The new season of America’s Next Top Model with Tyra Banks will premiere on Tuesday, January 9 at 8PM ET/PT, VH1 announced today. The new season, which will have no age limits on contestants for the first time in the franchise’s history, also will feature a VH1 crossover with RuPaul’s Drag Race fan-favorites Valentina, Katya and Manila.
The new season is set to include guest appearances by former judge Nigel Barker and season three winner Eva Marcille, Director X, beauty and social media guru Patrick Starr, choreographer Jermaine Browne, supermodel Jourdan Dunn and Hip Hop artist Maejor, among others.
Producers promise that the show also will boast more contestant diversity than past seasons.
As previously announced, supermodel and body activist Ashley Graham, Paper Magazine Chief Creative Officer Drew Elliott and celebrity stylist and image architect Law Roach will return as judges.
Tyra Banks and Ken Mok continue as executive producers. America’s Next Top Model is produced by 10 by 10 Entertainment in association with The Tyra Banks Company and distributed by CBS Television Distribution. In addition to Banks and Mok, executive producers are Paul Buscemi and Jaimie Glasson.
SOurce: Deadline
On Thursday, the prehistoric death trap of Jurassic World beckoned visitors back with a new trailer during Thursday Night Football.
“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” is the sequel to “Jurassic World,” Colin Trevorrow’s 2015 reboot of the “Jurassic Park” franchise. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard reprise their roles as Owen and Claire, and Jeff Goldblum’s return as Ian Malcolm from the original film.
“These creatures were here before us,” Goldblum says in the new footage. “And if we’re not careful, they’re gonna be here after us.”
A teaser trailer was released on Sunday, which showed Owen and Claire running amid a stampede of dinosaurs as the island of Isla Nublar erupted around them in volcanic flames and smoke. On Tuesday, another teaser was released featuring Pratt and Howard trying to upload the trailer during a raptor attack and contained many references to the original “Jurassic Park” film.
Trevorrow previously teased fans with footage of Owen interacting with a young velociraptor.
J.A. Bayona is directing “Fallen Kingdom,” which also stars Justice Smith, James Cromwell, and Toby Jones. Trevorrow, who helmed “Jurassic World,” wrote the script for the sequel with Derek Connolly. The executive producers are Steven Spielberg and Trevorrow. Producers are Frank Marshall and Pat Crowley, along with Bayona’s producing partner Belén Atienza.
“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” is set to release on June 22, 2018.
Source: Variety
On this day in comedy on December 8, 1933, Comedian, Actor, Clerow Wilson, Jr., (aka Flip Wilson) was born in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Wilson arrived on the planet during the Great Depression and his father was constantly looking for work. There were 10 siblings and Wilson’s mother took poverty and near starvation as her cue to leave the family. His father couldn’t handle all those kids alone and so he placed many of them in foster homes. Wilson was one of them and after bouncing around he lied about his age when he turned 16 and enlisted in the Air Force. His sense of humor soon landed Wilson an assignment working special services, traveling around entertaining other troops.
When he was discharged in the mid-50s, Wilson found work as a shill. He’d act drunk in the audience in between acts. That bit of distraction soon became his act up and down the coast of California. He later wrote a routine and found his way on stage and into the professional world of stand-up comedy. Wilson became an Apollo Theater regular and it wasn’t long before he made appearances on The Tonight Show, The Ed Sullivan Show and Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In (where he became a cast regular). His Grammy Award winning comedy album, The Devil Made Me Buy This Dress got him noticed by the network brass and soon after Flip Wilson had his own TV show.
The Flip Wilson Show in 1970 ushered in an era of top rated black programming by every network. NBC gave Wilson a primetime variety slot that put him as must see TV for Nielsen homes and the rest of America. Wilson exposed black acts seldom seen on mainstream shows: The Jackson Five, The Temptations, Redd Foxx and others. George Carlin was one of the writers as well as on camera talent. And the talented Flip Wilson had a plethora of sketch characters; his most memorable being Reverend Leroy of the Church of What’s Happening Now and the super popular – Geraldine Jones and her catchphrases, “The Devil made me do it” and “What you see is what you get”. The public ate it up and the show earned Wilson a Golden Globe and two Emmys.
