On January 12, 1996, Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood was released by Miramax
Produced by Keenen Ivory Wayans from a Shawn & Marlon Wayans script, this film is a parody of hood flicks. The main celluloid classics from the ghetto to get the spoof treatment are Menace II Society and Boyz n the Hood. The interweaving storyline of a young black youth delivered by his mother to his father to be raised by a male role model surrounded by questionable role models in the way of friends and the threat of thuggery and hopelessness, gunplay and racial insensitivity, sexual promiscuity and self-hatred. Yeah, it’s all there.
This hilarious movie was directed by Paris Barclay and stars Shawn Wayans as Tray that kid dropped off by his mama (Vivica A. Fox) to his Similac smelling daddy (Lahmard Tate). Marlon Wayans is his crazy, 2nd Amendment abusing homeboy; Chris Spencer is the militant with a love of white meat (women) and Suli McCullough is the requisite hood flick brother in a wheel chair, Darrel Heath channels the brother fresh out of prison who still acts like he’s in and Tracey Cherelle Jones has the role as the round away girl everybody has rolled with, but Tray is the latest honoree and newest baby’s daddy (as he was informed she was pregnant seconds after their first intercourse). There’s acrobatic Korean liquor store owners, overly possessive gangbangers, weed smoking, break-dancing senior citizens, black cops who hate black people, a wise neighborhood mailman filled with sage wisdom, horny hood skanks, hornier hood crackheads and of course – The Man (and a freckly faced one at that).
Since this is a comedy – it’s all good at the end. That included the film itself. Though the critics didn’t care for it, the ticket buying public approved. On a budget of $3.8 million the film with the title too long to type again made $20,109,115 domestically.
By Darryl “D’Militant Littleton
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On January 10, 1999, The PJs premiered on FOX
This controversial stop motion animated sitcom showed life in the projects. Each episode dealt with slumlord, Thurgood Stubbs (the voice of Eddie Murphy) and his ways to get out of fixing tenant’s dwellings, consuming ghetto grub (including Forties) and his schemes to beat the system. His wife, Muriel (Loretta Devine) is an ole Alabama girl who attended school back in the George Wallace (not the comedian) days and his friends are as lazy as he is. Thurgood’s got tenants who hate him, kids who idolize him and crackheads, relatives, in-laws and law enforcement officials who get on his last nerve.
The PJs was created by Eddie Murphy, Larry Wilmore and Steve Tompkins. It was produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment, Will Vinton Studios, Touchstone Television and The Murphy Company. The music was provided by George Clinton and QD3. The show was popular, yet laborious to produce; each installment took no less than 2 months to complete. In its final season The PJs moved from Fox to the WB. Murphy was AWOL (rumored to be off filming a movie) and replaced vocally by Phil Morris (Mark Moseley, Murphy’s voice double is also heard throughout). When that third season was over the sitcom was cancelled, but aired for a while in syndication.
During its 3-year run The PJs won 3 Emmys and an Annie Award.
The PJs aired its last episode on January 8, 2002.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
Check out this clip:
In this VladTV exclusive, Aries Spears admits that he made a mistake with Corey Holcomb A few months ago, Williams appeared as a guest on the 5150 show which ended in an altercation with Zo Williams (Holcomb’s co-host).
Spears talked about the possible repercussions such as calling up his goons, but decided ultimately to defuse the situation — despite having an ego. Spears says he believes in the quote “Don’t let something five minutes make you do 50 years.”
The hit comedy podcast 2 DOPE QUEENS, featuring Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson, comes to HBO in February as a series of four themed hour-long specials. Directed by Tig Notaro (“One Mississippi”), the show debuts FRIDAY, FEB. 2 (11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO, followed by three more editions subsequent Fridays at the same time. Guests include Uzo Aduba (“Orange Is the New Black”), Tituss Burgess (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”), Sarah Jessica Parker (HBO’s “Divorce” and “Sex and the City”) and Jon Stewart (“The Daily Show”).
Taped before a live audience at Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre, the show features these fun, fearless queens dishing on Cocoa Khaleesis, dating white baes, sex, New York living, which borough has the best pizza and so much more, as well as showcasing some of the ladies’ favorite stand-up comedians.
The show will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, and HBO on Demand and affiliate portals.
The four themed episodes are:
Show #1: “New York”
Debut: FRIDAY, FEB. 2 (11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET/PT)
Jon Stewart joins the Queens to share early memories of living in New York, and Phoebe and Jessica test Jon’s pizza knowledge. Plus: comedians Michelle Buteau, Mark Normand and Baron Vaughn.
