Wesley Snipes Lands New WWE Studios Deal!
WWE Studios and Wesley Snipes’ Maandi Media DMM production company have signed a multi-film deal with the aim of developing and producing elevated branded content, according to the companies. The first pic under the deal is the just-unveiled Temple, which stars Snipes, Anne Heche, Dave Annable and WWE wrestler Seth Rollins. That is now in production with John Stockwell at the helm and is being done through WWE Studios and Gene Simmons’ specialty genre label Erebus Pictures along with Maandi Media.
Snipes and WWE Studios said the second pic in the deal will also start production this year. Under terms of the deal, WWE Studios will handle worldwide rights and leverage its platforms including weekly TV shows, digital and social media, and WWE Network to bolster awareness.
“We are always looking for the ideal talent to extend our brand and Wesley is the right combination of action movie star and savvy producer,” WWE Studios president Michael Luisi said. “We look forward to creating exciting new content with the perfect partner.”
Added Snipes: “The action genre has been a very big and important part of my career. There is no better way to extend my love for dynamic action-based entertainment than with a company like WWE, who have been entertaining fans for decades with incredible visuals and deliciously entertaining storylines. Maandi strives to create elevated multi-media content that appeals to all demographics worldwide — from childhood fan to feature film collaborators.”
Snipes and Maandi Media are repped by APA.
Source: Deadline
Key & Peele’s ‘Police Academy’ Remake Is Grounded in Reality!
After being stuck in development for a number of years, New Line Cinema’s Police Academy remake started moving in the right direction back in 2014, when Key & Peele stars Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele came aboard to produce the comedy. The duo are working alongside original Police Academy producer Paul Maslansky, who has been shepherding this project for the past six years. While we haven’t had any updates on the project since Key & Peele signed on two years ago, the Police Academy remake is still happening, and the story is inspired by two surprising sources.
The original Police Academy hit theaters in 1984, starring Steve Guttenberg and Kim Cattrall, following a group of unconventional police cadets, after new rules imposed by the mayor allowed anyone to apply for the police academy. The slapstick comedy went on to spawn seven movie and two TV shows, but Keegan Michael Key revealed that they are taking a different approach. During an interview with CinemaBlend, Keegan Michael Key said that the movie will be inspired by David Ayer’s gritty 2012 cop thriller End of Watch, and the hit 1970 army comedy M*A*S*H, which spawned a very popular TV sitcom.
“It’s mostly about having a sense of, when Jordan was pitching the idea, it should feel a little bit like End of Watch – and this is going to feel like a strange reference, but it should also feel a little bit like M*A*S*H*. Do you know what I mean? M*A*S*H* is hysterical, but still [really about the Korean War]. We’re moving in that direction.”
A few months after Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele signed on to produce, Ike Barinholtz and David Stassen came aboard to write the script. They previously worked together as writers/producers on The Mindy Project, and they also wrote the upcoming summer comedy Central Intelligence, starring Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart. While it isn’t known how far along the script is in development, Keegan Michael Key also teased that their reboot may follow at least one aspect of the original Police Academy movies.
“Another thing is thinking about all the weapons that have come, all the technology is different now. [Police Academy producer] Paul Maslansky, he always tried to put the biggest technology from the ’80s in the set pieces. So that’s a tradition we might follow.”
The Police Academy reboot doesn’t have a director in place quite yet, and New Line hasn’t set a production start date. It still isn’t known if Key & Peele plan on having starring roles in Police Academy, or if they will only be behind the camera as producers. Paul Maslansky revealed in an interview several years ago that he was eyeing up and coming comedians to star in this project, but we’ll have to wait and see who comes aboard when casting officially begins.
Source: Movieweb
Dave Chappelle’s Prince Skit Viewed Nearly 600,000 Times Since Singer’s Death
Prince and Dave Chappelle fans have been frequenting the Comedy Central website in the past few days to get a chuckle in an otherwise sad time.
The Chappelle’s Show skit in which Dave portrays Prince for “Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories” has been watched nearly 600,000 times since Thursday, according to a Comedy Central spokeswoman.
The skit, an instant classic, first aired Feb. 18, 2004, and revolves around a crazy basketball game that actually took place one night in the mid-1980s between Prince’s crew and Murphy’s buddies.
Charlie Murphy is the older brother of Eddie Murphy and got to hang around a lot of superstars when Eddie became famous. Chappelle turned those stories into hilarious skits.
Chappelle’s Show castmember Donnell Rawlings recently told The Hollywood Reporter that Prince was a fan of that material.
“He thought it was hilarious,” said Rawlings. “And I think [Chappelle and Prince] really built a friendship after that sketch.”
Chappelle was crushed when he learned of Prince’s death, and he almost canceled a show in San Francisco, but decided to do his stand-up routine anyway because that’s what Prince would have wanted. Chappelle turned the show into a four-hour tribute to Prince, talking about their time together and what the legendary musician meant to him.
Prince has since been cremated and a private, intimate service was held over the weekend.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Bill Cosby Criminal Case Over 2005 Rape Accuser Back On After Appeal Squashed!
Bill Cosby could be heading back to Pennsylvania court soon to face a trio of felony second-degree aggravated indecent assault charges and up to a decade behind bars. Today, the state’s Superior Court ruled that the criminal charges case against the actor can go forward after granting a local D.A.’s motion to quash Cosby’s appeal.
“The temporary stay entered on March 1, 2016 is lifted,” said the mid-level state court on Monday (read it here). That stay was granted just a week before the 78-year-old Cosby was to face a preliminary hearing on charges arising from an alleged 2004 drugging and sexual assault of Andrea Constand.
With more than 50 women nationwide claiming that The Cosby Show creator drugged and assaulted them over the decades, Montgomery County (PA) District Attorney Kevin Steele laid the first criminal charges against Cosby late last year to get in under the wire of the Keystone State’s 12-year statute of limitations for such crimes. Cosby was arraigned December 30 and released on $1 million bail without entering a plea.
No date has been announced for when proceedings will start up again in Judge Steven O’Neill’s Norristown courtroom. Reps for Cosby did not respond to request for comment on today’s ruling.
‘Today we received two orders from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The first, at the Commonwealth’s request, quashed the Cosby defense team’s pretrial interlocutory appeal,” said a statement from Steele’s office. “The second, also at the Commonwealth’s request, denied their appeal of Judge O’Neill’s refusal to certify an interlocutory appeal. We did not believe that the defense had a right to appeal at this stage, and are gratified that the Court came to the same conclusion. The effect of both of these orders is that we can now hold a preliminary hearing. We are ready for that hearing and look forward to the Court setting a date so we can present our case.”
After unsuccessfully trying to get the case shut down based on a supposed no-prosecution agreement with a former D.A., Cosby and his lawyers on February 12 filed a direct appeal to the state’s Superior Court to appeal O’Neill’s ruling February 3 that the case involving the criminal charges could go forward. Later that month, Steele filed paperwork urging the higher court to reject Cosby’s appeal attempt until after a trial is completed.
Steele’s motion is what triggered the stay from the Superior Court on March 1 and what the court formally ruled on today to get things started again.
Source: Deadline
W. Kamau Bell’s Visit With Ku Klux Klan Gains Tons Of Viewership To CNN!
About 900K viewers caught W. Kamau Bell’s visit with the Ku Klux Klan on the debut of his new CNN series United Shades of America Sunday night at 9 PM ET. Kamau & KKK got edged out by Fox News’ 888K in the timeslot, but torched MSNBC’s 292K.
In the news demo, Bell clocked No. 1 in timeslot among cable news networks with 361K viewers aged 25-54 – 93% more viewers than Fox News’s 187K and 668% ahead of MSNBC’s 47K. Among all CNN Original Series season premieres, last night’s debut of United Shades ranks 5th among adults 25-54.
Bell built on his leadin: the Season 7 start of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. Bourdain’s Manila: The Philippines episode attracted 265K news demo viewers – 22% more than Fox News’ 218k and a 253% advantage over MSNBC’s 75k. Among total viewers, Parts Unknown’s 673K topped MSNBC’s 360, but trailed Fox News’ 1.235 million.
Source: Deadline
Jennifer Hudson Joins New NBC Musical Comedy Of ‘Hairspray Live’!
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. — April 25, 2016 — Oscar, Golden Globe, SAG and Grammy Award-winner Jennifer Hudson and multiple Tony Award-winner Harvey Fierstein will headline the cast of NBC’s “Hairspray Live!,” the network’s next live Broadway musical holiday event following the phenomenal success of “The Wiz Live!”
Also joining the creative team will be acclaimed television director Alex Rudzinski, who received extraordinary reviews for his television direction of “Grease Live!” Rudzinski was also the TV director for “Dancing With the Stars” from 2005-14.
“We are beyond thrilled with this incredibly talented duo of stars for ‘Hairspray Live!,’” said Robert Greenblatt, Chairman, NBC Entertainment. “Harvey Fierstein created the role of Edna Turnblad on Broadway in an indelible Tony-winning performance that demanded to be memorialized on film, and we’re happy he wanted to step into her shoes one last, unforgettable time. We’re also so grateful that the incomparable Jennifer Hudson will play Motormouth Maybelle and we know her rendition of ‘I Know Where I’ve Been’ will literally stop the show.”
Based on the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, “Hairspray Live!” takes place in 1962 Baltimore. Teenager Tracy Turnblad’s dream is to dance on “The Corny Collins Show,” a local TV program. When, against all odds, Tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight and meets a colorful array of characters, including the resident dreamboat, Link; the ambitious mean girl, Amber; an African-American boy she meets in detention, Seaweed; and his mother, Motormouth Maybelle, the owner of a local record store. Tracy’s mother is the indomitable Edna Turnblad, and she eventually encourages Tracy on her campaign to integrate the all-white “Corny Collins Show.”
Harvey Fierstein, who is also writing the teleplay, will play Edna Turnblad, a role he created and won a Tony Award for in the stage version of “Hairspray.” The quintessential Edna, Fierstein portrayed the character for the show’s first two years of its seven-year run at the Neil Simon Theatre on Broadway.
As an actor, he is a member of an elite group who have won Tonys as Best Actor in a Musical (“Hairspray”) and Best Actor in a Play (for his own “Torch Song Trilogy”). As a writer, Fierstein won Tonys for “La Cage Aux Folles” and “Torch Song Trilogy,” and received three more Tony nominations for writing “Kinky Boots,” ”Newsies” and ”Casa Valentina.” His adaptation of “Funny Girl” is currently running, along with “Kinky Boots,” in London.
Hudson, who will play Motormouth Maybelle, is currently completing a triumphant run in the acclaimed revival of “The Color Purple” — performing the role of Shug Avery in her Broadway debut. She won an Oscar and Golden Globe in 2007 for her iconic performance as Effie White in the hit film “Dreamgirls.” Her sensational rendition of the song “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” was greeted with instant acclaim by film critics and moviegoers alike and made Hudson the person to beat as best supporting actress for the Academy Awards.
Hudson’s incredible vocal talents were first recognized with her appearance on the third season of “American Idol” in 2004, where she impressed both the show’s judges and a national TV audience. Soon after, she released her first album, “Jennifer Hudson,” which debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 Chart and sold more than 500,000 copies in the U.S. through the first six weeks. The album was nominated for four Grammys and won for best R&B album.
Hudson continued on the bigscreen following “Dreamgirls” and has since co-starred in such films as “Sex and the City,” “The Secret Life of Bees” and Spike Lee’s latest film, “Chi-Raq.” Her TV credits include NBC’s “Smash,” Fox’s “Empire” and HBO’s newest telepic, “Confirmation.”
“Hairspray Live!” reunites Hudson with executive producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who worked with her previously on NBC’s “Smash” and the 85th and 87th Oscar telecasts, which they also produced.
Television director Alex Rudzinski will join stage director Kenny Leon (“The Wiz Live!”). Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (the upcoming “A Few Good Men Live!”) serve as executive producers of “Hairspray Live!” Harvey Fierstein will provide a new teleplay and Jerry Mitchell (“Kinky Boots,” “On Your Feet”) will serve as choreographer for the live production with music and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (“Smash” and Broadway’s upcoming “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”).
“Hairspray Live!” will air Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 8 p.m. ET/PT and will originate from Los Angeles.
“Hairspray Live!” is produced by Universal Television.
Chris Tucker’s Role As Ruby Rhod In ‘The Fifth Element’ Was Originally Supposed To Be Played By Prince!
Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich weren’t always meant to star in Luc Besson’s ambitious sci-fi classic The Fifth Element. Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts were originally eyed for the leading roles, which would have made for a distinctively different film. (And one that may have lacked the alien language Jovovich and Besson invented for Leeloo.) But that wasn’t the only major change in casting — as Besson reminds us, the late, great Prince almost played Ruby Rhod.
The part of the bold and boisterous radio personality ultimately went to Chris Tucker, who made for a delightfully memorable Ruby Rhod, but Besson had initially wanted Prince to play the part. It almost happened, but the musician’s touring schedule got in the way, as Besson recalls in this tweet which includes a look at Jean Paul Gaultier’s design for Prince’s costume:
This isn’t the first time one of Gaultier’s designs for Prince’s intended role in The Fifth Element has been seen publicly. In 2013, the Brooklyn Museum’s Gaultier exhibit featured many of the designer’s concept sketches for Prince’s costumes in the film. In a feature for Entertainment Weekly following the 1997 release of The Fifth Element, Besson said that Gaultier’s designs for Tucker’s version of Ruby Rhod reminded him of Prince’s earlier stage costumes.
Source: Screenrant
WATCH: Eddie Murphy’s New Independent Film, ‘Mr. Church’ Releases New Trailer!
Eddie Murphy’s first film in 4 years will be “Mr. Church.” Murphy plays Henry Joseph Church, who signs on to cook for a White family and the dying mother. Over the years, he and the woman’s daughter develop a heartwarming friendship.
“Mr. Church” has no release date as of yet.
Prince Passes Away At 57!
Prince died earlier today (April 21) at age 57 at his Paisley Park home and studio, his publicist confirmed to the Associated Press. TMZ first reported the news.
Prince was hospitalized last week after his plane for was forced to make an emergency landing in Moline, Ill. Released a few hours later, a rep told TMZ that he had been battling a bad case of the flu.
One of the most iconic musicians in music history, Prince’s extensive career grew out of the music scene of his native Minneapolis, where he lived his entire life. His 1978 debut album For You and self-titled second LP, released in October 1979, kicked off an incredibly prolific run of albums that included 1999, Purple Rain, Around The World In A Day, Sign O The Times and Batman, among others, throughout the 1980s at a clip of nearly one per year, evolving with each release.
It was 1984’s Purple Rain — his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 — released in conjunction with the film of the same name, that cemented him as one of the greatest artists of his generation, earning him two Grammys, and Oscar and a victory over Michael Jackson’s Thriller for Favorite Pop/Rock Album at the 1985 American Music Awards. Along the way, he worked with several bands under a series of pseudonyms, including The Time, the New Power Generation and The Revolution, as both frontman and producer.
Prince was also known for his eponymous Love Symbol, created in protest against his longtime record label Warner Bros., under which he released an album in 1992. His 18th and final album for the label, 1996’s Chaos and Disorder, finally released him from his contract.
As a recording artist, Prince was legendary for his prolific and perfectionist nature which allowed him to release a steady slew of material as he experimented in the studio; as a result, unreleased b-sides and bootlegs have become highly sought-after collectibles for die-hard fans, and his infamous “vault” of recordings has become the stuff of legend. Yet he was also truly transcendent as a performer, regularly stretching his shows beyond the three-hour mark and showcasing his stunning guitar work, which became an underrated part of his legacy, often overshadowed by his iconic singing voice and abilities as a songwriter and bandleader.
Over his 35-plus-year career, he released 39 solo studio albums and never stopped releasing new material; since September 2014, he put out four new full-length records with his latest band, 3rd Eye Girl, continuously experimenting with psychedelic rock and intergalactic funk.
Story developing.
Source: Billboard
Lifetime Adds New Michel’le Biopic To Development Slate!
Despite much criticism the film faced due to its glossing over of Dr. Dre’s history of violence against women, “Straight Outta Compton” was a box office smash, grossing over $200 million worldwide, and was the 19th highest movie domestic earner for all of 2015, according to Box Office Mojo.
One of the women on the receiving end of Dre’s past abuse – singer Michel’le, who spoke publicly about the physical and emotional violence she endured during her six-year relationship with the hip-hop mogul – is going to tell her own story on film; both as a scripted made-for-TV movie.
The Lifetime movie network has officially picked up the film, and has announced it as part of its 2016/2017 programming development slate with the tentative titled “The Michel’le Story,” which will detail the life of the R&B singer who became a platinum artist on Ruthless Records.
It will be produced for Lifetime by Sony Pictures Television and Thinkfactory Media, with Leslie Greif executive producing.
No other information is available on the project at this time.
When asked for her thoughts on “Straight Outta Compton” soon after the movie’s release, Michel’le said that she wasn’t outraged that her abusive relationship with Dre was not depicted in the film: “I’m not upset that they didn’t put me in the movie… It’s their movie, right? Their money.”
She added: “I was his fiancée… He told me he loved me, so I don’t think I understood it, but he was abusive, mentally and physically… I didn’t know any better, because my father never told me he loved me. When you find a guy that wants to be with you all the time, you think that’s love, right? I had to make my own world.”
Michel’le has stated publicly that during their relationship, Dre kicked her and broke her ribs, sending her to the hospital, injuring her in such a way that her ribs never did entirely heal. “I was just a quiet girlfriend who got beat on and told to sit down and shut up,” she’s said.
In response to Dre’s public apology last year, Michel’le replied: “I didn’t ask for a public apology and I think if he is going to apologize he should do it individually.”
Former TV host Dee Barnes also spoke about her experiences with Dre, penning an essay for Gawker, specifically detailing his brutal assault on her in 1991 – an incident that also isn’t depicted in “Straight Outta Compton.”
The Lifetime movie project re-teams Michel’le and Thinkfactory Media, who previously collaborated with her on TV Ones’s hit series, “R&B Divas LA.”
“Michel’le is one of the most talented, fearless women I have ever met, captivating audiences both on stage and in front of the camera. The past few years of working with her have been incredible and we are thrilled she’s allowing us to lower the veil to tell her inspiring inside story as no one else could,” stated Adam Reed, EVP Thinkfactory Media. “Michel’le’s conviction for life and raw honesty deserves to be shared with the world, and we are honored to give her story justice.”
“I am so excited about my partnership with Thinkfactory Media. For many years I was unwilling to share my personal experiences. I am now ready to open up about my career, relationships and family,” stated Michel’le Toussant. “I am confident that Thinkfactory Media will give an accurate depiction of my life and this tumultuous yet amazing journey I’ve been on.”
Who would you cast as Michel’le? We can also assume that Dr. Dre and Easy E. will be represented in the film; who should play them?
Source: Shadow & Act
