Negromancer News Bits and Bites from January 1st to 8th, 2022 - Update #19

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

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ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

SIDNEY POITIER - From Deadline:  Former President Barack Obama pays tribute to Oscar winner, the late Sidney Poitier, who died Thurs., Jan. 6th, 2022.

From Deadline:  Star tributes continue to pour in for Sidney Poitier.

From Deadline:  This is the site's Sidney Poitier (1927-2022) page.

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TELEVISION - From Deadline:   Partners Damon Wayans, Jr. and Kameron Tarlow are developing a female-driven reboot of the seminal 1950s sitcom, "The Honeymooners," for CBS Studios.

MOVIES - From Deadline:   Actor Chris Evans ("Captain America") is rumored to play legendary Hollywood star, Gene Kelly, in an untitled film.

FILM FESTIVALS - From Variety:  The 2022 Sundance Film Festival has scrapped plans for an in-person event and will be exclusively virtual.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 12/31/2021 to 1/2/2022 weekend box office is Sony/Marvel's "Spider-Man: No Way Home" with an estimated take of 52.7 million dollars.

From Negromancer:  My review of "Spider-Man: No Way Home."

From Deadline:  At 654 million dollars in overseas box office, "Spider-Man: No Way Home" is now the top Hollywood film of 2021 at the international box office.

OBITS:

From Deadline:  Bahamian-American actor, film director, and Black American activist, Sidney Poitier, has died at the age of 94, Thursday, January 6, 2022.  He was the first Black male actor to be nominated for the "Best Actor" Oscar - for "The Defiant Ones" (1958) and the first to win it - for "Lilies of the Field" (1963).  He received the "Honorary Academy Award" in 2001.

From Variety:   Diector, screenwriter, and actor, Peter Bogdanovich, has died at the age of 82, Wednesday, January 6, 2022.  One of the "New Hollywood" directors, Bogdanovich directed such films as "What's Up, Doc?" (1972) and "Paper Moon" (1973), and "Mask" (1985).  His most famous work was "The Last Picture Show" (1971), one of the most acclaimed films of the 1970s.  He earned Oscar nominations for directing the film and writing its screenplay.

From Variety:  Actor, screenwriter, and producer, Max Julien, has died at the age of 88, Saturday, January 1, 2022.  Julien was best remembered for his role as "Goldie" in the seminal blaxploitation film, "The Mack" (1973).  He wrote and produced another seminal exploitation classic, "Cleopatra Jones" (1973).  Julien was also a sculptor and clothes designer.

From APNews:  Former NFL coach and player, Dan Reeves, has died at the age of 77, Saturday, January 1, 2022 from complications of dementia.  Reeves a member of the Super Bowl VI (1972) champion Dallas Cowboys as a running back.  He won another Super Bowl as an assistant coach of the Super Bowl XII (1978) winning Dallas Cowboys.  Reeves was the head coach of the Denver Broncos from 1981 to 1992 and led them to three Super Bowls, all of which they lost.  Reeves was coach of the New York Giants from 1993 to 1996.  He coached the Atlanta Falcons from 1997 to 2003 and led them to Super Bowl XXXIII (1999), which they lost.

From Variety:  American animal advocate and beloved television actress and comedienne, Betty White, has died at the age of 99, Friday, December 31, 2021.  A five-time Emmy winner, White starred on CBS's "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" from 1973 to 1977, NBC's "The Golden Girls" (1985-92), and TV Land's "Hot in Cleveland" (2010-15).

From APNews:  "Betty White, an ageless TV star, was America's sweetheart" by Frazier Moore.

From APNews:  "Actors, comedians and President Joe Biden" react to death of Betty White"

From EOnline:  Robert Redford offers his "crush," Betty White in a heartwarming tribute.

From Deadline:  Don Cheadle shares a touching tribute to Betty White.  White and Cheadle were co-stars on "The Golden Palace" (1992-93), which was a spinoff of NBC's "The Golden Girls."

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AWARDS:

From AwardsWatch:  The nominations for the 22nd Annual Black Reel Awards were announced a few weeks ago. Netflix's Black Western, "The Harder They Fall," has a record 20 nominations.  The winners will be announced February 27, 2022.

From AwardsWatch:  The Columbus Film Critics Association announced the nominations for their annual film awards.  Director Jane Campion's "The Power of the Dog" leads with 12 noms.  The winners will be announced Thurs., Jan. 6th, 2022.

From Deadline:  The Los Angeles Film Critics Association has named the Japanese film, "Drive My Car," the "Best Picture" of 2021.

From Deadline:  The 2022 / 37th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards have announced their nominations. "Zola" leads with six nominations. The winners will be announced Sun., March 6, 2022.

From THR:  The 2022 / 79th Golden Globes Awards nominations have been announced.  "Belfast" and "The Power of the Dog" lead with seven nominations each.  Winners will be announced Jan. 9th, 2022.

From GoldDerby:   The 2022 Critics Choice Awards nominations have been announced. "Belfast" and "West Side Story" leads with 11 nominations each. Winners will be announced Jan. 9th, 2022.

From Deadline:   The American Film Institute announced the "2021 AFI Awards" Top 10 list, and the list includes "Dune," "The Tragedy of Macbeth," and "West Side Story."

From THR:  Director Aleem Khan's "After Love" tops the 2021 British Independent Film Awards, winning six awards, including "Best Film of 2021."

From Variety:   The New York Film Critics Circle has named the Japanese drama, "Drive My Car," as the "Best Film of 2021."

From Deadline:  The National Board of Review hands director Paul Thomas Anderson's "Licorice Pizza" it "Best Film" and "Best Director" awards.  Will Smith picks up the "Best Actor" award for "King Richard."

From THR:  Netflix’s "The Lost Daughter," directed by actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, dominated the 2021 Gotham Awards in New York on Monday night (Nov. 29th).  The film won in four of the five categories in which it was nominated, including "Best Feature."

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"RUST" ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING DEATH:

From Deadline:  This link will take you to Deadline's Halyna Hutchins page, which articles related to everything about her shooting death on the set of the Western film, "Rust."

From Variety:  One of the producers of tragic Western film, Rust, Emily Salveson, pushes tax shelters and hid income.

From THR:  "I let go of the hammer and 'Bang,' the gun goes off" says Alec Baldwin says in his first interview of the moment when a gun he was holding accidentally killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western film, "Rust."

From Deadline:  Alec Baldwin will sit down with ABC's news-reading clown George Stephanopoulos for a one hour special tomorrow night to talk about what happened on the set of the movie "Rust."  It will be Baldwin’s first extensive interview about the shooting.

From Deadline:  Industry veteran, Thall Reed, the father of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the Western, "Rust," may have handed the police a tip on why the film's cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, was shot to death on the set.

From THR:  A search warrant affidavit filed Tuesday for a prop shop sheds light on how alleged live ammunition ended up on the set of the Western film, "Rust," where cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed in October.

From Deadline:  A month after cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, was shot and killed on the New Mexico set the movie Western, "Rust," by a prop gun “discharged” by Alec Baldwin, those closest to the cinematographer held a private ceremony and interred her ashes at an unknown location.

From Deadline:  Actor Daniel Baldwin defends his brother, Alec Baldwin, in the accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film, "Rust."  "Someone loaded that gun improperly," Daniel says.

From Deadline:  The newest lawsuit involving the tragic shooting on the set of the Western film, "Rust," has been filed by the film's script supervisor, Mamie Mitchell, against Alec Baldwin, the producers, the production company, armorer Hanna Gutierrez Reed, and others.

From Deadline:  Serge Svetnoy, the gaffer on "Rust," has filed a lawsuit against several parties related to the film, including the production, the financiers, star Alec Baldwin, armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, and first Assistant Director David Halls.

From THR:   In the wake of the tragic accidental shooting on the set of his film, "Rust," Alec Baldwin on Monday took to social media to urge Hollywood to employ a police officer on every film and TV set that uses guns.

From THR:   The budget for "Rust" - Alec Baldwin was set to earn $150,000 as lead actor and $100,000 as producer, while $7,913 was earmarked for armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and $17,500 was set aside for the rental of weapons and $5,000 for rounds.

From Deadline:  Attorneys for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the set of the film, "Rust," said that they’re looking into whether a live bullet was placed in a box of dummy rounds with the intent of  “sabotaging the set.”

From THR:   Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on the film, "Rust," released a statement through her lawyers.  She says she had “no idea where the live rounds came from” that were recovered by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's during the investigation of the accidental on-set shooting death of Halyna Hutchins.

From Jacobin:  An opinion piece says that cinematographer Halyna Hutchins' death on the set of the film, "Rust," was not a freak accident, but was about Alec Baldwin and his fellow producers' cost-cutting decisions.  Baldwin accidentally fired the gun that killed Hutchins.

From Deadline:   Two of executive producers on "Rust," Allen Cheney and Emily Salveson, disavow responsibility for the film's troubled production.

From THR:   Iconic "Ghostbusters" actor Ernie Hudson is reeling from the news of the death of Halyna Hutchins, like the rest of Hollywood. Hudson also appeared in the film, "The Crow," the film in which its star, Brandon Lee, was killed because of an on-set accidental shooting.  He also agrees with the call to ban real guns from movie sets.

From THR:  The Sheriff of Sante Fe County says that his office has recovered three guns and 500 rounds of ammunition from the set of the movie "Rust" where cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed.

From Deadline:  Regarding criminal charges in the death of Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust," District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altweis, "all options are on the table - no one has been ruled out."

From THR:  Does Hollywood Need Guns? Will new regulations lead to an overreactions to a tragedy.

From Deadline:   "Rust" producers have opened an internal investigation into the fatal shooting on the set of the Western film.  They have hired outside lawyers to conduct interviews with the film's production crew.

From Deadline:  "Rust's" AD (assistant director), Dave Halls, has come under scrutiny in the wake of the on-set shooting death of the film's cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins.

From Deadline:  The affidavit of Sante Fe Sheriff's Department Detective Joel Cano has been made public. It can be read at "Deadline."  The affidavit was for a search warrant from the property were the Western, "Rust," was being filmed.

From THR:  The production company behind "Rust" has shut the film down until the police investigation into the fatal, on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins is through.  The Sante Fe County Sheriff's Office has also revealed a timeline of the shooting.

From Deadline:  The Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department confirmed Thursday night that Alec Baldwin “discharged” a prop gun on the New Mexico set of the movie, "Rust."  As a result, one crew member, director of photography Halyna Hutchins, was killed and director Joel Souza was injured and remains in a local hospital - his condition unknown.

From THR:  "Rust" director, Joel Souza, who was wounded in the accidental on-set shooting, says that he is "gutted" by the death of his cinematographer on the film, Halyna Hutchins.

From Deadline:  The fatal shooting on the set of "Rust" may have been "recorded" according to detective for Santa Fe Sheriff's Department.

From Deadline:  The production company behind the film, "Rust," will launch an internal safety review after the fatal accident that killed Halyna Hutchins; possible prior gun incidents; and a camera crew walkout.

From CNN:   Crew member yelled "cold gun" as he handed Alec Baldwin prop weapon, court document shows.

From Variety:  Actor Alec Baldwin releases statement on the death of Halyna Hutchins: "There are no words to convey my shock and sadness."

From Variety:  The prop gun that killed “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza on during an on-set accident on Thursday contained a “live single round,” according to an email sent by IATSE Local 44 to its membership.