Ahead of its release next month, Netflix has released the first trailer for its upcoming comedy film, Coffee & Kareem.
It stars Taraji P. Henson, Terrence Little Gardenhigh, Ed Helms, RonReaco Lee, Betty Gilpin, Andrew Bachelor and David Alan Grier.
With the official trailer comes a new official description for the film: While police officer James Coffee (Helms) enjoys his new relationship with Vanessa Manning (Henson), her beloved 12-year-old son Kareem (Gardenhigh) plots their break-up. Attempting to scare away his mom’s boyfriend for good, Kareem tries to hire criminal fugitives to take him out but accidentally exposes a secret network of criminal activity, making his family its latest target. To protect Vanessa, Kareem teams up with Coffee — the partner he never wanted — for a dangerous chase across Detroit.
The script was written by Shane McCarthy and appeared on the 2014 Black List. Michael Dowse, who directed the Fox comedy Dowser, is directing the film. It will debut on Netflix on April 3.
Watch the trailer below:
Tyler Perry Studios has stopped production on all of Tyler Perry’s projects for OWN, BET and Nickelodeon due to the coronavirus outbreak. Other studios that utilize Tyler Perry Studios have also stopped production as well.
Perry posted a picture of the cover of gospel singer Yolanda Adams’ single “This Too Shall Pass,” with a caption about how he has been dealing with the crisis.
“Been listening to this song over and over to encourage myself, to stay positive, and to remember that this is all in God’s hands and that this too shall pass. But until then, we’ve got to take it seriously,” he wrote. “…Maybe this thing has come to stop all the hate and rhetoric. Maybe it has shown up to remind us that we are all one. Maybe it’s shown up to remind us that we should be looking out for each other rather than using every bit of hate speech to divide us. Maybe it showed up to remind us that hate CAN NEVER WIN! Maybe it showed up to remind us of our humanity. Maybe it showed [up] to humble us.”
“Who knows what the reason is, but whatever it is, I would love to see a lot more prayer and a lot less panic,” he continued. “A lot less finger-pointing and a lot less judgement [sic]. What I would love to see is us being one nation, under God, INDIVISIBLE!! Please listen to your local and state governments. Social distancing should be taken seriously.”
Previously on his Instagram page, Perry also posted a video of him and other stars, including singers Karen Clark Sheard, Dorinda Clarke Cole, Yolanda Adams, Johnny Gill, Fantasia, Jennifer Hudson, Chrystal Rucker, Kierra Sheard, Travis Greene, Rodney East, Jencarlos, A Fall From Grace star Crystal Fox and singers/actors David and Tamela Mann, singing “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands.”
Source: Shadow & Act
Byron Allen’s $20 billion racial discrimination case against Comcast has gotten a little tougher as the Supreme Court sides with Comcast in a unanimous ruling Monday.
The Court states that Allen “must prove that racial bias was the sole cause the cable giant refused to carry his TV channels,” as reported by The Wrap. The case has now been put back to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
A Comcast representative said in part to The Wrap in a statement, “We are pleased the Supreme Court unanimously restored certainty on the standard to bring and prove civil rights claims.”
But in his statement, Allen said in part that the ruling “is harmful to the civil rights of millions of Americans,” calling the day “a very bad day for our country.” Allen also assured supporters he will continue fighting “by going to Congress and the presidential candidates to revise the statute to overcome this decision by the United States Supreme Court, which significantly diminishes our civil rights.”
Allen initially filed his lawsuit in 2015, alleging that the company refused to license his Entertainment Studios Networks channels such as Cars TV, Pets TV and criminal justice channels because of Allen’s race.
Source: Shadow& Act
Bad Boys For Life is joining in on the early release train for viewing at home during the Coronavirus pandemic. The film will now be available to stream on your favorite VOD platform on March 31st. The film has had a very successful run at theaters since it opened in January, grossing $419 million worldwide and reviving the franchise.
The studio is already in active development on another installment for the Bad Boys franchise, or at least they were before everything that has happened over the last couple weeks.
More news as this develops.
We understand that this has been in the works for a while, but the Media Rights Capital/Paramount comedy The Lovebirds is heading over to Netflix.
The movie was originally expected to open April 3 theatrically, but like several other titles, was pulled from the release schedule due to the exhibition coronavirus shutdown. A streaming date for the title will be announced soon. I hear the deal is being papered at the moment. Details in regards to foreign are forthcoming, but I believe this was a global deal.
The film, directed by Michael Showalter, stars Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae as a couple who experience a defining moment in their relationship when they are unintentionally embroiled in a murder mystery.
The movie was originally set to make its world premiere at SXSW, and in the final moments, before the actual Austin, TX festival cancelled on March 6, the movie’s cast and director decided not to attend the festival for safety reasons.
Not a real shocker here given the fate of a number of other theatrical releases now heading into the home, i.e. Sonic the Hedgehog, The Invisible Man, Onward, I Still Believe, Bloodshot, The Hunt, Emma, Birds of Prey and The Way Back.
Paramount has done deals with Netflix before in the past. Bad Robot’s The Cloverfield Paradox skipped a theatrical release and went straight to Netflix with surprise debut following The Super Bowl in 2018. Netflix had foreign, while Paramount handled domestic on the Natalie Portman sci-fi movie Annihilation. Also, Netflix had foreign on New Line’s Rebel Wilson movie Isn’t It Romantic, while Warners gave that a theatrical release.
Some in town will aim to make a lot of hay about the window being broken, but theaters and studios have no choice right now when it comes to monetizing products out there. There shouldn’t be any fear: I hear that many studios still recognize the window system as being the most potent revenue-making stream for a movie, especially expensive event titles, however, a straight-to-home situation on a thrifty comedy like Love Birds is less of a financial bust, and likely the quickest means to make money. For intents and purposes, despite Universal rubbing exhibition the wrong way with their home release of Dreamworks Animation’s Trolls World Tour, that’s largely experiment on NBCUni’s behalf.
Source: Deadline
Coming Online and On-Demand on March 20 from Saban Films is the romantic comedy ‘Hooking Up,’ directed by Nico Raineau and starring Brittany Snow, Sam Richardson, Jordana Brewster, Anna Akana, Vivica A. Fox, and Amy Pietz.
Brittany Snow and Sam Richardson star in this wildly funny romantic comedy. Darla (Snow) is a sex columnist pumping out scandalous content for a lifestyle magazine. Bailey (Richardson) is a hopeless romantic who’s just been dumped by his high school sweetheart and received a medical diagnosis that has made him reevaluate his life. After a chance meeting, the mismatched duo hit the road on a cross country trip in search of some much needed healing.
Raineau is making his feature directorial debut after a number of short films and other TV work previously. The screenplay is co-written by Nico Raineau and Lauren Schacher. Produced by Jordan Beckerman, Jon Keeyes, Jordan Yale Levine, and Brittany Snow.
Several media outlets are reporting that Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx has signed on to direct When We Pray, a faith-based feature from Cinema Libre Studio and Hong Kong-based Fight to Fame Films. Foxx co-wrote the script with Donald Ray “Speedy” Caldwell. The pic marks Foxx’s sophomore directorial outing following his debut film, All-Star Weekend.
The plot is about two brothers who become pastors at different churches in the same community. One brother develops his church into a modern, high-tech congregation that uses digital devices and ATMs. The other brother follows a humbler path but soon finds his church in decline and in need of financial help.
Production will commence sometime before the end of the year. Cinema Libre Studio will produce in conjunction with Fight to Fame Films, which will finance the pic for a budget under $5M.
Foxx is coming off a critically acclaimed performance in Warner Bros’ legal drama, Just Mercy opposite Michael B. Jordan and Brie Larson and directed by Destin Cretton. Next up, he can be heard in Disney/Pixar’s first Black character-led animation film, Soul, which is currently slated to hit theaters June 19.
In accordance with new health guidelines laid out by the CDC, the Netflix Is A Joke comedy festival has officially been postponed.
The inaugural event was set to take over a number of Los Angeles venues from April 27 through May 3 and feature sets from top comics like Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Amy Schumer, Kevin Hart, Wanda Sykes, Jerry Seinfeld and more.
