On this day in comedy on April 13, 1999, Life was released by Universal Pictures
Starring Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence, Life is the second time the duo worked together and the last time Murphy did an R-rated film. The film dealt with two mismatched men thrown together by bad circumstances. Joined by perception they’re both accused of murder when they’re in the wrong place (a back alley) at the wrong time (after a man is killed) and get pinned with a crime that gets them sentenced to life in prison in the South; meaning a life of hard labor.
The story of Murphy and Lawrence is told by an old inmate (Obba Babatunde), who spent many of those years with them. He weaves the tale about how they were reluctant allies trying to initially get out through court appeal. That is until Lawrence tries to gain his freedom without including Murphy, who Lawrence views as a component to drag him down. Before entering prison, Lawrence was on his way to get a job working for a reputable bank. Murphy was a small-time hustler. For his betrayal, Lawrence loses his girl (Sanaa Lathan) on the outside trying to help him. She leaves him for the lawyer working on his appeal. So, life it is. That’s when Lawrence decides to join Murphy in his schemes to escape through not-so-legal methods.
The years pass slowly. During their stay the pair meet various inmates who die one by one over the years including prison staff (Nick Cassavetes, Erik Begnal, Brent Jennings). The survivors grow old together, through escape attempt after attempt, punishment after getting caught after punishment. Then one day they are old enough to be assigned to work for a local big shot (Ned Beatty) as domestic help in his home. All is well until the bigshot goes hunting with another visiting bigshot, who turns out to be the murderer responsible for their incarceration. A confrontation occurs and the old murderer is killed by the bigshot in defense of his workers. A pact is established between the three. The bigshot would release them the next day, but he died and it was back to prison for them.
As the story is told two young inmates (Heavy D, Bonz Malone) are burying two bodies. They think it must be Lawrence and Murphy who reportedly were burned up in a prison fire. The old narrator smiles knowingly. That’s because those two old rascals (90 years old each) had escaped and the final scene has them taking in a live game at Yankee Stadium after so many years of denial from such a basic treat. Now we all smiled.
Life was directed by Ted Demme and written by Robert Ramsey & Matthew Stone. The cast consisted of comedians: Bernie Mac, Guy Torry, Miguel A. Nunez, Jr., Anthony Anderson; actors: Bokeem Woodbine, Clarence Williams III, Michael Taliferro and Barry Shababa Henley as well as musical legend, Rick James.
Life received mixed reviews and was considered a box office failure. On a budget of $80 million Life grossed $75,576,029 worldwide. Regardless it was nominated for a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture, an Academy Award for Best Makeup and won a BMI Film & TV Award for Most Performed Song from a Film.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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Loni Love has her eyes on the prize! The comedian and ‘The Real’ talk show host, who also happens to have an engineering degree from Prairie View A&M University, has her eyes set on growing her brand. As for what’s up next career-wise, she shares:
I’m trying to keep tackling hosting. In daytime, women have always traditionally hosted. But in late-night, it’s always been a challenge. I want to tackle a late-night gig. And I kind of have to toot my own horn — I don’t care what she says — I helped Chelsea [Handler] with her show. [laughs] But she encouraged me because when we did “Chelsea Lately,” we did seven seasons of that show and started out with guests from like “Survivor 15,” but she worked herself up. That’s where I’m going next, tackling late-night in the prime-time space.
She also has the perfect advice for black women in comedy.
Take all opportunities. Don’t think anything is beneath you. Everybody ain’t gonna be Beyonce, and it took her a while to become Beyonce. She was in many groups first and then she became Beyonce. And show up. That’s 80% of the job. No opportunity is too small, especially in this industry. You don’t know who’s going to see it.
Source: thejasminebrand.com
NEW YORK-(BUSINESS WIRE)-Yesterday BET Networks announced Taraji P. Henson as the host of the “BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™” 2017 Awards, which will tape on Saturday, August 5, 2017 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Prudential Hall in Newark, NJ and premiere on Sunday, August 20, 2017 at 8:00 P.M./ET on BET. Created by celebrity DJ and women’s empowerment advocate Beverly Bond, the “BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™” 2017 Awards honors the groundbreaking achievements of Black women who have fearlessly broken barriers in the areas of art, business, entertainment and community service.
“I’m honored to host the ‘BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™’ Awards. I love the message and I love Beverly Bond and her vision. I was lucky to be honored in 2011. It is truly a highlight of my life. Now I’m back to be part of this amazing night to honor the strong and powerful Yara, Issa Rae, Roberta, Suzanne, Derrica and Natalie. Let’s make history together as we come together as women of brains, beauty and in support of each other,” said Henson.
Taraji P. Henson starred in the Academy Award nominated FOX Feature Hidden Figures based on the life of Katherine Johnson at NASA. The cast received Best Ensemble at the 2017 Screen Actors Guild Awards. Taraji received the 2016 Golden Globe for Best Actress in Drama Series, Critic’s Choice Award and two Emmy nominations for her star turn as Cookie Lyon in the groundbreaking and award winning hit series Empire. Taraji released her NY Times Best Seller Around The Way Girl published by Simon and Schuster October 2016. She stars in the three features Acrimony/Lionsgate, Proud Mary/Sony and the independent film Best of Enemies set for release in 2018. Taraji has received seven NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actress and Entertainer of the Year. She also received five BET Awards for her work in film and television.
This year, the three-time NAACP Award-winning “BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™” Awards celebrates “Insecure” creator, actress, writer and producer Issa Rae (Star Power Award), actress and activist Yara Shahidi (Young Gifted and Black Award), GRAMMY Award-winning songstress Roberta Flack (Living Legend Award), Wall Street powerhouse and pioneer Suzanne Shank (Shot Caller Award) and Community organizers Derrica Wilson and Natalie Wilson of The Black & Missing Foundation (Community Change Agent Award).
The televised special is a BET Networks, B.G.R. Enterprises Inc./BONDVISION MEDIA and Jesse Collins Entertainment production. The executive producers are Beverly Bond, CEO, Founder and Creator of “BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™”, Connie Orlando, Interim Head of Programming for BET Networks and Jesse Collins and Jeannae Rouzan – Clay of Jesse Collins Entertainment.
For updates or more information about BLACK GIRLS ROCK! ™ visit http://www.BET.com/blackgirlsrock and www.blackgirlsrock.com
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If you got a chance to see the hit film ‘Get Out‘ several months ago, then you already know what all of the fuss is about and how well the movie was. The film, which cost $4.5 million to produce has gone on to make tons of money, as it currently has totaled $250 million worldwide, more than any studio head could have ever imagined!
The film stars Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford and Lil Rel Howery, and was written and directed by Jordan Peele. To date, this film is the only comedy/horror film to ever make 56 times it’s budget.
In case you are not familiar with the film, check out the synopsis and trailer below;
Now that Chris (Kaluuya) and his girlfriend, Rose (Williams), have reached the meet-the-parents milestone of dating, she invites him for a weekend getaway upstate with Missy and Dean. At first, Chris reads the family’s overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter’s interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he never could have imagined.
Imprisoned, the mighty Thor finds himself in a lethal gladiatorial contest against the Hulk, his former ally. Thor, starring Chris Hemsworth, Idris Elba and Tessa Thompson is releasing nationwide on November 3rd must fight for survival and race against time to prevent the all-powerful help from destroying his home and the Asgardian civilization.
Trevor Noah won the heated Late Night Scaramucci competition with The Daily Show’s Profiles in Tremendousness look at President Donald Trump’s new White House Communications Director.
“Since he’s going to be around at least a month,” Noah explained.
Scaramucci got off to quite a start. At Friday’s press briefing, he spoke of the need to let letting Trump be himself express his full identity. That’s good news, Noah explained, for all of us who have been watching Trump in office and thinking, “Man, if he could just come out of his shell.”
Over the weekend, Scaramucci seemed to bungle the message on Presidential Pardons, directly contradicting the outside lawyer who has been hired by Trump to handle all things Russia probe-related.
What is it that Trump felt qualified a guy for the job who has no obvious communications experience and a history of being pro-choice, pro gun control, etc – besides having spent seven years at Goldman Sachs?
Noah and team unearthed the real reason.
Christian Comedian Chocolate, born “Chinnitta Morris”, has always dreamed of being an entertainer since her childhood growing up in her small town of Gastonia, North Carolina. As a bashful child, she would only perform for her five sisters in their poverty stricken home to make light of bad situations. Chocolate has always proven herself to be an overcomer. She became a college graduate from Winston-Salem State University and also served in the Marine Corps Reserve. Born the third out of six girls raised in a single parent home, and the darkest out of them all, she faced a great deal of criticism from others and had an incredibly low self-esteem.
But Chocolate learned to take her lemons and make lemonade. And through the bitter-sweet of life, she learned to laugh at herself. Her very first time on stage she talked mostly about her complexion-thinking it would be better to deal with the obvious first. She did so well with it, it was actually therapeutic for her. And although she graced the stage her first year under her real name “Chinnitta Morris”, she was mostly remembered for doing jokes about being “chocolate or dark-skinned”, and the name “Chocolate was given to her officially two weeks before her first taping of Def Comedy Jam.
Some of Chocolate’s accomplishments during her career as a comedian that started on November, 27 1990 are HBO’S Def Comedy Jam, BET’S Comic View and Bad Girls of Def Comedy Jam, which featured five of the best female comics on Def Comedy Jam. She was nominated for best female stand-up on the “Soul Train Comedy Awards which was won by Whoopie Goldberg. Chocolate has also toured with numerous stage plays, including Tyler Perry’s very first play “I Know I’ve Been Changed”.
Although she was a favorite on Def Comedy Jam and Comic View, and was excelling greatly in the secular arena, in the year 1998, God called her in out of darkness into His marvelous light. Her response was a resounding “YES”! Chocolate had gotten a revelation from God that “only what you do for Christ is going to last”. She realized that everything else was a waste of time and her soul was perishing, so she committed her life to Christ, and is fully committed.
The transition wasn’t easy, but she didn’t expect it to be. She faced much criticism from her peers who did not understand her decision at a time when her career was going so well. All that mattered to Chocolate was that now her life was committed to Christ, and whatever He wanted from her became her hearts desire to do His will.
Chocolate gives God all the glory for all those who believe in what God is doing through her, and gave her a chance to prove Him. And in all that He uses her to do for the up building of His kingdom, she boldly proclaims, “TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!!
Not only do they have Samuel L. Jackson, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to welcome another heavyweight into the fold.
At San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday, it was revealed that Laurence Fishburne is joining the cast of Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp as Dr. Bill Foster. Foster is also known as Black Gloiath, a brilliant scientist who works with Henry “Hank” Pym (Michael Douglas in the MCU), and has the ability to grow in size.
Hannah John-Kamen, who we knew from before was cast in the movie in a “key role” has been revealed to be “Ghost.” In the Marvel Comics, the character (who is male) is mostly known as a foe of Iron Man, but in a lot of the canon is more so an anti-hero. She very well could be the central villain. John-Kamen is most known for her role in Killjoys.
We also learned Michelle Pfifer has been cast Janet van Dyne, the mother of Hope van Dyne / Wasp (Evangeline Lilly).
In the comics, Janet was the original Wasp and the first wife of the original Ant-Man Hank. At one point, she was the chairman of The Avengers.
We learned a few months ago that T.I. would be returning from the first film as Dave, a member of Ant-Man’s crew.
The film is due in theaters July 2018.
Source: Shadow & Act
The new comedy film titled Girl’s Trip, directed by veteran Malcolm Lee (The Best Man, The Best Man Holiday, Roscoe Jenkins) was definitely funny and nostalgic. The film brought back so many memories of hanging with your girls before adulting became life. Veteran actresses Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Regina Hall allowed newcomer comedian Tiffany Haddish to shine, and because of that; they were shining as well.
You will laugh and laugh some more… maybe even shed a tear. Grab a few of your girls, take a moment away from adulting and get your giggle on. ENJOY!! #girlstrip #blackgirlmagic
ENJOY!! #girlstrip #blackgirlmagic
By Teena Marie
On this day in comedy on April 10, 1968, Comedian, Actor, Writer, Producer, Orlando Jones was born in Mobile, Alabama
After getting turned onto entertaining by playing a werewolf in a haunted house in high school, Orlando Jones graduated and got serious. He and fellow comedian, Michael Fechter formed a successful production company, Homeboy’s Productions and Marketing, with Michael Jordan being one of their clients. From there Jones got a writing gig for NBC’s A Different World and a small part on the sitcom as well. He next formed a relationship with the new Fox network. Jones wrote for Roc, appeared on Herman’s Head and co-produced The Sinbad Show. Though audiences might best remember him as one of the original cast members on Fox’s sketch comedy show, MADtv.
With limited sketch comedy experience, Jones relied heavily on his comedy writing and producing skills to cement his stature. He created memorable characters (Dexter St. Croix, Reverend LaMont Nixon Fatback) and provided spot-on impressions (Danny DeVito, Eddie Griffin, Ice Cube). After two seasons, he left to do movies and racked up an impressive resume of comedies as well as dramas (In Harm’s Way, Sour Grapes, Woo, Office Space, Magnolia, Drumline, The Replacements, Bedazzled, Double Take, Biker Boyz, The Chicago 8 and more).
Despite big screen achievements, Orlando Jones never strayed far from television. A series of commercials for 7 Up put Jones on the national map for over two years and he took advantage of it. He hosted an HBO special, got his own talk show, guest starred on popular sitcoms (The Bernie Mac Show, Girlfriends, Everybody Hates Chris) and had a leading role on an ABC crime drama. He’s appeared in documentaries (Looking for Lenny), done voice-over work for cartoons (The Boondocks, Yuletide in the ‘hood, Father of the Pride, The Adventures of Chico & Guapo, King of the Hill) and performs stand-up nationwide.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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