On this day in comedy on January 19, 1955, Comedian, Actor, Paul Rodriguez is born in Mazatlán, Mexico
Rodriguez was initially going to be an attorney, but decided on comedy instead (though that’s not much of a stretch). His career took off quickly with appearances in the films D C Cab and Quicksilver. If you missed him in either, no problem – he got his own sitcom, a.k.a. Pablo; an ABC series meant to pull in the Latin viewing audience. It did for seven episodes before it was canceled. So it was back to movies (The Whoopee Boys, Miracles, Born in East L. A., Made in America, Tortilla Soup, Rat Race, and Ali), TV guest starring roles (Tall Tales and Legends, The Golden Girls, Trial & Error) and album recordings (You’re in America Now, Speak Spanish).
Rodriguez was no one trick pony. In 1988 he hosted the epitome of Americana, The Newlywed Game for a season. He hosted El Show de Paul Rodriguez for Univision from 1990 to 1993. He directed himself in the film A Million to Juan and did voiceover work for King of the Hill, Dora the Explorer and Beverly Hills Chihuahua. His second album, Cheese and Macaroni was released in 1997 and he produced and starred in The Original Latin Kings of Comedy movie in 2002. In 2009 he did the Paul Rodriguez: Comedy Rehab movie and Paul Rodriguez: Just for the Record, a comedy documentary in 2011. From 2010 to 2011 Rodriguez hosted two seasons of Mis Videos Locos as part of MTV’s Latin programming.
Paul Rodriguez’s a businessman as well as a comedian. He is part owner of the Laugh Factory in Hollywood and has farming interests in Central Valley. His activism is renowned: charity shows to benefit causes of the Latin community, his 1995 comedy special shot at San Quentin State Prison, his chairmanship of the California Latino Water Coalition.
Comedy Central ranked Rodriguez #74 on its 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Standups of All Time and he won the NCLR Bravo Awards “Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Variety or Music Series / Special” for his work on Latino Laugh Festival in 1996.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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black-ish star Marsai Martin’s breakout role is here.
She has been tapped to lead the upcoming film, Little, which is from Will Packer and Kenya Barris.
The film “centers on a woman who gets the chance to relive the carefree life as her younger self (Martin), when the pressures of adulthood become too much.”
Martin’s not just starring in the film either. She came up for the script idea and will executive produce as well.
Drumline writer Tina Gordon wrote the most recent draft of the idea and Girls Trip writer Tracy Oliver wrote the first draft, which are both based on Martin’s idea.
Packer and James Lopez, producers of Girls Trip are producing through Will Packer Productions along with black-ish creator Barris. Girls Trip star Regina Hall and Josh Martin will executive produce with Martin.
Martin has starred in black-ish for all four seasons so far.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Shadow & act
In their latest announcement of schedule moves, Sony has revealed its anticipated June 15, 2018 release date for the upcoming Super Fly remake, starring Trevor Jackson and Jason Mitchell. This puts it up against Disney/Pixar’s The Incredibles and Warner Bros/New Line’s Tag. Considering casting announcements just happened within the last month, they are moving quickly on this release.
Sony also moved Anne Hathaway’s Barbie movie from this August to May 2020, and pushed Slender Man (which is from a black director, Sylvain White) back a little bit from May 2018 to August 24, 2018.
Trevor Jackson will lead the film as Youngblood Priest, with Jason Mitchell set to co-star Eddie, Lex Scott Davis as Georgia, Andrea Londo as Cynthia, Jacob Ming-Trent as Fat Freddy and Omar Chapparo as Adalberto. Rapper 21 Savage is also in talks to join the film in some capacity.
Additionally, rapper Future has come on board as a producer. He’ll also curate the soundtrack. Future will produce with Joel Silver and Steven R. Shore, the son of the original film’s producer Sig Shore, will be an executive producer with Matthew Hirsch, Hal Sadoff and Aaron Ausch. Alex Tse is writing the script.
The original film, which was directed by Gordon Parks, Jr. starred Ron O’Neal as Youngblood Priest, a cocaine dealer trying to get out of the business, and centers on him securing one last deal before getting out. It resulted in two sequels, Super Fly T.N.T. and The Return of Superfly.
Parks, Jr.’s father (Gordon Parks), directed Shaft, which is considered the staple film in blaxploitation genre that took that generation by storm. The original Super Fly’s soundtrack, written and produced by Curtis Mayfield, was even more successful than the film, outgrossing its movie counterpart.
The film itself, now a cult classic, did garner criticism because of its portrayal of black people and drugs.
Director X, whose real name is Julien Christian Lutz, is an accomplished music video director, doing work for the likes of Kanye West, Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj and Rihanna. His feature directorial debut was the Canadian drama film, Across the Line, which starred Stephan James.