In 1974 The Flip Wilson Show went off the air and Wilson took a rest. He later made guest appearances on sitcoms (Here’s Lucy) and variety shows (The Dean Martin Show). Wilson did films (Uptown Saturday Night, The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh) and a televised musical (Pinocchio with Sandy Duncan and Danny Kaye) before returning to TV as host of People Are Funny in 1984 and in a sitcom called Charlie & Co. in 1985. His last televised appearance was on the Queen Latifah sitcom, Living Single on Fox in 1993.
Flip Wilson died of liver cancer on November 25, 1998 in Malibu, CA.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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On this day in comedy on December 3, 1979, Comedienne, Actress, Tiffany Sarac Haddish was born in Los Angeles, California.
Stand-up comedy is the ultimate art form for self-expression and in many cases therapeutic salvation. Tiffany Haddish utilized it for both. The offspring of a Jewish refugee father (who abandoned the family when Haddish was three years-old) and an African-American mother who was Jehovah Witness, Haddish soon found herself heaped in adult burdens. When she was eight, after her mother (who had remarried) was in a crippling auto accident that caused brain damage and schizophrenia. This placed the responsibility of watching her four younger siblings on her young shoulders. By age 12 the situation devolved to the point the family was split up and the children placed into foster homes. Haddish tried to use jokes as a means of making matters tolerable, but still found herself hospitalized with toxic shock syndrome.
Tiffany Haddish’s grandmother was eventually given custody, but the ordeal of being shuffled around had taken its toll. She was getting in trouble in school, yet showed signs of being artistically inclined (Haddish won a drama competition doing a monologue from Shakespeare). However, it got to the point here her social worker gave her a choice – either go to a comedy camp sponsored by the Laugh Factory or go into psychiatric therapy. Thus, the Laugh Factory Comedy Club became her saving grace. Mentored by established professionals she found her niche.
By 2005, Haddish was working in front of the camera. Her first television role was on That’s So Raven and the parts kept coming steadily from there (My Name is Earl, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Underground, Nick Cannon’s Short Circuitz, Just Jordan, Racing for Time, If Loving You Is Wrong, New Girl). Her on-going role as Nekeisha Williams on NBC’s The Carmichael Show established her as a scene stealer America needed to keep an eye on.
Tiffany Haddish stayed busy dong guest spots on shows such as Chelsea Lately, Reality Bites Back, Real House Husbands of Hollywood, Funniest Wins and she did films (Meet the Spartans, Janky Promoters, A Christmas Wedding, School Dance, Keanu, Mad Families) where she was good even in the ones where the same could not be said.
Then came 2017 – her star making year. She had the box office smash Girls Trip, the project that put her over the top and in everybody’s conversation. In the Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett-Smith vehicle, Haddish stole everything, but the cameras. Award nominations came piling in and while lips were still flapping Haddish dropped her Showtime comedy special, Tiffany Haddish: She Ready! From the Hood to Hollywood and made additional history by being the first Black comedienne to host Saturday Night Live, not to mention being featured in a Jay-Z video (“Moonlight”) even though we just mentioned it and releasing her first book, “The Last Black Unicorn”.
Whereas numerous comics who find success in film and television abandon the stage, Tiffany Haddish never sacrificed the vehicle that allowed her the freedom for further success – stand-up. Besides touring, she appeared on Bill Bellamy’s Who’s Got Jokes and Def Comedy Jam on her ascent and regularly returns to the Laugh Factory Comedy Camp to mentor the youth who need role models and guidance just as she did.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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On this day in comedy on December 7, 1969, Comedian, Actor, and Radio Personality, Patrice Lumumba Malcolm O’Neal was born.
Born in New York City, O’Neal grew up in Roxbury near Boston, Massachusetts. He turned down a football scholarship to study performing arts and got his start in stand-up at Estelle’s Bar & Grill. It was an open mic and the year was 1992. After putting in time on the Boston circuit, O’Neal moved to New York and then Los Angeles. It turned out L.A. was not a good fit for an uncompromising, confrontational and controversial talent like O’Neal. So, after trying virtually every angle to achieve success he took his act overseas; to the UK. 5 months later he’d gained the respect of his British colleagues and garnered the support of the likes of Ricky Gervais.
In 2002 O’Neal returned to New York and this time things were different. H was invited back to shoot a Showtime special. He then proceeded to get a gig on the cast of Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn. In 2003 O’Neal recorded a Comedy Central Presents special. He appeared on The Apollo Comedy Hour, FNight Videos, MTV’s 2F, Assy McGee, Ed, Z Rock, Yes Dear, Arrested Development, Chapppelle’s Show, The Office and as a writer for the WWE. He did animated voice-overs for Comedy Central and was a radio regular with Opie and Anthony’s Traveling Virus Comedy Tour.
O’Neal’s first hour-long acclaimed special, Elephant in the Room aired on Comedy Central in 2011. He had a popular podcast and was the voice of Jeffron James in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV. He did celebrity roasts and recorded an album. Never stagnant, Patrice O’Neal stayed active until his death from a stroke in 2011.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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On this day in comedy on December 5, 1968, Comedienne, Actress, Author, Singer-Songwriter, Margaret Moran Cho was born in San Francisco, California
According to Hollywood lore, Margaret Cho was the first comedian of Asian descent to star in her own sitcom, “All American Girl” on ABC in 1994. That’s if you don’t count, “Mr. T & Tina” two decades previously on ABC as well. The latter show aired for five episodes in the fall of 1976 and starred Pat Morita. It was a spin-off of “Welcome Back Kotter”, with Morita (of “Karate Kid” and “Happy Days” (where he played Arnold Takahashi)), as a Japanese inventor living with a young American played by Susan Blanchard.
The distinction Cho holds is being the first Asian comedienne with her own sitcom. A major achievement considering Cho’s culture looked down on such displays of foolishness. She was pointed in that direction as soon as Mom met Dad. Born in the late 60s, Cho was raised in San Francisco. Her father wrote joke books and owned a book store. There was a comedy club nearby and Margaret developed her act around the old hippies, drag queens, drug heads and immigrants in the area. After working universities for years she got a break with a role on “The Golden Girls” spin-off, “The Golden Palace” then as Jerry Seinfeld’s opening act.
In a profession dominated by men and few Asians of any gender – Margaret got noticed. ABC took her act and churned out, “All American Girl”. For Cho it was more like All American nightmare. The producers kept tweaking the premise of the show from Cho living with her parents in the house, to living in their basement to moving out and living with three men – without explanation. They fired cast members and attempted to find ways to spin-off other shows from a show that obviously wasn’t working itself. They didn’t like her weight and round face so she starved herself in an effort to appear like the Margaret Cho they had in mind; the fictionalized version. The result was major kidney problems for the real version. They told her she wasn’t Asian enough and brought in an Asian consultant to Asian-her-up. That failed so they fired the Asian cast and moved her in with white guys then told her she was too Asian. All this led to the show being canceled after one season and Margaret Cho (the real life one), becoming an alcoholic and drug addict. If those producers had had their way she would’ve committed hari kari during Sweeps Week.
It took Cho awhile to pull out of her depression and addictions and resume comedy work. The show was not the only downer. She had never met with acceptance in the Korean community for her choice of profession. She was looked down upon and this naturally didn’t help when her shot at worldwide success fizzled. Regardless, Cho went forward and created a fashion line of crotchless underwear for men as well as women. She wrote a new act and took her brand of race and sex humor back on the road. She also recorded and released her music.
Margaret Cho has won over a half dozen awards from GLAAD, Entertainment Weekly, the Gracie Allen Award, Lambda Legal, the national organization for Women and the Asian Excellence Award. She mounted almost a dozen major comedy tours. She’s appeared in 30 films, including Face/Off with John Travolta. She’s guest starred in dozens of sitcoms, published two books and released 9 comedy recordings.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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Roland Martin’s morning show, NewsOne Now, is being canceled because of budget cuts, according to the New York Post’s Page Six.
“They called a meeting on Wednesday and told the staff they were canceling the show. They’re having significant financial problems and they have to scale back,” said a source.
“There were lots of tears … the staff was completely caught off guard,” the source added.
According to a memo sent by TV One’s interim general manager, Michelle Rice, it’s going to be a bad holiday for NewsOne staffers:
While we will continue our long-standing partnership with Roland Martin to ensure his important voice can be heard across all Urban One platforms examining issues of importance to the black community, we regret this decision adversely affects several of our valued colleagues whose positions will be eliminated with the suspension of the show.
Source: The Grapevine
What can the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce say except “You’re welcome”? Multi-hyphenate Dwayne Johnson is receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The Dec. 13 ceremony will honor Johnson in the motion pictures category for his status as a global box-office powerhouse.
“Not only does Dwayne have a great personality and talent, but he also does a great amount of philanthropic work which is part of the criteria for earning an immortal spot on the Walk of Fame,” producer of Walk of Fame ceremonies Ana Martinez said. “We envision scores of photos being taken at his star by his fans.”
Johnson will soon be seen alongside Kevin Hart and Jack Black in Sony’s “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” which hits theaters Dec. 20. Next year, he’ll star in Disney’s “Jungle Cruise,” based on the theme park ride, along with the upcoming films “Rampage” and “Skyscraper.”
This past year, Johnson starred in “Baywatch” and “The Fate of the Furious,” the eight installment of the “Fast and Furious” franchise. In 2019, Johnson will star with Jason Statham in a “Fast and Furious” spinoff movie based on his breakout character Hobbs.
In 2016, Johnson again worked opposite Hart in the live action comedy “Central Intelligence,” while he lent his voice to the Disney animated hit, “Moana.” Among Johnson’s other recent film credits are “Furious 7,” “Hercules,” “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” “Fast and Furious 6,” and “Fast 5.” His earlier work includes “Race to Witch Mountain,” “Get Smart,” “The Game Plan,” and “The Mummy Returns.”
Seven Bucks Production, the production company Johnson co-founded with his business partner Dany Garcia, has produced several shows, including HBO’s “Ballers.” The show, starring Johnson, enters its fourth season in 2018.
Born in San Francisco and raised in Hawaii, Johnson later was a defensive lineman for the University of Miami Hurricanes, where he led the team to a national championship. Upon graduating from UM, he joined the competitive sports entertainment world of WWE, where he introduced his ring name, “The Rock.” A third-generation WWE wrestler, Johnson is now regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.
Johnson penned an autobiography, “The Rock Says,” in 2000, and he created The Rock Foundation in 2006. The charity works with terminally ill children, with a mission to educate, empower and motivate children worldwide through health and physical fitness.
The ceremony will run from 11:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. PT at 6801 Hollywood Blvd., in front of Hollywood and Highland.
Source: Variety
BET is planning a new awards show to honor the most viral moments of the year.
The cable network plans to reveal the best celebrity follows, the biggest memes and more during its first-ever BET Social Awards, which will air live Sunday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. PT.
Comedian Mike Epps is executive producing the one-hour show alongside Kyra Robinson. Epps is one of the most popular comedians on social media, according to The Hollywood Reporter‘s Social Climbers ranking, which uses data from MVPindex that looks at a person’s social engagement across Facebook Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Google Plus. On the most recent chart, Epps ranked No. 3 on the comedian list.
BET’s other tentpole events, including the BET Awards and the BET Hip Hop Awards, also regularly rank on Nielsen’s Social Content Ratings.
The show will feature social media stars, social-inspired performances, a comedic section and other moments. The host and categories will be announced ahead of the February event.
Source: Variety
While major details are still sparse, some new information has been revealed about social media star Branden Miller’s upcoming scripted series on his alter-ego, Joanne the Scammer.
The news was first revealed a few months ago.
It is being produced by Super Deluxe along with Parks and Recreation writer and actor, Joe Mande.
Now, according to Splitsider, comedian and Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Chelsea Peretti has also been tapped as a producer. Peretti is the wife of Jordan Peele.
No network is attached as of yet.
Back in July on Janet Mock’s podcast, Miller said they were trying to do a “sitcom” with “Netflix folks.” He explained, “I can’t even speak that far ahead because I don’t even know. All I know is we start off with her being married to this rich white older guy…or maybe he’s not even older. And he drops her, so she’s trying to get to that place again of being Caucasian – whatever she thinks that is. Instagram gives you one minute of that, the show will give you the whole storyline.”
After the podcast dropped, PAPER Magazine had confirmed Super Deluxe and Mande were developing.
Source: Shadow & Act