We knew that someone was going to get caught approaching or charging a comedian while they were on stage because of a joke-especially after what happened at the Oscars when Will Smith infamously charged the stage and slapped Chris Rock, but we didn’t think that person would be new actor, rapper, and now new comedian Tip “TI” Harris!
It seems that when comedian Lauren Knight said a joke about him TI didn’t like the joke that was said. There are about to be a lot of folks upset about this because it was a female comedian, and how it was done. Lauren Knight posted what she claims happened, and you can check that out below.
The question is- was he right to do this because of what she said, or did he violate her space as a comedian?
Check out the exchange below;
âShotgun Wedding,â a romantic comedy starring Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel, is forgoing a traditional theatrical release and is instead heading to Amazon Prime Video.
Lionsgate, which produced âShotgun Weddingâ and intended to open the movie in theaters, sold U.S. rights to the streamer. Prime Video previously acquired international rights for the amorous action-comedy in several key territories.
âShotgun Weddingâ was scheduled to hit the big screen on June 29, but itâs now unclear when the film will land on Prime Video. Since release plans have not been finalized, sources say thereâs a chance the movie will be available in select cinemas on the same day as its digital debut.
Lionsgateâs sale comes at a time when the domestic box office is still attempting to recover from COVID-19. Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatumâs jungle-set love story âThe Lost Cityâ has managed to sell tickets, but that movie may be more of an anomaly. Earlier this year, Lopezâs musical romantic comedy âMarry Meâ collected $49 million at the global box office while playing simultaneously on NBCUniversalâs streaming service Peacock. According to insiders, Amazon proposed an irresistible offer to get the rights to âShotgun Weddingâ from Lionsgate. With a streaming service release, the company can avoid the scrutiny that comes with box office reporting.
Jason Moore directed âShotgun Wedding,â in which Lopez and Duhamel play partners who gather their families for a destination wedding. But as the couple begins to get cold feet, the entire wedding party is taken hostage. The cast also includes Jennifer Coolidge, Sonia Braga, Cheech Marin, Selena Tan and Lenny Kravitz.
Armie Hammer was previously set to star opposite Lopez, but he dropped out of the film last year following allegations of sexual abuse and social media controversy.
âPacked with action, comedy, and a dash of romance, âShotgun Weddingâ is one of those rare films with something for everyone,â said Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios. âWith a cast led by Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel, the film is bursting with star power and fantastic performances. We are thrilled to work with the entire filmmaking team to bring this hilarious, multifaceted film to Prime Video audiences around the world.â
In the following interview, we chat with internet sensation Mojo Brooks, who is also an actor and a writer, as he discusses his start in comedy and how he became a star on social media. We ask him about what made him decide he can compete with some veteran comedians and the advice he gives to others starting out.
Check out the interview below;
By now, you have heard about all of the drama from last week’s Oscars between Chris Rock and Will Smith. While Smith came out with an official apology the following day, we heard nothing from Chris Rock, except a fake apology that circulated around for a couple of days. With that apology, everyone was hoping that we would hear from Rock.
Last Wednesday, while in Boston, Chris Rock addressed the incident briefly while on stage and said while he was still processing it, he would address it later.
Well, over the weekend we heard from Tony Rock, (Chris Rock’s brother, who is also a comedian) and he stated that he wanted to address the situation now and he clearly was upset. Check out what he had to say about the incident below;
After not speaking for 13 years, Oscar-winning Precious star MoâNique has been set by that filmâs director Lee Daniels to replace Octavia Spencer in Demon House, an exorcism film package that Netflix acquired after a brisk auction in January. Spencer had to bow out of the star-studded film because of a scheduling conflict with her Apple TV+ television show Truth Be Told.
MoâNique, who last worked with Daniels in the celebrated 2009 film Precious that brought her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, will take over the role of a social worker who helps a family through a series of exorcisms. Demon House reunites Daniels with Oscar-nominated The United States vs. Billie Holiday star Andra Day, whoâll star with Glenn Close, Donât Look Upâs Rob Morgan, Stranger Thingsâ Caleb McLaughlin and Aunjanue Ellis, latter of whom is fresh from an Oscar nomination for King Richard.
