Eddie Murphy made his first episodic Saturday Night Live appearance since 1984 last night, and he reprised a quartet of his most memorable characters from that 1980-84 stint as a castmember in new sketches.
And it probably wouldn’t be an Eddie Murphy return to Studio 8H if there wasn’t at least one network-mandated bleeping. There were two — one during a spoof of a holiday baking show and another when Gumby crashed “Weekend Update.” More on that reprisal below.
During the NBC late-night skit-a-thon, the man who pretty much singlehandedly rescued SNL after the Not Ready for Primetime Players left busted out Buckwheat, Gumby and Velvet Jones. Watch below as the Little Rascals refugee — do folks in 2019 even a-member them? — get revealed on The Masked Singer and proceed to, er, belt out hits by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley and Aretha Franklin. Good thing Buckwheat survived that horrific, nationally televised assassination attempt in 1983.
Then there was Murphy’s Gumby redux, as the Christmas-green Claymation being grumbles his way through setup after setup by Colin Jost and Michael Che on “Weekend Update” before threatening to light his cigar and eventually overstay his welcome. The poor head-writer duo don’t even try to keep a straight face.
Then we are welcomed to “Black Jeopardy,” where the smooth-talking pimp Velvet Jones returns to hawk his latest edition of How to Be a Ho and a couple of other new books. Not sure how far that $1500 a week stretches in 2019, but Murphy repeatedly stumbled with the cue cards during that sketch — likely because of those nearly-closed eyes.
As a bonus, here is Murphy — who appeared on SNL‘s 40th anniversary special in 2015 — as the semi-proud father who gives a holiday toast to his family that has gathered for Christmas:
Source: Deadline
In No Time To Die, Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.
Watch the trailer below!
Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga
Writers: Neal Purvis & Robert Wade, and Cary Joji Fukunaga and Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Producers: Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli
Cast: Daniel Craig, Rami Malek, Léa Seydoux, Lashana Lynch, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, with Jeffrey Wright, with Christoph Waltz and Ralph Fiennes as “M”
Also starring Rory Kinnear, Ana de Armas, Dali Benssalah, David Dencik, and Billy Magnussen
Official Website: https://www.007.com
Twitter: @007
Facebook: @JamesBond007
Instagram: @007
YouTube: James Bond 007
Actress & Comedian B. Simone has recently launched a cosmetic line. The line features an assortment of lip glosses, mattes, and liners to enhance the natural beauty of the everyday woman. The up-and-coming beauty mogul reached a whopping $100,000 in sales in just 24 hours on Black Friday. B. Simone Beauty is available exclusively at bsimonebeauty.com‘Laughter Knows No Color,’ the debut comedy album from Ruben Paul, will be released this Friday, December 6th, 2019 on the Comedy Dynamics Network via Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Pandora, and more.
A hilarious and meaningful testimony to his background growing up in a mixed-race neighborhood in Carson California, Ruben’s foundation of social ‘colorblindness’ is the driving force in his debut special.
His credits include performances on Comedy Central, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Lopez Tonight, Showtime’s Special Russell Peters Presents, B.E.T’s Comic View, Comics Unleashed and HBO’s Def Comedy Jam, to name a few. He’s toured extensively and collaborated with Jamie Foxx, George Lopez, Cedric The Entertainer, and most recently with Russell Peters on both of his record-breaking world tours, Notorious and Almost Famous.
Pre-order HERE, and get a feel for Ruben’s comedy from his recent Just for Laughs set HERE
Comedian, actor and KPWR (POWER 106)/LA morning personality Nick Cannon is partnering with Skyview Networks and Meruelo Media to develop two syndicated properties: “NICK CANNON RADIO” for afternoons, Monday-Friday, starting JANUARY 27, 2020, and “NICK CANNON WEEKENDS” debuting in February 2020, for Saturday-Sunday airing on Urban, Top 40/Rhythmic, and Hip-Hop stations. Skyview Networks will handle production, affiliation, and advertising sales.
Skyview Pres./COO Steve Jones said, “Nick Cannon is one of the most accomplished, creative and versatile entertainers in America and we are proud to be working with him and the team atMeruelo Media to launch Nick’s new syndicated shows. Nick is an influencer, whose connection with audiences makes him extremely attractive to advertisers and radio programmers alike.”
Cannon said, “I love connecting with Los Angeles every morning on POWER 106. The response and support has been amazing and very special; the natural thing is to take it to the next level with a new nationally syndicated daily drivetime and weekend show. They will both feature original comedy and conversations with the people driving pop culture. I am looking forward to working with Skyview Networks and myMeruelo Media family to now reach all of the U.S.”
Meruelo Media Pres./COO OTTO PADRON added, “Our partnership with Nick Cannon on POWER 106 is proof positive that we are committed to invest in the very best and most compelling entertainment in the world. This content strategy, coupled with our carefully curated portfolio of heritage audio brands and popular personalities in the key market of Los Angeles, givesMeruelo Media very exciting syndication opportunities. Having a like-minded syndication partner like Skyview Networks is the perfect storm!”
“Insecure” star and co-creator Issa Rae is starring in, writing and producing the comedy “Perfect Strangers,” teaming with Spyglass Media Group and Eagle Pictures.
The project is an English-language adaptation of Paolo Genovese’s Italian feature film “Perfetti Sconosciuti.” The story centers on a dinner party where a group of friends decide to play a risky game where they place their phones face-up on the table and agree to make all texts and phone calls public in an attempt to prove they have nothing to hide.
Rae and Larry Wilmore created HBO’s “Insecure,” which follows the friendship of two women as they deal with their real-life flaws and a seemingly endless series of uncomfortable everyday experiences. The series has aired for three seasons, and was based partially on Rae’s own web series “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl.” She is starring in Universal’s romantic drama “The Photograph” and Paramount’s “Lovebirds.”
“Perfetti Sconosciuti” was released in 2016 and spurred local-language remakes in China, Spain, Greece, Russia, Hungary, France, Korea and Turkey. The Italian film won two David di Donatello Awards for best film and best screenplay as well as the best screenplay for an international narrative feature at the Tribeca Film Festival.
“Perfect Strangers” is slated to commence principal photography in the first quarter and will be produced by Spyglass, Eagle Pictures and 3 Marys Entertainment, alongside Rae. Issa Rae Productions’ Montrel Mckay will executive produce. Chris Stone will oversee production on behalf of Spyglass and Tarak Ben Ammar, chairman and owner of Eagle Pictures, will oversee the film on behalf of Eagle.
Ben Ammar said, “I am proud to be working alongside our partners at Spyglass and the immensely talented Issa Rae on this socially resonant and provocative comedy that not only became a success in Europe, but went on to capture the attention of audiences around the globe.”
Rae said, “I’m really looking forward to bringing this funny and compelling story to a new demographic and could not be happier about partnering with the Spyglass team to make it happen. I loved the original film and think the story will resonate with audiences here as well.”
Spyglass Media Group was launched earlier this year as a partnership between Gary Barber and Lantern Entertainment co-presidents Andy Mitchell and Milos Brajovic. The company has strategic investment backing from Warner Bros. Pictures, Eagle Pictures and Cineworld Group.
Rae is represented by UTA, 3 Arts Entertainment and attorney John Meigs.
Source: Variety
It’s being reported that comedian and actress Ali Wong (“Always Be My Maybe”) will bring her next two standup comedy specials to Netflix with the first one releasing globally in 2020 after a furious bidding war by several channels/networks, which ultimately saw Netflix as the winner.
“Ali is electric. She offers a completely distinct voice in the culture, and audiences all over the world have responded to her raw, unfiltered humor,” director of original stand up comedy programming Robbie Praw said. “We’re so proud to make Netflix the home of her comedy specials for years to come.” Wong’s past two specials, “Baby Cobra” and “Hard Knock Wife,” were both Netflix exclusives.
We hear that Michael Beach (“ER”), Anne-Marie Johnson (“For The People”) and Kellee Stewart (“Guess Who”) have been cast in Ava DuVernay’s new romantic anthology series, titled “Cherish The Day.”
According to our sources, they will join Xosha Roquemore, Alano Miller and Emmy-award winner Cicely Tyson. Also, Blitz Bazawule, Aurora Guerrero (“13 Reasons Why”) and Deborah Kampmeier (“Queen Sugar”) join Tanya Hamilton (“Vampire Diaries”) as directors.
No word yet on further plot details.
Quibi has announced additional cast members for the series “Mapleworth Murders,” which was created by and stars Paula Pell and John Lutz.
Comedian and actor J.B. Smoove and Hayley Magnus have joined the series in regular roles. Maya Rudolph, Fred Armisen, D’Arcy Carden, Tim Meadows, Patton Oswalt, Jack McBrayer, Pam Murphy, Ben Warheit, Annie Mumolo, Ike Barinholtz, Mary Holland, James Anderson, and Drew Tarver will all recur.
Guest stars will include: Tina Fey, Wanda Sykes, Chris Parnell, Andy Samberg, Terry Crews, Nicole Byer, and Jimmy Carlson. Claire Scanlon has been tapped to direct the series.