After an unprecedented number of Black performers received Emmy nominations this year, a record number of Black performers also picked up actual Emmy trophies.
Out of the 18 acting awards handed out at the 72nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, nine of them went to Black actors, which gives the performer parity with white actors, as no other people of color won this year.
This is a notable increase from last year, when 11.11% of acting winners were Black (16.67% BIPOC winners overall). All in all, the Television Academy has come a long way in the last few years: in 2013 there were zero BIPOC winners in the acting categories.
History was also made with Zendaya’s lead drama actress win for HBO’s “Euphoria.” It was also only the second time in the awards’ seven-plus decade history that a Black woman won that category. The first was Viola Davis in 2015 for “How To Get Away With Murder.”
Additionally, Rudolph picked up not only her first-ever Emmy win but also her second: She won the character voice-over and guest comedy actress awards, for Netflix’s “Big Mouth” and NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” respectively during the Creative Arts ceremonies. And, Ron Cephas Jones picked up his second-ever Emmy for NBC’s “This Is Us” (in the guest drama actor category) while his real-life daughter Jasmine Cephas Jones won the short form comedy or drama statue for Quibi’s “#FreeRayShawn”; they were the first parent-child duo to win an Emmy during the same ceremony, receiving their awards on the final night of the Creative Arts ceremonies on Saturday. (However, “Schitt’s Creek’s” Eugene Levy and Daniel Levy followed this up immediately on Sunday.)
“Black-ish” star Anthony Anderson appeared during the Emmys broadcast to talk about the record year and explain that this weekend was supposed to be like an NBC All-Star Weekend for Black entertainment industry professionals. But “because of COVID we can’t even get in the damn building,” he said. “These Emmys would have been so Black, it would have been like hot sauce in your purse Black, Howard University homecoming Black, ‘you fit the description’ Black. We would have had speeches quoting our great poets like Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Cardi B.”
Instead “of that sexy melanated energy,” he continued, “here I am alone in a sterilized green room trying not to sneeze on a damn llama.” (Kimmel corrected him that it was actually an alpaca that had appeared on the show.)
“This isn’t what it should have been, but I’m still rooting for everybody black because black stories, black performances and black lives matter,” Anderson said.
Out of six writing categories at the Emmys, Black winners made up 33.33%, BIPOC winners made up 50% and female winners made up 16.67% Out of the seven directing categories at the Emmys this year, Black winners made up 14%, BIPOC winners made up 28.6% and female winners made up 28.6% winners overall.
These categories are often won by multiple people sharing a nomination, so when it came to individual people, the breakdown was 2.13% Black, 3.2% BIPOC overall and 3.2% women in writing overall, and 2.1% Black, 4.2% BIPOC and 4.2% women in directing overall.
“I don’t want to discount what it means for Black performers to be recognized in ways that they should be recognized and to have opportunities for their work to be seen and appreciated and respected the way it should be. But I do think that what we have to recognize is that we can’t mistake presence for power,” Color of Change president Rashad Robinson previously told Variety. “Power is the ability to change the rules. Presence is not bad, but when we mistake presence for power, we can sometimes think something has happened that hasn’t actually happened.”
He continued: “As we think about API and Latinx communities and the dismal representation they have on television and at awards shows, I do think in so many ways it illustrates a supremacy in terms of who’s in charge, what is normal and what is additive. It’s like, ‘Oh we’re going to do something for this community this year,’ but even the act of doing something for someone else creates who is mainstream and who is [on the] margins — who is inside and who needs to be let in.”
The Emmys may have had a “Friends” reunion with Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow and Courteney Cox, but Tuesday night the celebrated sitcom is getting revamped for a new generation.
Gabrielle Union is hosting an all-Black cast reading of “Friends.” The star-studded Salli Richardson-Whitfield-directed event, taking place Tuesday from 6 p.m.-7 p.m. ET at Zoom Where It Happens, will feature Sterling K. Brown, Ryan Michelle Bathe, Uzo Aduba, Aisha Hinds, Kendrick Sampson, and Jeremy Pope.
Bathe will play Rachel with Brown as Ross. Aduba, who won her second Emmy on Sunday for her work in “Mrs. America,” will take on Phoebe. Monica will be played by Hinds and Pope will be Chandler.
The reading will spotlight When We All Vote, a non-partisan voter registration organization.
The “Friends” evening comes on the heels of Zoom Where It Happens’ all-Black cast “Golden Girls” reading.
Jay-Z staged an all-Black “Friends” remake in his “Moonlight” music video in 2017 with Jerrod Carmichael, Issa Rae, Tiffany Haddish, Tessa Thompson, LaKeith Stanfield and Lil Rel Howery. Instead of using the show’s iconic theme song, The Rembrandt’s “I’ll Be There For You,” Jay-Z replaced it with Whodini’s “Friends” from the 1980s.
There is no word if Tuesday’s reading will include a different tune.
The “Golden Girls” reading’s cast included Tracee Ellis Ross as Rose, Regina King as Dorothy, Alfre Woodard taking on Sophia and Sanaa Lathan portraying Blanche. Jesse Williams played a variety of men. It was directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and narrated by Lena Waithe.
RSVP is mandatory to watch the reading. Go to mobilize.us.
Tiffany Haddish has joined Nicolas Cage in Lionsgate’s action-comedy “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.”
Pedro Pascal and Sharon Horgan are also starring in “Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” in which Cage portrays a fictionalized version of himself as he accepts a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a super fan (played by Pascal). When things take a wildly dangerous turn, Cage is forced to live up to his own legend, channeling his most iconic on-screen characters in order to save himself and his loved ones.
Haddish will portray an eccentric rogue government agent who forces Cage to go undercover in a last-ditch effort to bring down one of the largest criminal organizations in Europe. Horgan will play Cage’s ex-wife.
The film will be directed by Tom Gormican from a screenplay by Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten. The producers are Kevin Turen, Kristin Burr and Mike Nilon. The project is overseen at Lionsgate by James Myers and Brady Fujikawa. The film is expected to go into production this fall. Lionsgate has slated “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” for release on March 19, 2021.
Haddish broke out in “Girls Trip” and was nominated for a 2020 Emmy for her Netflix special “Black Mitzvah,” and won an Emmy in 2019 for “Saturday Night Live.” Other upcoming projects include “The Card Counter,” “Here Today,” “Bad Trip” and “The Spongebob Squarepants Movie: Sponge on the Run.” Her production company banner, She Ready Productions, was also behind the Netflix special “Tiffany Haddish Presents: They Ready.”
Haddish is represented by UTA, Artists First and Ziffren Brittenham. The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.
Source: Variety
Maya Rudolph has gone from zero to two Emmys in just three days. On Saturday night she snagged her second trophy of the week-long Creative Arts Emmys virtual ceremony—this time for her turn as Kamala Harris in Saturday Night Live, hosted by Eddie Murphy. And just this past Thursday, Rudolph took home her very first Emmy for voicing the role of Connie the Hormone Monstress in Big Mouth.
Add to this the fact that Rudolph was double-nominated in her guest actress category Saturday night, the other nom being for her role as the judge in The Good Place, and it looks like this has been her year in terms of career recognition. She beat Bette Midler, Wanda Sykes, Angela Bassett and Phoebe Waller-Bridge to take home the gold this time.
Speaking in the virtual backstage press room, Rudolph said her Good Place role was modeled on a very special real-life person, who sadly passed away Friday—Ruth Bader Ginsberg. “I was actually thinking about The Good Place a lot and about how we modeled her robe after Ruth Bader Ginsberg and how much of that was an homage to an iconic human being. “When you think of a judge, when you think of all-knowing, when you think of powerful, when you think of all good, yeah, we modeled her robe after RBG, so that was pretty cool.”
Rudolph did not pre-record an acceptance speech for the virtual ceremony, explaining live after her win: “That feels a little presumptuous, and not to mention just physically, emotionally exhausting. If I’m going to experience defeat I’d rather not have gone through all the hair and makeup.”
She added that it meant so much to be part of the SNL family. “When I’m there I genuinely feel like I’m at home. I feel really indebted to Lorne (Michaels) and my entire SNL family. That place is such a well-oiled machine…I’m really lucky to be a part of their team.”
She also said in these difficult times the wins had seemed particularly special. “It’s certainly put a smile on my face this week to be so acknowledged,” she said, “but I felt that way about the nominations to be honest…I’m not really looking a gift horse in the mouth these days. I’m really grateful for any moment when we can stop and reflect and honor and celebrate each other.”
She also paid homage to the other women in her category, saying she certainly didn’t expect such accolades. “To be fair I didn’t think I was going to win again tonight. I thought the guest actress, this nomination, is usually flooded with incredible women who are legends and I saw a couple of legends in there…Bette Midler beats me in the legend department, and Angela Bassett beats me in the legend dept. I’m kind of still surprised and a little bit startled I won another Emmy. I don’t know about you but I haven’t felt that lucky lately, so this a very foreign feeling and I’m really embracing it.”
Source: Deadline
Dave Chappelle’s Netflix stand-up special Sticks & Stones won for directing, writing of a variety special as well as best variety special pre-recorded at Saturday’s Creative Arts Emmys.
Chappelle beat fellow nominees Tiffany Haddish, John Mulaney, Jerry Seinfeld, and Hannah Gadsby in the variety special (pre-recorded) category, as well as Patton Oswalt and Seth Meyers in the writing category. The comedian headed into Emmys season with six nominations for Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones, and two for Dave Chappelle: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize For American Humor.
Earlier this year, his latest Netflix stand-up special won best comedy album award at the 2020 Grammys. His latest effort covers everything from gun control to the opioid crisis, though much of the focus is on Chappelle’s views of “cancel culture.” He examines what he describes as “celebrity hunting season” through the lens of the accusations and controversies surrounding Michael Jackson, R. Kelly and Kevin Hart.
“This is the worst time ever to be a celebrity,” Chappelle says in the special. “You’re gonna be finished. Everyone’s doomed. Michael Jackson has been dead for 10 years, and this n— has two new cases.”
Winners were announced as part of the five-night virtual Creative Arts Emmys event, hosted by Byer, which started on Monday and culminated in Saturday’s two-hour broadcast ceremony on FXX. The Primetime Emmys will follow on Sunday, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel from an audience-less Staples Center.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Eddie Murphy has won his first-ever Emmy award for his comeback on Saturday Night Live last year.
Murphy returned to host Saturday Night Live last December, 35 years after he last appeared on the show. Murphy brought back some of his most beloved SNL characters for his appearance, including Mr. Robinson, Gumby, Buckwheat, and Velvet Jones.
On Saturday night Murphy won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series at the Creative Arts Emmy’s ceremony for his long-awaited comeback.
Murphy, who received an Emmy nomination for his first appearance on SNL almost 40 years ago, said the win was “very special” in his acceptance speech.
Murphy said: “Thank you to everybody at the Emmys. Thank you so much for giving me an Emmy, I don’t have an Emmy. This is 40 years since I started Saturday Night Live. This is my first Emmy, so thank you so much.
“I want to thank Lorne Michaels for putting this whole thing together and making this happen. And I want to thank the cast and the writers and the crew at SNL. This was a very very special thing for me to come back and have the show turn out the way it did. I’m still floating from it. And thank you to everybody for giving me an Emmy.”
As reported on Entertainment Weekly, Murphy later added: “It’s so special because it was 36 years to the day since I was on the show. For it to turn out the way it turned out and this on top of it…it’s just really really special.”
Murphy also said he was still planning to return to stand-up soon, after a long hiatus. “We were planning before the pandemic hit on doing standup, getting some stuff together…As soon as it’s clear to go back out there, that’s the plan.”
Kevin Hart is coming back for more action at Quibi.
The short-form content platform has renewed Hart’s comedy-action series “Die Hart” for a second season, which will be called “Die Harter.”
In the first season, which Quibi bills as its most-watched show of the summer, Hart played a version of himself trying to step out of the role of “comedic sidekick” by going to the world’s greatest action star school. While there, the school’s lunatic director (John Travolta) and tough-minded rival student (Nathalie Emmanuel) pushed him to his limits as he was thrown into the deep end.
Hart will executive produce the second season once again alongside his long-time business partner Jeff Clanagan for LOL Studios, which produces the show.
“LOL Studios is excited to produce season 2 of ‘Die Hart; and continue our work to bring premium comedic content and new IP to market” said Clanagan, president of Laugh Out Loud.
Tripper Clancy, Candice Wilson, Bryan Smiley and Thai Randolph also serves as exec producers alongside Hart and Clanagan.
News of the renewal comes just over a month after Hart and Clanagan spoke with Variety about the future of LOL Studios and planned expansion in Africa.
“What we saw from Kevin is there’s a huge global market for this content,” Clanagan said.
The duo also spoke about coping with the coronavirus production shutdown, which forced the LOL team to become more creative, Hart said.
“You saw people really get to a place where they said, ‘Although we’re not in a position to physically produce on set, what can we do virtually?’” he said. “We challenged the team to still produce and come up with things, and be aggressive in this time…. It never was the time to sit back and be engulfed in our own misery. It was about constant trying, that’s what literally has gotten us through this pandemic.”
Source: Variety
Today, Laugh Out Loud, the comedy brand and multi-platform entertainment company founded by Kevin Hart, announced the season 2 premiere of DL Hughley Uncut, available on the LOL Channel (462) on Pluto TV. Starting today, the series will expand from a weekly show to twice a week, giving viewers twice the amount of dynamic conversation, thoughtful insight, and comedic banter around the current events and breaking moments that are shaping the culture.
Launched in May 2020, season one of DL Hughley Uncut debuted as part of Laugh Out Loud’s “Comedy in Color” programming block, featuring special guest appearances from Kevin Hart, Jamie Foxx, Killer Mike, Teddy Riley, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, and more. The series became an instant success for the LOL channel, helping to make Laugh Out Loud one of the most-watched comedy channels on Pluto TV.
“Jasmine and I are excited to bring another hilarious season of DL Hughley Uncut to fans – covering the topics everyone wants to hear about and speaking the truth with even fresher, funnier perspectives and a hot new slate of guests,” says DL. “We look forward to being a part of Laugh Out Loud’s “Comedy in Color” programming on Pluto TV for another great season.”
This season, DL and his co-host Jasmine Sanders will welcome even more luminaries and thought leaders from the worlds of music, comedy, film, and politics to the show starting this week with Trymaine Lee and Dr. Glaude.
SHOWTIME has released the trailer and poster art for the upcoming docu-series THE COMEDY STORE, which chronicles the evolution of comedy from within the walls of the legendary L.A. club. Directed and executive produced by Mike Binder (The Upside of Anger, Reign Over Me), who started at the Store as a doorman before rising to main stage performer, and executive produced by Oscar® nominee and Emmy winner Mike Tollin (The Last Dance), the five-part series premieres on Sunday, October 4 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they will release Florian Zeller’s THE FATHER in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on December 18, 2020, followed by most major markets on Christmas Day. The film was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics ahead of its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and can next be seen at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival.
Written by Zeller and Christopher Hampton, THE FATHER stars Academy Award winners Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman, a father-daughter duo—one mischievous, the other caring—who battle the universal prophecy of loss that come with age. The family drama also stars Mark Gatiss, Rufus Sewell, Imogen Poots and Olivia Williams. Hopkins is receiving this year’s TIFF Tribute Actor Award on Tuesday, September 15, 2020.
Watch the trailer below: