Jordan Peele Inks Overall TV Deal With Amazon Studios
Jordan Peele is on the move.
More than a year after signing a first-look TV pact with Sonar Entertainment, the Get Out writer-director has moved his small-screen pact to Amazon Studios. The news comes on the heels of Amazon’s handing out a series pickup to Nazi drama The Hunt, which is produced by Sonar and Peele’s Monkeypaw. Peele is also readying documentary series Lorena, which explores the life of Lorena Bobbitt.
Under the pact, Peele will create and develop new projects for the retailer and streamer, which is plotting a new course under head Jennifer Salke.
“Jordan, [Monkeypaw’s] Win Rosenfeld and the Monkeypaw team represent the ideal creative collaboration as we continue to ramp up original, culturally relevant and riveting television,” Salke said. “Our Lorena Bobbitt documentary and series order for The Hunt represent just the start of what will be a prolific and exciting relationship with Monkeypaw.”
Founded in 2012 by Peele, Monkeypaw is a film, TV and digital focused production company that also produced breakout feature hit Get Out, which the Key & Peele alum wrote and directed. The original screenplay earned Peele an Academy Award, making him the first African American to win in the category and first to be nominated for producing, writing and directing in the same year. On the film side, his first-look deal remains at Universal Pictures.
“I couldn’t be more excited about this new relationship with Amazon. They’ve been a fantastic partner to Monkeypaw over the last year because they’re committed to the same kind of fun and culturally relevant television we are,” Peele said.
Peele comes to Amazon amid an arms race for behind-the-screens talent after Netflix signed Shonda Rhimes and Ryan Murphy to nine-figure exclusive deals. At Amazon, Peele joins a roster of producers and showrunners that includes Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead), Amy Sherman-Palladino (Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Jill Soloway (Transparent) and more.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
WATCH: Issa Rae Returns To The Mirror In ‘Insecure’ Season 3 Teaser
We’ve got our first teaser for season 3 of Insecure, and Issa Rae is back in front of the mirror!
The 36-second teaser has Rae returning to form via her signature, sometimes fourth wall-breaking mirror raps.
Created by Issa Rae and Larry Wilmore, Insecure follows the friendship of two black women as they deal with their flaws while attempting to navigate different worlds and cope with an endless series of uncomfortable everyday experiences. Issa Rae, Yvonne Orji, Jay Ellis, Lisa Joyce, Natasha Rothwell and Amanda Seales star in the show.
The show returns on August 12.
Watch the teaser below:
Comedy Series With Colin Kaepernick In Development Based On His High School Life
A strong supporter of Colin Kaepernick, Ava DuVernay is now developing a comedy series with the NFL star based on his high school life.
The project has yet to be officially announced, and there is no network attached.
The first news of the project was revealed in a Vanity Fair feature which talked with TV showrunners, including DuVernay.
The piece reads in part, “She’s four weeks out from a trip to serve on the Cannes Film Festival jury, and DuVernay has a lot to do: casting for her yet-to-be-named Netflix limited series about the Central Park Five; working with editors, directors and writers on the third season of Queen Sugar, which started airing May 29; putting the finishing touches on her CBS pilot, Red Line; and meeting with her Wrinkle producer Jim Whitaker on two new projects, including the Battle of Versailles movie at HBO and a TV comedy series with Colin Kaepernick that centers on his high-school life.”
Kaepernick would be the latest athlete to move into entertainment. LeBron James has made the biggest splash with his SpringHill Entertainment, bringing things to television such as Survivor’s Remorse, planning for a Netflix Madam CJ Walker miniseries starring Octavia Spencer and much more. Blake Griffin just announced a project last week, and Steph Curry also has a first-look deal set up at a studio.
Source: Shadow & Act
‘Bad Boys’ New Spinoff ‘L.A.’s Finest,’ Starring Gabrielle Union, A Go At Canada’s Bell Media
Canada’s Bell Media has picked up L.A.’s Finest, starring Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba, from Sony Pictures Television after package buying at the Los Angeles Screenings.
Based on the Bad Boys film franchise, L.A.’s Finest stars Union as Syd Burnett, who was last seen in Miami taking down a drug cartel. Syd has left her complicated past behind to become an LAPD detective and pursue all the fun Los Angeles offers. But things get a little crazy when her new partner, Nancy McKenna (Jessica Alba), a working mom with an equally complex past, learns that Syd’s unapologetic lifestyle might be masking a greater personal secret.
The Canadian network also bought the BBC America one-hour spy thriller Killing Eve, starring Sandra Oh, for its Bravo network.
