Justin Lin and Andrew Dodge are ready to shoot some intergalactic hoops with LeBron James.
The Fast & Furious 6 and Star Trek Beyond helmer is in talks to direct Warner Bros.’ sequel Space Jam 2 while Dodge will write.
Rumors of a follow-up to the live action/animated 1996 hit have been brewing for years, and picked up again when James and his company SpringHill Entertainment signed a deal with Warner Bros. in July. The Cleveland Cavaliers NBA player, who recently appeared in Amy Schumer comedy Trainwreck, will star in Space Jam 2. He’s repped by WME.
Sources say it’s early on the in the process but that Lin and Dodge are working on the script. Charles Ebersol is producing.
The first film, a live action/animation hybrid that earned $230.4 million worldwide, starred Michael Jordan and a collection of Looney Tunes cartoon characters who teamed up to play a game of ball against aliens threatening their freedom.
Lin helmed four of the Fast & Furious films, starting with 2006’s The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift through 2013’s Fast & Furious 6. He directed Star Trek Beyond, which is slated to hit theaters on July 22, 2016. His other credits include 2002’s Better Luck Tomorrow and episodes of True Detective and Scorpion. He’s repped by CAA, Kinetic Management and Sloss Eckhouse.
Lin is working with Dodge on a couple of projects, so it looks like the duo wants to continue that streak with Space Jam 2. They’ve teamed up on an untitled cop comedy, which Lin will produce through Perfect Storm Entertainment and Dodge will write. Dodge also is writing a TV drama for HBO that Lin and Jeremy Renner are producing. He previously wrote 2013’s Bad Words, which was directed by Jason Bateman, and penned the script for Paramount’s O’ Lucky Day, which Adam Shankman will direct. He’s also adapting webseries Action Movie Kid for Fox 2000 and Temple Hill, and is repped by UTA and Grandview Management.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Luis Guzman, Edgar Garcia, Rosario Dawson, Rosie Perez, Miriam Shor, Lilou Fogli, Julie Ferrier, Charlotte Mangel, Frederic Ansombre, and others star in the comedy “Puerto Ricans in Paris” – a USA/France/Czech Republic co-production directed by Ian Edelman (HBO’s “How to Make It in America”), with a story that follows 2 detectives working in NYPD’s Luxury Goods Recovery Unit, who are responsible for taking down bootleggers selling knockoff consumer items.
The 2 cops are played by Luiz Guzmán and Edgar Garcia, a series regular on “How to Make It in America.” The pair is sent to Paris to help a French designer recover a bag that is of some significance, from her latest line.
Dawson and Perez play their girlfriends.
Focus World, the multi-platform distribution initiative that is owned and operated by Focus Features, acquired USA rights to “Puerto Ricans in Paris” and will release the film in Theaters, On Demand and Digital HD on June 10.
A first trailer for “Puerto Ricans in Paris” has been released and is embedded below.
Source: SHadow & Act
ABC’s 2016 summer primetime schedule will include the new comedy series “Uncle Buck” which is set to premiere on Tuesday, June 14.
Based on the hit movie of the same name, Uncle Buck (Mike Epps) is a charismatic hustler who has gotten by on his charm for years. But when his brother, Will (James Lesure), and sister-in-law, Alexis (Nia Long), move to town and need help with their kids, he steps up to become their “manny,” and their lives will never be the same. Will and Alexis are wary of Buck’s questionable parenting skills, but his unique perspective and street smarts provide some unconventional solutions to raising their three rambunctious kids, who typically make a hobby out of terrorizing their nannies.
“Uncle Buck” stars Mike Epps as Buck, Nia Long as Alexis, James Lesure as Will, Iman Benson as Tia, Sayeed Shahidi as Miles and Aalyrah Caldwell as Maizy.
Executive producers are Will Packer, Steven Cragg and Brian D. Bradley.
Co-executive producers are Korin Huggins, Kenny Smith, Michael Pennie and Franco E. Bario.
“Uncle Buck” is produced by Universal Television and ABC Studios.
ABC has released 2 promos for the upcoming series which are both embedded below:
Source: Shadow & Act
George Lopez is doing what he can to support Prince.
Earlier this week, Prince’s older half-brother, Alfred Jackson, told ET’s Nischelle Turner that the 55-year-old actor “has helped us out tremendously, and we’re extremely grateful.”
At a private memorial service at Los Globos in Los Angeles on Saturday, Lopez confirmed to ET that he had indeed helped the family out, though he didn’t go into detail about the specifics about the financial implications.
“I assisted the brothers that were in need at that particular moment,” he said.
Lopez was by himself in Columbus, Ohio, when he found out that Prince had died unexpectedly at age 57. “It wasn’t an easy day or weekend,” he admitted, noting that he eventually had Eddie Murphy’s brother, Charlie Murphy, around to help him cope. “Thank God we have each other. We really kind of brought each other back up. It was tough news.“
Lopez also shared a story with ET — similar to the one he would later tell during the memorial service — about how The Purple One inadvertently effected his former talk show, Lopez Tonight. “The art director came over and said ‘Prince wants the green room painted white.’ It was this nasty green,” he explained. “So I said, ‘Well if he wants it painted white, then paint it white!’ They took all the furniture out, they painted it white, they brought in some white couches, some white carpet — and it wasn’t him, it was me.”
Lopez later told Prince that he got the room painted just for him, to which he apparently replied, “You did?!… it’s beautiful now, but thank you.”
Prince appeared to tolerate Lopez’s jokes, but the one thing he didn’t seem cool with was the comedian’s potty mouth.
“When we met, he thought I used inappropriate language too often, and he wanted to be my Bible teacher,” Lopez laughed. “I said, ‘OK, if Prince wants to give me Bible lessons, then I’ll do it.”
The two were set to meet on a Wednesday for the lessons, but Lopez came down with food poisoning, which he assumed were from jalapeños. Prince apparently had another idea of what may have stricken Lopez. “It might have been the guy down below,” Lopez recalled Prince’s theory. “He thought it was the devil keeping us apart. That devil, he couldn’t keep us apart. We had some great moments.”
Lopez attended Saturday’s memorial alongside a number of people who were connected with Prince, including hairstylists, assistants and technical directors for Paisley Park, Prince’s complex in Chanhassen, Minnesota. The ceremony itself was upbeat, positive and emotional, and it featured an artist painting an image of Prince, plenty of his music, and a slideshow running along the wall.
Many in attendance were discussing how shocked they were that Prince died at such a young age and were having trouble wrapping their heads around it, with one group calling it “more shocking than Michael Jackson’s death.”
When ET spoke to Alfred Jackson earlier this week, he was equally as emotional, saying, “I miss my brother, because my brother was everything in the world to me. God bless Prince, God bless the world. He’s a legend, he really is.”
Jackson was the first family member to speak since Prince’s death. He is one of the potential heirs to Prince’s estimated $300 million fortune, along with the singer’s four other half-siblings, John Nelson, Norrine Nelson, Sharon Nelson, and Omarr Baker.
They all met earlier in the week to discuss Prince’s estate, as he did not have a will. Find out more in the video below.
Source: Entertainment Tonight
Miramax paid a reported roughly $2 million for North American rights to director Richard Tanne’s well-received Sundance romantic-drama, “Southside With You,” the lighthearted film that follows a young Barack Obama and future First Lady Michelle Robinson on their first date, during the summer of 1989.
Miramax is partnering with Roadside Attractions on the theatrical release of the IM Global-backed film, which made its World Premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival were it drew rave reviews.
Director Tanne developed the screenplay for the film which stars Tika Sumpter playing Michelle; while Parker Sawyers, known for parts in “Zero Dark Thirty” (2012) and “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” (2014), is Barack.
The film is produced by Robert Teitel, Tika Sumpter, and Richard Tanne. Executive Producers are Stuart Ford, Matt Jackson, Glendon Palmer, John Legend, Mike Jackson, Carrie Holt De Lama, and Tracey Bing. Legend also produced and performs the end title song for the film, “Start.”
An August 2016 premiere is eyed.
Source: Shadow&Act
Check out the first trailer below:
British filmmaker Kevin Macdonald will direct what will be the officially authorized documentary on the late Whitney Houston. The production, which has been given Houston’s estate’s blessing, will tell the unvarnished story of the singer’s life in a film that will examine both the highs and lows of her dramatic career.
With behind-the-scenes materials, candid interviews and performance footage, including many of Houston’s greatest hits, this film will offer a raw and uncensored look at Houston and explore the impact her life and death had on the people around her and on the world of music.
Simon Chinn will produce alongside his Lightbox Media (UK) partner Jonathan Chinn and Lisa Erspramer.
Altitude Film Sales is introducing the project to buyers at the Cannes Film Market next month.
Altitude’s Will Clarke, Andy Mayson and Mike Runagall will executive produce.
Director Kevin Macdonald said about the upcoming film: “The story that is never told about Whitney is just how brilliant she was as an artist; by many measures she had the greatest voice of the last 50 years. She changed the way pop music was sung – bringing it back full circle to its blues and gospel roots. She was also completely unique in being a black pop star who sold in countries where black artists don’t traditionally sell. We have access to never-before-seen footage of Whitney that charts her whole life from her beginnings singing in her church’s gospel choir, to the day of her tragic death at the age of 48 and three decades of her music including exclusive demo recordings, rare performances and audio archives. Although we won’t shy away from the darker parts of Whitney’s life – her descent into addiction – I want audiences to walk out of the cinema and feel positive about Whitney and her music.”
I should note that, last month, Showtime Documentary Films announced the start of production on its own uncensored film exploring the career and life of Whitney Houston, produced, directed and narrated by Nick Broomfield. No word on whether it has any connection to this new Whitney Houston project.
Source: Shadow & Act
“America’s Next Top Model” will be returning on a new network, and Variety has the first look at the modeling competition’s VH1 reboot.
The official tease art for “America’s Next Top Model” features the same logo as the original series, which ran 12 years and 22 cycles on the CW and its predecessor UPN. Insiders say when the premiere gets closer, a new look will be unveiled, featuring an entirely new logo that is different from the original show’s. “This fall the runway gets a revamp” is the tagline for the show’s new iteration, though details on what exactly that revamp will entail are scarce.
What we do know is that Tyra Banks — who created, hosted and exec produced the original series — will be back on board as an exec producer, though she is not expected to return on camera in any major capacity. A new host has not been announced yet, nor has the panel of judges, which is believed to be re-worked from the latest grouping. The reinvented competition will be set in New York City, rather than Los Angeles where most of the original seasons took place. The new season will consist of 14 episodes.
The new “America’s Next Top Model” poster features blue and pink coloring, which could signify another co-ed season. The final three seasons of CW’s “Top Model” featured both male and female contestants. (Other themed seasons were “British Invasion” and “All Stars.”)
No premiere date has been set for “Top Model,” which will premiere this fall on VH1. Banks will serve as an exec producer, along with “ANTM” alum Ken Mok, who originally developed the show with Kenya Barris, plus Dana Gabrion, Paul Buscemi and Jaimie Glasson Pargament. CBS Television Distribution is behind the series that hails from 10 by 10 Entertainment and The Tyra Banks Company.
The new season is being described as a reinvention for a new generation. At the time VH1 announced they’d be the new home to “ANTM,” Banks stated that she was excited to find a new host herself. She spoke to Variety about the show’s future here.
CW cancelled “Top Model” in October 2015 with the final episode airing in December. Around that time, Banks departed her syndicated daytime show “FabLife,” which has since been cancelled. “Top Model” has 20 international versions in production and is under license in over 100 markets globally.
Source: Variety
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:
On this day in comedy on April 23, 1961 Comedian, Actor, Talk Show Host, George Lopez was born in Mission Hills, California.
Deserted by his father at 2 months old and his mother at 10 years old, Lopez was raised by his grandmother and step-grandfather. He forged his standup material from race and Mexican-American culture in particular. He made a name for himself with this formula on Latin and mainstream comedy stages. Then after years of ping-ponging successes and failures, Lopez got his career changer.
At the turn of the Century, movie star actress, Sandra Bullock got a thirst for diverse television. She saw a void in Hispanic representation and went to Lopez to do something about it. If she would lend her name and influence to getting a show about Hispanics greenlit, would he star in it? Duh. Not only did George Lopez star in The George Lopez Show, he also co-created, wrote and produced it as well. The show was a huge hit for ABC, which had previously received flack for a lack of racial programming. The show ran from 2002-2007 and was a surprise and sustaining hit when it went into syndication. However, Lopez had some choice words for the network’s president, Steve McPherson, claiming his sitcom had been given the axe to make TV more white again. The George Lopez Show was replaced by Cavemen, a sitcom about cavemen. It was cancelled after 13 episodes.
During his time on the sitcom, Lopez took advantage of his increased profile. He was a cast member on HBO’s Inside the NFL. He starred in the Disney Christmas film Naughty or Nice and in the Robert Rodriguez directed The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl. Lopez garnered accolades for his performance in the HBO drama, Real Women Have Curves., receiving the Audience Award for 2002. He was honored with the 2003 Imagen Vision Award, the Latino Spirit Award and was selected as Time magazine’s “Top 25 Hispanics in America” in 2005.
Also during the taping of The George Lopez Show, its star had a medical emergency. Doctor’s informed Lopez that his genetic condition now required an immediate kidney transplant. In stepped his wife, Ann to provide the much needed organ. Lopez took this life saving blessing to his sitcom in an episode highlighting the threatening affliction.
In 2009, following a couple of years of guest starring and road work, Lopez was back in front of a television audience in a night-time talk show, Lopez Tonight on TBS. His show ran for a year undisturbed until 2010 when it was moved back in the time slot so Conan O’Brien’s show could premiere and occupy Lopez’s time frame, a move Lopez himself supported. In 2011 Lopez Tonight was cancelled, the same year Lopez and Ann’s divorce became final.
In 2014 George Lopez signed up to star in a sitcom for FX called Saint George. Under the network’s agreement a new show had to hit a certain ratings threshold in its first 10 episodes to get a back order of an additional 90. Saint George wasn’t so blessed and got cancelled in 2014.
In March of 2016 TV-Land debuted the sitcom, Lopez.
George Lopez has stretched his tentacles creatively. He has co-written his autobiography. He’s hosted award shows, appeared at the 2009 Inaugural celebration, and has received many humanitarian awards. All during that time he’s also toured as a top standup comedian.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
Check out this clip:
On this day in comedy on April 22, 1961, Byron Allen Folks, better known professionally as just Byron Allen was born on this date in Detroit, Michigan.
Allen began doing stand-up comedy as a teenager. His interest in show business began during his childhood, when he would accompany his mother to NBC studios in Burbank where she worked as a publicist. At age 14, Allen put together his first stand-up routine and began appearing on amateur night at comedy clubs throughout the Los Angeles area. Comedian Jimmie Walker saw Allen’s stand-up act and was so impressed that he invited the 14-year-old comedian to join his comedy writing team alongside promising young comedians Jay Leno and David Letterman. At age 18, Allen made his television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Allen holds the distinction of being the youngest standup comedian ever to have performed on the show.
Watching Allen’s network television debut were the producers of NBC’s Real People, who were so taken with his comfortable, relaxed style that they made him an offer the very next day to co-host the show.
While Allen was getting his feet wet as a television personality, he was also learning the ins and outs of television production. The business of advertising and syndication, he learned in the trenches by personally calling station owners, programming directors and advertisers, one-by-one and market-by-market from his dining room table.
Mr. Allen’s foray into television production began in Los Angeles in 1993 when he founded Entertainment Studios with the launch of his first series — Entertainers with Byron Allen—a weekly, one-hour series profiling the current stars of film and television.
Entertainment Studios produces, distributes, and sells advertising for 32 television series, making it the largest independent producer/distributor of first-run syndicated programming for broadcast television globally.
Among the company’s top programs are: Emmy-winning Cars.TV, Emmy-nominated America’s Court with Judge Ross and We the People With Gloria Allred,[1] Comics Unleashed, Comedy.TV, Beautiful Homes & Great Estates, Pets.TV, Recipe.TV, Career Day and The Young Icons. His company also made its first foray into scripted programming, producing two weekly primetime sitcoms that are slated to debut in September 2012: The First Family[2] and Mr. Box Office.[2]
In 2009, Allen became the first television entrepreneur to own and launch a portfolio of six 24-hour HD television networks simultaneously. The six networks include Pets.TV, Comedy.TV, Recipe.TV, Cars.TV, ES.TV, and MyDestination.TV.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
Check out this clip: