Kenya Barris of ‘Black-ish’ & ‘Grown-ish’ Writers Set Up ‘Bright Futures’ Ensemble Comedy At ABC
Black-ish creator Kenya Barris has teamed with three writers from his upcoming spinoff Grown-ish for Bright Futures, a 20-somethings comedy, which has landed at ABC via ABC Studios.
Written by Hale Rothstein and the team of Danny Segal and Isaac Schamis, Bright Futures revolves around a group of friends who are stumbling through the transition from the clueless, immature 20-somethings they are now, to the successful professionals they have the potential to be.
Barris executive produces through his production company Khalabo Ink Society, which is under a rich overall deal at ABC Studios, alongside Rothstein. Segal and Schamis co-executive produce.
Barris is behind both the Emmy-nominated Black-ish, which just started its fourth season on ABC, and its upcoming spinoff series Grown-ish on Freeform as creator/executive producer. Rothstreen is co-executive producer on Grown-ish after a two-season stint on Black-ish, most recently as co-executive producer. Segal and Schamis are staff writers on the new college comedy in their first major writing gig.
On the feature side, Barris is coming off the success of box office hit Girls Trip, which he co-wrote with Tracy Oliver. He is repped by CAA, Principato Young, and attorney Gregg Gellman Yorn. Rothstein is repped by APA, Principato Young and attorney Rick Genow. Segal and Schamis are repped by Gersh, 3 Arts, and attorney Gregg Gellman.
Jackie Chan may have flexed his dramatic acting muscles in “The Foreigner,” but he was all smiles on Thursday night at the film’s Los Angeles premiere.
Chan was joined by director Martin Campbell, actors Rory Fleck Byrne and Ray Fearon, and writer David Marconi at the ArcLight Hollywood to celebrate the revenge thriller, which also stars Pierce Brosnan.
Chan takes on one of the more serious roles of his career as a grieving father seeking justice when his daughter is killed in an act of terrorism. Still, Chan said he found it easy to get into character.
“The only difficult [part] for me is the English,” Chan told Variety. “I had to hear Pierce’s Irish accent, but he’s so good. He always said, ‘Jackie, if you’re not comfortable, let me know. I will just repeat.’”
The film is based on Stephen Leather’s 1992 novel “The Chinaman,” which Marconi adapted with Chan in mind. “He was the No. 1 person on my list, and he was absolutely terrific,” Marconi said, adding, “Pierce was a blessing I never counted on.”
Instead, Chan gave credit to the creative team around him. “If everyone says, ‘Jackie, you’re so good, your acting is so good,’ I really thank the director, Pierce, and the crew members,” he said.
Chan joked he only had “terrible memories” on set. He playfully expanded on that, saying, “Nobody make fun. So serious. Sometimes no lunch time, no dinner. Just unhappy on the set. I think the director did it on purpose. Nobody can talk.”
Byrne, however, lauded the on-set dynamic and said Chan always gave out sound advice. “I had some pinch me moments where I’m getting taught by Jackie Chan how to fight martial arts,” he shared.
Campbell also reminisced on stories from set. His funniest memory came from the first day working with Chan. “I go to makeup, and he’s sweeping up the makeup trailer,” Campbell recalled, laughing. “He literally was cleaning it up before he came up on set. This wasn’t an act.”
Right before the movie screened, Chan prepped the crowd saying, “I hope you enjoy my acting. It’s not a comedy like ‘Rush Hour.’ If you don’t like it, it doesn’t matter because next year we do ‘Rush Hour 4.’”
Jessica Williams Of ‘The Incredible Jessica James’ Joins ‘Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them’
Jessica Williams has joined the cast of the sequel for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
The ‘Fantastic Beasts’ franchise is in itself a spinoff of Harry Potter, and exists in the Potter universe. It is a prequel to the Potter books/films.
It is unknown what her role will be.
Carmen Ejojo and Zoe Kravitz, who starred in the first film, are returning for this one as well.
Five films are planned in the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ franchise, and the second film will begin where the first left off, with Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander, teaming up with another new cast addition, Jude Law as Dumbledore, to take down a dark wizard.
Williams just starred in a Netflix comedy film she toplined, called The Incredible Jessica James.
She’s also starring in an untitled Showtime series about a sci-fi writer based in Brooklyn.
Source: Shadow & Act
Regina King Presented With “ICON Award” At The Hollywood Confidential
Brand Maverick Entertainment (BME) president and event creator, Steve Jones, moderated a conversation with Two (2) time EMMY award-winning actress Regina King,at the sixth installment of The Hollywood Confidential on Thursday, October 5, 2017 at The Saban Theater in Beverly Hills.
Powered by Walgreens, the panel focused on career longevity, maintaining relevancy and staying power in the entertainment industry. With over 30 years in the entertainment industry, King recollected her experiences filming blockbuster films Ray, Jerry Maguire, Poetic Justice, and Boyz N The Hood, as well as her start in television as a child actress, portraying Brenda Jenkins on the hit show 227 and her success on the small screen over the past 10 years.
When asked to give attendees aspiring entertainers, King urged all to “be true to your craft, be persistent, and to never live inside of your comfort zone, because dreams die there.”
WATCH: John Boyega In ‘Pacific Rim 2’ Trailer
The uprising has begun.
The first trailer for “Pacific Rim Uprising” wowed audiences at New York Comic-Con on Friday.
“We were born into a world at war. Between the monsters that destroyed our cities and the monsters we created to stop them, we thought we had sacrificed enough,” John Boyega’s Jake Pentecost narrates in the clip. “But the war we thought we finished is just beginning, and the only thing standing in front of the apocalypse is us.”
From there, the action-packed preview introduces a new generation of Jaeger pilots ready to combat the evolving Kaijus and prevent humanity’s extinction. The sequel picks up 10 years after the Battle of the Breach, and Boyega takes up the legacy of his father (Idris Elba’s character), who sacrificed his life in the first film.
The cast also includes Scott Eastwood, Jing Tian, Cailee Spaeny, Rinko Kikuchi, Burn Gorman, Adria Arjona, and Charlie Day.
“Pacific Rim,” directed by Guillermo del Toro, starred Elba, Kikuchi, Day, Charlie Hunnam, and Robert Kazinsky. It was set in the near future with Earth at war with the Kaiju monsters that emerged from an inter-dimensional portal at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. The pic grossed $411 million at the worldwide box office.
The upcoming sequel from Legendary and Universal hits theaters on March 23.
Source: Variety
WATCH: USA Network’s ‘UNSOLVED: THE MURDERS OF TUPAC AND THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G.’
USA Network debuts its first official trailer for the highly anticipated true crime series, “UNSOLVED: THE MURDERS OF TUPAC AND THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G.” Catch actors Josh Duhamel,Jimmi Simpson, Bokeem Woodbine and newcomers Marcc Rose (Tupac Shakur) and Wavvy Jonez (Notorious B.I.G.) star in the series executive produced and directed by Emmy® Award Winner Anthony Hemingway (“The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”).
The series, which is the first true crime anthology series to explore the rappers’ deaths, premieres this winter on USA Network and follows the former LAPD detective’s perspective of the mysterious cases in a deeper look of the dual investigation.
Jill Scott Cast As DC Comics Villain Lady Eve In The CW’s ‘Black Lightning’
Jill Scott is the latest star to join The CW’s Black Lightning.
Scott will the DC villain play Lady Eve, who can be traced back to the Kobra Cult in comic lore. In Black Lightning, Lady Eve will be the bridge between Tobias Whale (Marvin “Krondon” Jones III) and a secret group of corrupt leaders. Always a consummate professional, Lady Eve presents herself in Freeland as the owner of a funeral parlor, but quickly becomes an adversary to Black Lightning.
“Jill is an amazing artist who can embody any character and give them an authentic voice that is both nuanced and richly complex. I am excited to see her in the role of Lady Eve,” said Salim Akil.
Black Lightning stars Cress Williams as Jefferson Pierce, a man wrestling with a secret. As the father of two daughters and principal of a charter high school that also serves as a safe haven for young people in a neighborhood overrun by gang violence, he is a hero to his community. Nine years ago, Pierce was a hero of a different sort. Gifted with the superhuman power to harness and control electricity, he used those powers to keep his hometown streets safe as the masked vigilante Black Lightning. Almost a decade later, Pierce’s crime-fighting days are long behind him… or so he thought. But with crime and corruption spreading like wildfire, and those he cares about in the crosshairs of the menacing local gang The One Hundred, Black Lightning returns – to save not only his family, but also the soul of his community.
According to DC Comics Universe lore, Black Lightning – created by Tony Isabella and Trevor von Eeden, first appearing in Black Lightning#1 (1977) – is a superhero with the ability to generate and control lightning. Originally he was a high school principal and Olympic-level athlete who became a vigilante to take down organized crime in Metropolis’ Suicide Slum. Eventually, he would become a member of Batman’s team of Outsiders for many years, although he retired briefly to become secretary of education underneath president Lex Luthor. Returning to crime-fighting, he has also been a member of the Justice League. His two daughters operate as the super-heroes Thunder and Lightning.
Salim Akil and Mara Brock Akil will write and executive produce the series with Berlanti Prods.’ Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter, for Warner Bros. TV
The Black Lightning series has been in the works at Warner Bros. for over a year, going through different variations, because the TV studio wanted to make sure it got the character, his world, and the overall series right.
The show is set for a midseason premiere in 2018.
Source; Shadow & Act
Comedian Ralphie May Passes Away At 45
Funny man Ralphie May has died at age 45.
“We are heartbroken to announce the untimely death of our friend, Ralphie May,” his rep confirmed to Page Six on Friday. “Earlier this morning at a private residence in Las Vegas his body was discovered, cause of death is cardiac arrest.”
We’re told May had been battling pneumonia and cancelled “a handful” of upcoming gigs to recover.
May, who rose to fame after his 2003 “Last Comic Standing” win, was also seen on Comedy Central and Netflix along with his residency at Harrah’s Las Vegas.
He is survived by his estranged wife Lahna Turner and children April and August.
On This Day In Comedy… In 1977 ‘A Piece Of The Action’ Was Released By Warner Bros.!
On this day in comedy on October 7, 1977, A Piece of the Action was released by Warner Bros.
Directed by co-star Sidney Poitier, this crime comedy is his third pairing with Bill Cosby in the trilogy that started with Uptown Saturday Night followed by Let’s do it Again. This entry is more serious in tone and less in humor.
This time the duo are thieves. Everything is rolling along fine in the world of high-class robbery until a retired cop (James Earl Jones) lets them know he’s keeping his mouth shut and not sending them up the river in exchange for doing him a favor. He wants them to volunteer their time at a community youth center and help the local kids get their acts together. Naturally, they don’t want to do it. Naturally, the kids give them a hard time and naturally they all end up liking each other in the end. The difference in this case is the kids had to help the two crooks get out of a jam from an old heist that also caught up with them. ‘
With a soundtrack by Curtis Mayfield A Piece of the Action also featured Denise Nicholas, Tracy Reed, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Ja’net Dubois.
On This Day In Comedy… In 2000 ‘Bamboozled’ Was Released By New Line Cinema
On this day in comedy on October 6, 2000, Bamboozled was released by New Line Cinema
Written and directed by Spike Lee, this film is a satirical look at the world of degrading television programming. Damon Wayans plays a TV executive only his white boss doesn’t like his pro-black shows. The man, who spews black lingo liberally because he’s married to a black woman and has half-black kids, wants a true depiction of black people. None of that Huxtable nonsense. So, Wayans gives him a show in blackface. He’s sure the idea will be rejected as ridiculous and he’ll be fired giving him the freedom to create meaningful programming elsewhere. Well, you guessed it – The Man loves the concept of tap dancing Negros and greenlights the entry immediately. Wayans is stuck.
A cast is now needed to make this travesty come alive. Tommy Davidson and Savion Glover play the two new stars of the show to be entitled, “Mantan: The New Millennium Minstrel Show”. Glover doesn’t mind the blackface as long as he gets to tap. Davidson finds it offensive and once the show airs and the entire audience is in blackface he finds it even more so. Davidson quits, but not before gaining the wrath of a militant group who can’t stand cooning. So, they kidnap Glover and with cameras trained on the tap dancer, assassinate him for all to see and remember. Wayans loses his mind and is shot for his crimes against humanity by his assistant played by Jada Pinkett-Smith. As he lay dying he must watch a video left by Pinkett-Smith of degrading black images throughout America’s media history and how he has been one more brick in that building of disgust.
Bamboozled was released in a limited number of theaters and was critically panned. Budgeted at $10 million it earned $2,463,650 at the box office.
