The first official trailer for Bad Robot’s 10 Cloverfield Lane just dropped during Super Bowl 50, but for those of you hoping it might have been more revealing than the teaser released a few weeks back, you’re not in luck. But if it retains JJ Abrams’ mystery box approach to marketing, it at least shows off a lot more of the film’s action. Watch it here now.
An official plot synopsis has not been released, but what we know is that it’s an apocalyptic thriller starring John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and John Gallagher Jr., set in what appears to be a well insulated and fully powered underground shelter of some kind, with unseen and unknown dangers waiting just outside the door.
It’s written by Josh Campbell & Matthew Stuecken and Damien Chazelle, and directed by Dan Trachtenberg, and hits theaters March 11.
Source: Deadline
Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o is in negotiations to star inIntelligent Life, a sci-fi thriller from Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment that has Ava DuVernay circling to direct.
The project already has some bold names on the creative side.Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow and his collaborator Derek Connolly wrote the script. Frank Marshall is producing with Trevorrow as well as production banner Big Beach.
Nyong’o is in negotiations, while DuVernay is expected to receive an offer to direct in the next 24 hours. The director, who helmed the Martin Luther King biopic Selma, is also fielding an offer from Disney to adapt A Wrinkle in Time, the children book classic by Madelein L’Engle. There is no conflict between the two projects so the director could end up doing both.
Intelligent Life is a reworking of an earlier Trevorrow-Connolly project titled The Ambassador about a U.N. worker in a department that was created to represent humankind in the event of alien contact. The man falls in love with a mysterious woman who turns out to be an alien. The tone is said to be similar to Trevorrow’sSafety Not Guaranteed and takes The Ambassador to a larger scale story.
Nyong’o will play the woman at the center of the alien contact.
A summer start is being targeted.
Nyong’o won an Oscar for her breakout performance in 12 years a Slave, a movie that was also her big-screen debut. She recently appeared as alien Maz Kanata in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and is part of the all-star voice cast of Disney’s The Jungle Book, which opens April 15. She also stars in Disney’s chess drama Queen of Katwe with David Oyelowo.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Essence Atkins has landed the female lead opposite Marlon Wayans in NBC’s multi-camera comedy pilot Marlon.
Loosely inspired by Wayans’ life, Marlon centers on Marlon (Wayans), an inappropriate, but loving father who is committed to successfully co-parenting with his polar opposite ex-wife Angie (Atkins). Angie is a type-A interior designer by trade and something of a control freak who did one reckless and spontaneous thing in her life: fell in love with Marlon.
This marks a reteaming of Wayans and Atkins who also star as a couple in Wayans’ A Haunted House horror comedy feature franchise. Atkins previously co-starred on the TBS multi-camera comedy series Are We There Yet?and on the syndicated sitcom Mr. Box Office. She also toplines TV One’s Girlfriend’s Getaway TV movie franchise.
Marlon was written by Chris Moynihan who serves as showrunner and executive produces with Wayans, Rick Alvarez and 3 Arts’ Michael Rotenberg for Universal TV.
Atkins is repped by Don Buchwald & Associates and Kathy McComb Management.
Source: Deadline
Here is an interview we conducted with comedian and actor Bill Bellamy as he discusses his new film, Kindergarten Cop 2 (that stars Dolph Lundgren), his new spot on the Shaq Comedy All Stars and his new film The Bounce Back.
Bellamy talks all of the new projects he’s involved in plus his new ventures.
Check out the interview below:
On this day in comedy on February 6, 1957 Comedian, Director, Actor, Writer, Producer, Robert Townsend was born in Chicago, Illinois
After honing his skills at Chicago’s X Bag Theatre; The Experimental Black Actors Guild and studying at Second City, Townsend got his start in comedy at The Improv. He moved to New York to further his education with the Negro Ensemble Company. Then following a string of small stereotypical parts (Cooley High, Monkey Hustle, American Flyers, Streets of Fire, Ratboy) and finding rare fulfillment as an actor (he did A Soldier’s Story with an predominantly black cast and was chest-fallen when he discovered that might be the only one he would make in his entire career) Townsend co-wrote (with Keenen Ivory Wayans) and directed Hollywood Shuffle. This parody of how it is for minority talent in Tinsel Town put the struggling entertainer on the map. The film, financed with Townsend’s own funds from acting and his credit cards, was a low budget risk and major box office success. A star was born.
Robert Townsend’s initial success allowed him to pursue an aggressive agenda of black projects. He directed Eddie Murphy’s Raw. He did Robert Townsend and His Partners in Crime for HBO featuring unsung comedians at the time such as Paul Mooney, Franklyn Ajaye, Robin Harris and Damon Wayans, to name a few. Townsend co-starred with Denzel Washington in The Mighty Quinn. His next theatrical release was The Five Heartbeats, an enduring musical focusing on the trials and tribulations of a fictional 60s R&B singing group. He made Meteor Man; about a black super hero with limited powers. He returned to television with his own variety show on Fox, Townsend Television and a few seasons later he created his own sitcom for the WB; The Parent ‘Hood. He directed B*A*P*S with Halle Berry, Carmen: A Hip Hopera with Beyoncé and 10,000 Black Men Named George; also Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy; a documentary on the history of black comedy, Livin’ for Love: The Natalie Cole Story, Holiday Heart, Bill Cosby 77 and others.
Robert Townsend won the Cable ACE Award for Robert Townsend and His Partners in Crime and he was the Programming Director for the now defunct Black Family Channel.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
Take a look at the clip:
On this day in comedy on February 5, 1961 Comedian, Actor, Timothy “Tim” Meadows was born in Highland Park, Michigan.
A student of radio and television in college, Meadows got started in improvisational comedy at the Soup Kitchen Saloon and in show business performing in The Second City troupe. Chris Farley was also a member; which was Meadows first contact with his destiny. A short time later he became a cast member on NBCs long running hit sketch show, Saturday Night Live and went on to be its longest running cast member for a record 9 seasons (until Darrell Hammond broke that record years later). Meadows played a lot of characters: Michael Jackson, O. J. Simpson, Erykah Badu, Tiger Woods and Oprah Winfrey, but it was his signature persona that got made into a film.
The Ladies Man was extremely popular on a sketch show like SNL. In the theater it bombed. Even though the character of Leon Phelps: a horny radio talk show host prone to say whatever inappropriate thing he wants seemed a natural for audiences always on the hunt for shock value, this flick didn’t jolt them enough. Regardless, it was but a minor setback for Meadows. He’d made a lot of friends at Saturday Night Live over the years and they showed it by keeping their alumni buddy working. He made appearances in Mean Girls (a Tina Fey film), The Coneheads (Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, and Larraine Newman), It’s Pat (Julia Sweeney), Wayne’s World 2 (Mike Myers), The Benchwarmers (Rob Schneider), Trainwreck (Bill Hader) and Grown Ups 1 & 2 (Adam Sandler).
Meadows let friends pay him any time to perform, but he also worked for others. No need to feel bad for the guy because over his career Meadows was a regular on The Michael Richards Show, Lil Bush, The Bill Engvall Show, Glory Dance, and Mr. Box Office. He co-starred on the NBC sitcom, Marry Me. He appeared in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. Meadows had recurring roles on Help Me Help You, Living with Fran, The New Adventures of Old Christine, The Life & Times of Tim, Suburgatory and Bob’s Burgers. He’d pop up on The Colbert Report and guest starred on One on One, Everybody Hates Chris, The Office, Reba, According to Jim, Lovespring International, Funny or Die Presents, 30 Rock, The Venture Bros, Comedy Bang! Bang!, The Goldbergs and The Spoils Before Dying.
Like most dedicated entertainers, when not in front of the camera Tim Meadows returns to his roots and continues to perform improv on stages all over the world.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
Take a look at this clip:
On this day in comedy on February 4, 1983 Comedian, Actor, Writer, Hannibal Buress was born in Chicago, Illinois
It can be said that Buress is not the corporate type. When he wrote for old school network NBCs Saturday Night Live in 2009, he left in 2010. That same year he got a job writing for the NBC sitcom, 30 Rock and quit after 6 months. He seemed to work better with the looser constrictions of cable which became evident by his relationship with Comedy Central. He appeared on The Awkward Comedy Show special for them. He did stand-up on Live at Gotham and John Oliver’s New York Stand-Up Show. Buress released his second album, (His first was My Name is Hannibal from 2010) Animal Furnace in 2012. Comedy Central did it as a special and he did an hour-long comedy special for them called Hannibal Buress Live from Chicago in 2014. He’s on the series Broad City, co-host The Eric Andre Show and has his own show Why? With Hannibal Buress. All on Comedy Central.
This is not to say Buress is exclusive to Comedy Central. He has also been seen on Louie and Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell (FX), Lopez Tonight and Conan (TBS), Late Show with David Letterman and The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS), Jimmy Kimmel Live!(ABC), The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (NBC) and Russell Howard’s Good News (BBC).
However, what put Buress on the map for many non-comedy aficionados was his bit about Bill Cosby that went viral after being in his set for six months. The routine about the legendary comic dubbed “America’s Dad” and his past rape allegations in the face of his better than thou posture took on a life all its own as woman after woman emerged to either reiterate claims of drugging and sexual abuse or level never-before-leveled claims against the iconic comedian. It was a media circus and Buress was at the center of the controversy. But being a stand-up comedian meant Hannibal Buress had the distinct advantage of dissecting the situation on stage and incorporate in as part of the act that got him into that vortex in the first place.
Hannibal Buress has won Chicago’s Funniest Person Award (2007), the Best Performance in a Host Stand-Up/Sketch Comedy Program Series (2011) and the American Comedy Award (2012).
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
Watch this clip:
On this day in comedy on February 3, 2009 Diary of a Tired Black Man was released
This independent film was the brainchild of talented writer/director, Tim Alexander. Using a documentary style Alexander tells his story of a black man in a long term relationship who finally grows tired of the constant drama and seeks happiness by making his exit. However, he finds out that leaving a drama-filled relationship does not end the drama. For instance when he comes to his former opulent home to pick up his daughter for his visitation he is ridiculed by his ex-wife’s girlfriends for being a weak ni**a. He has to remind them that in the 7 years he and his wife were together he never messed with white women and he is the one who bought the house and all the furniture in it and pays his alimony on time. So he is not a weak man. He is a tired one. Then he points out that the complaint they all have is that all black men are weak yet none of them have any man.
Alexander’s mixing of comedy, drama and interviews makes for an interesting film. The theme is familiar, but seldom has it been played out so frankly and universally. The problems this man faced are not exclusive to black men and not exclusive to just men. There are many tired women of all races coming home to dysfunctional pairings and a film like this can wake up all viewers to cut your losses and seek happiness before it’s too late.
Diary of a Tired Black Man stars Jimmy Jean-Louis as James, the tired black man. Paula Lema plays is wife who is prone to go off and runs him off. The film also features Natasha M. Dixon, Kimmarie Johnson and Alexander as himself.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
Take a look at this clip: