Kenya Barris To Serve As Ambassador For New ABFF Comedy Festival
ABFF Ventures LLC has launched ABFF Comedy Festival, a spin-off of its long-running American Black Film Festival that is dedicated to supporting emerging Black and Brown comedians and comedy writers. Prolific producer Kenya Barris (Black-ish, Grown-ish, Black AF) will serve as the Ambassador for the inaugural comedy fest, which will be a virtual, five-day event that will stream live and pre-recorded content on ABFF Play streaming service from June 2-6.
The fete is an extension of the ABFF comedy sidebar which has given visibility to the biggest names in comedy including Kevin Hart, Cedric The Entertainer, Mike Epps, Rickey Smiley, Craig Robinson, and JB Smoove. The mission is to be a global stage for the multicultural comedy community and to help propel new generations of diverse artists to stardom by introducing them to the industry-at-large.
The festival will feature four competitions: Stand-Up Performance, Comedy Web Series, Comedy Shorts, and Comedy Podcasts. Submissions for the four categories are now open and are due no later than March 8. Participants must be over the age of 21, and of African descent, or who identify as Latinx, or Native American, who reside, and are eligible to work, in the U.S.
The event also includes live stand-up comedy performances, panels, master classes, digital screenings of studio and network films and television content in the comedy genre as well as Black Comedy Live, a global pay-per-view special featuring top headline comics.
“I’m thrilled to be partnering with American Black Film Festival on their very first ABFF Comedy Festival,” said Barris. “Jeff and Nicole Friday have built a long legacy of identifying new Black talent over the past 25 years, and as someone who shares their passion for championing and amplifying Black and Brown voices, I am excited to see them expand the ABFF imprint in this way. To be a part of something that will provide greater exposure, access, and opportunities to these comedians and comedy writers while also giving our community a reason to laugh together….this was a no-brainer and I’m honored to lend my support.”
“We are proud to expand our legacy of supporting Black talent in the early stages of their careers with the launch of the ABFF Comedy Festival. I’m very appreciative and excited to have Kenya Barris serve as our inaugural Ambassador. He is one of my favorite writers and sits amongst the most prolific content creators in the comedy arena,” said Jeff Friday, ABFF Ventures CEO.
Source: Deadline
Nick Cannon Daytime Talk Show Gets Official Revival
Nick Cannon is getting a second chance to launch a syndicated daytime talk show.
Debmar-Mercury and Fox Television Stations have committed to a fall launch of the daytime strip fronted by “The Masked Singer” host, an ambitious production that was originally set to premiere last September. But in July Debmar-Mercury postponed the rollout of “Nick Cannon” after comments he made on a podcast about the ancient history of Black people and Jews surfaced and were widely condemned as anti-Semitic.
“It’s been a longtime dream of mine to host my own daytime talk show and that I’m able to do this in New York City, bringing daytime television back to the place that has fostered generations of talent, is very special to me,” Cannon said in a statement. “With this show, we’ll be uniting all aspects of entertainment in a unique way in the very place where a lot of what we know today as our culture started. I couldn’t ask for better partners than Debmar-Mercury and Fox and thank them for supporting me in this endeavor.”
As the controversy raged last year, Cannon apologized and vowed to become better informed on history and why his comments were offensive. The outrage spurred also cost Cannon his deal with MTV to produce and host sketch comedy series “Wild ‘N Out,” his morning radio perch on Los Angeles’ Power 106 and his syndicated radio show.
Cannon spent time last year meeting with prominent rabbis and other Jewish leaders as part of his rehabilitation tour. In September, Cannon resumed his syndicated radio program with Skyview Networks and Meruelo Media, owner of Power 106. With the daytime talk show back on track, Cannon is also expected to soon return to Power 106 and to reach an accord ViacomCBS owner MTV to return to “Wild ‘N Out.”
Ira Bernstein and Mort Marcus, co-presidents of Lionsgate’s Debmar-Mercury, said last year that if Cannon proved to be genuinely contrite and did the work to understand the impact of his words, they would revive what had been an eagerly anticipated entry into the daytime yack pack. Originating from a studio in Harlem, “Nick Cannon” promises to serve up a blend of celebrity interviews, comedy sketches, performances and pop culture dish.
“We, along with our many other strong broadcast partners, are excited to be able to bring Nick’s unique, light-hearted and entertaining style to the daytime audience starting this fall,” Bernstein and Marcus said in a statement.
Cannon’s long history in TV and high-profile gig as host of primetime’s top-rated unscripted series, “The Masked Singer,” made Fox Television Stations eager to grab his daytime talk show when it was first shopped to buyers in 2019. With Fox O&Os on board, it’s likely that “Nick Cannon” will have no trouble re-engaging with other station groups that had been on board for “Nick Cannon” before it was shelved last summer.
Source: Variety
SiriusXM And Kevin Hart’s Laugh Out Loud Launches Three New Programs
SIRIUSXM and KEVIN HART’s LAUGH OUT LOUD launched three new programs including INSIDE JOKE WITH KEVIN HART. The original podcast will feature HART in conversation with comics including JERRY SEINFELD, STEVE HARVEY, BILL BURR, CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER, DESUS & MERO, ZAINAB JOHNSON, HASAN MINHAJ, and more.
LAUGH OUT LOUD RADIO also launches new shows THE LADIES ROOM WITH JAZZY and DATE NIGHT WITH CHRIS AND VANESSA.
HART commented, “I’m sitting down with some of the best voices in comedy to give my listeners the stories behind the jokes they hear on stage. Comedians have been through it all, and I’m excited that I’ll be digging deep into the lives of my peers for my first podcast. I also think our fans will love the slate of new LOL programming on SIRIUSXM and can’t wait to introduce audiences to the dynamic talents of JAZZY, CHRIS, and VANESSA.”
SIRIUSXM Pres. and Chief Content Officer SCOTT GREENSTEIN added, “The only thing funnier than KEVIN HART is KEVIN HART in conversation with another comedian. I’m excited to present our INSIDE JOKES podcast to listeners across the globe, in addition to the new shows on SIRIUSXM, as we continue to collaborate with LAUGH OUT LOUD to shape KEVIN’s channel into the pinnacle of diverse comedy programming in audio entertainment.”
Faizon Love Settles With Universal Over ‘Couples Retreat’
The potentially high stakes battle over the Couples Retreat poster and more is in retreat.
“Universal Pictures and Faizon Love reached an amicable agreement,” attorneys for the actor/plaintiff told Deadline today. The resolution comes two months after Love sued Universal over the erasure of the actor from international promotion for the 2009 comedy – a deletion that Love’s lawyers termed an “act of racism,” at the time.
While not details of how things were resolved between the Comast-owned studio and Faizon were revealed, we do know that a request for dismissal in the tense case was filed on January 21 in LA Superior Court. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, paperwork has often been slow to appear on LASC dockets in recent months, however multiple sources confirm the filing took place.
The move comes rather suddenly as Love’s Browne George Ross O’Brien Annaguely & Ellis LLP lawyers were attempting to get Universal execs in faster than usual for interviews and depositions. On the flip side, defendants Universal were angling to have the whole matter, including claims that Love was promised future roles, hidden in arbitration.
Now, such moves seem old news.
Faizon Love sued Universal Pictures today, accusing it of violating California’s fair employment and civil rights laws with the international poster for its 2009 comedy movie Couples Retreat, calling it an “act of racism.” It also claims the studio reneged on a promise to get Love future roles when they originally sought to placate him over the controversy.
Love co-starred in the movie with Vince Vaughn, Kristen Bell, Jason Bateman, Malin Ackerman, Jon Favreau, Kristen Davis and Kali Hawk as a quartet of couples who travel to a tropical island where marriage therapy classes are a requirement.
