According to our sources, we have discovered that comedian and actor Bernie Mac is set to receive a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame in the category of live theatre/performance!
Mac, one of The Original Kings Of Comedy before he passed away, was an actor who appeared in several films. His most noted film role was as Frank Catton in the remake Ocean’s Eleven and the title character of Mr. 3000. He was the star of The Bernie Mac Show, which ran from 2001 through 2006, earning him two Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.
Mac’s other films included starring roles in Booty Call, Friday, The Players Club, Head of State, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Bad Santa, Guess Who, Pride, Soul Men, Transformers, Old Dogs, and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.
No date yet has been set on the ceremony. More details soon!
It’s that time of year again!
The list of celebrities set to receive stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame has been announced and it includes several men and women of color who are more than deserving of the honor.
The 2018 Hollywood Walk of Fame class includes several legendary and iconic figures in the categories of motion pictures, television, music and live performance/theatre.
In the film and television categories, some of the most outstanding recipients include Zoe Saldana, F. Gary Gray, Anthony Anderson, RuPaul Charles, Taraji P. Henson, Niecy Nash and Shonda Rhimes.
On the music and recording front, the likes of Mary J. Blige, Ice T and Snoop Dogg are set to be honored.
Lastly, in the category of live theatre/performance, the late Bernie Mac and Broadway star Lin-Manuel Miranda will be recognized with stars.
The dates for the ceremonies are yet to be announced.
Congratulations to everyone mentioned on this major honor!
See another reason why RuPaul has to celebrate in the BET Breaks video, above.
Source: BET
On the heels of the comedy Girls Trip crossing $100 million at the domestic box office, its breakout star Tiffany Haddish has joined the cast of Universal’s comedy Night School starring Kevin Hart.
The project, from Hartbeat Productions and Will Packer Productions, follows a group of misfits who are forced to attend adult classes in the long-shot chance they’ll pass the GED exam.
The new project will see Haddish reunite with Universal, Girls Trip director Malcolm D. Lee and producer Will Packer. Packer will produce for his Will Packer Productions alongside Hart, who will produce via his Hartbeat Productions banner. James Lopez, head of motion pictures for Will Packer Productions, will executive produce. The pic is set for a Sept. 28, 2018, release.
Based on a story by Hart, Night School was written by Hart, Harry Ratchford, Joey Wells and Matt Kellard, with additional script work by Nick Stoller.
Senior vp production Kristin Lowe will oversee for Universal.
Haddish rocketed to fame earlier this month with her comedic breakout performance in the Universal hit Girls Trip alongside Regina Hall, Queen Latifah and Jada Pinkett Smith. She is releasing her first stand-up special, Tiffany Haddish: She Ready! From The Hood to Hollywood, on Showtime on Friday. Haddish will next be seen in the upcoming TBS series The Last O.G. starring opposite Tracy Morgan. She is repped by APA, Principato-Young Entertainment and Del, Shaw.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
As the old show business saying goes “Dying is easy, and comedy is hard,” and that’s been the case for a number of titles in the genre at the box office this year which have dropped like flies. Take your pick: Rough Night, Baywatch, The House, Fist Fight, the list goes on.
Compare this to last year when four comedies –all released during the summer– held their own including Ghostbusters (it made $128M despite being a financial upset), Central Intelligence ($127.4M), Bad Moms ($113.3M) and Sausage Party ($97M).
But this summer, and this year to date, Universal can relish the fact that they bucked a downward box office trend with their sleeper hit Girls Trip from director Malcolm D. Lee which is crossing $100M at the domestic box office today.
Many say that the female audience is underserved, and again it shows that they’re titillated by raunchy comedies, and that’s why Girls Trip continues to speed along at the summer B.O.
But, wait a second, wasn’t Rough Night a female raunchy pic aimed at women?
Turns out you need more than a dead stripper and a cocaine-fueled bridesmaid party to generate laughs, and that’s heart and well-drawn characters and that’s where Girls Trip delivers. Lee is a brand name among African American audiences, especially when it comes to delivering these solid adult comedies. The pic, which stars Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Tiffany Haddish and Jada Pinkett Smith, follows four old college friends who travel to Essence Fest in New Orleans and come away closer then ever before. Girls Trip, which opened on July 21 against Dunkirk, is also Lee’s top opening at the B.O. with $31.2M and his second movie after The Best Man Holiday to earn an A+ CinemaScore. The comedy is also producer Will Packer’s third title to cross $100M after Ride Along and Straight Outta Compton.
Universal insiders say that knew they had something special when at an early test screening, the audience was laughing so hard and continuous, you couldn’t hear all the jokes. Even though we’ve written the obituary for comedy at the summer box office, there couldn’t be a more opportune time for them in a society that’s in need of laughs after all the daunting Trump-era headlines, and Girls Trip is that social catharsis.
Abroad, Girls Trip made $7.4M already in the United Kingdom and could surpass Get Out there which ended its run at $12.7M. The comedy was also No. 1 in South Africa for two weekend in a row with close to a half million. The next markets to release will be Australia and Romania on Aug. 31, with additional markets rolling out through November.
Source; Deadline
LOS ANGELES – August 17, 2017 – Charmingly funny and unabashedly real, rising comedy star Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip) takes the stage in her first stand-up special, SHE READY! FROM THE HOOD TO HOLLYWOOD! premiering tomorrow, Friday, August 18 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME. In this hour-long special filmed at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center, the Los Angeles native tackles subjects ranging from her early days in foster care and being bullied on the playground to getting revenge on ex-boyfriends and introducing Will and Jada Pinkett Smith to Groupon. With her bold and unique style of comedy and refreshingly positive outlook on life, Haddish proves SHE READY for the spotlight!
To watch and share a first look from SHE READY! FROM THE HOOD TO HOLLYWOOD! go to:
Haddish is quickly establishing herself as one of the most sought-after comedic talents in television and film. She can currently be seen starring in this summer’s blockbuster hit film Girls Trip, alongside Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith and Regina Hall. Up next, she will be starring alongside Tracy Morgan in his upcoming comedy series The Last OG, created and executive produced by Morgan and Jordan Peele.
Haddish co-starred alongside Keegan-Michael Key and Peele in the film, Keanu. Her other credits include the films Meet the Spartans, Racing for Time and The Janky Promoters, plus recurring television roles on If Loving You Is Wrong, Real Husbands of Hollywood and New Girl. Haddish’s comedy has landed her on Jenny McCarthy’s Dirty Sexy Funny comedy tour, and she has made appearances on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Tonight Show, Chelsea Lately and The Arsenio Hall Show. She has been an early standout since first appearing on Def Comedy Jam, Bill Bellamy’s Who’s Got Jokes? and Comedy Central’s Reality Bites.
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) – a usual annual first stop for many awards season contenders will be launching the documentary Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me.
It is directed by documentary filmmaker Sam Pollard. The film is the “first major film documentary to examine Davis’ vast talent and his journey for identity through the shifting tides of civil rights and racial progress during 20th-century America.”
Its description reads: “Featuring new interviews with such luminaries as Billy Crystal, Norman Lear, Jerry Lewis, Whoopi Goldberg, Quincy Jones and Kim Novak, with never-before-seen photographs from Davis’ vast personal collection and excerpts from his electric performances in television, film and concert, the film explores the life and art of a uniquely gifted entertainer whose trajectory blazed across the major flashpoints of American society from the Depression through the 1980s.
A press release on the film describes Davis as follows — “…his life was complex, complicated and contradictory. Davis strove to achieve the American Dream in a time of racial prejudice and shifting political territory. He was the veteran of increasingly outdated show business traditions trying to stay relevant; he frequently found himself bracketed by the bigotry of white America and the distaste of black America; he was the most public black figure to embrace Judaism, thereby yoking his identity to another persecuted minority.”
It is produced by American Masters Pictures with ZDF and ARTE. Producers are Sally Rosenthal and Michael Kantor. It is edited by Steven Weschler and written by Laurence Maslon and Michael Kantor is executive producer.
Watch the trailer below:
Source: Shadow & Act
A couple of days ago comedian and activist Dick Gregory was hospitalized as he was under the weather. According to our sources, the 84-year-old comedian/activist was complaining of stomach issues and chest pains.
Word leaked of his health when Gregory canceled a show last week at the Improv comedy club in San Jose, California. His reps went on to tell followers online that he regretted canceling the show but he woke up feeling ill.
More on this as the story develops.
Epix has given a series order to a murder thriller based on the 2012 novel “The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair.” The drama from MGM Television is set to star Patrick Dempsey, Damon Wayans Jr. and Virginia Madsen.
Lyn Greene and Richard Levine penned the pilot and several episodes. Jean-Jacques Annaud (“Seven Years in Tibet”) did an adaptation of Joel Dicker’s novel and will direct all 10 episodes of the limited series. Production is underway in Montreal. Eagle Pictures and Barbary Films are producing with MGM.
Dempsey will star as the title character, a literary icon who is indicted for murder after a teenage girl’s body is found buried on his property in Maine. Wayans plays the detective investigating the case. Madsen plays the owner of a local diner who discovers a secret about Quebert.
Annaud, Greene, Levine, Eagle Pictures’ Tarak Ben Ammar, and Barbary Films’ Fabio Conversi are exec producers.
“Joel Dicker’s exquisite thriller has captivated a worldwide audience with its complicated tale of love and lies. I am thrilled that this first class ensemble cast led by Patrick Dempsey and the incomparable director Jean-Jacques Annaud, get to bring provocative page-turner to life,” said Steve Stark, MGM’s president of television production and development.
“Harry Quebert Affair” is another example of MGM’s investment in original programming for Epix now that it has taken full ownership of the premium cabler, which was previously a joint venture of MGM, Paramount Pictures and Lionsgate. On Sunday, Epix launched its series adaptation of the 1993 MGM movie “Get Shorty.”
“Harry Quebert Affair” marks Annaud’s TV directing debut.
“It is a rich and nuanced novel set in a small New-England town and has all the elements for a classic mystery,” Annaud said. “Having MGM, Tarak and Fabio as my partners has given me the ability to assemble a formidable cast and a talented crew. Their enthusiasm for ‘Harry Quebert’ is equal to my own,” said Annaud.
Source: Variety
Kevin Hart just keeps making his hometown of Philadelphia proud, from bringing more film projects here to making a difference in the community through his charity work.
While he wasn’t this year’s highest paid comedian according to the Forbes 2017 list, Hart has struck a chord with Fortune magazine for his business acumen, ranking #17 on their “Top 40 Under 40” list that was published today.
Aside from his work in front of the camera as a touring comedian and A-list actor, Hart keeps busy behind the scenes as well through his various business endeavors.
According to Fortune, the 38-year-old has opened a production studio, started a streaming TV network and is big into investing.
“I am addicted to success,” Hart says to Fortune. “And at the end of the day I want my name to have a powerful meaning. Every [business venture] I’m looking at as a building block. It’s helping me become the mogul that I want to be.”
Hart is certainly in good company in Fortune’s “Top 40 Under 40” list, appearing alongside tech titans like Mark Zuckerberg and France’s new president, Emmanuel Macron.
(L-R Red Grant and John Singleton)
Last night if you got a chance to see FX’s new hit series, you might have noticed a couple of comedic familiar faces; Red Grant and David Raibon!
(David Raibon)
The comedians both had serious roles in the new FX drama directed by John Singleton, is about the crack cocaine epidemic is in its infancy in Los Angeles in 1983. Oscar-nominated director Singleton (Boyz N the Hood) co-created the drama series and says he drew inspiration from his own life for Franklin’s story. in last night’s episode, Grant portrayed a gang banger from Oakland while Raibon portrayed a tattoo artist.
FX’s Snowfall is on every Wednesday at 10pm EST.