Will Smith & Jada Pinkett Smith Team Up With Nigeria’s EbonyLife For Comedy Film & TV Projects
Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith’s Westbrook Studios is teaming up with EbonyLife Studios, one of Nigeria’s leading content companies, on a slate of co-produced film and television projects each connected to the African continent.
The deal is the first of its kind for Westbrook in Africa. Under the partnership, the companies will produce at least two series and one film, including the below projects:
Dada Safaris is an ‘Afropolitan’ dramedy series. It follows four best friends who, after finding themselves at personal and career dead ends, take a leap to the wild side when one of them inherits her late husband’s long-forgotten family-owned safari lodge and invites her friends to join her newfound purpose- renovating and relaunching the business.
In The Gods, a pair of married Cambridge professors set out to find answers to a surge of natural disasters, but find seven long forgotten African gods instead. Enlisting the help of two divine African children who can communicate with the immortals, the unlikely team must find the secret behind the awakening of the gods before the world as they know it is forever changed.
Are We Getting Married? is a comedy feature set in the U.S. and tells the story of the daughter of an embarrassingly wealthy Nigerian family who falls in love with a nerdy but charming African American from Atlanta and their decision to get married. While the couple hopes for an intimate ceremony, their parents have other ideas, and they are faced with the option of either standing their ground or agreeing to have the big Yoruba by way of Atlanta wedding they never wanted.
As we revealed last month, Westbrook’s recent expansion includes an international pact with Israel’s Euphoria producer Tedy Productions. EbonyLife has previously struck deals with studios including Netflix and Sony Pictures TV.
Westbrook Studios SVP, Head of International TV & Film, Eli Shibley, said: “As we set out to focus our initial slate of international content for the studio business across a diversified set of key territories and regions, the creative energy and world class artistry coming out of Africa is absolutely undeniable. We are thrilled to be working with a best-in-class producer like Mo and her EbonyLife team to tell stories that uniquely celebrate African characters and perspectives and resonate with fans of great film and television around the world.”
“We all dream of lofty goals becoming a reality, then one day those dreams come true,” added EbonyLife CEO, Mo Abudu. “I’m proud to announce that our vision of EbonyLife Studios being in partnership with Will and Jada’s Westbrook Studios is now real. Westbrook‘s goal is to create and curate powerful and inclusive content. This is completely in line with our vision at EbonyLife – to tell global African stories from our perspective. Together, we will be developing a slate of projects that reflect our shared goals. We are beyond excited!”
Westbrook’s TV projects include the recently announced Amend: The Fight for America, a six-part docu-series about the Fourteenth Amendment, and a two-season order for Bel-Air,the dramatic reboot of Will Smith’s iconic The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air from Peacock.
Source:Deadline
Zawe Ashton To Play Villain In Marvel Sequel ‘Captain Marvel 2’
As pre-production ramps up on Captain Marvel 2, Brie Larson looks to have found her next co-star she will square off against as sources tell Deadline, Velvet Buzzsaw‘s Zawe Ashton has been set as the villain in the next installment in the Marvel franchise. Nia DaCosta, who directed the anticipated reboot of Candyman, has been tapped as director on the film.
Disney and Marvel Studios had no comment.
Megan McDonnell, a story editor on the Marvel-based series WandaVision, penned the script for the Captain Marvel sequel, with Ms. Marvel star Iman Vellani and Teyonah Parris also on board to star. While the exact character is unknown sources do say Ashton will be the main villain, though as we know with all Marvel films, there is always a chance the another antagonist may remain hidden till the very end of the film.
In the first film, Larson’s Carol Danvers was a human who becomes involved in the war between two alien races, the Kree and shape-shifting Skrulls. Surviving an explosion tied to an alien engine imbued her with incredible power, turning her into Captain Marvel and making her one of the most powerful heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The film was released in March 2019 and grossed $1.13 billion worldwide. Captain Marvel 2 is set to bow on November 11, 2022.
Ashton first broke on to the scene with her role in the TV series Fresh Meat. She was recently seen on Broadway in the revival of Betrayal opposite Tom Hiddleston.
On the film side, she was most recently seen opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in Netflix’s Velvet Buzzsaw. Other credits include Nocturnal Animals and Greta. She is repped by CAA and Untitled Entertainment.
Source: Deadline
Tiffany Haddish Shopping Shakespeare’s Dark Lady Series With Akiva Goldsman
Renaissance poet Amelia Bassano is poised to get the small screen treatment.
Tiffany Haddish, Oscar winner Akiva Goldsman and Mrs. America‘s Amma Asante are developing The Bardess for television. Envisioned as a limited series, the project will center on the true story of the Black, Venetian, Jewish poet, who some believe was behind Shakespeare’s literary work. Set in 16th Century England, The Bardess is expected to explore that premise, which has been backed by a collection of scholars. (Still others balk.)
News of the project comes as the interest in Bassano’s story has increasingly become a source of scholarship and theatrical interest of late. Among the latter was an eponymous play, which was hailed as a “feminist triumph” when it premiered at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre a few years ago. For this iteration, Haddish’s She Ready Productions has optioned Shakespeare’s Secret Messiah: The Dark Lady by Joseph Atwill as source material.
Haddish is expected to star as well as produce, assuming her dizzying schedule permits. Asante will write and direct. The group will be targeting cable outlets and streamers with the pitch.
Melanie Clark will oversee the project for She Ready, with Greg Lessans doing so for Goldsman’s Weed Road Pictures Company. The Bardess joins considerable portfolios at both companies.
She Ready is behind the Tiffany Haddish Presents: They Ready series at Netflix, Tuca & Bertie at Adult Swim and Kids Say the Darndest Things at CBS. For its part, Weed Road is producing Michael B. Jordan’s upcoming film Without Remorse and the Asante-helmed Billion Dollar Spy, and in TV Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, both for CBS All Access.
Haddish repped by UTA, Brillstein Partners and Ziffren Brittenham; Goldsman is repped by CAA and Hansen Jacobson; and Asante is repped by CAA and Mosaic.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Michael Blackson To Star In New VH1 Reality Series ‘VH1 Couples Retreat’ With Stars From ‘Love & Hip Hop’ Franchise
“VH1 Couples Retreat,” a new six-episode series celebrating Black love, will premiere March 29 at 8 p.m., Variety earned.
The show will feature three couples best-known to audiences from the network’s “Love & Hip Hop” franchise (Yandy Smith-Harris and Mendeecees Harris; Rasheeda and Kirk Frost; Ray J and Princess Love), as well as activist Raymond Santana and model Deelishis, and actor Michael Blackson with his significant other Rada.
On the show, the couples will embark upon a week-long vacation and take part in honest and uncensored conversations about how the celebrity factor can challenge a relationship, the importance of communication and the pain of heartache. The show will also dive into social issues including mental health, racial injustice and prison reform, especially as Mendeecees Harris and Santana bond over shared emotional scars from their imprisonment and desire to shed prison survival skills to be strong men and good husbands and fathers.
Joining the couples for some of these discussions are life coach AJ Johnson, psychic medium Lakara Foster, relationship expert Dr. Russell Kawakami and tantra expert and sexologist Deva Ward.
“VH1 Couples Retreat” is executive produced by Sitarah Pendelton-Eaglin, Phakiso Collins, James Knox and Jubba Seyyid, Lashan Browning and Donna Edge-Rachell for VH1.
Get to know the couples better below:
Yandy Smith-Harris and Mendeecees Harris – The duo was reunited after a year of activism and an early release from prison, but now they have been getting used to each other again amid a global pandemic. In addition to adjusting to life back in each other’s physical spaces, they also have to move past hidden conflicts from their four years apart.
Deelishis and Raymond Santana – As one of the wrongly accused adolescents that make up the Exonerated Five, Santana spent his teen years locked up and emerged with PTSD. He and Deelishis fell hard and fast for each other and got married without realizing what they would be up against with that struggle — or with her own challenges in trying to be seen for more than just her looks.
