BET Networks, a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA.B sted NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), today announced Academy Award-winning actor and Grammy award-winning musician Jamie Foxx as this year’s “BET Awards” 2018 host. Returning to the stage as host for the second time after nearly a decade, Foxx joins an A-List roster of comedians and entertainers who have lit the room, including Leslie Jones, Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross, Chris Rock, Mo’Nique, Kevin Hart and Chris Tucker. This year’s broadcast celebrates 18 years of dynamic performances, groundbreaking moments, the hottest talent in the game, and entertainment’s most thought-provoking players. Most importantly, the “BET Awards” continues to tackle culturally relevant topics and conversations, setting the standard for one of the most intently unconventional, news-provoking and talked-about broadcasts. The “BET Awards” 2018 will air LIVE on Sunday, June 24 at 8 pm ET from the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, CA on BET.
An award-winning actor, musical artist, and renowned comedian, Jamie Foxx is one of Hollywood’s rare elite multi-faceted performers. Getting his start on the comedy circuit, Foxx burst into the mainstream with, “In Living Color” and “The Jamie Foxx Show.” He most recently appeared in Edgar Wright’s critically acclaimed, “Baby Driver,” alongside Ansel Elgort, and currently executive produces and hosts interactive game show, “Beat Shazam,” now in its second season. In November, Jamie will star in Lionsgate’s Robin Hood opposite Taron Egerton and Jamie Dornan. Foxx also recently wrapped production on his directorial debut, All-Star Weekend that he also wrote and stars in.
As previously announced, DJ Khaled dominates this year’s nominations with a total of 6 including ‘Video of the Year,’ two for ‘Best Collaboration,’ with Rihanna and Bryson Tiller for ‘Wild Thoughts,’ and with Jay-Z, Future and Beyoncé for ‘Top Off,’ ‘Album of the Year,’ and ‘Coca-Cola Viewer’s Choice.’ Kendrick Lamar follows with five nods including ‘Best Collaboration,’ with Rihanna for ‘Loyalty.,’ ‘Video of the Year,’ ‘Album of the Year,’ and ‘Coca-Cola Viewers’ Choice.’ Other leading nominees include Migos, nominated for four awards including ‘Best Group,’ and ‘Album of the Year,” and SZA, also nominated for four awards, including ‘Best Female R&B/Pop Artist’ and ‘Best New Artist.’
BET Networks recognizes artists, entertainers, and athletes across over 19 categories with the “BET Awards” 2018 nominations. The nominations are selected by BET’s Voting Academy, which is comprised of fans and an esteemed group of entertainment professionals in the fields of television, film, music, social media, digital marketing, sports journalism, public relations, and the creative arts.
The “BET Awards” 2018 will premiere around the world on BET’s international networks. It will air in the UK on June 26th at 9:00PM BST, in Africa on June 26th at 8:00PM CAT, in France on June 26th at 9:00PM CEST and in South Korea on June 26th at 9:00PM KST. Internationally, fans in 100 countries can also stream the “BET Awards” 2018 live with BET Play, BET International’s subscription video on demand application. The iOS and Android app, which also features current and classic BET television series, documentaries, stand-up comedy and legendary musical performances, will carry a live feed of the red carpet and the Awards, and is available for download now in the iTunes and Google Play stores for $3.99 a month following a seven-day free trial.
Connie Orlando, Executive Vice-President, Head of Programming at BET will serve as Executive Producer for the “BET Awards” 2018 along with Jesse Collins, CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment.
Comedian Jon Laster Fired From Atlantic City Casino For Doing A Joke About Donald Trump!
According to comedian Jon Laster, one of the most traveled comedians across the country, he was recently fired from an Atlantic City Casino because he performed a Donald Trump joke on stage. According to his social media posts, he was booed on stage for performing the joke and was reprimanded. The reprimand escalated to him being taken off the gig for a week. It also has stirred up some drama from the Atlantic City Casino executives as we hear they are trying to make sure Laster never works there again. No word yet on what the actual joke was-yet.
More on this as the story develops.
Check out the post below;
Halle Berry Joins The Cast Of ‘John Wick: Chapter 3’!
Halle Berry, Anjelica Huston, Asia Kate Dillon, Mark Dacascos, and Jason Mantzoukas have joined the cast of “John Wick: Chapter 3.”
The film, starring Keanu Reeves, will bring back Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane, and Lance Reddick. It will be released by Lionsgate’s Summit Entertainment label on May 17, 2019.
Reeves’ character returns with a $14 million price tag on his head and an army of bounty-hunting killers on his trail. After killing a member of the shadowy international assassin’s guild, the High Table, John Wick is excommunicado, but the world’s most ruthless hit men and women await his every turn.
“We’re thrilled to bring audiences the third installment of our hit ‘John Wick’ franchise with an exciting cast and world-class creative team,” said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chairman Joe Drake. “This is our latest expansion of the ‘John Wick’ universe, which already spans film, television, gaming, and location-based entertainment.”
“John Wick: Chapter 3” will introduce Berry as “Sofia”; Huston as “The Director” and Dillon as “The Adjudicator” of the High Table; Dacascos as an assassin named “Zero;” and Mantzoukas as the “Tick Tock Man.” Also joining the cast are Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Arif Rahman, from “The Raid” franchise, as formidable professional killers that Wick has to face off against, as well as martial arts star Tiger Hu Chen from “Man of Tai Chi.”
Chad Stahelski is returning to direct, and Thunder Road Pictures’ Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee are producing in association with 87Eleven Productions. The franchise is based on an original screenplay by Derek Kolstad. “John Wick: Chapter 3” was written by Kolstad, Chris Collins & Marc Abrams, and Shay Hatten. The third film began principal photography in New York and will move production to Morocco later this year.
The franchise has been a success for the studio, hauling $260 million worldwide. Both films were directed by Chad Stahelski from scripts written by Derek Kolstad, with Reeves portraying a retired hitman seeking vengeance for the killing of his puppy — a gift from his late wife.
Both “John Wick” movies featured elaborate stunts and an impressive body count as Reeves fended off numerous gunmen out to do him in. The second film featured a “Matrix” reunion, with Fishburne starring. Reeves and Fishburne toplined all three “Matrix” films as Neo and Morpheus, respectively.
Source: Variety
R. Kelly Accused Of Sexual Assault And Infecting Woman With Herpes!
A woman filed a lawsuit Monday against R. Kelly, alleging that the singer sexually assaulted her, locked her in rooms to punish her for failing to please him and infected her with herpes.
Faith Rodgers alleges she was in a relationship with Kelly for less than a year, during which time he routinely abused her “mentally, sexually and verbally.” Rodgers alleges that Kelly would video-record her against her will “submitting to deviant and compromising sexual contact.”
“Defendant, R. Kelly, locked Plaintiff in secluded areas including rooms, studios and motor vehicles, for extended periods of time in order to punish Plaintiff for failing to please Defendant sexually and/or for perceived offenses and violations of his prescribed code of conduct,” the suit alleges.
The suit, filed in New York Supreme Court, states allegations of sexual battery, fraud and false imprisonment.
Rodgers, 20, met Kelly a year ago after a concert in San Antonio. They exchanged phone numbers, and Kelly later had her flown out to New York. During their first sexual encounter, Rodgers said she told Kelly she was “not ready to have sex,” but that he disregarded her and engaged in “non-permissive, painful and abusive sex.” Afterward, she alleges that he disparaged what he called her physical inadequacies and “lack of participation.”
She said she only learned later that Kelly had herpes, and that she had been infected.
Rodgers is scheduled to appear Tuesday on “CBS This Morning” to discuss the allegations, which were first leveled in a criminal complaint to Dallas police last month.
Kelly has faced repeated allegations of sexual misconduct, and has recently been targeted by the Time’s Up movement. Spotify has removed him from its playlists.
Source: Variety
Comedy Central to Release THE DAILY SHOW WITH TREVOR NOAH PRESENTS: THE DONALD J. TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL TWITTER LIBRARY
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah‘s acclaimed, interactive library, “The Daily Show Presents: The Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library,” will soon be IMMORTALIZED in print! Written by the writers of THE DAILY SHOW WITH TREVOR NOAHwith daily inspiration from the Commander-in-Tweet and an introduction written by Trevor Noah, Spiegel & Grau, a division of Penguin Random House, will release THE DAILY SHOW WITH TREVOR NOAH Presents: The Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library on Tuesday, July 31.
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Presents: The Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library book will take the form of a proper exhibition catalog based on the brick and mortar exhibition that preceded it. The book’s content will feature both library favorites, and brand-new exhibits. The book will include, but is not limited to:
The Masterpieces: In-depth critical appreciations of history’s most important Trump tweets, from “Very Stable Genius” to “Covfefe” to “Trump Tower Taco Bowl/I Love Hispanics!”
The Greatest Battles:@realDonaldTrump’s brutal Twitter campaigns against fellow Republicans, Diet Coke, women generally, and Kristen Stewart specifically.
Sad! A Retrospective: A compendium of the many people, events, and twists of fate that apparently made Donald Trump feel this human emotion.
Trumpstradamus: DJT’s amazing 140-character predictions for the future.
The Hall of Nicknames: The greatest of Trump’s monikers, from “Lyin’ Ted” to “Low I.Q. Crazy Mika,” accompanied by original caricature artwork.
Trump vs. Trump: You’re going to want to sit for this one. Donald Trump has sometimes been known to contradict himself.
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Presents: The Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Librarywill also include an introduction by Daily Show host and executive producer, Trevor Noah, as well as a foreword by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham; full-color photography from its previous pop-up exhibitions; and even a place for readers to add their own future Trump tweet highlights – because he is making new Twitter history every day.
In June 2017, just steps away from Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan, Comedy Central’s THE DAILY SHOW WITH TREVOR NOAH opened “The Daily Show Presents: The Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library,” a 4,000-square-foot museum space that gave the 45thpresident and his amazing Twitter legacy the respect they deserve. Deemed a “smash hit” (The Washington Post) and “the most impressive satire of the current administration to date” (HuffPost), the library was a remarkable success with capacity crowds over its three-day run. Later that year, the library was staged once again in Chicago at Union Station’s Burlington Room.
The library will next travel to San Francisco, CA in June where it will be staged during the second annual Comedy Central Presents Clusterfest, a three-day comedy and music festival. This year’s festival will be headlined by Jon Stewart, Amy Schumer, The Lonely Island, and Trevor Noah. Now in its second year, Clusterfest will once again take place in the heart of San Francisco at Civic Center Plaza and Bill Graham Civic Auditorium from Friday, June 1 to Sunday, June 3, 2018.
‘Saturday Night Live’ Sees A Ratings Climb With Appearances From Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan, Donald Glover And More!
The May 19 season finale of Saturday Night Live, with host Tina Fey and musical guest Nicki Minaj, averaged a 4.5 Live+Same day household rating in the metered markets and a 1.9 adults 18-49 rating in the markets with local people meters.
That was up notch from last week’s episode hosted by Amy Schumer (4.3, 1.8) and SNL‘s best overnights since the April 7 telecast, with host Chadwick Boseman and musical guest Cardi B (4.6, 2.0).
Still, last night’s show, which included appearances by Alec Baldwin, Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Jerry Seinfeld, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chris Rock, Fred Armisen, Anne Hathaway, Tracy Morgan, Donald Glover, Lin-Manuel Miranda and John Goodman, was off from this year’s season highs, posted by the Jan. 17 episode hosted by Will Ferrell (4.9, 2.3) and from last season’s finale hosted by Dwayne Johnson (5.3, 2.6).
On This Day In Comedy… In 1962 Comedian And Actor Gilbert Esquivel Was Born
On this day in comedy on May 21, 1962, Comedian, Actor, Gilbert Esquivel was born in Parma, Idaho
Esquivel’s parents were migrant workers who kept the family traveling. Eventually, they settled down in Pacoima, California, where young Gilbert became a gangbanger. When he figured out his quality of life aspects would be low based on his lifestyle choice he decided to pull a 180 and get his positive on. He began going to church to hang out with a girl he liked and ended up accepting Jesus as his savior. Next step towards his salvation – he became a comedian. Many of his first bits revolved around his gang life experiences. Why not? It was universal. Who didn’t know a gangbanger?
Gilbert Esquivel found work easily after winning a high-profile comedy competition at the oldest comedy club in Southern California, The Ice House, his first year as a comedian. He came in during the comedy boom and took advantage of the television available. He appeared on a multitude of shows including Que Loco and BET’s Comic View (the first Latin to reach the semi-finals) as well as performing nationally in clubs, prisons and colleges. His comedy style appealed to all audiences; which was evident by his rousing reactions at the Apollo Theater and Caesar’s Palace.
Esquivel is one of the country’s leading Christian Comedians even though he doesn’t classify his comedy by that label. He views himself as a Christian doing comedy. Either way, he’s a funny role model for the nation’s youth. That’s the goal. To show kids it’s more fun to laugh and live a positive life than to cause misery and end up behind bars or under a tombstone.
We just discovered the news that comedian Mickey Gordon has passed away. Gordon was recently one of the cast members from Raising Whitley(OWN network) and if you recall, she had had a massive stroke last year.
Mickey was in the hospital for months slowly recovering from a stroke and partial paralysis.
In addition to an aspiring acting career, Mickey was a Veteran, she served our country as a US NAVY Sailor.
Details on her funeral arrangements coming soon.
Here is an episode featuring Mickey in ‘Raising Whitley’ on the OWN Network.
Comedian Spanky Brown Dies At Age 56!
Comic Spanky Brown, a frequent Knoxville visitor and Memphis native, has died. He was 56.
Brown, whose real name was Byron Yeldell, died May 11 in Virginia, according to an obituary notice.
He was due to come to Knoxville on June 11 for a gig at the International, his website shows.
Many will remember the night in 2013 when he opened for Dave Chappelle at the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville.
Brown delivered a raucous set ahead of Chappelle, but some in the crowd turned unruly and began heckling when the headliner took over. Brown tried to settle the audience down so Chappelle could carry out his show uninterrupted.
Comics and comedy clubs have been paying tribute to Brown.
“It is with shock and extreme sadness to announce the death of Spanky Brown,” the Comedy House in Columbia, S.C., announced last week. “He was a beloved friend who was one of the best comedians to ever perform in the Comedy House. He found his way into our hearts in 1997 at an Open Mic at the Comedy House Theatre in Savannah, Ga. The world is just not as funny without Spanky Brown.”
The Comedy Zone in Charlotte, N.C., will pay homage June 6.
About Brown they posted on May 17: “The comedy world has lost one of its most beloved family members. One of the most genuine and genuinely funny people on the planet. Join us on June 6th as we celebrate the life of Spanky Brown. 100% of ticket sales will go to his family.”
Sean McCarthy, who documents and reports on comedy and comics in America on The Comic’s Comic website, praised Brown for his willingness to help a young comic out.
“Truth was, Spanky made sure he helped others work their way up the comedy ladder. As a testament to his loving and generous spirit, many comedians talked of him this weekend like a big brother or uncle, describing how often he’d get them gigs, either opening for him, or vouching for them with other bookers,” McCarthy wrote May 13.
His TV credits included appearances on Discovery ID and Speed Network, as well as performances on BET’s Comic View, according to McCarthy.
Source: WBIR
Watch some of his stand-up below;
‘L.A.’s Finest,’ The Bad Boy Spin-Off, With Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba, Eyes New Home At Charter
L.A.’s Finest, the pilot many insiders expected to be the biggest slam-dunk of the season, could find a new home at Charter Communications.
Sources confirm to The Hollywood Reporter that the company is in preliminary talks to potentially pick up the Bad Boys II TV spinoff starring Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba.
Charter and Sony Pictures Television Studios, the company behind the former NBC pilot, both declined comment.
Sources say Charter has been actively in the market for scripted originals after hiring Pope at the beginning of the year. Conversations between Charter and Sony for L.A.’s Finest are said to bein the preliminary stages. It’s unclear what budget level Charter is looking for given that L.A.’s Finest, with its star-studded cast, big name producer (in Jerry Bruckheimer) and a licensing fee to potentially pay to Sony, is considered a pricey swing.
L.A.’s Finest, which saw Union reprise her role from the second Bad Boys feature film, was the front-runner all pilot season given its built in premise, star and producing team, which included the feature film franchise’s Jerry Bruckheimer. Union also personally recruited Alba — who hadn’t done TV in years — to be her co-star. The drama landed at NBC with a sizable penalty and was among the network’s first pilot pickups.
Sources note that it was NBC’s former president of entertainment Jennifer Salke who bought L.A.’s Finest when she was at the network but given her move to run Amazon Studios, the drama lost its champion.
The drama revolves around free-spirited former DEA agent Syd Burnett (Union), who has a fresh start in her new job as an LAPD detective. She is partnered with Nancy McKenna (Alba), a working mom who can’t help but look at Syd’s freedom with some grass-is-greener envy. These two have totally different lifestyles and approaches, but they both are at the top of their fields in the action-packed, character-driven procedural. Ernie Hudson, Ryan McPartlin, Zach Gilford and Duane Martin co-starred. The Blacklist duo Brandon Sonnier and Brandon Margolis penned the script and exec produced alongside Bruckheimer, Jonathan Littman, KristieAnne Reed, Jeff Gaspin, Jeff Morrone, Doug Belgrad, Union, Alba and Anton Cropper, the latter of whom directed.
Charter, meanwhile, in January hired former NBC and Chernin Entertainment exec Katherine Pope to head original content and overee the cable giant’s new effort to create its own scripted programming. The company previously announced partnerships with AMC and Viacom, with Pope overseeing those and other forthcoming relationships as the company looked to enter the scripted originals space will oversee those along with future relationships dedicated to its slate of original shows on its own platform as the cable operator looked to retain subscribers in an era of cord cutting.
Should Charter and Sony reach a deal for the show, L.A.’s Finest would be the latest to jump networks in an upfronts season that saw NBC rescue Brooklyn Nine-Nine after Fox’s cancellation and Fox revive ABC’s Last Man Standing. Key to both deals was the fact that the respective networks’ studio counterpart owned each series.
