Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasió — also known as the music artist Bad Bunny — has found his next onscreen role, joining the cast of Adam Sandler‘s Happy Gilmore sequel.
Kyle Newacheck, who directed Sandler in the Netflix comedy Murder Mystery, is helming the Netflix sequel to the 1996 comedy about a wannabe professional hockey player who discovers his talent in the game of golf and begrudgingly goes on tour only to become a sensation. Plot details for the sequel are being kept under wraps.
Julie Bowen and Christopher McDonald are back for the sequel, having starred in the original film, respectively, as Virginia Venit, Sandler’s onscreen love interest, and Shooter McGavin, a jealous golf pro and the film’s villain.
Camerashave started rolling on the comedy, with Sandler posting on Instagram Monday: “It ain’t over. The way I see it… we’ve only just begun.”
Sandler and Tim Herlihy wrote the screenplay and will also produce with Jack Giarraputo and Robert Simonds. Dennis Dugan, who directed the original Happy Gilmore, will executive produce with Judit Maull, Kevin Grady, David Bausch and Barry Bernardi.
As for Bad Bunny, repped by UTA and Rimas Entertainment, the film will mark his latest foray into onscreen roles. He previously appeared opposite Brad Pitt in Sony’s action comedy Bullet Train and Gael García Bernal in the Amazon drama Cassandro. Coming up, he has Darren Aronofsky’s crime thriller Caught Stealing at Sony Pictures.
In a Vanity Fair cover story published last year, the music superstar said, “You could say that I have been investing a little bit more of myself in acting.”
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
The staff of the fictional newspaper in Peacock‘s follow-up to The Office is growing.
The as yet untitled series from U.S. Office creator Greg Daniels and Michael Koman (Nathan for You) has added Melvin Gregg, Chelsea Frei, and Ramona Young to its cast. They join Domhnall Gleeson and Sabrina Impacciatore in the ensemble.
The series, which Peacock greenlit in May, is set in the same world as The Office and, like that show, will be a mockumentary. The show’s description reads, “The documentary crew that immortalized Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch is in search of a new subject when they discover a dying historic Midwestern newspaper and the publisher trying to revive it with volunteer reporters.”
News of the three additions to the cast was broken not in one of the industry trades but in the Palisadian-Post, a community newspaper serving L.A.’s Pacific Palisades where Gregg, Frei and Young recently shadowed staff members.
Gregg can currently be seen in another Peacock series, Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist. His credits also include Snowfall and season two of American Vandal. Frei is konwn for Fox’s The Cleaning Lady and The Moodys and guest-starred in an episode of Peacock’s Poker Face. Young was a regular on Netflix’s Never Have I Ever and recurred on Legends of Tomorrow at The CW.
Daniels and Koman are executive producing the mockumentary with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant — creators of the U.K. Office on which the NBC series was based — and Howard Klein, Ben Silverman and Banijay Americas.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Adrianna Mitchell has been cast in the upcoming Tracy Morgan comedy series “Crutch” at Paramount+.
Mitchell is the latest addition to the series’ cast, joining the recently announced Jermaine Fowler. The show was originally announced back in May with Morgan in the lead role and is said to be set in the same world as the CBS comedy “The Neighborhood.” Production is set to begin this month in New York.
The official logline for the series states, “Francois ‘Frank’ Crutchfield (Morgan), who goes by ‘Crutch,’ is a brash, yet beloved Harlem shop owner whose world is turned upside down when his highbrow son (Fowler) and free-spirited daughter (Mitchell) move back into the family home.”
Mitchell’s character is named Jamilah. She is described as “a free-spirited, naturalista with a dry wit and sharp tongue. Notoriously fickle, the most consistent part of her life was her 10-year marriage and the cozy suburban life she built for her husband and two kids in the Minneapolis suburbs. But when that starts to fall apart, she finds herself and her children Lisa, 12, and Mase, 9 back in Harlem at Crutch’s doorstep.”
Mitchell’s best known television role to date is playing Tanosse on the hit FX drama “Snowfall.” She has also appeared in shows like “Evil,” “The Good Fight,” “Little America,” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” She recently made her Broadway debut in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Fat Ham,” in which Mitchell played Opal.
She is repped by Artists & Representatives and Wright Entertainment, Inc.
“Crutch” is developed by Owen Smith, who serves as executive producer and showrunner. “The Neighborhood” star Cedric the Entertainer executive produces along with Eric C. Rhone under their A Bird and a Bear Entertainment banner. Morgan will executive produce in addition to starring. Aaron Kaplan of Kapital Entertainment and Wendi Trilling of TrillTV also executive produce. CBS Studios produces.
Paramount Global Content Distribution will distribute the series.
Source: Variety
SNL alum Jay Pharoah on Thursday announced Jared, a new comedy special to premiere on YouTube on September 22, also unveiling a trailer, which you can view above.
In his new hour, Pharoah delivers a fully charged performance, ripping the lid off pop culture, his suburban upbringing, and run-in with the law, all while sharing his unique perspective on self-discovery and resilience in a world that never stops laughing.
Taped at The Den Theatre in Chicago, IL, the special is his second on the heels of Showtime’s Jay Pharoah: Can I Be Me? (2015), which saw him perform his spot-on impressions of everyone from Barack Obama to Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle.
Produced by 800 Pound Gorilla and Premature Miracle Productions, Jared is directed by Pharaoh’s sister and manager, Shaina Farrow. Pharoah and Farrow exec produced alongside Adam Ginivisian and Jordan Levy.
A comedian, actor and master impressionist who was a cast member on Saturday Night Live for six seasons, Pharaoh after his run on that sketch series toplined White Famous, a Showtime comedy exec produced by Jamie Foxx. Also previously seen in ABC’s Emmy-winning Live in Front of a Studio Audience versions of All in the Family and Good Times, his film credits include Lionsgate’s horror comedy The Blackening, Justin Simien’s Hulu/Neon horror comedy Bad Hair, Steven Soderbergh’s Unsane, Comedy Central’s Out of Office (which he also exec produced), Universal’s hit buddy cop comedy Ride Along, and more.
Formerly the host and exec producer of Nickelodeon’s game show Unfiltered, Pharoah was over the summer seen hosting Fox’s The Quiz With Balls, a game show bringing the network its biggest summer debut in over two years. The comedic multi-hyphenate is represented by CAA, Shaina Farrow, Levity Talent, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller.
Source: Deadline
Jamie Foxx is gearing up to address his widely publicized 2023 health scare in a brand-new one-man comedy show.
Earlier this week, the Oscar-winning actor and singer announced “One More Chance: An Evening with Jamie Foxx,” which will take place in Atlanta, Georgia, from Thursday, Oct. 3 to Sunday, Oct. 5.
In an Instagram post, Foxx teased the show with an image of a black box featuring the words “WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS” before providing further details. “Join us for an unforgettable one-man show as Jamie Foxx takes the stage to share his journey through a serious health scare, filled with humor, heart, and inspiration!” the caption read. “Experience Jamie Foxx like never before in this intimate and engaging performance as he opens up about his struggles, triumphs, and everything in between. Get ready for a night of laughter, reflection, and genuine connection.”
James Earl Jones, the prolific film, TV and theater actor whose resonant, unmistakable baritone was most widely known as the voice of “Star Wars” villain Darth Vader, died Monday morning at his home in Dutchess County, N.Y., his rep confirmed. He was 93.
After overcoming a profound stutter as a child, Jones established himself as one of the pioneering Black actors of his generation, amassing a bountiful and versatile career spanning over 60 years, from his debut on Broadway in 1958 at the Cort Theatre — renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre in 2022 — to his most recent performance in 2021’s “Coming 2 America.” For that film, Jones reprised his role as King Jaffe Joffer from the 1988 Eddie Murphy comedy “Coming to America” — one of several roles, along with Darth Vader, that Jones revisited, including the voice of King Mustafa in Disney’s animated feature “The Lion King” in 1994, the 1998 direct-to-video sequel and the 2019 remake, and CIA deputy director Vice Admiral James Greer in three Jack Ryan movies, 1990’s “The Hunt for Red October,” 1992’s “Patriot Games” and 1994’s “Clear and Present Danger.”
Among his more than 80 film credits, Jones’ other notable movies include as a B-52 bombardier in Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 Cold War satire “Dr. Strangelove” (his feature film debut), as the first Black president of the United States in 1972’s “The Man,” as the fearsome villain in 1982’s “Conan the Barbarian,” as a reclusive author in 1989’s “Field of Dreams,” as a blind former baseball star in 1993’s “The Sandlot,” and as a minister living in apartheid South Africa in 1995’s “Cry, the Beloved Country.”
Jones was nominated for four Tony Awards, and won two, in 1969 for playing boxer Jack Johnson in “The Great White Hope” (which he reprised on film in 1970, receiving his only Oscar nomination), and in 1987 for originating the role of Troy Maxson in August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama “Fences.” He was nominated for eight primetime Emmy awards, winning twice in 1991, for supporting actor in the miniseries “Heat Wave,” about the 1965 Watts riots, and for lead actor in the drama series “Gabriel’s Fire,” about a wrongfully imprisoned ex-cop who becomes a private detective. It was the first time an actor won two Emmys in the same year.
Jones earned a Kennedy Center Honor in 2002, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement award in 2009, an honorary Oscar in 2011 and a lifetime achievement Tony Award in 2017. His Grammy award in 1977 for spoken word album makes Jones only one a handful of actors to receive an EGOT.
Jones’ looming yet ultimately affable presence and rich speaking voice made him a natural for Shakespeare, and he played some of the great roles, such as Macbeth and Othello, for Joseph Papp’s American Shakespeare Festival. Jones narrated several documentaries, from 1972’s “Malcom X” to the 2007 Disneynature doc “Earth,” and, famously, he intoned the tagline “This is CNN” for the cable news channel.
His television credits, which number over 70, including many movies and miniseries such as “Roots” and “The Atlanta Child Murders,” recurring roles on “L.A. Law,” “Homicide: Life on the Street” and “Everwood,” and guest roles on shows like “The Simpsons,” “Picket Fences,” “Law & Order,” “Frasier” and “House.”
As for his most famous role, Jones was paid $7,000 to lend his voice to Darth Vader in 1977’s “Star Wars: A New Hope,” but he declined screen credit for that film and its sequel, 1980’s “The Empire Strikes Back,” out of deference to the actor who played the role on screen, David Prowse. By 1983’s “Return of the Jedi,” however, Jones had become fully synonymous with one of the most memorable and terrifying villains in cinema history, and received credit for his work. He returned to lend Vader’s voice again for 2005’s “Episode III — Revenge of the Sith” and 2016’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” but for the 2022 Disney+ series “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” Jones instead authorized Lucasfilm to use archival recordings and AI technology to recreate Vader’s voice.
When asked in 2014 by the New York Times about how he’d kept his career alive for so long, Jones’ response evoked the kind of plainspoken humility that he had so often brought to his performances as well.
“The secret is never forgetting that you’re a journeyman actor and that nothing is your final thing, nothing is your greatest thing, nothing is your worst thing,” Jones said. “I still consider myself a novice.”
James Earl Jones was born in 1931 on a farm in in Arkabutla, Miss. His father, Robert Earl Jones, left home soon after to pursue his own acting career (the two more-or-less reconciled when the younger Jones was in his 20s, and they even performed together). When Jones was 5, he moved with his maternal grandparents to Michigan. The shock of the relocation induced a stammer so severe that he often could communicate only in writing. It wasn’t until high school when he started to overcome his stutter, when his English teacher, upon learning that Jones composed poetry, encouraged him to read his writing aloud in class.
As an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan, Jones initially set out to study medicine, but wound up more interested in drama. His first stage role was a small part in the 1957 Off Broadway production “Wedding in Japan.” He took side jobs to supplement occasional theater work in Broadway’s “Sunrise at Campobello,” “The Cool World” and “The Pretender.” He also appeared in summer stock.
In 1960, Jones joined Papp’s New York Shakespeare Festival. The following year he made his first serious impact in a landmark Off Broadway production of Jean Genet’s “The Blacks” as the protagonist Deodatus. Afterwards, for Papp, he played Oberon in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” the first of many heralded Shakespearean turns. His masterful 1964 performance as Othello for Papp was moved Off Broadway, where the production ran for almost a year.
Jones’ first big break into cinema came by way of Papp’s production of “The Merchant of Venice,” in which Jones played the Prince of Morocco to George C. Scott’s Shylock. When Stanley Kubrick came to see Scott, whom he was considering for one of the leads in “Dr. Strangelove,” the film director was so impressed that he cast Jones in the film, too. In 1966, Jones had the title role in “Macbeth” at the New York Shakespeare Festival, again to great acclaim. He also booked a recurring role on “As the World Turns” in 1966, marking the first time a Black actor had a continuing role on a daytime soap opera.
Still, he was almost one of Broadway’s best-kept secrets until 1968, in Howard Sackler’s “The Great White Hope” as Jack Johnson, the first Black man to win the world heavyweight boxing championship. The Tony, the acclaim and its timing in the late ’60s propelled Jones into the spotlight at a time when it was difficult for Black actors to secure quality roles. But the actor, however, has said that the accolades he received for for both the play and its film adaptation did not do that much for his career.
