Gary Owen is arguably Black America’s most beloved non-Black comic. He became part of the family as the first Caucasian man to host BET’s ComicView, and confirmed he was here to stay with his star turns in the Think Like A Man films, Ride Along and Meet The Blacks.
He also starred in his own hit stand-up comedy specials including I Agree With Myself, True Story and the upcoming I Got My Associates. Now, he brings his own interracial and blended family to BET in a 30-minute unscripted series that is colorful, truthful and hysterical. Gary Owen loves his wife so much, he wants to marry her again – and the path down the aisle is paved with non-stop laughter as he balances planning a wedding with raising his three rambunctious children and growing his white-hot career. “GARY OWEN FAMILY” is produced by Bunim/Murray Productions. Bunim/Murray’s Gil Goldschein and Jeff Jenkins serve as Executive Producers along with Gary Owen, Stella Bulochnikov, Brian Sher and TIP “T.I.” Harris.
Director Antoine Fuqua brings his modern vision to a classic story in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures’ and Columbia Pictures’ The Magnificent Seven. With the town of Rose Creek under the deadly control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard), the desperate townspeople employ protection from seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers and hired guns – Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington), Josh Farraday (Chris Pratt), Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio), Billy Rocks (Byung-Hun Lee), Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier). As they prepare the town for the violent showdown that they know is coming, these seven mercenaries find themselves fighting for more than money.
The film is directed by Antoine Fuqua. The screenplay is by Nic Pizzolatto and Richard Wenk. The producers are Roger Birnbaum and Todd Black.
Watch the new trailer below;
Several weeks ago comedian Katt Williams was caught in a skirmish with a teenager which lead to a physical altercation that was broadcast all over social media. With that incident in the eye of the country, you just KNEW some comedians would take that to the stage, and Mike Epps decided he would be one of the first! Check out his performance where he clowns Katt below;
Several weeks ago we reported the news that The Comedy Get Down Tour was about to become a reality show! Now news has dropped that the show will be premiering on BET!
The tour, which currently features Cedric The Entertainer, George Lopez, Eddie Griffin, DL Hughley and sometimes Mike Epps (depending on the dates) currently has camera men with them filming tons of behind the scenes footage as they tour across the country.
This news from Variety;
“Comedy Getdown” is a semi-scriptedhalf-hour series set behind the scenes of standup comedy tour led by George Lopez, DL Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, Eddie Griffin and Charlie Murphy. Free 90 Media’s Tom Brunelle and Brad Wollack are exec producing with Michael Rotenberg, Greg Walter, Kimberly Carver and Eric C. Rhone.
Here is the rest of the article;
BET Networks is loading up its 2016-17 slate with series and telepics that reflect an earthy view of African-American life, including a detective drama from John Singleton, a soap set in the world of Historically Black Colleges and Universities and a dramedy revolving around a criminal courts judge.
BET is stepping up its production of original scripted series for its mothership BET channel at a time when competition for its target audience has become fierce. “Rebel” revolves around a female police officer in Oakland, Calif., who becomes a private investigator after her brother is killed by police. “Benched,” created by Scott Brown, is a dramedy about a young judge who struggles to give up his bachelor lifestyle as he confronts the “underbelly” of the criminal justice system on a daily basis.
” ‘Benched’ and ‘Rebel’ will allow us to address issues that are very relevant and germane to our audience,” said Stephen Hill, BET Networks president of programming. “When we pick our shows we look at how we can best tell the stories of our audience. It’s important that the issue that are in our world are on our screen as well.”
Another priority for BET is a music-driven anthology series dubbed “Tales” that will offer hourlong narrative renditions of iconic hip-hop songs in a three-act structure as envisioned by various filmmakers. The project is shepherded by producer Irv Gotti Lorenzo and will air as a partnership with the music streaming service Tidal, which will offer episodes available for streaming via its apps. In some cases, Tidal will carry racier versions of the episodes, Hill said.
Among the songs planned for the “Tales” treatment is N.W.A’s “F— tha Police.” The plan is to work with the original artists and songwriters on the narrative adaptations. “Tales” is envisioned as airing several times a year as event programming.
Anika Noni Rose and Ruben Santiago-Hudson are set to lead the ensemble cast of “The Yard.” Rose plays the newly elected president of a fictional HBCU who encounters all manner of problems as she tries to wrangle an unruly freshman class. The collegiate setting will allow the show to reflect contemporary social issues and cultural trends,” Hill said. “HBCU’s are the cauldrons in which our culture is shaped,” he said. Felicia Henderson and Charles Holland created the series from a concept by Rob Hardy.
“Comedy Getdown” is a semi-scriptedhalf-hour series set behind the scenes of standup comedy tour led by George Lopez, DL Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, Eddie Griffin and Charlie Murphy. Free 90 Media’s Tom Brunelle and Brad Wollack are exec producing with Michael Rotenberg, Greg Walter, Kimberly Carver and Eric C. Rhone.
Other high-profile bets for BET in the coming season are its New Edition biopic film — “It’s one of the biggest productions we’ve ever done,” Hill said — and the Nelson Mandela biopic “Madiba” toplined by Laurence Fishburne. “New Edition: The Movie” is filming now in Los Angeles for an early 2017 debut with two sets of actors playing the R&B group’s members at various stages. The cast includes “Empire’s” Bryshere Gray, Elijah Kelley, Luke James, Keith Powers, Algee Smith and Woody McClain.
“Competition makes you step up your game,” Hill said. “I’m proud of our slate. We are partnering with stars in front of and behind the camera.”
Source: Variety
On this day in comedy on April 7, 1995 Bad Boys was released by Columbia Pictures
Starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, this buddy flick is Michael Bay’s directorial debut. The story centers around two narcotic detectives in Miami, Florida on a case. After $100 million of their seized heroin is stolen from the police vault Internal Affairs suspects it was an inside job and the narcotics division has a week to recover the missing drugs or they’re going to be shut down. Smith enlist one of his informants (Karen Alexander) to see what she can find out on the streets about a recent big robbery Alexander and her friend, (Tea Leoni) pose as escorts for a baller’s party. Things go south and Alexander and the baller are killed. Leoni manages to escape, but will only tell her tale to Smith. Unfortunately he’s away when she calls into the station, but Lawrence is there and the police captain (Joe Pantoliano) talks him into impersonating Smith (since Leoni never met him) so she will cooperate. Lawrence does and they meet up.
The conflict arises because Lawrence is married to a jealous wife (aren’t they all) and has to now live Smith’s life for a while until they can bust the thieves. Smith returns to find out he now has to live Lawrence’s life. The problem is Smith is a happy bachelor with all kinds of women stopping through; women Lawrence has to kick out so he can continue his investigation and stay faithful to his wife. Needless to say Smith is not happy living at Lawrence’s house. Meanwhile the thieves realize Leoni saw the murder and now they’re after her. The chase is on, but after a series of near death experiences and multiple gun fights the criminals are killed, order is restored and Lawrence cuffs Smith and Leoni up together so he can go explain to his wife why he’s been running around with a white woman.
Bad Boys was produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. It featured the talents of Theresa Randle, John Salley, Michael Imperioli and Marg Helgenberger. Originally it was written for Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey. Then once the script was retooled, Arsenio Hall was approached to play the Will Smith role. Hall later admitted turning down that part was the worse career mistake he ever made.
Though it received mixed reviews, Bad Boys was a commercial success. On a budget of $19 million it made $65,807,024 domestically and $75,600,000 internationally for a worldwide box office gross of $141,407,024.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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On this day in comedy on April 4, 1968 Comedian, Writer, James Hannah was born in Chicago, IL
James Hannah was a writer’s writer. He left his native Chicago after a stint as quality control monitor for All Jokes Aside, Chicago’s premier black comedy club. James would listen to each act and then offer notes to improve that performer’s set. Whether they liked it or not most comedians tried his tweaks and found that James Hannah knew comedy. Once he’d established himself as a joke doctor he took his skills to Hollywood beginning as a staff writer for The Steve Harvey Show and from there the dominoes fell: My Wife & Kids, Cedric the Entertainer Presents, Chris Rock’s, Never Scared, Weekends at the DL and Tyler Perry’s, House of Payne as well as penning material for some of the top comedians in the industry.
Hannah was also a comedian’s comedian. His lists of credits include, Def Comedy Jam, Comic View, Bad Boys of Comedy, Laffapolooza, One Mic Stand and Martin Lawrence’s First Amendment. He was a yardstick and an uncompromising comedy personality. His Truthpaste on social media was an immediate hit as James sounded off on subjects many would go nowhere near. He was bold, fearless and scathing.
James Hannah’s influence was evident in his era. Many Chicago comedians, such as Deon Cole credit Hannah with getting them into comedy by example and in some cases by writing out their first successful bits and teaching them the art. His work ethic was legendary. While most staff writers pander to series stars, James would tell them that they were not funny and then show them how to be. He was a blunt, brutally honest, unparalleled humor mechanic.
James Hannah died from an aneurysm on February 10, 2014, but his comedic phrasings will live on forever.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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On this day in comedy in 1961 Comedian, Actor, Writer, Musical Artist, Edward Regan “Eddie” Murphy was born in Brooklyn, New York.
When his father, Charles, an amateur comedian, died when Murphy was young, Eddie Murphy and his older brother Charlie found themselves in a foster home for a year because their mother had fallen ill. It was that time, Murphy later said, that helped form his sense of humor. His mother, Lillian, later remarried after regaining her health and reunited the family and young Eddie began performing skits he’d written around the age of 15.
Murphy’s writing skills came in handy in 1980 when he landed a featured player spot on Saturday Night Live during the show’s bleak period. It was Murphy’s infusion of signature characters (Buckwheat, Gumby, Mr. Robinson, and James Brown) that admittedly kept the show afloat during the era creator / producer, Lorne Michaels was absent.
During and after his tenure at SNL, Murphy stretched his stand-up muscles. He released his first album, Eddie Murphy in 1982, Delirious in 1983 and Raw in 1987. However, Murphy virtually abandoned stand-up when his film career took off, starting with 1982’s 48 HRS, co-starring, Nick Nolte. It was a hit as were his next two films, Trading Places with Dan Aykroyd and Beverly Hills Cop (Murphy’s first starring vehicle). With a trifecta like that out of the box, Murphy was a certified movie star. So naturally they dug up one of his early duds and tried to capitalize on his success and momentum. The dud was Best Defense, starring Dudley Moore. Murphy had a small part boosted up in the marketing to be a big part (they dubbed him “Strategic Guest Star”). The main part was Murphy himself said it was a terrible flick and went back to making hits and offered hits. Murphy was originally slated to be the 4th Ghostbuster, a part written specifically for him by Dan Aykroyd for the box office hit, Ghostbusters, but when scheduling conflicts occurred the part of Winston Zeddemore went to Ernie Hudson.
Few things slowed Murphy down in the early days. Similar to the way he saved, SNL from financial ruin, he did the same for the dollar strapped Paramount Studios. Thanks to Murphy the studio came back to profitability. He cranked them out for that studio and others: The Golden Child, Beverly Hills Cop II, Boomerang, Another 48 Hrs, Vampire in Brooklyn (co-written with brother, Charlie), Harlem Nights (where he wrote, directed and starred alongside, Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx), Life, Mulan, Dr. Dolittle, the Shrek Saga, Daddy Day Care, The Haunted Mansion and Bowfinger (with Steve Martin).
It’s no surprise Murphy was criticized for playing multiple parts in his films (Coming to America, The Nutty Professor, The Klumps, etc), a practice he rightfully defended since it was an homage to one of his comedy idols, Peter Sellers, who did it in many of his films, most notably Dr. Strangelove.
With such massive successes there were statistically bound to be failures; especially in a collaborative field such as film. And when Eddie Murphy had a bad film it was always reported as the end of his career. The list of laugh-stoppers included, Beverly Hills Cop III, Metro, I-Spy, Holy Man and The Adventures of Pluto Nash (rated as one of the worse films ever made with a worldwide box office take of $7 million to prove it).
The film adapted from the Broadway smash hit, Dreamgirls was a turning point in Murphy’s career. He played a dramatic part which required singing and was rewarded for the stretch. He won the Golden Globe, SAG and Broadcast Film Critics Association awards for his performance and was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. He left the auditorium when he lost the Academy Award to Alan Arkin. They said the shocker of a loss was because of his film Norbit, in which Murphy played multiple parts, one being a fat woman some found offensive. Any excuse.
Eddie Murphy also sang . . . seriously. He did background vocals for songs released by his buddies, The Bus Boys. He released “Boogie in Your Butt” and had hits with “Party All th Time” which was produced by Rick James and “Put Your Mouth on Me”. Murphy recorded, “I Was a King”, a duet with Shabba Ranks and the reggae song, “Red Light” with Snoop Lion in 2013.
Comedy Central ranked Eddie Murphy #10 on its list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time. Box-office takes from Murphy’s films make him the 5th-highest grossing actor in the United States. His films have made over $6.6 billion worldwide and he was awarded by the John F. Kennedy Center, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2015.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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On this day in comedy on April 2, 1997 Smart Guy premiered on the WB.
This spin-off of Sister, Sister, stars Tahj Mowry, real life little brother to Sister, Sister stars, Tia and Tamera Mowry. On this show, Mowry plays a child genius (photographic memory, speaks multiple languages, etc.), who went from the 4th Grade to the 10th grade and all the adjustments he has to make in his new life. He now attends the same high school as his older brother (Jason Weaver) and sister (Essence Atkins), which they’re not crazy about. For one – they’re not as smart as him (at least his older brother isn’t anyway – he’s the dumb one, sis is smart). After that there’s no reason for a second reason they don’t like it.
Set in Washington, DC, the sitcom was created by Danny Kallis and produced by de Passe Entertainment. Omar Gooding plays Tahj’s older brother’s underachieving friend and John Marshall Jones has the role of the trio’s single parent father. Kyla Pratt also has a recurring role.
Smart Guy aired its final episode on May 16, 1999. During its three season run, Smart Guy was nominated for 7 major awards including American Cinema Foundation, Humanitas Prize, NAACP Image, Young Artist and Young Star Award. Four of those nominations were for Tahj Mowery’s acting.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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On this day in comedy on April 1, 1994 Sister, Sister premiered on ABC.
Starring the Mowry Twins (Tia & Tamera), this sitcom also lived two lives. Starting out as a mid-season replacement on ABC it was cancelled by the network when the show didn’t perform up to its ratings standards in the second season. The fact the network changed its time slot might’ve had something to do with it, but it didn’t matter. The newly founded WB stepped in and slotted it on their schedule. There it caught its stride.
The show was about identical twins separated at birth and adopted into two very different situations. After 14 years they discover each other and reunite. They’re now one big happy family with one twin’s father (Tim Reid) and the other’s mother (Jackee Harry) under the same roof.
Naturally there’s an annoying neighbor who stops by unannounced; this time it’s in the form of Marques Houston. The boyfriends who come along later are played by RonReaco Lee and Deon Richmond. Other characters included Tahj Mowry as cousin, Tahj, Brittany Murphy as their best friend, Dorien Wilson as a boyfriend to Jackee Harry and Sherman Hemsley as Tim Reid’s daddy.
Sister, Sister was created by Kim Bass, Fred Shafferman and Gary Gilbert. A device used early on had the girls breaking the fourth wall often and talking to the audience. That was tapered down once the show moved to the WB and was eliminated altogether by the series final season. Sister, Sister won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lighting Direction (Electronic) for a Comedy Series for George Spiro Dibie; four acting Image Awards for The Mowrys and Jackee Harry; three Kids’ Choice Awards for acting for the Mowrys and a Young Artist Award for Marques Houston. It aired its final episode May 23, 1999.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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