Regina Hall (Girls Trip) and Paul Scheer (The Disaster Artist, The League) are set to join the cast of the SHOWTIME half-hour comedy pilot BALL STREET. Starring Emmy® nominated and Golden Globe-winning actor Don Cheadle (Avengers: Infinity War) and two-time Tony Award nominee and Grammy® winner Andrew Rannells (Girls, The Intern), BALL STREET is directed and executive produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. The pilot, which has also added Kurt Braunohler (The Big Sick) and Eugene Cordero (Kong: Skull Island), is created by David Caspe (Happy Endings) and Jordan Cahan (My Best Friend’s Girl), who also serve as executive producers and showrunners. Casey Wilson (Happy Endings) will guest star as Tiff, Blair’s (Rannells) girlfriend who appreciates the finer things in life that Blair’s new job may not provide. Reuniting with Happy Endings and Marry Me producers Caspe and Cahan, Wilson will recur if the show goes to series. Production is scheduled to begin in Los Angeles this week. The pilot is a co-production of SHOWTIME and Sony Pictures Television Studios.
BALL STREET takes us back to October 19, 1987 – aka Black Monday – one of the worst stock market crashes in the history of Wall Street. To this day, no one knows who or what caused it. BALL STREET is the story of how a bunch of fearless underdogs took on the blue-blood, old-boys club of Wall Street. Among the intrepid traders who make up the group led by Cheadle’s character are Dawn (Hall), the no-nonsense head of trading and the only woman on the team, along with Keith (Scheer) and Ronnie (Cordero). Braunohler appears as Ty Daverman, a vice president at Morgan Stanley.
In addition to the blockbuster film Girls Trip, Hall’s credits include The Best Man and Think Like a Man. Scheer starred in Human Giant (which he co-created) and has recurred on Veep, Fresh Off the Boat, Wet Hot American Summer and Children’s Hospital, among others. In addition to his stand-up work, Braunohler’s credits include Bunk, Lady Dynamite, Deadbeat and Horrible People. Cordero has recurred on HOUSE OF LIES with Cheadle, along with Grace & Frankie, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and The Good Place. Wilson’s television credits include Happy Endings, Marry Me, The Hotwives and One Mississippi, with film roles including Gone Girl and Julie & Julia.
After surviving a near-fatal bovine attack, a disfigured cafeteria chef (Wade Wilson) struggles to fulfill his dream of becoming Mayberry’s hottest bartender while also learning to cope with his lost sense of taste. Searching to regain his spice for life, as well as a flux capacitor, Wade must battle ninjas, the yakuza, and a pack of sexually aggressive canines, as he journeys around the world to discover the importance of family, friendship, and flavor – finding a new taste for adventure and earning the coveted coffee mug title of World’s Best Lover.
Yvonne Orji has been cast in the upcoming film, Spontaneous, from Awesomeness Films.
Piper Perabo and Rob Rob Huebel were also announced Wednesday.
They join the previously-announced cast members including Riverdale actress Hayley Law, Charlie Plummer and Katherine Langford, who toplines the film.
The film’s description: Mara Carlye (Langford), whose life is forever changed when students in her senior class literally explode for no discernible reason. As students continue to pop like blood-filled balloons and the town descends into both chaos and apathy, Mara and her friends stay close together as they await possible combustion – wondering what part of life is worth living if it might end suddenly.
Orji will play Special Agent Rosetti, “who is investigating the combustions taking place.”
The actress, who stars in Insecure, will also appear in Night School with Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish.
THR first reported the casting.
Could there be a sequel to Get Out. Maybe so, according to the film’s director, Jordan Peele.
He spoke about it with The Hollywood Reporter at their Nominees Night for the Oscar candidates. “I can tell you I will definitely, seriously consider it. I love that universe and I feel like there is more story to tell. I don’t know what it is now, but there are some loose ends,” he said.
He also explained, “When you create something like that, it’s very personal and meaningful, but to hear that people kind of related to that feeling and needed it to be named has been very touching for me.”
Get Out is nominated for several awards at the Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Lead Actor for Daniel Kaluuya.
The film has made nearly $176 million just at the U.S. box office.