The film’s international poster, left, and the U.S. posterUniversal
Filed on Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, the 45-page suit (read it here) from Love and his loan-out company The Burning House recounted that Universal’s marketing for the film in domestic markets during its original featured all four couples in the key art. Faizon and Hawk, the only Black couple in the ensemble, were excised from the international English-language poster, both in the photo and in the cast listing.
The discrepancy was noted in the UK during the film’s original 2009 release, with a Universal spokesperson at the time saying the cut was “‘to simplify the poster to actors who are most recognisable in international markets.” Universal eventually removed the international poster from use overseas, though part of Faizon’s suit today says it remains in circulation as part of the film’s promotion.
“Rather than enjoy maximum visibility with the film’s release, Mr. Love was demoted to the proverbial ‘Invisible Man,’ as penned by Ralph Ellison,” reads the lawsuit. “Although Couples Retreat achieved a first-place box office opening weekend ranking, and went on a spectacular run that grossed more than $171 million worldwide, Universal Studios placed Mr. Love in the back seat of the ride enjoyed by his six White costars. Mr. Love and his Black costar, Kali Hawk, were expunged completely from the film’s principal international advertisement, while the other ‘couples’ basked in the publicity and acclaim of an international box office hit.”
Universal declined comment on the lawsuit.
The suit also includes claims of fraud, breach of contract and false promise against defendants Universal City Studios LLC, Eden Resort Inc. and Relativity Media LLC, with Faizon and his lawyers saying that he reached out to the studio at the time and “[r]ather than react with adversity … endeavored to engage constructively.”
“Universal Studios (on behalf of Defendants), in turn, attempting to assuage Mr. Love and prevent his filing suit, promised both (i) the immediate cessation of the racist international poster, and (ii) prompt recompense to Mr. Love in the form of lucrative, career-making film roles,” the suit adds.
“Universal Studios lied. Not only did it flout its promise of career assistance to Mr. Love, Universal Studios continues to this day to use the offending poster—not merely internationally but now also domestically. What Universal Studios had initially portrayed to Mr. Love as an unintentional act of oversight and carelessness was, we now know, an intentional act of disparate and discriminatory treatment by Universal Studios and the remaining Defendants.”
“As far as Universal was concerned, its contract meant nothing, its promises to correct its egregious behavior meant nothing, and its pledges to Faizon Love meant nothing,” Love’s lead attorney Eric George of BGR said today. “Yet this is not merely a breach of contract and good faith: It is nothing less than a deliberate act of racism on the part of Universal Studios at the highest levels.”
Source: Deadline
Rickey Smiley To Host 22nd Annual Super Bowl Gospel Celebration On BET
(NEW YORK, NY) — January 25, 2021 – For the eighth consecutive year, the 22nd AnnualSuper Bowl Gospel Celebration will air on BET during Super Bowl LV week on Saturday, February 6th at 8/7c.
The theme “Nothing Can Stop Us” is the inspirational message for this highly anticipated night of praise and worship during Super Bowl LV. This year’s event will be hosted by national radio and TV personality Rickey Smiley and feature performances by TheNFL Players Choir, Erica Campbell, Voices of Fire presented by Pharrell Williams, PJ Morton, Kierra Sheard, Koryn Hawthorne, Zacardi Cortez, and an exclusive performance by gospel music pioneer and living legend John P. Kee. Additionally, the show will feature appearances from NFL Players Desean Jackson-Philadelphia Eagles WRand Dak Prescott – Dallas Cowboys QB.
The Super Bowl Gospel Celebration will present Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson with this year’s “Faith In Action Award.” The son of a courageous cancer survivor, Watson is one of the NFL’s youngest philanthropists and is committed to causes that support families and youth in underserved communities.
In collaboration with the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration, the American Cancer Society will highlight the need to eliminate barriers to prevention and treatment in the black community during the broadcast. African Americans have the lowest survival rate for most cancers, and the pandemic has caused a devastating drop in cancer screenings. Viewers will be encouraged to donate during the show on BET by texting HOPE to 20222 to donate $10 to the American Cancer Society.