Show #2: “Hair”
Debut: FRIDAY, FEB. 9 (11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.)
Phoebe and Jessica break down black hairstyles for Sarah Jessica Parker. Plus: comedians Aparna Nancherla, Rhea Butcher and Sheng Wang.
Show #3: “Hot Peen”
Debut: FRIDAY, FEB. 16 (11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.)
Phoebe shares her failed attempts to hook up with a famous celeb, and the Queens are joined onstage by Tituss Burgess, who talks about channeling Beyoncé. Plus: comedians John Early, Jackie Kashian and Kevin Barnett.
Show #4: “Black Nerds” (aka “Blerds”)
Debut: FRIDAY, FEB. 23 (11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.)
Phoebe and Jessica discuss their fashion inspirations and are joined onstage by Uzo Aduba to talk about their nerdy obsessions. Plus: comedians Naomi Ekperigin, Al Jackson and Gary Gulman.
Jessica Williams’ credits include such films as the critically acclaimed “The Incredible Jessica James” and “People Places Things,” in addition to “The Daily Show” and the Upright Citizens Brigade comedy troupe. She is also set to star and executive produce a comedy series, to be co-written with James Strouse, who directed her in “Jessica James” and “People Places Things.”
Phoebe Robinson is a New York Times bestselling author of “You Can’t Touch My Hair (And Other Things I Still Have to Explain)” and has appeared on such TV shows as “Broad City,” “Search Party” and “Conan.” She wrote for the upcoming final season of “Portlandia,” and makes her film debut this summer in “Ibiza.”
2 DOPE QUEENS is executive produced by Phoebe Robinson, Jessica Williams, Amy Aniobi, Carrie Byalick, Jon Thoday, Richard Allen Turner, David Martin and Chenoa Estrada; executive producers for A24 include Ravi Nandan and John Hodges.
Website theJasmineBRAND is reporting that comedian Katt Williams has been hit with a substantial lien.
A Georgia record producer Merion Powers sued the famed comedian back in 2010. He won a $577,929 judgment against Katt after a dog attacked his dog.
Katt allegedly owed $28k for studio bills and when Powers demanded payment, the comedian brought his attack dog to the studio and had the animal attack Power’s dog who suffered substantial and nearly life-threatening injuries.
Recently, docs were filed in Georgia by Powers. He is seeking to pursue Katt’s assets and property in the state to collect on his judgment.
Based on the docs, it appears that Katt has refused to pay the judgment. He still owes a total of $574k of the $577k. Powers has hit Katt with a lien and is on the hunt to collect on his cash.
Source: TheJasmineBrand
Michael B. Jordan (“Black Panther,” “Creed,” “Fruitvale Station”) and Michael Shannon (“The Shape of Water,” HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire”; Oscar® nominee for “Nocturnal Anmals” and Revolutionary Road”) star in HBO Films’ FAHRENHEIT 451. Directed by Ramin Bahrani (“99 Homes”) and written by Bahrani & Amir Naderi (“Vegas: Based on a True Story”), the film is based on Ray Bradbury’s classic novel of the same name, depicting a future where the media is an opiate, history is rewritten and “firemen” burn books. The film debuts this spring, exclusively on HBO.
Jordan portrays Montag, a young fireman who forsakes his world and struggles to regain his humanity as he battles his mentor, fire captain Beatty, played by Shannon. Sofia Boutella (“The Mummy,” “Kingsman: The Secret Service”) stars as Clarisse, an informant caught between the competing interests of Montag and Beatty.
The cast also includes Lilly Singh (“Bad Moms,” YouTube’s “Superwoman”) as Raven, a tabloid reporter who works with the fire department to spread the ministry’s propaganda by broadcasting its book-burning raids to fans.
“I have always loved Ray Bradbury’s prophetic novel ‘Fahrenheit 451’,” says Bahrani. “Two years ago, as I looked at the world around me, it seemed like the ideal time to do a modern interpretation. I am grateful to HBO for helping me bring my vision of the film to audiences with this incredible cast.”
The film was shot on location in Toronto. The behind-the-scenes team includes director of photography Kramer Morgenthau, ASC, production designer Mark Digby, costume designer Meghan Kasperlik, editor Alex Hall and composers Matteo Zingales & Antony Partos.
FAHRENHEIT 451 is an HBO Films presentation of a Noruz Films, Brace Cove, and Outlier Society production; executive producers, Ramin Bahrani, Sarah Green, Michael B. Jordan, Alan Gasmer, Peter Jaysen; David Coatsworth produces.