Michael Blackson and Rada – Although this couple has shared parts of their relationship (the good, the bad and the messy) on social media, they have yet to take their relationship this public. The network notes that not even their own families knew about their private lives and that they feared backlash for being in an interracial relationship.
Rasheeda and Kirk Frost – The Frosts have been known as the “relationship goals” couple that others strive to imitate, but no couple is truly perfect, and their issues and unresolved tension over past betrayals will finally come to light.
Ray J and Princess Love – In the early stages of divorce, Princess wants Ray J to stop disappearing for days at a time while he wants respect and acknowledgment for his hard work.
Source- Variety
Believe It Or Not-‘Chappelle’s Show’ Returns To Netflix With Dave Chappelle’s Blessing
The comedian revealed in an Instagram post on Thursday that Comedy Central had agreed to give his license back and “paid me millions of dollars.”
Chapelle’s Show is streaming on Netflix again and this time it has Dave Chappelle’s blessing.
In an Instagram clip posted on Thursday, Chappelle revealed that the Comedy Central show he created and acrimoniously left, returned to the streaming platform on Feb. 12, just over two months after it was pulled at his request.
In the clip, which looks to be from the comedian’s recent tour of Austin, Chappelle provides background on what led to Netflix pulling Chappelle’s Show back in late November last year. Speaking about the recent insurrection in Washington D.C., Chappelle pivots to people needing to know “where their power lies.” He summarized his dispute with Comedy Central and his demands that they pay him for any deals related to Chappelle’s Show and then explained, “I know where my power lies.”
“I asked you to stop watching the show and thank God almighty for you, you did,” Chappelle said about his fans. “You made that show worthless because without your eyes it’s nothing.”
He added: “And when you stopped watching it, they called me. And I got my name back and I got my license back and I got my show back and they paid me millions of dollars. Thank you very much.”
Chappelle then thanked Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos for having “the courage to take show off its platform at a financial detriment to his company, just because I asked him to.” He also thanked Chris McCarthy of ViacomCBS for “making the past right,” by completing the deal.
He ended the clip by saying, “after all these years, I can finally say to Comedy Central, ‘it’s been a pleasure doing business with you.'”
Chappelle’s Show had been streaming on Netflix in the U.S. from Nov. 1. In an 18-minute video of his standup released on Nov. 24, the comedian talked about the terrible contract he signed at the outset of Chappelle’s Show, which ran from 2003-06 on Comedy Central. “People think I made a lot of money from Chappelle’s Show,” he said. “When I left that show I never got paid. They didn’t have to pay me because I signed the contract. But is that right? I found out that these people were streaming my work and they never had to ask me or they never have to tell me. Perfectly legal because I signed the contract. But is that right? I didn’t think so, either.”
He revealed that he had asked Netflix to pull the show, which they subsequently did.
Chappelle’s Show was a breakout for Comedy Central and the comedian. After signing a reported $50 million deal ahead of the show’s third season, Chappelle quit the series, citing the stress of producing the show and his increasing discomfort with the material in its sketches.
‘Rap Sh*t’ Comedy Series From Issa Rae Ordered By HBO MAX
Issa Rae has landed a follow-up series to Insecure. HBO Max has given an eight-episode series order to Rap Sh*t (wt), a half-hour comedy from Insecure co-creator Rae and her Hoorae Productions, writer Syreeta Singleton and City Girls hip hop duo Yung Miami and JT. The project had been in development at HBO Max since 2019.
Rap Sh*t (wt) follows two estranged high school friends from Miami who reunite to form a rap group.
Rae will write the pilot and executive produce with Montrel McKay (A Black Lady Sketch Show, Road Trippp) for Hoorae, and Singleton, who also will serve as showrunner. Jonathan Berry (Insecure) and Dave Becky (Master of None, Russian Dolls) executive produce for 3 Arts Entertainment. Yung Miami and JT serve as co-executive producers along with Kevin “Coach K” Lee and Pierre “P” Thomas for Quality Control Films and Sara Rastogi for Hoorae. Rae’s audio content company Raedio will handle music supervision for the series.
Casting is currently underway. Production is scheduled to begin this summer.
Rae serves as executive producer on HBO’s Insecure, which is heading into its fifth and final season. She previously served as executive producer on Robin Thede’s A Black Lady Sketch Show.
Source: Deadline
Mindy Kaling To Voice Scooby Doo’s Velma In ‘Clone High’ For HBO MAX
HBO Max has given a two-season order to a reboot of adult animated series “Clone High,” as well as a series order to a standalone series about “Scooby-Doo” character Velma Dinkley, who will be voiced by Mindy Kaling.
The announcements were part of a larger adult animation slate revealed by HBO Max on Wednesday. The streamer also picked up the series “Fired on Mars” starring Pete Davidson and a Season 2 and 3 renewal for JG Quintel’s “Close Enough.” Season 2 of “Close Enough” will debut on Feb. 25 HBO Max has also confirmed the development of multiple projects, which are described in full below.
The “Clone High” reboot hails from original series creators Phil Lord, Chris Miller, and Bill Lawrence. Lord and Miller will write and executive produce the new series, with Lawrence executive producing. Erica Rivinoja, a writer on the original show, will serve as executive producer and showrunner. MTV Entertainment Studios will produce. The show was originally revealed to be in the works back in July.
The new show is described as a modern refresh of the original and will once again be set set at a high school for clones of historical figures. The original aired on MTV between 2002 and 2003.
“Velma,” which will delve into the origin story of the beloved animated sleuth and member of the Mystery Inc. gang, has been given a 10-episode order. Kaling will executive produce in addition to starring. Charlie Grandy, Howard Klein, and Sam Register also serve as executive producers. Warner Bros. Animation will produce.
“Fired on Mars” hails from creators Nate Sherman and Nick Vokey. It is described as an existential workplace comedy set on the Martian campus of a modern tech company. Pete Davidson voices a character and executive produces with Carson Mell and Dave Sirus.
“It is a tremendous privilege to build on the 100 year plus legacy of ‘cartoons’ at this company,” said Suzanna Makkos, executive vice president of original comedy and adult animation for HBO Max. “We can draw a straight line from our hundreds of childhood hours spent watching Bugs outwit Elmer to the current slate of adult animated projects we are building here at HBO Max and we think fans will agree. We are proud to introduce this distinctive group of series from a wide range of diverse creators that will form a first stop destination for animation lovers everywhere.”
HBO Max’s other animated offerings include the critically-acclaimed DC Comics series “Harley Quinn,” which was renewed for a third season in September. Upcoming shows include a reboot of “The Boondocks” and others like “The Prince,” “Santa Inc,” and “10 Year Old Tom.”
Projects in development:
HELLO PAUL
From creator and musician Sean Solomon, HELLO PAUL is about a neurotic millennial cat whose intense job and freeloading mouse roommate stress him out.
OBI
OBI is about a 30-year-old man-child chasing his dream to become an artist while navigating adulthood with his friends. Produced by Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society, Michael Schreiber for Studio71, and David Devries, OBI is an adaptation of Obi Arisukwu’s popular Instagram comic strip. This project is co-created by Obi Arisukwu and Arthur Harris (“The Last OG”).
UNCANNY VALLEY
Executive producer Ed Helms with creators/executive producers Brendan Walter and Greg Yagolnitzer tell the story of three awkward domestic helper robots who kill their human owners and try to assume their identities. UNCANNY VALLEY is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, and Helms and Mike Falbo’s Pacific Electric Picture Company. Andrew Guest is also an executive producer/writer.
COVER
Brian Michael Bendis and David Mack are adapting their acclaimed DC comic book series COVER, an animated espionage thriller and a conspiratorial love letter to the comic book industry that was nominated for multiple Eisner Awards. Bendis will write the series and Mack has signed on to direct. COVER is produced by Rooster Teeth Studios.
Source: Variety
Comedy Central To Debut New Doc On Patrice O’Neal Titled ‘Patrice O’Neal: Killing Is Easy’
NEW YORK, February 9, 2021 — Comedy Central in collaboration with All Things Comedy today announced the world premiere of Patrice O’Neal: Killing Is Easy, a new documentary based on the irreverent comedian’s life that explores the hilarious and controversial material he left behind. Directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Michael Bonfiglio (Gary Gulman: The Great Depresh, Jerry Before Seinfeld), Patrice O’Neal: Killing is Easy is told through the eyes of the people who knew him best including Bill Burr, Kevin Hart and Colin Quinn who reflect on this true original, a man who never achieved the success that many believed he was due and whose untimely death at the age of 41 left many wondering what could have been.
The World Premiere of Patrice O’Neal: Killing Is Easy debuts on Friday, February 19 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on Comedy Central. The title will be available post-premiere on the CC app, On Demand and Download to Own platforms.
“There’s no way to express what comedy lost with the passing of Patrice O’Neal,” said Bill Burr. “I feel fortunate to have known him and I’m hoping this documentary will introduce his work to a new generation because he was one of the greatest comedians ever.”
“I am so proud to have completed this documentary about Patrice’s life and legacy, which will ensure his memory and comedy is kept alive, and continuously introduced to future generations,” said Von Decarlo. “It also warms my heart to see him get his well-deserved, starring role in a film.”
O’Neal was your favorite comic’s favorite comic. After starting his stand-up career in Boston, he burst onto the flourishing New York comedy scene of the late 1990s with his unflinching explorations of race, gender, and other topics that are as relevant today as they were at the time. With a style that was provocative, combative and always hilarious, O’Neal strived for something even more meaningful than laughter: the Truth. As flawed as he was brilliant, his refusal to compromise led to clashes with his peers and the industry, and he struggled for acceptance throughout his career.
Patrice O’Neal was born in New York City, and 22 years later began his comedy career in Boston, Massachusetts where he grew up since he was one year old. After conquering the Boston comedy circuit in just under six years, O’Neal took his comedic gifts to New York City. Once there, Hollywood soon called. O’Neal had a string of TV guest star appearances on MTV’s Apt 2F, Assy McGee, Ed, Z Rock, Yes Dear, Arrested Development, Chappelle’s Show and The Office. O’Neal was a regular on the FOX series The Jury, and he starred in the Comedy Central animated series Shorties Watching Shorties, along with Nick DiPaolo. He supplied the voice of Harold Jenkins on Noggin’s animated show O’Grady High and was featured as Jesus in Denis Leary’s Contest Searchlight.
O’Neal made his Def Comedy Jam debut in 2007 but had three prior half hour comedy specials with Showtime, Comedy Central, and HBO. He made several appearances on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Late Show with David Letterman and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. But of all the many television appearances, his self-proclaimed favorite was Comedy Central’s Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn. O’Neal’s movie appearances include Head of State, In the Cut, 25th Hour, and Furry Vengeance. In 2011, O’Neal released his first one-hour stand-up special Elephant in the Room on Comedy Central.
Patrice O’Neal: Killing Is Easy is executive produced by Bill Burr, Al Madrigal and Michael Bertolina of All Things Comedy, Von Decarlo, and Michael Bonfiglio who also serves as director (May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers, Doc & Darryl, You Don’t KnowBo). Ryan Moran and Gabriella Yacyk are the Executives in Charge of Production for Comedy Central.
Gladys & Dude Productions represents the name and likeness of Patrice O’Neal, owned and operated by comedian Von Decarlo, and Patrice’s mother Georgia O’Neal.
Pedro Pascal Joins Keegan-Michael In New Judd Apatow Pandemic-Inspired Comedy Titled ‘The Bubble’
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm breakout Maria Bakalova, Guardian of the Galaxy‘s Karen Gillan, and The Mandalorian headliner Pedro Pascal are among the bold-faced names that are starring in Judd Apatow’s latest comedy, The Bubble.
Also in Bubble are Iris Apatow, Fred Armisen, David Duchovny, Keegan-Michael Key, Leslie Mann, and Peter Serafinowicz.
The feature project, which gets underway next week, is a meta-comedy will be about a group of actors and actresses stuck inside a pandemic bubble at a hotel attempting to complete a studio franchise film.
Sources tell THR the project takes inspiration from the real-life making of Jurassic World: Dominion, the sixth installment in the Jurassic franchise which saw its cast stuck in the United Kingdom for months during the pandemic lockdown, with production stopping and restarting several times due to positive COVID-19 tests.
While much of the details are being kept in the hotel safe but it is known that Gillan and Pascal will play the made-up franchise’s stars while Mann and Duchovny will play a once married acting duo now forced to quarantine under one roof.
Netflix insiders, however, say the movie has no connection to Dominion.
Apatow is directing from a script he co-wrote with Pam Brady (Hamlet 2). The filmmaker is producing via his Apatow Productions banner, with longtime collaborator Barry Mendel, who most recently worked with Apatow on The King of Staten Island, set to executive produce. The project marks Apatow’s first undertaking away from his longtime home of Universal in over 15 years.
Bakalova is repped by CAA, Insight Management & Production, JupiterLights Pictures while Gillan is repped by UTA and Jackoway Austen.
Pascal is repped by WME, Anonymous Content, and Jackoway Austen while Duchovny is represented by WME, Mosaic, and Nelson Davis.
Keegan is repped by UTA and Brecheen Feldman while Armisen is repped by WME, Brillstein Entertainment Partners, and Morris Yorn.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
‘The Best Man’ Film Franchise To Become A TV Series For Peacock With The Entire Cast
The cast of the films and writer-director Malcolm D. Lee will reunite for the project.
The cast and director of the Best Man movies is reuniting at Peacock.
The NBCUniversal streaming platform has ordered a 10-episode limited series titled The Best Man: Final Chapters that will continue the story from The Best Man and The Best Man Holiday. The principal cast of the two films — Morris Chestnut, Melissa De Sousa, Taye Diggs, Regina Hall, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Nia Long and Harold Perrineau — are all set to reprise their roles. (Monica Calhoun also starred in the two films, but her character died in The Best Man Holiday.)
The movies’ writer-director, Malcolm D. Lee, is also on board and will write and executive produce the series with Dayna Lynne North (Insecure).
“We’re excited to reunite this beloved cast for a limited series run of The Best Man for Peacock,” said Susan Rovner, chairman of entertainment content at NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “With a powerhouse duo like Malcolm and Dayna at the helm, fans will fall in love with our favorite group of friends all over again.”
Said Lee, “Here we go! The band is back together! I am very excited to bring these iconic characters back to the fans who have supported us through this franchise. We are thrilled to deliver everything one would expect from this group of friends in The Best Man universe and take them through their final chapters. We can’t wait! I told you it wouldn’t be 14 more years.”
The series will catch up with the eight main characters as their relationships evolve and past grievances resurface in the unpredictable stages of midlife crisis meets midlife renaissance.
The eight stars all signed sizable deals for the limited series. The series also signals Peacock leaning into existing NBCUniversal IP for its originals — a playbook also followed by streamers like Disney+, HBO Max and the soon to launch Paramount+.
Lee has turned out a string of successful movies for Universal Pictures, including Girls Trip and Night School. He signed a first-look deal with Universal Television in 2018.
“When Malcolm joined the UTV family, our first conversation was about our collective desire to bring his groundbreaking Universal feature franchise to television,” said Universal TV president Erin Underhill. “Three years and one pandemic later, we’re on the brink of doing just that. I’m thrilled for us all to see this goal come to fruition.”
In addition to Insecure, North’s writing credits include Veronica Mars, VH1’s Single Ladies and Freeform’s Switched at Birth. She’s also a longtime fan of the two movies: “The Best Man films were a cultural touchstone during my college days — and they’ve remained influential pop culture references to this day,” she said. “I’ve grown up laughing with these characters, copying their dance moves, and grieving at their losses. I am overjoyedto be partnering with Malcolm D. Lee and this amazing cast to adapt this iconic franchise at Peacock.”
Lee, North and Sean Daniel will executive produce the limited series. Sheila Walcott will oversee for Lee’s Blackmaled Productions.
Lee is repped by A3 Artists Agency and Del Shaw. North is repped by CAA and Narrative.
