence, and Anthony B. Jenkins have joined the cast of The Deliverance from director Lee Daniels.
The Netflix film earlier added Andra Day, Glenn Close, Mo’Nique, Aunjanue Ellis, Caleb McLaughlin, and Tasha Smith. Daniels directed Miss Lawrence in The United States vs. Billie Holiday, the biopic about the jazz icon.
The faith-based film marks a creative departure for Daniels. Inspired by a true story, The Deliverance portrays a mother fighting for her life, her faith and the souls of her children after discovering their new home is haunted by a demonic presence.
The Deliverance is written by David Coggeshall, Elijah Bynum, Daniels and Thomas Westfall. The producer credits are shared by Tucker Tooley through Tooley Entertainment, Lee Daniels and Pam Williams for Lee Daniels Entertainment and Jackson Nguyen and Todd Crites for Turn Left Productions.
And Greg Renker, Hilary Shor, Gregoire Gensollen and Jackie Shenoo are executive producing.
Daniels also produced the Idris Elba movie Concrete Cowboy, which Netflix released. And his company, Lee Daniels Entertainment, has an overall deal at Disney and produced a Sammy Davis Jr. limited series for Hulu; the pilot The Spook Who Sat by the Door for FX, the Black Wonder Years reboot at ABC and the drama Our Kind of People for Fox.
Omar Epps is represented by CAA, Untitled Entertainment and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller, Gellman, Meigs & Fox LLP.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Martin Lawrence recently told Ebony magazine that Will Smith’s slap at the Oscars won’t kill the development of a fourth “Bad Boys” movie. The comedian said, “We got one more at least,” implying the future of the action franchise could extend beyond the next installment.
Variety confirmed in January 2020 just as “Bad Boys For Life” was taking over the box office that Sony was moving forward with a fourth movie to be written by screenwriter Chris Bremner and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.
“It was big,” Lawrence said of launching the “Bad Boys” franchise with Smith in 1995. “For us to come together and prove that we can deliver, and we can pull people into the box office—that two Black stars, two sitcom stars, could make money at the box office [was huge]. I didn’t go to college, so I felt TV was my college years. I felt with movies, I had graduated; it was just different.”
The original “Bad Boys” earned $141 million worldwide, while the 2003 sequel “Bad Boys II” ended its run with $273 million. The franchise came roaring back to life in January 2020 with “Bad Boys for Life,” with earned $426 million and managed to outgross the previous two entries combined. “Bad Boys for Life” was one of the last theatrical blockbusters released before the pandemic shut down movie theaters.
“‘Bad Boys for Life’ is a lavishly conventional cop movie and a comedy of cranky fast camaraderie,” Variety wrote in its positive review. “It’s a meditation on the fine-wine élan of its two veteran stars. It’s a Mexican-drug-cartel thriller in the vein of the ‘Sicario’ films, with a weirdly personal twist. It’s an over-the-top Bruckheimer highway-chase-and-gigantic-gun-and-exploding-hacienda blowout. That it works at all is a testament to how even an entertainment rooted in this much formula extravagance can now seem comfortingly old-fashioned.”
Moviegoers have wondered whether or not Sony would pull the plug on “Bad Boys 4” after Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars. The Oscar winner was dropped from several projects afterwards, and Apple is expected to delay the release of the Smith-starring slavery drama “Emancipation” to 2023. Smith is banned from the Academy for 10 years.
Source: Variety
Watch the new trailer of the new Jamie Foxx film titled ‘Day Shift’ as he stars as a hard-working blue collar dad who just wants to provide a good life for his quick-witted daughter, but his mundane San Fernando Valley pool cleaning job is a front for his real source of income, hunting and killing vampires as part of an international Union of vampire hunters.
The film will be released on August 12th.
Watch the new trailer below;
Following the infamous Oscar slap, Chris Rock has been in demand. There already is a call for him to host next year’s Oscars, and he has also been asked to host the Primetime Emmys on NBC this September, I have learned. Also approached about hosting the Emmys is Dwayne Johnson, who was at the top of the host wish list for the 2022 Oscars too, sources tell Deadline.
We hear Rock, who is yet to publicly speak about the Will Smith Oscar attack beyond his comedy tour, has turned down the informal offer, and it does not appear likely that Johnson would take on emcee duties either.
Primetime Emmy producers Done+Dusted in association with Reginald Hudlin’s Hudlin Entertainment are starting with ambitious top choices as they are believed to be casting a wide net that goes beyond NBC talent.
Both Rock and Johnson have ties to NBC, which is carrying the Primetime Emmys this year. Rock was a cast member on Saturday Night Live early in his career, while Johnson is an executive producer on the network’s comedy series Young Rock, inspired by his life. It was just renewed for a third season.
NBC/Peacock talent is still expected to be considered for the hosting job as showcasing stars from the network carrying the Emmys is a tradition; just last year, Cedric the Entertainer from CBS’ The Neighborhood presided over the ceremony, which aired on the network. This year’s list may not include the obvious late-night choices as some top NBC personalities that have hosted the Emmys before, including Seth Meyers, are said to not be interested in an encore.
The 74th Primetime Emmy Awards will air September 12 on NBC.
Source: Deadline
Jurors in the civil trial of Bill Cosby asked a series of questions on Thursday afternoon, but had yet to reach a verdict by the end of the day, and will return on Friday morning.
Cosby is facing a lawsuit from Judy Huth, a 64-year-old woman who alleges that he molested her after luring her to the Playboy Mansion in 1975, when she was 16.
Huth is suing under a California law that extends the statute of limitations for claims of childhood sex abuse, allowing accusers to pursue their lawsuits well into adulthood. One aspect of that law, allowing a three-year window for plaintiffs to pursue older claims, is being challenged by several dioceses of the Catholic Church in California.
The jurors’ questions suggested they had considered many of the issues they were asked to decide. In one question, the jury asked how many had to agree on a damages award — suggesting that they could be inclined to award Huth some amount of damages.
Nine of the 12 jurors must agree to reach a verdict.
The case has been underway for the last two weeks in Santa Monica Superior Court.
Cosby has not been in attendance, and exercised his Fifth Amendment right not to testify in his own defense. The jurors were shown brief clips of his videotaped deposition, in which he said he would not pursue minors for sex.
The jurors also asked for definitions of a few terms on the verdict forms. In one instance, they asked what it meant to decide that Cosby had an “unnatural or abnormal sexual interest” in a child — one of the elements Huth’s lawyers must prove in order to prevail. Judge Craig Karlan responded that state law holds that any sexual interest in a child is unnatural.
Cosby’s lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, raised a strenuous objection to that answer, and suggested it could become an issue in the event of an appeal.
The two sides made their closing arguments on Wednesday.
Source: Variety
Netflix has settled a potentially precedent-setting lawsuit from Mo’Nique in a case that could have found that the streamer retaliated against the comedian by refusing to engage in good-faith negotiations after she accused the company of discrimination for opening with a low-ball offer.
Both sides on Tuesday moved to dismiss the suit, according to a court filing. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
Netflix in 2017 started to court Mo’Nique for a comedy special during a time it was aggressively ramping up its stand-up content, the complaint says. The negotiations, however, didn’t get far because the Oscar-winning actress did not agree to what she considered a low opening offer of $500,000 for a one-hour show that Netflix would have complete control over, including owning the copyright and retaining all audio-only rights to the special. She protested the offer as discriminatory, leading to Netflix walking away from negotiations.
Mo’Nique subsequently sued Netflix for refusing to budge beyond its initial opening offer. She accused the streamer of systematically underpaying Black women, pointing to eight-figure deals with Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock and Amy Schumer, who allegedly leveraged other comedians’ compensation during negotiations and was paid 26 times more than what Mo’Nique was offered, according to the complaint.
“The offer made to Mo’Nique was merely an ‘opening offer’ from which there was an expectation — both by Netflix and Mo’Nique — of continued negotiations likely leading to increased compensation being offered to Mo’Nique,” read the complaint. “Once Mo’Nique engaged in protected conduct by protesting the discriminatory offer, Netflix shut down any further negotiations and refused to negotiate in good-faith consistent with its standard practices.”
Mo’Nique spoke publicly about the allegedly discriminatory offer, calling to boycott Netflix.
“I couldn’t accept that low offer because if I did … I couldn’t sleep at night,” Mo’Nique said on Sway in the Morning in January 2018. “If I accepted $500,000, what does Tiffany Haddish have coming? If I accept that, what does the Black female comedian have coming? Because what they’ll say is, ‘Mo’Nique accepted this and she’s got that.’ So what do they have coming?”
At the time, Netflix said in a statement, “We believe our opening offer to Mo’Nique was fair — which is why we will be fighting this lawsuit.” On dismissal, Netflix argued that there’s no legal authority supporting the claim that an employer’s refusal to negotiate in good faith constitutes discrimination or retaliation.
But the federal judge overseeing the case sided with Mo’Nique’s novel theory that Netflix’s failure to negotiate an opening offer consistent with its normal practice, which typically leads to increased compensation, constitutes an “adverse employment action for purposes of a retaliation claim.”
“At the very least, Mo’Nique’s allegations permit the plausible inference that, had she not challenged her offer as discriminatory, Netflix would have continued negotiating in good faith with her and increased her offer, consistent with its customary practice in dealing with talent in the entertainment industry,” writes the judge.
Said Michael Parks, representing Mo’Nique: “The matter has been amicably resolved.”
Netflix did not respond to a request for comment.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Ben Affleck’s untitled Nike drama for Amazon Studios, Skydance Sports, and Mandalay Pictures has assembled a stellar cast, with Jason Bateman (Ozark), Viola Davis (The Woman King), Chris Tucker (Rush Hour franchise), Marlon Wayans (Respect) and Chris Messina (Sharp Objects) signing on for roles, along with Matthew Maher (Our Flag Means Death), Tom Papa (Behind the Candelabra) and Julius Tennon (The Simone Biles Story: Courage to Soar).
Director Affleck also is starring in the pic, which started production Monday in Los Angeles, alongside his fellow Good Will Hunting star, Oscar winner Matt Damon. The film will ultimately premiere on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
The untitled sports marketing film will tell the incredible story of how maverick sneaker salesman Sonny Vaccaro (Damon) led a fledgling running shoe company called Nike in its pursuit of the most transformative athlete in the history of sports: Michael Jordan. Affleck will portray Nike co-founder Phil Knight in the story surrounding Nike’s longshot effort to sign Jordan to its shoe company in the mid-’80s, an endorsement that seemed impossible at the time but which would become the most significant relationship between an athletic brand and an athlete and launched the global, multibillion-dollar contemporary sneaker industry. Sonny’s relentless quest to sign Jordan to what was then the third-place shoe company takes him to Jordan’s parents, and in particular his powerful, dynamic mother, as well as to former coaches, advisors, friends and those close to Michael. Jordan himself is a giant mythic figure hovering above the movie and never seen, while Sonny tries to reach him by gaining access to those close to him and around him.
Bateman will play Vaccaro’s boss, Rob Strasser, the longtime Nike executive and attorney-turned-branding-guru who oversaw the company’s marketing and messaging across all sports. Strasser was an instrumental figure in Nike’s efforts to sign (and later promote) Jordan.
Davis will play Jordan’s mother, Deloris Jordan, who was an enormous influence on Michael’s Nike deal, with Tucker as Howard White, a former college basketball player at the University of Maryland. White was a junior executive at Nike’s fledgling basketball department in the early ’80s, regularly serving as the company’s day-to-day connection with its roster of NBA players, which included such notable names as Moses Malone, George Gervin and Artis Gilmore.
Wayans has been cast as college basketball trailblazer George Raveling, who was the first Black coach in two iconic conferences—the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Pacific-10. Additionally, in 1984, he was the head coach at the University of Iowa and an assistant of the gold medal-winning U.S. Men’s Olympic basketball team, where he met and befriended Michael Jordan. Raveling was a dear friend of Vaccaro’s, and with Sonny’s prodding, he first introduced the idea of signing with Nike to Michael.
Messina has been tapped to play Jordan’s original agent, David Falk, who had represented several prominent NBA players prior to signing Michael, including a pair of No. 1 overall NBA draft picks—James Worthy (Michael’s former teammate at University of North Carolina) and Mark Aguirre. Falk is often credited with coming up with the name “Air Jordan.” Maher will play Peter Moore, the legendary designer for Nike (and later Adidas) who created the designs for the first Air Jordan sneakers, in addition to the iconic “Wings” and “Jumpman” logos for the Air Jordan brand.
Papa is playing Stu Inman, the former Portland Trail Blazers executive, who famously selected oft-injured center Sam Bowie ahead of Jordan in the 1984 NBA Draft, with Tennon as Jordan’s father James, who also influenced his decision to sign with Nike.
Alex Convery penned the original script, titled Air Jordan, which was named to the 2021 Black List of the best unproduced screenplays. Mandalay brought it to Skydance Sports President Jon Weinbach, who then secured Vaccarro’s life rights. Affleck and Damon did a subsequent pass on the script and are producing alongside Peter Guber, Jason Michael Berman, Jeff Robinov, Madison Ainley, and David Ellison. Executive producers include Jon Weinbach, Jesse Sisgold, Dana Goldberg, and Don Granger, Kevin Halloran, Michael Joe, John Graham, Drew Vinton, Jordan Moldo and Peter E. Strauss.
Bateman is an Emmy winner who directed, exec produced and starred in Netflix’s acclaimed drama series Ozark, which recently came to the end of its fourth and final season. He’s otherwise perhaps best known for his turn as Michael Bluth on the Netflix comedy series Arrested Development from Imagine Television, The Hurwitz Company and 20th Television. Other recent credits on the acting side include HBO’s smash miniseries The Outsider and the action-comedy Game Night from directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein.
Davis is an Oscar and Emmy winner best known for turns in films including Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Fences and Doubt, and for her portrayal of Annalise Keating on ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder. She can currently be seen playing former First Lady Michelle Obama on Showtime’s The First Lady, and will also soon be seen in films including TriStar’s historical epic The Woman King. Other recent credits include The Unforgivable, The Suicide Squid and Troop Zero.
Tucker is an actor and comedian best known for his role as Carter in New Line’s Rush Hour franchise and has also been seen in such films as Billy Lynn’s Halftime Walk, Silver Linings Playbook, Jackie Brown, The Fifth Element, and Friday, among others.
Wayans is an actor, writer, producer and comedian whose credits include In Living Color, Requiem for a Dream, multiple Scary Movie films, The Ladykillers, White Chicks, Little Man, Norbit, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, The Heat and the NBC sitcom Marlon. He’s recently been seen in the films On the Rocks and Respect, as well as Peacock’s Fresh Prince reimagining, Bel-Air, and will next appear in Jeff Wadlow’s horror-comedy, Boo!
Messina appeared in Affleck’s past films Argo and Live By Night, and has also been seen in such recent features as I Care a Lot, She Dies Tomorrow and Birds of Prey. The actor can currently be seen on Starz’s Watergate drama series Gaslit, and will next be seen in Phyllis Nagy’s Sundance timely 2022 drama Call Jane, as well as mystery-thriller The Boogeyman, the sci-fi thriller I.S.S from director Gabriela Cowperthwaite, Bill Pohlad’s musical drama Dreamin’ Wild and David Rabe’s We’re Just Married.
Maher can currently be seen on Prime Video’s Outer Range and HBO Max’s Our Flag Means Death. He’ll next appear in Owen Kline’s Funny Pages, the Apple TV+ series Hello Tomorrow! and Yale Entertainment’s thriller The Kill Room with Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson and more.
Papa is a comedian and actor who has previously appeared on such series as Red Oaks, The Jim Gaffigan Show, The Knick and Inside Amy Schumer, as well as films including Top Five, Behind the Candelabra and The Informant!.
Tennon runs JuVee Productions with his wife, Davis. His recent credits on the acting side include the Lifetime TV movie The Simone Biles Story: Courage to Soar, How to Get Away with Murder and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Bateman is represented by CAA and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; Davis by CAA, Lasher Group and Lichter, Grossman, Nichols; Tucker by ICM Partners and Tracy Kramer at Toltec Artists; Wayans by WME, 3 Arts Entertainment and Yorn, Levine, Barnes; Messina by CAA, Entertainment 360 and Gendler & Kelly; Maher by CESD and Viking Entertainment; Papa by UTA; and Tennon by Lasher Group.
Source: Deadline
Comedian David A. Arnold is back on Netflix with a new special, “It Ain’t for the Weak!”
Produced by Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat, the comedy special will launch globally on July 19 and follows his 2019 Netflix debut, “Fat Ballerina.”
“It Ain’t For The Weak!” taped earlier this year at The Hanna Theater in Arnold’s hometown of Cleveland, OH. The new special is directed by award-winning director, artist, and philanthropist Malakai and is executive produced by Hart, Bryan Smiley, Mike Stein, and Tiffany Brown of Hartbeat, along with Dave Becky of 3 Arts Entertainment.
Over the course of his 20-year career as a comedian, actor, writer, producer and showrunner, Arnold has produced several TV shows, including Netflix’s “Fuller House” and the BET+ series “Bigger.” Arnold currently serves as the creator and showrunner for the buddy comedy series “That Girl Lay Lay,” which debuted on Nickelodeon in 2021 before streaming on Netflix, where it launched into the top ten most-watched shows. In Jan. 2022, Nickelodeon greenlit a second season of the series, which follows Lay Lay (Alaya “That Girl Lay Lay” High) and best friend Sadie (Gabrielle Nevaeh Green) after Lay Lay magically comes to life out of a phone app and the two navigate high school together. Arnold executive produces the series alongside Will Packer.
Hartbeat made waves in April by merging Hartbeat Productions and Laugh Out Loud into a single Hartbeat banner led by CEO Thai Randolph, which spurred a $100 million investment from Abry Partners.
Arnold is currently on his national comedy tour, also titled “It Ain’t for the Weak!’, with tickets available at DavidAArnold.com
Source: Variety