Humor Mill

Malcolm D. Lee Takes Over As Director On ‘Space Jam 2’

Malcolm D. Lee is taking over the directing reins on Warner Bros./SpringHill Entertainment’s Space Jam 2 from Terence Nance.

We hear that Nance’s departure from the project was amicable, and essentially the filmmaker and the studio/producers had different takes on the creative vision for Space Jam 2.

Lee’s track record in comedy speaks for itself and his wit fits hand-in-hand with the sensibility of Warners’ slapstick Looney Tunes. In 2017, Lee’s Girls Trip was the only comedy to work at the domestic box office both in regards to opening and final take ($31.2M, $115.1M) with a star-making performance by Tiffany Haddish. Last year, Lee also had the best opening and gross for a pure major studio comedy with Haddish-Kevin Hart movie Night School ($27.2M opening, $77.3M). Both titles were released by Universal.

Nance created the HBO TV series Random Acts of Flyness and directed the indie pic The Oversimplification of Her Beauty.

Producers on Space Jam 2 — which is set to tip-off July 16, 2021 — are Ryan Coogler, NBA star LeBron James under his SpringHill Entertainment label, Duncan Henderson, and Maverick Carter of SpringHill. EPs are Justin Lin, Sev Ohanian and Jamal Henderson.

It was announced last week that Don Cheadle was joining James in the live action-animation hybrid.

Lee is repped by Paradigm and Del, Shaw, Moonves, Tanaka, Finkelstein & Lezcano.

Released in 1996, Space Jam made grossed over $230M at the global box office.

Source: Deadline

R Kelly Denied Bail

R. Kelly was in court for his bond hearing, shackled at the ankles and wearing an orange jumpsuit … and will remain behind bars for the time being.

Prosecutors argued against his release … saying he’s a danger to the community, especially to minor girls. They claim the risk of obstruction is real and ongoing, and also heightened by his fame and power. Prosecutors are also saying he has the “unique ability to influence and intimidate witnesses and victims, and that continues to this day.”

They added an emphatic, “It’s who the defendant is,” after alleging that he’s sexually assaulted the alleged victims hundreds of times.

Kelly ultimately pled not guilty and was denied bond.

The prosecution also argued there’s no question R. Kelly is the person in the videos they’ve obtained — which appears to be a reference to the alleged sex tapes at the center of the probe. They’re claiming that electronic monitor and home confinement is not enough for Kelly … going on to say he can “entice girls to his own doorstep.”

Meanwhile, R. Kelly’s lawyer, Steve Greenberg, fired back to defend his client, saying Kelly has already surrendered his passport, and noted the guy doesn’t like to fly … so he’s not a flight risk. Greenberg also says that, to his knowledge, Kelly didn’t miss any court dates in his 2008 trial. Speaking of that trial, Greenberg responded to allegations that the case was rigged, saying R. Kelly faced a jury of his peers, and not a bench trial.

Greenberg also says that R. Kelly has voluntarily shown up to every court hearing in his current case, despite the fact the prosecution insists he’s been a flight risk. He hasn’t run, and Greenberg hit the point home by saying, “How could he flee? He has no money.” Greenberg does note that R. Kelly’s Trump Tower rent is paid up through December or January.

On the allegation that R. Kelly is a threat to minors to this day, Greenberg says all but one of the allegations against Kelly dates back to the ’90s, and that “there’s no evidence that he’s a risk to minors at all at this point.” Greenberg also says there’s no evidence of witness tampering.

One more argument from Greenberg here … he says the fact that R. Kelly can’t read or write would make it difficult to go over discovery with him in jail. He also says Kelly makes for a difficult prisoner because of his notoriety and implications that come with that.

The judge seemed to side with prosecutors, though, saying the child porn charge alone comes with a “presumption of detention.” He was ordered to be held in jail without bond.

As we reported … the singer was arrested in Chicago last week on 2 new federal indictments.

While he’ll remain locked up, we know Kelly will have the support of his 2 alleged sex slaves — Joycelyn Savage and Azriel Clary. The women were right behind him in court presenting a united front — just like they did during his February bond hearing.

Source: TMZ

Meek Mill Seeks New Trial, Judge After Decade-Long Probation

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Lawyers for Meek Mill will ask an appeals court Tuesday to overturn a 2008 drug and gun conviction that has kept the rapper on probation for a decade and made him a celebrity crusader for criminal justice reform.

Defense lawyers believe the city judge who has overseen his case and sent him to prison in 2017 over minor parole violation has become overly involved in the performer’s life — once checking on his community service efforts at a homeless shelter — and lost her impartiality.

And, they say, the only prosecution witness at the nonjury trial was a drug squad officer whose credibility is now in doubt.

“When a trial judge injects herself into a probationer’s personal and professional life and creates an appearance of bias and, on top of that, makes multiple legally erroneous rulings, the whole judicial system suffers,” appellate lawyer Peter Goldberger wrote in a defense brief filed in advance of Tuesday’s arguments before Pennsylvania Superior Court .

The retired officer, Reginald Graham, is on an internal do-not-call list of police officers District Attorney Larry Krasner won’t use in court because of credibility concerns, according to a brief Krasner’s office filed in support of the new trial bid.

“Although he was not charged federally with the other officers in the narcotics unit, Graham resigned from the police department prior to being formally dismissed,” Krasner’s office wrote, referring to a 2015 police corruption trial that ended with the acquittal of six officers. “The Commonwealth cannot call a witness whose credibility it mistrusts.”

Mill, whose real name is Robert Rihmeek Williams, became a champion for criminal justice reform after Judge Genece Brinkley sentenced him in 2017 to two to four years in prison for minor probation violations. He spent five months in prison before a court ordered him released last year.

He has hired a large team of top criminal lawyers to fight his conviction and probation issues, prompting the judge herself to hire a high-profile city lawyer to defend her actions.

“She’s a tough judge across the board,” said the judge’s lawyer, A. Charles Peruto Jr. “When you have this kind of money and fame you use it to your advantage to try to show she’s prejudiced against him. . If he wins, it just demonstrates that he’s above the law.”

At the 2008 trial, Graham testified that the 19-year-old Williams pointed a gun at him during the arrest outside his southwest Philadelphia home. Williams has acknowledged having a gun but denied pointing it at police. Brinkley found him guilty and sentenced him to concurrent jail terms of just under one year and two years, followed by 10 years of probation.

Williams, now 32, has frequently tangled with the judge over terms of the parole, especially over reporting requirements and travel rules that he says conflicts with his soaring music career.

Brinkley, after a 2015 hearing that included testimony from Williams’ then-girlfriend, superstar Nicki Minaj, said she “has done nothing but try to help the defendant.”

Williams, whose top-selling albums include the 2015 “Dreams Worth More Than Money” and last year’s “Championships,” is a fixture at NBA games in Philadelphia and has the support of many high-profile celebrities and athletes.

He appeared in last month’s season finale of “Saturday Night Live,” performing beside DJ Khaled, John Legend, SZA and other artists in a tribute to slain rapper Nipsey Hussle.

A documentary on his legal travails, produced by music mogul Jay-Z, is set to be released next month.

Jay-Z, Blue Ivy, Kendrick Lamar Appear On New Beyonce Album

NEW YORK (AP) — Beyonce’s new album inspired by “The Lion King” features collaborations with husband Jay-Z and daughter Blue Ivy Carter.

Beyonce announced Tuesday that “The Lion King: The Gift,” which will be released Friday, also includes songs with Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino, Pharrell, Tierra Whack and Jessie Reyez.

In the new version of “The Lion King,” in theaters Friday, Beyonce voices the character of Nala. Beyonce curated and executive produced “The Lion King: The Gift,” which also features collaborations with Burna Boy, Wizkid, Tiwa Savage and 070 Shake.

Jay-Z appears on the song “Mood 4 Eva.” Blue Ivy is featured on “Brown Skin Girl.”

Beyonce’s song “Spirit,” released last week, is featured in the film and appears on both the official “Lion King” soundtrack as well as “The Lion King: The Gift.”

‘The Daily Show With Trevor Noah’ To Air Live After Round 2 Of Democratic Primary Debates

NEW YORK, July 15, 2019 – The Daily Show with Trevor Noah will be live on July 30 and 31, providing instant analysis and late-night’s earliest commentary about the Democratic Party’s second 2020 Presidential Primary Debates. As part of its Votegasm 2020 coverage, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah will air live, back-to-back nights on Tuesday, July 30 and Wednesday, July 31 at 11:00 p.m. ET on Comedy Central and react in real time to both debates across its social media accounts.

Throughout the two nights of the 2019 Democratic Debates in June, The Daily Show’s digital content resonated with its fans, making it the late-night show destination for social engagement.* The Daily Show captured the most engagements on social media in the competitive late night landscape with +222% more engagement than the second best The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon measured across Facebook (+256%), Instagram (+301%) and Twitter (+108%).

Late-night series social engagement comparison chart:

Series	Total	Instagram Engagement	Facebook Engagement	Twitter Engagement
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah	1,448,441	751,877	359,981	336,583
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon	450,369	187,551	101,204	161,614
Late Show with Stephen Colbert	192,343	66,549	74,800	50,994
Late Night with Seth Meyers	64,234	48,494	9,534	6,206

Source: ListenFirst (Included Likes/Reactions, Comments, Shares on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter). Dates: 6/26-6/27 among nightly late night shows that aired live.

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah earned 700 million streams on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the second quarter of 2019, +18% year over year. The series continues to be the most engaging late night show in its competitive set across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This marks the 12^th and 13^th times The Daily Show with Trevor Noah has aired live, having previously done so following last month’s back-to-back Democratic Presidential Primary Debates, the 2018 and 2019 State of the Union Addresses, the 2018 Midterm Election night, throughout the 2016 Presidential Election including election night, after the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates, and on the final nights of both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions.

Trevor Noah, Jen Flanz and Jill Katz are the Executive Producers of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, with Justin Melkmann as Co-Executive Producer. Max Browning, Eric Davies, Pam DePace, Ramin Hedayati, David Kibuuka and Elise Terrell are Supervising Producers, and Jocelyn Conn and Zhubin Parang are producers. Dan Amira is the Head Writer, with Lauren Sarver Means and Daniel Radosh as Senior Writers. The series is directed by Paul Pennolino. Sarah Babineau and Ari Pearce are the Executives in Charge of Production for Comedy Central.

Diddy’s ‘Making the Band’ Officially Coming Back To TV

NEW YORK (AP) — Diddy’s “Making the Band” is officially coming back to TV.

The music mogul announced Monday that the hit series, where he discovered groups including platinum-sellers Danity Kane, would return to MTV in 2020.

“Making the Band” made its debut on ABC in 2000 when Lou Pearlman, who managed the Backstreet Boys and ’N Sync, launched the show and formed the boy band O-Town. Diddy re-vamped the show for MTV in 2002 and discovered the rap group Da Band. Diddy also launched the careers of Day 26, Donnie Klang and Danity Kane — who released two No.1 albums under his Bad Boy Records — on the show.

Diddy went viral last week when he asked his social media followers if he should bring back the series.

The global casting call for the show begins Monday across social media platforms.

Judge Combines R. Kelly Hearings In Separate Federal Cases

CHICAGO (AP) — A federal court hearing for R&B singer R. Kelly has been pushed back a day and will instead be held Tuesday when the singer was expected to be arraigned.

Federal judges were supposed to meet Monday in Chicago to figure how to proceed in the case that involves separate indictments out of Chicago and New York. According to a judge’s order they’ll discuss the details Tuesday afternoon.

Kelly is expected in court.

The 52-year-old was arrested last week on a 13-count indictment that includes sex crimes and obstruction of justice. A federal indictment was also unsealed in New York that charges him with racketeering and sex-related crimes.

Kelly remains in federal custody. Federal prosecutors want him to stay there, arguing he’s dangerous and a flight risk.

His attorney denies the allegations.

Revealing 1990 Eddie Murphy Interview Detailing A ‘Coming To America’ Set Fight Resurfaces

A 1990 interview with Eddie Murphy has taken the internet by storm.

Writer Nti Aning tweeted a free-wheeling 1990 Playboy interview with Eddie Murphy. In the interview, Murphy talked about his time filming Coming to America with director John Landis, who he compelled Paramount to hire even though Landis had gone to court for a deadly helicopter crash on the set of his 1982 film, Twilight Zone: The Movie. The crash killed actor Vic Morrow and child actors Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shinn Chen. Both child actors were also hired in violation of California’s child labor laws. Landis and four others, including the pilot and the special effects coordinator, were acquitted of involuntary manslaughter, but the accident led to new safety standards for using helicopters during filming.

When asked by Playboy why he gave the directorial job to Landis instead of directing Coming to America himself, Murphy said, “I wanted to help out…Landis. I figured I’d give this guy a shot because his career was [expletive]. But he wound up [expletive] me.” But, Murphy continued, Landis became a horror on set to Murphy. “As it turned out, John always resented that I hadn’t gone to his Twilight Zone trial. I never knew that; I thought we were cool. But he’d been harboring it for a year. Every now and then, he would make little remarks, like, ‘You didn’t help me out; you don’t realize how close I was to going to jail.’ I never paid any mind.”

“I don’t want to say who was guilty or who was innocent,” Murphy continued regarding Landis’ trial. “But if you’re directing a movie and two kids get their heads chopped off at [expletive] twelve o’clock at night when there ain’t supposed to be kids working, and you said, ‘Action!’ then you have some sort of responsibility. So my principles wouldn’t let me go down there and sit in court. That’s just the way I am.”

Murphy claimed Landis tried to bully him on set, by telling Murphy’s co-star Shari Headley that he was only trying to have a get-to-know-you dinner with the cast to try to sleep with her. He also accosted two of Murphy’s writers on set.

“They were writing a TV show called What’s Alan Watching? that my company was producing,” he said. “They were at our location in New York, and Landis was asking them, ‘Why are you guys here?’ They said, ‘We’re working on something for Eddie.’ And he said…, ‘The production’s not picking that up.’ And they said, ‘No, we’re working through Eddie’s company. Right now we’re waiting for the deal to go through.’ And Landis said, ‘So you’re not being paid yet? That company should be paying you! Don’t come to New York unless you’re being paid.'”

“The whole crew was standing around–extras and actors–and Landis started screaming. ‘Don’t be afraid to ask Eddie Murphy for his money,'” he continued. “You go up and ask for your [expletive] money!’ I walked in and he said, ‘Eddie! Your company is [expletive] these guys out of their money! Guys, don’t be afraid to go up to Eddie and say, ‘[expletive] you!'” He’s screaming about my deal-making in front of the cast.”

Murphy said that he “playfully” grabbed him by the throat and put his arm around him before asking one of his people, Fruity, “What happens when people put my business in the street?”

“And Fruity said, ‘they get [expletive] up.’ I was kind of half joking,” said Murphy. He said Landis reached down to grab Murphy’s genitals, “like he also thought it was a joke.”

“[A]nd I cut his wind off,” he said. “He fell down, his face turned red, his eyes watered up…and he ran off set.”

The story continues later when Landis comes to Murphy’s trailer after the incident to make, as Murphy put it, “this big speech.”

“His voice was trembling,” he said. “And it all came out: that he didn’t think I was talented, that the only reason he did Coming to America was for money, that he didn’t respect me since I hadn’t gone to his trial and all this [expletive].. Called me ignorant, an [expletive]…I’m sitting there shattered; I’m thinking, This [expletive] guy. I bent over [expletive] backwards to get this guy a job. He probably won’t even acknowledge what happened. He didn’t realize that his [expletive] career was washed up.”

Murphy said, in expletive-filled language, of course, that the next time he tried something with him, he would beat him up.

“‘Your’e gonna have to give me either some fear or some respect. I want one of them, because this is my [expletive] and you’re working here.”

One would think that the Coming to America 2 set will be a lot less traumatic, seeing how Craig Brewer will be helming the film. The sequel will be in theaters in December 18, 2020.

Source: Shadow & Act

Comedic Actor, Rapper, And Producer Donald Glover Extremely Coy About The Start Of ‘Atlanta’

While Donald Glover is making his rounds as Simba for the highly-anticipated Lion King live-action remake, many still want to know what’s going on with the third season of his series Atlanta.

The FX show has already been given the green light for season three to return this year, but production hasn’t even started yet. It’s possible that Georgia’s new anti-abortion law could have an impact on filming for Atlanta, as Disney and Netflix are just some of the platforms who have considered a boycott from filming in the state.

Still, as far as Atlanta is concerned, it’s not really clear what the hold up is.

During a sit-down on Jimmy Kimmel Live! the host asked Glover if he’s been working on the new season of Atlanta. Glover, who was wearing a full-body lion costume said,

“Um, I think my contract says I have to say ‘Yes.’ Yes.”

Kimmel then asked,

“So you’re supposed to be working on ‘Atlanta’ right now?”

Glover joked,

“Oh, I am working on ‘Atlanta’ right now.”

Kimmel went along with the joke and said Glover would start working on the show when he goes to Australia. Glover then pointed to a card on the desk and said,

“Literally, this is a script for ‘Atlanta,’ if anybody asks,”

The Lion King will hit theaters on July 18.

Source: The Jasmine Brand

Don Cheadle Lands In Comedy Remake Warner Bros.’ ‘Space Jam 2’ With Lebron James

Coming off the second-biggest-grossing film of all time, Avengers: Endgame ($2.77 billion), Don Cheadle is joining LeBron James in Warner Bros.’ Space Jam 2, which is currently in production.

Terence Nance is directing the follow-up to the 1996 movie which grossed over $230M at the global box office. The pic is seen as a reboot of the studio’s classic Looney Tunes stable. Cheadle’s role is being kept under wraps.

Most recently Cheadle starred in the Showtime Wall Street comedy series Black Monday set in the year leading up to October 19, 1987 stock market crash (aka Black Monday). Showtime renewed the series and Season 2 will premiere in 2020.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Cheadle is known for his role as War Machine in the Avengers, Captain America and Iron Man movies. Cheadle will also star in the upcoming sci-fi drama series Don’t Look Deeper for Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman’s short-form video platform Quibi alongside Emily Mortimer and Helena Howard.

Cheadle is also producing the film adaptation of the book Amari and the Night Brothers for Universal Pictures and is set to appear alongside Lil Rel Howery and Kevin Hart in Black Stallions. The comedy film about rival brother jockeys was acquired by Netflix for distribution. Other feature producer credits include St. Vincent (EP), the Best Picture Oscar winner Crash, Talk to Me (EP) and The Guard (EP) and the doc Darfur Now.

Cheadle directed his first feature film with the Miles Davis biopic Miles Ahead, which he also co-wrote, produced and played the title role in. Cheadle received an NAACP Image Award nomination for his role, and the pic won the 2017 Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media. In 2005, Cheadle received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for Hotel Rwanda. Cheadle is repped by United Talent Agency.

Producers on Space Jam 2 — which is set to tip off July 16, 2021 — are Ryan Coogler, NBA star James under his SpringHill Entertainment label, Duncan Henderson, and Maverick Carter of SpringHill. EPs are Justin Lin, Sev Ohanian and Jamal Henderson.