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.
This upcoming comedy has a plot that is as ingenious as it is entertaining. Leslie Small’s ‘Giving Thanks’ will narrate the events that occur in the lives of two friends who embark on a quirky path to make a fortune. Best friends, Marcus and Roddy, dream about living on their own in fame and fortune, except, they work in a dead-end job. In their quest to fulfill their dream, the duo come up with a bizarre plan to kidnap the pet iguana of a popular football star, Achilles Cooper for ransom, while also forcing the famous player to attend the birthday party of Marcus’s father. Now, what is left to see is if their plan will indeed work.
Leslie Small is a talented filmmaker who has directed a number of comedic entertainers such as, ‘Kevin Hart: Irresponsible’ and the ‘All Star Comedy Jam’. Joining Leslie Small in the crew are producers Stephanie Weier (CEO and founder of Brandwood Global), Hunter De Vere (President of Brandwood Studios) and Charlton Jacques (Founder of Foresight Entertainment). ‘Giving Thanks’ will be taken up under Brandwood Studios, an emerging production company who will be producing this upcoming feature film alongside Foresight Entertainment, another emerging production company. The crew will be joined by Charles Maye and Michael NJ Wright, both talented artists who will be writing the screenplay for ‘Giving Thanks’.
‘Giving Thanks’ is reportedly still under production with its filming commencing this fall in Atlanta. Yet, as always, we do have a snippet on the actors who will potentially join the cast for the feature film. Actors, Terrence Howard, J.B. Smoove and Rebecca De Mornay are reportedly in talks for the indie comedy. Terrence Howard is a popular yet controversial actor who is known for his portrayal of James Rhodes in Marvel’s ‘Iron Man’, DJay in ‘Hustle and Folw’, Bama in ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’, and many more. J.B. Smoove is a renowned comedian/ actor and writer whose works include, ‘Pootie Tang’, ‘Blockbuster’ and ”Til Death’. Rebecca De Mornay is another established actress who is primarily known for her roles in films, ‘Risky Business’, ‘Never Talk to Strangers’, ‘Guilty as Sin’ and ‘A Table For One’.
In ‘Giving Thanks’, J.B Smoove will most likely play the role of Marcus’s arch-nemesis Dexter, an ambitious hustler who manages the retail box store where Marcus works while Rebecca De Mornay will portray Aunt Theodora, an eccentric cabaret/performance artist who tries her best to look out for Roddy, but knows a good opportunity when she sees it. Together, the trio is predicted to deliver a stellar performance. So for all the indie comedy fans out there, this movie is for you!
The Creator is…engaging at best. It’s like if ChatGPT wrote a script using its own interests and futuristic ideas and then recruited John David Washington to give a dramatic performance to bring it to life.
We are living in a world where AI is being thrown at us everywhere to be used anywhere. The question of where will AI take us into the future is one that pops up over and over in social media, news, tech releases, education, the food industry, and literally everything. So, maybe AI created The Creator hoping we would understand??
Here’s a quick synopsis of the movie:
The film starts off with a quick introductory reel showing how artificial intelligence has been incorporated into society. In the future, there are now AI track stars, kitchen staff, police bots, and even human-like versions (sims) made by humans via “donating their likeness” to AI.
Following the reel, the movie then opens to year 2065 and Sergeant Joshua Taylor and his pregnant wife Maya (Gemma Chan) are shown very much in love in their small beachside home in New Asia. Also in 2065, there’s an ongoing war between the US and New Asia. The US and the western world are now anti-AI after a nuclear bomb strike was carried out on Los Angeles 10 years prior. In New Asia, AI is still an essential part of their lives and heavily favored and valued by people there. A special operation by the US Army has been pursuing New Asia’s Nirmata, the unknown creator of the most advanced AI in the world, during this war. Nirmata’s AI is thought to be behind the nuclear attack. While Taylor and Maya are cuddling and expressing their love inside their home, the US Army launches a surprise attack from their airship NOMAD and their home is raided, Taylor is separated from Maya and his unborn child and witnesses his pregnant wife killed by a bomb.
Five years later, and we see a hardened Taylor still grieving the loss of Maya and his unborn child when he’s visited by army personnel with new knowledge of Nirmata’s whereabouts and the creation of an all-powerful AI weapon. They ask Taylor to reenter the field and join them on this operation to find Nirmata and destroy the weapon to finally win the war. He only agrees after they provide evidence showing that Maya survived the attack.
Of course, the mission doesn’t carry out as planned and most of the soldiers on the mission are killed immediately after entering Nirmata’s alleged headquarters where the weapon is housed. Taylor makes it through the base to the weapon’s location and discovers a child-like sim. He takes the child-sim from base and goes on the run to try to find Maya. He gives the child-sim the name Alphie (played by Madeleine Yuna Voyles) and Alphie wins him over. Through the rest of the movie, Taylor learns that Maya was actually Nirmata and Alphie is the most advanced sim ever created and Maya created Alphie while they were together unknown to Taylor using parts of the embryo of their unborn child and Maya suffered a miscarriage and was left brain dead in a coma from the nighttime raid. AI did not have the capability to pull the plug to let her die. Taylor also learns that the attack was actually initiated by human override and turns against the US Army and sets out to destroy NOMAD with Alphie after bonding with AI sims and bots. It ends with Taylor leading Alphie to destroy NOMAD with her capabilities which ends the war and “AI and humans can live together in peace.”
Yes, the depiction of bombings and missile strikes by the US Army with total disregard to human life was emotional. And the idea that the bombing that prompted the war on “New Asia” was caused by humans to start a war which of course has happened before is very triggering. It is very reminiscent of the events of the Vietnam War. But besides being deeply bothered by those things, empathizing with Taylor’s grief over the loss of his family, scenes that depict the horrors of war without regard to human life in general, it wasn’t really all that believable. I didn’t get the emotional attachment to the sims and robots that I think The Creator was intending to sell. For example, in the movie we learn when Alphie is offered ice cream by the sim girlfriend of one of Taylor’s ex-army buddies, that the AI robots and sims eat and drink very real food. This is one of the major things that jumped out at me as destroying any ability to truly connect with intention to feel sympathy or empathy that maybe the film wanted the viewer to. It also didn’t piece together logically because the sims didn’t bleed when shot so how would they be able to digest food? And even if the AI machines of The Creator are somehow magically coded to eat and drink, there’s already competition of resources between humans and other living, breathing, very real species. So, it’s very hard to believe that anywhere in the world humans would want to live along in harmony with machines who can eat food and drink water, that would be a complete waste and make the whole coexistence of AI & human thing mute? These AI sims were charging themselves up at night yet somehow able to fully run an orphanage and monastery on their own? Hmmm…
I do think artificial intelligence is growing more intelligent in this era and I do believe that we may very well see AI taking over a larger role in society like in the food industry or public safety and health and again who knows what more the future will bring? The Creator definitely showed a preview of some of the advanced technology we can expect in the future through the design of the NOMAD airship, digital photo screens as thin as paper, and the futuristic city styles but the events in iRobot seem way more likely to occur than the events in this movie. The AI story of The Creator gave artificial but not intelligent.
Directed by Gareth Edwards, The Creator released in theaters September 29th, 2023.
By McKenna Fuller
Deion Sanders is potentially going primetime, again.
The NFL legend, who has bolstered interest in college football and turned around the fortunes of the Colorado Buffaloes, is getting his own Entourage-style comedy.
Sanders, otherwise known as Coach Prime, is working with Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat and SMAC Productions, which is run by former NFL star Michael Strahan and Constance Schwartz-Morini, to develop a half-hour comedy about his life.
It will follow a Pro Football Hall of Famer-turned-rookie head coach as he juggles his celebrity status and soaring personal brand, while aiming to secure his legacy with a championship. It’s described as “Entourage meets the gridiron.”
Everybody Hates Chris co-creator Ali LeRoi will write and exec produce, with Sanders, Strahan and Schwartz-Morini also exec producing alongside Hart, Bryan Smiley and Mike Stein.
Schwartz-Morini, CEO and co-founder of SMAC, which also produces Amazon’s Coach Prime, told Deadline, “This project is another prime example of how SMAC Productions/Entertainment leverages the extraordinary lives and passions of our clients and along with Coach Prime, we couldn’t have better partners in Hartbeat and Ali LeRoi.”
Sanders took over the Buffaloes who won first three games of the 2023 season in epic fashion, a feat particularly given that the team went 1-11 the previous season. They have lost their most recent two games to Oregon and USC, respectively.
According to a Time report, which broke the news of the development, Sanders’ arrival and subsequent turnaround in team form has seen the school’s online team-store merchandise sales up 892% year-to-date over 2022. Its nationally televised game against Oregon two weeks ago drew 10 million viewers, making it one of the year’s most-watched college games.
Sanders is also the star of the docuseries Coach Prime which premiered on Amazon’s Prime Video in December and has been renewed for a second season.
During his time in the NFL, where he was considered one of the best cornerbacks of all time, Sanders played for the Atlanta Falcons, the San Francisco 49ers, the Dallas Cowboys, Washington and the Baltimore Ravens. He also played nine seasons in MLB with the New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves among others.
Source: Deadline