Earlier today Oscar Producer Brett Ratner officially stepped down stepped down as Oscar producer, after several dumb public statements that he originally made while on the Howard Stern radio show promoting Tower Heist. What makes this such a compelling story is that Ratner, when hired, convinced the Academy that he wanted to stir things up and bring in a comedian to host the Oscars, and he did; he landed comedic actor Eddie Murphy. Since filming Tower Heights, Ratner and Murphy built a bond that was stated to be strong as they committed to doing several other projects together including films like Soul, Soul, Soul and other unnamed films.
Now, since the announcement Hollywood is buzzing on whether Murphy will be cut from the Oscar telecast or if he will quit because of his strong relationship with Ratner. As of this writing, our sources say that Murphy was not pleased with the announcement from Ratner, but he was still looking forward to hosting. We can also confirm that because Murphy was in sync with Ratner, that there may be some new wrinkles in this story. Our sources stated that they would not be surprised if Murphy bowed out if the Oscars started to develop into something that he was not comfortable with. As of this writing, he is still on board- officially.
Anyway, here is the story about Ratner that was released by Deadline earlier;
UPDATE: The Academy is not commenting beyond the statement it issued about Brett Ratner’s resignation, but I’m told that a search will begin quickly for another producer to join Don Mischer in putting together the Oscarcast. The expectation is at the moment is that Eddie Murphy will hang in as Oscar host. It is also clear that while AMPAS president Tom Sherak pledged to back Ratner as long as he didn’t screw up again, a chorus of Academy members, actors and filmmakers, were so upset by Ratner’s homophobic comment and his lewd comments on the Howard Stern radio show that the Academy was under extreme pressure to drop him.
EARLIER: Brett Ratner has stepped down as Oscar producer, after a slew of dumb public statements that put the Academy in a terrible situation. This comes hours after Academy president Tom Sherak said he was standing behind Ratner despite his using the word “fag” in a Q&A to promote Tower Heist, and speaking graphically about his sex life on the cable TV show Attack of the Show and also in a phone interview with the Howard Stern show. From what I’m told, the Academy board met and backed Sherak’s decision to stand behind Ratner, but the filmmakers finally threw in the towel. I doubt anybody tried to talk him out of it. Now, the biggest question is: Will Eddie Murphy stay on as Oscar host? I wouldn’t be surprised that after Tower Heist‘s lackluster box office and all this maelstrom, Murphy might wonder why he ever said yes in the first place, and he has a perfect out. The other question is, who will become the new Oscar producer? The Academy will make its list quickly. I’m told that they were looking closely at New York stage producer Scott Sanders before they made the surprising decision to give the job to Ratner. Maybe they will go back to him or one of the other producers who’ve done the show before, a list that includes Joe Roth and Laurence Mark. Here is the statement:
Word has just been released that rapper Heavy D passed away today at the age of 44. TMZ got the exclusive;
Rap legend Heavy D — one of the most influential rappers of the ’90s — died earlier today … TMZ has learned.
Heavy D — real name Dwight Arrington Myers — was rushed to an L.A. hospital around noon today … and was pronounced dead at the hospital at 1 PM. He was 44 years old.
We’ve learned a 911 call was placed from Heavy’s Beverly Hills home around 11:25 AM to report an unconscious male on the walkway .
When help arrived, we’re told Heavy D was conscious and speaking — and was transported to a nearby hospital.
He died a short time later.
Cops are investigating the death — and so far, there are no obvious signs of foul play. Police are currently at the home.
We just discovered that Steve Harvey is gaining more of a national television audience before his new talk show has even aired! Check out the news story below! (Thanks to Radio Facts for the story!)
NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution has sold “Steve Harvey” in more than 55% of the U.S. for its debut in national broadcast syndication next Fall 2012, it was announced today by Barry Wallach, President, NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution.
The new one-hour talk show hosted by TV personality, comedian, radio show host and best-selling author, Steve Harvey, has been sold in the nation’s top markets to station groups that include NBC Owned Television Stations (as previously announced), Fox Television Stations and CBS Television Stations. In addition, “Steve Harvey” will air on stations from Hearst Television, Cox Communications, Capitol Communications Company, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Local TV, Lin Television and more.
“We are very pleased with the fantastic feedback that we have received over the past few weeks for the upcoming ‘Steve Harvey’ talk show,” said Wallach. “Steve has wide audience appeal and is a proven television ratings winner, and we are thrilled with the tremendous reception within the marketplace.”
In his new daytime talk show, Steve Harvey will bring his fresh, insightful and common sense approach to life’s funny moments that we all experience. Each weekday, Steve will cover a vast range of relatable topics such as marriage, dating, parenting, workplace, friendship and the daily dramas we face throughout our lives.
Steve Harvey is produced by Endemol USA with Harvey and Rushion McDonald serving as executive producers. The show is distributed in broadcast syndication by NBC Universal Domestic TV Distribution.
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A couple of years ago we were following the story about a lawsuit that was filed pertaining to the estate of the late great Richard Pryor right after his death. At that time we heard that the pending lawsuit was between Pryor’s children and his wife and manager Jennifer Lee Pryor. The case took so long that we let the verdict eventually slipped past us.
Regardless of the outcome, it looks like his wife Jennifer Lee won the battle of the estate and the licensing of the material because we were sent an article from our friends at Hollywood Reporter about a new DVD Box produced by Shout! Factory that was to be released with all of the material ever produced of Richard Pryor from films, to television appearances.
Here’s a portion of the article from Hollywood Reporter;
Santa Monica’s Shout! Factory, noted for making classy DVDs of classic TV shows (like the October release Barney Miller: The Complete Series), has partnered with Indigo Inc. to produce and distribute a CD/DVD box set devoted to comedian Richard Pryor‘s entire careeer: comedy records, complete concert films and TV special highlights.
“From his classic routines to fresh, undiscovered material, this box set will provide a rich overview of his comedic vision,” Indigo CEO Jennifer Lee Pryor said.
The set will be released in summer 2012.
In what is sure to be a Hollywood shocker, the box office results are in coming in for the film Tower Heist, a film that was touted as a comeback film for comedian and actor Eddie Murphy even though the film’s top billing went to Ben Stiller.
What is safe to say is that Murphy is starting to get all of the blame if the film doesn’t perform up to expectations, and that really should have most of you shaking your heads because Stiller and the other cast members are the top billed in this film, but if it is ruled as a flop, the critics are already starting to blame Murphy in the reasons on why.
Anyway, as of this writing, it looks like the film DreamWorks Animation/Paramount’s Puss In Boots is about to grab an estimated $33M. It easily beat Universal’s Tower Heist. Deadline is reporting that the film is weak overseas as well: just 3rd in the UK and 5th in Germany, for instance.
Here’s the Top 10:
1. Puss In Boots 3D (DreamWorks Anim/Paramount) Week 2 [3,963 Theaters]
Friday $7.8M, Saturday $15.3M, Weekend $34M (-10%), Cume $76.5M
2. Tower Heist (Universal) NEW [3,367 Theaters]
Friday $8.1M, Saturday $10.5M, Weekend $24.6M
3. Harold And Kumar 3D Christmas (NL/Warner Bros) NEW [2,875 theaters]
Friday $5.5M, Saturday $4.7M, Weekend $13M
4. Paranormal Activity 3 (Paramount) Week 3 [3,286 Theaters]
Friday $2.9M, Saturday $3.7M, Weekend $8.5M, Cume $95.3M
5. In Time (Twentieth Century Fox) Week 2 [3,127 Theaters]
Friday $2.5M, Saturday $3.2M, Weekend $7.8M, Cume $24.3M
6. Footloose (Paramount) Week 4 [2,811 Theaters]
Friday $1.4M, Saturday $2.1M, Weekend $4.8M, Cume $45M
7. Real Steel (DreamWorks/Disney) Week 5 [2,438 Theaters]
Friday $925K, Saturday $1.6M, Weekend $3.5M, Cume $78.8M
8. The Rum Diary (FilmDistrict) Week 2 [2,292 Theaters]
Friday $980K, Saturday $1.1M, Weekend $2.9M, Cume $10.3M
9. Ides Of March (Sony) Week 5 [1,391 Theaters]
Friday $600K, Saturday $925K, Weekend $2M, Cume $36.8M
10. Moneyball (Sony) Week 7 [1,278 Theaters]
Friday $575K, Saturday $875K, Weekend $1.9M, Cume $70.3M
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Last night at a special screening for the documentary film titled Dark Girls, there was a ton of excitement for the film after the screening, but none more than when it got an official invite to be screened in the Pan African Film Festival, and a mention to be included in the Sundance Film Festival when an advisory member from the festival stated that he would “personally recommend” the film for the festival.
If you haven’t heard this film is one of the hottest films in Urban Hollywood, and it is continuing to get a lot of buzz around town. As we previously stated in a post several weeks back, the film was co-Directed by Bill Duke (Duke Media) and D. Channsin Berry (Urban Winter Entertainment). This film examines the colorism of African American women today but ends up creating conversations that have plagued the not only black community for years, but the Asian and Latin communities as well. It speaks to the issues with many because of the hues of our skin, and what it means and feels like to be a certain skin tone. The subject matter addresses the issues of having dark skin or light skin and how that has translated to certain people and their surroundings growing up, as children as well as adults. This film doesn’t just get the message of what many may have struggled with for years, but it also lends itself to a means of healing.
As a documentary, we, the viewer, get a chance to see interviews from several people throughout the film such as psychological view from Cheryl Grills, Ph.D. It should be noted the film also brings in a Hollywood perspective as DG sits down with comedian Michael Coylar and actress Viola Davis (who is sure to get an Academy mention next year for her performance in this year’s top film, The Help).
As this film continues to gain momentum, the producers are preparing to launch a nation tour and campaign to get as many people to support the film as possible. Stay tuned for the tour details soon!
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Today we were told that Eddie Murphy was on Ellen (the day time talk show) and thanks to TMZ who posted this video, he was. But the interesting thing about his appearnace on Ellen today was that Eddie addressed the Saturday Night Live “situation” that occurred almost 25 years ago, and because of the incident, Eddie has turned down the very many offers to come back to the show since.
What incident are we talking about? Well, let’s first take you back to the beginning; If you are not aware, Eddie got his career started on SNL as a young 18 year old comic from New Jersey. When he appeared on the show as a regular, he saved the show. SNL at that time was about to be cut due to poor ratings, and his comedic acts of Gumby, and Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood (just to name a few) saved the show.
Eddie then went on the become a huge movie star because of such films as 48 Hours, Beverly Hills Cop and Trading Places. But when things started to decline in the 90’s due to some lackluster films that starred Eddie, SNL decided to produce a skit with David Spade referring to Eddie Murphy as “a falling star”. Needless to say, that did not go over too well with Eddie, and since that time Eddie has refused to appear on anything related to SNL.
Now, fast forward to today’s interview it seems that Eddie has finally buried the hatchet with Lorne Michaels and the SNL crew. Check out the interview below;
Several months ago, comedian Steve Harvey was on top of the world, and then the bottom fell out, as his ex-wife Mary Harvey seemed to have a lot to say about what she says is the real Steve Harvey. Well, after all of the drama she caused back then Steve went to court and had an injunction put in place and a lawsuit against his ex Mary for her to not talk to any press at all.
Well, guess what? Mary is back at it again and speaking to the press claiming that Steve had her arrested. Check out the complete interview here;
Thanks to our friends at Radiofacts for sending this our way.
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We just got an email from our sources (that was confirmed and dropped exclusively by Deadline) that comedic actress Niecy Nash has just signed on to the new Cedric The Entertainer spin off show from Hot In Cleveland. We hear that Nash will play the female lead in the new show. Here is the article from Deadline;
EXCLUSIVE: Niecy Nash has landed the female lead opposite Cedric the Entertainer in his TV Land pilot, a spinoff from hit comedy Hot In Cleveland. Meanwhile, former Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles star Summer Glau and Daryl Mitchell (Brothers) have joined TNT’s drama pilot Scent Of The Missing.
Written by Hot In Cleveland creator Suzanne Martin, the spinoff follows Cedric’s character Reverend Boyce as he moves to St. Louis and has to balance his wild past with the expectations of his congregation and his family. Reno 911! alumna Nash, repped by WME and Principato-Young, will play his wife. Martin and Cedric wrote the pilot and are executive producing with Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner. Production is slated to begin on Dec. 2.
TNT’s Scent Of The Missing, executive produced by co-writers Carol Mendelsohn, Melissa R. Byer & Treena Hancock and Barry Josephson, centers on Susannah (Tricia Helfer), a tenacious, strong-willed K-9 Search and Rescue volunteer who works with an equally determined partner — her mischievous golden retriever, Puzzle. Glau, repped by UTA and the Schiff Co., will play a new member of the K-9 Search and Rescue team who is beautiful and very wealthy but much tougher than she looks. UTA-rpped Mitchell will play a wheelchair-bound former military sergeant who serves as the communications technician for the team. Production on the pilot, based on the book by Susannah Charleson, is slated to begin in late November.
We discovered from our sources that comedic actor Eddie Murphy, who most recently has launched a new film with Brett Ratner titled Tower Heist and has agreed to host the Oscars with Ratner (as he is one of the Producers of the show), has decided to move forward with other projects with Ratner- with one in particular.
We hear that Murphy and Ratner have been planning on doing several projects together, but this project we are about to mention stands out because Murphy and Ratner tried to pull off several key elements of this nature before. Those elements they were trying to accomplish was to gather several of the most popular African American comedians together for one film. As we all know by now, the original concept for Tower Heist was to include Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Martin Lawrence, Mike Epps, and Katt Williams to join them all in what was supposed to be an Ocean’s Eleven remake, and didn’t happen as planned.
Well, now we hear that the new film in development titled Soul, Soul, Soul (which was developed from an idea of Murphy’s) has the earmarks for that particular scenario to happen. While the film is still in the early development stages, we hear that the early talks are for Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Chris Tucker, Martin Lawrence and Mike Epps to all join Murphy in this film.
Of course, this is contradictory to the new Rolling Stones article that is now on the news stands that states Murphy is writing an alien abduction film that may star these same comics. While we heard the same thing several months ago, that project has been put on hold and this new film seems to be the one where Murphy and Ratner are leaning towards by including this all star cast.
We should also state the while the script is not yet completed, the story is still being flushed out. A script is supposed to be delivered to the studio in two months. Word is the Ratner is excited about the possibility of pulling all of the mentioned comedians together for this film and is very excited about the project.
Check out the interview where Murphy mentions the project briefly on the red carpet for Tower Heist;
More details will follow soon!
