Hulu has picked up “Prom Dates,” a coming-of-age comedy film produced by Kevin Hart‘s Hartbeat as well as American High.
“Prom Dates” follows best friends Jess and Hannah, who made a pact at 13 to have the perfect senior prom. Despite the impending changes that college will bring over the next four years, the two are committed to honoring their prom pact. But with only 24 hours left before the big event, everything falls apart when they break up with each of their dates. Jess and Hannah are left with one night to find new dates and live out their middle-school fantasies.
The movie, which has already been shot, was directed by Kim O. Nguyen (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Never Have I Ever”), repped by 3 Arts, from a script written by D.J. Mausner (“Baroness Von Sketch Show”). Producers include Jeremy Garelick, Will Phelps, and Molle DeBartolo for American High; Kevin Hart, Bryan Smiley, and Luke Kelly-Clyne for Hartbeat; and Mickey Liddell and Pete Shilaimon for LD Entertainment. Executive producing the film are Kevin Healey and Thai Randolph for Hartbeat and Michael Glassman for LD Entertainment as well as D.J. Mausner and Andrew Reyes. Jason Zaro will serve as co-producer for Hulu while Axelle Azoulay serves as associate producer.
The news comes after the recent renewal of Hulu’s first look deal with American High, which has previously placed “Miguel Wants to Fight,” “Big Time Adolescence,” “I Love My Dad” and more titles at the streamer. “Prom Dates” will be the eighth film to come out of the deal.
Source: Variety
The Brittons and the Johnsons are back and the feuds are bigger than ever as they realize that the confusion amongst themselves is just the tip of the iceberg.
The Brittons and the Johnsons are back and the feuds are bigger than ever as they realize that the confusion amongst themselves is just the tip of the iceberg. A new threat looms over the Black Hamptons that could destroy everything they have built.
DeWanda Wise is toplining Lionsgate and Blumhouse‘s original horror movie Imaginary which is set for theatrical release on March 8, 2024.
The Jurassic World Dominion star will also executive produce the Jeff Wadlow-directed and co-written pic which begs the question: Are they really figments of childhood imagination or is something more terrifying lying just beneath?
In the movie, Jessica (Wise) moves back into her childhood home with her family. Her youngest stepdaughter Alice develops an eerie attachment to a stuffed bear named Chauncey she finds in the basement. Alice starts playing games with Chauncey that begin playful and become increasingly sinister. As Alice’s behavior becomes more and more concerning, Jessica intervenes only to realize Chauncey is much more than the stuffed toy bear she believed him to be.
Wadlow co-wrote with Greg Erb and Jason Oremland. Wadlow produces with Jason Blum. EPs are Wise and Ryan Turek.
Last week the studio debuted its innovative “imaginary” trailer, designed to be experienced exclusively in theaters with eyes closed. Audiences for Five Nights at Freddy’s were the first to jump out of their seats while watching it.
Wadlow says, “DeWanda has been more than a star in this movie – she has been a full creative partner. So much of horror grows out of our most basic fears from childhood, and DeWanda taps into all of that. You know that old saying that the audience’s imagination is scarier than any movie? We’re going to put that to the test.”
Wise is starring in the Starz series adaptation of Lisa Taddeo’s Three Women, opposite Shailene Woodley and Betty Gilpin as well as the feature Poolman, the directorial debut of Chris Pine, which made its world premiere at TIFF. It was also recently announced that she will star in the supernatural thriller Killing Faith. Wise also starred in the Netflix Western movie The Harder They Fall directed by Jeymes Samuel.
She is represented by CAA, M88, and Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein Lezcano Bobb & Dang.
Source: Deadline
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the trailer of Eddie Murphy’s upcoming festive offering Candy Cane Lane. The veteran comedian has joined hands with Trace Ellis Ross as they play couple Chris and Carol Carver in the Amazon Prime holiday adventure film. Eddie Murphy’s Chris, who is hell-bent on winning the annual Christmas decor contest in his neighborhood, unknowingly makes a deal with a mischievous elf Pepper, played by Jillian Bell. To make him win, the elf casts a magic spell that brings havoc into the life of Carver and the whole town just 12 days before Christmas.
Chris and his family of three children quickly pace against time to undo the magic spell to make Christmas happy for everyone. While the fantasy twist brings volume to the film plot, the magical events are aptly captured in the first glimpse of Candy Cane Lane. The trailer begins with Eddie Murphy addressing his family with childlike excitement about the decor contest. What quickly follows suit is the appearance of several figurines adding a zest of unrealistic to the festive tale. A channel covers the news of “High stakes as neighbors compete for the best-decorated house on the block.” Then enters the devilish elf Pepper who asks Eddie Murphy’s Chris about his Christmas wish. “I just want to win this thing,” he says before buying a massive decor and signing a deal with her.
“Merry Christmas,” says the elf suspiciously and things begin to go south the next morning. The havoc begins with a devilish phone call, followed by his wife getting attacked by a fleet of birds. If that wasn’t enough, the Carvers then have to deal with talking figurines while also estimating what’s real and what isn’t. It is the figurines that highlight the elf’s “sick trap” to Eddie. When the comedian denies he didn’t sign up for the chaos, a figurine intervenes reminding him of the contract, “Yo gotta read the fine print, man. The terms of service are brutal.”
From pigeon and hen attacks to Kung-fu style combat, the Christmas chaos continues to persist that’s when the Carver family bands together to march against Pepper’s plan. “We are the Carvers. We gotta catch an elf. You messed with the wrong family,” the characters pack on the retaliation. What also steals the limelight are the hilarious punchlines of Eddie Murphy.
Watch the Candy Cane Lane trailer below:
Directed by Reginald Hudlin, the Amazon Prime film also features Robin Thede, Nick Offerman, and Chris Redd.
The Christmas comedy flick will begin streaming on December 1.
The Longest Yard is getting another set of downs.
Deadline hears that another remake of the film, which originally starred Burt Reynolds in 1974 and was remade starring Adam Sandler in 2005, is in the works at Paramount Pictures. Rodney Barnes, who was an exec producer and writer on HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, is writing.
It comes from Gunpowder & Sky, whose CEO Van Toffler was an exec producer on the 2005 version when he worked at then-MTV owner Viacom. Toffler is producing with former MTV Films boss David Gale, who reunited with Toffler at Gunpowder & Sky and who also exec produced the Sandler version.
The Longest Yard is a prison sports comedy film.
The 1974 original was based on a story by Al Ruddy, directed by Robert Aldrich and written by Tracy Keenan Wynn. It starred Reynolds as Paul “Wrecking” Crewe, a former star quarterback who is sentenced to 18 months in Citrus State Prison, where he puts together the Mean Machine team to play the guards’ team.
It was remade in 2005 by director Peter Segal and written Sheldon Turner. It starred Sandler as the washed-up quarterback, who puts together a team in prison in exchange for a reduced sentence. Chris Rock, James Cromwell, Nelly, and William Fichtner also starred, as did Reynolds.
Both versions were released by Paramount.
In addition to Winning Time, Barnes has written and produced series such as The Boondocks, Everybody Hates Chris, Marvel’s Runaways, American Gods, and Wu-Tang: An American Saga.
Barnes has a number of projects in different stages of development, including writing an adaptation of Chris Leslie-Hynan’s novel Ride Around Shining, which is in development with Jonah Hill’s Strong Baby for Netflix with LaKeith Stanfield attached to star; writing a miniseries based on the life of golf star Tiger Woods; and writing a feature for New Regency with Jordan Vogt-Roberts attached to direct.
Gunpowder & Sky is behind films including Elisabeth Moss’ Her Smell, Nick Offerman-starring Heart Beats Loud and Showtime’s Courtney B. Vance-led Heist 88 as well as music documentaries including Sheryl and Everybody’s Everything. Last year, it struck a multi-picture deal with MTV Entertainment Studios following its Comedy Central’s Hot Mess Holiday movie, starring Kal Penn.
Source: Deadline
Jason Momoa will host the Nov. 18 episode of “Saturday Night Live,” with Tate McRae announced as the musical guest.
Momoa, hosting for his second time, and McRae, making her “SNL” debut, will follow the Nov. 11 pairing of Gen Z darlings Timothée Chalamet and Boygenius. Chalamet had hosted once before in 2020, when he waxed poetic about his hometown of New York City and rapped alongside Pete Davidson.
Prior to Chalamet and Boygenius, Nate Bargatze hosted the third episode of Season 49 with musical guest Foo Fighters. Bargatze’s episode followed the news of Matthew Perry’s death, and “SNL” honored the late actor with a moment of silence.
One of Bargatze’s sketches included a retelling of the founding fathers making plans for the future of the United States, mocking the country’s seemingly nonsensical ideas like the rejection of the metric system and the use of hands in football. “And the slaves, sir, what of them?” Kenan Thompson asks him.
The newest season of the long-running series began with “SNL” alum Pete Davidson returning to 30 Rock with Ice Spice as musical guest; in a self-mocking parody of “I’m Just Ken” from “Barbie,” Davidson made himself the butt of the joke with “I’m Just Pete.” To the surprise of audience members and even those working on “SNL,” Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce made a guest appearance during the premiere.
Following suit, Pedro Pascal made a surprise appearance in the second episode, joining host and performer Bad Bunny during his monologue and acting alongside him in a sketch in which they played a mother and aunt, respectively. Lady Gaga and Mick Jagger also had cameos in Bad Bunny’s episode.
Source: Variety
Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays a government agent who forces a group of highly skilled thieves to steal $500 million in gold from a plane mid-flight in the trailer for the upcoming Netflix movie, Lift.
Set to premiere on Jan. 12, the action-comedy was directed and produced by F. Gary Gray whose credits include The Italian Job and The Fate of the Furious.
“If we don’t do this, we go to jail,” lead thief Kevin Hart tells his crew in a 2 1/2-minute trailer released Sunday.
“Plus, it’s about saving lives,” Mbatha-Raw adds, referring to how they will be keeping the money out of the hands of international terrorists.
The comment prompts the criminals to grouse about being the victims of emotional blackmail.
The cast also includes Vincent D’Onofrio, Úrsula Corberó, Billy Magnussen, Jacob Batalon, Jean Reno, Sam Worthington, Viveik Kalra, Yun Jee Kim, Burn Gorman and Paul Anderson.
Actor and Comedian, Brandon T. Jackson announced today he will be returning to his stand-up comedy roots, launching a national comedy tour “Still Detroit,” that will also be filmed as a comedy special. The stand-up comedy tour kicks off on November 30, 2023, at the Comedy Loft DC in Washington DC followed by Springfield, MI, with more cities to be announced shortly.
“Still Detroit” captures the essence of Detroit as the roots of Brandon’s journey from Michigan to Hollywood, where he was discovered as a teenager at The Laugh Factory, and went on to star in Tropic Thunder, the Percy Jackson films, Big Momma’s and Roll Bounce. The tour will feature special sets and appearances of well-known and local comedians & comic influencers. Brandon will also partner with local and BIPOC businesses during the tour to provide support and awareness through in-store ticket giveaways.
“I feel like it’s the right time for me to return to stand-up, it’s where I was first discovered as a teen and helped launch my film career. There’s a lot of pain in the world right now, and I want to help bring people together to find joy and laugh.” – Brandon T. Jackson
D.J. Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince are set to reunite at A Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop, which will tape on Nov. 8 at YouTube Theater in Inglewood, Calif. It will mark one of Will Smith’s first major public events since his infamous slap of Chris Rock at the 94th annual Academy Awards in March 2022.
D.J. Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince made Grammy hip-hop history twice. The awards show didn’t have a dedicated category for rap or hip-hop until the 1988 awards, which were presented Feb. 22, 1989. The duo’s genial pop hit “Parents Just Don’t Understand” was the first hip-hop recording to win a Grammy (best rap performance). But they weren’t invited to perform on the show that year.
A year later, on Feb. 21, 1990, the duo became the first hip-hop act to perform on the Grammys. “We’d like to dedicate this performance to all the rappers last year that stood with us and helped us to earn the right to be on this stage tonight,” Smith said at the time before he and D.J. Jazzy Jeff launched into “I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson.”
The tribute special will air Dec. 10 from 8:30 – 10:30 p.m. ET/PT, on CBS and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.
A Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop is produced by Jesse Collins Entertainment. Collins, Shawn Gee, Dionne Harmon, Claudine Joseph, LL COOL J, Fatima Robinson, Jeannae Rouzan-Clay, and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson for Two One Five Entertainment will serve as executive producers and Marcelo Gama as director of the special.
An extended “50 Years of 50-Hop” segment was one of the highlights of the 65th annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 5. That kicked off a year of hip-hop celebrations that has underscored the importance and dominance of the genre.
The segment drew universal praise. Billboard’s Joe Lynch pegged it as the best performance on the 2023 Grammys telecast. “While it’s an impossible task to sum up 50 years of any genre (much less one that fought for decades to get a modicum of mainstream respect and eventually became the dominant genre in American music), this electrifying medley brought to vivid life the charged personalities, thumping grooves, deft deliveries and unpredictable flourishes that make hip-hop a global force.”
Questlove curated the 15-minute spot on the Grammy telecast, which featured three dozen rap acts. Collins, Robinson and Gee (Questlove’s manager and president of LNU) were also among the producers of that segment.
While many will assume that the success of the spot on the Grammy telecast led CBS to hurry a special into production, the special was in the works before anyone knew there would be a segment on the telecast, according to a source.
Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, hinted at the upcoming special in a statement announcing the telecast segment. “For five decades, Hip Hop has not only been a defining force in music, but a major influence on our culture,” he said. “Its contributions to art, fashion, sport, politics, and society cannot be overstated. I’m so proud that we are honoring it in such a spectacular way on the Grammy stage. It is just the beginning of our year-long celebration of this essential genre of music.”
The show was originally set to tape on Aug. 11, which was the 50th anniversary (to the day!) of a back-to-school party in The Bronx that many point to as the beginning of hip-hop culture. CBS, which has broadcast the Grammy telecast since 1973, aired another Grammy-branded special – A Grammy Salute to The Beach Boys – on April 9. That special was taped on Feb. 8 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
Doors open for the Nov. 8 taping at 6 p.m. PT. The concert is set to begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are available to the public now at Ticketmaster.com. The YouTube Theater is located at 1011 Stadium Dr., Inglewood, CA 90305.
Source: Billboard
Oct. 31 (UPI) — This year’s Byron Allen Presents The Grio Awards special will air on CBS in November.
CBS and theGrio said in a press release Tuesday that the second annual awards show will air Nov. 25 at 8 p.m. EST on CBS and also stream on Paramount+.
Byron Allen Presents The Grio Awards celebrates excellence in film, music, comedy, television, sports, philanthropy, business, fashion, social justice, and more. The special pays tribute to “the history makers, change agents, and artists who define and influence our world.”
The Talk co-host Sheryl Underwood and comedian Roy Wood co-host the event, which recently took place at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.
Honorees include singer Mariah Carey (The Music Icon Award), actor Don Cheadle (The Environmental Champion Icon Award), and ballerina Misty Copeland (The Trailblazer Icon Award).
Dr. Kizzmekia S. Corbett-Helaire, Tamron Hall, Kevin Hart, Steve Harvey, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Eddie Murphy, Reverend Al Sharpton and Denzel Washington will also receive awards.
Performers include Boyz II Men, Jennifer Hudson, Coco Jones, Patti LaBelle, and Smokey Robinson.
“I created the Grio Awards to celebrate and amplify African American excellence and the incredible champions from other communities who truly support us,” Byron Allen said in a statement. “Celebrating and amplifying iconic individuals is something we can never do enough of, especially for our children.”
Allen is known for founding the Allen Media Group.