Reptile, the debut film by Grant Singer (who’s known for directing music videos), has become Netflix’s most streamed film. This accomplishment can only be for the amazing performance of the star-studded cast including Justin Timberlake, Alicia Silverstone, Domenick Lombardozzi, and the captivating performance of lead star Benicio Del Toro. Otherwise, the film is “ehh” at best.
A quick synopsis: Will Grady (Justin Timberlake) is a Scarborough real estate mogul dating a realtor agent named Summer Elswick (Matilda Lutz). One day, Grady finds Elswick brutally murdered in one of the homes they were showing. Detective Tom Nichols (Del Toro) and his partner Dan Cleary (Ato Essendoh) take the case and then it begins. Nichols suspects Grady at the beginning and the rest of the movie is just false leads and a whole lot of unnecessary twists and turns just to find out it is in fact Grady. Of course, part of these twists and turns include learning of Summer’s secrets, corrupt police officers and inside jobs (surprise, surprise). Sex, drugs, and money in that order. Honestly, the movie was predictable the whole way through. You could predict that Grady was the killer at the beginning, his accomplices and motive in the middle, and the ending at least 30 minutes before it ended.
However, despite Reptile’s cliché story and boring plot, Del Toro’s gripping portrayal of Detective Nichols makes Reptile worth the watch if you want to see acting excellence. He carried the movie the entire way through. The supporting stars in the movie also did an amazing job portraying characters that would’ve been negligible otherwise. Cinematographer Michael Gioulakis (who has worked with notable directors such as Jordan Peele and M. Night Shyamalan) also deserves praise for his work in Reptile. It can only be for these reasons that Reptile climbed to the top of Netflix’s most streamed movies in my opinion. I would recommend at least trying to watch it to see for yourself.
By: McKenna Fuller mckennajefuller@gmail.com
Q-Tip, the legendary rapper, producer, singer, and lyricist, will be adding his hip-hop know-how to the Broadway-bound Ali, a musical about Muhammad Ali’s life in and out of the boxing ring.
The acclaimed rhymer has been signed on by Ali lead producer Richard Willis as music producer, co-lyricist, and cast album producer, and will work alongside director and book writer Clint Dyer (Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Othello), deputy artistic director of UK’s National Theatre, and Teddy Abrams, the show’s composer.
Abrams is music director of the Louisville Orchestra, based in the city where the heavyweight champion and a titan of the 20th century was born.
Back in 2017, Abrams wrote multimedia opera-rap-oratorio mashup The Greatest: Muhammad Ali, which premiered with the Louisville Orchestra at the Kentucky Center in Louisville.
That production got Abrams, and others, thinking that there should be a full-scale Broadway musical about the pivotal historical figure who transcended his sporting achievements.
Celebrated saxophonist Casey Benjamin has also been brought into the show’s music department as associate music producer. Benjamin, who once played saxes and vocoder for the Robert Glasper Experiment quartet, has deep jazz roots; he studied piano aged 6, and soon after got his fingers moving on the saxophone. His rhythmic punch can be heard on countless recordings including numbers with Mos Def and Mary J Blige.
Sean Mayes (MJ, Hadestown) has joined Ali as music supervisor. Mayes acted as music director, orchestrator and arranger for An Evening With Andre De Shields with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and has performed musical duties for shows and orchestras in his homeland Canada.
For Q-Tip and Benjamin, both Grammy winners, it’s a reunion of sorts having collaborated before; they’re also linked by the fact that they’re both born and bred in Queens.
In a statement penned exclusively for this column, Q-Tip wrote: “I am very excited to be collaborating with Teddy, Clint, Casey and Sean in telling The Greatest’s story on stage. Muhammad Ali has always been a hero to me!”
Willis, the producer, was just as elated when he broke the news to me that Q-Tip, Benjamin and Mayes would be ringside in Ali‘s creative corner. The wide smile on his face said it all when we grabbed a snack at the Union Club in Soho.
Willis told me that the show will combine spoken word, verse, classical music and poetry, rap and hip-hop. “We want to take the traditional musical theater structure that works and then tip it on its ear a little bit,” he said.
He added, “Q-Tip produces songs and albums for a massive audience so he knows how to do that thing that’s slightly different than what normal musical theater is. So we tip it, and make it original and fresh and new and hummable.