“Based on the latest CDC guidelines we’ve decided to postpone our Netflix Is a Joke Fest, which was scheduled to begin April 27,” Netflix said in a statement. “We’ve been blown away by the excitement from fans and we will work to reschedule it when we can. In the meantime please everyone take care, hold onto your tickets and we look forward to seeing you all soon. More information for ticket holders will be available on NetflixIsAJokeFest.com in the weeks ahead.”
The CDC this week issued a new recommendation that public gatherings of more than 50 people be restricted for the next eight weeks. As a result, the MLB has extended the delay of its season and numerous other event cancellations and postponements have since been announced.
Highlights of the six-day festival include a stand-up set from Dave Chappelle at the Hollywood Bowl and different Netflix Is A Joke showcases hosted by Jamie Foxx, Amy Schumer, Martin Lawrence and Jane Fonda & Lily Tomlin. In addition, Netflix planned special sets like Stand Out, which celebrates LGBTQ+ entertainers, and The Hall, a tribute show honoring late comedy legends George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Joan Rivers and Robin Williams. Many of the live shows were to be filmed and later available to stream exclusively on Netflix.
Netflix Is A Joke is now the latest in a string of festivals to be postponed. Other California-based gatherings Coachella and Stagecoach were among the first to change their dates in response to COVID-19, moving the Indio festivals from April to October.
Chris Rock’s highly-anticipated horror Spiral has been postponed by studio bosses due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
The movie, a reboot of the Saw franchise, was due to be released on 15 May, but was pulled after cinema chains across the U.S. and around the world temporarily closed their doors in response to the virus, which has claimed the lives of more than 8,000 people.
Executives have also halted the release of Janelle Monae’s historical drama Antebellum, and thriller Run, starring Sarah Paulson.
A studio spokesperson said alternative release dates for the three movies have not yet been decided, but they will announce more information once cinemas “safely and fully resume operations”.
Spiral, which also features Samuel L. Jackson and Max Minghella, follows Rock’s veteran detective Ezekiel ‘Zeke’ Banks as he investigates a serial killer who is targeting police officers.
Antebellum, from directors Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, focuses on Veronica, played by Monae, a successful author who finds herself transported back to the 19th century as a slave in the United States.
And Run features American Horror Story star Paulson as an overprotective mother, desperate to keep a sinister secret from her home-schooled daughter.
Also pulled from release in the wake of the global pandemic is Marvel’s standalone superhero movie Black Widow, starring Scarlett Johansson.
Other big-budget films affected by the coronavirus crisis include Fast & Furious 9, A Quiet Place II, and the 25th installment in the James Bond saga, No Time To Die.
With over $200 million domestically at the box office the Will Smith-Martin Lawrence film Bad Boys For Life is now the second-biggest January release between American Sniper ($350m) and The Revenant ($183 million after expanding in early 2016). It’s also the highest-grossing film in the Bad Boys franchise.1995’s Bad Boys took in $65m domestically and 2003’s Bad Boys II grossed $138m domestically.
Not only that, but with a total worldwide gross of $415m so far, this is the 2nd highest-grossing BLACK film behind Marvel’s Black Panther ($1.3B).
Produced with a $90m budget, the film opened on Jan. 17 and took over the #1 spot at the box office with a $48 million gross over the four-day MLK weekend. It would go to take first place for two more weekends.
After many false starts, it seems that time was on the producers’ side. Audiences enjoyed seeing their favorite duo of Mike Lowery (Smith) and Marcus Burnett back on the screen (Lawrence).
The new installment centers on the Miami PD and its elite AMMO team’s attempt to take down Armando Armas, head of a drug cartel. Armando is a cold-blooded killer with a vicious, taunting nature. He is committed to the work of the cartel and is dispatched by his mother to kill Mike Lowery.
Along with Smith and Lawrence, other returnees include Joe Pantoliano as Captain Howard along with Theresa Randle as Theresa, Marcus’ wife and Bianca Bethune as their daughter Megan. New cast members included Paola Nuñez, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Charles Melton, Jacob Scipio and DJ Khaled.
Directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah directed the latest entry from a script by Peter Craig (Bad Boys 2), Joe Carnahan (The A-Team) and Chris Bremmer.