At a moment of heightened acrimony in Hollywood over Will Smithâs slap of Chris Rock during the Oscars, it is nice to see the possibility that people can move past differences. Despite the success of Precious and the Oscar won by MoâNique for her role as an abusive mother, she accused Daniels, Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry of blackballing her because she would not promote the film during awards season. It wasnât in her contract, she said, and MoâNique didnât want to spend time away from her family. They denied blackballing her, but sources said the actress and the director didnât speak for 13 years because of the disagreement. MoâNique separately filed a lawsuit in 2019 against Demon House-maker Netflix, charging racial and gender discrimination for trying to drastically underpay her for a stand-up special after offering other stars tens of millions of dollars. That included comics like Oscar host Amy Schumer whom the lawsuit said made 26 times the $500,000 she was offered for an hour-long comedy special.
MoâNique and Daniels have exorcised their demons and will work together in a very high profile film. When the package got brokered by CAA Media Finance, sources told Deadline that it was worth upward of $65 million, covering the filmâs budget and buyouts. Daniels, Tucker Tooley and Pam Williams are producing. Production begins in June.
In a case widely covered at the time, Latoya Ammons and her three children experienced strange incidents in their Gary, IN, home that grew progressively worse, with the children levitating, becoming violent with one another and speaking in growls and deep voices with no recollection afterward. Skeptics abounded, but the Gary Police Department, Department of Child Services and the local church and hospital all became involved, filing reports that took the supernatural occurrences seriously. Officers, doctors and social workers said they witnessed many of the incidents, including one in which her 9-year-old son walked backward up a wall. The Indianapolis Star covered it closely as the Department of Child Services investigated it.
Ammons optioned her rights to Relativity when the story first became public in 2014, but the movie didnât get made and those rights lapsed several years ago as Relativity plunged into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Producer Tooley, a former Relativity exec, acquired the lapsed rights after that, under his Tooley Entertainment banner. Then came a long development to get it to a film ready to be made. Dave Coggeshall wrote drafts, as did Elijah Bynum. Then Daniels rewrote it himself, and that is the script the buyers read. It uses the case to frame a fictional thriller, as was done with The Amityville Horror, The Exorcist, The Conjuring and other franchises purported to be based on or inspired by actual events.
Also producing are Todd Crites and Jackson Nguyen of Turn Left Productions, and Greg Renker and Gregoire Gensollen are EPs.
Source: Deadline
Gugu Mbatha-Raw is set for the female lead opposite Kevin Hart in the Netflix action thriller Lift. Rounding out the cast are Vincent DâOnofrio, Billy Magnussen, Ărsula CorberĂł, Yun Jee Kim, Viveik Kalra and Paul Anderson. F. Gary Gray will direct the pic, with Dan Kunka penning the script. Netflix landed the package last year.
Mbatha-Raw beat out a number of actresses for the role that had become one of the more coveted parts for young female stars in recent weeks. She is coming off strong reviews for her role in the hit Marvel series Loki and has Surface bowing this summer on Apple TV+.
The film is produced by Simon Kinberg and Audrey Chon for Genre Pictures, Matt Reeves and Adam Kassan for 6th & Idaho, and Hart and Brian Smiley for HartBeat Productions. 6th & Idaho currently has The Batman in theaters, which has dominated the month of March at the box-office, and Genreâs Invasion just finished itâs first season on Apple TV+.
Gray, Brent OâConnor and Patricia Braga are exec producing.
Hart will play a master thief who is wooed by his ex-girlfriend and the FBI to pull off an impossible heist with his international crew on a 777 flying from London to Zurich.
Lift falls under Hart and HartBeat Productionsâ creative partnership with Netflix. They are in production on comedy Me Time, starring Mark Wahlberg and Regina Hall.
Mbatha-Raw is repped by CAA, Anonymous Content and Curtis Brown Group. Magnussen is withj UTA, Anonymous Content and Sloane Offer. DâOnofrio is repped by UTA and Silver Lining Entertainment, Kalra is represented by CAA and in the UK by 42. Anderson is repped by CAA and Kim is managed by Chris S. Lee at B&C Content.
Source: Deadline
In the wake of slapping Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars, Will Smith said Friday that he is resigning from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
In a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Smith said he was heartbroken and would accept all consequences for his conduct during Sundayâs ceremony.
âMy actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable. The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home,â Smith said. âI betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken. I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film.â
Earlier this week, the Academy began disciplinary action against Smith after a meeting of its board of governors, and issued a statement saying Smith was asked to leave the show following the slap but that he refused. The statement didnât provide details, but also acknowledged that the Academy âcould have handled the situation differently.â One board member told THR that it still wasnât made clear who asked Smith to leave, or the sequence of events.
Smithâs resignation means he can no longer vote for the Oscars â but he can still be nominated for future Academy Awards, attend future ceremonies and keep the statue he won. Still, the Academyâs formal review will continue.
âWe have received and accepted Mr. Will Smithâs immediate resignation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,â the Academy said in a statement. âWe will continue to move forward with our disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Smith for violations of the Academyâs Standards of Conduct, in advance of our next scheduled board meeting on April 18.â
The actor said in his statement Friday that he has responded to the Academyâs disciplinary hearing notice and âwill fully accept any and all consequencesâ for his conduct.
Rock was presenting best documentary feature at the 2022 Oscars on Sunday when he made a G.I. Jane joke about Smithâs wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who has a shaved head (the actress has alopecia). After returning to his seat, Smith shouted at Rock to keep his wifeâs name out of his âfucking mouth.â
Later in the show, while accepting the Oscar for best actor for his performance in King Richard, Smith made a tearful apology to the Academy and fellow nominees. But it wasnât until Monday, in an Instagram post, that Smith apologized to Rock. Rock has remained mostly silent, telling the audience at his comedy show in Boston on Wednesday night, âIâm still kind of processing what happened. ⌠So at some point Iâll talk about that shit. And itâll be serious, and itâll be funny.â
In an interview that aired Friday on Good Morning America, the producer of the 2022 Oscars telecast, Will Packer, said he initially thought Smith smacking Rock was a bit, until Rock came backstage and confirmed that he had really been hit. âOnce I saw Will yelling at the stage with such vitriol, my heart dropped. And I just remember thinking, âOh no, oh no. Not like this,ââ recalled Packer. âChris was keeping his head when everyone else was losing theirs.â
Packer said Rock insisted he was fine and refused to press charges when approached by the LAPD.
 Eddie Murphy is in early talks to play Parliament-Funkadelic leader George Clinton in an upcoming biopic.
Murphy also will serve as producer with Davis Entertainmentâs John Davis, Catherine Davis, and John Fox. They are tying down rights with the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner, and then they will set writers and shop the project.
Murphy has a three-picture deal with Amazon that came after the success of Coming 2 America, and this is a passion project for him.
Clinton is widely considered to be the Godfather of Funk, rivaling James Brown and Sly Stone as the foremost innovators in that musical genre. The film will tell the story of the iconic musicianâs humble beginnings in North Carolina in the 1940s to the formation of his groundbreaking bands Parliament and Funkadelic and ultimately to becoming a major influence on artists of the hip-hop generation including Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Outkast and Wu-Tang Clan, among many others.
Murphy teamed with Davis on the Netflix film Dolemite Is My Name, which got him a lot of accolades playing the unlikely Blaxploitation film star Rudy Ray Moore. He then followed with Coming 2 America, the sequel to his 1988 comedy classic. Murphy next begins production on the Kenya Barris-directed Netflix comedy You People, in which he co-stars with Jonah Hill. That will be followed with Beverly Hills Cop 4 this summer, as he reprises his Axel Foley role. Murphy separately was Emmy-nominated for his long-awaited return to Saturday Night Live, the show that launched him in the early 1980s.
Clinton was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, alongside 15 other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. In 2019, he and those members were given their Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards.
Murphy is repped by WME and Skip Brittenham.
Source: Deadline
We had a chance to interview Executive Producer, writer, and comedian Rell Battle. If you aren’t aware, Battle has been a staple in comedy for many years and has worked on many projects including Will Smith’s This Joka, Jeff Ross’ Roast Battle, and he was instrumental in getting Will Smith on stage for his comedy performance!
Anyway, we get a chance to talk to Battle about his start, his upcoming projects, and his thoughts on the Oscars!
See the interview below;
As everyone has been talking about the Sunday night broadcast of The Academy Awards and how Will Smith physically assaulted Chris Rock while on stage after Rock’s joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith, no one has bothered to ask how is Chris Rock, and how is he after the assault?
Well, we conducted an interview with Blacktree TV (one of the leading Black media outlets that have been conducting interviews for more than 20 years) to discuss the treatment of Black media on red carpets, and coincidentally, since he was backstage, we asked him what was Rock’s immediate reaction to the incident.
Check out the interview with Blacktree TV below;