NBC in May shockingly passed on picking up L.A.’s Finest to series. The pilot, which counts the film’s Jerry Bruckheimer among its exec producers, was considered a front-runner for a series order given its bulit-in IP and big-name stars attached. That led Sony Pictures Television Studios to shop the series elsewhere. The indie studio is in advanced negotiations with Charter Communications to air the series stateside as the cable giant’s first scripted entry under recently hired exec Katherine Pope. The Canadian license fee will be helpful to the Hollywood studio as L.A.’s Finest carries a sizable price tag and two big stars.
Bell Media also picked up last week at the L.A. Screenings Syfy’s Deadly Class drama, which stars Benjamin Wadsworth and Benedict Wong, TNT’s Chris Pine-starrer One Day She’ll Darken (working title) and NBCU International crime drama Gone, starring Chris Noth.
Bell Media on Thursday said it had bought seven rookie U.S. network dramas, including ABC’s The Rookie, starring Nathan Fillion, and CBS’ Magnum P.I., with Jay Hernandez, for its main CTV network.
The country’s top-rated network also nabbed Fox’s spy-hunting drama The Enemy Within; Marcia Clark’s Fox legal thriller The Fix; CBS’ The Red Line, from producers Ava DuVernay and Greg Berlanti; ABC’s The Village; and Grand Hotel, executive produced by Eva Longoria.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Brett Ratner Trying To Push Himself As ‘Rush Hour 4’ Director
Warner Bros. sources emphatically say that the director, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by several women, will not helm the fourth film if there is one.
Like other men accused of sexual misconduct, Brett Ratner appears to be plotting a comeback — in this case just six months after allegations against him first surfaced. His hoped-for vehicle: The Rush Hour franchise.
Sources say that Ratner has been telling associates that he will direct the fourth film in the series — a boast that has put Warner Bros. and its New Line division in an awkward position.
Studio sources emphatically say Ratner will not direct a fourth Rush Hour film if there is one. “Brett has been walking around town telling people he’s going to direct a Rush Hour movie because it’s his only way back in,” says one high-level exec. “He’s trying to make believe he’s employable.” Putting together a movie with him would be ‘a suicide mission,'” this person says.
But it seems that, given their long and very close professional and social relationships with the director, neither Warners chairman and CEO Kevin Tsujihara nor film studio chairman Toby Emmerich is prepared to relay that to Ratner. Warners declined to comment or to rule out Ratner as a possible director for the project. Ratner’s attorney Marty Singer also declined to comment.
Rush Hour producer Arthur Sarkissian says he has long been pressing to make a fourth film in the $850 million-grossing franchise and believes that with the right script, stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker will be on board. Ratner, 49, has directed all three Rush Hour movies, starting with the original in 1998. The most recent film, 2007’s Rush Hour 3, grossed $258 million worldwide.
Impatient to launch a fourth movie, Sarkissian says he asked the studio to put the project in turnaround and had an agreement in place in 2014 that was never signed. At that point, Emmerich suggested that a television series was a better idea than another film. Warners put together a show — without Chan or Tucker — that ran for one season on CBS.
Subsequently, the studio had decided that another movie was worth making. But then the Harvey Weinstein allegations surfaced and the #MeToo movement engulfed Ratner, who was accused of sexual misconduct by several women, including actresses Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge. (Ratner has denied the claims and is suing a woman for defamation after she wrote on Facebook that he raped her.)
“The scandal broke and they put a pin in it,” Sarkissian says, referring to Warner Bros. executives and Rush Hour 4. “I went back [to them] and said, ‘I want to do my movie.’ They said, ‘Fair enough.’”
Sarkissian says Warners has put the film in turnaround — freeing him to commission a script with outside financing. Should he succeed in assembling the elements, the studio has a chance to opt back into the project. Sarkissian confirms that Black-ish creator Kenya Barris was approached to write a script. But Barris is said to have wanted no part in the project if Ratner was involved, and he passed regardless due to a busy schedule.
Sarkissian says Ratner is “not attached” to the project at this point and he doesn’t know why Ratner would tell people that he is directing Rush Hour 4. Asked whether there is any chance Ratner might direct the fourth film, Sarkissian has nothing definitive to say. “All I’m interested in is to make the best movie possible,” he says.
Sources confirm that Ratner has been checking in with Warners every month or two to ask about the progress of the project. They maintain that Ratner will not be directing another Rush Hour should the project come to fruition, but a source says “no one is willing to tell Brett he’s not the director of the picture.”