Originating at Super Bowl XXXIII in 1999, the annual event joins key NFL Players, top Gospel/Contemporary Christian, and mainstream GRAMMY® Award-winning artists, and special guests all on one stage to bring audiences an evening of uplifting music and inspirational messages.
Super Bowl Gospel Celebration (SBGC) is the largest multicultural event during the Super Bowl weekend. In its 22-year run as an NFL-sanctioned event, SBGC has featured artists including Patti LaBelle, Yolanda Adams, Gladys Knight, Natalie Grant, Mary Mary, Fantasia, Donnie McClurkin, Anthony Hamilton, among many others.
Melanie Few is theFounder and NFL Sanction Holder of the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration. The show’s Executive Producer’s are Connie Orlando, EVP of Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy at BET, Jamal Noisette, VP of Specials & Music Programming at BET, Jeannae Rouzan-Clay, CEO of J. Rou Productions Inc.
For more information, visit superbowlgospel.com and join the social conversation using #SuperBowlGospel and #NothingCanStopUs.
Sidney Poitier To Get A School Named After Him
NEW YORK (AP) — In 1963, Sidney Poitier made a film in Arizona, “Lilies of the Field.” The performance led to a huge milestone: He became the first Black winner of a lead-acting Oscar.
Now, Arizona is the site of another career milestone for the legendary actor and filmmaker — Arizona State University has named its new film school after him. The Sidney Poitier New American Film School was unveiled at a virtual ceremony on Monday.
The decision to name the school after Poitier, 93, is about much more than his achievements and legacy, but because he “embodies in his very person that which we strive to be — the matching of excellence and drive and passion with social purpose and social outcomes, all things that his career has really stood for,” said Michael M. Crow, president of the university.
“You’re looking for an icon, a person that embodies everything you stand for,” Crow said in an earlier interview. “With Sidney Poitier, it’s his creative energy, his dynamism, his drive, his ambition, the kinds of projects he worked on, the ways in which he advanced his life.”
“Look at his life: It’s a story of a person who found a way,” he said of the actor, who was born in Miami and raised in the Bahamas, the son of tomato farmers, before launching a career that went from small, hard-won theater parts to eventual Hollywood stardom. “How do we help other young people find their way?”
The university, which is expanding its existing film program into its own school, says it has invested millions of dollars in technology to create what’s intended to be one of the largest, most accessible and most diverse film schools. Crow said that much like the broader university, the film school will measure success not by exclusivity but by inclusivity.
Poitier in 1964 at the 36th Academy Awards.. (AP Photo)
By expanding both its physical resources and flexible learning options like online study, it hopes to enroll thousands more students, teaching them skills that go far beyond traditional moviemaking.
The school will move in the fall of 2022 to a new facility in downtown Mesa, Arizona, 7 miles from the university’s Tempe Campus. It will also occupy the university’s new center in Los Angeles.
The university did not make Poitier, who has been out of the public eye for some time, available for an interview. His daughter Beverly Poitier-Henderson told The Associated Press her father was “doing well and enjoying his family,” and considered it an honor to be the namesake of the new film school.
Poitier-Henderson and two of Poitier’s other daughters described in interviews how the film school’s emphasis on inclusivity and access aligned with their father’s long-held ideals.
“If it has my Dad’s name on it, it has to be inclusive, because that’s the foundation of who he is and what he stands for,” said Anika Poitier, like her father a filmmaker. “And it’s important to not only have inclusion but to have diversity, and to give people the opportunity to tell their stories. I think it’s imperative to cast a wide net and allow anyone who’s called to tell their story to learn how to do that.”
Sydney Poitier Heartsong, the actor’s youngest daughter, noted that the two most important things to her father as she grew up were education and the arts.
“Those are the two tracks that run throughout his life, that define what he has contributed and defined what he felt was important to impart to his kids,” she said. “The arts were also a form of education. He wanted to pass that on to all young people but specifically young people of color.”
President Barack Obama presents the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom to Poitier. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Poitier Heartsong, who followed her father’s footsteps into acting, added that the new school had special resonance in a time when “we’ve come to recognize that from a socioeconomic standpoint, a lot of (elite) schools exclude people of color disproportionately — and people without the means to go to them. That is the antithesis of what my father would want to be a part of.”
And she noted that in Poitier’s heyday, when he won his Oscar, one of his biggest complaints was that “he was the only one up there, and he wanted others to be up there with him. Well, others can’t be up there with him if they don’t have access to these tools and these educations. Not the way the world works today. ”
The ASU film production programs now enroll 700 students, said Steven Tepper, dean of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts there, but that number is expected to double over three to five years.
“I just hope that the students at the Sidney Poitier Film School take up the mantle of responsibility the way our father took up the mantle when he was coming up in his career,” said Poitier-Henderson, “and tell their stories regardless of finances, which is easy for us to say. But you’ve got to be true to yourself. It’s a very powerful thing, and I’m looking forward to seeing who comes out of it.”
Dave Chappelle Tests Positive For COVID-19
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Dave Chappelle tested positive for the coronavirus just before his comedy show scheduled for Thursday, forcing his upcoming appearances to be canceled, a spokeswoman said.
Chappelle was expected to perform Thursday through Sunday at Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater in Austin, Texas. Those shows have been canceled and Chappelle is quarantining, his representative Carla Sims said in a statement. The comedian is asymptomatic.
Chappelle had been performing socially-distanced shows in Ohio since June, and moved his shows to Austin during the winter, Sims said. Rapid testing for the audience and daily tests for Chappelle and his team were implemented.
Comedian Joe Rogan was scheduled to perform at the shows Friday and Saturday. He apologized on Instagram to followers for the canceled shows, saying they’d be rescheduled. A post earlier this week showed Rogan at Stubb’s with Chappelle and other stars including Donnell Rawlings, Ron White and Elon Musk.
Refunds will be available for ticketholders at their point of purchase.
‘Insecure’ Star Yvonne Orji To Develop Disney Plus Comedy Series
Yvonne Orji is developing a semi-autobiographical comedy series at Disney Plus that boasts David Oyelowo and Oprah Winfrey among its executive producers, Variety has learned.
Titled “First Gen,” the half-hour show is based on Orji’s personal experiences growing up as a Nigerian immigrant in America. As a child, she’s caught between trying to honor her parents and culture while simultaneously trying to assimilate to American life.
Orji will write and executive produce the project, which will mark her first scripted series writing credit. Oyelowo will executive produce under his Yoruba Saxon Productions banner, with Winfrey and Carla Gardini executive producing for Harpo Films. 20th Television will serve as the studio.
Orji is best known for her role as Molly on the hit HBO series “Insecure,” which is set to end after its fifth season. She was nominated for an Emmy for best supporting actress in a comedy for the show in 2020. Her other acting credits include “A Black Lady Sketch Show” and “Jane the Virgin” as well as the 2018 comedy film “Night School.” She released the stand up special “Momma, I Made It” in 2020.
She is repped by UTA, Odenkirk Provissiero, and Del Shaw Moonves.
“First Gen” marks the second collaboration between Oyelowo’s Yoruba Saxon and Winfrey’s Harpo Films. The company’s recently worked together on Oyelowo’s feature directorial debut “The Water Man.” Oyelowo also starred in that project in addition to producing, with Gardini and Winfrey executive producing. Winfrey also produced and appeared in the 2014 film “Selma,” in which Oyelowo starred as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Oyelowo is primarily known for his acting work. He received a Golden Globe nomination for “Selma” as well as the HBO film “Nightingale.” His other feature credits include “Queen of Katwe,” “Interstellar,” “A Most Violent Year,” “The Butler,” and “Jack Reacher.
He is repped by CAA, Hamilton Hodell and Del Shaw Moonves.
Source: Variety
HBO’s ‘Insecure’ To End With Season 5
“Insecure” is set to end after its upcoming Season 5 on HBO.
The critically-acclaimed comedy was renewed for a fifth season in May 2020 as Season 4 was just beginning.The fifth and final season is scheduled to begin production later this month and is set to debut later this year.
“Issa has turned insecurity into an iconic form of comedy,” said Amy Gravitt, executive vice president of HBO Programming. “The show is as incisive as it is heartfelt, and it has resonated strongly with its audience because of the deeply personal work that Issa, Prentice, Melina, the cast and the writers have put into it. This talented team has conceived a brilliant final season for ‘Insecure’ and we look forward to having many more stories to tell with this singular group of collaborators.”
Series co-creator Issa Rae heads the ensemble cast, which also includes Yvonne Orji, Jay Ellis, Natasha Rothwell, Amanda Seales and Alexander Hodge.
The show was created by Rae and Larry Wilmore. Rae also executive produces the series along with Prentice Penny, Melina Matsoukas, Michael Rotenberg, Dave Becky, Jonathan Berry, Amy Aniobi and Jim Kleverweis. The show is partially based on Rae’s web series “Awkward Black Girl.”
“Insecure” has received widespread critical acclaim across its four seasons, with the series averaging a 95% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It has also received a host of award wins and nominations throughout its run. That includes an Emmy nomination and two Golden Globe nominations for Rae in the lead actress in a comedy category.
Source: Variety
Kevin Hart Takes His Talents To Netflix For A First-Look Deal
Kevin Hart has officially inked a film deal with streaming giant Netflix.
The comedian-turned-actor-turned-producer inked a first-look film production deal with the streamer under his HartBeat Productions banner, and is kicking off the new partnership with four Netflix-exclusive films which he will star in and produce, Shadow and Act reports.
Hart expressed his excitement for the new deal in a statement, stating that “partnering with Netflix is an amazing opportunity for HartBeat and myself.”
“I am excited to act in and produce cutting edge films with Netflix. I am extremely grateful to Ted Sarandos and Scott Stuber, we share the same creative vision and always put the audience first,” he continued. “This business is about growth and my HartBeat team continues to exceed my expectations with their ability to develop stories and relationships. Our goal is to make the HartBeat name synonymous with first-class entertainment and narratives.”
Scott Stuber — head of original films at Netflix — echoed Hart’s sentiments about the genius partnership, calling him one of the “few artists who can attract audiences of all ages.”
“Netflix has enjoyed a long relationship with Kevin and we’ve been lucky enough to partner with him many times,” Stuber said in a statement. “He’s a hands-on producer and it’s been great to watch him build an incredible company with HartBeat. There are very few artists who can attract audiences of all ages and succeed in making comedies, dramas and family films. We’re excited to partner with Kevin, and his great team at Hartbeat, to entertain our audience for years to come.”
According to Variety, Hart has previously worked with Netflix over the last few years to debut his comedy specials, including his latest “Zero F*cks Given.”
Beyond stand-up comedy, Hart has proven to be a consistent hit at the Box Office, raking in over $4 billion in worldwide ticket sales for films like “Jumanji,” “The Upside,” and “Central Intelligence.”
Deadline shared a quote from HartBeat President Bryan Smiley, saying, “I am beyond thrilled about this exciting new chapter in our company’s history. Kevin and I are committed to making ‘best in class’ films with our new partners at Netflix. This groundbreaking deal guarantees HartBeat productions will be viewed by millions of people globally, for many years to come.”
This is a major moment for both Hart and Netflix. According to Deadline, the last time the streamer made this big of a film commitment with a comic star, it renewed a deal with Adam Sandler that was said to be in the $150 million ballpark.