It wasn’t until 1977, when Jones’ voice terrified audiences for the first time as Darth Vader, that things truly began to shift for him. That same year, Jones also appeared in ABC’s “Roots” playing the author Alex Haley, whose genealogical novel of the same title inspired the groundbreaking miniseries. He never quite became an outright star in the classic sense of the word, but the back-to-back successes that year did ultimately make Jones a household name, whose presence connoted a stature and gravitas to projects that might otherwise be lacking.
Theatre is where Jones most frequently was a box office draw in his own right — and well into his 80s. He returned to Broadway in 2005 for a production of “On Golden Pond” opposite Leslie Uggams, drawing another Tony nomination. In 2008, he played Big Daddy in a production of Tennessee Williams’ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” that featured an all-Black cast including Terrence Howard, Anika Noni Rose and Phylicia Rashad.
Two years later, he returned to Broadway in a revival of “Driving Miss Daisy” opposite Vanessa Redgrave; the production’s move to London in 2011 meant he had to miss the Honorary Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles. Instead, Sir Ben Kingsley surprised Jones with his statuette in person after he’d concluded a matinee performance of the show.
Jones was first married to actress-singer Julienne Marie. His second wife of 34 years, actress Cecilia Hart, died in 2016. He is survived his son, Flynn Earl Jones.
Back for his third Netflix comedy special, recorded from the Netflix Is a Joke Fest in LA, Deon Cole recalls the telltale signs of aging, bedroom mishaps, dating deal-breakers and much more. Deon Cole: OK, Mister, premieres globally on Netflix on September 17th.
DEON COLE is a comedian, writer, and actor, who can currently be seen in the title role of BET+’s series, AVERAGE JOE, from McG, which Netflix just added to its library. Average Joe has garnered incredible reviews from Hollywood Reporter and Entertainment Weekly. Additionally, he can be seen in Blitz Bazawule’s critically acclaimed remake of THE COLOR PURPLE, the film scored 16 nominations at the 55th NAACP Image Awards, winning 11, including Outstanding Motion Picture. Previous to that, Deon starred in Jeymes Samuel’s THE HARDER THEY FALL for Netflix opposite Idris Elba, Regina King, Zazie Beetz, and Lakeith Stanfield. Deon was featured in Kenya Barris and Jonah Hill’s YOU PEOPLE for Netflix, acting opposite Jonah Hill, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Eddie Murphy. Deon will next be seen in THE MADNESS, a political drama-thriller for Netflix, starring Colman Domingo.
Deon is best known as Charlie on ABC’s BLACK-ISH and Freeform’s GROWNISH. For his role on BLACK-ISH, Deon won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series three times in a row at the 2020,2021 & 2022 NAACP Image Awards. Previously, he starred as Detective Daniel “DJ” Tanner on the TBS comedy ANGIE TRIBECA opposite Rashida Jones. Additionally, Deon was featured in the Ice Cube led BARBERSHOP series.
This is Deon’s third one-hour special for Netflix. Previous specials include: CHARLEEN’S BOY and COLE HEARTED. His first one-hour special, DEON COLE: COLE BLOODED SEMINAR was shot for Comedy Central. His stand-up documentary, WORKIN’ IT OUT, debuted exclusively on Netflix is a Joke’s Youtube channel, and has garnered 6 million views on social media, and 2.4 million views on Youtube alone.
Comedy Central today announced the premiere date of its highly anticipated adult animated series, Everybody Still Hates Chris. The reimagined series starring and executive produced by Chris Rock premieres Wednesday, September 25 at 10pm ET/PT. Terry Crews and Tichina Arnold also star alongside Tim Johnson Jr., Ozioma Akagha, Terrence Little Gardenhigh, and Gunnar Sizemore. The series is produced by CBS Studios and Chris Rock Enterprises, in association with 3 Arts Entertainment.
Everybody Still Hates Chris will feature Chris Rock (“Rustin,” “Fargo”) as “Adult Chris,” narrating stories inspired by his experience growing up as a skinny nerd in a large working-class family in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, during the late 1980s. Terry Crews (“America’s Got Talent”, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”) will voice “Julius,” Chris’ father who is a gentle giant with a relentless work ethic, and tightwad approach to life. He grew up dirt poor, so he knows the cost of everything down to the penny. He works two jobs to support the family, and on his days off, he takes on a third job. Tichina Arnold (“The Neighborhood”) will voice “Rochelle,” Chris’ mother who is smart, strong-willed, and has a nurturing spirit, but she can also be hot-headed, especially when it comes to her kids. She tolerates zero nonsense, so she quits more jobs in a month than most people do in a lifetime.
In addition to the cast of the original series “Everybody Hates Chris,” Tim Johnson Jr. (“Saturdays”) will voice “Young Chris,” a nerd who wants to be cool but he’s outshined by his younger brother, tortured by his little sister, and foiled by his cheapskate dad; Ozioma Akagha (“DELILAH”) will voice “Tonya,” Chris’ feisty baby sister, with the face of an angel and the heart of a demon, who gets along with her middle brother Drew but leaps at any chance to get Chris in trouble; Terrence Little Gardenhigh (“Danger Force”) will voice “Drew,” the golden child of the family who is the epitome of Black Excellence: handsome, athletic, a ladies man, taller and cooler than his older brother Chris; and Gunnar Sizemore (“Kung Fu Panda”) will voice “Greg,” Chris’s only friend at school who is girl-obsessed, status conscious and raised by a single dad.
“Everybody Hates Chris,” Chris Rock’s autobiographical, critically-acclaimed family series, ran for four seasons on UPN then the CW from 2005 – 2009. The series won a NAACP Image Award for its writing in 2007 and was also nominated for a Golden Globe and several Emmy Awards. All four seasons of the original series are available to stream on Paramount+.
Everybody Still Hates Chris is produced by CBS’ Eye Animation Productions, CBS Studios’ animation arm. Alongside Chris Rock of Chris Rock Enterprises, showrunner Sanjay Shah (“Central Park”); Ali LeRoi; and Michael Rotenberg and Dave Becky of 3 Arts Entertainment will executive produce. Titmouse (“Big Mouth”) serves as the animation studio for the series with Chris Prynoski, Shannon Prynoski, Antonio Canobbio and Ben Kalina serving as executive producers. The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution outside of the Comedy Central footprint.
Follow Everybody Still Hates Chris on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, and join the conversation with #EverybodyStillHatesChris.
Actor and comedian, D.L. Hughley, spoke Thursday on the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, an evening focused on the future as Kamala Harris formally accepts her party’s nomination for president.
Harris’s speech is her first official chance to offer her vision for the country to voters. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz formally accepted the vice presidential nomination the day before.
Temuera Morrison, best known for playing Boba Fett in the Star Wars franchise, and Spider-Man actor Jacob Batalon have joined Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa in The Wrecking Crew, an action comedy from Amazon MGM Studios.
Frankie Adams, Miyavi and Stephen Root are also joining the crew roster, which additionally includes Claes Bang.
Blue Beetle filmmaker Ángel Manuel Soto is directing the feature, which heads into production in October in New Zealand.
Crew has a script by Jonathan Tropper and follows two half-brothers — one a loose cannon cop (Momoa) and the other a disciplined Navy SEAL (Bautista). After 20-odd years of bad blood, they must work together to unravel the conspiracy behind their father’s murder in Hawaii.
Morrison will play the governor of Hawaii, while Batalon is a street-savvy, foul-mouthed private investigator who knew the brothers’ father.
Producing are 6th & Idaho’s Lynn Harris and Matt Reeves as well as Bautista, Momoa and Jeffrey Fierson.
Morrison played numerous clones in various Star Wars movies and headlined the Book of Boba Fett series at Disney+. He worked with Momoa on the two Aquaman movies. He is repped by Third Hill Entertainment and New Zealand’s Robert Bruce Agency.
Batalon played Peter Parker’s pal Ned Leeds opposite Tom Holland in the Marvel Studios Spider-Man movies, and also appeared in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. He was one of the stars of surprise moneymaker Tarot, the horror flick from Screen Gems, and played the title role and executive produced the series Reginald the Vampire for Syfy and Hulu. He is repped by IAG and Brecheen Feldman.
Adams will be next seen playing Sina, the strong-willed mother of Moana in Disney’s live-action adaptation of Moana. Recent credits include The Expanse and Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins. She is repped by Johnson and Laird, Brave Artists Management and attorney Jeff Hynick.
Miyavi is a singer-songwriter behind 13 studio albums. He made his film debut in the Oscar-nominated Unbroken, directed by Angelina Jolie, and earned credits on Legendary’s Kong: Skull Island, Netflix’s animated series Arcane, revenge movie Kate and Disney’s Maleficent 2. He is repped by CAA, Debut Management and LaPolt Law.
Root’s credits range from cult classic Office Space to 1990s sitcom Newsradio to modern comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Fargo, Barry, and 13 seasons of voicework on King of the Hill. He is repped by Gersh and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter