Negromancer News Bits and Bites from November 7th to 13th, 2021 - Update #22

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

DISNEY - From Deadline:  Disney+ has provided a first look at Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy in "Hocus Pocus 2," the sequel to their 1993 Halloween cult classic.  "Hocus Pocus 2" is due Fall 2022.

BREAKING/CELEBRITY - From Variety:   The conservatorship over Grammy Award-winning recording artist, Britney Spears, has been terminated after 13 years, a California court has determined.

TELEVISION - From THR:  "And Just Like That," the sequel to the beloved series, "Sex in the City," has a premiere date (Dec. 9th on HBO Max) and a trailer.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  MGM is developing a "Road House" reboot with actor Jake Gyllenhaal and director Doug Liman circling the project.

CELEBRITY - From THR:  In a big feature interview, sexy actor Henry Cavill talks about "The Witcher," "Mission: Impossible," Superman, and James Bond...

COVID-19 - From THR:  Hollywood projects get stricter about COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

TECH - From Variety:  Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson is selling the VFX division of his company, Weta Digital, to Unity Software, a 3D game development platform.  Eventually, the deal will make Weta's VFX tools and tech will be available to creators all over the world.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo will portray Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, in Universal’s big-screen adaptation of the Tony-winning musical, "Wicked." The film will be directed by Jon M. Chu.

MOVIES - From THR:   Leonardo DiCaprio is in final talks to play infamous cult leader, Jim Jones, in a film for MGM that he will also produce.

OSCARS - From THR:  30 hopeful films enter the race for "Best Picture" at the 2022 / 94th Academy Awards.

From THR:  The Academy Awards promises 10 nominees in the "Best Picture" category at the 94th Oscars.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 11/5 to 11/7/2021 weekend box office is Disney/Marvel Studios' "Eternals" with an estimated take of 71 million dollars.

From Negromancer:   My review of "Eternals."

MOVIES - From Insider:  Director Jason Reitman talks about working on "Ghostbusters: Afterlife," a franchise he's avoided his whole life, and the connection to his father who directed the original films.

MOVIES - From THR:  Regina Hall is teaming with Robert De Niro to make a sequel to De Niro's 1988 film, "Midnight Run."  In the original, De Niro played a bounty hunter tracking  a mob accountant played by the late, great Charles Grodin.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Vin Diesel has asked Dwayne Johnson to return to the "Fast & Furious" franchise for the series' final two films.  Diesel and Johnson have been at odds since the making of "The Fate of the Furious."

TELEVISION - From THR:  Tyler Perry, who does all the writing for his television series, said that his plan is to bring in other writers and directors for his TV shows sometime in the next three to four years.

TELEVISION - From ShadowandAct:  Filmmaker Deon Taylor and rapper "Master P" are developing an scripted television series based on Master P's life.

MOVIES - From THR:  Acclaimed director and Oscar-winning screenwriter, Jane Campion, talks about her new film, "The Power of the Dog" (with Benedict Cumberbatch) and why she won't do a "Marvel movie."

OBITS:

From THR:  American producer, manager, and boxing promoter, Jeff Wald, has died at the age of 77, Friday, November 12, 2021.  Wald had many celebrity clients, including his ex-wife, the late singer-songwriter, Helen Reddy.  Wald was married to Reddy and managed her at the height of her career in the 1970s.  He also managed legendary comedian George Carlin and box office superstar, actor Sylvester Stallone.

From Deadline:  The former child performer and veteran actor, Dean Stockwell, has died at the age of 85, Sunday, November 7, 2021.  Stockwell began his film career as a child actor in 1945, appearing a several films, including "Anchors Aweigh" with Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly.  Stockwell may be best known for the role of "Admiral Al Calavicci" in the former NBC sci-fi drama, "Quantum Leap" (1989-93), for which he received four Primetime Emmy nominations in the category of "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series."  Stockwell also earned a "Best Supporting Actor" nomination for his role in Jonathan Demme's 1988 film, the crime comedy, "Married to the Mob."

------------------

"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 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.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from August 1st to 7th, 2021 - Update #24

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

COMICS TO FILM - From Negromancer:   Here is my review of "The Suicide Squad."

TELEVISION - From YahooAP:   CNN has fired three employees for going to work although they had not received a COVID-19 vaccination.

TELEVISION - From Variety:   Actress Colbie Smolders, who has made numerous appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, will play real-life political commentator, Ann Coulter, in FX's "Impeachment: American Crime Story."  She replaces actress Betty Gilpin, who had to withdraw from the project due to scheduling conflicts.  "Impeachment" focuses on the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky.

ANIMATION - SouthPark:   MTV Entertainment Studios inks new and expansive deal with creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone through 2027. South Park TV series extending to season 30 for Comedy Central linear. 14 South Park original made-for-streaming movies exclusively for Paramount+ starting with two films in 2021

SCANDAL - From YahooWashPost:   In Hawaii, a case of mistaken identity so crazy that you have to read it yourself.  The victim spent over two years in jail and also in a mental institution.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Taylor Sheridan has created a prequel to his hit TV series, "Yellowstone."  Entitled "1883," the series will star Sam Elliot, Tim McGraw, and Faith Hill.

STREAMING - From Deadline:  Apple's "Apple Original Films" is closing in on a big deal to obtain worldwide rights to director Matthew Vaughn's star-studded next film, "Argylle."

MUSIC/SCANDAL - From TheDailyBeast:  This month, specifically Aug. 25th, is the 20th anniversary of the plane crash in the Bahamas that killed singer and actress Aaliyah D. Haughton, simply known as "Aaliyah."  This article talks about a new book, "Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah," that makes the claim that the singer was drugged by one of her entourage and carried onto the plane before it crashed.

From Complex:   There have been hints that Aaliyah's music will be available on all streaming platforms this month (Aug. 2021).  In response, her family issues a statement about unauthorized projects.

COVID - From Stat:  For many people, the belated realization that COVID-19 will be "a long war" sparks anger and denial.

CELEBRITY/COVID-19 - From YahooEntertainment:  Actress Jennifer Aniston says that she has had to cut ties with "a few people" over COVID-19 vaccinations.

MOVIES - From Deadline:   Actor Brendan Fraser, best known for Universal's wonderful "The Mummy" franchise, has landed two huge acting gigs.  He has joined Martin Scorsese's highly-anticipated "Killers of the Flower Moon" and also Max Barbakow's comedy, "Brothers."

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Nicholas Hoult will star in Universal Pictures' "Renfield," which focuses on Count Dracula's henchman.

MEDIA - From Deadline:  Meet "DirecTV Stream," the new entity born as a result of AT&T spinning off DirecTV.

CELEBRITY - From CNN:   Emmy winning television personality and comedian, Kathy Griffin, has announced that she has lung cancer and will have surgery.

STREAMING - From Variety:   Amazon has released an image from and a release date (Sept. 2, 2022) for its series, "The Lord of the Rings."

BUSINESS - From WSJ:  Reese Witherspoon’s media business, Hello Sunshine, is selling itself to a firm backed by private-equity giant Blackstone Group Inc., reportedly for 900 million dollars.

BOX OFFICE - From Variety:   The winner of the 7/30 to 8/1/2021 weekend box office is Disney's "Jungle Cruise" with an estimated take of 34.2 million dollars.

From Deadline:   New Line Cinema's "The Conjuring" franchise, which is currently comprised of seven movies, has crossed the two-million dollar mark in worldwide box office.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Alex Kurtzman, the architect behind CBS Studios' "Star Trek" universe, has signed an overall mega-deal with CBS Studios.  The deal is reportedly worth 150 million dollars, which would put Kurtzman among the top writer-producers in TV.

MUSIC/POLITICS/BLM - From YahooRollingStone:   Willie Nelson returned to the stage Saturday (July 31st) to take part in the Poor People’s Campaign march for voting rights outside the Texas Capitol in Austin.

MOVIES - From TimesUK:   From "The Sunday Times" comes this article:  "Is Matt Damon the Last of Hollywood's Leading Men."  The actor says, “Movies as we know them aren’t going to be a thing in our kids’ lives.” “And that makes me sad.”

MOVIES - From YahooEntertainment:  Veteran movie car coordinator Dennis McCarthy breaks down the back stories behind two of the biggest vehicular stars of "F9" as Yahoo Entertainment presents exclusive 3D augmented-reality renderings of the film’s "Dodge Charger Wide Body" and "Dodge Charger Hellcat" — two of the nine Chargers McCarthy and his 12-person team built for the film — which you can virtually place in your family room.

BLACK FILM - From TheGuardian:   Melvin Van Peebles and Perry Henzell made seminal 70s films – now their kids have recovered their fathers’ would-be classics.

OBITS:

From Deadline:   Songwriter and musician, Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, has died at the age of 70, Saturday, August 7, 2021.  Thomas an alto saxophone player was one of the founding members of the American R&B, soul, funk, disco, jazz, and pop band, "Kool and the Gang," and he had been with the band since its inception in 1964 until his death.

From YahooSports:  Former Major League Baseball pitcher, J.R. Richard, has died at the age of 71, Wednesday, August 4, 2021.  A Houston Astros legend, Richard was one of the most feared pitchers of the 1970s.  Richard had a stroke in July 1980 that effectively ended his career.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from June 20th to 30th, 2021 - Update #33

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

BLM - From VICE:   Robert L. Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET) and America’s first Black billionaire, wants a reparations check. He wants it from the government. And he wants it to come with an apology for slavery, Jim Crow, and hundreds of years of racism.

SCANDAL - From Variety:   "Smallville" actress Allison Mack was sentenced to three years in federal prison for her part in the NXIVM cult on Wednesday morning in federal court in Brooklyn, NY.

MOVIES - From IndieWire: "F9" star Sung Kang finds its validating that acclaimed director, Christopher Nolan, has a "soft spot" for, "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" (2006), the third entry in the "Fast & Furious" saga and the one that introduced his Kang's character, "Han Lue."

MUSIC - From MJVibe:   According to the site, recent streaming sales data has made the late Grammy Award-winning recording artist, Michael Jackson, the solo artist with the highest sales of recording music.

NETFLIX - From Deadline:  Rian Johnson has alerted us. "Knives Out 2" has started production, as filming begins in Greece.

BOX OFFICE - From Deadline:  The winner of the 6/25 to 6/27/2021 weekend box office is "F9" with an estimated total of 70 million dollars.

From Variety:  "F9's" 70 million dollar weekend box office debut is the largest opening since the COVID-19 pandemic started affecting movie theaters in the North America.

From Variety:  The stars of "F9" react to its record-breaking box office success.

CELEBRITY - From Deadline:   On that HBO asshole show, writer-director Quentin Tarantino insists he will retire after he directs a tenth film (his next) and that he thought about doing a reboot of his first film, "Reservoir Dogs."

EMMYS - From Deadline:  If you care, here is the full winners list from the 2021 / 48th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards.

DISNEY - From WeGotThisCovered:   Set photos from Disney's live-action "The Little Mermaid," reveals film's star, Halle Bailey, with reddish hair.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:   "Supernatural" (2005-20) was one of the most important shows in the history of The CW.  Now, one of its stars, Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester), is joining his wife, Danneel Ackles, are working on a prequel series, "The Winchesters."

From Deadline:  Meanwhile, Jensen Ackles's "Supernatural" co-star, Jared Padalecki, is "bummed" about not being involved in the prequel series.

TELEVISION - From YahooEntertainment:  Courtney Cox was hurt that she was the only one of the six stars of the former NBC sitcom, "Friends," who was never nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award during the series' original run.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Paramount Pictures revealed the title and details about its seventh "Transformers" film, "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts."

DISNEY - From Collider:  Scarlett Johansson will star in and produce a film based on Disney's theme park attraction, "Tower of Terror."

DISNEY - From ABCNews:   Actor Harrison Ford, the one and only Indiana Jones, takes a break from filming "Indiana Jones 5" after injuring his shoulder on set.

CELEBRITY - From Deadline:  Tyler Perry and T.D. Jakes got the go-ahead from local authorities Thursday to purchase over 130 acres in Atlanta including a proposed expansion of Tyler Perry Studios for an entertainment district with theaters, retail shops and restaurants.

MOVIES - From YahooEntertainment:   "Fast & Furious" actor, Vin Diesel, talks about his feud with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson."

DISNEY - From Variety:    Rachel Zegler has been cast as Snow White in Disney’s upcoming remake of the classic fairytale. Zegler is making her feature film debut as Maria in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story,” which bows later in 2021, and will also appear in the superhero sequel to “Shazam.”

LGBTQ/SPORTS - From OutSports:   Las Vegas Raiders defensive lineman Carl Nassib became the first active NFL player in history to announce that he is gay.

SCANDAL - From TheDailyEdge:   A list of Republican and Trump-connected child rapists, sex traffickers, pedophile enablers and child porn offenders

OSCARS - From Deadline:    The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Monday announced its newly elected 2021–2022 Board of Governors.

From WeGotThisCovered:   Warner Bros. reportedly wants Dwayne Johnson to joins its "Mortal Kombat" film franchise.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Mike Epps will play legendary comedian and actor Richard Pryor in Adam McKay's HBO drama series about the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers.  Three others actors have been cast, including Carina Conti as Paula Abdul.

NETFLIX - From Deadline:  Steven Spielberg has entered his Amblin Partners into a Netflix that will find the Amblin producing multiple films each year for Netflix.  Spielberg and Amblin will continue to produce films for Universal Pictures.

BOX OFFICE - From Variety:   The winner of the 6/18 to 6/20/2021 weekend box office is "The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard" with an estimated take of 11.6 million dollars.

CULTURE - From YahooEntertainment:  Grammy Award-winning singer Macy Gray wrote an op-ed for "Market Watch, in which she called for the U.S. flag to be replaced: "It is tattered, dated, divisive and incorrect."  She has drawn cheers and rage.

 

From MarketWatch:   Opinion: "For Juneteenth, America needs a new flag that all of us can honor" by Macy Gray.

-----------------------------

MOVIES - From Deadline:   Pacific Theatres Exhibition Corporation, which includes Arclight Cinemas, is really not set to reopen anytime soon. The exhibition company released a statement today that they’re filing Chapter 7 in order to liquidate their assets for creditors.

TRAILERS:

From YouTube:   Netflix has released a trailer for its African-American cast Western film, "The Harder They Fall," from director Jeymes Samuel which arrives in Fall 2021.

From YouTube:  Here is the trailer to Universal/Illumination's "Sing 2," the sequel to 2016's "Sing."  The film is due December 22, 2021.

From YouTube:  Here is the second trailer for Universal's "Candyman" reboot/re-imagining, which is due August 27th.

From YouTube:  Here is the official trailer for "Halloween Kills," which is due October 15th.

Review: THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS is Perfectly 2 Fast 2 Furious

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 42 of 2021 (No. 1780) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Fate of the Furious (2017)
Running time: 136 minutes (2 hours, 16 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for prolonged sequences of violence and destruction, suggestive content, and language
DIRECTOR: F. Gary Gray
WRITER: Chris Morgan (based on the characters created by Gary Scott Thompson)
PRODUCERS: Vin Diesel, Neal H. Moritz, Chris Morgan and Michael Fottrell
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stephen F. Windon (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Christian Wagner and Paul Rubell
COMPOSER: Brian Tyler

ACTION/CRIME/DRAMA

Starring:  Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Charlize Theron, Kurt Russell, Nathalie Emmanuel, Scott Eastwood, Elsa Pataky, Kristopher Hivju, Patrick St. Esprit, Luke Evans, and Helen Mirren

The Fate of the Furious is a 2017 action movie from director F. Gary Gray and was released by Universal Pictures.  It is the eighth installment in The Fast and the Furious movie franchise (now called the “Fast Saga”).  A direct sequel to 2015's Furious 7, The Fate of the Furious introduces a mysterious woman who has the power to turn Dominic Toretto into a terrorist.

As The Fate of the Furious begins, Dominic “Dom” Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Letitia “Letty” Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez) are on their honeymoon in Havana, Cuba.  While there, Dom meets a mysterious woman who turns out to be the elusive cyberterrorist, Cipher (Charlize Theron).  She has obtained something that she uses to coerce Dom into working for her.  Soon afterwards, Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) agent, Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), recruits Dom and his team – his family:  Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), Tej Parker (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges), and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) to retrieve an EMP device from a military outpost in Berlin.  However, Dom betrays them all and steals the device for Cipher, and Hobbs and Dom's family, including Letty, are branded criminals.

Intelligence operative and leader of a covert ops team, Frank Petty (Kurt Russell), a.k.a. “Mr Nobody,” arrives with his protege, Eric Reisner (Scott Eastwood), and he has an offer.  Mr. Nobody wants Hobbs and Dom's family to help him find Dom and capture the highly elusive Cipher.  Mr. Nobody also has a surprise for Hobbs and company.  He has recruited Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), the rogue British Special Forces assassin who was hunting Dom and his family until they defeated him and Hobbs and the DSS imprisoned him.  But will even Shaw be enough?  Cipher can disappear at will and with Dom at her side, she seems unbeatable.  Cipher's threat to the world and Dom's betrayal will test the family as never before.

When The Fate of the Furious was initially released to theaters in April 2017, I was too mired in family troubles to bother going to a movie theater to see it.  And quite frankly, after what I considered to be a barely average installment in Furious 7, I thought I was done with the franchise.  In fact, I didn't even watch The Fate of the Furious when it started playing on basic cable.  Recently, I saw a clip from the soon-to-be-released F9 (2021), and I was shocked to see Dominic Toretto playing with a baby.  A friend informed me of the events in The Fate of the Furious, and because he and I talked about seeing F9, I decided to rent The Fate of the Furious via Netflix.

Well, I will never doubt you again, Fast & Furious / Fast Saga.  I loved The Fate of the Furious.  This film franchise's over-the-top action has become so … over-the-top that it is practically a kind of superhero and car chase movie series.  These movies are fun, but I thought that the series had reached narrative exhaustion with Furious 7.  The Fate of the Furious was the hot-shot injection of jet fuel that the series needed, as far as I'm concerned.  And Vin Diesel may have given his best performance of the series in The Fate of the Furious.  He really seemed like an evil terrorist, but, at the same time, his grit and determination to manage the evil in order to protect his family feels genuine.

I also want to credit Universal Pictures and The Fate of the Furious in using Havana, Cuba as the setting for the film's opening scenes.  It is a love letter to a place that looks beautiful on film.  And The Fate of the Furious is also a crazy, mad, insane, and beautiful action movie.

8 of 10
A

Wednesday, June 23, 2021


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

-------------------

Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from November 8th to 14th, 2020 - Update #25

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

Support Leroy on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

CELEBRITY - From Deadline:  A suspect has been arrested in the Oct. 2nd sucker punch attack on beloved actor, Rick Moranis.

MOVIES - From THR:   Paramounts pictures has removed the Michael B. Jordan starrer, "Without Remorse," off its 2021 release schedule.  It may sell the film to Amazon Studios.  Director Dean DeBlois' film, "Micronauts," based on the Hasbro toys, has also been moved from 2021.

DISNEY - From THR:  Director John M. Chu("Crazy Rich Asians") is in negotiations to direct a live-action version of Disney's 2002 animated hit, "Lilo & Stitch."

KAMALA HARRIS - From BET:   Meet Kamala Harris' husband, stepchildren, parents, and more.

STREAMING - From THR:   The "Friends" reunion special, which will stream on HBO Max, is scheduled to be film in March 2021, according to one of the series' original stars, Matthew Perry.

AWARDS - From Variety:  The nominations for the 2020 / 30th annual "IFP Gotham Awards" have been announced.  The late Chadwick Boseman received a "Best Actor" nomination for his role in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."  The winners will be announced Monday, Jan. 11th, 2021.

CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertainment:   George W. Bush's daughter, Jenna Bush Hager, shares a sweet photos of the time she showed Barack Obama's daughters, Sasha and Malia, around the White House, and it has gone viral.

MOVIES - From THR:  Oprah Winfrey, Brad Pitt, and MGM are uniting for an adaptation of Ta'Nehisi Coates' hit novel, "The Water Dancer."

MOVIES - From THR:  Universal Pictures and Dwayne Johnson are planning to reboot their 2002 film, "The Scorpion King," which when on to spawn a straight-to-DVD movie franchise.

MOVIES - From THR:   Johnny Depp may have been fired from "Fantastic Beasts," but he will get his full salary due to pay-or-play contract.

From THR:  Danish actor Mads Mikkelson is in early talks to replace Johnny Depp in the third installment of the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise.

CELEBRITY - From HuffPost:   Jason Momoa Says He And Lisa Bonet Were ‘Starving’ After He Died On "Game of Thrones."

STREAMING - From Deadline:  Jamie Foxx to star in and produce "The Burial" for Amazon Studios.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:   The network has introduced an edict that 50% of its casts for its unscripted shows must be Black, Indigenous or People of Color (BIPOC) and it has committed that at least 25% of its annual unscripted development budget must go towards creators and producers that are BIPOC.

PRESIDENT - From NBCNews:  Democratic candidate Joe Biden defeats President Trump to win White House

From LATimes:  Kamala Harris makes history many times over as vice president-elect

From YahooNews: Read: President-elect Joe Biden's full victory speech

From YahooNews:  Read Kamala Harris' full speech after historic election win

From CNN:  The Moment When Networks Called The Presidential Race For Joe Biden

From Deadline:   Hollywood reacts to Joe Biden's victor over President Donald.

From YahooEntertainment:   Celebrities react to Joe Biden's victor over President Donald.

From YahooSports:  The NBA's Golden State Warriors celebrate Oakland native and Warriors' fan, Vice-President-Elect Kamala Harris.

From CNN:   Vice-President-Elect Kamala Harris' husband, Douglas Emhoff, will be the first male spouse of a vice-president.  He will also be the first Jewish spouse of a president or vice-president.

----------------------------------------------

BOX OFFICE - From Deadline:   The winner of the 11/6 to 11/8/2020 weekend box office is "Let Him Go" with an estimated take of 4.1 million dollars.

TELEVISION - From YahooEntertainment:  Dave Chappelle addresses Trump, racism and the coronavirus in a powerful "SNL" monologue

MOVIES-SCANDAL - From CTVMontreal:   Dying for movies: Suicide highlights labour issues in Canada's visual effects sector.

OBITS:

From NFL:   American football player, Paul Hornung, has died at the age of 84, Friday, November 13, 2020.  Hornung was a legendary University of Notre Dame football player, where he was the 1956 Heisman Trophy winner.  In the NFL, he played for the Green Bay Packers from 1957 to 1966, where he won four NFL Championships, including being a member of the Packers team that won "The First AFL-NFL World Championship Game" (now known as "Super Bowl I).  Hornung was inducted into the "College Football Hall of Fame" in 1985 and the "Pro Football Hall of Fame" in 1896.

From Deadline:   Canadian-American television game show host, Alex Trebek, has died at the age of 80, Sunday, November 8, 2020 after his years-long battle with pancreatic cancer.  Trebek was best known for his tenure on the 1984 revival of the game show, "Jeopardy!"  Trebek hosted the show from 1984 to 2020 and won seven Daytime Emmy Awards for his work on the show out of the 31 times he was nominated during his career.  In 2011, Trebek received the Daytime Emmy "Lifetime Achievement Award."

COVID-19:

From CDC:   The Centers for Disease Control has a "COVID Data Tracker."

From YahooNews:  Why does COVID-19 kill some people and hardly affects others?

From YahooNews:  Yahoo has a dedicated page of links updating news about COVID-19.

From Deadline:  The news site "Deadline" has a dedicated page for news about coronavirus and the film, TV, and entertainment industries.

From TheNewYorker:  The venerable magazine has a dedicate COVID-19 page free to all readers.

From YahooNews:  Re: the federal government's response to COVID-19: What if the most important election of our lifetime was the last one - 2016?

From YahooLife:  What is "happy hypoxia?"  And do you have this COVID-19 symptom?

From JuanCole:  Remember when President Donald went crazy and suggested that we ingest household cleaning supplies and UV light to fight COVID-19.  Here is the video and commentary from Juan Cole.

From TheIntercept:  The federal government has ramped up security and police-related spending in response to the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic, including issuing contracts for riot gear, disclosures show. The purchase orders include requests for disposable cuffs, gas masks, ballistic helmets, and riot gloves...

From TheAtlantic:  The Coronavirus Was an Emergency Until Trump Found Out Who Was Dying. The pandemic has exposed the bitter terms of our racial contract, which deems certain lives of greater value than others.

From ProPublica:  Hospital's Secret COVID-19 Policy Separated Native American Mothers From Their Newborns

From TheGuardian:  More than 20 million Americans could have contracted COVID-19, experts say.

From RSN/WashPost:  The COVID-19 mutation that has taken over the world.

7/13 - From YahooSports:  Maybe a pandemic means that there will not be college football this fall.

7/13- From YahooNews:  The CDC adds four new symptoms (including nausea and purple or blue lesions on feet and toes) to the list of COVID-19 symptoms.

7/19 - From YahooFinance:  Harvard Public Health professor Dr. Howard Koh says the U.S. "needs to regroup" to find COVID-19.

7/22 - From YahooNews:  A public health employee predicted Florida's coronavirus catastrophe — then she was fired.

7/22 - From YahooLifestyle:  Florida mom loses son, 20, to coronavirus, and then days later, her daughter.

7/23 - From TheWrap:  The site has a list of movie and TV stars, entertainment and sports figures who have tested positive for COVID-19

From Bloomberg:  Will the COVID-19 pandemic turn Millennials into socialists?

7/27 - From CNN:   Chief of critical care at Baltimore's Mercy Medical Center, Dr. Joseph Costa, passes away due to Covid-19 complications... after treating the hospital's sickest COVID-19 patients.  He was 56 and leaves behind family, including a husband of 28 years.

7/31 - From Slate:  COVID-19 is airborne - for reals!

8/9 - From YahooAFP:  According to the real-time tally kept by John Hopkins University, the United States has hit 5 million cases of COVID-19.

8/16 - From Truthout: COVID Deaths Continue to Surge in Countries Led by Far Right Authoritarians

9/19 - From WashPost:  U.S. coronavirus death toll reaches 200,000

9/23 - From CNBC:  Mark Cuban, who owns the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and star of ABC's "Shark Tank," suggests that every household in American get a $1000 check every two weeks for the next two months.

9/28 - From Deadline:  John Hopkins University's coronavirus tracker reports that over 1 million people have died of COVID-19 worldwide.

10/2 - From YahooNews:  President Donald and the First Lady have tested positive for COVID-19.

10/26 -  From YahooFinance:  Walmart CEO detects a new wave a panic buying as consumers stock up for another surge in coronavirus cases.

11/5 - From CNN:  The US set a grim new Covid-19 record Thursday -- following a week marked by high case numbers -- surpassing 120,000 infections in a single day. 

11/7 - From YahooNews:  "It's a slaughter," doctors say of new coronavirus wave.

11/13 - YahooNews:  "We blew it": U.S. reaches 'explosive' COVID-19 spread as virus is nearly impossible to control, experts say

BLACK LIVES MATTER:

From RSN:   Judge's Blistering Opinion Says Courts Have Placed Police Beyond Accountability

From TheGuardian:  Yusef Salaam, one of the "Central Park Five," says in an interview, "Trump would have had me hanging from a tree in Central Park."

From NPR:  Prosecutors' plea deal required drug suspect to name Breonna Taylor a "co-defendant."

From ChicagoSunTimes:  Rev. Jesse Jackson: America has millions of people in poverty because Americans choose not to demand the policies that would lift them out of poverty.

From APNews:  No one will be held accountable for the killing of Louisville African-American resident, Breonna Taylor.

From Channel4:  Revealed: Trump campaign strategy to deter millions of Black Americans from voting in 2016

From GuardianUK:  California is going to consider paying reparations to the descendants of African slaves after adopting a landmark law to study and to develop proposals around the issue.

From TheRoot:   What to Do When Your Country Turns Into a Dumpster Fire

From Vox:  It's True: 1 in 1,000 Black Americans Have Died in the Covid-19 Pandemic

From CBS:  Breonna Taylor's boyfriend certain cops didn't identify themselves

From DonaldTrump:  Well, because it has been in the news a lot lately (via Ice Cube and Li'l Wayne), here is "The Platinum Plan."  It is impressive, but no Republican Congress would go along with even 10 percent of this plan which is basically a long list of promises to the Black Americans - individually and as a group.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from September 20th to 30th, 2020 - Update #39

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

Support Leroy on Patreon:

TELEVISION - From Variety:  NBC has set the cast for Dwayne Johnson's comedy about his younger years, "Young Rock."  Adrian Groulx will play 10-year-old Dwayne.

STREAMING - From Deadline:  Netflix has published the first stills of Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher and newcomer Emma Corrin as Princess Diana in Season 4 of The Crown.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Dozens of organizations are appealing to the Congress of the United States to help save the movie theater business.

MOVIES - From Deadline:   Oscar-winning director, Barry Levinson ("Rain Man"), has a new film, "Francis and the Godfather," about the making of the legendary, Oscar-winning film, "The Godfather."  Oscar Isaac will play the film's director, Franics Ford Coppola, and Jake Gyllenhaal will play the film's producer, Robert Evans.

COVID-19 - From Deadline:   Emmy-winning actor Jim Parsons ("The Big Bang Theory") has revealed that both he and his husband, Todd Spiewak, was diagnosed with COVID-19 back in March.

AMAZON - From Deadline:  Amazon has bought Sacha Baron Cohen's sequel to his 2006 film, "Borat."  It will debut on Amazon in late October 2020.

DISNEY - From Deadline:  Disney will produce a sequel to it hit, live-action version of "The Lion King."  Oscar-winner Barry Jenkins will direct the sequel.

AVATAR - From Deadline:   Director James Cameron says that his "Avatar 2" is 100 percent complete and that "Avatar 3" is 95 percent finished.

CHADWICK BOSEMAN - From Deadline:   Sienna Miller has said that the late actor Chadwick Boseman ("Black Panther") raised her salary on their film, "21 Bridges," by giving up part of his.

NETFLIX - From Deadline:  A Netflix price hike is "probable."

MOVIES - From THR:   Director M. Night Shyamalan reveals the title ("Old") and artwork for his new film.

BOX OFFICE - From Deadline:   The winner of the 9/25 to 9/27/2020 weekend box office is "Tenet" with an estimated take of $3.4 million.

MUSIC - From YahooLife:   Sign O' The Times: how Prince created a masterpiece – and ruined his career

STREAMING - From Deadline:   Apple has apparently bought directors Joe and Anthony Russo's film, "Cherry," starring Tom Holland ("Spider-Man: Homeing") and Ciara Bravo.

POLITICS - From YahooEntertainment:   Dwayne Johnson, a political independent who has voted for both Democratic and Republican candidates, has made his first ever presidential endorsement, choosing the Democratic presidential tickets of Joe Bidden and Kamala Harris.

ANIMATION - From Deadline:   YouTube star Arif Zahir will replace Mike Henry as the voice of "Cleveland Brown" on Fox's long-running animated series, "Family Guy."

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Ice Cube to star in an untitled science fiction film for director Rich Lee with Timur Bekmambetov and Patrick Aiello producing.

MOVIES - From CBR:  Well, bless his heart - is what you're going to say after reading this "analysis" of the great film director, the late Stanley Kubrick.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Disney moves Marvel Studios' "Black Widow" release date to May 2021, a full year after its original release date, the latest in release date changes due to the COVID-19 shutdown of movie theaters.  However, Disney holds Pixar's "Soul" to its original release date (Nov. 20th, 2020) and also decides not to move it to Disney+ for streaming.

STREAMING - From Deadline:  Bradley Cooper has chosen Oscar-nominated actress, Carey Mulligan, to play Leonard Bernstein's wife, Felicia, in his Netflix film about Leonard, "Maestro."

LGBTQ - From MensHealth:   16 bisexual movies you need to see.

FILM FESTIVALS - From blogTO:  The blog lists its 10 best films at this year's "Toronto International Film Festival."

STREAMING - From EW:  "The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance" won recently won an Emmy ("Outstanding Children's Program"), but Netflix has cancelled it after one season.

BOX OFFICE - From Deadline:  The winner of the 9/18 to 9/20/20 weekend box office is "Tenet" with an estimated take of 4.7 million dollars. 

From CNBC:  Movie theater stocks tank after another disappointing box office weekend.

EMMYS - From Deadline:  If you care, this article has a full list of winners at the 2020 / 72nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards.

From EW:  If you care, this article has a full list of winner at the 2020 / 72nd Annual Creative Arts Emmy Awards. 

From YahooEntertainment:  Last night's Emmy winters delivered impassioned pleas for social reform and for voting.

From Billboard:  Records were set at the 2020 Primetime Emmy Awards, including Zendaya, at 24, being the youngest actress to win "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" (for HBO's "Euphoria") and "Schitt's Creek" being the first comedy series to sweep all seven major awards in the comedy category.

From Deadline:  Actor Ron Cephas Jones and his daughter, Jasmine Cephas Jones, become the first father and daughter to win an Emmy the same year.  Ron won for "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series" (This is Us"), and Jasmine won for "Best Actress in a Short From Comedy or Drama" (for Quibi's "#FreeRayshawn").

From YahooEntertainment:  Every year, there is controversy during the Emmy's "In memoriam" segment.

OBITS:  

From ESPN:  Hall of Fame NFL offensive player, Gale Sayers, has died at the age of 77, Wednesday, September 23, 2020.  A halfback, Sayers was known as the "Kansas Comet," and played seven seasons for the Chicago Bears.  Sayers is also famous for his friendship with his cancer-stricken teammate, Brian Piccolo (who died in 1970), and Sayers' biography was the basis for the beloved 1971 TV Emmy Award-winning movie, "Brian's Song."

From WashPost:   Brian Piccolo's eldest daughter, Lori Piccolo, remembers Gale Sayers and his relationship with her late father.

-----------------------------

From THR:   Astrologer and dancer, Jackie Stallone, has died at the age of Monday, September 21, 2020.  Stallone was also the mother Hollywood superstar, Sylvester Stallone, and singer-actor, Frank Stallone, and the late actress, Toni D'Alto.

From YahooSports:   Hall of Fame NFL defensive player, Larry Wilson, has died at the age of 82, Thursday, September 17, 2020.  Playing at the position of "safety," Wilson played all 13 of his NFL seasons (1960-72) with the St. Louis Cardinals (now Arizona Cardinals).  He was the 1966 "NFL Defensive Player of the Year."  He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1978.

CORONAVIRUS/COVID-19 NEWS:

From CDC:   The Centers for Disease Control has a "COVID Data Tracker."

From YahooNews:  Why does COVID-19 kill some people and hardly affects others?

From YahooNews:  Yahoo has a dedicated page of links updating news about COVID-19.

From Deadline:  The news site "Deadline" has a dedicated page for news about coronavirus and the film, TV, and entertainment industries.

From TheNewYorker:  The venerable magazine has a dedicate COVID-19 page free to all readers.

From YahooNews:  Re: the federal government's response to COVID-19: What if the most important election of our lifetime was the last one - 2016?

From YahooLife:  What is "happy hypoxia?"  And do you have this COVID-19 symptom?

From JuanCole:  Remember when President Donald went crazy and suggested that we ingest household cleaning supplies and UV light to fight COVID-19.  Here is the video and commentary from Juan Cole.

From TheIntercept:  The federal government has ramped up security and police-related spending in response to the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic, including issuing contracts for riot gear, disclosures show. The purchase orders include requests for disposable cuffs, gas masks, ballistic helmets, and riot gloves...

From TheAtlantic:  The Coronavirus Was an Emergency Until Trump Found Out Who Was Dying. The pandemic has exposed the bitter terms of our racial contract, which deems certain lives of greater value than others.

From ProPublica:  Hospital's Secret COVID-19 Policy Separated Native American Mothers From Their Newborns

From TheGuardian:  More than 20 million Americans could have contracted COVID-19, experts say.

From RSN/WashPost:  The COVID-19 mutation that has taken over the world.

7/13 - From YahooSports:  Maybe a pandemic means that there will not be college football this fall.

7/13- From YahooNews:  The CDC adds four new symptoms (including nausea and purple or blue lesions on feet and toes) to the list of COVID-19 symptoms.

7/19 - From YahooFinance:  Harvard Public Health professor Dr. Howard Koh says the U.S. "needs to regroup" to find COVID-19.

7/22 - From YahooNews:  A public health employee predicted Florida's coronavirus catastrophe — then she was fired.

7/22 - From YahooLifestyle:  Florida mom loses son, 20, to coronavirus, and then days later, her daughter.

7/23 - From TheWrap:  The site has a list of movie and TV stars, entertainment and sports figures who have tested positive for COVID-19

From Bloomberg:  Will the COVID-19 pandemic turn Millennials into socialists?

7/27 - From CNN:   Chief of critical care at Baltimore's Mercy Medical Center, Dr. Joseph Costa, passes away due to Covid-19 complications... after treating the hospital's sickest COVID-19 patients.  He was 56 and leaves behind family, including a husband of 28 years.

7/30 - From Deadline:  Emmy-winning actor Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad") reveals that he had a bout with COVID-19.

7/31 - From YahooEntertainment:  Writer and actress, Lena Dunham, creator of HBO's "Girls, reveals that she contracted COVID-19 and the symptoms she experiences and still experience.

7/30 - From YahooGMA:  In their bid to crackdown on illegal gatherings amid COVID-19, New York authorities break up an alleged sex party.

7/31 - From Slate:  COVID-19 is airborne - for reals!

8/2 - From TheDailyBeast:  In Mississippi, COVID-19 has coroners terrified.

8/6 - From YahooNews:  Testing everyone constantly could stop the spread of COVID-19... according to this article.

8/8 - From YahooNYT:  The coronavirus is new, but your immune system might recognize it.

8/8 - From YahooNBC:  They thought COVID-19 was a hoax, and they almost died from it or are watching family and loved ones suffer with it or die from it.

8/9 - From YahooNews:  The rest of the world is incredulous at the pitiful U.S. response to COVID-19.

8/9 - From YahooAFP:  According to the real-time tally kept by John Hopkins University, the United States has hit 5 million cases of COVID-19.

8/16 - From Truthout: COVID Deaths Continue to Surge in Countries Led by Far Right Authoritarians

9/19 - From WashPost:  U.S. coronavirus death toll reaches 200,000

9/23 - From CNBC:  Mark Cuban, who owns the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and star of ABC's "Shark Tank," suggests that every household in American get a $1000 check every two weeks for the next two months.

9/28 - From Deadline:  John Hopkins University's coronavirus tracker reports that over 1 million people have died of COVID-19 worldwide.

BLACK LIVES MATTER:

From RSN:   Judge's Blistering Opinion Says Courts Have Placed Police Beyond Accountability

From TheGuardian:  Yusef Salaam, one of the "Central Park Five," says in an interview, "Trump would have had me hanging from a tree in Central Park."

From NPR:  Prosecutors' plea deal required drug suspect to name Breonna Taylor a "co-defendant."

From ChicagoSunTimes:  Rev. Jesse Jackson: America has millions of people in poverty because Americans choose not to demand the policies that would lift them out of poverty.

From APNews:  No one will be held accountable for the killing of Louisville African-American resident, Breonna Taylor.

From Channel4:  Revealed: Trump campaign strategy to deter millions of Black Americans from voting in 2016

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from September 1st to 5th, 2020 - Update #24

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

Support Leroy on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURAL NEWS:

STREAMING - From Deadline:  "Jack Reacher," the star of author Lee Child's international bestselling series of novels, is coming to Amazon TV.  Actor Alan Ritchson will star as Reacher, who was previously played by Tom Cruise in two films.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Paramount Pictures will release a new edit and restoration of "The Godfather III (1990).  The new version will be entitled "Mario Puzo's The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone."

TELEVISION - From Variety:   Anna Faris is leaving the hit CBS television sitcom, "Mom," ahead of the beginning of production of Season 8.

CULTURE - From RollingStone:   "The Unraveling of America" by Wade Davis.

STREAMING - From Deadline:  Amazon will not go forward with the miniseries, "Cortes y Moctezuma," due to the production constraints created by COVID-19, it says.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Production on SyFy/USA's "Chucky" reboot TV series has been pushed to 2021.

COVID-19 - From Deadline:  Superstar actor Dwayne Johnson announced on social media that he, his wife, and their two young daughters have tested positive for COVID-19.  He said that they are all recovering and are no longer contagious.

STAR TREK - From YahooEntertainment:  When "Star Trek: Discovery" Season 3 arrives on Oct. 15th, the series feature the "Star Trek" franchise's first non-binary and transgender characters.

CELEBRITY - From Forbes: - Media mogul and film and TV creator, Tyler Perry, is a billionaire.  "Forbes" has a cover feature on Perry - "'Poor as Hell' to billionaire."

LGBTQ - From YahooEntertainment:  Actress Niecy Nash comes out and marries girlfriend, Jessica Betts, in surprise wedding ceremony.

STREAMING - From Variety:  David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the masterminds behind "Game of Thones," and Alexander Woo will adapt Chinese book series, "The Three-Body Problem" for Netflix.

RACE-BUSINESS - From YahooBI:   52 Black ex-franchisees file a $1 billion racial-discrimination lawsuit against McDonald's, claiming the company sent them on "financial suicide missions."

CULTURE - From TheDailyBeast:  Larry Flynt, president of Larry Flynt Publications and best known for publishing "Hustler" magazine, takes a victory lap after the Jerry Faldwell, Jr., the son of Flynt's late nemesis, Rev. Jerry Faldwell, takes a fall.

CELEBRITY - From BleedingCool:  Nathan Fillion talks about his audio choose-your-own-adventure, "Starfinder."

OBIT:

From ESPN:  Hall of Fame Major League Baseball pitcher, Tom Seaver, has died at the age of 75, Monday, August 31, 2020 of Lewy body dementia and COVID-19.  Seaver was a three-time Cy Young Winner and 12-time All-Star.  Nicknamed "Tom Terrific," Seaver was also a member of the 1969 World Series champions New York Mets.


REMEMBERING CHADWICK BOSEMAN:

From Slate:  Friends and Fans mourn "Black Panther" star, Chadwick Boseman, dead at 43.

From YahooHuffPost:  Why Chadwick Boseman kept his cancer battle secret, according to his agent.

From Variety:  Chadwick Boseman's life and career in photos.

From CNN:  Denzel Washington offers a tribute to Chadwick Boseman, for whom he once paid school tuition.

From THR:  Co-star Harrison Ford remembers Chadwick Boseman as being "as much a hero as any he played.

From BuzzFeed:  Why Chadwick Boseman's death hurts so much.

From Variety:  Michael B. Jordan remembers his "Black Panther" co-star, Chadwick Boseman.

From YahooEntertainment:  Remembering Chadwick Boseman: A journalist’s cherished, complicated friendship with a superhero.

From Deadline:  The site has a page dedicated to the late actor, Chadwick Boseman.

From Variety:   Chadwick Boseman: A Virtuoso Actor Who Could Do Just About Anything

From Variety:  Chadwick Boseman’s Final Tweet Is Twitter’s Most-Liked Post of All Time

From YahooEntertainment:  Did Chadwick Boseman hint at his cancer battle in a 2017 interview?

From Newsweek:  Chadwick Boseman's final tweet was a picture of him with Vice-Presidential candidate, Senator Kamala Harris.

DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION:

From CNN:  Full video of Vice-President Joe Biden's acceptance speech at the 2020 DNC.

From CNN:  Full video of Sen. Kamala Harris acceptance speech at the 2020 DNC


CORONAVIRUS/COVID-19 NEWS:

From CDC:   The Centers for Disease Control has a "COVID Data Tracker."

From YahooNews:  Why does COVID-19 kill some people and hardly affects others?

From YahooNews:  Yahoo has a dedicated page of links updating news about COVID-19.

From Deadline:  The news site "Deadline" has a dedicated page for news about coronavirus and the film, TV, and entertainment industries.

From TheNewYorker:  The venerable magazine has a dedicate COVID-19 page free to all readers.

From YahooNews:  Re: the federal government's response to COVID-19: What if the most important election of our lifetime was the last one - 2016?

From YahooLife:  What is "happy hypoxia?"  And do you have this COVID-19 symptom?

From JuanCole:  Remember when President Donald went crazy and suggested that we ingest household cleaning supplies and UV light to fight COVID-19.  Here is the video and commentary from Juan Cole.

From TheIntercept:  The federal government has ramped up security and police-related spending in response to the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic, including issuing contracts for riot gear, disclosures show. The purchase orders include requests for disposable cuffs, gas masks, ballistic helmets, and riot gloves...

From TheAtlantic:  The Coronavirus Was an Emergency Until Trump Found Out Who Was Dying. The pandemic has exposed the bitter terms of our racial contract, which deems certain lives of greater value than others.

From ProPublica:  Hospital's Secret COVID-19 Policy Separated Native American Mothers From Their Newborns

From TheGuardian:  More than 20 million Americans could have contracted COVID-19, experts say.

From RSN/WashPost:  The COVID-19 mutation that has taken over the world.

7/13 - From YahooSports:  Maybe a pandemic means that there will not be college football this fall.

7/13- From YahooNews:  The CDC adds four new symptoms (including nausea and purple or blue lesions on feet and toes) to the list of COVID-19 symptoms.

7/19 - From YahooFinance:  Harvard Public Health professor Dr. Howard Koh says the U.S. "needs to regroup" to find COVID-19.

7/22 - From YahooNews:  A public health employee predicted Florida's coronavirus catastrophe — then she was fired.

7/22 - From YahooLifestyle:  Florida mom loses son, 20, to coronavirus, and then days later, her daughter.

7/23 - From TheWrap:  The site has a list of movie and TV stars, entertainment and sports figures who have tested positive for COVID-19

From Bloomberg:  Will the COVID-19 pandemic turn Millennials into socialists?

7/27 - From CNN:   Chief of critical care at Baltimore's Mercy Medical Center, Dr. Joseph Costa, passes away due to Covid-19 complications... after treating the hospital's sickest COVID-19 patients.  He was 56 and leaves behind family, including a husband of 28 years.

7/30 - From Deadline:  Emmy-winning actor Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad") reveals that he had a bout with COVID-19.

7/31 - From YahooEntertainment:  Writer and actress, Lena Dunham, creator of HBO's "Girls, reveals that she contracted COVID-19 and the symptoms she experiences and still experience.

7/30 - From YahooGMA:  In their bid to crackdown on illegal gatherings amid COVID-19, New York authorities break up an alleged sex party.

7/31 - From Slate:  COVID-19 is airborne - for reals!

8/2 - From TheDailyBeast:  In Mississippi, COVID-19 has coroners terrified.

8/6 - From YahooNews:  Testing everyone constantly could stop the spread of COVID-19... according to this article.

8/8 - From YahooNYT:  The coronavirus is new, but your immune system might recognize it.

8/8 - From YahooNBC:  They thought COVID-19 was a hoax, and they almost died from it or are watching family and loved ones suffer with it or die from it.

8/9 - From YahooNews:  The rest of the world is incredulous at the pitiful U.S. response to COVID-19.

8/9 - From YahooAFP:  According to the real-time tally kept by John Hopkins University, the United States has hit 5 million cases of COVID-19.

8/16 - From Truthout: COVID Deaths Continue to Surge in Countries Led by Far Right Authoritarians

9/1 - From YahooPeople:  Mark Mothersbaugh is the front man of the rock band, Devo," and the prolific composer of music for film and television, but he also had a near-fatal battle with COVID-19.  He recalls it in this article.

9/2 - YahooNews:  The first COVID-19 death linked to the massive biker rally in Sturgis, South Dakota has been reported in Minnesota, several weeks after the event attracted over 400,000 vehicles.  Minnesota is also tracking 50 coronavirus cases related to the event.

BLACK LIVES MATTER:

From RSN:   Judge's Blistering Opinion Says Courts Have Placed Police Beyond Accountability

From Billboard:  In an interview will the venerable music publication, legendary country music singer-songwriter and actress, Dolly Parton, expresses support for the "Black Lives Matter" movement.

From RSN:  Reader Supported News' "Sunday Song" for Aug. 8th, 2020 is "Chain Gang" by Sam Cooke.

From VICE:  One of the 2020 Republican National Convention's top speakers, Abby Johnson, says the police would be justified in profiling her adopted biracial son.

From TheGuardian:  Yusef Salaam, one of the "Central Park Five," says in an interview, "Trump would have had me hanging from a tree in Central Park."

From NPR:  Prosecutors' plea deal required drug suspect to name Breonna Taylor a "co-defendant."