On this day in comedy on February 7, 1965, Comedian, Actor, Writer, Producer, Director, Christopher Julius “Chris” Rock III was born in Andrews, South Carolina
Known universally as one of the premier comedians of his generation and voted #5 on Comedy Central’s list of the 100 Greatest Standup Comedians of All Time, Chris Rock’s road in comedy was paved with boulders. After putting up with enough bullying he dropped out of high school, got his GED and hit the work force in the lucrative fast food industry. He found that not to be a good fit. There had to be something better and because he now prized education he applied its principles in his future vocation. One of Chris Rock’s methods of developing an act is to bring his jokes on stage written down in a legal pad and try out each one before an unsuspecting and involuntary Guinea pig audience. It’s that kind of brashness, perseverance and hard work that established him in the many mediums of comedy: film, television, animation, documentaries and theater, but no matter where he used his comedic skills, standup was always the cornerstone of what made Rock so popular. His brand was unapologetic, insightful, bold, opinionated and above all – the unabashed truth.
The career of Chris Rock began in 1984 when he took the stage at New York’s Catch a Rising Star. It wasn’t long before he got his big break in 1985. It was in his first film – Crush Groove, playing “Person Standing Next to Phone during Fight in Club”. That didn’t do much for his career (nor did a Miami Vice guest starring role or a stand up set on Uptown Comedy Express), but when Eddie Murphy caught his act one night Rock got his real big break. Murphy took Rock under his wing and got him a credited part in Beverly Hills Cop II. Rock did his first concert film (Comedy’s Dirtiest Dozen), some more films (I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, New Jack City, Boomerang) a documentary (Who is Chris Rock?)and his first comedy album (Born Suspect). He was a cast member on Saturday Night Live, but he didn’t find that to be a great fit so he moved from NBC to Fox to be a player on In Living Color, but then it got cancelled. So Rock made his own vehicle, CB4, a parody of the rap scene. It was not a success with the critics and Rock fell into a slump. Hollywood obviously didn’t know what to do with him during this period (The Immortals, Panther, Beverly Hills Ninja, Sgt. Bilko). He’d even considered quitting. Then he stopped agonizing over what he wasn’t getting and went back to his first love – stand-up.
In 1996 Chris Rock was a commentator of the Presidential campaign for Comedy Central’s Politically Correct. He was nominated for an Emmy for that coverage. It blended man on the street inquisitiveness with current event savvy. Rock was a hit and what happened next catapulted him into another league. Bring the Pain on HBO was one of their top comedy specials winning Rock two Emmys and putting him in the fast lane. You know you’re hot when you get animated (he played Lil Penny, Penny Hardaway’s alter ego for a Nike campaign). After the year of Rock he did more HBO specials and albums (Bigger & Blacker, Roll With The New, Never Scared, Big Ass Jokes, Kill the Messenger), hosted award shows (MTV Video Music Awards, BET Awards), wrote a book (Rock This), did films (Dogma, Lethal Weapon 4, Nurse Betty, Grown Ups, The Longest Yard, Bad Company, Death at a Funeral), television (The Chris Rock Show), animation (Madagascar series, Osmosis Jones, King of the Hill, Bee Movie) music videos (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Big Daddy Kane, Johnny Cash) and more Chris Rock films (Down to Earth, Pootie Tang, Head of State, I Think I Love My Wife, Good Hair (his doc about hair) Top Five).
Rock defied odds. In 2005 when he hosted the 77th Academy Awards he lambasted the hallowed ceremony, the stars and the entire notion of the presentation. Despite this and the fact many members of the Academy were supremely offended he was invited to host again in 2016. His high school experiences were adapted into the successful sitcom, Everybody Hates Chris (he executive produced and narrated). Rock produced Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell and The Hughleys. In 2011 he was nominated for a Drama League Award for his acting on Broadway in the play, The Motherfucker with the Hat. Rock has done the documentaries of others (Comedian, Torrance Rises, The N-Word, The Aristocrats), guest starred on sitcoms (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Martin, The Bernie Mac Show), popped up in cameos in multiple motion pictures (Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Paparazzi, You Don’t Mess with the Zohan) and directed, Amy Schumer: Live at the Apollo.
Chris Rock has been nominated for 19 major awards and won 8, including 3 Grammys, 2 Primetime Emmys. A Kid’s Choice Award and a Black Reel Award.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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On this day in comedy on February 6, 1957, Comedian, Director, Actor, Writer, Producer, Robert Townsend was born in Chicago, Illinois
After honing his skills at Chicago’s X Bag Theatre; The Experimental Black Actors Guild and at Second City, Townsend got his start in comedy at The Improv. He moved to New York to further his education with the Negro Ensemble Company. Then following a string of small stereotypical parts (Cooley High, Monkey Hustle, American Flyers, Streets of Fire, Ratboy) and finding rare fulfillment as an actor (he did A Soldier’s Story with a predominantly black cast and was chest-fallen when he discovered that might be the only one he would make in his entire career) Townsend co-wrote (with Keenen Ivory Wayans) and directed Hollywood Shuffle. This parody of how it is for minority talent in Tinsel Town put the struggling entertainer on the map. The film, financed with Townsend’s own funds from acting and his credit cards, was a low budget risk and major box office success. A star was born.
Robert Townsend’s initial success allowed him to pursue an aggressive agenda of black projects. He directed Eddie Murphy’s Raw. He did Robert Townsend and His Partners in Crime for HBO featuring unsung comedians at the time such as Paul Mooney, Franklyn Ajaye, Robin Harris and Damon Wayans, to name a few. Townsend co-starred with Denzel Washington in The Mighty Quinn. His next theatrical release was The Five Heartbeats, an enduring musical focusing on the trials and tribulations of a fictional 60s R&B singing group. He made Meteor Man; about a black super hero with limited powers. He returned to television with his own variety show on Fox, Townsend Television and a few seasons later he created his own sitcom for the WB; The Parent ‘Hood. He directed B*A*P*S with Halle Berry, Carmen: A Hip Hopera with Beyoncé and 10,000 Black Men Named George; also Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy; a documentary on the history of black comedy, Livin’ for Love: The Natalie Cole Story, Holiday Heart, Bill Cosby 77 and others.
Robert Townsend won the Cable ACE Award for Robert Townsend and His Partners in Crime and he was the Programming Director for the now defunct Black Family Channel.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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On this day in comedy on February 5, 1961, Comedian, Actor, Timothy “Tim” Meadows born Highland Park, MI
A student of radio and television in college, Meadows got started in improvisational comedy at the Soup Kitchen Saloon and in show business performing in The Second City troupe. Chris Farley was also a member; which was Meadows first contact with his destiny. A short time later he became a cast member on NBCs long running hit sketch show, Saturday Night Live and went on to be its longest running cast member for a record 9 seasons (until Darrell Hammond broke that record years later). Meadows played a lot of characters: Michael Jackson, O. J. Simpson, Erykah Badu, Tiger Woods and Oprah Winfrey, but it was his signature persona that got made into a film.
The Ladies Man was extremely popular on a sketch show like SNL. In the theater it bombed. Even though the character of Leon Phelps: a horny radio talk show host prone to say whatever inappropriate thing he wants seemed a natural for audiences always on the hunt for shock value, this flick didn’t jolt them enough. Regardless, it was but a minor setback for Meadows. He’d made a lot of friends at Saturday Night Live over the years and they showed it by keeping their alumni buddy working. He made appearances in Mean Girls (a Tina Fey film), The Coneheads (Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, and Larraine Newman), It’s Pat (Julia Sweeney), Wayne’s World 2 (Mike Myers), The Benchwarmers (Rob Schneider), Trainwreck (Bill Hader) and Grown Ups 1 & 2 (Adam Sandler).
Meadows let friends pay him any time to perform, but he also worked for others. No need to feel bad for the guy because over his career Meadows was a regular on The Michael Richards Show, Lil Bush, The Bill Engvall Show, Glory Dance, and Mr. Box Office. He co-starred on the NBC sitcom, Marry Me. He appeared in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. Meadows had recurring roles on Help Me Help You, Living with Fran, The New Adventures of Old Christine, The Life & Times of Tim, Suburgatory and Bob’s Burgers. He’d pop up on The Colbert Report and guest starred on One on One, Everybody Hates Chris, The Office, Reba, According to Jim, Lovespring International, Funny or Die Presents, 30 Rock, The Venture Bros, Comedy Bang! Bang!, The Goldbergs and The Spoils Before Dying.
Like most dedicated entertainers, when not in front of the camera Tim Meadows returns to his roots and continues to perform improv on stages all over the world.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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On this day in comedy on February 4, 1983, Comedian, Actor, Writer, Hannibal Buress was born in Chicago, IL
It can be said that Buress is not the corporate type. When he wrote for old-school network NBCs Saturday Night Live in 2009, he left in 2010. That same year he got a job writing for the NBC sitcom, 30 Rock and quit after 6 months. He seemed to work better with the looser constrictions of cable which became evident by his relationship with Comedy Central. He appeared on The Awkward Comedy Show special for them. He did stand-up on Live at Gotham and John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show. Buress released his second album, (His first was My Name is Hannibal from 2010) Animal Furnace in 2012. Comedy Central did it as a special and he did an hour-long comedy special for them called Hannibal Buress Live from Chicago in 2014. He’s on the series Broad City, co-host The Eric Andre Show and has his own show Why? With Hannibal Buress. All on Comedy Central.
This is not to say Buress is exclusive to Comedy Central. He has also been seen on Louie and Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell (FX), Lopez Tonight and Conan (TBS), Late Show with David Letterman and The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS), Jimmy Kimmel Live!(ABC), The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (NBC) and Russell Howard’s Good News (BBC).
However, what put Buress on the map for many non-comedy aficionados was his bit about Bill Cosby that went viral after being in his set for six months. The routine about the legendary comic dubbed “America’s Dad” and his past rape allegations in the face of his better than thou posture took on a life all its own as woman after woman emerged to either reiterate claims of drugging and sexual abuse or level never-before-leveled claims against the iconic comedian. It was a media circus and Buress was at the center of the controversy. But being a stand-up comedian meant Hannibal Buress had the distinct advantage of dissecting the situation on stage and incorporate in as part of the act that got him into that vortex in the first place.
Hannibal Buress has won Chicago’s Funniest Person Award (2007), the Best Performance in a Host Stand-Up/Sketch Comedy Program Series (2011) and the American Comedy Award (2012).
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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On this day in comedy on February 3, 2009, Diary of a Tired Black Man was released
This independent film was the brainchild of talented writer/director, Tim Alexander. Using a documentary style Alexander tells his story of a black man in a long-term relationship who finally grows tired of the constant drama and seeks happiness by making his exit. However, he finds out that leaving a drama-filled relationship does not end the drama. For instance, when he comes to his former opulent home to pick up his daughter for his visitation he is ridiculed by his ex-wife’s girlfriends for being a weak ni**a. He must remind them that in the 7 years he and his wife were together he never messed with white women and he is the one who bought the house and all the furniture in it and pays his alimony on time. So, he is not a weak man. He is a tired one. Then he points out that the complaint they all have is that all black men are weak yet none of them have any man.
Alexander’s mixing of comedy, drama and interviews makes for an interesting film. The theme is familiar, but seldom has it been played out so frankly and universally. The problems this man faced are not exclusive to black men and not exclusive to just men. There are many tired women of all races coming home to dysfunctional pairings and a film like this can wake up all viewers to cut your losses and seek happiness before it’s too late.
Diary of a Tired Black Man stars Jimmy Jean-Louis as James, the tired black man. Paula Lema plays is wife who is prone to go off and runs him off. The film also features Natasha M. Dixon, Kimmarie Johnson and Alexander as himself.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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Decatur-based writer David Peisner regularly watched “In Living Color,” the rollicking African-American-themed sketch comedy series, during its run on the then-fledgling Fox network from 1990-1994.
He didn’t think about “In Living Color” very often over the next two decades, until he considered writing a magazine article on the 25th anniversary of the show’s debut. “I pitched it for Details as an oral history of the show,” Peisner says, “but there was way more here than was going to fit into a magazine story.”
Upon that initial article, Peisner wrote his new book, “Homey Don’t Play That!,” titled after the catchphrase of Damon Wayans’ cantankerous Homey the Clown, one of the show’s most popular characters. The subtitle, “The Story of ‘In Living Color’ and the Black Comedy Revolution,” signals the book’s breadth.
“I started to think of the show as a hinge moment in culture,” Peisner says. “It was part of this movement that changed culture. And it happened slowly — it didn’t happen overnight.”
The book begins with creator Keenen Ivory Wayans accepting the show’s Emmy for outstanding variety, music or comedy series in 1990. Then “In Living Color” goes unmentioned for almost 100 pages. Peisner explores in depth such topics as trailblazing black entertainers, especially Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy; the background of the Wayans family; and the American racial and political tensions of the 1980s that would inform the show’s satire. Peisner describes how Keenen collaborated with actor Robert Townsend on “Hollywood Shuffle,” a film that anticipated the TV show’s irreverent sensibility and was famously funded by Townsend maxing out his credit cards.
Keenen found an opportunity for a TV series, pitched as an African-American version of “Laugh-In,” with the emergence of the Fox network, then airing only a few nights a week. “It’s hard for people to remember when TV was three channels. It was crazy that someone was going to try a fourth channel,” Peisner says. “Certainly in 1990, Fox had nothing to lose. All the executives I talked to wanted to rock the boat, they wanted something edgy — but maybe not so edgy that it would make advertisers complain.”
Popular — and controversial — from its premiere, “In Living Color” became a breakthrough show for such future movie stars as Jamie Foxx, Jim Carrey and Jennifer Lopez (one of the backup dancers, the Fly Girls), as well as Keenen, Damon, Kim, Shawn and Marlon Wayans.
Peisner speculates about why so many of the Wayans went into comedy following their impoverished New York childhood. “Ten kids growing up in a small apartment, it was kind of a comedy boot camp for the family members inclined that way,” he says. “So many people said to me how incredible tightly knit that family is, they really look out for each other. Keenen was the first through the door, and he brought his family with him.”
One of surprises of “Homey Don’t Play That!” was that behind the scenes, the show’s writing staff was heavily white. Peisner points out that this was not for lack of trying by Keenen and the other producers. “They would’ve loved to have more black writers, but there weren’t many black writers with TV resumes. This was coming off an era when the black shows like ‘The Jeffersons’ and ‘Good Times’ had almost entirely white writers. ‘In Living Color’ hired a bunch of stand-ups — one guy was a dancer, but he was funny. One had been a receptionist at The Hollywood Reporter.”
Peisner acknowledges that some of the show’s sketches have aged better than others, citing the stereotypical gay film critics from “Men on Film.”
“The ‘Men on Film’ sketches can be hard to watch now, although they weren’t mean-spirited,” Peisner says. “In some ways, that makes you optimistic, since it shows how attitudes towards gay people and sexuality have improved since then.”
The book also explores how “In Living Color” opened up new audiences to the then-resurgent musical form of hip-hop, and not just through performances by the likes of Queen Latifah, Arrested Development and Tupac Shakur. “Hip-hop filtered into the sketches, the attitudes, the dress, the energy,” says Peisner. “(The show) brought something that was on the coasts to a lot more people. Rapper Big Daddy Kane told me, ‘There was no hope that people in Middle America could know anything about me, until I could get on that show.’
“Today, hip-hop culture has become pop culture. It’s mainstream in a way that people born in 2000 don’t remember,” Peisner says.
The book reveals that in some ways, the lasting legacy of “In Living Color” belongs with the show’s many writers, producers and performers who went on to create more African-American programming. “Larry Wilmore started as a writer on ‘In Living Color’ and became a one-man wrecking crew who changed a lot of TV,” with creative or producer credits including “The Bernie Mac Show,” “The PJs,” “Black-ish” and “Insecure.”
Plus, the show inspired a younger generation of young viewers who followed. “People who grew up on shows like ‘In Living Color’ became showrunners and creators,” says Peisner. “Before Robert Townsend and Keenen, there were no examples of African-American creators apart from a couple of blaxploitation filmmakers. They were like the first guys over the hill.” They helped set examples for the likes of “Atlanta” creator Donald Glover or “Get Out” director Jordan Peele.
“I’m not saying that all of these happened because of ‘In Living Color,’ but it helped change the culture,” says Peisner. “It helped say that black culture isn’t just for black people. White people can like it, too.”
Readers can debate the extent of the influence of “In Living Color,” but “Homey Don’t Play That!” makes a compelling case for how much more colorful the culture became after the show’s run.
EVENT PREVIEW
“Homey Don’t Play That!” by David Peisner (Atria Books, 353 pages, $28)
Source: Curt Holman/Atlanta Journal-Constitution