See the interview below;
NEW YORK, January 11, 2018 – Comedy Central, the largest global comedy brand and part of Viacom, Inc (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), today announced that Trevor Noah, Executive Producer, Writer and Host, has selected Loyiso Madinga to helm topical segments for the African broadcast of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Inserting local relevance to the global hit, the South African-based correspondent’s segments will air intermittently on Comedy Central across the continent. The first piece, a field report from the African National Congress Elective Conference, will debut in Africa on January 11.
“As wild as Donald Trump is for America, many countries around the world have Trumps of their own and since The Daily Show is in many countries, we thought ‘why not give each country a chance to show off their stable geniuses?,’” said Trevor Noah.
“Trevor’s curious obsession with South Africa aside, this is a great step in the continual globalization of The Daily Show, which has expanded to unprecedented levels since he took over,” said Kent Alterman, President Comedy Central.
“We’re always looking for ways to take global hits and localize them for regions around the world by adding great local talent, like Loyiso,” said Jill Offman, Executive Vice President and Head of Paramount Channel and Comedy Central International. “This is a pilot, so down the road you may see more internationally based correspondents, making The Daily Show a truly global yet local show for regions around the world.”
“I am really excited to create a voice for local satire. What is really great is this places an authentic spotlight on local comedy and presents a reality that combats the stereotypical perception of Africa. Being part of The Daily Show, I get to join the best conversation in the world” said Loyiso Madinga.
Loyiso (@loyisomadinga) is a stand-up comedian from South Africa who has quickly risen to being a celebrated international comic. Loyiso’s career has been on the fast track since his debut in 2012 where he also shared the stage with international acts such as Tom Segura. Since then, he quickly became a regular on local comedian, David Kau’s “Blacks Only” line up. He has also travelled South Africa as part of Trevor Noah’s Nationwild tour and represented his home country at the Montreux Comedy Festival in Switzerland and Busan Comedy Festival in Korea. Loyiso has written and performed on the two-time Emmy finalist satire show, Late Nite News with South African, Loyiso Gola, and also written and performed on the hit local sketch show, Bantu Hour.
Internationally, ratings for The Daily Show with Trevor Noah were up +35% year-over-year for all viewers across 10 measured markets** for calendar year 2017, driven by strong growth in the UK and South Africa. On the domestic front, viewership for The Daily Show was up +15% in 2017 and ratings among the key demo of adults 18-49 were up +9%. In the U.S., The Daily Show ranks as the top late-night talk show among millennial men (18-34) and is the #2 talk show with all millennials, behind only The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Comedy Central’s programming list helped it reach 372 million subscribers in 146 countries worldwide in fiscal 2017, compared with 285 million in fiscal 2016.
Trevor Noah, Steve Bodow, Jen Flanz and Jill Katz are the Executive Producers of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, with Justin Melkmann as Co-Executive Producer. Max Browning, Eric Davies, Pam DePace, Ramin Hedayati and Elise Terrell are Supervising Producers. Zhubin Parang is the Head Writer with Daniel Radosh as Senior Writer. The series is directed by Paul Pennolino. Sarah Babineau is the Executive in Charge of Production for Comedy Central. Kagiso Lediga is the Director of Loyiso’s local segment for Africa.
In the U.S., The Daily Show with Trevor Noah airs nightly at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT on Comedy Central and is available to stream the following day on thedailyshow.com and the Comedy Central App. The series airs at 21:30 CAT on Comedy Central across Africa. Viewers can follow The Daily Show on Twitter (7.3M followers) and Instagram (1M followers), subscribe to their YouTube channel (2.7M subscribers) and become a fan of The Daily Show on Facebook(7.5M fans). Fans can follow Trevor Noah on Twitter (8.5M followers), Facebook (4.7M fans) and Instagram (2M followers).
Take a look at his stand up below:
https://www.youtube.com/user/loymad87
Universal has pre-empted the action comedy spec package My Own Worst Enemy, and is eyeing a summer start date for a film that will star Kevin Hart and be directed by Tim Story. This is a big commitment by the studio to the film, Hart and Story, and also Universal has cemented its relationship to make Hart a cornerstone supplier, as the studio has established a first-look deal with Hart and his Hartbeat Productions.
This comes on the heels of Hart scoring big in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and it gives Universal a chance to re-team Hart with Story after they worked together so well on its Ride Along franchise — and I’ve heard a third film with Story, Hart and Ice Cube is on the drawing board. Hart and Story also teamed on the Think Like A Manfranchise at Screen Gems.
The script for My Own Worst Enemy is by Chad St. John, the scribe behind London Has Fallen, the Pierre Morel-directed revenge thriller Peppermint that Lakeshore is shooting with Jennifer Garner, and the Jeffrey Nachmanoff-directed sci-fi horror film Replicas with Keanu Reeves that Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios acquired last Toronto.
In the action-comedy, Hart plays an agent that is tasked to kill and gets help from an unlikely source. Story will produce through his The Story Company banner, and Hart is producing through his Hartbeat Productions banner. Story, who has seen seven of the eight studio films he directed finish number one in their domestic opening weekends, is currently in production on Shaft, the New Line film that stars Samuel L. Jackson and Jessie T. Usher, Alexandra Shipp and Regina Hall for New Line. Sharla Sumpter Bridgett, President of The Story Company, will be executive producer on My Own Worst Enemy.
The film is being fast tracked into Hart’s busy schedule, ont that most certainly will will involve another Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle sequel already being formulated by Sony Pictures for a film that is giving Star Wars: The Last Jedi a run for its money and has grossed $532 million worldwide.
Universal Pictures president of production Peter Cramer confirmed to Deadline the expansion of its relationship with Hart with the new production deal.
“We are thrilled to continue and expand our partnership with Kevin Hart and Hartbeat Productions,” he said. “Not only is Kevin a comedic genius in front of the camera, but he has also become a very astute producer, with great creative instincts, deep relationships, and a tireless work ethic. We are confident that there will be many fantastic Universal releases from Kevin and Hartbeat in the years to come.”
Hart doesn’t often miss with projects he starred in and it is not an accident. He’s considered to be one of the most astute users of social media to stay plugged in with his audience, which has also been helpful in tours and other enterprise projects. Hart launched a Lionsgate-based digital network The LOL Network, and the app got downloaded 500,000 times in its first 30 days. Hart will star in two premium Laugh Out Loud series coming this year, including What the Fit? with Youtube, and Cold As Balls. He is also championing a new creators’ program that offers resources to ten rising digital creators to regularly produce social content for Laugh Out Loud.
Hart, Story and St. John are all repped by UTA. Hart is managed by 3 Arts Entertainment and lawyered by Schreck Rose Dapello & Adams; Story is lawyered by Ziffren Brittenham and St. John by Hansen Jacobson.
Source: Deadline
TBS has renewed hit unscripted comedies Snoop Dogg Presents The Joker’s Wild and Drop the Mic for second seasons for premiere in spring 2018. The renewals were announced during TBS’ presentation Thursday at the TCA winter press tour.
The two series marked TBS’ entry into the unscripted space and both have been strong ratings performers, emerging as the top two unscripted cable comedies in 2017. Both series reached an average of 2.5M viewers per episode across TBS’s linear, VOD, and digital platforms with 200 million social and YouTube views to date. Drop the Mic climbed digital audience score rankings week over week, holding the #1 spot three weeks in a row, based on all prime-time comedies that aired new episodes, according to the network.
“Our relaunch of TBS’ unscripted efforts hit the ground running with the series premieres of Snoop Dogg Presents The Joker’s Wild and Drop The Mic, and we never looked back,” said Michael Bloom, senior vice president of unscripted and specials for TBS and TNT. “And Season 2 is going to be filled with next-level celebrity beef under the guidance of Method and Hailey, and much, much higher stakes courtesy of some extra Snoop-a-fied gaming led by the Dogg himself.”
Snoop Dogg always counted The Joker’s Wild as his favorite game show growing up. He hosts the TBS version, which is set in his very own casino that includes an oversized slot machine, giant dice and playing cards. Snoop Dogg Presents The Joker’s Wild is produced by Sony Pictures Television, in association with Turner’s Studio T. Snoop Dogg serves as executive producer, along with Michael Strahan. Also executive-producing are Vincent Rubino, Constance Schwartz-Morini for SMAC Entertainment and Ted Chung for Merry Jane.
Hosted by Method Man and Hailey Baldwin, Drop the Mic, based on the popular segment from The Late Late Show with James Corden, pits celebrities from the worlds of entertainment, music, sports and pop culture to face off against each other in a rap battle royale packed with lyrically creative genius and “I can’t believe they just said that” moments. At the end of each head-to-head battle, the studio audience votes to determine the winner. Drop the Mic is produced by CBS Television Studios and Fulwell 73 Productions. James Corden, Ben Winston and Jensen Karp serve as executive producers, with Joanna Gallagher as co-executive producer.
Source: Deadline