Laugh Out Loud, the comedy brand and multi-platform network founded by the world’s top comedian Kevin Hart in partnership with global content leader Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B), announced today an expanded slate of original programming that builds on the network’s rapid growth since launching last summer.
Hart’s undercover prank series Kevin Hart: Lyft Legend returns for season two today. Made in partnership with Lyft Entertainment, the series was the top branded content launch on the Internet the week of its premiere and has reached more than 50 million views across Laugh Out Loud’s network and over 1.4M social engagements.
After taking the Internet by storm with 60 million+ views since its February debut, Hart’s viral series Cold As Balls will return for two more seasons. Sponsored by Old Spice, in season one Hart welcomed Draymond Green, LaVar Ball, Candace Parker, Gabby Douglas, Blake Griffin and more celebrities to the show, where he interviews his guests from a bone-chilling ice bath.
“The massive success of Cold as Balls and Lyft Legend proves how hungry audiences are for bold, hilarious new show formats,” said Kevin Hart. “Laugh Out Loud is dedicated to elevating comedy with original ideas and shining a light on emerging comedians. I can’t wait for audiences to check out this dope slate of shows we’re unveiling this summer.
“We’re excited to kick off a summer of laughs with a strong slate of new and returning comedies,” said Laugh Out Loud’s President, Jeff Clanagan. “We are always listening to our audience and leveraging these insights to inform new and exciting content. We’re also very proud of the audience reception to our original content and the rapid growth of the network.”
Laugh Out Loud will debut season two of its Just for Laughs comedy showcase in August, which is showcased at the world’s largest comedy festival. Hosted by Tony Rock and featuring more than 80 emerging and established comedians, the returning series adds to Laugh Out Loud’s already robust stand up comedy catalog of more than 50 hours. Joining the expanded slate are multiple female-led comedies including the unscripted mockumentary Unmasked and Donors, which is set in a technology hedge fund and stars Sarah Davenport (“Stitchers”), Skye Townsend (“Lucifer”), and Carlie Craig (“MADtv”).
Other programs coming to Laugh Out Loud this summer include In the Zone, a comedic companion to Hart’s CBS series TKO, and the outrageous prank show Rahat’s Terror Traps, starring Youtube prank king Rahat Hossian.
Laugh Out Loud’s new summer slate and roll out:
June 2018
Lyft Legend – season 2
Join Kevin Hart as he goes undercover as Lyft driver Donald Mac and leaves unsuspecting passengers speechless. Wanda Sykes makes a special appearance in the premiere episode. Produced in partnership with Lyft entertainment, Hartbeat Productions, Free Period Productions, and Pygmy WOLF Productions in association with Lionsgate
Unmasked
From the very strange mind of Michael Anthony Snowden (“In Living Color,” “South Park,” “The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show”), and veteran TV producer Josh Bingham (Relativity Media, BBC Worldwide) comes Unmasked, a mockumentary ensemble comedy that investigates the bizarre world of costumed street performers on Hollywood Boulevard and the strange series of murders that slowly begin to infiltrate their community.
July 2018
In the Zone
In partnership with the Kevin Hart-hosted competition TV show TKO, In the Zone matches brain with funny. Comedians are used to being heckled on stage, but can they still bring the funny when they are navigating a challenging course? Episodes will premiere on the Laugh Out Loud network each week after “TKO” airs on CBS. The show features Hart’s tour mates Plastic Cup Boyz, as well as a variety of notable comedians.
Rahat’s Terror Traps
With the help of Hollywood’s top creature effects artist Anatomorphex and Character Shop Inc., Youtube prank king Rahat Hossian (5.6M subscribers) disguises himself as life-like and terrifying creatures to capture epic reactions from the unsuspecting victims he encounters.
August – September 2018
Just for Laughs – season 2
Kevin Hart presents the best and funniest stand-up comedians from the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, Quebec, hosted by famed comedian Tony Rock! Comics include Zainab Johnson, Alice Wetterlund, Loyiso Gola, Todd Barry, Seann Walsh, B Phlat, Tony Hinchcliffe, Brent Morin, Sherrod Small, Adam Ray, Donnell Rawlings, Christi Chiello, Myq Kaplan, PREACHER Lawson, Annie Lederman, Andrew Santino, Dave Smith, Rick Gassman, Dwayne Perkins, Matt Okine and more!
Donors
In this new comedy where SILICON VALLEY meets Broad City, a start-up company is developing
brilliant iPhone app for women with financial help from an enthusiastic tech hedge fund. Cara,
the charismatic face of the company, calls to drop a bomb: the hedge fund is bailing. The money
is gone. Party’s over. Starring Sarah Davenport, Skye Townsend, and Carlie Craig.
Cold As Balls – season 2
“Cold as Balls” is even more icy for season 2! Join Kevin Hart and his special athlete and
celebrity guests as he plunges into icy waters for even more awkward interviews.
New series will roll out on LaughOutLoud.com, the Laugh Out Loud mobile app, and across Laugh Out Loud’s social channels. To sign up, visit LaughOutLoud.com.
Dr. Dre is working on a movie about the late singer Marvin Gaye. The rapper, whose film credits include 2015’s “Straight Outta Compton,” on which he served as producer and inspiration for the film, is in the early stages of getting the project off the ground. And rights to use Gaye’s music have been secured, according to sources. Sony/ATV Music Publishing is home to Gaye’s songwriting credits.
There have been multiple attempts to give Gaye the biopic treatment. The soul singer behind such hits as “What’s Going On,” “Sexual Healing,” and “Let’s Get It On” became one of Motown’s most successful artists before he was fatally shot in 1984 at age 44 by his father following a family dispute in their Los Angeles home. F. Gary Gray, Cameron Crowe, James Gandolfini, Scott Rudin, and actors including Jesse L. Martin and Lenny Kravitz all have tried to bring Gaye’s story to the screen, but until now, none had been authorized by Gaye’s family.
The most recent project to get the sign off from the Gaye estate was with Jamie Foxx who landed the rights for a limited series in 2016 but that project has seen no movement in the years since.
As for Dre, whose real name is Andre Young, the hip-hop legend has dabbled in feature projects both in front of the camera, in films like “Training Day” and “Car Wash,” as well as producing. His most recent film credit was “Straight Outta Compton,” which chronicled the rise of his hip-hop group N.W.A and was produced by Dre and fellow N.W.A member Ice Cube. The pic was a massive hit and also scored an Oscar nomination for original screenplay.
In a curious twist of fate, Dre is represented by King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano, the same legal firm which defended Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams against the Gaye estate in the closely-monitored “Blurred Lines” trial in 2015. The verdict found in favor of the Gaye family, which contended that “Blurred Lines” infringed on Gaye’s 1977 hit “Got to Give It Up” and ordered Thicke and Williams to pay millions in statutory damages.
Source: Variety
Stand-up comedy is a grind. For most, the pay is meager, travel is heavy, and the gigs you do book are juggled in between fulltime work. So, why dedicate your life to such an intense commitment?
For Ron Dailey, aka “Blaq Ron,” he knew what he wanted out of comedy: “I was in it for the pretty girls’ phone numbers.”
Dailey was only joking, of course. (If you’re just catching up — he’s a comedian.) But during a roundtable discussion with four other contestants competing in this year’s American Black Film Festival’s Comedy Wings competition — hosted by Insecure’s Yvonne Orji — it was clear he and the others had wrestled with this question before. Not only is money hard to come by, so are the connections that can grant exposure to bigger audiences, stages, and paychecks. (The $5000 grand prize and a meeting with HBO makes winning Comedy Wings especially enticing for a comic on the rise.)
Dailey, who hails from Dallas, answered the question again in earnest, explaining he was personally grateful for the opportunity to explore social issues that were important to him while helping his crowd process their own pain. “We comics are group therapists,” said Dailey. “We’re conducting an hour-long session when we go on stage.”
Still, as morally rewarding as comedy can be, the comics agreed that it’s a tough business — even more so when you’re black. LeighAnn Lord, a comic from Queens, New York, noted that stereotypes about the black experience are often used against her, while the same behavior might not raise an eyebrow from a white comic. “You can have a white comic be filthy and scatological,” said Lord. “Then we use one little word and people are like ‘You’re a little too dirty!’”
“But then,” Lord continued, “if we’re clean, people are like ‘Oh, can you be a little more black?’ Really?”
Mississippi comic Rita Brent further elaborated on how discrimination in comedy affects black women. “Classically, women — black women, especially — have to deal with the assumption that we’re dirty comics,” explained Brent. “People think we only make d**k and p***y jokes.”
Yet Brent believes these unfair situations have only enriched her humor.
“I’ve learned to just be me,” said Brent. “I won’t let people pull me in every direction. That helps me create unique humor that’s exclusive to my experience.”
Chicago-based T. Murph believes that these challenges have improved his versatility. He also praised each contestant’s ability to transcend audiences. Murph argues: “We perform in front of so many other audiences than the average comedian, it makes us better at what we do.”
“Some comics only have one specific audience,” Murph said, gesturing to the other contestants, “but we can perform in any room. We can hit an alternative room with a white, super progressive college crowd that only wants to hear Hillary/Trump jokes, and we can hit the black bar and grill, hole-in-the-wall and kill it there!”
Houston-based Kris Atkins appreciates that ABFF frees them to be themselves instead of having to constantly juggle the various challenges they experience as black entertainers. “This opportunity gives me a chance to be seen for my art,” said Atkins “I don’t have a résumé like some of the others, but I submitted a tape and got in because my jokes are good.”
Dailey echoed the sentiment, expressing gratitude that his humor could be fairly judged on its merits. “Far too often, we hear that making it isn’t about the funny,” he said. “It’s about marketing and such. But, really, if it ain’t about the funny, well what the f**k is about?”
That night, Dailey transformed into Blaq Ron and was decidedly about the funny. He went first and had the crowd and judges, including Insecure’s Jay Ellis and Ballers’ London Brown, bursting into laughs from beginning to end. Dailey eked out a win over Brent, who finished as the runner-up.
Written By BY BRADFORD WILLIAM DAVIS/HBO.com
The biopic about Sammy Davis, Jr. now has been set up at Paramount Pictures, where producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura has his overall deal. The project is on the development fast track, soon to be hiring a writer and a director to make the feature film about the dancer-singer-actor-musician to becoming a reality.
The movie will be based in large part on the 1965 memoir Yes I Can: The Story of Sammy Davis, Jr. that he penned with Jane and Burt Boyar.
Davis’ heirs are joining a producing team led by Lionel Richie, di Bonaventura and Mike Menchel. The latter two most recently joined forces for Only the Brave, the feature about the 19 firefighting heroes who died during the 2013 Yarnell Hill fire in Arizona.
Richie was the key to getting all the rights deals done to be able to bring Davis’ story to the masses. “I cannot tell you how excited I am about the signing of the Sammy Davis Jr. project with Paramount,” said Richie. “I knew and loved Sammy dearly.”
Davis’ life could be made into multiple movies as he (and singer Billy Eckstine) were among the first entertainers to truly cross the white barrier in a racially charged America. Thanks in large part to his champion Frank Sinatra, Davis — who even as a child in Vaudeville was entertaining with his incredible tap-dancing repertoire – truly was able to thrive.
He was born in Harlem and performed for troops during World War II. By the 1950s, Davis was recording albums and performing on Broadway. But it was when he joined Sinatra in what was known as The Rat Pack — along with Dean Martin, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop — that he began to
become a major celebrity.
The guys ruled the Las Vegas Strip, often staying at The Sands. He then started appearing in 1960s Rat Pack films such as Ocean’s 11, Sergeants 3 and Robin and the 7 Hoods.
It was his love affairs with white actresses such as Kim Novak, however, that threw him into private and public controversies. Faced with a death threat from Columbia Pictures’ Harry Cohn after he found out that Davis and Novak were an item, the singer was forced to marry a black woman as a beard.
Then came his love affair with the Swedish actress May Britt, which really raised eyebrows during what was a time in America when interracial marriages were banned in many states. But the two were deeply in love, and Davis proudly announced the engagement to the world. Sinatra was concerned and said not to marry Britt, but the two lovebirds were determined. It was a marriage that lasted eight years and produced three children.
During a time in America when there were still segregated water fountains and black performers had to stay in black hotels separate from whites-only hotels (like the Frontier and the Desert Inn in Vegas and the South), Davis — and others including Eckstine, Lena Horne, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Bobby Tucker, The Mills Brothers, etc. — continued to push through the bigotry. Davis later threw down the gauntlet and boldly refused to work for companies that segregated.
The marriage to Britt was not without backlash from the black community as well. Davis, however, continued to push for civil rights even though some in the black community saw him as a sellout; even though he was scared, he marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. Davis broke down many barriers; played for the Queen of England and even was given his own network show in 1966 — unheard of for a black man at the time.
In 1971, Davis enjoyed a major pop hit with “The Candy Man,“ which was written by others specifically for the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. That song held onto the No. 1 spot for three weeks.
Davis, who was tirelessly devoted to his work, was almost killed in a 1954 car crash in San Bernardino. That’s how he lost his left eye. During his recovery, he began studying Judaism. He converted in 1961. So did Britt.
Controversy hit again when he backed (and hugged) then-candidate Richard Nixon in 1972. But Sinatra loved the politician, too — eventually even helping out VP Spiro Agnew financially with his legal woes behind the scenes). Davis later got involved with porn star Linda Lovelace and fell in with even more strange bedfellows of drugs and alcohol.
It’s a big responsibility to get the biopic right, so producers have been working diligently to bring the hard-working, stereotype-busting and trailblazing artist to the big screen. The pic will follow him from Vaudeville with his dad and uncle in the Will Mastin Trio to the integrated infantry with Southern whites in WWII to his big break in the short film Sweet and Low in 1947 and his chance meeting with Sinatra.
In his 64 years, Davis made some lifelong friends and influenced the careers of many artists. One of those was Richie, who is passionate about the feature project. “He was so kind to me at the beginning of my career and gave me advice that helped me become the artist that I am today,” he said. “I am so happy for his kids that we can bring his story to the screen.” So are we.
Source: Deadline
MTV award shows are known for contributing some of the most shocking water cooler moments in television history, and the 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards were no exception.
Tiffany Haddish set the tone for the show as the night’s host, opening with a parody of Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow,” during which she swapped the rapper’s lyrics for lines like, “If I’m flying on the zip line, then you know I gotta pee,” in reference to her infamous “Girls Trip” scene, and “got six movies just this year what bitch works as hard as me?”
She took a break from singing to address the night’s attendees, calling best villain winner Michael B. Jordan “so sexy you could probably get a girl pregnant right there on eyesight” and comparing the Kardashians to the “Star Wars” franchise (“They have a ton of money, a new one’s always popping up I don’t know where, and they’re ruled by a bossy overlord who always sleeps in a mask, and she loves black men!”)
But Haddish’s opener was just the beginning of a night full of comical interludes, emotional acceptance speeches, and political statements. Check out the full list of standout moments below.
Millie Bobby Brown Denounces Bullies
Brown wasn’t physically present to accept the performance in a TV show award for her work on “Stranger Things” due to an injury. But she still made an acceptance video in which she called out bullies in the wake of her decision to leave Twitter because of online harassment. “If you don’t have anything nice to say, just don’t say it,” she said. “There should be no space in this world for bullying, and I’m not going to tolerate it.”
Olivia Munn and Michael B. Jordan Throw Shade at Roseanne
Nominees and presenters didn’t shy away from addressing controversial topics, and ABC’s recent “Roseanne” cancellation took the spotlight not once, but twice over the course of the show. While presenting the award for best hero, Munn gave a shout-out to real world heroes, including “that guy who fired Roseanne,” and Jordan called out Roseanne Barr directly during his best villain acceptance speech. “I’m shocked that I won this award for best villain,” Jordan joked. “I thought for sure Roseanne had that in the bag.”
Chadwick Boseman Dedicates His Award to the Waffle House Hero
While accepting the award for best hero for playing T’Challa in Marvel’s “Black Panther,” Boseman invited honorary attendee James Shaw Jr. to the stage to thank him for protecting civilians against a gunman who opened fire at a Tennessee Waffle House in May. “Come on up here,” Boseman said, brandishing his golden popcorn trophy. “This is gonna live at your house. God bless you, man.”
The McQueen Dress Strikes Again
Once again, Haddish redefined what it means to be an outfit repeater by wearing her white Alexander McQueen gown that has become a fashion staple for the comedian. Since she debuted the ensemble at the “Girls Trip” premiere, the dress has made multiple reappearances, including on “Saturday Night Live,” at the 2018 Oscars, and now at the MTV Movie & TV Awards. “Welcome back, and welcome back to my Alexander McQueen dress one more time,” Haddish joked after a commercial break in the broadcast.
The McQueen dress wasn’t the only noteworthy look Haddish sported for her hosting duties. Throughout the show, the comedian cycled through multiple iconic costumes, including an Audrey Hepburn getup from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” the green drapes from “Gone With the Wind,” and Meghan Markle’s royal wedding dress. “She’s from my hood — I had to represent,” Haddish said about Markle, who grew up in Los Angeles.
“Love, Simon” Wins Best Kiss
Ashton Sanders and Jharrel Jerome were the second male couple (following Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal’s win in 2006 for “Brokeback Mountain”) to win best kiss for a same-sex kissing scene in “Moonlight.” This year, same-sex love triumphed again for Nick Robinson and Keiynan Lonsdale, who took home the award for “Love, Simon.” “If you can live your dreams and wear dresses, you can live your dreams and kiss the one that you love, no matter what gender they are,” Lonsdale said during his speech.
Jordan Asks Fans to Stop Making Boseman Say “Wakanda Forever”
Jordan’s best villain acceptance speech was full of soundbites, including a request to fans to stop asking Boseman to recite “Black Panther’s” most famous tagline. “Chadwick Boseman personally asked me to ask y’all to stop asking him to say ‘Wakanda Forever’ out on the streets,” Jordan joked. “Y’all taking the ‘forever’ thing a little too seriously.” The comment harkened to the “tired of Wakanda” memes picturing an unenthused Boseman throwing the Wakanda sign.
All of Haddish’s Video Interludes
Multiple digital shorts broke up the night’s festivities, each featuring Haddish in scenes from blockbusters like “Black Panther,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” and “A Quiet Place” (renamed “A Dark-Ass Place” in the clip). Whether she was introducing her “Girls Trip” castmates to Wakanda or flirting with a brooding Kylo Ren, Haddish’s comedic cameos drew many laughs from the audience.
Chris Pratt’s “Nine Rules”
Pratt received a standing ovation after accepting this year’s generation award. The “Jurassic World” star gave a lengthy acceptance speech, in which he listed “nine rules” for the audience, ranging from advice on how to poop at parties to religious commentary on God and salvation. “God is real; God loves you. God wants the best for you,” Pratt said. “Believe that — I do.”
Seth Rogen Flashes a Vin Diesel Tattoo
To present the award for best comedic performance to Haddish, Kristen Bell and Rogen prepared a comedic performance of their own by showing each other their new tattoos. Bell donned an avocado on her cheek, while Rogen flashed a lower-back tattoo of Diesel’s face. “It’s all about family,” Bell said in her best Diesel impression while squishing the ink.
“Black Panther” Wins Best Movie
“Black Panther” became the first film with a primarily-black cast to win best movie, and the significance was not lost on its stars. “It’s incredible when the stereotype is that people of color couldn’t bring y’all out to the theater and be able to make these types of films,” Jordan said while accepting the award. “The fact that we’re able to do this on this scale with this movie, this project, means the world to us.”
Source: Variety
Rell Battle thinks protests start too early and black lives should also matter at brunch.
Watch his stand up below from The Conan Show;
Desus Nice and The Kid Mero are on the move. Word is the duo will be leaving Viceland where they have hosted their own daily late-night talk show, Desus & Mero, for two seasons. It hasn’t been revealed where they are headed but I hear they are close to a deal at Showtime for a weekly show.
Desus and Mero started telling the staff about their pending departure from Viceland yesterday. The show’s final episode is expected to air June 28.
I hear Viceland tried to keep Desus and Mero onboard with a new deal but I hear the duo got an opportunity they felt they could not pass on. Reps for Viceland and Showtime declined comment.
With its own style, Desus & Mero has been able to cut through the late-night clutter and stand out, quickly emerging as one of Viceland’s signature shows. Shot daily from the VICE Media Headquarters in Brooklyn, Desus and Mero features the Bronx-bred pals who sound off on the issues of the day, covering news, pop culture, and day-to-day life.
Source: Deadline
THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS is a filthy comedy set in the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles where puppets and humans coexist. Two clashing detectives with a shared secret, one human (Melissa McCarthy) and one puppet, are forced to work together again to solve the brutal murders of the former cast of a beloved classic puppet television show. In Theaters August 17, 2018
Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Maya Rudolph, Joel McHale, and Elizabeth Banks Director: Brian Henson Writer: Screenplay by Todd Berger
Story by Todd Berger & Dee Austin Robertson Producers: Brian Henson, Jeff Hayes, Melissa McCarthy, Ben Falcone.