Elle Johnson (Bosch) has been tapped to write, executive produce and serve as showrunner on A Soldier’s Story, a limited series adaptation of the award-winning A Soldier’s Play, which has been in development at Sony Pictures Television with the play’s Tony winner David Alan Grier attached to star and executive produce.
Grier, who won the 2021 Tony Award for his role as Sgt. Vernon Waters in the Broadway play, will play the character’s father in the series adaptation, which spans multiple wars and several decades and centers on Sgt. Vernon Waters and the emotional impact he is subjected to as a soldier in the 1940s.
The Pulitzer-winning A Soldier’s Play, written by Charles Fuller, is set at a Black army base in the segregated Louisiana of 1944. Sergeant Waters has been murdered, and Army captain Davenport – played by Blair Underwood in the Broadway play — arrives at the base to investigate the crime, which might or might not involve the local KKK or even the many Black soldiers who openly despite their hated sergeant.
Bernie Cahill and Jon Kanak of Activist Artists Management, approached Sony about developing the series alongside Grier, executive produce alongside Grier and Johnson. Charles Fuller, who wrote the original play, will also serve as an executive producer.
The play was first produced Off Broadway in 1981 by the Negro Ensemble Company in a staging that included young Denzel Washington and Samuel L. Jackson.
A Soldier’s Play was adapted to the big screen with the 1984 film, also titled A Soldier’s Story, which was produced by Sony Pictures TV sibling Columbia Pictures. It was directed by Norman Jewison from a script by Fuller and starred Grier in a different role, one of the young soldiers in the murdered sergeant’s company, as well as Adolph Caesar as Sergeant Waters and Denzel Washington, both reprising their roles from the staging. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards, Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay for Fuller and Best Supporting Actor for Caesar.
The play finally made its Broadway debut in the recent Roundabout Theater Company production, which received seven Tony Award nominations last year, winning two, for Best Revival and Featured Actor for Grier.
Johnson was writer/executive producer on Prime Video’s Bosch, based on the Michael Connelly detective novels. In 2021, Johnson won an NAACP Image Award as co-showrunner and executive producer on Netflix’s limited series Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam CJ Walker which starred Octavia Spencer. Johnson is also the author of a debut memoir, The Officer’s Daughter, published by Harper Collins.
Johnson is repped by CAA, Alex Hertzberg and Adam Burger at Atlas Literary, and attorneys Bruce D. Gellman and David Hiller at Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman. Grier is repped by Innovative Artists, Activist Artists Management, and Ziffren Brittenham. Fuller is repped by A3 Artists Agency.
Source: Deadline
Thanks to a couple of social media posts, we discovered the news that actor and comedian Mike Epps is set to debut a new comedy special on Netflix titled Indiana Mike on March 29th!
Check out the post below;
A world premiere musical stage adaptation that reimagines the hit 1983 Eddie Murphy-Dan Aykroyd comedy Trading Places has cast Freestyle Love Supreme‘s Aneesa Folds in the role that made Murphy a Hollywood superstar, with Bryce Pinkham (Broadway’s A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder) in the Aykroyd spot.
With a book by Reno 911! actor and writer Thomas Lennon, direction by Kenny Leon (A Raisin in the Sun, A Soldier’s Play) and music and lyrics by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner (Broadway’s First Date), Trading Places will debut at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre on May 25, running through June 26.
“I am so excited to come home with this world-class cast and creative team and a new musical that I know will resonate and be embraced by the Atlanta community,” said Leon in a statement. “With Trading Places, we’re exploring the idea of what would happen if we all traded places with someone else, even for a day, literally putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. It’s relevant; it’s uplifting; everyone will feel heard and represented. And you’re going to laugh, a lot! It’s the perfect play for right now.”
With a cast and creative team largely made up of Broadway stalwarts, an eventual move from Atlanta to New York is certainly under consideration. In addition to Folds and Pinkham, the cast includes Marc Kudisch (Girl From the North Country) and Lenny Wolpe (Bullets Over Broadway) as Mortimer and Randolph Duke (Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy in the movie), and McKenzie Kurtz (Frozen), Josh Lamon (The Prom), Don Stephenson (Trouble in Mind) and Joe Montoya, who plays Phil, the musical’s apparent reinterpretation of the movie’s Ophelia (played by Jamie Lee Curtis).
The film, directed by John Landis from a screenplay by Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod, made a big-screen superstar of Murphy, who played a broke con man named Billy Ray Valentine who, as a social experiment, swaps places with Aykroyd’s wealthy commodities broker.
For the musical, Billy Ray has been reimagined as Billie Rae. Folds, who also used the name Young Nees when she appeared as part of the cast of Broadway’s Freestyle Love Supreme, co-created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, can currently be seen as Danya in Miranda’s film adaptation of tick, tick…BOOM!
The musical’s creative team also includes choreography by Fatima Robinson (whose film credits include Dreamgirls and Coming 2 America 2), scenic design by Beowulf Boritt, lighting design by Adam Honoré, sound design by John Shivers, and costume design by Emilio Sosa. The musical is produced by special arrangements with Marc Madnick and Michael Cassel Group.
Source: Deadline
If you thought Mike Tyson was a badass before, wait until you see how he handled himself when a guy pulled a gun within 15 feet of him — let’s just say you can call him Cool Hand Luke.
TMZ obtained this insane video of what we’re told was a small comedy show Tuesday night on a rooftop bar in Hollywood, and MT was in attendance with a few friends.
At first you see Mike seated calmly at his front row table taking in the show — but the whole thing was interrupted by a random guy who approached Mike and co. and attempted to chat him up, disrupting a comedian’s set and everyone’s good time.
While you can’t hear exactly what was being said in the footage, eyewitnesses tell us the man was actually challenging Mike to a fight — suggesting he wanted to elevate his “status.”
Mike, of course, kept it chill and didn’t engage with the man … mostly just letting him talk. Eventually, though, another man intervenes and tells the dude to scram. We’re told this was actually the host/MC of the night.
That pissed off the guy challenging Mike … who threatened to shoot the host, and then pulled out a gun from his waistband and cocked it in front of everyone. Naturally, everyone gasped and started ducking under tables.
Luckily, he never fired, put the gun away and almost immediately regretted it. He once again approached Mike, and asked him not to call the cops. Once again, Mike just sat there in relative silence, heard the guy out and in the end, embraced him.
Mike actually hugged the man, at which point he finally left without further incident. We’re told people started to trickle out after that with some trepidation — not knowing if the dude was lurking somewhere down below in the streets. After a bit of time, Mike departed too.
We checked with the authorities … LAPD says they were never called. As for Tyson? Yeah, he did his best Paul Newman impression. Ice cold, Iron Mike.
Source: TMZ
In this exclusive interview with the comedian known as Shang, we get a chance to catch up with him and talk to him about his health scare, his producer projects and those turned out, and what are his upcoming plans for the future!
Also, Shang talks about his thoughts on the social media impact on comedy and his thoughts on how it’s affecting stand up, and the “social media comedian”.
Watch the interview below:
Even during his reign as the self-proclaimed “King of the South,” T.I. never limited himself to just rapping. From TV and movies to property and clothing, the Grand Hustle general has always embodied the ethos of his record label.
These days, T.I. continues to branch out and has found his latest calling in the world of stand-up comedy. Tip’s comedy ambitions first came to public knowledge in January when footage of him trying out a routine on stage at a comedy club made the rounds online.
Since then, the Atlanta native’s unlikely comedy career has been going from strength to strength, with a recent gig at the famous Laugh Factory in West Hollywood, California leaving the crowd in hysterics.
Now, T.I. can count a sports legend among his growing army of comedy fans. On Saturday (March 19), the 41-year-old rapper took to Instagram to share photos of him hanging out with boxing great Mike Tyson at The Laugh Factory in West Hollywood.
Like any good comedian, Tip made sure to crack a joke about his special guest in the caption, referencing Tyson’s new “Mike Bites” ear-shaped edibles that are inspired by his infamous fight with boxing opponent Evander Holyfield.
“My Patna @miketyson pulled up on me tonight @laughfactoryhw to check out my set,” he wrote. “slide 2 I’m asking him if [Evander] Holyfield was all ears when he told him bout his new edibles. Maaaaan We kicked sh*t & [P]ushed [P] All night!!”
Of course, Mike Tyson is no stranger to stand-up comedy himself. In 2013 he delivered Undisputed Truth, a one-man show in which he reflected on his storied life and career with often humorous takes. The TV special was directed by Spike Lee.
Despite earning Mike Tyson’s approval, T.I.’s burgeoning stand-up comedy career isn’t bowling everyone over. In February, veteran comedian/actor Godfrey mocked the trap pioneer’s “three week”-old comedy career and questioned his intentions.
T.I. inevitably jumped on Instagram Live and clapped back at Godfrey. “You said in your little interview that he’s not a comedian and had you taken the time to come to the stage … you would have heard in my set I said ‘I am not a comedian, I’m a superstar,” he responded. “There’s a difference.”
T.K. Kirkland also weighed in on T.I.’s stand-up ambitions, predicting he’ll make a killing on the comedy circuit regardless of whether he’s actually any good.
“Right now, he could probably make a million, two million dollars this year and not even be good,” he told VladTV. “His fan base in the rap world will come see him do standup and support him … Life’s not fair.”
Nevertheless, T.I. remains resolute in his comedy goals. He recently announced his “first paid gig” at Power 105.1’s April Fools Comedy Jam at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, where he’ll share the stage with Nick Cannon, Bruce Bruce, Ha Ha Davis and more.
The even takes place on April 9, with live musical performances from Lil Kim and Moneybagg Yo.
Source: Hip Hop DX
Over the weekend it seems that DL Hughley had a minor run-in with one of Kanye West’s artists Theophilus London, who seems to may have had an agenda that he’s spinning on social media. He says he confronted Hughley about the issues that Hughley had about Kanye West, and Hughley says he didn’t… Regardless, there was something that had happened and DL Hughley gave an exclusive to Vlad TV about the situation.
Read the article from Vlad TV below;
Music artist Theophilus London claimed he confronted DL Hughley this past weekend over the comedian’s online feud with Kanye West.
London — who’s one of Kanye’s closest collaborators — posted a photo of the alleged confrontation, claiming he pressed Hughley at Nobu and demanded an apology from one of the “Kings of Comedy.” In his Instagram Story post, London also claimed security was called as a result of the interaction.
“Lmao. I told him to apologize on camera for doing that dumb Vlad interview and his people called security,” London wrote in his post.
Despite London’s claims, VladTV has exclusively learned from DL Hughley that no serious confrontation occurred but rather a brief exchange of words. According to the comedian and actor, he was having dinner with his family when he noticed London kept walking past his table and wasn’t eating.
When Hughley went to the bathroom, he says he spotted London taking selfies in the mirror. As the radio host started using the bathroom, London said, “What’s up OG?” before bringing up DL’s back-and-forth with Kanye West.
According to DL, the conversation was very brief with London telling him he needed to “make it right” with Kanye to which Hughley responded, “[Kanye West] needs to make it right!”
Hughley says the conversation ended after that and London exited the bathroom. The comedian said he was surprised to continue his night and later find out that stories were circulating about him being “pressed.” Hughley was also unaware of the photo London took and pointed out that it was Nobu’s security who intervened and not his own.
Check out the EXCLUSIVE interview we have with Will “Spank” Horton, one of the Plastic Cup Boys (currently touring with Kevin Hart), as he talks about his career, wanting to be a leading man, and auditioning for roles.
We also discuss a project that he wants to do with a current NBA player, but he has to wait for him to retire- which is supposed to happen real soon.
“Saturday Night Live” has set the lineup of hosts for its next batch of shows, tapping Jerrod Carmichael, Jake Gyllenhaal and Lizzo. While Lizzo will be pulling double duty as her own musical guest, Gunna and Camila Cabello will perform alongside the other two hosts.
Per NBC, Carmichael will make his “SNL” hosting debut April 2nd. Carmichael’s new special, “Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel,” debuts April 1 on HBO. He will be joined at Studio 8H by Gunna, who is also marking his first time at “SNL” musical guest. The Grammy-nominated artist’s latest album, “DS4Ever,” debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard 200 chart.
The following week, April 9, Gyllenhaal will emcee “SNL” for the second time. The Academy Award-nominated actor next stars in “Ambulance,” coming to theaters the day before he hosts the show. Cabello will join him that night, making her second appearance as “SNL” musical guest. The Grammy-nominated artist’s highly anticipated new album, “Familia,” will be released April 8th.
For the April 16 show, Lizzo will be a first-time “SNL” host and second-time musical guest. The Grammy winner stars in the competition series “Watch Out for the Big Grrrls,” premiering March 25 on Prime Video.
“SNL” airs Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT on NBC. The show, which was on hiatus last week, also streams live on Peacock.
Created and executive produced by Lorne Michaels, “Saturday Night Live” is produced in association with Broadway Video. The sketch show recently featured John Mulaney, who joined the prestigious “SNL” five-timers club, “Moon Knight” star Oscar Isaac and “The Batman” star Zoe Kravitz as hosts.
In this EXCLUSIVE interview with one of the Original Kings of Comedy, we got a chance to talk to Cedric The Entertainer about his entrepreneurial bug from his new hats to his new wine, plus we talk about all of the other small businesses he has his hands in.
We also talk to Ced about several upcoming projects that have him cast in a dramatic role, and we even ask him about comedy projects that are on the horizon.
Watch the interview below;