Jackson, who currently stars in the black-ish spinoff, grown-ish, was last seen in a film via the controversial 2017 black Greek hazing drama, Burning Sands. TV-wise, he also starred in Season 2 of American Crime with Regina King and Andre 3000.
Mitchell had a huge 2017 appearing in Detroit and Mudbound. He also stars in Lena Waithe’s The Chi on HBO.
This Super Fly remake comes as there is a booming development market for blaxploitation remakes. Kylie Bunbury is starring in a Get Christie Love TV series for ABC, Meagan Good is starring in a Foxy Brown series for Hulu, Jessie T. Usher is starring in an Untitled Shaft reboot and Misha Green is writing a Cleopatra Jones film remake — just to name a few.
Source: Shadow & Act
ABC has officially ordered the reboot of “Get Christie Love” to pilot, Variety has learned.
Kylie Bunbury takes over the lead role in the reboot, described as a music-driven one-hour drama that centers on Christie Love, an African American female CIA agent who leads an elite ops unit. She transforms into whomever she needs to be to get the job done, especially when it’s down to the wire and the stakes are life and death. The project had been given a pilot production commitment at ABC.
Courtney A. Kemp will serve as executive producer and showrunner on the reboot. Debra Martin Chase will executive produce via Martin Chase Productions along with Vin Diesel and Shana C. Waterman via One Race Television. The project is a co-production of Lionsgate Television and Universal Television.
This is the latest TV reboot in the works from Diesel and One Race. The “Fast and Furious” star is also attached as an executive producer to a reboot of “Miami Vice” that is currently in development at NBC.
The original series launched as a TV movie on ABC in January 1974, starring Teresa Graves. It subsequently became a series that ran on ABC from September 1974 until April 1975. It was the first one-hour drama to star an African American female in the leading role.
Bunbury was most recently seen portraying the first female professional Major League Baseball player for Fox in “Pitch.” Her past television roles include ABC Family’s murder mystery series “Twisted”, working opposite Ben Kingsley in the mini-series, “Tut”, and joining the CBS hit summer series “Under The Dome” for writer and creator, Brian K. Vaughn, and Stephen King as a key figure to the finale of the series.
Bunbury is represented by Principal Entertainment and ICM Partners. Kemp is represented by CAA and attorney Michael Gendler. One Race Television is represented by CAA, manager Stacy O’Neil, and attorneys Patty Felker and Eric Suddleson. Martin Chase Productions is represented by CAA and attorneys Nina Shaw and Laurie Megery.
Source: Variety
Tiffany Haddish has signed a first-look deal with HBO.
The two-year pact with Haddish and her She Ready production company comes on the heels of a breakout year for the comic, who won a New York Film Critics Circle best-supporting actress award for her performance in 2017’s “Girls Trip.” Her book “The Last Black Unicorn,” released last month by Gallery Books, was named a New York Times bestseller. Her new stand-up special “Tiffany Haddish: She Ready!” premiered on Showtime last year, and Haddish recently announced 2018 dates for her new stand-up tour.
Haddish will next star opposite Tracy Morgan in TBS’ “The Last OG,” which premieres in April on TBS. She will also star alongside Kevin Hart in Universal’s feature film “Night School,” set to premiere in September.
Among her other upcoming projects are starring roles in New Line’s “The Kitchen” and Universal’s “The Temp,” with Haddish set to serve as executive producer on the latter film. The comic also has “Limited Partners” in development at Paramount, and is set to star in and serve as an exec producer on the project. She recently wrapped production on “The Oath” alongside Ike Barinholtz.
Source: Variety
This Is Not Happening
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NEW YORK, January 23, 2018 – This Is Not Happening has big things in store with new host Roy Wood Jr. at the helm of the storytelling madness. Season four debuts on Friday, February 2 at Midnight ET/PT on Comedy Central with a supersized one-hour premiere featuring stories about “filth” from Roy Wood Jr., Howie Mandel and Scott Thompson. Wood Jr. is extending his hosting duties to include original companion interstitials that will air on Fridays beginning with the launch of season four of This Is Not Happening.
Each episode of This Is Not Happening centers on a specific theme – e.g. “wasted,” “romance,” et. al. – with host Wood Jr. and a roster of comedians recounting their most outrageous true-life tales in front of a live audience at Cheetahs in Hollywood. This Is Not Happening originally debuted as a digital series on cc.com, which will continue to feature exclusive digital stories throughout the run of new episodes.
Season four episodes include:
Episodes of This Is Not Happening will be available the day of each new premiere on the Comedy Central App and ThisIsNotHappening.com, on which seasons 1-3 are currently available. In addition, episodes will launch the day after each linear premiere on iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, VUDU, Verizon Flexview, Microsoft Movies & TV, Sony PlayStation, and Frontier Communications. Leading up to the on-air premiere, Comedy Central Stand-Up and ThisIsNotHappening.com will feature preview stories and digital exclusives from the new season. Additional exclusives and extended versions of many stories will appear on the site throughout the season and following the season finale. Stories from This Is Not Happening can also be found during the season in the CC app. Fans can follow Comedy Central Stand-Up on Twitter at @standup, and follow Wood Jr. on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and tweet using the hashtag #ThisIsNotHappening to join the social conversation around the series. Wood Jr. will also provide fans with tips on effective storytelling via @ccstandup’s Instagram story on February 2.
In 2015, Wood Jr. became a part of “The World’s Fakest News Team” as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. He has been described by The Hollywood Reporter as “a standout,” and Entertainment Weekly called his brand of thought provoking comedy “charismatic crankiness.” In 2016, Variety named him one of “10 Comics to Watch.” He filmed his first one-hour stand-up special, Roy Wood Jr.: Father Figure, at Center Stage in Atlanta, which premiered on Comedy Central last year.
This Is Not Happening was created by Ari Shaffir, Eric Abrams and Avalon’s Sam Saifer. Jeff Tomsic, Saifer, and Abrams (who serves as showrunner and director) are Executive Producers. Mark Palansky also directs. Anne Harris and Ryan Moran are the Executives in Charge of Production for Comedy Central. Wood Jr. is represented by UTA and Mainstay Entertainment.
Bill Cosby jokes about his blindness at Germantown’s La Rosa Jazz Club pic.twitter.com/XnkKgg15kQ
— Jeremy Roebuck (@jeremyrroebuck) January 23, 2018
While many have argued that Bill Cosby’s legacy as a comedian has been disgraced and tarnished because of his legal troubles, it appears that the 80-year-old is back on the circuit. The funnyman performed at the Lorosa Jazz Club on Monday night (January 22) alongside the Tony Williams Jazz Quartet. Representatives for Cosby have reportedly said that he is “proclaiming to honor his fans with a historic performance,” and that is why he performed a “special comedy concert” for the Philadelphia crowd.
This is the first time Cosby had done standup since his sexual assault trial last summer. In a video obtained by TMZ, Cosby seems to focus most of his material on being blind and not the mistrial. The 80-year-old has claimed to be going blind with the onset of old age.
The retrial in the sexual assault case where Cosby faces accusations from Andrea Constand is scheduled to take place in April with the jury selection beginning on March 29. Constand is just one of many women who has accused Cosby of drugging and assaulting them; her allegations stem from 2004. Cosby asserts that the sexual relationship between he and her was 100% consensual. A judge in Norristown, PA as made that decision and it is reported that the jury will be made up of only local residents. The timing of the comedy special in Philly is suspicious considering these facts.
Source: TMZ, Twitter, Vlad TV
Oscar nominations for the 90th annual awards were announced on Tuesday morning from the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Academy President John Bailey was joined by Tiffany Haddish and Andy Serkis to reveal the nominees in 24 categories.
Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water” continued its awards show streak, leading the pack with 13 nominations. Martin McDonagh’s “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” followed behind with nine nods and “Dunkirk” with seven. All three films earned best picture nominations. The rest of the category was rounded out by “Call Me By Your Name,” “Darkest Hour,” “Get Out,” “The Phantom Thread,” and “The Post.”
The Academy Awards — hosted by Jimmy Kimmel for the second time — will air live on ABC on March 4.
Here is the list of 2018 Oscar nominations:
Best Picture:
“Call Me by Your Name”
“Darkest Hour”
“Dunkirk”
“Get Out”
“Lady Bird”
“Phantom Thread”
“The Post”
“The Shape of Water”
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Lead Actor:
Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name”
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Phantom Thread”
Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”
Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”
Denzel Washington, “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”
Lead Actress:
Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water”
Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya”
Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”
Meryl Streep, “The Post”
Supporting Actor:
Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”
Woody Harrelson, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Richard Jenkins, “The Shape of Water”
Christopher Plummer, “All the Money in the World”
Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Supporting Actress:
Mary J. Blige, “Mudbound”
Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”
Lesley Manville, “Phantom Thread”
Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”
Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water”
Director:
“Dunkirk,” Christopher Nolan
“Get Out,” Jordan Peele
“Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig
“Phantom Thread,” Paul Thomas Anderson
“The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro
Animated Feature:
“The Boss Baby,” Tom McGrath, Ramsey Ann Naito
“The Breadwinner,” Nora Twomey, Anthony Leo
“Coco,” Lee Unkrich, Darla K. Anderson
“Ferdinand,” Carlos Saldanha
“Loving Vincent,” Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman, Sean Bobbitt, Ivan Mactaggart, Hugh Welchman
Animated Short:
“Dear Basketball,” Glen Keane, Kobe Bryant
“Garden Party,” Victor Caire, Gabriel Grapperon
“Lou,” Dave Mullins, Dana Murray
“Negative Space,” Max Porter, Ru Kuwahata
“Revolting Rhymes,” Jakob Schuh, Jan Lachauer
Adapted Screenplay:
“Call Me by Your Name,” James Ivory
“The Disaster Artist,” Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
“Logan,” Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green
“Molly’s Game,” Aaron Sorkin
“Mudbound,” Virgil Williams and Dee Rees
Original Screenplay:
“The Big Sick,” Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani
“Get Out,” Jordan Peele
“Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig
“The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Martin McDonagh
Cinematography:
“Blade Runner 2049,” Roger Deakins
“Darkest Hour,” Bruno Delbonnel
“Dunkirk,” Hoyte van Hoytema
“Mudbound,” Rachel Morrison
“The Shape of Water,” Dan Laustsen
Best Documentary Feature:
Best Documentary Short Subject:
“Edith+Eddie,” Laura Checkoway, Thomas Lee Wright
“Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405,” Frank Stiefel
“Heroin(e),” Elaine McMillion Sheldon, Kerrin Sheldon
“Knife Skills,” Thomas Lennon
“Traffic Stop,” Kate Davis, David Heilbroner
Best Live Action Short Film:
“DeKalb Elementary,” Reed Van Dyk
“The Eleven O’Clock,” Derin Seale, Josh Lawson
“My Nephew Emmett,” Kevin Wilson, Jr.
“The Silent Child,” Chris Overton, Rachel Shenton
“Watu Wote/All of Us,” Katja Benrath, Tobias Rosen
Best Foreign Language Film:
“A Fantastic Woman” (Chile)
“The Insult” (Lebanon)
“Loveless” (Russia)
“On Body and Soul (Hungary)
“The Square” (Sweden)
Film Editing:
“Baby Driver,” Jonathan Amos, Paul Machliss
“Dunkirk,” Lee Smith
“I, Tonya,” Tatiana S. Riegel
“The Shape of Water,” Sidney Wolinsky
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Jon Gregory
Sound Editing:
“Baby Driver,” Julian Slater
“Blade Runner 2049,” Mark Mangini, Theo Green
“Dunkirk,” Alex Gibson, Richard King
“The Shape of Water,” Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Ren Klyce, Matthew Wood
Sound Mixing:
“Baby Driver,” Mary H. Ellis, Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin
“Blade Runner 2049,” Mac Ruth, Ron Bartlett, Doug Hephill
“Dunkirk,” Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo
“The Shape of Water,” Glen Gauthier, Christian Cooke, Brad Zoern
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Stuart Wilson, Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick
Production Design:
“Beauty and the Beast,” Sarah Greenwood; Katie Spencer
“Blade Runner 2049,” Dennis Gassner, Alessandra Querzola
“Darkest Hour,” Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
“Dunkirk,” Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis
“The Shape of Water,” Paul D. Austerberry, Jeffrey A. Melvin, Shane Vieau
Original Score:
“Dunkirk,” Hans Zimmer
“Phantom Thread,” Jonny Greenwood
“The Shape of Water,” Alexandre Desplat
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” John Williams
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Carter Burwell
Original Song:
“Mighty River” from “Mudbound,” Mary J. Blige
“Mystery of Love” from “Call Me by Your Name,” Sufjan Stevens
“Remember Me” from “Coco,” Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez
“Stand Up for Something” from “Marshall,” Diane Warren, Common
“This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman,” Benj Pasek, Justin Paul
Makeup and Hair:
“Darkest Hour,” Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski, Lucy Sibbick
“Victoria and Abdul,” Daniel Phillips and Lou Sheppard
“Wonder,” Arjen Tuiten
Costume Design:
“Beauty and the Beast,” Jacqueline Durran
“Darkest Hour,” Jacqueline Durran
“Phantom Thread,” Mark Bridges
“The Shape of Water,” Luis Sequeira
“Victoria and Abdul,” Consolata Boyle
Visual Effects:
In the last stretch of its current existence, The Weinstein Company has pulled three films from its upcoming schedule, including The Upside.
The film was set for a March 9 release date.
We’re sure this will be a big film to pick up by another distributor or whoever buys TWC now, as Hart is having huge successes with his latest release, Jumanji, and Kidman is sweeping awards season for her role in television’s Big Little Lies.
The Upside is the American remake of the international French blockbuster, The Intouchables, which helped make Omar Sy a star. It’s also a role for which he won the Cesar (the French equivalent of the Oscars) in 2012, for Best Actor.
The remake stars Hart and Cranston in the roles originated by Frenchmen Sy and Francois Cluzet.
Joining Hart and Cranston in the film are Julianna Margulies, Nicole Kidman, Aja Naomi King and Jahi Winston.
Source: Shadow & Act