“All that energy in the right direction is the job, right?”
When I caught up with Dyer late Tuesday, he cried, “We’re doing it!”
Calming down a tad, he continued, “We’ve all been in the room together, we’re working, we’re not wasting any time.”
Praising the rap artist, he stated, “Q-Tip has proven himself as one of the greatest hip-hop artists of his generation and beyond. Having his talents onboard will give this musical every possibility to honor Ali’s greatness. … I could not be happier with this appointment.”
“We’ll use his hip-hop beats, and his talents will be used in other areas as well,” Dyer enthused. “This show’s covering a lot of areas of music and we’ll exhaust all of Q-Tip’s knowledge. You’ve got to remember that Q-Tip’s into all kinds of music, not just jazz and hip-hop. For instance, his next album is all rock ‘n’ roll, so hold on. Let’s see what he comes up with for Ali!”
“I tell you,” Dyer exclaimed, “it’s thrilling because what he and Teddy and Benjamin and Sean are doing is gonna lift this show up to where we want it to be.”
Dyer has just opened the final chapter in the Death of England plays written by him and Roy Williams. The latest installment, Death of England: Closing Time starring Sharon Duncan-Brewster (Dune) and Hayley Squires (I, Daniel Blake), runs at the National Theatre’s Dorfman Theatre until November 11.
Q-Tip has been at the forefront of jazz-funk infused Afrocentric beats and rhythms since the late 1980s, playing a key role in the rise of jazz rap. The co-founder and former frontman for progressive rap group A Tribe Called Quest — five of their six albums certified gold and platinum — has produced and influenced the musical output of J Dilla, Pharrell Williams, Janet Jackson, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar and many others.
Ali’s moving fast now following extensive private workshops in Louisville over the summer. A further workshop has been penciled in for December, with more planned for next spring.
Ali will have its world premiere in Louisville in fall 2024.
No date has been set, but Ali is likely to open on Broadway in 2025.
The Ali creative team also includes: choreography/fight choreography by Rich + Tone Talauega (MJ the Musical), set design by Anna Fleischle (Hangmen, Once Upon a One More Time, Time Traveller’s Wife), costume design by Emilio Sosa (Sweeney Todd, Trouble In Mind, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess), lighting design by Jen Schriever (A Strange Loop, 1776), video/projections/media design by Tal Yarden (Network, Sunday in the Park with George) and Gino Ricardo Green (Get Up, Stand Up!, Othello), sound effects design by Ben Grant (Othello, Get Up, Stand Up!). The associate director is Asmeret Ghebremichael (The Notebook, Dreamgirls); creative dramaturge is Fred Carl, associate arts professor in the NYU Tisch Graduate School for Musical Theatre Writing; special boxing consultant and fight coordinator is Michael “Silk” Olajide Jr.; and casting director is Jim Carnahan.
Source: Deadline
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Richard Roundtree, the trailblazing actor who starred as the ultra-smooth private detective in several “Shaft” films beginning in the early 1970s, has died. He was 81.
Roundtree’s longtime manager, Patrick McMinn, said the actor had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died at his home in Los Angeles on Tuesday. He was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993 and underwent a double mastectomy.
“Richard’s work and career served as a turning point for African American leading men,” McMinn said. “The impact he had on the industry cannot be overstated.”
Roundtree, who was born in New Rochelle, New York, was considered as the first Black action hero and became one of the leading actors in the blaxploitation genre through his New York street-smart John Shaft character in the Gordon Parks-directed film in 1971. At age 28, it was Roundtree’s first feature film appearance after starting his career as a model.
Roundtree’s “Shaft” was part of a change in how Black movies were viewed in Hollywood, which failed to consider Black actors – especially for leading roles — in projects at the time. The blaxploitation films were primarily aimed at the African-American audiences.
In the film, his character navigated the world of thugs. He regularly whipped out popular one-liners like “It’s my duty to please that booty.”
“What we were doing was a good, old Saturday afternoon shoot ’em up,” Roundtree said in a 2000 interview with The Associated Press.
Isaac Hayes’ “Shaft” theme song — which included the line “You a bad mother— (Shut your mouth)” — helped insinuate the original movie into the pop-cult consciousness. The singer, who died in 2008, said the song was “like the ‘shot heard round the world.” His single won an Academy Award for best song in 1971 and two Grammys the following year.
After the film’s success, Roundtree returned in sequels “Shaft’s Big Score” in 1972 and “Shaft in Africa” in 1973. That same year, he played the savvy detective once again on the CBS television series “Shaft,” which lasted only seven episodes.
Roundtree reprised his role in the 2000 “Shaft” film, a revival that starred Samuel L. Jackson. He appeared as Jackson’s uncle in the big-budget film that was aimed at the general audience. Both appeared again in the same roles in the 2019 film starring Jessie T. Usher.
Jackson called Roundtree the “prototype” and the “best to ever do it” in a social media post.
“SHAFT, as we know it is & will always be his Creation,” he said of Roundtree. “His passing leaves a deep hole not only in my heart, but I’m sure a lotta y’all’s, too.”
Through his 50-plus year career, Roundtree appeared in a number of other notable films including “Earthquake,” “Man Friday” with Peter O’Toole, “Roots,” “Maniac Cop” “Se7en” and “What Men Want” starring Taraji P. Henson. He also made his mark with television roles on “Magnum P.I.,” “The Love Boat,” “Being Mary Jane” and “The Love Boat.”
In 1995, Roundtree received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the MTV Movie & TV Awards.
Source: Associated Press
Filmed at Webster Hall in New York City, the series features 10 of the best comedians in the game: Asif Ali, Dulcé Sloan, Gianmarco Soresi, Isiah Kelly, Leslie Liao, Nimesh Patel, Robby Hoffman, Rosebud Baker, Sabrina Wu, and Vanessa Gonzalez.
10 comics. 10 sets. 1 show. Introducing: Verified Stand-Up, a new stand-up comedy series. Filmed at Webster Hall in New York City, the series features 10 of the best comedians in the game: Asif Ali, Dulcé Sloan, Gianmarco Soresi, Isiah Kelly, Leslie Liao, Nimesh Patel, Robby Hoffman, Rosebud Baker, Sabrina Wu, and Vanessa Gonzalez. Over the course of two episodes, discover your new favorite comedian.
The series is directed by Linda Mendoza and executive-produced by Anne Harris.
Verified Stand-Up premieres globally on Netflix on November 28, 2023.
| Actor and Comedian Mike Epps Improves His Indianapolis Hometown in BUYING BACK THE BLOCK Premiering Wednesday, Nov. 8, at 9 and 10 a.m ET/PT on HGTV. Buying Back the Block premieres Wednesday, Nov. 8, at 9 and 10 a.m. ET/PT on HGTV. Buying Back the Block premieres Wednesday, Nov. 8, at 9 and 10 a.m. ET/PT on HGTV. Actor, comedian, producer, and real estate investor Mike Epps is an Indianapolis native on a mission to revitalize his childhood street in the HGTV series Buying Back the Block. Mike and his wife, television producer and design enthusiast Kyra Epps, who’ve already transformed an abandoned firehouse on the block into their stunning new family home, will continue improving the neighborhood and restoring a sense of community with more property renovations. In the two one-hour episodes, the duo will update each house, adding modern amenities and keeping the original charm, to create affordable and beautiful places for families to buy or rent. Driven by his passionate vision, Mike will be hands-on as he oversees the projects, including the overhaul of his grandmother’s house, alongside his expert construction team. Buying Back the Block is produced by GoodStory Entertainment. DIGITAL/SOCIAL: Fans can find more show content on HGTV’s digital platforms at HGTV.com and by following @HGTV and #BuyingBacktheBlock on Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram, TikTok and Threads. Fans also can connect with Mike (@therealmikeepps) and Kyra (@kyraepps) on Instagram. Buying Back the Block will be available to stream the same day and time on Max(R) – Wednesday at 9 and 10 a.m. on Nov. 8. |
Gran Coramino Tequila – an ultra-premium tequila founded by comedian, entertainer, and businessman Kevin Hart and 11th generation tequila producer Juan Domingo Beckmann – today announced a multi-year partnership becoming a “Spirit of the Atlanta Hawks”. The announcement comes in advance of the Hawks’ 2023-24 regular season opening game against Charlotte.
Located at the bar inside the Delta Sky360 Club of Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, Hawks fans will have the opportunity to enjoy a variety of delicious signature cocktails featuring Gran Coramino tequila. In addition, Gran Coramino signage will be visible in-arena at all regular season home games for the Hawks and on a variety of digital platforms.
“This partnership marries two of my biggest passions: sports and tequila. Last year, I made the State Farm Arena a stop on my comedy tour, but this year, I wanted to find a way to connect with them long-term,” said Kevin Hart. “To build anticipation for this basketball season, my tequila brand signed a sponsorship deal that bonds the Hawks and Gran Coramino together. I am excited for Hawks fans to become fans of my tequila once they have the chance to try it out!”
Throughout Kevin Hart’s career, Hart has filmed many movies in Atlanta, and most recently held two back-to-back sold-out shows at State Farm Arena for his ‘Reality Check’ Tour in Sept. 2022. Atlanta, a city known for its entertainment and culture, has produced some of the best in the music, film, fashion, food and beverage industries. Atlanta is also a top-selling market for Gran Coramino Tequila, which is another reason why this partnership was so important to Kevin Hart and Gran Coramino.
“Kevin Hart has always been a dedicated supporter, and we couldn’t be happier he wanted to bring Gran Coramino to Atlanta and State Farm Arena in such a major way,” said Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena Chief Executive Officer Steve Koonin. “We look forward to a long-lasting partnership and one that our fans can enjoy the taste of whenever they are visiting our venue.”
Later this season, Gran Coramino will be hosting a sweepstakes for fans to win a chance to sit in Kevin’s courtside seats. Keep an eye out for details by checking out @grancoramino on Instagram. Gran Coramino Tequila is available at select retailers across Atlanta and nationwide. For more information please visit www.GranCoramino.com and follow @GranCoramino on Instagram.
Kevin Hart & Chris Rock: Headliners Only, a documentary following two comedy icons as they tour together, premieres globally on Netflix December 12th.
· In a first of its kind documentary, Kevin Hart & Chris Rock: Headliners Only will give audiences a behind the scenes glimpse into the lives of two comedy titans. This exclusive film follows Hart and Rock as they give first hand accounts of their early lives, struggles, triumphs and their unbreakable brotherhood.
· Directed by Rashidi Harper.
· Produced by Kevin Hart, Bryan Smiley, and Luke Kelly-Clyne for Hartbeat; Chris Rock for CR Enterprises; and Malcolm Spellman, Oby M. Okoye, and Rashidi Harper for The 51B.
· Executive Produced by Hartbeat’s Thai Randolph, Jeff Clanagan, Mike Stein, Dave Becky, and Kevin Healey. JC Del Barco and Ty Walker serve as Co-Executive Producers.
· Tami D’Addio serves as Co-Producer for The 51B.
Shaquille O’Neal’s Jersey Legends Productions and global entertainment company, Hartbeat, announced the beloved stand-up comedy show, ALL STAR COMEDY JAM, at Resorts World Theatre inside Resorts World Las Vegas over Big Game Weekend 2024. The iconic comedy showcase will head to Las Vegas on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024, delivering a can’t-miss night of championship-level comedy hosted by Deon Cole and featuring performances by D.L. Hughley, Earthquake, and Desi Banks, with many more comedians to be announced in the coming weeks. Tickets go on sale to the public this Friday, Oct. 20, 2023 at 10 a.m. PST.
Originally launched in 2009 as a collaboration between Shaquille and Hartbeat President & Chief Distribution Officer Jeff Clanagan, All Star Comedy Jam is known for being the national stage to comedy’s heaviest hitters and up-and-coming comedians. Last year’s event was no different, featuring performances from a star-studded lineup including Bill Bellamy, Michael Blackson, Mo’Nique, Earthquake, and DeRay Davis.
“Collaborating with Shaq to bring this iconic comedy showcase to life with Hartbeat has been a remarkable journey and I’m thrilled to enter this exciting next chapter as ALL STAR COMEDY JAM makes its return to Las Vegas,” said Jeff Clanagan, President & Chief Distribution Officer of Hartbeat. “I’m looking forward to expanding our relationship with AEG Presents and Resorts World as we deliver another can’t-miss weekend of comedy and culture.”
This year’s event is set to be bigger and better than ever as it takes center stage at the 5,000-capacity theatre at Resorts World Las Vegas. This marks the second collaboration between Hartbeat and Resorts World Theatre this year, following the tremendous success of Hartbeat Weekend – a four-day celebration of comedy and music, headlined by Kevin Hart, J.Cole, Jack Harlow, and Ludacris, which drew over 50,000 fans to Resorts World.
Exclusively programmed and operated by Concerts West / AEG Presents, Resorts World Theatre is a state-of-the-art, multi-level venue designed by the award-winning international design firm, Scéno Plus. The intimate venue, with the furthest seat only 150 feet from the stage, features unparalleled comfort, unobstructed sightlines and an unmatched spatial audio experience through more than 200 L-Acoustics speakers powered by L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound technology.
Lionsgate is teaming up with Ebony Media Group to launch a new free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channel focused on the African-American point of view.
The offering, which will feature award-winning films and popular series that celebrate Black culture, will officially launch on Oct. 11 via Samsung TV Plus (channel 1054), followed by additional platforms including The Roku Channel, Tubi, and Amazon Freevee by the end of the month.
EBONY TV by Lionsgate’s programming will include the Golden Globe-nominated drama “The Great Debaters,” starring Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker; the Dwayne Johnson starrer “Snitch;” “Dear White People,” starring Tessa Thompson;” “If Beale Street Could Talk,” starring KiKi Layne; Tyler Perry’s “I Can Do Bad All by Myself,” starring Taraji P. Henson; and Quentin Tarantino’s “Jackie Brown,” starring Pam Grier. The channel will also feature shows such as “Are We There Yet?” and “Kevin Hart: What the Fit.”
“EBONY has long been an outlet our culture could count on for news and entertainment,” EBONY CEO Eden Bridgeman Sklenar said in a statement. “Our new partnership with Lionsgate and the launch of EBONY TV is an extension of our brand that will provide our audience with Black-focused programming that furthers our mission to Move Black Forward.”
In its State of Play report in August, Nielsen estimated a total of more than 1,400 individual FAST channels, with over 1,050 of them available in the United States.
Despite representing 14% of the U.S. population, channels targeting Black audiences make up just 2% of the available FAST channels in the U.S., according to Lionsgate and EBONY Media Group.
In addition to EBONY TV, Lionsgate’s FAST channel lineup includes MovieSphere, HerSphere, OuterSphere and single IP channels such as Nashville and Ghost Hunters.
“With the exceptional growth of MovieSphere by Lionsgate over the past year, we are excited to collaborate with EBONY to launch our first FAST channel providing premium Lionsgate content tailored to Black audiences,” Lionsgate’s Head of Domestic Channels and executive vice president and managing director of Canada Susan Hummel said in a statement. “EBONY is the perfect partner to help bring our expansive library to a demographic that has been previously underserved in the FAST space.”
Source: The Wrap
Amazon is offering a first look at Candy Cane Lane, its holiday comedy starring Eddie Murphy and Tracee Ellis Ross, which is set to begin streaming globally on December 1st. Check out a series of stills from the pic, along with a new teaser poster below.
Directed by Reginald Hudlin, the film is the first to emerge from Murphy’s three-picture and first-look film deal with Amazon Studios, which was signed on the heels of Coming 2 America‘s success, after coming over to the platform from Paramount during the pandemic. Based on the childhood holiday experiences of Kelly Younger, who penned the script, the film is about man on a mission to win his neighborhood’s annual Christmas home decoration contest. After Chris (Murphy) inadvertently makes a deal with a mischievous elf named Pepper (Jillian Bell) to better his chances of winning, she casts a magic spell that brings the 12 Days of Christmas to life, and wreaks havoc on the whole town. At the risk of ruining the holidays for his family, Chris, his wife Carol (Ross), and their three children must race against the clock to break Pepper’s spell, battle deviously magical characters, and save Christmas for everyone.
Also starring in the pic are Jillian Bell, Thaddeus J. Mixson, Ken Marino, Nick Offerman, Robin Thede, Chris Redd, Genneya Walton, Madison Thomas, Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, Lombardo Boyar, D.C. Young Fly, Danielle Pinnock, Timothy Simons, Riki Lindhome, and Stephen Tobolowsky.
Murphy and Charisse Hewitt-Webster produced for Eddie Murphy Productions, along with Brian Grazer and Karen Lunder for Imagine Entertainment. Doug Merrifield served as executive producer on the pic, which marked a long overdue reunion for Hudlin, Murphy and Grazer following their work on 1992’s Boomerang.