Another high-level source says billionaire Len Blavatnik, Ratner’s former partner in his Ratpac Entertainment production-finance company, had told the embattled filmmaker that he would continue to pay him but asked Ratner to keep a low profile. (Blavatnik’s Access Industries did not respond to a request for comment.) That doesn’t seem to be in Ratner’s DNA. In January, Page Six ran a story headlined, “Scandal Plagued Brett Ratner Living it up in Miami.” The gossip column reported that Ratner was desporting himself at Blavatnik’s trendy Miami hotel, Faena. A source says Blavatnik wasn’t pleased by the attention that Ratner was drawing to himself. Ratner also was spotted with several women in Cannes during the film festival last month wearing a Warner Bros. hat.
Singer, referring to the Miami hotel in the Page Six story, said Ratner “wasn’t partying with Avi Lerner and Donny Deutsch — he is going to dinner with friends. He has a right to have a life and go to private dinners. Brett has no reason to hide.”
Source: Variety
Kevin Hart To Produce New FX Comedy Pilot With Lil Dicky
FX is going big with Lil Dicky.
The cable network has ordered a pilot for a half-hour comedy series inspired by the life of the rapper and comedian, whose real name is Dave Burd. The series is centered around a suburban neurotic man in his late twenties who has convinced himself that he’s destined to be one of the best rappers of all time. Now he must convince the world.
The untitled series is based on a story co-written by Burd and “The League” co-creator Jeff Schaffer. Burd wrote the teleplay and will star as well as serve as executive producer for music. The pilot will be directed by Greg Mottola.
The pilot will be executive produced by Burd, Schaffer, Kevin Hart via Hartbeat Productions, Mottola, Marty Bowen, Scooter Braun, Mike Hertz, James Shin and Scott Manson. The pilot is being produced by FX Productions.
Burd achieved critical acclaim and commercial success with his album “Professional Rapper,” which debuted at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Comedy, Rap and Independent Charts, and featured the 2x platinum single “Save Dat Money.” His latest single, “FreakyFriday,” peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has been on the charts since its release nine weeks ago, as the song has surpassed over 500 million global streams in just under two months.
FX also recently gave a series order to the half-hour drama “Mr Inbetween,” based on a short film by Australian actor Scott Ryan, and an adaptation of the 2014 comedy film “What We Do in the Shadows.”
Source: Variety
Rickey Smiley Gives Kid A Car For Defining ‘Determination.’
A student deemed “the definition of determination” was awarded a set of wheels by syndicated morning radio host Rickey Smiley. Graduating high school student Corey Patrick has become a viral sensation with his story of taking a crosstown bus every morning at 4 to complete his high school education. The payoff: a brand new Jeep.
The student’s story gained traction when a bus driver posted a pic on social media of graduating student Patrick in Birmingham, AL. As a result, Patrick was invited to guest on “The Rickey Smiley Morning Show”—based in his hometown—where the host said, “We want to thank you Corey, for showing us the definition of determination”—and then told him he needed to get a driver’s license. With the assistance of University Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Anniston, AL; R&B hitmaker Tyrese; and SummitMedia rhythmic “95.7 Jamz” WBHJ Birmingham, Smiley then handed Patrick the keys to a new car.
Smiley said over the air, “You inspire so many people. You inspire me to do better.” He referenced the fact that Patrick woke up at 4am to catch a bus in the 5am hour to get to school at Tarrant High School in Tarrant, AL. The interview, video and pictures are gaining more traction on Smiley’s website and social media—and have also been covered nationally on NBC’s “Today” show, CNN, People and more.
“The Rickey Smiley Morning Show” is heard weekdays nationally on nearly 60 radio stations. It is syndicated by Reach Media.
Source: Inside Radio
The ‘Bad Boys’ Spinoff ‘LA’s Finest’ Moves Forward With Charter Communications!
I hear talks are progressing between Charter Communications and Sony Pictures TV, and the two sides are now in serious negotiations for a series order to the studio’s LA’s Finest drama pilot starring Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba.
Sony TV took out the action pilot, a spinoff from the Bad Boys movie franchise, immediately after the project’s original network, NBC, surprisingly passed on it 20 days ago. Charter Communications quickly emerged as a likely potential home, starting talks with Sony TV just days later. A deal now appears likely. Reps for Charter and Sony TV declined comment.
With its title recognition and A-list stars, L.A.’s Finest may be used as a key launching piece in Charter Communications’s recently announced strategy to introduce high-end original content on its Spectrum cable systems. The company signaled its entrance in the original scripted series arena by signing co-production deals with AMC Networks and Viacom and by hiring seasoned TV executive Katherine Pope to lead its original content efforts.
Charter, which counts savvy billionaire John Malone as a key stakeholder, is among many cable operators looking to provide content that can stem the tide of cord-cutters ending their pay-TV subscriptions.
With elaborate action sequences, LA’s Finest was one of the most expensive pilots this season, with its budget said to be around $12 million. It follows the Special Agent Syd Burnett character played by Union in 2003’s Bad Boys II as she moves to Los Angeles and joins the LAPD. In the pilot, written by Brandon Margolis and Brandon Sonnier and directed by Anton Cropper, the free-spirited former DEA agent Burnett has a fresh start in her new job as an LAPD detective. She’s partnered with Nancy McKenna (Alba), a working mom who can’t help but look at Syd’s freedom with some grass-is-greener envy.
L.A.’s Finest comes from Jerry Bruckheimer Television, Primary Wave, 2.0 Entertainment and Sony TV. Alba and Union executive produce alongside Sonnier Margolis, Bruckheimer, Belgrad, Jonathan Littman, KristieAnne Reed, Jeff Gaspin and Jeff Morrone.
Source: Deadline
Robin Thede Announced As The Host Of 34th Annual TCA Awards
The Television Critics Association (TCA) announced Thursday that Robin Thede will host the upcoming 34th Annual TCA Awards. Held on August 4 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., the awards show honors the year’s top programs as decided by TV critics from the U.S. and Canada.
Thede, the creator, executive producer, and host of “The Rundown with Robin Thede” on BET, is also known for her work on Comedy Central series “The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore,” where she came the first black female writer in late night. In 2016, she was the first African-American woman to serve as head writer for the White House Correspondents Dinner.
“Outside of #Beychella, nothing has excited me more than hosting this year’s TCA Awards! After all, if a burnt turnip can be president, why can’t I host this incredible show?,” Thede joked in a statement. “I look forward to the event and can’t wait to body roll my way into every critic’s heart.”
The comedian, who has also appeared on “Key & Peele,” “Difficult People,” “Goodwin Games” and “Funny Or Die,” joins the company of past TCA Awards hosts Kristin Chenoweth, James Corden, Terry Crews, Bryan Cranston, Ellen DeGeneres, Conan O’Brien, Drew Carey, Craig Ferguson, Wanda Sykes and Nick Offerman.
The TCA Awards will honor programs across 13 distinct categories highlighting scripted series, performances, youth programming, reality series, and more. The foundation also presents the Heritage Award to one long-standing series that has culturally influenced society, as well as a Career Achievement Award. Nominees will be announced in early June.
Source: Variety
Eddie Murphy To Debut Another Reggae Song This Fall After Filming ‘Dolemite’ And Beverly Hills Cop 4!
According to our sources, we hear that comedian and actor Eddie Murphy continues to be in the studio (actually he never left) and is preparing to debut another reggae song later this year.
Word is that after Murphy films his next two films, the Dolemite remake and another installment of Beverly Hills Cop, he will then debut his new song and possible album. There are also more rumors that he is going to hit the stage with a new comedy set and encompass it with music, but as many folks know in the comedy circles until Murphy actually hits the stage to do stand up, seeing is believing. If we believe the rumor, Murphy is planning to mix his stand up with lots of his musical performances.
Speaking of reggae, his last venture in the genre climbed the Billboard Reggae charts with his song titled, “Oh Jah Jah”, and climbed as far as No. 4 and No. 1 on the iTunes Reggae channel.
“Oh Jah Jah” is not Murphy’s first journey into the reggae genre. Not only did Murphy sing the catchy reggae song “Kill the White People” on SNL, but on Love’s Alright, Murphy teamed up with the legendary Jamaican dancehall artist Shabba Ranks on “I Was A King.” Despite the big-name artists featured on the album, it was neither a critical nor a commercial success, which may be why it was Murphy’s last full-length musical release.
In 2013, Murphy collaborated on “Red Light” with Snoop Dogg’s reggae playing alter-ego Snoop Lion. The video racked up over 7,000,000 YouTube views.
He followed “Red Light” with “Temporary” and the retro R&B jam “Promise (You Won’t Break My Heart)”. As for “Oh Jah Jah,” the song was inspired by news of the Ebola outbreak, according to Murphy in an interview with Billboard. “I was on the balcony watching the news and the song basically came together right there — with me taking it all in and playing chords on my guitar. So I wanted to put it out now because it felt timely,” Murphy said.
