Emmy and Tony winner Kristin Chenoweth, Jeffrey Donovan, and Lil Rel Howery have joined Stephan James and J.K. Simmons in National Champions, the STXfilms sports drama which is being directed by Ric Roman Waugh. The film also stars Uzo Aduba, Alexander Ludwig, Andrew Bachelor, David Koechner, Tim Blake Nelson, and Timothy Olyphant.
Written by Adam Mervis, based on his play, the pic explores the big business of college sports when a star quarterback (James) ignites a player’s strike 72 hours before the biggest game of the year to fight for fair compensation, equality, and respect for the athletes who put their bodies and health on the line for their schools.
Chenoweth will play Bailey Lazor, the wife of Simmons’ Coach Lazor who has the erudition and taste of an upper east sider. Donovan is Mike Titus, an executive who calls a meeting of the NCAA and conference brass when the star quarterback begins his boycott of the big game. Howery will play Coach Dunn, the team’s defensive coordinator.
“This cast of some of the most respected veteran actors and rising stars is truly remarkable,” said Adam Fogelson, chairman of the STXfilms Motion Picture Group. “We’re thrilled that everyone responded to this story the way they did and we hope National Champions will spark a dialogue about collegiate athletics.”
Basil Iwanyk and Brendon Boyea of Thunder Road and Greg Economou of game1 are producing the film, which will commence production this month in New Orleans. It’s fully financed by BondIt Media Capital and The Capstone Group.
Executive producers are Jonathan Fuhrman of Thunder Road, Matthew Helderman and Luke Taylor of Bondit Media, Christian Mercuri of The Capstone Group, Michael Smith, and Mervis.
Chenoweth, repped by ICM, 3 Arts, and Schreck Rose Dapello, most recently starred in the Netflix movie Holidate, voiced the character Daisy in HBO Max’s The Witches, and hosted the Food Network competition series Candy Land. She’ll soon be seen co-starring in the new AppleTV+ musical comedy Schmigadoon!.
Donovan, who can currently be seen in the Guy Ritchie-directed action thriller Wrath of Man, will next star opposite Letitia Wright in Surrounded as well as First Love with Diane Kruger. He is repped by ICM Partners, Anonymous Content, and Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum.
Howery, most recently seen in the Oscar-nominated film Judas and the Black Messiah as well as the hit Netflix comedy Bad Trip, next stars opposite Kevin Hart in Fatherhood and in Free Guy with Ryan Reynolds. His reps are UTA, Fourth Wall, and Cohen & Gardner.
Source: Deadline
Written by Giana Levy
Dave Chappelle performed a series of comedy shows in New York to “put the spotlight on live shows and say comedy is back.”
Flying in from Ohio, Chappelle performed for two nights at The Stand in Union Square sharing the stage with Chris Rock for half an hour on Tuesday (May 18). Michelle Wolf and Trevor Noah were a part of the comic line-up as well.
“I know Dave wanted to come back to New York and put the spotlight on live shows and say comedy is back,” venue owner Paolo Italia told several outlets. “He wanted to be part of that moment. I think what he did was great not just for our club, but for all of comedy. He truly does care.”
“We all need people to come back into the clubs and see the shows. Everyone — music, Broadway — everything,” Italia added.
An attendee told reporters that Chappelle was “hilarious,” and had a back and forth with Rudy Giuliani’s son Andrew, who was in the crowd after announcing his bid for New York Governor.
“Chapelle asked Andrew what he did and he told him ‘I’m saving New York State,’” the attendee said. It was unclear if Chappelle knew who Andrew was.
Questlove, DJ D-Nice and former Chappelle’s Show comic Donnell Rawlings were also in the crowd at the show.
Comedian, actor, and writer Paul Mooney has died from a heart attack, according to reports this morning. He died early this morning (May 19) at his Oakland home, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He was 79 years old.
Paul Mooney was born in 1941 in Shreveport, Louisiana. He relocated to Oakland with his mother when he was a child, and later began working as a circus ringmaster. After seeing Lenny Bruce perform, Mooney moved to Los Angeles and began working on his stand-up career. He met Richard Pryor in the late 1960s, with the two beginning to work together shortly thereafter. Pryor requested that NBC hire Mooney to write the episode of Saturday Night Live he hosted in 1975. Mooney ended up contributing one of the show’s most famous sketches, wherein Pryor attends a job interview conducted by Chevy Chase.
Mooney become the head writer of the short-lived NBC series The Richard Pryor Show in 1977. He also also co-wrote several of Pryor’s stand-up specials, including Is It Something I Said (1975), Bicentennial N—-r (1976), and Live on the Sunset Strip (1982).
Beyond his work with Pryor, Mooney wrote for Sanford and Son and Good Times, and served as the head writer for In Living Color’s first season. He also performed his own stand-up comedy, releasing specials like 1993’s Race and 2010’s It’s the End of the World. Mooney acted in several films, too, including 1978’s The Buddy Holly Story, 1981’s Bustin’ Loose, 1994’s In the Army Now, 2000’s Bamboozled.https://8bb604786ab7c437de92a53efa6c1247.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
Mooney never achieved the major success of his peers and attributed it to the fact that he tackled race, politics, and other hot button subjects with an unflinching eye. “Hollywood likes you a certain way when you’re Black,” he once said.
In the 1980s, Mooney worked alongside comics like Eddie Murphy, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Arsenio Hall, and filmmaker Robert Townsend in a group colloquially referred to as “The Black Pack.” Later on, when he began writing on Chappelle’s Show, Dave Chappelle gave the comedian what Vulture referred to as “a wide berth.” “You don’t fuck with Paul Mooney. You don’t fuck with his writing, his material, his sketches… and you certainly don’t tell him what to do!” Chappelle said. “Trust me, I’ve learned.”
Project Greenlight is turning on the cameras again.
The filmmaking competition/docuseries is returning as an eight-episode HBO Max series, with Insecure co-creator and star Issa Rae taking over as a mentor to aspiring auteurs. The new season, which will feature a group of female filmmakers, will be the show’s fifth; it last aired in 2015 on HBO.
Miramax Television, which has produced the series throughout its life, is also behind the new iteration. Rae’s company Hoorae also produces.
“At HBO Max, we are committed to providing a platform for diverse, up-and-coming talent. Issa is uniquely skilled in this space, and we are thrilled to be partnering with her and Miramax as a promising group of filmmakers is inspired and challenged with their biggest opportunity yet,” said Jennifer O’Connell, executive vp nonfiction and live-action family at HBO Max.
As with past seasons, the show will follow the winning filmmaker through the production process. The finished movie will debut on HBO Max.
“By relaunching the iconic Project Greenlight with the brilliant Issa Rae and HBO Max, we continue our efforts to mine the Miramax library and create exciting, groundbreaking new content as well as forge opportunities for a new generation of innovative voices to be heard,” said Marc Helwig, head of worldwide television for Miramax.
Previous seasons of Project Greenlight featured Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and their producing partners, Sean Bailey and Chris Moore, leading the aspiring filmmakers through a crash course in moviemaking. The most recent season sparked controversy over a conversation between producer Effie Brown and Damon about diversity behind the camera, where Damon was roundly criticized for “whitesplaining” the issue. The actor later apologized for his comments.
Rae and Hoorae’s Montrel McKay executive produce Project Greenlight with Jonathan Berry and Dave Becky of 3 Arts Entertainment; Hoorae’s Sara Rastogi is a co-EP. Miramax TV’s senior vp development Amanda Klein is overseeing the project.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
CHICAGO, IL. – May 18, 2021 – Chicago-based television production company Central City Productions will televise the 6th Annual Black Music Honors in national broadcast syndication starting June 5 to July 4, 2021 and on Saturday, June 19 at 1:00 p.m. EST on Bounce TV. This year’s presentation will celebrate Black Music Month and commemorate Juneteenth or Emancipation Day with a special tribute to the holiday presented by Speech of Arrested Development.
