On this day in comedy on March 9, 1990, House Party was released by New Line Cinema
Written and directed by Harvard alumni, Reginald Hudlin and based on his award-winning student film, House Party stars rappers, Kid and Play as two buddies out for a good time. That prospect becomes reality when Play announces his parents are leaving for a while and he’s going to throw a party at the house. His friend Bilal (Martin Lawrence) will be the DJ and the only thing that can stop them is Kid’s Pops (Robin Harris), who has banned him from going out and being a parent himself he just might make trouble. The only other thing is a threesome of thugs out to get Kid which is definitely trouble.
Well, Kid gets past his Pops and sneaks out. Then he gets past the thugs, who don’t get past the cops and get arrested several times while trying to get Kid, who is busy avoiding all manners of obstacles to get to the party. When he finally makes it there it’s crackin. After showing off his dance moves with Play, Kid hooks up with Sharane (A. J. Johnson), but really wants to be with Sydney (Tisha Campbell). As in most movies the love situation works itself out so well that Kid and Campbell are about to have sex, but his condom is too old and besides he’s got to get going. Campbell’s parents come home and Kid is back on the streets running to avoid trouble. Too late. The cops catch him and throw him in jail. His friends bail him out and he sneaks into his house just in time for Pops to catch him and whoop his butt with a belt.
House Party is a comedy classic. Besides great music provided by Marcus Miller and Lenny White, the film was a critical and box office success. On a budget of $2.5 million the film grossed $26,385,627. It spawned four sequels (two theatrical, two straight to DVD) and the soundtrack released on Motown Records was also a hit reaching #20 on the Top R&B/ Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Produced by Reginald’s brother, Warrington Hudlin and partner, Gerald T. Olsen, House Party featured the talents of Paul Anthony, Bow-Legged Lou and B-Fine (from Full Force), Darryl “Chill” Mitchell, Kelly Jo Minter, BeBe Drake, George Clinton and John Witherspoon.
House Party was the last film appearance of pivotal and influential standup comedian, Robin Harris, who passed away nine days after its release.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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On this day in comedy on March 8, 2002, All About the Benjamins was released by Newline Cinema
Teaming Ice Cube and Mike Epps up again, this action comedy is about diamond thieves and the tale of tracking them down. Cube is a bounty hunter, Epps a criminal. They pair up to get the crooks and a winning lottery ticket Epps needs to retrieve. There’s plenty of running, multiple shoot outs, some murders, a kidnapping, a tasing, a neck breaking, several escapes, a lot of yelling, scenes of mild torture, a boat crash, along with various chases, some searching, plotting, planning, handcuffing and conniving.
All About the Benjamins was directed by Kevin Bray and produced by Ice Cube and Matt Alvarez. It featured Eva Mendes, Roger Guenveur Smith, Tommy Flanagan, Carmen Chaplin, Anthony Michael Hall, Bob Carter and Bow Wow. The critics hated the film. They thought it was crude and offensive with way too much violence. The fans loved it because of everything the critics hated.
On a budget of $15 million, All About the Benjamins grossed $26,306,533 at the box office.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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On this day in comedy, on March 7, 1964, Comedienne, Actress, Writer, Voice-Over Artist, and Producer Wanda Sykes was born in Portsmouth, Virginia
Raised in the Washington, DC area, Sykes was a NSA (National Security Agency) contracting specialist before getting into comedy. After five years of that day job she tried her hand at being funny in 1987 at the Coors Light Super Talent Showcase. She honed her skills for five more years (while still working for the NSA) until in 1992 she moved to New York. Sykes got a gig there working for Hall Leonard publishing as a book editor. At night, she’d step out and do comedy. One evening she got a break which led to Sykes opening for Chris Rock at the famed Caroline’s Comedy Club. In 1997, she joined Rock’s writing staff on The Chris Rock Show for HBO, where she also appeared on camera. In 1999, she won an Emmy as part of that writing team.
Further success followed Sykes. She’s done theater (Annie), films (Pootie Tang, Monster-in-Law, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Evan Almighty, License to Wed, Down to Earth, Nutty Professor II: The Klumps) and plenty of television (Curb Your Enthusiasm, The New Adventures of Old Christine (as friend, Barb Baran), The Drew Carey Show, Chappelle’s Show, MADtv, Will & Grace, Alpha House, Real Husbands of Hollywood and Black-ish). Sykes has also done voice-overs for animated features (Over the Hedge, Barnyard, Brother Bear 2, Rio, Ice Age: Continental Drift, Ice Age: Collision Course), television (Bubble Guppies, Futurama, The Simpsons) and did a voice for the televised puppet show, Crank Yankers.
Wanda Sykes had her own sitcom, Wanda at Large on Fox in 2003 and one on Comedy Central, (Wanda Does It). She also debuted her hour-long standup special, Tongue Tied on Comedy Central in 2003. In 2006, she did her first HBO special, Wanda Sykes: Sick & Tired. It was nominated for an Emmy Award. She did her second for HBO in 2009, Wanda Sykes: I’ma Be Me. Also in 2009, she hosted her own late night talk show, The Wanda Sykes Show on Fox. Sykes has hosted Premium Blend on Comedy Central and was a sports correspondent on HBO’s Inside the NFL. In 2004, she published the best-selling book, Yeah, I Said It.
In 2014 Wanda Sykes co-produced the languishing NBC standup comedy competition show, Last Comic Standing and brought it back to its previous prominence. She has written for The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show, the 74th Annual Academy Awards, The Downer Channel and of course every show she was ever on or hosted.
Wanda Sykes was active in the anti-gay bashing campaign, “Think Before You Speak” and has been an outspoken advocate for LGBT rights. She performed as part of Cyndi Lauper’s Tour for that cause. In 2009, she was the first openly LGBT person as well as the first African-American female to be a featured entertainer at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.
Sykes was named by Out magazine as number 35 on their Annual Power 50 List. She was one of the 25 Funniest People in America by Entertainment Weekly in 2004 and ranked by Comedy Central as #70 on their list of the 100 Greatest All-Time Standups. In 2001 Sykes won the American Comedy Award for Outstanding Female Stand Up Comic, the 2003 Comedy Central Commie Award for “Funniest TV Actress”, the 2010 GLAAD Stephen F. Kolzak Award and the Activism in the Arts at the Triumph Awards in 2015.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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After leaving “The View” behind for her Disney Channel roots, the cable TV network ordered a “That’s So Raven” spin-off to series, titled, “Raven’s Home” and of course starring Raven-Symoné.
The comedy will follow Raven (Raven-Symoné) and Chelsea (Anneliese van der Pol reprising her role), who are now divorced single mothers raising their two separate families in one chaotic but fun household full of friends. When one of Raven’s kids begins to show signs that they have inherited her trait of catching glimpses of the future, the already hectic household gets turned upside down, keeping even Raven on her toes.
Issac Brown (“Black-ish”) and Navia Robinson (“Being Mary Jane”) play Raven’s 11-year-old twins, Booker and Nia, respectively, and Jason Maybaum (“Superstore”) plays Chelsea’s 9-year-old son, Levi.
Sky Katz (“America’s Got Talent”) plays Nia’s best friend, Tess.
President and CEO at Disney Channels Worldwide, Gary Marsh said in a previous statement: “There is only one Raven — and for over 25 years, she has blessed audiences around the world with the greatest gift of all — the pure, unadulterated joy of laugh-out-loud funny. After being a part of over 20 different Disney projects, we are thrilled to be bringing Raven home to Disney Channel once again.”
“That’s So Raven” originally aired on the Disney Channel from 2003-2007. Raven-Symoné won two Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards for her role. The series also was nominated for Best Children’s Program at the Primetime Emmys. At the time of its premiere, “That’s So Raven” was one of the highest-rated Disney Channel Original programs ever.
Raven-Symoné serves as an executive producer on the spin-off series “Raven’s Home” which will premiere on Friday, July 21st on Disney Channel.
Source: Shadow & Act
The key prosecution witness against Bill Cosby testified Tuesday afternoon that her friendship with the entertainer took a dark turn when Cosby invited her to his home outside Philadelphia, persuaded her to take three blue pills, and then sexually assaulted her after she began to lose consciousness.
Testifying on the second day of Cosby’s criminal trial here, Andrea Constand, now 44, said she panicked as she became woozy after taking the pills.
“I was panicking a little bit but I knew I couldn’t really get up,” she told the jury.
Then, she said, she was jolted when Cosby began groping her breasts. “I also felt his hand inside my vagina … and I felt him take my hand and place it on his penis.”
This story is developing.
Source: Variety
racy Morgan is refusing to testify over the truck accident that almost killed him.
Morgan, 48, sued Walmart for millions of dollars for the business’s part in the accident. Following a reported $90-million payout, Walmart’s insurer, Ohio Casualty, is demanding Morgan take part in a seven-hour deposition. The goal of the sit down is to prove its claims the “30 Rock” star exaggerated his injuries.
The crash derailed Morgan’s career and killed his friend and fellow comedian Jimmy Mack, but the star of Netflix’s “Tracy Morgan: Staying Alive” will not provide testimony in the insurance dispute. “Deposing Tracy Morgan will lead to nothing. We are opposing it,” his attorney, Benedict Morelli, told the New York Post.
“The people I represented were all in comas for more than a week. They were devastatingly injured,” Morelli continued. Morgan suffered a broken leg and femur, broken nose, and several broken ribs — not to mention traumatic brain injury, which caused memory loss and a speech impediment.
In June 2014, a Walmart tractor-trailer crashed into a limo transporting Morgan and his friends. The truck driver had allegedly been awake for more than 24 hours at the time of the accident, sparking a lawsuit against Walmart from the injured passengers.
A judge will determine on June 19 whether or not the comedian must be deposed.
Source: ET
SCREENSHOT FROM VIDEO/WIL SYLVINCE/FACEBOOK
Wil Sylvince, a New York-based comic, posted a video on Monday of a woman yelling obscenities at a police officer outside of Helium Comedy Club in Philadelphia over the weekend. It has been viewed more than 1 million times.
A jarring incident that happened outside of Helium Comedy Club in Center City over the weekend was captured on video and quickly spread on the internet, which meant bad news for a local journalist.
Wil Sylvince, a New York City-based comic, shared a five-minute-long clip to his Facebook page Monday that shows a woman yelling obscenities and attempting to spit on someone before a police officer later handcuffs her.
The catch? The woman shown in the video says that she’s an employee of PHL17. Philadelphia Magazine was first to report the incident and identified the woman as 28-year-old Colleen Campbell, an on-air talent for the station.
Campbell hails from South Jersey and earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism at Temple University in May 2016, according to her personal website, which has been deleted.
Tribune Company, PHL17’s parent company, told PhillyVoice on Tuesday morning that Campbell “is no longer employed by” the news station. Tribune did not immediately confirm how long she was with the company.
A source says that Campbell’s official title was “per diem new production” and she was used as occasional on-air entertainment.
Campbell told the officer to “lick [her] a–hole” after he told a man she appears to be with that he “just wanted [him to] take her.”
“That’s why nobody likes f—ing police, because they all stand up for f—ing idiots in this f—ing town,” she’s heard saying in the video.
According to Sylvince’s Facebook post, Campbell was allegedly “disturbing” a show at the comedy club with her “loud whispering.” She was asked to leave after being warned by the club’s staff. The video appears to show Campbell acting like she is going to spit in a person’s face; Sylvince wrote that person is the club’s manager.
Craig Robinson, who is known for playing Darryl Philbin on “The Office,” was performing at the club Sunday night, according to Helium’s event calendar.
“I work at a f—ing news station, motherf—er. I work at PHL17,” she said in the video.
“No wonder everybody wants to blow your f—ing heads off,” she later said.
Sylvince’s video has been viewed more than 1 million times since it was posted Monday.
A police docket shows that a 28-year-old Colleen Campbell was charged Monday for resisting arrest, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct. She is due to appear in court on June 13.
Source: Philly Voice
Legendary comedian, Bill Maher, is under fire after referring to himself as a “house n****r” on Friday’s episode of HBO’s, “Real Time With Bill Maher”. Maher who often pushes the boundaries of political correctness quickly issued an apology saying, “The word was offensive, and I regret saying it and am very sorry”.
Today, Whoopi Goldberg emerged as an unlikely defender of Maher’s comment. During a segment on “The View”, Goldberg justified Maher’s use of the joke saying, “he didn’t call anybody (n****r), he called himself”. She continued by saying the word, “has way too much power..and had the ability to stop us in our tracks”. Goldberg cautioned the audience to consider the source and to use discretion when deciphering the meaning of the word.
Chance The Rapper and Deray McKesson have both called for HBO to cancel “Real Time”, after fifteen seasons due to Maher’s use of the n-word. The network released a statement calling Maher’s comments, “inexcusable”, and he will be allowed to return to the show.
Source: Vlad Tv
Comedian Aries Spears is suing Zo Williams and The Corey Holcomb 5150 Show for assault and battery. In the video, Aries is having a heated exchange with Zo, but Zo gets fed up with Aries and Aries unleashes a flurry of punches. However, in the suit Aires doesn’t just blame Zo. Aires blames Corey and the entire staff for allowing the incident to occur. To make matters worse Corey and Zo are also on camera cracking jokes about the beat down via TMZ Live.
As we all know, there’s more than one side to every story. According to Corey and Zo, Aires was very loud, belligerent, and was drunk during the show. Aires also made an offensive comment about Zo being light skinned. As we can see from the video, Zo had enough of Aires and let his actions do the talking.
Aires is suing for an unspecified amount.
Gabrielle Union will star in and produce the home-invasion drama “Breaking In” with shooting starting in July in Los Angeles.
“V for Vendetta” director James McTeigue is on board to direct from a script by Ryan Engle, based on a pitch from Jaime Primak Sullivan about a woman fighting to protect her family during a home invasion.
Union will produce with Will Packer through his Will Packer Productions along with James Lopez, and Practical Picture’s Craig Perry and Sheila Taylor. Jaime Primak Sullivan, Valerie Bleth Sharp, and Jeff Morrone are executive producing.
Union is the star and executive producer of BET’s “Being Mary Jane.” Will Packer Prods. is one of the production companies on the series.
Union’s film credits include the two “Think Like a Man” movies, “Almost Christmas,” “Top Five,” “Bad Boys II,” “Sleepless,” and Nate Parker’s “Birth of a Nation.”
Union is repped by CAA and Primary Wave. Packer and McTeigue are both repped by CAA. Engle is repped by Original Artists. The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.
Source: Variety