On This Day In Comedy… In 1997 ‘Good Burger’ Was Released By Paramount Pictures!
On this day in comedy on July 25, 1997Good Burger was released by Paramount Pictures.
Nickelodeon Movies partnered with Tollin/Robbins Productions to adapt this popular sketch from the series, All That into this feature film. Starring the comedy duo of Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell, Good Burger stayed true to the format of a dysfunctional fast food stand with an even more motley crew in charge.
The film version kicks off with Thompson wrecking his mother’s car while on summer vacation. The problem is compounded by the fact the other vehicle to get damaged belonged to his teacher, played by Sinbad. A deal is struck. If Thompson pays for the repairs, Sinbad won’t tell his mama. Thus, Thompson finds himself getting a summer job at Good Burger and there he meets a blissfully ignorant employee played by Mitchell. His character is so stupid he doesn’t know he’s sitting on a gold mine in the form of a secret sauce he invented that makes the Good Burger burgers the best burgers in town. However, the rival food chain, Mondo Burger knows how good they are and plot to steal the secret sauce recipe.
Once Thompson figures out it was Mitchell who accidently caused the car accident in the first place he leverages that bit of info to force Mitchell to sign over 80% of his secret sauce invention to his new ‘business partner’. So they’re partners not only in the invention, but also in the looney bin when the manager of Mondo Burgers has them committed while he continues to try to pilfer the thing that makes Good Burgers so doggone good. His Mondo Burgers already have a secret ingredient that makes them extremely and obscenely huge (an illegal substance of course), but tasting better wouldn’t hurt.
The thing is no crazy house can hold sane nuts so Thompson and Mitchell escape and break into Mondo Burgers and discover just how crooked they are. Following a series of mishaps, Thompson and Mitchell expose Mondo Burger’s manager and save the day. Mondo Burger is destroyed by its own illegal additive and Good Burger goes back to being the neighborhood’s meat patty monopoly.
Good Burger also stars Abe Vigoda, Carmen Electra, Jan Schweiterman, Shar Jackson, Dan Schneider, Ron Lester, Lori Beth Denberg, Josh Server, Linda Cardellini with a cameos by Shaquille O’Neal, George Clinton, Robert Wuhl and Marques Houston.
On a budget of $8.5 million, Good Burger grossed an impressive return of $23.7 million at the box office.
On This Day In Comedy… In 1967 Wendy Raquel Robinson Was Born!
On this day in comedy on July 25, 1967 actress, Wendy Raquel Robinson was born in Los Angeles, CA, 1967.
Martin was Robinson’s introduction to the public. The year was 1993 and she followed that comedy debut with a guest starring spot on Thea and The Sinbad Show. In 1995 she co-starred in the Rondell Sheridan vehicle, Minor Adjustments on NBC, but it didn’t catch on. Perhaps some major adjustments were in order. Fortunately, her next gig was well tuned.
Wendy Raquel Robinson is best known for her role as Regina “Piggy” Grier on The Steve Harvey Show, which ran for 6 seasons on the WB. She worked alongside Cedric the Entertainer. That relationship took her onto Cedric the Entertainer Presents. Other post-Steve Harvey Show appearances included The Parkers, All of Us and The New Adventures of Old Christine.
Robinson made a number of films. She’s featured in A Thin Line between Love and Hate, Rebound, The Walking Dead, Ringmaster and Two Can Play That Game. In 2006 she signed on to play sports agent Tasha Mack in sitcom, The Game for the CW. The show was canceled after three seasons, but as fate would have it the run of The Game was not over. BET stepped in, relocated the show from L. A. to Atlanta and The Game played on; as does Robinson’s career.
When not in front of the camera she devotes much of her time to the Amazing Grace Conservatory. The school she co-founded has a mission to assist financially challenged deserving talent reach their potential in the field of the arts and media. Under Robinson’s guidance, the Conservatory has successfully trained thousands of young artists. So let’s add mentor to that list of credits for Wendy Raquel Robinson.
Steve Harvey Facing Trial Over Unreleased Comedy Tapes
As the host of Family Feud and an eponymous talk show, Steve Harvey is valuable presence in the world of syndicated television. He’s also a comedian who is caught up in a legal dispute that appears headed to trial some time in the coming months. Should that happen, a jury could get a shot at putting an exact figure on Harvey’s worth.
In the case currently playing out in a Texas federal court, Harvey is tangling with Joseph Cooper, who was hired back in 1993 to tape performances at Harvey’s Dallas club. Cooper has retained about 120 hours of footage and claims ownership. Harvey counters that the material was shot for internal use and that Cooper has been attempting to extort him by telling others there’s potentially embarrassing material on the tapes. At one point, according to court papers, Cooper wanted to sell the tapes back to Harvey for $5 million.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Jane Boyle got an opportunity to look at the claims and arguments. She released a summary judgment opinion (read here) that rejected two of Cooper’s claims related to interference in the marketplace, but denied Harvey’s bid to rule out a claim that the comedian breached contract. She also refused to award Harvey an injunction.
Harvey argued that he never signed an agreement, and that even if he did, the language in the document did not grant Cooper rights to commercially exploit the tapes.
The allegedly valid contract has Steve Harvey’s name on it and states that Cooper “reserves the right to use the original tape and/or reproductions for display, publication or other purposes.” At Cooper’s deposition, however, the plaintiff conceded that “he has never negotiated a contract where someone gave him their copyrightable works.”
Boyle says that the contract is ambiguous, priming the way for a trial on these contested issues of fact. There’s also the subject of whether Harvey violated the deal by demanding that YouTube remove videos and by getting in the way of a distribution deal with Musical Video Distributors, Inc., which is also something a jury would have to figure out when clearing up whether Harvey conveyed rights to Cooper.
However, because Cooper had no actual contract with MVD, Boyle rules Harvey couldn’t have committed tortious interference with contractual relations. Cooper may have had a prospective business relationship, but Boyle rules that Cooper hasn’t sufficiently demonstrated that Harvey’s conduct was the proximate cause of any actual loss. An executive at the distribution company was hesitant about making a deal with Cooper notwithstanding alleged interference. Plus, Harvey believed he had legal rights, and the judge accepts the comedian’s defensive position that he was justified in contacting MVD.
The judge has now told both sides to come up with a trial date no later than January 30, 2017. At the coming proceeding, both sides could present a financial look at the worth of Harvey’s fame in an effort to win damages.
Cooper has retained an economist, Dr. Michael Einhorn, who examined how Harvey’s Still Trippin‘, released in 2008, and other comedy videos performed in the marketplace. He was primarily concerned with lost sales and estimated that Cooper lost the opportunity to earn in the area of $2.67 million.
In turn, Harvey’s accountant Scott Barnes wrote in his own report that such an opinion was speculative and erroneously derived, particularly because a 2008 performance was superior to a 1993 performance in immediacy, production quality and relevant subject matter. Barnes also examined the worth of Harvey’s name and likeness. If Cooper doesn’t have rights, the plaintiff could be in trouble because Harvey has asserted counterclaims over Cooper’s use of the comedian in internet advertisements. Barnes’ report pegs a reasonable compensation for use of Harvey’s services at $350,000.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
WATCH: New Trailer Released Of Kevin Hart’s Concert Film Titled ‘Kevin Hart: What Now?’
In Universal Pictures’ Kevin Hart: What Now?, comedic rock-star Kevin Hart follows up his 2013 hit stand-up concert movie Let Me Explain, which grossed $32 million domestically and became the third-highest live stand-up comedy movie of all time. Hart takes center stage in this groundbreaking, record-setting, sold-out performance of “What Now?”—filmed outdoors in front of 50,000 people at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field—marking the first time a comedian has ever performed to an at-capacity football stadium.
Roc-A-Fella Records TV Series In Works From Damon Dash & Lemuel Plummer
Old rumors about Roc-A-Fella Records may soon be laid to rest and, in some cases, confirmed. Music and film producer Damon Dash has partnered with Preachers Of L.A. executive producer Lemuel Plummer for a TV series that will tell the story of the storied rap label co-founded in 1996 by Dash, Kareem Burke, and rap superstar Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter.
“It means a lot that Damon trusts us to tell the story – the true story – of how two global music icons got their start and did nothing less than redefine pop culture,” Plummer said. “That story is so unbelievable and yet so true that we know we have an awesome responsibility as storytellers to get things right.”
Envisioned as a series that Dash and Plummer specifically liken to HBO’s Vinyl orThe People Vs OJ Simpson, the show will examine the meteoric rise of the company that established Jay-Z as a leading voice in hip-hop, and later launched the career of Kanye West, while looking at the high cost of fame and the pursuit of it.
Dash, Burke, and Carter established Roc-A-Fella to release Jay-Z’s first album, Reasonable Doubt, after it had been rejected by several labels. The timing turned out to be both fortuitous and tragic — Roc-A-Fella and its growing roster of artists built around Jay-Z helped, as Dash puts it, “save hip-hop from itself”after the murders of Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G in 1996 and 1997, respectively, upended the state of rap and the hip-hop community at large. By the early 2000s, Roc-A-Fella had grown into a boutique empire with a roster of artists including DJ Clue, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleak, Cam’ron, and West, along with other ventures that included the Latin-music imprint Roc-A-Familia, as well as film and fashion units.
However, by 2005 tensions between the founders crystalized as Roc-A-Fella was sold to The Island Def Jam Music Group. In the process, Jay-Z became president and CEO of Def Jam, while the now-ousted Dash and Burke went on to other ventures, including their own label, Dame Dash Music Group. Roc-A-Fella continued to release records as a Def Jam imprint for several more years, but since 2010 the name has largely been associated only with releases by Jay-Z and Kanye West and is widely considered to be defunct.
Even before the split, rumors of tensions at the label were hot gossip, and former associates have dished about the split for years. Although Dash has expressed disappointment about Roc-A-Fella’s trajectory in several recent interviews, the principals have never publicly spoken ill of one another and the full story has never been told.
The proposed series could change that, as Dash and Plummer insist they’re planning what they call a “brutally honest account” about the rise of Roc-A-Fella touching on everything from Dash’s relationships with Aaliyah and Rachel Roy, to an in-depth look at Dash’s departure and the severing of his business relationship with Jay-Z.
Speaking to Deadline, Dash was coy but optimistic about the music that might make up the proposed show’s soundtrack. “As much music as I could get, I know what I own, and there’s a lot of different artists that would probably not have a problem with participating,” says Dash. “And hopefully Jay doesn’t either, but as of yet we haven’t crossed that barrier. I’m not worried about that.”
However, he and Plummer were quick to clarify the series won’t be focused on the music, but instead on the behind-the-scenes highs and lows, beginning from Dash’s private school upbringing and street hustling period to becoming Jay-Z’s manager and beyond. “What defined what we were doing is everything that was in my life equals Roc-A-Fella … there was a point of view at Roc-A-Fella I’m not quite sure people knew what it was. We had so much going on,” Dash said, citing the label’s film and fashion enterprises.
“It’s not about the music that you hear,” Plummer added. “It’s about the actual [behind-the-scenes] story that’s never been told.” The series won’t be a straight biopic about Dash or any of the label’s principals, however. “Roc-A-Fella as a movement wasn’t revolving around one person, but that’s the way it was made to look,” Dash added.
Even so, Dash’s perspective will define the show’s point of view. “My experience is colorless. The reason why Roc-A-Fella crossed and became so essential to pop culture is that we were probably the most authentic people that were also so sophisticated,” Dash told Deadline. “My experience doing white people sh*t is just as heavy as my experiences doing black people sh*t. Actually, I think I’ve done white people sh*t better than white people.”
Damon Dash Studios and L. Plummer Media are jointly developing the project, with LPM overseeing production. It’s the second collaboration between the pair, having previously worked together on Plummer’s BET series Music Moguls featuring Dash along with rap moguls Birdman, Snoop Dogg and Jermaine Dupri.
Plummer’s other credits include Preachers Of L.A., Preachers Of Detroit, Preachers Of Atlanta, #The Westbrooks, Living With Funny starring Brandon T. Jackson, and Vindicated hosted by Morris Chestnut. Dash served as producer on the Mekhi Phifer-Wood Harris starring film Paid In Full;Shadow Boxer starring Oscar winners Helen Mirren and Cuba Gooding Jr; and executive producer on The Woodsman with Kevin Bacon.
Source: Deadline
Gene Wilder, Comedy Legend, Dies At 83!
Gene Wilder, the leading man with the comic flair and frizzy hair known for teaming with Mel Brooks on the laugh-out-loud masterpieces The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, has died, his family announced. He was 83.
The two-time Oscar nominee also starred as a quirky candy man in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) and in four films alongside stand-up legend Richard Pryor.
Wilder’s nephew, Jordan Walker-Pearlman, said that the actor died Sunday night at home in Stamford, Conn., after a three-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
“The decision to wait until this time to disclose his condition wasn’t vanity,” Walker-Pearlman said, “but more so that the countless young children who would smile or call out to him, ‘There’s Willy Wonka,’ would not have to be then exposed to an adult referencing illness or trouble and causing delight to travel to worry, disappointment or confusion. He simply couldn’t bear the idea of one less smile in the world.”
His nephew noted that when Wilder passed, a recording of Ella Fitzgerald singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” was playing. She was one of his favorite artists.
Wilder will forever be remembered for his ill-fated Hollywood romance with Gilda Radner. Less than two years after they were married, the popular Saturday Night Live star was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and died on May 20, 1989, at age 42.
In 1963, the Milwaukee native appeared on Broadway opposite Anne Bancroft in Jerome Robbins’ Mother Courage and Her Children. The actress introduced Wilder to Brooks, her future husband, and the couple invited him to Fire Island, where he got a look at the first 30 pages of a screenplay titled Springtime for Hitler.
“Three years went by, never heard from [Brooks],” Wilder told Larry King in a 2002 interview. “I didn’t get a telegram. I didn’t get a telephone call. And I’m doing a play called Love on Broadway, matinee, taking off my makeup.
“Knock-knock on the door, I open the door. There’s Mel. He said, ‘You don’t think I forgot, do you? We’re going to do Springtime for Hitler. But I can’t just cast you. You’ve got to meet [star] Zero [Mostel] first, tomorrow at 10 o’clock.’
“[The next day] the door opens. There’s Mel. He says come on in. ‘Z, this is Gene. Gene, this is Z. And I put out my hand tentatively. And Zero grabbed my hand, pulls me to him and kisses me on the lips. All my nervousness went away. And then we did the reading and I got the part. And everything was fine.”
Springtime for Hitler, of course, would become The Producers (1968), written and directed by Brooks. For his portrayal of stressed-out accountant Leopold Bloom in his first major movie role, Wilder earned an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor.
Brooks cast Gig Young for the part of the washed-up gunfighter The Waco Kid in Blazing Saddles(1974), but the actor, who was an alcoholic, got sick playing his first scene and had to be taken away by ambulance.
“I called Gene and said, “What do I do?” Brooks recalled in a 2014 interview with Parade magazine. “Gene said, “Just get a horse for me to try out and a costume that fits and I’ll do it.” And he flew out and he did it. Saved my life.”
While working on Blazing Saddles, Wilder fiddled with an outline he had written for Young Frankenstein and asked Brooks to do it with him. Wilder played Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, who creates a monster just like his grandfather did, and he and Brooks shared a screenplay Oscar nom for the 1974 classic, released in theaters just 10 months after Blazing Saddles.
(It was Wilder’s idea to have Frankenstein and his monster (Peter Boyle) do the song-and-dance number, “Puttin’ on the Ritz.”)
Said Brooks in a statement: “Gene Wilder, one of the truly great talents of our time, is gone. He blessed every film we did together with his special magic. And he blessed my life with his friendship. He will be so missed.”
For the 1971 musical fantasy based on Roald Dahl’s 1964 book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fred Astaire and Joel Grey were recommended for the role of Willy Wonka. But director Mel Stuart wanted Wilder.
“He had been in The Producers, but he wasn’t a superstar,” Stuart told The Washington Post in 2005. “I looked at him and I knew in my heart there could only be one person who could play Willy Wonka. He walked to the elevator after he read and I ran after him and I said, ‘As far as I’m concerned, you’ve got it.’ ”
Wilder and Pryor — who was a writer on Blazing Saddles — first teamed up on the train comedy Silver Streak (1976), followed by Stir Crazy (1980), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) and Another You (1991), with Wilder writing and directing the latter pair.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Amazon Casts ‘Black-ish’ Rising Star As First ‘American Girl’!
Amazon has announced that Marsai Martin (“Black-ish”) has been cast in their upcoming American Girl live-action special “Melody, 1963: Love Has to Win, an American Girl Story.” This is the first of four upcoming American Girl specials. The special is based in 1963 Detroit, where Melody becomes aware of the racial inequality dividing the country.
“Melody, 1963” is produced by Common (“Selma”), Tina Mabry (“Queen Sugar”) and executive produced by Alison McDonald (“Roots”). “Melody, 1963: Love Has to Win, an American Girl Story” is set to premiere this fall on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Variety
HBO Sets Up New Comedy Specials From Jerrod Carmichael And Russell Simmons’ ‘All Def Comedy’!
HBO gets funny in upcoming months with stand-up specials starring Jerrod Carmichael, as well as All Def Comedy from executive producer Russell Simmons.
— Jerrod Carmichael will tape his second solo special for the network this fall to debut in 2017. The special will be produced for HBO by A24.
Carmichael created, produces and stars in the NBC comedy series “The Carmichael Show.” His first HBO solo special, “Jerrod Carmichael: Love at the Store,” debuted on the network in Oct. 2014.
— All Def Comedy tapes Sept. 7 at the Avalon Theatre in Los Angeles, with a debut slated for November.
To be hosted by Tony Rock, the special will feature rising comedy stand-up talent. Executive producers, Russell Simmons, Jeru Tillman, Stan Lathan and Chris Conti; directed by Stan Lathan.
All shows will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and affiliate portals.
Comedy Central Grrenlights New Comedy Series From James Davis!
Comedy Central has greenlit a new series starring, created and executive produced by comedian James Davis, it was announced today by Kent Alterman, President, Comedy Central.
Davis, host of “Swag-A-Saurus with James Davis,” Comedy Central’s most watched Snapchat original series, will bring his point-of-view to the new weekly series set to premiere in January 2017. The untitled series was originated by Davis and Doug Karo and is executive produced by Davis and Brillstein Entertainment Partners’ Alex Murray and Shawna Kornberg.”
“James is the real deal – smart, funny and immensely likable,” said Alterman. “He will be a great addition to our diverse talent roster.”
“I’ve dreamed about this moment since I fell in love with comedy,” said Davis. “I’m excited to work with a network that embraces my point-of-view and purpose-driven comedy. I look forward to leaving my imprint on Comedy Central’s already legendary catalogue of great shows. I promise this show will be LIT!”
The pilot was directed by Troy Miller and Stoney Sharp. Tara Schuster and Kelci Parker are the Executives in Charge of Production for Comedy Central.
Born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, Davis will explore contemporary topics and share his perspective on the world he grew up in and the world he grew up next to.
He hosts a monthly stand-up show, “Urban Dictionary,” at THE NERDIST Showroom in the back of Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles, and is the star of the weekly Snapchat series, “Swag-A-Saurus with James Davis,” on Comedy Central’s Discover channel. He is also a regular guest on Comedy Central’s “@midnight with Chris Hardwick.”
Davis was a writer on “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” appeared as a regular guest on “Chelsea Lately” and in several Funny or Die sketches where he gained notoriety for his Kobe Bryant and Barack Obama parodies.
Davis is represented by Brillstein Entertainment Partners, CAA and attorney Lev Ginsburg.
Netflix Preps New Line-Ups Of Comedy Specials Featuring Cedric The Entertainer, Michael Che, And Reggie Watts!
Netflix has announced premiere dates for its upcoming slate of new original stand-up comedy specials.
All of the new titles will be available globally upon release.
Of note with respect to this blog’s interests are:
— “Cedric the Entertainer: Live from the Ville” which premieres on Friday, September 16, 2016. In the special, Cedric brings the laughs to Nashville, taking hilarious aim at the aggressive lyrics of today’s rap artists, raising kids in the Snapchat generation, and Obama’s legacy. The “Original King of Comedy” played to a packed house at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.
Michael Che
— “Michael Che Matters” premieres Friday, November 25, 2016. The “SNL” Weekend Update co-anchor and former “Daily Show” correspondent brings down the house with his laid-back style as he tackles society’s most controversial actions through his hilarious prism at the Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse in Brooklyn, New York.
Reggie Watts
— “Reggie Watts: Spatial” premieres Tuesday, December 6, 2016. The comedian and musician brings viewers along on a one-of-a-kind surrealist experimental comedy adventure. The completely improvised show weaves together sketches, short stories, and dream sequences creating a unique experience. Filmed live on a soundstage in Los Angeles, Watts waxes poetic about flight, grits, and guns.
Other specials in the lineup include the following:
— “Russell Peters: Almost Famous” – Premieres Friday, October 7, 2016. Russell Peters is back and as fearless as ever in his newest comedy special, ‘Almost Famous.’ In front of a sold out audience in Toronto, Canada, Peters makes a triumphant return focusing on his two favorite subjects: family and race.
— “Joe Rogan: Triggered” – Premieres Friday, October 21, 2016. Joe Rogan takes to the stage to unleash his inquisitive and intense comedic style at the historic Fillmore in San Francisco where he explores everything from raising kids and Santa Claus to pot gummies and talking to dolphins.
— “Dana Carvey: Straight White Male, 60” – Premieres Friday, November 4, 2016. Emmy Award-winning comedian and “SNL” star Dana Carvey makes quite the impression with his distinctive brand of comedy in his new, outrageously funny stand-up special filmed at the The Wilbur Theatre in Boston, MA.
— “Colin Quinn: The New York Story” – Premieres Friday, November 18, 2016. “SNL” veteran Colin Quinn delivers a taping of his sold out off-Broadway show to Netflix for his second stand-up special. In front of a crowd of fellow locals, Quinn presents the history of New York and the different groups who shape the personality of the city. Quinn’s show was filmed at the Schimmel Center in New York City and is directed by Jerry Seinfeld.
— “Gabriel lglesias: I’m Sorry For What I Said When I Was Hungry” – Premieres Tuesday, December 20, 2016. One of the most popular comedians in the world with sell out concerts in over 24 countries, this special marks Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias’ Netflix original stand-up comedy debut and sixth comedy special. Watch as Fluffy reflects on his life and more before a sold out house in Chicago, IL.
