As you know by now, the sequel of Coming To America is shooting now in Atlanta. The new film, titled Coming 2 America, stars Eddie Murphy and is being directed by Craig Brewer.
Tracy Morgan, Wesley Snipes, Leslie Jones and KiKi Layne are among the new cast members, while Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones and Shari Headley are among those reprising their original roles.
The first film saw Murphy play Prince Akeem, a spoiled prince from the fictional African nation of Zamunda, who arrives in Queens and in undercover fashion gets a job at a McDonald’s knockoff while trying to find a wife.
The new story sees Akeem, now set to become king, discovering he has a son he never knew about, a street-savvy Queens native named Lavelle. Honoring his father’s dying wish to groom his son as a newly crowned prince, Akeem must once again return to America.
Character details for Mbatha are being kept under wraps. Beauvais is returning to one of her first-ever roles, playing a rose petal priestess.
Paramount has set a Dec. 18, 2020, release date for the picture.
See the behind the scenes photos below!
David Oyelowo Joins George Clooney In New Film Titled ‘Good Morning, Midnight’
David Oyelowo is in final negotiations to join George Clooney in Netflix’s untitled adaptation of Lily Brooks-Dalton’s 2016 novel “Good Morning, Midnight,” sources tell Variety.
Felicity Jones and Kyle Chandler are also on board, with Clooney set to helm the pic — his first feature film directing gig since 2017’s “Suburbicon.” “The Revenant” screenwriter Mark L. Smith penned the script.
The post-apocalyptic tale follows the parallel stories of Augustine (Clooney), a lonely scientist in the Arctic, and an astronaut on board the Aether spacecraft, which is trying to return home to Earth, as Augustine races to make contact with the spaceship. Oyelowo’s role is being kept under wraps.
Clooney and Smokehouse Pictures’ Grant Heslov will produce alongside Anonymous Content and Syndicate Entertainment, who sourced the material. Production is expected to start in October.
Oyelowo most recently had a leading role in the BBC and PBS Masterpiece six-part adaptation of “Les Miserables,” on which he also serves as executive producer. The drama premiered on PBS on April 14. He is also producing, through his Yoruba Saxon banner, and starring opposite Angelina Jolie in the fantasy adventure “Come Away.”
Other recent credits include directing “The Water Man” for ShivHans Pictures and Harpo Films and appearing in the upcoming “Peter Rabbit 2.” He is repped by Hamilton Hodell and CAA.
Source: Variety
Bill Bellamy Lands In New Octavia Spencer Netflix Series Titled ‘Madam CJ Walker’
Bill Bellamy has joined the cast of the forthcoming Netflix limited series “Madam CJ Walker,” which tells the story of the black hair care pioneer and mogul.
The four-part series hails from executive producers LeBron James and Octavia Spencer, who will also star as the titular Madam. The series is inspired by the book “‘On Her Own Ground’ “by A’Lelia Bundles, Walker’s great-great-granddaughter.
Bellamy will play Sweetness, a smart, savvy numbers banker who gets inspired by Madam Walker’s success and angles for a way to get in good with her, by any means necessary. He joins other previously announced cast members Tiffany Haddish, Carmen Ejogo, Blair Underwood, Garrett Morris, and Kevin Carroll.
The actor and stand-up comedian rose to prominence through his performances on “Comedy Def Jam” in the 1990s. More recently, Bellamy appeared in a recurring role on HBO’s “Insecure.
The series is slated to premiere on Netflix in 2020. Nicole Jefferson Asher is a co-executive producer and writer on the project, while Janine Sherman Barrois and Elle Johnson will showrun, write and executive produce. Christine Holder, Mark Holder, Maverick Carter, and Jamal Henderson will also executive produce. Kasi Lemmons is in place to direct and executive produce the first episode.
‘Power’ Actor And R&B Singer Rotimi Joins ‘Coming 2 America’
Power star and R&B crooner Rotimi is the latest to join the cast of Paramount Pictures’ Coming 2 America sequel. He’ll be joining some of the original cast members including star Eddie Murphy (Prince Akeem) and Arsenio Hall (Semmi), James Earl Jones (King Jaffe Joffer), Paul Bates (Oha), John Amos (Cleo McDowell), Shari Headley (Lisa McDowell), Louie Anderson (Maurice), and Vanessa Bell Calloway (Imani Izzi).
New to the film are Teyana Taylor, Michael Blackson, Jermaine Fowler, Wesley Snipes, Leslie Jones, KiKi Layne, Rick Ross, Luenell and Tracy Morgan.
Craig Brewer is directing the pic which is currently in production. No word who Rotimi will be playing. He’s best known a the devious Dre in the hit Starz drama, Power, which will premiere its sixth and final season at the end of the month.
Kevin Misher, Murphy, Kenya Barris are producing Coming 2 America, which arrives in theaters Dec. 18, 2020.
Rotimi’s film credits include Divergent, Deuces, Black Nativity, and Imperial Dreams. He’s repped by PANTHEON, Brian Sher of Crossover Entertainment, and Meyer & Downs LLP.
Source: Deadline
Wanda Sykes And Mike Epps To Star In New Netflix Sitcom
Comedians Wanda Sykes and Mike Epps are strengthening their relationships with Netflix, signing on to star in and executive produce a comedy series for the streamer.
Sykes and Epps — who have each fronted stand-up specials on Netflix — will play the lead roles in The Upshaws, a multicamera effort that centers on a working-class African-American family in Indiana who struggle to make it work and make it right without the blueprints to do so.
Sykes will also be a co-showrunner alongside Regina Hicks (Insecure, Girlfriends). They will executive produce along with Epps, Dan Spilo, Sykes’ producing partner Page Hurwitz and Epps’ partner Niles Kirchner.
Sykes’ first Netflix stand-up special, Not Normal, is nominated for two Emmys. The comedian and actress starred on ABC’s Live in Front of a Studio Audience special in May, re-creating an episode of The Jeffersonsopposite Jamie Foxx. She recurs on ABC’s Black-ish.
Epps has recorded a pair of comedy specials for Netflix, 2015’s Don’t Take It Personal and this year’s Only One Mike. He stars with Eddie Murphy and Wesley Snipes in the upcoming feature film Dolemite Is My Name.
The Upshaws is part of a comedy lineup on Netflix that includes the multicamera shows Mr. Iglesias, Family Reunion, Fuller House and The Ranch — with the latter two set to end with their upcoming seasons. The streamer is also home to the likes of GLOW, Russian Doll, Dear White People, On My Block, Dead to Me and Special.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
David Alan Grier Joins Blair Underwood In ‘A Soldier’s Play’ On Broadway
David Alan Grier and Blair Underwood will star in a Broadway production of Pulitzer-Prize winning drama “A Soldier’s Play.”
The play, written by Charles Fuller, is set in 1944 and follows a murder mystery centered around the death of black Sergeant Vernon C. Waters (played by Grier) who is found on a Louisiana army base. A driven investigator named Captain Richard Davenport (portrayed by Underwood), must solve the racially charged crime.
A previous 1981 Off-Broadway adaptation of “A Soldier’s Play” included a cast of Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Adolph Caesar, Larry B. Riley, Peter Friedman and Charles Brown. That rendition earned several awards, including the N.Y. Drama Critics’ Circle award for best American play, three Obie awards and a Pulitzer Prize. In 1984, a film adaptation of “A Soldier’s Play” earned Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for best picture and best screenplay.
Tony award-winning director Kenny Leon will helm the production. He recently directed a modernized adaptation of “Much Ado About Nothing” in Manhattan’s Shakespeare in the Park. Underwood is known for his role on Broadway in “A Streetcar Named Desire” and in Netflix series such as “When They See Us” and “Dear White People.” Grier, who starred in the theater and film adaptations of “A Soldier’s Play” in the ’80s, is known for his theater roles in “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess” and “Race,” as well as his on-screen roles in “The Carmichael Show” and as the Cowardly Lion in the 2015 live television production of “The Wiz Live!”
“A Soldier’s Play” will begin previews at the American Airlines Theatre Dec. 27 with an official opening scheduled for Jan. 21.
Source: Variety
Tracy Morgan Joins Eddie Murphy in ‘Coming to America’ Sequel
The comedian joins Wesley Snipes, Lesley Jones and Kiki Layne in the film.
Tracy Morgan has joined Eddie Murphy in Coming 2 America, Paramount’s sequel to its popular 1988 comedy.
The studio has lined up an array of new and returning talent for the feature project, being directed by Craig Brewer. Wesley Snipes, Lesley Jones and Kiki Layne are among the new castmembers while Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones and Shari Headley are among the returnees.
The original film saw Murphy play Prince Akeem, a spoiled prince from the fictional African nation of Zamunda, who arrives in Queens, New York, and in undercover fashion gets a job at a McDonald’s knockoff while trying to find a wife.
The new story sees Akeem, now set to become king, discovering he has a son he never knew about, a street-savvy Queens native named Lavelle. Honoring his father’s dying wish to groom his son as a new crowned prince, Akeem must once again return to America.
Jones is playing the son’s mother, a woman who once had a one night stand with Akeem, leading to pregnancy. Morgan will play Jones’ brother, a hustler named Reem.
Production is due to begin later this month on the project that has a Dec. 18, 2020 release.
Murphy is producing with Kevin Misher and Kenya Barris.
Morgan, who earned Emmy nominations for his work on 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live, stars in the TBS’ comedy The Last O.G., which recently wrapped its second season. The comedian, who hosted the 2019 ESPYs last month, is doing voicework for Scoob, Warner Bros.’ animated Scooby-Doo movie, and Green Eggs and Ham, Netflix’s all-star animated take on the Dr. Seuss classic.
He is repped by CAA and Hansen Jacobson.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Kevin Hart To Star & Produce New Superhero Comedy Feature ‘Night Wolf’
STXfilms has bought the high concept comic superhero pitch Night Wolf from Detective Pikachu scribes Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit, a project that Kevin Hart will star in and produce via his HartBeat Productions.
Night Wolf follows a Meet the Parents-esque encounter where a man (Hart) meets his future father-in-law for the first time only to discover he is secretly the superhero known as the Night Wolf.
Hart starred in The Upside, the $100 million grossing hit which STX distributed back in January. Earlier this year, STX Entertainment announced it would partner with HartBeat Productions to produce two new comedy projects which Hart would topline. Night Wolf is the third project Hart is developing with the studio. STX previously announced Black Friday and an untitled romantic comedy. The HartBeat team will oversee production with STXfilms’ SVP of Production Drew Simon.
“After we acquired Night Wolf, we submitted it to Kevin Hart and the Team at HartBeat hoping they would love it as much as we did. It is a big, broad comedy and the idea is great fun and perfectly matched with Kevin’s comedic talent. We are thrilled to be working on what will now be our fourth film together,” said Chairman of STXfilms Adam Fogelson who made the announcement this morning.
“I am excited to be working with our friends at STX again. They brought us a great project with Night Wolf. I instantly fell in love with this pitch about an everyday guy who is meeting his in-laws for the first time and unwittingly discovers his dad to be is secretly a superhero,” said Hart.
STXfilms’ upcoming slate include Hustlers (September 13, the pic is also debuting at TIFF), Countdown (October 25), 21 Bridges (November 22), Playmobil (December 6), Brahms: The Boy II (December 6), My Spy (Jan 10), and Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen (Jan 24) among others.
In addition to The Upside, Hart also had Illumination/Universal’s The Secret Life of Pets 2 which has made close to $379M worldwide. He also has Sony’s Jumanji: The Next Level on Dec. 13.
Hernandez and Samit are represented by Oly Obst at 3 Arts Entertainment and Karl Austen and Michael Auerbach at Jackoway Austen Tyerman Werthheimer Mandlebaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein. Hart is represented by 3 Arts, UTA and Schreck Rose Dapello & Adams.
Source: Deadline
Comedian Rodney Perry Lands New Role In ‘Coming To America 2’
We just discovered the news that comedian Rodney Perry has landed a coveted role in the new Eddie Murphy sequel, Coming To America 2!
No word yet on what role Perry will be playing but as soon as we find out the details we will let you know!
Perry, probably best known as hosting comedy shows like ‘Who’s Got Jokes‘ and a starring role as “Harold” in Tyler Perry’s ‘Madea’s Big Happy Family’. Perry was also seen on Mo’Nique’s late-night hit show on BET and at Bounce TV whereas he hosted of his own comedy show ‘Off the Chain‘.
Perry made the official announcement on his Instagram page @RodneyPerryLive.
Dave Chappelle To Debut New Comedy Special For Netflix On August 26th!
In case you hadn’t heard, comedian Dave Chappelle is about to drop another new comedy special on Netflix. The special will debut onAugust 26th. Watch the new trailer for the special narrated by Morgan Freeman below.
