WATCH: Eddie Murphy Reveals He’s Ready To Return To Stand-Up Comedy ‘Again’ In New Interview
Eddie Murphy is going back to his comedy roots. He reveals that he wants to return to stand-up comedy once the pandemic is over in this preview of his interview on ‘Tamron Hall.’
Eddie Murphy, 59, is one of the great stand-up comedians of our time, and he wants to get back to it. The legendary actor sits down with Tamron Hall, along with his daughter Bella Murphy, 19, on March 11 to discuss what’s next for him. Tamron asks Eddie about the status of his return to stand-up comedy in this EXCLUSIVE preview of the interview.
“As soon as the world gets back to normal and people can be around people and can do shows and stuff again, I want to get back out and do that again,” Eddie says in our EXCLUSIVE video. “I was trying to take it all full circle.”
Eddie Murphy with his daughter, Bella, on ‘Tamron Hall.’ (Tamron Hall)
Like with everyone, the pandemic put a pin in Eddie’s stand-up plans and changed everything. “I was having so much fun just being on the couch doing nothing. I was like, you know what? I can’t sit up on this couch forever. I have to get up off this couch. I didn’t want to leave it,” he admits. He notes that he wanted to get up and do “something funny.” He adds, “In case I sit on this couch forever, I left it on a high note, so we’ll do some full circle stuff.”
Eddie’s plan to return to stand-up comedy was revealed back in 2019. He opened up to The New York Times about wanting to get back to that aspect of his career, and his movie Dolemite is My Name paved the way for that. “I didn’t want to just pop back up,” he said. “I wanted a funny movie to remind them that they liked me. This movie turned out so strong that I figured this is a great way to come back.”
A Netflix comedy special was planned for 2020, but the pandemic put that on hold. In Sept. 2020 after his Emmy win, Eddie revealed that his stand-up comedy return was still very much in the works. His past stand-up comedy specials, Delirious and Raw, are available on Netflix. His stand-up and sketch comedy talents made him a household name and built the foundation for his long and successful career. His next film is the highly-anticipated Coming 2 America, which will debut March 5 on Amazon Prime Video. Eddie’s Tamron Hall interview will air on March 11. Check your local listings for airtimes.
Source: Hollywoodlife.com
Kevin Hart Joins John Hamburg For New Netflix Comedy Film Titled ‘Me Time’
Hamburg, who wrote the Meet the Parents movies in the 2000s, wrote the script and will direct.
Kevin Hart has reteamed up with John Hamburg, who wrote the comedian’s hit, Night School, for Me Time, a comedy set up at Netflix.
Hamburg, perhaps best known for writing the Meet the Parents comedies and directing Along Came Polly in the early 2000s, wrote the script and is directing and producing.
Hart is also producing with Bryan Smiley and the duo’s HartBeat Productions. Lauren Hennessey will also exec produce.
The script centers on a stay-at-home dad who finds himself with some “me time” for the first time in years while his wife and kids are away. He reconnects with his former best friend for a wild weekend that nearly upends his life.
The project falls under Hart’s recent deal with Netflix which calls for the actor to star and produce at least four features while also establishing a first-look deal. The goal is to shoot the project later this year.
Joe Gatta will also executive produce.
Hamburg’s Meet the Parents movies were early 2000s comedy mainstays that starred Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro, among others. The Universal movies grossed over $1.1 billion worldwide. Hamburg also wrote and direct Along Came Polly, another Stiller hit that also starred Jennifer Aniston, and I Love You Man, which starred Paul Rudd and Jason Segel. Night School, which he wrote and saw Hart star opposite Tiffany Haddish, was a $100 million hit when it was released in 2018.
Hart is prepping to shoot Lionsgate’s high-profile video game adaptation Borderlands and recently wrapped Sony’s action-comedy Man from Toronto opposite Woody Harrelson.
Hamburg is repped by WME, manager Mikkel Bondesen, and Sloss Eckhouse while Hart by UTA, 3 Arts Entertainment, and Schrek Rose.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Ta-Nehisi Coates To Write New Superman Movie Reboot
J.J. Abrams is producing the feature.
Acclaimed essayist and novelist Ta-Nehisi Coates has been hired to pen the script for a feature reboot of Superman that will be produced by J.J. Abrams.
“To be invited into the DC Extended Universe by Warner Bros., DC Films and Bad Robot is an honor,” said Coates in a statement to website Shadow and Act, a website dedicated to the African diaspora in the arts. “I look forward to meaningfully adding to the legacy of America’s most iconic mythic hero.”
“There is a new, powerful and moving Superman story yet to be told. We couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with the brilliant Mr. Coates to help bring that story to the big screen, and we’re beyond thankful to the team at Warner Bros. for the opportunity,” said J.J. Abrams in the statement to S&A.
Coates is a superstar author whose books include We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy, The Beautiful Struggle and Between the World and Me, the latter of was adapted by HBO. In the comic book space he has worked on Captain America and Black Panther, with Disney’s Bob Iger crediting his influential run helping him decide to greenlight the groundbreaking movie starring Chadwick Boseman.
More to come.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Shadow & Act
Winston Duke To Play Activist Marcus Garvey In Amazon Studios’ New Film ‘Marked Man’
Amazon Studios has set Winston Duke (Black Panther) to will star as Marcus Garvey in Marked Man. Garvey was a political activist who was a key figure of Black nationalism in the 20th Century. Andrew Dosunmu will direct the drama and Jesse Williams (Little Fires Everywhere) and DeWanda Wise (She’s Gotta Have It) are in talks to star.
The film is partly inspired by the Colin Grant biography, Negro with a Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey. Script is by acclaimed playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah, which Esther Douglas developed with the support of the BFI Film Fund.
Mark Gordon (Ray Donovan) of Mark Gordon Pictures is producing with Jackson Pictures’ Matt Jackson (The Trial of the Chicago 7), Glendon Palmer and Douglas. Robert Teitel, Kwei-Armah and Jackson Pictures’ Joanne Lee will be executive producers, along with Kwei-Armah.
Set in the 1920s, Marked Man follows a young black man who joins J. Edgar Hoover’s Bureau of Investigation, and then infiltrates Marcus Garvey’s UNIA organization, testing his loyalty to both race and country as he grows weary of both men’s actions.
After directing videos for the likes of Isaac Hayes, Common, Tracy Chapman and Wyclef Jean, Dosunmu made his feature directing debut with Restless City, and most recently helmed the Michelle Pfeiffer-Kiefer Sutherland-starrer Where Is Kyra? He next directs for Netflix and producer Lena Waithe Original Film Beauty.
Among Kwei-Armah’s works as a playwright are Elmina’s Kitchen and Let There Be Love, A Bitter Herb, Statement of Regret, Marley and Seize the Day. He most recently wrote the script for Spike Lee’s upcoming musical film on the breakthrough of Pfizer’s little blue pill, Viagra.
All of the talent and filmakers are repped by CAA. Dosunmu is also repped by Andre Des Rochers; Williams by Management 360, and Des Rochers; Wise by ColorCreative and attorney Nina Shaw; Kwei-Amah by Redfine Entertainment, United Agents, and attorney Linda Lichter; and Jackson Pictures by attorney Neil Sacker.
Source: Deadline
Common To Produce Biopic Film Of Activist Fannie Lou Hamer
‘God’s Long Summer’ is written by Peter J. Meli.
Civil and voting rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer will be getting the biopic treatment.
Common is set to produce a feature about the life of Hamer, titled God’s Long Summer, which will follow Hamer’s rise from oppressive plantation sharecropping system in 1962 Mississippi where at 44 years of age, according to the project’s synopsis “she fought against the Southern political establishment, systemic racism and misogyny by exercising her right to vote and fighting for the rights of others. Labeled as plain spoken and unfit to lead the movement, Hamer captivated the nation with her powerful voice, sheer will, and faith in her fight against leaders at the highest levels of state and federal government and within the Civil Rights Movement itself to help secure passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.”
Peter J. Meli wrote the screenplay, based on Hamer’s 1967 autobiography To Praise Our Bridges and the book God’s Long Summer by Charles Marsh, which chronicles of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s through the struggles and triumphs of key actors, including Hamer.
Waxylu Films is behind the project, along with Dream Management and Entertainment and Triump Inc., which hold the rights to Hamer’s life story. Along with Common, whose past producing credits include Selma and The Chi, Jennifer Madeloff and Jeff Waxman will produce God’s Long Summer for Waxylu Films, along with Jay Speights, D. Min of Triumph Inc., and Jackie Bazan of Bazan Entertainment.
“Fannie Lou Hamer is a revolutionary figure we should all know,” says Common. “Her story and impact is evidence that Black History IS American History. We have all benefited from her work and dedication. I feel blessed to be working with this incredible group of producers to bring this story to the screen.”
Charles McLaurin, field secretary for the Hamer-organized Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee’s first voter organizing efforts in the Mississippi Delta and close friend of Hamer, along with Hamer’s cousin Minister Vester Townsend Lobbins will serve as story consultants.
“It’s impossible to talk about voting rights in America and not include Mrs. Hamer. Her story will serve as a reminder of our long history of struggle to secure voter rights for all citizens in this country, and, add her powerful voice to the current struggle to pass new voting rights legislation,” offers McLaurin. Lobbins adds,“I hope this movie will introduce Fannie Lou to a new generation of activists and freedom fighters and inspire them to ‘keep on fighting til ‘America gets it right’, as she used to say,” says Minister Vester Townsend Lobbins.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
New ‘Am I There Yet?’ Comedy Series In Works At Amazon
Amazon Studios is developing Am I There Yet? a comedy series based on Mari Andrew’s bestselling semi-autobiographical book, from writer Camilla Blackett (Skins) and Rachel Brosnahan’s Scrap Paper Pictures.
Written by Blackett, Am I There Yet? is a soulful, honest and optimistic guide to growing up, capturing all the feelings and comical complexities of budding adulthood in your 20s.
Blackett executive produces with Alexandra Zimbler Smith and Brosnahan and Paige Simpson for Scrap Paper Pictures. Andrew will co-executive produce. The project stems from Brosnahan’s first-look deal with Amazon Studios for her Scrap Paper Pictures.
UK native Blackett began her career as a writer on the first two seasons of the hit British series Skins. After relocating to Los Angeles, Blackett joined the writing staff of Season 2 of Aaron Sorkin’s HBO series Newsroom. She went on to staff Fox comedy New Girl, followed by three seasons on staff of the ABC comedy Fresh Off The Boat. Blackett also is developing Vineyard at Amazon, with Springhill and Warner Bros. TV. She recently sold and is set to star in Max at HBO Max for Industrial Media with Radical Act producing. On the feature side, Blackett is writing and will executive produce her original project Queen for Universal and star Marsai Martin. She’s repped by Black Box Management and Morris Yorn.
Under the company’s first-look deal with Amazon Studios, Scrap Paper Pictures, which Brosnahan founded with Rachel Brosnahan alongside Head of Development Paige Simpson, executive produced the all-female comedy special Yearly Departed, which was released in December. The special was recently nominated for WGA and Art Directors Guild awards. Brosnahan also produced the feature film, I’m Your Woman, in which she also starred. Next up, Brosnahan is set to executive produce and star in The Switch, based on the novel of the same name, with Amblin Partners. Brosnahan and Scrap Paper Pictures are repped by CAA, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Schreck Rose Dapello.
Source: Deadline
Lucas Brothers To Write And Star In Semi-Autobiographical Comedy For Universal
Keith and Kenny Lucas are also attached to star in a ‘Revenge of the Nerds’ reboot.
Keith and Kenny Lucas are set to write and star in a semi-autobiographical comedy that has Judd Apatow attached to produce.
The project will focus on the Lucas brothers’ lives as identical twins in Newark, New Jersey. The brothers will write the screenplay with Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel.
Apatow, who most recently produced and directed Pete Davidson’s semi-autobiographical comedy feature The King of Staten Island, will produce via his Apatow Productions banner, with Universal set to distribute.
The brothers, repped by UTA, Fourth Wall Management and Hansen Jacobson, are also behind a reboot of Revenge of the Nerds from Seth MacFarlane, which will see them write and also star.
Past credits include Netflix stand-up special On Drugs and 22 Jump Street, as well as a story credit on Judas and the Black Messiah, which earned them a WGA nomination.
Apatow is gearing up to shoot pandemic-inspired comedy The Bubble for Netflix.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
America Ferrera To Direct Netflix’s ‘I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter’ In Directorial Debut
America Ferrera is making her feature film directorial debut with “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.” The film, adapted from Erika L. Sánchez’s novel, will debut on Netflix.
The YA story is about losing a sister and finding yourself amid the pressures, expectations and stereotypes of growing up in a Mexican American home. It follows Julia Reyes, a strong-willed teenager to first-generation Mexican immigrants. She often argues with her parents, who wish Julia were more like her sister Olga. However, when Olga unexpectedly dies in an accident, Julia tries to hold her family together.
The script will be written by Linda Yvette Chávez.
“Years ago, I fell in love with Erika L. Sánchez’ stunning novel, ‘I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter,’” Ferrera said. “The depth, wit and searing intelligence of her writing, and her young Latina heroine, struck me to my core and left me wanting so much more. I am truly honored and humbled to direct Linda Yvette Chávez’s beautifully adapted screenplay. The opportunity to direct the work of these two incredibly talented Latina writers is a dream come true. I can’t wait to share this film with the many fans of the novel, and to introduce this funny, profound, and resonant story to the world.”
Anonymous Content optioned the rights to the book under the company’s first-look deal with Aevitas Creative Management. Anonymous Content and Macro are producing “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.”
Anonymous Content’s Doreen Wilcox Little, Macro’s Charles D. King and Poppy Hanks are producing the movie with Aevitas Creative Management’s David Kuhn. Aevitas’s Michelle Brower and Macro’s Greta Fuentes are executive producing. Sánchez will serve as co-producer.
Ferrera has previously directed episodes of “Superstore,” the NBC workplace comedy that she also produced and starred in. Her other notable credits include “Ugly Betty,” “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” and “Real Women Have Curves.”
Source: Variety
Daniel Sunjata Joins Starz Series ‘Power Book II: Ghost’ For Season 2
Daniel Sunjata is set as a new series regular opposite Mary J. Blige and Michael Rainey Jr. in Season 2 of Starz’s Power Book II: Ghost, the first spinoff series in the expanded Power Universe franchise. Courtney A. Kemp and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson executive produce alongside Mark Canton. Kemp also serves as series creator and showrunner. Season 2 began filming this month in New York. Lionsgate TV is the studio.
The first season of Power Book II: Ghost picked up shortly after the earth-shattering events of Power as Tariq St. Patrick (Rainey Jr.) grapples with a new world order: his father dead and his mother, Tasha, facing charges for the murder her son committed. With no better options, Tariq turns to the familiar drug game, entangling himself with a cutthroat family headed by Monet Stewart Tejada (Blige), that’s been at it far longer than him.
Sunjata will play Mecca. The Big Bad. He is calculated, manipulative, and dangerous. Mecca conveniently reemerges in New York at the exact moment the Tejadas need to fill the void of a new product supplier. But when his mysterious past starts to become exposed, it reveals the drug business might not be his only end game with this family.
Power Book II: Ghost hails from Kemp’s End of Episode, Jackson’s G-Unit Film and Television, and Mark Canton’s Atmosphere Entertainment MM. Kemp, Jackson and Canton executive produce with End of Episode’s Chris Selak and Danielle De Jesus, Shana Stein, and Bart Wenrich.
Former Rescue Me, Graceland and Notorious star Sunjata recently co-starred in Quibi’s #FreeWayShawn and had a major recurring role on NBC’s Manifest. He is repped by Gersh, Authentic Talent and Literary Management and Schreck Rose Dapello.
Source: Deadline
TV One Set To Launch New Season Of ‘Uncensored’
TV One announced the spring lineup of its original, critically-acclaimed autobiographical series UNCENSORED, with all-new episodes premiering on Sunday, March 21 at 10 p.m. ET/9C.
UNCENSORED, explores the lives of your favorite personalities as they provide first-hand accounts of their success, and obstacles they’ve faced throughout their careers. This season profiles Teddy Riley, Marsha Ambrosius, Donnie McClurkin, Kem, Remy Ma, Mona Scott Young, Lisa Leslie, and Jaleel White.
Airdates of TV One’s upcoming new episodes of UNCENSORED are detailed below:
Teddy Riley premieres Sunday, March 21 at 10pm ET/9c
Mona Scott-Young premieres Sunday, March 28 at 10pm ET/9c
Donnie McClurkin premieres Sunday, April 4 at 10pm ET/9c
Kem premieres Sunday, April 11 at 10pm ET/9c
Remy Ma premieres Sunday, April 18 at 10pm ET/9c
Marsha Ambrosius premieres Sunday, April 25 at 10pm ET/9c
Lisa Leslie premieres Sunday, May 2 at 10pm ET/9c
Jaleel White premieres Sunday, May 9 at 10pm ET/9c
For more information on UNCENSORED, visit TV One’s Youtube Channel and check out exclusive, behind-the-scenes content on www.tvone.tv. Viewers can also join the conversation by connecting via social media on TV One’s Twitter,Instagram and Facebook (@tvonetv) Be sure to follow UNCENSORED on Facebook and Instagram (@Uncensored TVOne) using the hashtag #UncensoredTVOne.
UNCENSORED is produced for TV One by Eric Tomosunas, Keith Neal, James Seppelfrick and Paul Hall (Executive Producers), Jay Allen (Co-Executive Producer), and Nikki Byles (Producer) of Swirl Films. For TV One, Jason Ryan is Executive in Charge of Production; Donyell Kennedy-McCullough is Senior Director of Talent & Casting; and Robyn Greene Arrington is Vice President of Original Programming and Production.
