Marvel released the first trailer for “Thunderbolts*,” opening in theaters on May 2, 2025.
In the upcoming superhero pic, starring “Captain America” mainstay Sebastian Stan and “Black Widow” cast members Florence Pugh and David Harbour, reformed Marvel villains are forced to team up to conduct covert operations on behalf of the U.S. government.
The “Thunderbolts*” crew also includes Olga Kurylenko (Taskmaster from “Black Widow”), Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost from “Ant-Man and the Wasp”), Wyatt Russell (John Walker from “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”), and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (as mastermind Valentina Allegra de Fontaine). “Top Gun: Maverick” star Lewis Pullman plays a mysterious character named Bob.
“Everyone here has done bad things,” Pugh says in the trailer, brought face to face with the rest of the team. “Shadow ops, robbing government labs, contract kills. … Someone wants us gone.”
Louis-Dreyfus, whose character is the conniving director of the CIA, says, “We’re brought up with this belief that there are good guys, and there are bad guys. But, eventually, you come to realize that there are bad guys, and there are worse guys. And nothing else.”
Based on Kurt Busiek’s comic series of the same name, “Thunderbolts*” is directed by Jake Schreier, with Kevin Feige producing. Louis D’Esposito, Brian Chapek, Jason Tamez, and Scarlett Johansson serve as executive producers. The screenplay is written by Eric Pearson (“Black Widow,” “Thor: Ragnarok,” “Transformers One,” “The Fantastic Four: First Steps”), “Beef” creator Lee Sung Jin and co-showrunner of “The Bear” Joanna Calo.
Watch the trailer for “Thunderbolts*” below.
Ann Lowe — the pioneering fashion designer and American couturier — is getting the biopic treatment at TriStar thanks to Serena Williams and Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth Carter.
Sony’s TriStar Pictures acquired the pitch for the project, titled The Dress, about Lowe, one of the country’s most prolific but also least-known couturiers. Lowe, who died in 1981, designed mid-century wardrobes for the biggest names in American society and industry, including members of the Rockefeller, Roosevelt, Du Pont, and Whitney families.
The story will focus on how Lowe, who was the first Black woman to own a shop on Madison Avenue, was commissioned to design the wedding dress that Jackie Bouvier wore at her 1953 wedding to John F. Kennedy.
Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster, the writers behind the Mister Rogers movie A Beautiful Day in The Neighborhood, will pen the screenplay based on the book By Her Own Design by Piper Huguley.
Williams and Caroline Currier will produce through Nine Two Six Productions. Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster will also produce through their company Blue Harp. Carter, who won two Oscars for costume design for Black Panther and follow-up Wakanda Forever, will executive produce and also be the film’s costume designer.
Shary Shirazi, who brought in the pitch, will oversee for TriStar, along with studio president Nicole Brown.
Williams, who is repped by WME and Foster Garvey PC, launched Nine Two Six Productions in 2023. Nine Two Six produced the women’s soccer doc Copa 71, and ESPN+’s In The Arena: Serena Williams.
Fitzerman-Blue and Harpster, whose other credits Transparent and Netflix series Painkiller, are repped by UTA and Kaplan/Perrone. Their other studio feature credits include Disney title Maleficent and the studio’s upcoming live-action remake of Bambi.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
“Percy Jackson and the Olympians” Season 2 has found its Thalia Grace.
Tamara Smart has been cast as Thalia in the Disney+ series. Smart will appear in the recurring guest star role alongside series regulars Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, Aryan Simhadri, Charlie Bushnell, Dior Goodjohn, and Daniel Diemer. Variety recently exclusively reported that Timothy Simons will appear in Season 2 as Tantalus.
Season 2 of the show will be based on the book “The Sea of Monsters,” the second book in the Percy Jackson series by author Rick Riordan. Production is currently underway on Season 2, which is slated to debut in 2025.
“Thalia Grace is one of the most important characters in the Percy Jackson universe, so the right casting was critical,” Riordan said. “Thalia is a powerful warrior, a fiercely loyal friend, and a demigod rebel with a very ‘punk’ / ‘rage-against-the-machine’ sensibility. As soon as we saw Tamara Smart play this role, we knew we had found our daughter of Zeus. She was, no pun intended, electric. Tamara puts the ‘grace’ in Thalia Grace!”
Thalia is further described as “the Demigod daughter of Zeus who made her last stand to protect her friends at the edge of Camp Half-Blood. Rather than let her die, Zeus transformed her into a tree that anchors the force field that protects camp. Tough and prickly, with a rebel/punk sensibility, Thalia is fiercely loyal to her friends and distrustful of her father’s world.”
Smart recently starred in the Netflix series “Resident Evil,” in which she played the daughter of the character played by the late Lance Reddick. Reddick starred as Zeus in Season 1 of “Percy Jackson.” She has also been in shows like “The Worst Witch” and films like “Artemis Fowl” and “A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting.”
She is repped by Gersh, ColorCreative, 42 in the UK, and Shelby Weiser.
“I’m so grateful and excited to be joining the cast of ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians,’” Smart said. “It’s so close to my heart. Lance Reddick and I always spoke about working together again, so it’s that much more special and important to me to play his daughter once more as Thalia and to keep his memory alive. I feel his presence all around me and strive to make him proud on this exciting journey.”
“Percy Jackson and the Olympians” was developed for television by Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg. Both serve as executive producers along with Dan Shotz, Rebecca Riordan, Craig Silverstein, Albert Kim, The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Bert Salke, The Gotham Group’s Jeremy Bell and D.J. Goldberg, James Bobin, Jim Rowe, Jason Ensler and Sarah Watson.
Created by Rick Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg, season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is executive produced by Steinberg and Dan Shotz alongside Rick Riordan, Rebecca Riordan, Craig Silverstein, Albert Kim, The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Bert Salke, The Gotham Group’s Jeremy Bell and D.J. Goldberg, James Bobin, Jim Rowe, Jason Ensler and Sarah Watson. The series hails from Disney Branded Television and 20th Television.
Source: Variety
Sony will be releasing the untitled Keke Palmer and SZA R-rated comedy on Jan. 24, 2025.
The TriStar Pictures title is directed by Lawrence Lamont from a screenplay by Syreeta Singleton.
The project came together from the CoCre lab at Sony Pictures. The lab was a previous pact between ColorCreative and Sony Pictures to source and incubate emerging, diverse screenwriters to develop and write their first studio feature based on original ideas.
Producing is Hoorae’s Issa Rae and Sara Diya Rastogi, ColorCreative’s Deniese Davis and Macro Film Studios’ Charles D. King, James Lopez, and Poppy Hanks. Singleton is co-producing. Big Boss’ Palmer and Sharon Palmer are executive producing. Macro Film Studios is also co-financing.
The supporting cast includes Lil Rel Howery, Janelle James, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, Maude Apatow, Katt Williams, Joshua Neal, Aziza Scott, Patrick Cage, and Amin Joseph.
The comedy will share marquees on its opening weekend with the Lionsgate Mel Gibson-directed Flight Risk starring Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Dockery, Angel Studios’ Brave the Dark, and IFC’s Neil Burger-directed Inheritance starring Phoebe Dynevor.
Source: Deadline
The highly anticipated results are in! BET has revealed the returning host and this year’s nominees for the 19th annual “BET Hip Hop Awards” 2024. Celebrating the best in Hip Hop from the past year across 17 categories and chosen by a prestigious voting academy of industry experts, this year’s show will be taped in an exciting, iconic new location in Las Vegas, NV, on Tuesday, October 8. Fat Joe, the Grammy® Award-nominated artist, actor, author, and media personality, returns as co-executive producer and host. “BET Hip Hop Awards” 2024 will air on BET on Tuesday, October 15, 2024, at 8 PM ET/PT.
“Joe Crack is back for the 3-peat, night night baby,” said Fat Joe. “It’s been a dream to host the ‘BET Hip Hop Awards’ the past few years and I’m looking forward to taking things to the next level in Las Vegas. We’re going to be in a new city and location, but the excitement and entertainment at the awards will be even bigger than ever.”
Megan Thee Stallion leads this year’s nominations with an outstanding twelve nods. Megan’s nominations include ‘Song of the Year,’ ‘Lyricist of the Year,’ ‘Hip Hop Album of the Year,’ ‘Hip Hop Artist of the Year,’ ‘Hustler of the Year,’ ‘Best Live Performer,’ ‘Best Hip Hop Video,’ ‘Sweet 16: Best Featured Verse,’’ ‘Impact Track,’ and three in the category for ‘Best Collaboration.’ Kendrick Lamar follows with eleven nods, including ‘Best Hip Hop Video,’ ‘Best Live Performer,’ ‘Lyricist of the Year,’ twice for ‘Song of the Year,’ ‘Best Collaboration.’ ‘Hip Hop Artist of the Year,’ ‘Video Director of the Year,’ ‘Impact Track,’ ‘Hustler of the Year,’ and ‘Sweet 16: Best Featured Verse’. Drake rounds out the top three nominees with an impressive eight nods. Cardi B, GloRilla, Metro Boomin, and Nicki Minaj each score seven nods. Future and Travis Scott tie with six nods each.
Other notable nominations include 21 Savage and 41, who received four nominations each. A$AP Rocky, Common, Lil Wayne, Pete Rock, and Sexyy Red each received three nominations.
“This year’s nominees exemplify the creativity and diversity of hip hop and the culture. We congratulate each nominee on their accomplishments and are excited to see how they will elevate hip hop artistry,” said Connie Orlando, EVP, Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy at BET. “Thank you to our esteemed voting academy for your continued support and for selecting an outstanding list of hip hop luminaries who made 2024 a memorable year in music.”
See below for the complete list of the 2024 “BET HIP HOP AWARDS” Official Nominees:
BEST HIP HOP VIDEO
8 AM IN CHARLOTTE DRAKE
BAND4BAND CENTRAL CEE FEAT. LIL BABY
BENT 41 (KYLE RICHH, JENN CARTER, TATA)
BIG MAMA LATTO
BOA MEGAN THEE STALLION
ENOUGH (MIAMI) CARDI B
NOT LIKE US KENDRICK LAMAR
TYPE SHIT FUTURE, METRO BOOMIN, TRAVIS SCOTT & PLAYBOI CARTI
BEST COLLABORATION
AT THE PARTY KID CUDI FEAT. PHARRELL WILLIAMS & TRAVIS SCOTT
BAND4BAND CENTRAL CEE FEAT. LIL BABY
BONGOS CARDI B FEAT. MEGAN THEE STALLION
EVERYBODY NICKI MINAJ FEAT. LIL UZI VERT
FIRST PERSON SHOOTER DRAKE FEAT. J.COLE
LIKE THAT METRO BOOMIN, FUTURE, KENDRICK LAMAR
MAMUSHI MEGAN THEE STALLION FEAT. YUKI CHIBA
WANNA BE GLORILLA FEAT. MEGAN THEE STALLION
BEST DUO OR GROUP
¥$, KANYE WEST & TY DOLLA $IGN
2 CHAINZ & LIL WAYNE
41
COMMON & PETE ROCK
EARTHGANG
FLYANA BOSS
FUTURE & METRO BOOMIN
RICK ROSS & MEEK MILL
BEST LIVE PERFORMER
BURNA BOY
BUSTA RHYMES
CARDI B
DRAKE
GLORILLA
KENDRICK LAMAR
MEGAN THEE STALLION
MISSY ELLIOTT
NICKI MINAJ
TRAVIS SCOTT
LYRICIST OF THE YEAR
21 SAVAGE
CARDI B
COMMON
DRAKE
KENDRICK LAMAR
LIL WAYNE
MEGAN THEE STALLION
NICKI MINAJ
VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
20K VISUALS
A$AP ROCKY
CACTUS JACK
COLE BENNETT
DAVE FREE & KENDRICK LAMAR
DAVE MEYERS & TRAVIS SCOTT
DOJA CAT & NINA MCNEELY
OFFSET
SONG OF THE YEAR
AGORA HILLS DOJA CAT
BENT 41 (KYLE RICHH, JENN CARTER, TATA)
FE!N TRAVIS SCOTT FEAT. PLAYBOI CARTI
FTCU NICKI MINAJ
GET IT SEXYY SEXYY RED
LIKE THAT METRO BOOMIN, FUTURE, KENDRICK LAMAR
MAMUSHI MEGAN THEE STALLION FEAT. YUKI CHIBA
NOT LIKE US KENDRICK LAMAR
YEAH GLO! GLORILLA
HIP HOP ALBUM OF THE YEAR
AMERICAN DREAM 21 SAVAGE
EHHTHANG EHHTHANG GLORILLA
FOR ALL THE DOGS SCARY HOURS EDITION DRAKE
IN SEXYY WE TRUST SEXYY RED
MEGAN MEGAN THEE STALLION
ONE OF WUN GUNNA
PINK FRIDAY 2 NICKI MINAJ
UTOPIA TRAVIS SCOTT
WE DON’T TRUST YOU FUTURE & METRO BOOMIN
HIP HOP ARTIST OF THE YEAR
21 SAVAGE
CARDI B
DRAKE
FUTURE
GLORILLA
KENDRICK LAMAR
MEGAN THEE STALLION
NICKI MINAJ
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
ATL JACOB
CASH COBAIN
HIT-BOY
HITMAKA
METRO BOOMIN
PETE ROCK
Q-TIP
THE ALCHEMIST
BEST BREAKTHROUGH HIP HOP ARTIST
41
310BABII
BOSSMAN DLOW
CASH COBAIN
LADY LONDON
SEXYY RED
SKILLA BABY
TOMMY RICHMAN
DJ OF THE YEAR
BIG VON
DJ D-NICE
DJ DRAMA
DJ KHALED
KAYTRANADA
METRO BOOMIN
MUSTARD
THE ALCHEMIST
BEST HIP HOP PLATFORM
BOOTLEG KEV
CLUB SHAY SHAY
COMPLEX
DRINK CHAMPS
MILLION DOLLAZ WORTH OF GAME
ON THE RADAR
THE BREAKFAST CLUB
THE JOE BUDDEN PODCAST
THE SHADE ROOM
XXL
HUSTLER OF THE YEAR
50 CENT
A$AP ROCKY
CAM’RON & MA$E
CARDI B
DRAKE
FAT JOE
GLORILLA
KENDRICK LAMAR
MEGAN THEE STALLION
SWEET 16: BEST FEATURED VERSE
21 SAVAGE GOOD GOOD (USHER, 21 SAVAGE & SUMMER WALKER)
A$AP ROCKY GANGSTA (FREE NATIONALS, A$AP ROCKY & ANDERSON .PAAK)
CARDI B WANNA BE REMIX (GLORILLA, MEGAN THEE STALLION & CARDI B)
DRAKE MELTDOWN (TRAVIS SCOTT FEAT. DRAKE)
J.COLE FIRST PERSON SHOOTER (DRAKE FEAT. J.COLE)
KENDRICK LAMAR LIKE THAT (FUTURE, METRO BOOMIN & KENDRICK LAMAR)
LIL WAYNE BRAND NEW (TYGA, YG & LIL WAYNE)
MEGAN THEE STALLION WANNA BE (GLORILLA, MEGAN THEE STALLION)
IMPACT TRACK
BLESSINGS NICKI MINAJ FEAT. TASHA COBBS LEONARD
FORTUNATE COMMON & PETE ROCK
GET IN WITH ME BOSSMAN DLOW
HISS MEGAN THEE STALLION
HUMBLE ME KILLER MIKE
NOT LIKE US KENDRICK LAMAR
PRECISION BIG SEAN
YEAH GLO! GLORILLA
BEST INTERNATIONAL FLOW
SDM FRANCE
LEYS MC FRANCE
RACIONAIS MCS BRAZIL
BUDAH BRAZIL
GHETTS UK
BASHY UK
STEFFLON DON UK
MAGLERA DOE BOY SOUTH AFRICA
BLXCKIE SOUTH AFRICA
ODUMODUBLVCK NIGERIA
Fans can start voting for DJ of the Year, Producer of the Year, and Best Hip Hop platform categories starting Friday, September 20 at Noon ET athttps://www.bet.com/votehha24
Connie Orlando, EVP of Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy, will oversee the production of the annual event and serve as Executive Producer with Jamal Noisette, SVP of Specials & Music Programming. Jesse Collins, CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment, will act as Executive Producer for “BET Hip Hop Awards” 2024, with Jeannae Rouzan-Clay and Dionne Harmon from Jesse Collins Entertainment also contributing as Executive Producers.
Tony winner Kecia Lewis (Hell’s Kitchen) has joined the Tracy Morgan-led cast of Paramount+ new multi-camera comedy series Crutch, an offshoot from CBS’ long-running sitcom The Neighborhood, which has started filming in New York.
Developed by Owen Smith, who will serve as showrunner, Crutch centers on 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 (Jermaine Fowler) and free-spirited daughter (Adrianna Mitchell) move back into the family home.
Lewis will play Antoinette, Crutch’s (Morgan) meddling sister-in-law who, much to his chagrin, has inserted herself as the de facto matriarch of the Crutchfield clan. Elegant, worldly, and self-righteous Antoinette is a long-time divorcee whose life revolves around her weekly hair appointments and her job as a correctional officer at Rikers Island. However, when her sister’s children come back to Harlem with their lives in disarray, she’s happy to step in to help – even if she has to deal with Crutch in the process.
The Neighborhood star Cedric the Entertainer and Eric C. Rhone executive produce Crutch via A Bird and a Bear along with Smith, Aaron Kaplan for Kapital Entertainment; Wendi Trilling for TrillTV; and Morgan. The series is produced by CBS Studios and distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.
Broadway veteran Lewis won a Tony, Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel awards for her role as Miss Liza Jane in the 2024 musical Hell’s Kitchen. Her TV credits include a major recurring role on NBC’s The Blacklist. She is repped by The Rosenzweig Group, Paradigm and imPRint.
Comedian George Lopez is preparing a new hour-long comedy special to premiere on Prime Video we learned.
Amazon MGM Studios and Travieso Productions are producing Lopez’s new hour, which is his first since We’ll Do It for Half for Netflix in 2020. Taping at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on September 27 and 28, as part of Lopez’s “ALLLRIIIIGHHTTT! Comedy” tour, its premiere date will be announced down the road.
Breaking ground for Latino comics in a decades-long career spanning television, film, stand-up, and late-night, Lopez has previously put out four comedy specials with HBO — The Wall (2017), It’s Not Me, It’s You (2012), Tall, Dark and Chicano (2009), and America’s Mexican (2007) — earning Grammy nominations for the latter two. His stand-up output also includes Why You Crying?, an acclaimed comedy concert for Showtime, and a number of other comedy albums.
Coming to the attention of many with the groundbreaking hit sitcom George Lopez, which he co-created, wrote, produced and starred on for ABC, he’s most recently exec-produced and starred opposite his daughter Mayan Lopez on NBC’s sitcom Lopez vs Lopez, a fictionalized look at their real-life relationship, which returns for its third season on October 18. He also exec-produced and starred in TV Land’s semi-autobiographical sitcom Lopez, which ran for two seasons, and co-created and starred on FX’s Saint George.
At one point hosting his own TBS late-night talker, Lopez Tonight, Lopez last summer joined the DC Extended Universe with Angel Manuel Soto’s Blue Beetle. Other recent feature projects include Snoop Dogg’s Amazon MGM sports comedy, The Underdoggs, as well as the indie holiday comedy How the Gringo Stole Christmas.
Lopez is repped by UTA, 3 Arts Entertainment, and Schreck Rose Dapello.
Source: Deadline
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