This years’ performers include Cece Winans, Montell Jordan, After 7, Syleena Johnson, Pleasure P, Stokley, Avery Sunshine, J. Moss, Q Parker, Bahamadia, Chrisette Michele, Jac Ross, Jacquees, Mumu Fresh, Kevin Ross, Theresa Tha Songbird, and Zacardi Cortez. Emmy® Award-winning talk show host, comedienne and author Loni Love will host the star-studded two-hour special which will honor artists and musicians who have influenced and made significant contributions to American music.
The honorees for this year’s Black Music Honors includes multiple Grammy® Award-nominated R&B legend Angie Stone tapped to receive the Soul Music Icon Award, Grammy® Award-nominated singer, songwriter and actor Ginuwine will receive the Urban Music Icon Award, multiple Stellar Award-winning and Grammy® Award-nominated gospel vocalist Marvin Sapp will receive the Gospel Music Icon Award, and Grammy® Award-winning jazz virtuoso, Ramsey Lewis will receive the Legends Award. The National Museum of African American Music will be honored with the Legacy Award. Founder and Executive Producer Don Jackson stated, “I am extremely excited about our 6th Annual Black Music Honors in commemoration of the Juneteenth holiday, and we’ve assembled a spectacular line-up of performers to celebrate our music icons and the spirit of the holiday. It’s especially fitting that we honor the National Museum of African American Music, now open to the public, which supports our mission of honoring legendary Black artists who have influenced the culture and music worldwide.”
In this edition of Box Seats, the sports comedy talk show, the comedians known as Talent and Fig discuss the moderator Frank Holder about the Hall of Fame Weekend, the NBA playoffs, the latest in the Deshaun Watson Case, and the hottest topics in sports!
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For too long now, a pair of loudmouth boomers have wreaked havoc on America’s live entertainment industry. Their heckling has terrorized the most resilient stars of music, theater and stand-up comedy. Not even a legend like Milton Berle could handle their jeers. Obviously, I’m talking about those bastards Statler and Waldorf. These Muppets should’ve been cancel culture’s first targets. Instead, they’ve roamed free and continued to attack innocent celebrities like the friendly cherub James Corden.
Needless to say, it was a relief to see the pair of geezers finally put in their place on last night’s episode of “Saturday Night Live.” In a hilarious sketch that was set up like a classic episode of “The Muppet Show,” host Keegan Michael Key and cast member Keenan Thompson played two venue security guards who have no patience for Statler and Waldorf’s antics. When the curmudgeons began badgering Kermit, Key and Thompson burst onto the stage and reprimanded them. “Hey, shut up!” shouted Thompson, pointing his finger directly at Statler. Then they warned a harsher punishment was to come if they didn’t STFU. “Not gonna tell you again fellas!” said Key. Well, they didn’t STFU and, as promised, they got what’s been coming to them for over half a century.
Experience the sweet act of justice in the clip below and please don’t miss the part when Keegan-Michael Key refers to Kermit first as “a little dragon” and then as “Kramer.”
Source: Esquire
At a recent upfront presentation for NBC’s Peacock Network, comedian and actor Kevin Hart announced a new talk show that will be launched titled Hart To Heart!
At the presentation, Hart announced “I’m rolling the dice. We’re going to get comfortable. We’re going to get to know each other,” Hart said. “Dammit, we’re getting heart to heart.” No word yet on the style of the show, but you can definitely expect a ton of comedy, and since Ellen is signing off, Hart can probably grab that audience.
At that same presentation it was also announced tha Hart will be launching a weekly sports comedy talk show with Snoop Dogg, where they will both be talk about sports and interviewing athletes.
No word yet on the premiere dates of either show, but we can expect it to be sometime in the fall.
At first, when we saw this we really thought it was a joke, but after digging a little bit deeper we discovered that it’s true- comedian and actor Red Grant is running for Mayor of Washington D.C.!
It came as a little bit of a surprise because Red Grant, who is from D.C., was residing in Los Angeles, and as funny as we know he is, we thought this was a skit. But after his official announcement he made this past Saturday, (and after seeing his lovely wife re-post it on social media) it’s true. Word is, Grant is moving back to D.C., and instead of talking about changes he’s actually putting his money where his mouth is, and he’s going to try his best.
Check out his post below: