In the wake of the 2015 death of Freddie Gray in police custody, Baltimore was a city on the edge. Peaceful protests and destructive riots erupted in the immediate aftermath of Gray’s death, while the city waited to hear the fate of the six police officers involved in the incident, reflecting the deep divisions between authorities and the community – and underscoring the urgent need for reconciliation.
Directed by Sonja Sohn (one of the stars of the HBO series “The Wire”), BALTIMORE RISING follows activists, police officers, community leaders and gang affiliates, who struggle to hold Baltimore together, even as the homicide rate hits record levels. Exploring how to make change when change is hard, the thought-provoking, timely documentary debuts in November, exclusively on HBO.
The strife that grips Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray exposes longstanding fault lines in a distraught and damaged community. BALTIMORE RISING chronicles the determined efforts of people on all sides who fight for justice and work to make their city better, sometimes coming together in unexpected ways, discovering a common humanity where before they often saw each other only as adversaries.
Among the key figures spotlighted in BALTIMORE RISING are:
Genard “Shadow” Barr (community leader, former gang member) is an addiction recovery specialist at the Penn-North Recovery Center, where he also helps organize a reentry jobs program for community members. Bridging the divide between police and residents of the Penn-North area, he works with all parties to mitigate violence. Barr is now working to open an entrepreneurship and job training center in West Baltimore.
Commissioner Kevin Davis has led the Baltimore Police Department since 2015. He took over as interim police commissioner in the aftermath of the uprising and surging violence, when the mayor fired previous commissioner Anthony Batts. A lifelong Marylander, Commissioner Davis is a 25-year veteran and fourth-generation public safety professional. He was faced with repairing public trust in the department and stemming a rising tide of homicides amidst the trials of his six officers.
Makayla Gilliam-Price (activist) founded the youth justice organization City Bloc as a high school student. She also organizes with the grassroots think-tank Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle.
Adam Jackson (activist) is CEO of the grassroots think-tank Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle. His efforts are aimed at connecting young people to public policy and creating transformative change in Baltimore.
Dayvon Love (activist), director of public policy for Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, has deep experience with grassroots activism in the community. He has given numerous speeches and led workshops to give insight into the plight of its citizens.
Kwame Rose (activist), an artist, writer, musician and public speaker, gained notoriety during the uprising that followed Freddie Gray’s death for his public confrontation with FOX News reporter Geraldo Rivera. Arrested during protests outside the trials of the police officers charged in the Gray case, he recently accepted a position in the office of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh.
Lt. Colonel Melvin Russell, chief of the Community Partnership Division, Baltimore Police Department, joined The Baltimore Police Department (BPD) in 1979 as a police cadet. He worked as a uniform patrol and then an undercover officer for 20 years before becoming an Eastern District Lieutenant in 2007. Recently he led the BPD’s chaplaincy program and worked cooperatively with such community leaders as Genard “Shadow” Barr to support a reentry jobs program and prevent another uprising during the police officers’ trials in the Gray case.
Dawnyell Taylor (police detective) has been with the Baltimore City Police for more than 16 years. In 2015 and 2016, she was the lead investigator in the Freddie Gray homicide case, and testified at the trial of Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., who was charged with Gray’s murder. Taylor continues to serve in the police academy in Baltimore.
The executive producers of BALTIMORE RISING are Sonja Sohn, Marc Levin, Anthony Hemingway, George Pelecanos and Mark Taylor; producer, Nathan Mook; supervising producers, Daphne Pinkerson and Karen Rozansky; directed by Sonja Sohn. For HBO: senior producer, Nancy Abraham; executive producer Sheila Nevins.
Making a grand entrance, the premiere of Disney Channel’s “Raven’s Home” (July 21, 10:03 p.m. EDT/PDT) – headlined by Raven-Symoné reprising her Raven Baxter role from “That’s So Raven” – was the #1 live-action cable TV series premiere in two years among its targeted demographics — Kids 6-11 (1.3 million/5.3 rating) and Tweens 9-14 (1.5 million/6.1 rating) — and also Kids 2-11 (1.6 million/4.0 rating). It was also the #1 series premiere among all kid cable TV networks in Total Viewers (4.0 million) since “BUNK’D” (July 31, 2015). “Raven’s Home” also generated an additional 2.4 million full-episode views on YouTube and nearly one million views via the Disney Channel App and Disney Channel VOD.
In addition to Raven-Symoné, her castmate Anneliese van der Pol reprises her role of Chelsea in the new series which also stars Issac Ryan Brown (“black-ish,” “Miles from Tomorrowland”) as Booker, Navia Robinson (“Being Mary Jane”) as Nia, Jason Maybaum (“Superstore”) as Levi and Sky Katz (“America’s Got Talent”) as Tess.
“Raven’s Home” is executive produced by Scott Thomas and Jed Elinoff (Disney Channel’s “Best Friends Whenever,” Emmy nominees for “R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour”) and Raven-Symoné.
New episodes of “Raven’s Home” will air Fridays (8:00 – 8:30 p.m. EDT) on Disney Channel, beginning July 28.
LOS ANGELES, July 26, 2017 – Jon Stewart is set to headline two HBO comedy specials, it was announced today by Casey Bloys, president, HBO Programming. He will return to HBO for his first stand-up special since the 1996 HBO presentation “Jon Stewart: Unleavened,” with the date and location to be announced as they are confirmed.
Additionally, this fall Stewart will host the latest “Night of Too Many Stars” all-star benefit for NEXT For AUTISM, to be presented live from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday, Nov. 18. The special will feature stand-up performances, sketches and short films. The comedy event was created by comedy writer and performer Robert Smigel to support autism schools, programs and services. NEXT for AUTISM (formerly New York Collaborates for Autism) is a non-profit organization that strategically designs, launches and supports innovative programs to improve the lives of people living with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
“We’re excited to bring Jon to the network with this pair of specials,” said Bloys. “We’ve all missed his uniquely thoughtful brand of humor.”
“I’m really thrilled to be able to return to stand-up on HBO,” adds Stewart. ”They’ve always set the standard for great stand-up specials. Plus, I can finally use up the last of the Saddam Hussein jokes left over from my first special.”
Jon Stewart became the host of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” in 1999, stepping down from the show in 2015. The series received 23 Primetime Emmys® and two Peabody Awards. Stewart hosted the Academy Awards® twice, in 2006 and 2008, and wrote the New York Times bestselling books “Earth (The Book): A Visitor’s Guide to the Human Race” and “America (The Book): A Guide to Democracy Inaction,” which was on the New York Times bestseller list for 18 consecutive weeks. He also wrote and directed the 2014 feature film “Rosewater.”
In addition to “Jon Stewart: Unleavened,” his first HBO stand-up special, his previous HBO credits include hosting the special “George Carlin: 40 Years of Comedy,” “Mr. Show with Bob and David” and a recurring role on “The Larry Sanders Show.”
The Emmy®– and Golden Globe-winning comedy series CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, starring Larry David, returns for its ten-episode ninth season SUNDAY, OCT. 1 (10:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT), on HBO. The show stars “Seinfeld” co-creator David as an over-the-top version of himself in an unsparing but tongue-in-cheek depiction of his life.
The new season brings back cast favorites Cheryl Hines as Cheryl, Jeff Garlin as Jeff, Susie Essman as Susie and J.B. Smoove as Leon, as well as series veterans Richard Lewis, Bob Einstein, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen.
Also appearing on CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM this season are Elizabeth Banks, Ed Begley, Jr., Carrie Brownstein, Bryan Cranston, Lauren Graham, Jimmy Kimmel, Nick Offerman, Nasim Pedrad and Elizabeth Perkins.
Season nine directors include Jeff Schaffer, Larry Charles, Robert B. Weide, Jessie Nelson and Bryan Gordon.
CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM was created by Larry David; executive produced by Larry David, Jeff Garlin and Jeff Schaffer.
Damon Wayans, Jr. wants to take your party, office retreat, or conference to the next level. He and Kristopher Jones have come up with a new app called Special Guest, now available on the App Store, to bring live entertainment to you. Like Uber, eBay, Fiverr, or airbnb, it is designed to make it easy for consumers and providers to find each other. In an interview, Wayans and Jones talked about the inspiration for the app and why they want every entertainer to find an audience and everyone to be able to enjoy live performances.
What made you think of this idea?
DW: I do a lot of stand-up comedy. I travel around the US entertaining people and when I’m not doing that I’m home in LA refining my material. I do a lot of open mics. Open mics are where people who entertain for a living go to practice their material. It’s not just stand-up comedians. There are poets and there are musicians and what have you. One time I was at this open mic, sitting there waiting my turn. Two comedians go up ahead of me; very funny guys, never heard of them before and they kill it. Then this young lady goes up, she’s a freckle-faced, young, redhead who goes up there with an acoustic guitar. She starts singing her own material and she blows me away. Everybody in there was like, “Wow, why isn’t this girl famous already?” I had goose bumps and I thought to myself that it sucks that so many people who are entertainers will never get the opportunity to be paid for the thing that they love doing the most. They ultimately have to set aside their dreams and get a regular job and it’s because of the way that the entertainment industry is set up. I have representation; I have a manager; I have agents. A lot of people don’t have that. So I wanted to make a platform for entertainers to make it easier for them to get gigs. One of my good friends put me in contact with Kris Jones and we just hit it off. I pitched him the idea, he loved it, and we just made it real.
Kris, how do you begin to structure an app like this? And how did Apple’s “Planet of the Apps” get involved?
KJ: The process of building a platform like this, a global app platform to connect venues and entertainers is a pretty big project. My background in addition to building apps is raising investment capital as well as putting together and executing growth strategies/marketing strategies. Midway through building the app I was contacted by a casting director for Apple’s first original TV program, “Planet of the Apps.” You can see us throughout but especially on episode 4, which you can watch for free with a 90-day trial subscription to Apple Music. We were successful in raising over $1.5 million during the show so now we’re just out there taking it forward.
We knew that it was not going to be easy at all to build a platform that became the solution for anyone anywhere to be able to easily and affordably hire live entertainment. So we thought the partnership with Apple, going on the show, having the opportunity to pitch at the end of the show to a top tier Silicon Valley investment fund because we made it that far was worth it; it was worth Damon and me dedicating the time that we did to preparing for the TV show and then eventually getting cast on the show and then performing really, really well.
We received quite a bit of attention because of the show. In addition to that we raised some investment capital from other influential entertainers; people like Kevin Hart, Marlon Wayans, and Wilmer Valderrama among others, so it’s all part of a multi-pronged strategy to get people talking about it. There’s no other mobile app that does this at this scale so part of what we have to do now is be patient and dedicate the time to educate the entertainers so they know that a mobile app to help them get paid to do what they love to do is now available. This app is available to help talented people get paid for what they do and what they love to do. And it is important that they know that unlike agents and managers, we do not take any part of their fee. They set the fee and they get all of what they charge. We are paid by the person booking the talent. This is the game changer: to democratize the experience of live entertainment and the way that talented people get paid. You do not have to have an agent to get booked.
This is a really ambitious goal but it’s our goal; to redefine the way that live entertainment is experienced by making it easy for you to pull out the app and to hire someone to perform at your office, at your home, at a wedding, at an event that you might be sponsoring as well of course making it easier for traditional venues like restaurants and bars and clubs and all the other ones that are booking live entertainment.
How do I know if an entertainer is right for my event or venue?
DW: The talents build their own profiles, so you get to upload your bio, you upload pictures, you upload videos of yourself; you are able to connect your profile to your Instagram and your Twitter account so people get to see what you’re all about. You can communicate with the performer about the kind of event and what the audience expects. And there are rating reviews both for the talents and for the hosts so it’s really streamlined.
Our goal is was to make it a one stop shop so you get to discover talents, you also get to hire talent and they get to get paid; everything happens within the app. Also it’s not just for comedians; it’s for musicians or fire blowers, some of the top magicians in the world, anyone who performs for an audience.
KJ: We are very proud to currently have the number one Obama impersonator in the world; a guy by the name of Reggie Brown from Chicago, in the app, we’ve got people in there who’ll come to your kid’s party and paint faces, who will come to your kid’s party and juggle, or dress up like a clown and entertain. It’s like having “America’s Got Talent” available right now in the app store on Apple so that anybody can get entertained for whatever it is you fancy or whatever entertainment you need.
Damon you’ve done television, you’ve done film; what is it about live performance that is so vital and so meaningful to you?
DW: I like the instant gratification, the instant reactions to whatever I’m saying on stage. There is a feeling also of connectivity in live entertainment that can’t be replicated and I think that is why no matter how many advances we make in technology it will never go away. People will still flock to go see their favorite musician or their favorite comedian and it is going to stand the test of time. That is what I love about it.
Kris, what do you want to achieve?
KJ: We’ve achieved our goal if we get talented people in the app and get them paid. The problem is that the traditional booking industry favors managed talent and 98 percent of talent that isn’t managed. So you have this conundrum where the 98 percent have to be not just performers but entrepreneurs. We want them to be able to focus on their acts; we will help them find venues that pay.
Source: Thehuffingtonpost.com
As previously reported, Kevin Hart is about to begin another tour this fall. According to Hart, he’s announced the tour as The Irresponsible Tour, and he’s released the names of the cities and the dates.
Last year, Hart was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Live Theatre, and has since released the New York Times Bestseller I Can’t Make This Up: Life Lessons, a memoir taking readers on his journey starting from his rocky upbringing in North Philadelphia to the mogul he is now.
The voice of the tyrannical (and adorable) bunny in The Secret Life of Pets, star of the action comedy Ride Along movie series and co-star to Dwayne Johnson in action film Central Intelligence, Hart is also host of the current television series Kevin Hart Presents: The Next Level.
The Irresponsible Tour, set to kick off in Macon, GA in early September.
Tickets can be purchased via the link here or check out the Facebook event here.
Everyone knows Tim Meadows, whether it’s from his 10 seasons on “Saturday Night Live,” where his recurring characters included the Ladies’ Man, or on any number of other TV shows, including “The Goldbergs” and “Son of Zorn.”
But one of the things filling his schedule lately is stand-up comedy. He brings his show to the St. Louis Funny Bone this weekend.
It’s a return to form for Meadows, who got his start at the Second City comedy troupe in Chicago before working on “SNL.”
Meadows knows this will be the first time some fans will see his stand-up act.
“People who come to see me perform know me from doing characters,” he says. “This will be some audience members’ first time hearing me talk about myself. I think people will be surprised that I’m handsome. I come across more beautiful in person.”
Not overselling his routine, Meadows describes his act as “pretty straightforward stand-up. It’s autobiographical. I would say it’s a cross between what you see a typical stand-up comedian do and what Steve Martin did.”
Martin is a key influence for Meadows, along with Louis C.K., Chris Rock, Colin Quinn and Richard Pryor.
He won’t say his show is completely clean, but it’s also not completely dirty. “I wouldn’t want to bring my kids to the show,” he says. “The language can occasionally be strong during the set. Some of the stories and topics are more adult. I’m talking about dating, having a relationship with someone new after marriage, so the show does have some sexuality to it.”
He says there’s a political element, something comedians are tackling more than ever lately.
“I’m talking about the current environment in America, and about our former president and the fact you don’t miss something until it’s gone,” he says.
Meadows has a recurring role on the ABC sitcom “The Goldbergs,” where he portrays the guidance counselor. He says he’s having lots of fun on the show.
“I look forward to when they call me to come and do the show,” he says. “I’ve known Jeff Garlin (who stars with Wendy McLendon-Covey) since the early 2000s back in Chicago. I have no idea what my future is on the show.”
Meadows starred for one season on “Son of Zorn,” a quirky Fox show that mixed live action with animation. The series didn’t get a second season. Meadows says he liked the show and considers it a great experiment, but he doesn’t blame the network for not sticking with it.
“I understand the network’s position,” he says. “It’s hard to break through — to get people to talk about a show. People who watched it liked it. But it was a little offputting, the two realities coming together.
“But after watching it for 10 minutes, you sort of accept it. I’m really glad I did it. I made friends with the people in the cast, and we’re talking about getting together in LA.”
Speaking of reunions, it doesn’t look as if Meadows will be heading back to “Saturday Night Live” to host the show anytime soon. He did return for the show’s 40th anniversary special in 2015.
“If they asked me to, of course I would do it,” he says. “But I’m not that big of a name that they would ask.”
Meadows says he’s been approached on occasion about reviving his popular Ladies’ Man character, but he’d rather let Courvoisier-sipping love expert Leon Phelps rest with the 2000 movie.
“I’m still friends with the guys who created the character with me,” Meadows says. “Even when I was on the show, I was reluctant about doing the character a lot. I enjoyed writing it, and it was fun to do, but I didn’t want to overdo it because I really love the character.
Meadows still watches “SNL” and thinks the cast is as funny as ever, though he often finds himself fast-forwarding past the musical guests.
“I feel like it’s not for me. It’s for my kids.”
By Kevin C. Johnson
In Sony Pictures Animation’s The Star, a small but brave donkey named Bo yearns for a life beyond his daily grind at the village mill. One day he finds the courage to break free, and finally, goes on the adventure of his dreams. On his journey, he teams up with Ruth, a loveable sheep who has lost her flock and Dave, a dove with lofty aspirations. Along with three wisecracking camels and some eccentric stable animals, Bo and his new friends follow the Star and become unlikely heroes in the greatest story ever told – the first Christmas.
The film stars the animated voices has
On this day in comedy on April 26, 1995, Friday, was released by New Line Cinema
This was rapper, Ice Cube’s first foray into comedy and he and co-writer, DJ Pooh knocked it out of the park. The story of a day getting high was a box office success and made co-star, Chris Tucker a movie star. Directed by F. Gary Gray (his first film), Smokey (Tucker), a low-level weed dealer has to pay the dope man (Faizon Love) $200 later that night and he’s just kicking it getting high with his newly unemployed buddy Craig (Cube) until he can figure out how he’s going to do it. That’s pretty much it with the rest being the hilarious antics that situation is bound to set up.
All the neighborhood characters are there. You’ve got the crackhead (A J Johnson) always looking to get some money for the sole purpose of hitting the pipe; the Pastor (Bernie Mac) who’s always lurking around to lay ‘hands’ on the sisters in need of ‘hands’; the unattended to or horny wife (Kathleen Bradley) who the Pastor lays his ‘hands’; the husband of the unattended wife (Tony Cox) who catches the one he said vows with and the guy they might’ve said them in front of involved in ‘hands’ laying; the fine-girl-in-the-ghetto (Nia Long) who Craig likes; the hood bully (Tiny Lister) who whoops you and takes your stuff or vice-versa; the poot-butt (D J Pooh) who gets his stuff taken from the bully and the girl who begs so much you’ve got to tell her ‘bye’ (Angela Means).
All fun and games aside Smokey is in a life or death situation. If he doesn’t come up with $200 – it’s curtains. Death for Craig, too by association. With his life on the line, Craig starts packing and gets caught by his dad (John Witherspoon) who tells him to fight with his hands, not a gun. Good advice, but it seems meaningless later when confronting the bully, but he gives the fists thing a try and is losing – badly. So Craig tries more than his fists – things like a brick and wins. Smokey steals the unconscious bully’s money and pays his dealer, the crackhead gets his shoes and Friday spawned sequels.
Friday also featured the talents of Paula Jai Parker, Anna Maria Horsford, Reynaldo Rey, Regina King, Yvette Wilson, Ronn Riser, Terri J. Vaughn, WC, Meagan Good, Michael Clarke Duncan and Lawanda Page. On a budget of $3.5 million the film took in $27,467,564 domestically and $748,354 for a worldwide box office gross of $28,215,918.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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On this day in comedy on April 24, 1964, Comedian, Actor, Game Show Host, Cedric Anderson Kyles (Cedric the Entertainer) was born in Jefferson City, Missouri
Cedric walked through the comedy door with a solid work ethic. He’d been a claims adjustor for State farm and a substitute teacher. How hard could standup comedy be? Beginning right before the Black Comedy Boom in the early 1990s, he’d already grasped his persona and how to ‘entertain’ an audience by working on the chitlin circuit throughout the Mid-West and Down South on runs like Creative Entertainment one-niters, Comedy Zones, Punchlines and other assorted repeated named clubs.
In 1993 he got a major break. After foregoing the advice to concentrate on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam, Cedric put all his efforts (and at the time the bulk of his new hot and tested material) into a BET Comic View appearance where the bigger payoff was hosting that show for a season. All he had to do was beat out over 50 other comics in a city not his own. In 1994 he succeeded first host, D. L. Hughley and the ratings were great. Cedric’s price went up and his notoriety skyrocketed.
Next break came from Steve Harvey. In 1996 Cedric was tapped to play Steve’s buddy on The Steve Harvey Show on the WB. The role of Cedric Robinson gained Cedric numerous Image Awards. Then it was off to the movies. Cedric got a deal and got busy. In rapid succession he appeared in Ride, Big Momma’s House, Kingdom Come, Serving Sara, Barbershop, Ice Age, Intolerable Cruelty, Barbershop 2: Back in Business, Johnson Family Vacation, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Be Cool, Man of the House and The Honeymooners.
During this busy period Cedric took time out to go on tour. The Original Kings of Comedy consisted of Bernie Mac, Steve Harvey, Cedric and Guy Torry (as show host). On the second leg of this ground-breaking black comedy tour playing to packed arenas, D. L. Hughley was added (Guy Torry had left to do a TV series) and Steve Harvey took over the hosting duties. Director, Spike Lee filmed it and the tour set the new template of what the public expected for their hard earned dollars: familiar faces with proven track records individually; now combined to equal an entertainment bargain. Every sub-group and gender and race picked up on it and everybody was some type of royalty before they set foot on a stage.
Cedric made more movies (Code Name: The Cleaner, Talk to Me, Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, Street Kings, Cadillac Records, Larry Crowe, A Haunted House, Top Five) and went back into television, guest starring and more. He had the short-lived variety show, Cedric the Entertainer Presents. He hosted Who Wants to be a Millionaire and starred in his TV-Land hit, The Soul Man (co-starring Niecy Nash) simultaneously. He’s had HBO Comedy Specials, voiced animated films (Madagascar, Planes and TV’s The Proud Family and The Boondocks), did the Broadway revival of David Mamet’s “American Buffalo” and continued to be a patron of standup comedy by fronting comedy tours introducing newer or unsung acts.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
Check out this clip: