Appian Way Productions Closes Multi-Picture First Look Film Deal With Sony Pictures Entertainment
Culver City, CA -- Appian Way Productions – the film and television production company founded by Leonardo DiCaprio and co-run by Jennifer Davisson – has closed a multi-picture, multi-year first look deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment to produce scripted feature films. The companies are already in development on two projects.
“For over three decades in the business, Tom has never adhered to the traditional Hollywood norms,” noted DiCaprio. “Never once taking the safe route, he truly values filmmakers and their vision and is extremely supportive of the theatre-going experience. I could not be more excited to enter into a new phase of partnerships with Sony.”
“I first met the supernova talented Leonardo DiCaprio over 24 years ago on Romeo and Juliet. We then shipped out together on the Titanic and my admiration for him as a fully-rounded filmmaking genius has only increased over the many years since,” said Tom Rothman, Chairman, Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group. “His producing and acting instincts -- superbly supported by Jennifer -- are both driven by service to the best material in the world. At Sony, we feel like we just landed a rare GOAT deal -- as Michael Jordan and Tom Brady are to basketball and football, so is Leo to film.”
Sony Pictures and DiCaprio recently collaborated on Quentin Tarantino’s love letter to Hollywood, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, resulting in his 7th Best Actor Oscar nomination. Appian Way Productions has produced several films starring DiCaprio including three-time Academy Award®-winner The Revenant, Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-nominated The Wolf of Wall Street, Academy Award®-nominated and Golden Globe-winning The Aviator, and Shutter Island.
About Appian Way Productions:
Since its launch, Appian Way has released a diverse slate of content, including “The Right Stuff,” “Grant,” Alejandro Iñárritu’s three-time Academy Award® and Golden Globe winner “The Revenant,” Martin Scorsese’s Academy Award®- and Golden Globe- nominated “The Wolf of Wall Street” and Academy Award®-nominated and Golden Globe-winning “The Aviator,” along with “Shutter Island,” Scott Cooper’s “Out of the Furnace” and George Clooney’s Golden Globe-nominated “The Ides of March.” The company has also put forth strong efforts to gain headway in the documentary world, especially as it pertains to shedding light on progressive environmental change producing movies “Virunga,” “Cowspiracy,” “Sea of Shadows,” “Ice on Fire,” and “And We Go Green.”
About Sony Pictures Entertainment:
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition, and distribution; television production, acquisition, and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. Sony Pictures Television operates dozens of wholly-owned or joint-venture production companies around the world. SPE’s Motion Picture Group production organizations include Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures, 3000 Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Stage 6 Films, AFFIRM Films, and Sony Pictures Classics. For additional information, visit http://www.sonypictures.com/corp/divisions.html
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Showing posts with label Leonardo DiCaprio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leonardo DiCaprio. Show all posts
Friday, August 21, 2020
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Negromancer News Bits and Bites from June 21st to 30th, 2020 - Update #41
by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
Support Leroy on Patreon:
ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:
ACADEMY AWARDS - From YahooUSA: Academy exceeds inclusion goal after #OscarsSoWhite: New voters are 45% female, 36% diverse.
CELEBRITY-BLM - From YahooEntertainment: John Wayne was not a racist says the late actor's son, Ethan Wayne.
MOVIES - From Collider: The site has several images from David Ayers' upcoming thriller, "The Tax Collector," starring Shia LaBeouf and Bobby Soto.
BLM-CRIME-HISTORY - From Alabama.com: 16th Street Baptist Church bomber Thomas Blanton dies in prison. The bombing, which occurred in 1963, is known for the "Four Little Girls."
MOVIES - From YahooMoviesUK: "John Wick" director, Chad Stahelski, says that a reboot of the 1980s action-fantasy movie cult classic, "Highlander," is "in heavy development mode."
CELEBRITY-POLITICS - From TheDailyBeast: How Mary Trump (President Donald's niece) Found Herself in the Hot Mess of a William Faulkner Novel
MUSIC-STREAMING - From Variety: The streaming service, Disney+, will releases Beyonce's new visual album, "Black is King," July 31st. The LP is inspired by "The Lion King," and its released date is just after the one-year anniversary of the 2019 release of Disney's live-action version of "The Lion King."
LGBTQ - From YahooLifestyle: Gay ER doctor who survived COVID-19 says he can't donate plasma because he’s sexually active
POLITICS - From RSN: "Saint Donald and the Dragon" - Donald Trump and the China!
SPORTS - From YahooSports: Bubba Wallace on Confederate flag ban protests: 'We won’t see cops pepper-spraying them and shooting them with rubber bullets'
MOVIES - From THR: Actor Margot Robbie and writer Christina Hodson, who teamed up on "Birds of Prey," are reunited on a new "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie. It is separate from the other reboot being developed "Pirates" scribe, Ted Elliot," and "Chernobyl" writer Craig Mazin.
MOVIES - From THR: The release date of Christopher Nolan's "Tenet" has been delayed again, from July 31st to August 12th, 2020.
MOVIES - From THR: Inside "Hollywood's nastiest producer feud," the story of Roy Lee vs. John Middleton.
POLITICS - From TheGuardian: How the US military has failed to address white supremacy in its ranks. This is in the wake of an alleged plot by a young solider to coordinate with a neo-Nazi group to attack and kill members of his own army unit.
BLM-ANIMATION - From TVGuide: Jenny Slate will no longer voice Missy on Netflix's "Big Mouth": 'Black Characters on an Animated Show Should be Played by Black People'
From BuzzFeed: Voice actor Mike Henry has retired from providing the voice of "Family Guy" African-American character, "Cleveland Brown." He is the latest white voice performer to announce that he is exiting the voice role of a Black character, following Jenny Slate leaving Big Mouth and Kristen Bell shifting to a different role on Central Park.
--------------------------------
MOVIES - From Deadline: Oscar winners Leonardo DiCaprio ("The Revenant") and Barry Jenkins ("Moonlight") have united to make a film adaptation of the documentary, "Virunga," about rangers who risk their lives to protect an African national park and its endangered gorillas.
BOX OFFICE - From Deadline: 27 years after it first hit movie theaters, "Jurassic Park" was the #1 movie at the Father's Day weekend box office. Steven Spielberg, who directed "Jurassic Park," had a big weekend as his 1975 classic, "Jaws" was a close second.
TRAILERS - From Deadline: Disney+ releases the first trailer for the live-action version of the Broadway smash, "Hamilton." The film arrives on Disney+ July 3rd, 2020.
CULTURE-BLM - From THR: African-American Hollywood attorney, Nina Shaw, writes a guest column on being "the Only Black Person in the Room" for 30-plus years.
CELEBRITY - From YahooDailyBeast: Actress Bryce Dallas Howard talks about having Oscar-winning producer-director, Ron Howard, as her father. The interview is done in conjunction with Bryce's new documentary film, "Dads," which debuted on Apple TV+.
MUSIC - From YahooEntertainment: An acoustic guitar belonging to the late Kurt Cobain of the band, Nirvana, sold for a record 6-plus million dollars at auction. That is the highest auction price ever paid for a guitar. The 1959 Martin D-19E is the guitar Cobain played for the entirety of his "MTV Unplugged" performance.
CELEBRITY-COVID-19 - From ABCNews: Comedian D.L. Hughley passed out while performing on stage in Nashville TN. Afterwards, he tested positive for COVID-19 at a local hospital.
MOVIES - From YahooGMA: Jamie Foxx shows off his body transformation for his starring role in a biopic of champion boxer, Mike Tyson.
OBITS:
From Deadline: Pioneering television comedy writer and director, Carl Reiner has died at the age of 98, Monday, June 29, 2020. Reiner is best known as the creator and writer-director and actor on "The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-66). Five of the 9 Primetime Emmy Awards Reiner won were for his work on the show. He first came to big TV fame and acclaim working on Sid Ceasar's TV series, "Your Show of Shows" (NBC, 1950-54) and "Ceasar's Hour" (NBC, 1954-57). Reiner was also famous for being the son of television and film writer, director, and actor, Rob Reiner.
From Variety: Animator and director, Kelly Asbury, has died at the age of 60, Friday, June 26, 2020. Asbury co-directed "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" (2002) and directed "Shrek 2" (2004). He began his career with Walt Disney Feature Animation and, he worked on such films as "The Black Cauldron" (1985) and "Toy Story" (1995).
From Deadline: Noted film director, Joel Schumacher, has died at the age of 80, Monday, June 22, 2020. Schumacher was known for a number of films, including "St. Elmo's Fire" (1985), "The Lost Boys" (1987), "Flatliners" (1990), "The Client" (1994), and "A Time to Kill" (1996). He caused ire among comic book fans with his two contributions to the Batman film franchise, "Batman Forever" (1995) and "Batman and Robin" (1997).
From Deadline: American businessman and film financier, Steve Bing, has died at the age of 55, Monday, June 22, 2020. In the film business, Bing invested in two animated films by director Robert Zemeckis, "The Polar Express" (2004) and "Beowulf." He founded Shangri-La Entertainment, which had interests in property, construction, entertainment, and music.
BLACK LIVES MATTER NEWS:
From RSN: The four corners of police violence
From TheIntercept: Black Lives Matter Wants to End Police Brutality. History Suggests It Will Go Much Further.
From YahooNews: "The Confederacy of California": life in the valley where Robert Fuller was found hanged
From CNN: Colorado police officers involved in the death of Elijah McClain reassigned for safety reasons.
From Truthout: " Three North Carolina Police Fired for Racist Rants, Threats to Kill Black People" - and what they said is crazy and scary
From Truthout: Bryant Gumbel Gives Powerful Commentary on the 'Black Tax,' the 'Added Burden' of Being Black
From YahooEntertainment: Oscar-nominated songwriter and Grammy Award-winning recording artist, Ray Parker, Jr., may be best known for writing the theme to the film, "Ghostbusters," but when he was a teenager, Parker was beaten by Detroit police officers.
From RSNewYorker: Jelani Cobb: An American Spring of Reckoning.
From NBCNews: Baton Rouge, LA activist, Gary Chambers, makes an impassioned speech about changing the name of Robert E. Lee High School in Baton Rouge.
From YahooNews: Racial violence and a pandemic: How the Red Summer of 1919 relates to 2020
From DemocracyNow: Fear Grows of Modern-Day Lynchings as Five People of Color Are Found Hanged
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: Remeber 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 NPR: A sad milestone: over 100,000 American have died due to COVID-19.
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 Truthout: Trump Moves to End Federal Support for Testing Sites Amid Record COVID Spikes
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.
----------------
Support Leroy on Patreon:
ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:
ACADEMY AWARDS - From YahooUSA: Academy exceeds inclusion goal after #OscarsSoWhite: New voters are 45% female, 36% diverse.
CELEBRITY-BLM - From YahooEntertainment: John Wayne was not a racist says the late actor's son, Ethan Wayne.
MOVIES - From Collider: The site has several images from David Ayers' upcoming thriller, "The Tax Collector," starring Shia LaBeouf and Bobby Soto.
BLM-CRIME-HISTORY - From Alabama.com: 16th Street Baptist Church bomber Thomas Blanton dies in prison. The bombing, which occurred in 1963, is known for the "Four Little Girls."
MOVIES - From YahooMoviesUK: "John Wick" director, Chad Stahelski, says that a reboot of the 1980s action-fantasy movie cult classic, "Highlander," is "in heavy development mode."
CELEBRITY-POLITICS - From TheDailyBeast: How Mary Trump (President Donald's niece) Found Herself in the Hot Mess of a William Faulkner Novel
MUSIC-STREAMING - From Variety: The streaming service, Disney+, will releases Beyonce's new visual album, "Black is King," July 31st. The LP is inspired by "The Lion King," and its released date is just after the one-year anniversary of the 2019 release of Disney's live-action version of "The Lion King."
LGBTQ - From YahooLifestyle: Gay ER doctor who survived COVID-19 says he can't donate plasma because he’s sexually active
POLITICS - From RSN: "Saint Donald and the Dragon" - Donald Trump and the China!
SPORTS - From YahooSports: Bubba Wallace on Confederate flag ban protests: 'We won’t see cops pepper-spraying them and shooting them with rubber bullets'
MOVIES - From THR: Actor Margot Robbie and writer Christina Hodson, who teamed up on "Birds of Prey," are reunited on a new "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie. It is separate from the other reboot being developed "Pirates" scribe, Ted Elliot," and "Chernobyl" writer Craig Mazin.
MOVIES - From THR: The release date of Christopher Nolan's "Tenet" has been delayed again, from July 31st to August 12th, 2020.
MOVIES - From THR: Inside "Hollywood's nastiest producer feud," the story of Roy Lee vs. John Middleton.
POLITICS - From TheGuardian: How the US military has failed to address white supremacy in its ranks. This is in the wake of an alleged plot by a young solider to coordinate with a neo-Nazi group to attack and kill members of his own army unit.
BLM-ANIMATION - From TVGuide: Jenny Slate will no longer voice Missy on Netflix's "Big Mouth": 'Black Characters on an Animated Show Should be Played by Black People'
From BuzzFeed: Voice actor Mike Henry has retired from providing the voice of "Family Guy" African-American character, "Cleveland Brown." He is the latest white voice performer to announce that he is exiting the voice role of a Black character, following Jenny Slate leaving Big Mouth and Kristen Bell shifting to a different role on Central Park.
--------------------------------
MOVIES - From Deadline: Oscar winners Leonardo DiCaprio ("The Revenant") and Barry Jenkins ("Moonlight") have united to make a film adaptation of the documentary, "Virunga," about rangers who risk their lives to protect an African national park and its endangered gorillas.
BOX OFFICE - From Deadline: 27 years after it first hit movie theaters, "Jurassic Park" was the #1 movie at the Father's Day weekend box office. Steven Spielberg, who directed "Jurassic Park," had a big weekend as his 1975 classic, "Jaws" was a close second.
TRAILERS - From Deadline: Disney+ releases the first trailer for the live-action version of the Broadway smash, "Hamilton." The film arrives on Disney+ July 3rd, 2020.
CULTURE-BLM - From THR: African-American Hollywood attorney, Nina Shaw, writes a guest column on being "the Only Black Person in the Room" for 30-plus years.
CELEBRITY - From YahooDailyBeast: Actress Bryce Dallas Howard talks about having Oscar-winning producer-director, Ron Howard, as her father. The interview is done in conjunction with Bryce's new documentary film, "Dads," which debuted on Apple TV+.
MUSIC - From YahooEntertainment: An acoustic guitar belonging to the late Kurt Cobain of the band, Nirvana, sold for a record 6-plus million dollars at auction. That is the highest auction price ever paid for a guitar. The 1959 Martin D-19E is the guitar Cobain played for the entirety of his "MTV Unplugged" performance.
CELEBRITY-COVID-19 - From ABCNews: Comedian D.L. Hughley passed out while performing on stage in Nashville TN. Afterwards, he tested positive for COVID-19 at a local hospital.
MOVIES - From YahooGMA: Jamie Foxx shows off his body transformation for his starring role in a biopic of champion boxer, Mike Tyson.
OBITS:
From Deadline: Pioneering television comedy writer and director, Carl Reiner has died at the age of 98, Monday, June 29, 2020. Reiner is best known as the creator and writer-director and actor on "The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-66). Five of the 9 Primetime Emmy Awards Reiner won were for his work on the show. He first came to big TV fame and acclaim working on Sid Ceasar's TV series, "Your Show of Shows" (NBC, 1950-54) and "Ceasar's Hour" (NBC, 1954-57). Reiner was also famous for being the son of television and film writer, director, and actor, Rob Reiner.
From Variety: Animator and director, Kelly Asbury, has died at the age of 60, Friday, June 26, 2020. Asbury co-directed "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" (2002) and directed "Shrek 2" (2004). He began his career with Walt Disney Feature Animation and, he worked on such films as "The Black Cauldron" (1985) and "Toy Story" (1995).
From Deadline: Noted film director, Joel Schumacher, has died at the age of 80, Monday, June 22, 2020. Schumacher was known for a number of films, including "St. Elmo's Fire" (1985), "The Lost Boys" (1987), "Flatliners" (1990), "The Client" (1994), and "A Time to Kill" (1996). He caused ire among comic book fans with his two contributions to the Batman film franchise, "Batman Forever" (1995) and "Batman and Robin" (1997).
From Deadline: American businessman and film financier, Steve Bing, has died at the age of 55, Monday, June 22, 2020. In the film business, Bing invested in two animated films by director Robert Zemeckis, "The Polar Express" (2004) and "Beowulf." He founded Shangri-La Entertainment, which had interests in property, construction, entertainment, and music.
BLACK LIVES MATTER NEWS:
From RSN: The four corners of police violence
From TheIntercept: Black Lives Matter Wants to End Police Brutality. History Suggests It Will Go Much Further.
From YahooNews: "The Confederacy of California": life in the valley where Robert Fuller was found hanged
From CNN: Colorado police officers involved in the death of Elijah McClain reassigned for safety reasons.
From Truthout: " Three North Carolina Police Fired for Racist Rants, Threats to Kill Black People" - and what they said is crazy and scary
From Truthout: Bryant Gumbel Gives Powerful Commentary on the 'Black Tax,' the 'Added Burden' of Being Black
From YahooEntertainment: Oscar-nominated songwriter and Grammy Award-winning recording artist, Ray Parker, Jr., may be best known for writing the theme to the film, "Ghostbusters," but when he was a teenager, Parker was beaten by Detroit police officers.
From RSNewYorker: Jelani Cobb: An American Spring of Reckoning.
From NBCNews: Baton Rouge, LA activist, Gary Chambers, makes an impassioned speech about changing the name of Robert E. Lee High School in Baton Rouge.
From YahooNews: Racial violence and a pandemic: How the Red Summer of 1919 relates to 2020
From DemocracyNow: Fear Grows of Modern-Day Lynchings as Five People of Color Are Found Hanged
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: Remeber 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 NPR: A sad milestone: over 100,000 American have died due to COVID-19.
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 Truthout: Trump Moves to End Federal Support for Testing Sites Amid Record COVID Spikes
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.
----------------
Saturday, June 6, 2020
Negromancer News Bits and Bites from June 1st to 6th, 2020 - Update #26
by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
Support Leroy on Patreon:
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: Remeber 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 NPR: A sad milestone: over 100,000 American have died due to COVID-19.
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 YahooEntertainment: In the ongoing saga of Broadway star Nick Cordero's battle against coronavirus/COVID-19, his wife, Amanda Kloots, has been told to say goodbye to him.
ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:
SPORTS - From YahooNews: PGA pro (Justin Riegel, 38) dies in on-course accident; here's how you can help his family
MOVIES - From DigitalSpy: Director Ridley Scott teases a new film in his "Alien" franchise.
RACE-SPORTS - From People: Retired NFL tight end Martellus Bennett says that the NFL is racist and is build on the back of black athletes.
BLM-CELEBRITY - From IndieWire: Jordan Peele, Edgar Wright, and Guillermo del Toro are among the directors supporting actor John Boyega ("Star Wars") in the wake of his June 3rd "Black Lives Matter" speech in London. He'll have work as an actor.
BLM-MOVIES - From IndieWire: 10 films to watch in support of Black Liberation
CELEBRITY - From YahooDS: The autopsy of "Twilight" actor, Gregory Tyree Boyce, has been made public. Boyce and his girlfriend, Natalie Adepoju, were found dead in their apartment back around May 18th. Their deaths were ruled accidental.
MOVIES - From Deadline: Filmmaker Jamal Trulove, breakout star of "The Last Black Man in San Francisco," talks about George Floyd, his new docu-series, and spending six years in prison after the police framed him for murder.
MOVIES - From GamesRadar: Ryan Gosling is set to play the lead in a remake/reboot of the "Universal Monsters" classic, "The Wolfman."
TELEVISION - From YahooNews: Leonardo DiCaprio’s Big Middle Finger to the Confederacy - with the History Channel series, "Grant."
BLACK AMERICA AND COVID-19 - Crisis or... :
GEORGE FLOYD:
From YahooEntertainment: Spike Lee has released a new short film that connects the dots from his iconic film, "Do The Right Thing" to the police killings of Eric Garner and George Floyd.
From NBCNews: (5/26) - A Minneapolis black man, George Floyd, dies after pleading with a police officer that he could not breathe.
From BET: - George Floyd died of asphyxiation says autopsy.
From Medium: President Barack Obama tells young people "How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change."
From YahooNews: (6/4) - The officer who stood by as George Floyd died is Asian American. We need to talk about that.
From YahooInsider: (6/3) - Teens on TikTok are exposing a generational rift between (white) parents and their kids over how they treat Black Lives Matter protests
From YahooNews: (6/3) - A group of three young African-American protestors, calling itself "Concerned Citizens," are attempting to link the George Floyd protests to a list of demands.
From YahooNews: Obama praises George Floyd protests and sees hope for police reform, racial progress
From YahooLife: "Star Wars" star John Boyega joins a "Black Lives Matter" demonstration in Hyde Park, London.
From YahooEntertainment: Grammy-winner Billie Eilish goes after "white privilege" with a vengeance in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd.
From USAToday: Journalists blinded, injured, arrested covering George Floyd protests nationwide
From YahooAustralia: Photojournalist Linda Tirado permanently blinded after being shot by a police rubber bullet during George Floyd protests.
From BET: Filmmaker Ava DuVernay gives a check to President Donald's daughter, Ivanka, for the "First Daughter's" Bible-verse tweet in regards to the George Floyd protests.
From YahooNews: ‘We’re sick of it’: Anger over police killings shatters US
From YahooNews: A Tennessee police chief had a message for fellow law enforcement: turn in your badge if 'you don't have an issue' with George Floyd's death
From NPR: A decade of watching Black people die.
From YahooEntertainment: African-American actor, Kendrick Sampson ("Insecure"), was hit by rubber bullets and batons by Los Angeles Police Department officers while attending a peaceful protest in L.A.
From YahooLifestyle: Should the police officer who killed George Floyd be forgiven so quickly, if at all. Welcome to "toxic black forgiveness."
From CNN: Demonstrators in Europe rally to support #GeorgeFloyd protestors in the United States.
From YahooSports: It is a big frickin' deal when a white NFL quarterback speaks out about the murder of George Floyd and the African-American community, even if that QB is an incoming rookie - in this case, Joe Burrows of the Cincinnati Bengals.
From YahooUSAToday: "Qualified immunity" allows police officers to act like laws don't apply to them... because they don't.
From YahooABC: The wife of Minneapolis police office, Derek Michael Chauvin, who killed George Floyd, says she is filing for divorce.
From NBCNews: The phrase, "When the looting starts, the shooting starts," that Trump has twice used on Twitter has its origins in one of the darkest periods of American history.
From YahooSports: Prominent sports figures react to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and remind people of why former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick protested by taking a knee before his games.
From CBSNews: Because COVID-19 isn't killing Black people fast enough to satisfy some... Video shows Minneapolis cop with knee on neck of motionless, moaning man who later died.
From CNN: The four police officers involved in the death of George Floyd have been fired. That includes Officer Derek Chauvin who kneeled on Floyd's neck.
From TheDailyBeast: Ira Toles, a black man, recounts how Minneapolis police office, Derek Chauvin, who killed George Floyd by kneeling on his neck, tried to kill him in 2008. He still bears the scars of Chauvin's violence.
------------------
Support Leroy on Patreon:
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: Remeber 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 NPR: A sad milestone: over 100,000 American have died due to COVID-19.
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 YahooEntertainment: In the ongoing saga of Broadway star Nick Cordero's battle against coronavirus/COVID-19, his wife, Amanda Kloots, has been told to say goodbye to him.
ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:
SPORTS - From YahooNews: PGA pro (Justin Riegel, 38) dies in on-course accident; here's how you can help his family
MOVIES - From DigitalSpy: Director Ridley Scott teases a new film in his "Alien" franchise.
RACE-SPORTS - From People: Retired NFL tight end Martellus Bennett says that the NFL is racist and is build on the back of black athletes.
BLM-CELEBRITY - From IndieWire: Jordan Peele, Edgar Wright, and Guillermo del Toro are among the directors supporting actor John Boyega ("Star Wars") in the wake of his June 3rd "Black Lives Matter" speech in London. He'll have work as an actor.
BLM-MOVIES - From IndieWire: 10 films to watch in support of Black Liberation
CELEBRITY - From YahooDS: The autopsy of "Twilight" actor, Gregory Tyree Boyce, has been made public. Boyce and his girlfriend, Natalie Adepoju, were found dead in their apartment back around May 18th. Their deaths were ruled accidental.
MOVIES - From Deadline: Filmmaker Jamal Trulove, breakout star of "The Last Black Man in San Francisco," talks about George Floyd, his new docu-series, and spending six years in prison after the police framed him for murder.
MOVIES - From GamesRadar: Ryan Gosling is set to play the lead in a remake/reboot of the "Universal Monsters" classic, "The Wolfman."
TELEVISION - From YahooNews: Leonardo DiCaprio’s Big Middle Finger to the Confederacy - with the History Channel series, "Grant."
BLACK AMERICA AND COVID-19 - Crisis or... :
GEORGE FLOYD:
From YahooEntertainment: Spike Lee has released a new short film that connects the dots from his iconic film, "Do The Right Thing" to the police killings of Eric Garner and George Floyd.
From NBCNews: (5/26) - A Minneapolis black man, George Floyd, dies after pleading with a police officer that he could not breathe.
From BET: - George Floyd died of asphyxiation says autopsy.
From Medium: President Barack Obama tells young people "How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change."
From YahooNews: (6/4) - The officer who stood by as George Floyd died is Asian American. We need to talk about that.
From YahooInsider: (6/3) - Teens on TikTok are exposing a generational rift between (white) parents and their kids over how they treat Black Lives Matter protests
From YahooNews: (6/3) - A group of three young African-American protestors, calling itself "Concerned Citizens," are attempting to link the George Floyd protests to a list of demands.
From YahooNews: Obama praises George Floyd protests and sees hope for police reform, racial progress
From YahooLife: "Star Wars" star John Boyega joins a "Black Lives Matter" demonstration in Hyde Park, London.
From YahooEntertainment: Grammy-winner Billie Eilish goes after "white privilege" with a vengeance in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd.
From USAToday: Journalists blinded, injured, arrested covering George Floyd protests nationwide
From YahooAustralia: Photojournalist Linda Tirado permanently blinded after being shot by a police rubber bullet during George Floyd protests.
From BET: Filmmaker Ava DuVernay gives a check to President Donald's daughter, Ivanka, for the "First Daughter's" Bible-verse tweet in regards to the George Floyd protests.
From YahooNews: ‘We’re sick of it’: Anger over police killings shatters US
From YahooNews: A Tennessee police chief had a message for fellow law enforcement: turn in your badge if 'you don't have an issue' with George Floyd's death
From NPR: A decade of watching Black people die.
From YahooEntertainment: African-American actor, Kendrick Sampson ("Insecure"), was hit by rubber bullets and batons by Los Angeles Police Department officers while attending a peaceful protest in L.A.
From YahooLifestyle: Should the police officer who killed George Floyd be forgiven so quickly, if at all. Welcome to "toxic black forgiveness."
From CNN: Demonstrators in Europe rally to support #GeorgeFloyd protestors in the United States.
From YahooSports: It is a big frickin' deal when a white NFL quarterback speaks out about the murder of George Floyd and the African-American community, even if that QB is an incoming rookie - in this case, Joe Burrows of the Cincinnati Bengals.
From YahooUSAToday: "Qualified immunity" allows police officers to act like laws don't apply to them... because they don't.
From YahooABC: The wife of Minneapolis police office, Derek Michael Chauvin, who killed George Floyd, says she is filing for divorce.
From NBCNews: The phrase, "When the looting starts, the shooting starts," that Trump has twice used on Twitter has its origins in one of the darkest periods of American history.
From YahooSports: Prominent sports figures react to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and remind people of why former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick protested by taking a knee before his games.
From CBSNews: Because COVID-19 isn't killing Black people fast enough to satisfy some... Video shows Minneapolis cop with knee on neck of motionless, moaning man who later died.
From CNN: The four police officers involved in the death of George Floyd have been fired. That includes Officer Derek Chauvin who kneeled on Floyd's neck.
From TheDailyBeast: Ira Toles, a black man, recounts how Minneapolis police office, Derek Chauvin, who killed George Floyd by kneeling on his neck, tried to kill him in 2008. He still bears the scars of Chauvin's violence.
------------------
Sunday, May 31, 2020
Negromancer News Bits and Bites from May 24th to 31st, 2020 - Update #29
by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
Support Leroy on Patreon:
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: Remeber 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 NPR: A sad milestone: over 100,000 American have died due to COVID-19.
From ESPN: NBA legend and retired player, Patrick Ewing (the New York Knicks), recently battle COVID-19 and was hospitalized.
ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:
MOVIES - From Deadline: Apple will be finance and will be the "creative studios" for "Killers of the Flower Moon," which will be directed by Martin Scorsese and star Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. The original studio, Paramount, will distribute the film worldwide.
MOVIES - From Deadline: Doug Liman will direct that secretive Tom Cruise/Elon Musk/NASA that is supposedly going to be shot in space!
STREAMING - From BI: Warner Media content chief, Kevin Reilly, says "we're closing deals every week" for content and talks HBO Max
MOVIES - From IndieWire: Christopher Nolan bought a 747 to blow up for his new film, "Tenet," instead of relying on CGI.
TELEVISION - From IndieWire: Although the 13th season of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" has yet to debut, the series has been contracted for a 15th season, which would make it the longest running live-action comedy series in American television history. That would put it past the 14 seaons of ABC's sitcom, "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet."
CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertainment: Woody Allen don't give a f**k!
MOVIES - From ComicBook: Actor John David Washington said that he asked director Christopher Nolan questions about the plot of their film, "Tenet," every day of filming.
FILM FESTIVALS - From Deadline: The governor of Italy's Veneto region said that the "Venice Film Festival," scheduled for September 2nd to the 12th, 2020, will go ahead as scheduled.
BLM-MUSIC - From YahooEntertainment: A Louisiana man falsely imprisoned for 37 years stuns the judges of "America's Got Talent" with his audition.
DISNEY-NBA - From THR: The Walt Disney Company and the National Basketball Association (NBA) are in talks to resume the 2019-20 NBA season in late July. Games would be played at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
PIXAR - From Deadline: "Out," an animated short that Pixar produced for Disney+, features Pixar's first gay main character.
MOVIES - From Variety: Jon Stewart, former host of "The Daily Show," has an upcoming political comedy film that he has written and directed, entitled "Irresistible." It will debut on demand on June 26th and forego a theatrical release.
BLACK AMERICA AND COVID-19 - Crisis or... :
GEORGE FLOYD:
From NBCNews: (5/26) - A Minneapolis black man, George Floyd, dies after pleading with a police officer that he could not breathe.
From YahooLifestyle: Should the police officer who killed George Floyd be forgiven so quickly, if at all. Welcome to "toxic black forgiveness."
From CNN: Demonstrators in Europe rally to support #GeorgeFloyd protestors in the United States.
From YahooSports: It is a big frickin' deal when a white NFL quarterback speaks out about the murder of George Floyd and the African-American community, even if that QB is an incoming rookie - in this case, Joe Burrows of the Cincinnati Bengals.
From YahooUSAToday: "Qualified immunity" allows police officers to act like laws don't apply to them... because they don't.
From YahooABC: The wife of Minneapolis police office, Derek Michael Chauvin, who killed George Floyd, says she is filing for divorce.
From NBCNews: The phrase, "When the looting starts, the shooting starts," that Trump has twice used on Twitter has its origins in one of the darkest periods of American history.
From YahooSports: Prominent sports figures react to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and remind people of why former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick protested by taking a knee before his games.
From CBSNews: Because COVID-19 isn't killing Black people fast enough to satisfy some... Video shows Minneapolis cop with knee on neck of motionless, moaning man who later died.
From CNN: The four police officers involved in the death of George Floyd have been fired. That includes Officer Derek Chauvin who kneeled on Floyd's neck.
From TheDailyBeast: Ira Toles, a black man, recounts how Minneapolis police office, Derek Chauvin, who killed George Floyd by kneeling on his neck, tried to kill him in 2008. He still bears the scars of Chauvin's violence.
CHRISTIAN COOPER - From YahooLifestyles: New Yorker Amy Cooper becomes the latest white woman to go viral after making a false complaint against Christian Cooper, an African-American man via 911.
From YahooNews: Amy Cooper has been fired from her job at Franklin Templeton.
OBITS:
From THR: A giant of a man, Larry Kramer, has died at the age of 84, Wednesday, May 27, 2020. Kramer was a Tony Award-winning playwright, best known for the play, "The Normal Heart." He received an Oscar-nomination for writing the screenplay for "Women in Love" (1969). Many will remember him as a prominent and historically important LGBT rights activist and AIDS activist. He was one of the founders of ACT UP, which led the charge in changing public policy regarding AIDS and with changing the perception of people living with it.
From THR: Veteran character actor, Richard Herd, has died at the age of 87, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. Herd is known for the numerous supporting, recurring, and guest roles he played in numerous TV series and films. Herd was George Costanza's boss ("Mr. Wilhelm") in 11 episodes of "Seinfeld." Herd appeared on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Star Trek: Voyager." He also appeared in such notable films as "All the President's Men" and "The China Syndrome."
From Variety: The Japanese pro wrestler, Hana Kimura, has died at the age of 22, Saturday, May 23, 2020. Kimura was also a cast member of the most recent season of Netflix's "Terrace House."
Support Leroy on Patreon:
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: Remeber 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 NPR: A sad milestone: over 100,000 American have died due to COVID-19.
From ESPN: NBA legend and retired player, Patrick Ewing (the New York Knicks), recently battle COVID-19 and was hospitalized.
ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:
MOVIES - From Deadline: Apple will be finance and will be the "creative studios" for "Killers of the Flower Moon," which will be directed by Martin Scorsese and star Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. The original studio, Paramount, will distribute the film worldwide.
MOVIES - From Deadline: Doug Liman will direct that secretive Tom Cruise/Elon Musk/NASA that is supposedly going to be shot in space!
STREAMING - From BI: Warner Media content chief, Kevin Reilly, says "we're closing deals every week" for content and talks HBO Max
MOVIES - From IndieWire: Christopher Nolan bought a 747 to blow up for his new film, "Tenet," instead of relying on CGI.
TELEVISION - From IndieWire: Although the 13th season of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" has yet to debut, the series has been contracted for a 15th season, which would make it the longest running live-action comedy series in American television history. That would put it past the 14 seaons of ABC's sitcom, "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet."
CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertainment: Woody Allen don't give a f**k!
MOVIES - From ComicBook: Actor John David Washington said that he asked director Christopher Nolan questions about the plot of their film, "Tenet," every day of filming.
FILM FESTIVALS - From Deadline: The governor of Italy's Veneto region said that the "Venice Film Festival," scheduled for September 2nd to the 12th, 2020, will go ahead as scheduled.
BLM-MUSIC - From YahooEntertainment: A Louisiana man falsely imprisoned for 37 years stuns the judges of "America's Got Talent" with his audition.
DISNEY-NBA - From THR: The Walt Disney Company and the National Basketball Association (NBA) are in talks to resume the 2019-20 NBA season in late July. Games would be played at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
PIXAR - From Deadline: "Out," an animated short that Pixar produced for Disney+, features Pixar's first gay main character.
MOVIES - From Variety: Jon Stewart, former host of "The Daily Show," has an upcoming political comedy film that he has written and directed, entitled "Irresistible." It will debut on demand on June 26th and forego a theatrical release.
BLACK AMERICA AND COVID-19 - Crisis or... :
GEORGE FLOYD:
From NBCNews: (5/26) - A Minneapolis black man, George Floyd, dies after pleading with a police officer that he could not breathe.
From YahooLifestyle: Should the police officer who killed George Floyd be forgiven so quickly, if at all. Welcome to "toxic black forgiveness."
From CNN: Demonstrators in Europe rally to support #GeorgeFloyd protestors in the United States.
From YahooSports: It is a big frickin' deal when a white NFL quarterback speaks out about the murder of George Floyd and the African-American community, even if that QB is an incoming rookie - in this case, Joe Burrows of the Cincinnati Bengals.
From YahooUSAToday: "Qualified immunity" allows police officers to act like laws don't apply to them... because they don't.
From YahooABC: The wife of Minneapolis police office, Derek Michael Chauvin, who killed George Floyd, says she is filing for divorce.
From NBCNews: The phrase, "When the looting starts, the shooting starts," that Trump has twice used on Twitter has its origins in one of the darkest periods of American history.
From YahooSports: Prominent sports figures react to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and remind people of why former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick protested by taking a knee before his games.
From CBSNews: Because COVID-19 isn't killing Black people fast enough to satisfy some... Video shows Minneapolis cop with knee on neck of motionless, moaning man who later died.
From CNN: The four police officers involved in the death of George Floyd have been fired. That includes Officer Derek Chauvin who kneeled on Floyd's neck.
From TheDailyBeast: Ira Toles, a black man, recounts how Minneapolis police office, Derek Chauvin, who killed George Floyd by kneeling on his neck, tried to kill him in 2008. He still bears the scars of Chauvin's violence.
CHRISTIAN COOPER - From YahooLifestyles: New Yorker Amy Cooper becomes the latest white woman to go viral after making a false complaint against Christian Cooper, an African-American man via 911.
From YahooNews: Amy Cooper has been fired from her job at Franklin Templeton.
OBITS:
From THR: A giant of a man, Larry Kramer, has died at the age of 84, Wednesday, May 27, 2020. Kramer was a Tony Award-winning playwright, best known for the play, "The Normal Heart." He received an Oscar-nomination for writing the screenplay for "Women in Love" (1969). Many will remember him as a prominent and historically important LGBT rights activist and AIDS activist. He was one of the founders of ACT UP, which led the charge in changing public policy regarding AIDS and with changing the perception of people living with it.
From THR: Veteran character actor, Richard Herd, has died at the age of 87, Tuesday, May 26, 2020. Herd is known for the numerous supporting, recurring, and guest roles he played in numerous TV series and films. Herd was George Costanza's boss ("Mr. Wilhelm") in 11 episodes of "Seinfeld." Herd appeared on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Star Trek: Voyager." He also appeared in such notable films as "All the President's Men" and "The China Syndrome."
From Variety: The Japanese pro wrestler, Hana Kimura, has died at the age of 22, Saturday, May 23, 2020. Kimura was also a cast member of the most recent season of Netflix's "Terrace House."
Friday, May 29, 2020
Review: "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" is a Sparkling Fairy Tale
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)
Running time: 161 minutes (2 hours, 41 minutes)
MPAA – R for language throughout, some strong graphic violence, drug use, and sexual references
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino
PRODUCERS: Shannon McIntosh, David Heyman, and Quentin Tarantino
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Richardson (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Fred Raskin
Academy Award winner
COMEDY/DRAMA/HISTORICAL
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch, Margaret Qualley, Timothy Olyphant, Julia Butters, Austin Butler, Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern, Mike Moh, Luke Perry, Al Pacino, Nicholas Hammond, Samantha Robinson, Rafal Zawierucha, Lorenza Izzo, Costa Ronin, Damon Herriman, Lena Dunham, Zoe Bell, and Kurt Russell
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood is a 2019 comedy-drama and historical film from writer-director Quentin Tarantino. The ninth film from Tarantino, it focuses on a faded television actor striving to maintain fame and success in the film industry during the final years of Hollywood's “Golden Age” in Los Angeles of 1969, with his TV stunt double at his side.
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood opens in February 1969. Veteran Hollywood television actor, Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), fears that his career is rapidly fading to nothing. Dalton was the star of the 1950s Western television series, NBC and Screen Gems' “Bounty Law” (a fictional show). He believes that he has now been reduced to appearing as a guest star on TV series featuring new star actors, usually playing the villain. Casting agent Marvin Schwarz (Al Pacino) recommends that Dalton move to Italy to make “Spaghetti Westerns,” which Dalton feels are beneath him.
At Dalton's side is his best friend and stunt double, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), a World War II veteran who is a stuntman that is highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat. Booth lives out in the boonies in a tiny trailer with his pit bull, “Brandy,” and he drives Dalton around Los Angeles because Dalton's driver's license has been suspended due to a DUI. Booth is also currently struggling to find stunt work in Hollywood because of rumors that he murdered his wife.
Meanwhile, hot young actress, Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), and her husband, one of the hottest young directors in Hollywood, Roman Polanski (Rafal Zawierucha), have moved next door to Dalton. Dalton dreams of befriending the couple in a bid to help revive his declining acting career. Months later, late in the evening of August 8th and in the very early moments of August 9th, 1969, both Dalton and Booth will have a chance to change their own fates and that of Tate and her friends.
Quentin Tarantino's Oscar-winning, 2009 film, Inglourious Basterds, is a bracing, gripping, hugely entertaining, and brilliantly-made film. However, I am always put-off by its alternate-history last act, which has some splendid moments and a genius final scene, but also has that kill Hitler thing.
Tarantino's Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood is not bracing or gripping for most of first two hours of storytelling. Rather than being a brilliantly-made film, Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood has genius level productions values: cinematography, production design and art direction, costumes, soundtrack, editing, etc.
However, there are two segments towards the end of the film that make Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood a truly great film and one of 2019's very best. First, there is Cliff Booth's visit to the “Spahn Ranch,” a sequence that is scarier than most entire horror movies and has more tension than most crime thriller films have in their entire story. The second great segment is the film's final half-hour, which is the kind of film-making that only a genius filmmaker can create. Without spoiling the film, I can say that this finale, which alters history and which is largely driven by graphic violence, had me cheering and screaming like a madman as I was watching it shortly after one o'clock in the morning. This last half-hour was the catharsis that I did not realize that I had needed for decades.
Now, that I have praised Tarantino and his artistic and technical collaborators, I need to praise the acting. Most all of the small performances are quite good. The three performances that drive Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood are given by Leonardo DiCaprio as Rick Dalton, Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth, and, in a somewhat smaller part, Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate.
DiCaprio fashions a fading TV star in Dalton that is so convincing that I had to convince myself that Dalton is a fictional character and not a real-world actor. Pitt finally received the acting Oscar he has been long overdue for creating in Booth, a rich character filled charm, pathos, and soul. Robbie plays Sharon Tate as a happy spirit, embracing her craft and profession with innocence that is not naive and with a joy that dispels at least some of the darkness that was closing in on the last days of the 1960s and on “old Hollywood.” Robbie gives Tate a love of people that provides this fairy tale of a film with the smattering a fairy dust that it needs.
And that is what Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood really is. It is a fairy tale, complete with a lurking darkness and edginess, that is an ode to the world in and around a Los Angeles and a Hollywood that existed more in perception than in reality. And once again, I can say that in Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, Tarantino has made a movie that no one else could ever make.
A+
9 out of 10
Friday, May 1, 2020
NOTES:
Academy Awards, USA 2020: 2 wins: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Brad Pitt) and “Best Achievement in Production Design” (Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh); 8 nominations: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (David Heyman, Shannon McIntosh, and Quentin Tarantino), “Best Achievement in Directing” (Quentin Tarantino), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Leonardo DiCaprio), “Best Original Screenplay” (Quentin Tarantino), “Best Achievement in Cinematography” (Robert Richardson), “Best Achievement in Costume Design” (Arianne Phillips), “Best Achievement in Sound Mixing” (Michael Minkler, Christian P. Minkler, and Mark Ulano), and “Best Achievement in Sound Editing” (Wylie Stateman)
Golden Globes, USA 2020: 3 wins: “Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy,” “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Brad Pitt) and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Quentin Tarantino); 2 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Leonardo DiCaprio) and “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Quentin Tarantino)
BAFTA Awards 2020: 1 win: “Best Supporting Actor” (Brad Pitt); 9 nominations: “Best Film” (David Heyman and Shannon McIntosh), “Best Screenplay-Original” (Quentin Tarantino), “Best Leading Actor” (Leonardo DiCaprio), “Best Supporting Actress” (Margot Robbie), “Best Director” (Quentin Tarantino), “Best Editing” (Fred Raskin), “Best Production Design” (Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh), “Best Costume Design” (Arianne Phillips), and “Best Casting” (Victoria Thomas)
The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees
----------------------------
Friday, April 24, 2020
Negromancer News Bits and Bites from April 19th to 25th, 2020 - Update #26
by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
Support Leroy on Patreon:
CORONAVIRUS/COVID-19 NEWS - Hollywood and Beyond:
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 YahooNYT: COVID-19 may have been spreading throughout the United States much earlier than originally thought.
From Truthout: The US’s Failed Response to the Pandemic Is Rooted in Anti-Blackness.
From THR: "Better Call Saul" actor Bob Odenkirk talks about his son, Nate's bout with COVID-19.
From Variety: Saturday, April 18th's star-studded "One World: Together at Home" concert raised $127 million for health care workers and coronavirus relief.
From YahooEntertainment: Actor Tom Hanks recalls he and wife, actress-producer Rita Wilson's struggle to recover from COVID-19.
From YahooMoney: (4/17) - American are applying for "Food Stamps" in droves.
COVID-19 OBITS:
From MSN: Donald Reed Herring, the oldest of U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren's three brothers, has died at the age of 86, Tuesday, April 21, 2020 of complications related to COVID-19.
From THR: American cinematographer, Allen Daviau, has died at the age of 77, Wednesday, April 15, 2020, from complications of COVID-19. He was a five-time Oscar-nominee for best cinematography - three for his work with Steven Spielberg ("E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," "The Color Purple," and "Empire of the Sun") and two for his work with Barry Levinson ("Avalon" and "Bugsy").
From Billboard: Celebrated jazz saxophonist, Lee Konitz, has died at the age of 92, Wednesday, April 15, 2020 from complications of COVID-19. Konitz was known for his association with the "cool jazz movement" and for his participation with Miles Davis' "Birth of the Cool" sessions. In fact, Konitz was the last surviving performer of those sessions.
COVID-19 STIMULUS CHECK NEWS:
From YahooMoney: What to know about the mailing of COVID-19 stimulus checks.
From YahooFinance: (4/19) Here is why you aren't able to track your stimulus money.
From YahooNews: Deceased people are getting stimulus check... and the heirs and spouses may be able to keep them.
From YahooNews: This article updates information on COVID-19 stimulus checks, including the introduction of a web tool that will let people track their checks.
According to the Washington Post, here is the timetable for when the IRS will start issuing checks to those who will receive their checks by mail:
Taxpayers with income up to $10,000: April 24
Taxpayers with income up to $20,000: May 1
Taxpayers with income up to $40,000: May 15.
The article has information about mailing dates after May 15th.
REGULAR ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:
ANIMATION - From CartoonBrew: The new series of Looney Tunes cartoon shorts that were originally announced back in 2018 will debut on HBO Max streaming service when it debuts on May 27th. They are being packaged as 80 episodes of 11 minutes in length. Each episode will by comprised of animated shorts of varying lengths.
From CartoonBrew: This link will let you see one of the shorts, a Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd short entitled "Dynamite Dance."
STREAMING - From Variety: Warner Media will launch its new streaming servie, "HBO Max," May 27th, 2020.
ANIMATION - From Deadline: Warner Bros. has decided to release its upcoming theatrical animated feature film, "Scoob!," on VOD (video on demand) and premium digital ownership. The film had been slated for a May 15th release in theaters. The film details how Scooby-Doo and Shaggy first met and how they joined Fred, Daphne, and Velma to form "Mystery Inc."
MARVEL - From THR: Marvel has terminated showrunner deals with Steve Lightfoot (Netflix/Marvel's "The Punisher") and Paul Zbyszewski ("Helstrom").
SEX - From BET: Comedian and actress Tiffany Haddish explains why she prefers men with small penises.
MOVIES - From GamesRadar: Director Colin Trevorrow posts the first image from "Jurassic World: Dominion," the third film in the "Jurassic World" franchise.
MOVIES - From THR: Lionsgate will begin work on a "Hunger Games" sequel film that will be based on the upcomig prequel novel, "The Battle of Songbirds and Snake" (May 19th).
STAR TREK - From Newsarama: Actor LeVar Burton says that he is in talks to reprise his "Star Trek: The Next Generation" role of "Jordi La Forge" for season two of streamer, CBS All Access' "Star Trek: Picard."
STREAMING - From Deadline: Netflix pays $20 million dollars for "The Starling," which stars Melissa McCarthy and is directed by Ted Melfi.
STREAMING - From Variety: Apple may be about to make a $200 million+ risk on Martin Scorsese's next film, "Killers of the Flower Moon," which will star Leonard DiCaprio.
SPORTS - From Variety: Jennifer Lopez and her fiance, former Major League Baseball great, Alex Rodriguez, may be working on a bid to buy the New York Mets baseball team.
MOVIES - From Variety: Hot off "Harriet," Kasi Lemons will write and direct WWII drama, "The Shadow King." It focuses on the women soldiers of Ethiopia who fought against a German invasion, but were left out of history.
OBITS:
From THR: The film, TV, and stage actress, Shirley Knight, has died at the age of Wednesday, April 22, 2020. She was a two-time best supporting actress Oscar nominee ("The Dark at the Top of the Stairs," and "Sweet Bird of Youth"). She was a three-time Primetime Emmy Award winner, and won a Tony Award for her performance in "Kennedy's Children."
From THR: The actor, Tom Lester, has died at the age of 81, Monday, April 20, 2020. Lester is best known for playing the lanky, wide-eyed, easygoing farmhand, Eb Dawson, on the CBS comedy series, "Green Acres" (1965 to 1971). He was the last surviving regular cast member of the series.
From Deadline: The Indian/Bollywood actor, Ranjit Chowdhry, has died at the age of 64, Wednesday, April 15, 2020. He crossed over into American films and television, beginning in the early 1990s. He appeared in such American TV series as "The Office" (NBC) and "Prison Break" (Fox). His most prominent American role was probably in the 2006 Queen Latifah film, "Last Holiday."
From Syfy: The illustrator, animator, and comic book artist, Gene Deitch, has died at the age of 95, Thursday, April 16, 2020. He directed the Oscar-winning animated short film, "Munro" (1960,) with the Oscar going to the film's producer. In 1964, two animated short films Deitch directed earned Oscar nominations. Deith may be best known for directing and creating the "Tom Terrific" cartoon shorts for the legendary children's TV series, "Captain Kangaroo" (CBS). Gene's three sons are prominent figures in the Underground Comics movement, especially Kim Deitch.
Support Leroy on Patreon:
CORONAVIRUS/COVID-19 NEWS - Hollywood and Beyond:
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 YahooNYT: COVID-19 may have been spreading throughout the United States much earlier than originally thought.
From Truthout: The US’s Failed Response to the Pandemic Is Rooted in Anti-Blackness.
From THR: "Better Call Saul" actor Bob Odenkirk talks about his son, Nate's bout with COVID-19.
From Variety: Saturday, April 18th's star-studded "One World: Together at Home" concert raised $127 million for health care workers and coronavirus relief.
From YahooEntertainment: Actor Tom Hanks recalls he and wife, actress-producer Rita Wilson's struggle to recover from COVID-19.
From YahooMoney: (4/17) - American are applying for "Food Stamps" in droves.
COVID-19 OBITS:
From MSN: Donald Reed Herring, the oldest of U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren's three brothers, has died at the age of 86, Tuesday, April 21, 2020 of complications related to COVID-19.
From THR: American cinematographer, Allen Daviau, has died at the age of 77, Wednesday, April 15, 2020, from complications of COVID-19. He was a five-time Oscar-nominee for best cinematography - three for his work with Steven Spielberg ("E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," "The Color Purple," and "Empire of the Sun") and two for his work with Barry Levinson ("Avalon" and "Bugsy").
From Billboard: Celebrated jazz saxophonist, Lee Konitz, has died at the age of 92, Wednesday, April 15, 2020 from complications of COVID-19. Konitz was known for his association with the "cool jazz movement" and for his participation with Miles Davis' "Birth of the Cool" sessions. In fact, Konitz was the last surviving performer of those sessions.
COVID-19 STIMULUS CHECK NEWS:
From YahooMoney: What to know about the mailing of COVID-19 stimulus checks.
From YahooFinance: (4/19) Here is why you aren't able to track your stimulus money.
From YahooNews: Deceased people are getting stimulus check... and the heirs and spouses may be able to keep them.
From YahooNews: This article updates information on COVID-19 stimulus checks, including the introduction of a web tool that will let people track their checks.
According to the Washington Post, here is the timetable for when the IRS will start issuing checks to those who will receive their checks by mail:
Taxpayers with income up to $10,000: April 24
Taxpayers with income up to $20,000: May 1
Taxpayers with income up to $40,000: May 15.
The article has information about mailing dates after May 15th.
REGULAR ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:
ANIMATION - From CartoonBrew: The new series of Looney Tunes cartoon shorts that were originally announced back in 2018 will debut on HBO Max streaming service when it debuts on May 27th. They are being packaged as 80 episodes of 11 minutes in length. Each episode will by comprised of animated shorts of varying lengths.
From CartoonBrew: This link will let you see one of the shorts, a Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd short entitled "Dynamite Dance."
STREAMING - From Variety: Warner Media will launch its new streaming servie, "HBO Max," May 27th, 2020.
ANIMATION - From Deadline: Warner Bros. has decided to release its upcoming theatrical animated feature film, "Scoob!," on VOD (video on demand) and premium digital ownership. The film had been slated for a May 15th release in theaters. The film details how Scooby-Doo and Shaggy first met and how they joined Fred, Daphne, and Velma to form "Mystery Inc."
MARVEL - From THR: Marvel has terminated showrunner deals with Steve Lightfoot (Netflix/Marvel's "The Punisher") and Paul Zbyszewski ("Helstrom").
SEX - From BET: Comedian and actress Tiffany Haddish explains why she prefers men with small penises.
MOVIES - From GamesRadar: Director Colin Trevorrow posts the first image from "Jurassic World: Dominion," the third film in the "Jurassic World" franchise.
MOVIES - From THR: Lionsgate will begin work on a "Hunger Games" sequel film that will be based on the upcomig prequel novel, "The Battle of Songbirds and Snake" (May 19th).
STAR TREK - From Newsarama: Actor LeVar Burton says that he is in talks to reprise his "Star Trek: The Next Generation" role of "Jordi La Forge" for season two of streamer, CBS All Access' "Star Trek: Picard."
STREAMING - From Deadline: Netflix pays $20 million dollars for "The Starling," which stars Melissa McCarthy and is directed by Ted Melfi.
STREAMING - From Variety: Apple may be about to make a $200 million+ risk on Martin Scorsese's next film, "Killers of the Flower Moon," which will star Leonard DiCaprio.
SPORTS - From Variety: Jennifer Lopez and her fiance, former Major League Baseball great, Alex Rodriguez, may be working on a bid to buy the New York Mets baseball team.
MOVIES - From Variety: Hot off "Harriet," Kasi Lemons will write and direct WWII drama, "The Shadow King." It focuses on the women soldiers of Ethiopia who fought against a German invasion, but were left out of history.
OBITS:
From THR: The film, TV, and stage actress, Shirley Knight, has died at the age of Wednesday, April 22, 2020. She was a two-time best supporting actress Oscar nominee ("The Dark at the Top of the Stairs," and "Sweet Bird of Youth"). She was a three-time Primetime Emmy Award winner, and won a Tony Award for her performance in "Kennedy's Children."
From THR: The actor, Tom Lester, has died at the age of 81, Monday, April 20, 2020. Lester is best known for playing the lanky, wide-eyed, easygoing farmhand, Eb Dawson, on the CBS comedy series, "Green Acres" (1965 to 1971). He was the last surviving regular cast member of the series.
From Deadline: The Indian/Bollywood actor, Ranjit Chowdhry, has died at the age of 64, Wednesday, April 15, 2020. He crossed over into American films and television, beginning in the early 1990s. He appeared in such American TV series as "The Office" (NBC) and "Prison Break" (Fox). His most prominent American role was probably in the 2006 Queen Latifah film, "Last Holiday."
From Syfy: The illustrator, animator, and comic book artist, Gene Deitch, has died at the age of 95, Thursday, April 16, 2020. He directed the Oscar-winning animated short film, "Munro" (1960,) with the Oscar going to the film's producer. In 1964, two animated short films Deitch directed earned Oscar nominations. Deith may be best known for directing and creating the "Tom Terrific" cartoon shorts for the legendary children's TV series, "Captain Kangaroo" (CBS). Gene's three sons are prominent figures in the Underground Comics movement, especially Kim Deitch.
Saturday, April 18, 2020
Negromancer News Bits and Bites from April 12th to 18th, 2020 - Update #24
by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
Support Leroy on Patreon:
CORONAVIRUS/COVID-19 NEWS - Hollywood and Beyond:
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 YahooSports: Brian Allen, the starting center for the Los Angeles Rams, announced that he has twice tested positive for COVID-19. He is the first known NFL player to test positive for the virus.
From NBCSports: Super Bowl 50 MVP Von Miller of the Denver Broncos has tested positive for COVID-19.
From Deadline: "Saturday Night Live" performer, Michael Che, is paying one month's rent for residents of the New York house complex where his late grandmother lived. Che's grandmother, Martha, recently died of complications of COVID-19.
From NJHerald: An investigation has been launched into an elder care facility after 17 bodies are found piled into a small morgue at the facility.
From Variety: Thanks to a COVID-19 surge in orders, shares of Amazon's stock hits an all-time high. The company is currently valued at 1.1 trillion dollars.
From CNN: Actress and film producer, Rita Wilson (and wife of Tom Hanks), describes her experience with COVID-19 in her first interview
From YahooNews: President Donald once wanted to let COVID-19 "wash over the country."
From Deadline: Disney World to furlough 43,000 due to COVID-19 disruptions.
COVID-19 STIMULUS CHECK NEWS:
From YahooNews: Deceased people are getting stimulus check... and the heirs and spouses may be able to keep them.
From YahooNews: This article updates information on COVID-19 stimulus checks, including the introduction of a web tool that will let people track their checks.
According to the Washington Post, here is the timetable for when the IRS will start issuing checks to those who will receive their checks by mail:
Taxpayers with income up to $10,000: April 24
Taxpayers with income up to $20,000: May 1
Taxpayers with income up to $40,000: May 15.
The article has information about mailing dates after May 15th,
COVID-19 OBIT:
From Deadline: The legendary celebrity, film and TV hairstylist, Charles Gregory Ross, died Wednesday, April 8, 2020 due to complications of COVID-19. He worked on numerous film and TV productions over a nearly 30-year career. Ross worked on many Tyler Perry productions and he received a 2005 Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his work on the 2005 HBO movie, "Lackawanna Blues."
------------------------------------------------
REGULAR ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:
MOVIES - From BET: Halle Berry debuts her chiseled abs and hard new body as she preps for the martial arts drama, "Bruised," which she is directing.
TRAILER - From Variety: Actor Tom Hardy and director Josh Trank's Al Capone biopic, "Capone," will hit video-on-demand (VOD) on May 12th.
MOVIES-CHARITY - From Deadline: Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro offer a chance to win a walk-on role in Martin Scorsese's film, "Killers of the Flower Moon."
TELEVISION - From THR: The site offers a review of "The Last Dance," ESPN's 10-part documentary TV series about Michael Jordan and the NBA's Chicago Bulls.
TELEVISION - From Deadline: CBS has cancelled its Sunday night TV series, "God Friended Me" after two seasons. The two-hour series finale will be broadcast Sunday, April 26th.
BOX OFFICE - From Deadline: Universal Pictures is still collecting data, but it expects a record-setting digital rental weekend for "Trolls: World Tour." The DreamWorks Animation film was #1 on all on-demand platforms.
MOVIES - From VanityFair: The magazine has a first look at Oscar-nominated actor Timothee Chalamet as "Paul Atreides" in director Denis Villeneuve's upcoming "Dune."
DISNEY - From Deadline: Disney is in early development of a live-action/CG-hybrid of its animated film, "Robin Hood" (1973). Carlos Lopez Estrada ("Blindspotting") will direct.
MOVIES - From Deadline: Dwayne Johnson talks about a "Hobbs & Shaw" sequel and about losing out of "Jack Reacher" to Tom Cruise.
OBITS:
From Deadline: Award-winning film, television, and stage actor, Brian Dennehy, has died at the age of 81, Wednesday, April 15, 2020, of cardiac arrest. Dennehy is best known for his appearances in such films as "First Blood" (1982) and "Tommy Boy" (1995). He won the Tony Award for "Best Actor in a Play," including for 1999 revival of the play, "Death of a Salesman."
From Heavy: Prolific Japanese voice actor Keiji Fujiwara has died at the age of 55, Sunday, April 12, 2020 of cancer. Fujiwara was a voice actor in numerous Japanese anime film ("Crayon Shin-chan" franchise) and television series ("Fullmetal Alchemist," "Kingdom Hearts") and video games ("Final Fantasy" franchise). He also provided the Japanese dub for numerous English-language live-action movies. He was most notably the Japanese voice dub for actor Robert Downey, Jr., providing the Japanese voice for Downey's "Tony Stark/Iron Man" and "Sherlock Holmes."
From CNN: American actor and animation voice actor, Danny Goldman, has died at the age of 80, Monday, April 12, 2020, has died from complications of two strokes he suffered earlier this year. Goldman is best known for being the voice of "Brainy Smurf" on NBC's Saturday morning animation series, "The Smurfs" (1981 to 1989). His most memorable scene in a movie was as an annoying medical student vexing Gene Wilder in Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein" (1974).
From BleacherReport: Former NFL quarterback Tarvaris Jackson has died at the age of 36, Sunday, April 12, 2020 in a single-car crash. Jackson played in the NFL from 2006 to 2015. It was during his second stint with the Seattle Seahawks (2013-2015) that he was a member of the Seahawks' Super Bowl XLVIII (#48 held on Feb. 2nd, 2014) championship team. Since 2019, he had been a quarterbacks coach with Tennessee State University.
From CNN: American entrepreneur, publisher, businessman, philanthropist, and advocate of African-American businesses, Earl G. Graves, Sr., has died at the age of 85, Monday, April 6, 2020 of complications from Alzheimer's disease. Graves was best known for founding "Black Enterprise" magazine, which was founded to focus on Black entrepreneurs and Black businesses.
Support Leroy on Patreon:
CORONAVIRUS/COVID-19 NEWS - Hollywood and Beyond:
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 YahooSports: Brian Allen, the starting center for the Los Angeles Rams, announced that he has twice tested positive for COVID-19. He is the first known NFL player to test positive for the virus.
From NBCSports: Super Bowl 50 MVP Von Miller of the Denver Broncos has tested positive for COVID-19.
From Deadline: "Saturday Night Live" performer, Michael Che, is paying one month's rent for residents of the New York house complex where his late grandmother lived. Che's grandmother, Martha, recently died of complications of COVID-19.
From NJHerald: An investigation has been launched into an elder care facility after 17 bodies are found piled into a small morgue at the facility.
From Variety: Thanks to a COVID-19 surge in orders, shares of Amazon's stock hits an all-time high. The company is currently valued at 1.1 trillion dollars.
From CNN: Actress and film producer, Rita Wilson (and wife of Tom Hanks), describes her experience with COVID-19 in her first interview
From YahooNews: President Donald once wanted to let COVID-19 "wash over the country."
From Deadline: Disney World to furlough 43,000 due to COVID-19 disruptions.
COVID-19 STIMULUS CHECK NEWS:
From YahooNews: Deceased people are getting stimulus check... and the heirs and spouses may be able to keep them.
From YahooNews: This article updates information on COVID-19 stimulus checks, including the introduction of a web tool that will let people track their checks.
According to the Washington Post, here is the timetable for when the IRS will start issuing checks to those who will receive their checks by mail:
Taxpayers with income up to $10,000: April 24
Taxpayers with income up to $20,000: May 1
Taxpayers with income up to $40,000: May 15.
The article has information about mailing dates after May 15th,
COVID-19 OBIT:
From Deadline: The legendary celebrity, film and TV hairstylist, Charles Gregory Ross, died Wednesday, April 8, 2020 due to complications of COVID-19. He worked on numerous film and TV productions over a nearly 30-year career. Ross worked on many Tyler Perry productions and he received a 2005 Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his work on the 2005 HBO movie, "Lackawanna Blues."
------------------------------------------------
REGULAR ENTERTAINMENT NEWS:
MOVIES - From BET: Halle Berry debuts her chiseled abs and hard new body as she preps for the martial arts drama, "Bruised," which she is directing.
TRAILER - From Variety: Actor Tom Hardy and director Josh Trank's Al Capone biopic, "Capone," will hit video-on-demand (VOD) on May 12th.
MOVIES-CHARITY - From Deadline: Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro offer a chance to win a walk-on role in Martin Scorsese's film, "Killers of the Flower Moon."
TELEVISION - From THR: The site offers a review of "The Last Dance," ESPN's 10-part documentary TV series about Michael Jordan and the NBA's Chicago Bulls.
TELEVISION - From Deadline: CBS has cancelled its Sunday night TV series, "God Friended Me" after two seasons. The two-hour series finale will be broadcast Sunday, April 26th.
BOX OFFICE - From Deadline: Universal Pictures is still collecting data, but it expects a record-setting digital rental weekend for "Trolls: World Tour." The DreamWorks Animation film was #1 on all on-demand platforms.
MOVIES - From VanityFair: The magazine has a first look at Oscar-nominated actor Timothee Chalamet as "Paul Atreides" in director Denis Villeneuve's upcoming "Dune."
DISNEY - From Deadline: Disney is in early development of a live-action/CG-hybrid of its animated film, "Robin Hood" (1973). Carlos Lopez Estrada ("Blindspotting") will direct.
MOVIES - From Deadline: Dwayne Johnson talks about a "Hobbs & Shaw" sequel and about losing out of "Jack Reacher" to Tom Cruise.
OBITS:
From Deadline: Award-winning film, television, and stage actor, Brian Dennehy, has died at the age of 81, Wednesday, April 15, 2020, of cardiac arrest. Dennehy is best known for his appearances in such films as "First Blood" (1982) and "Tommy Boy" (1995). He won the Tony Award for "Best Actor in a Play," including for 1999 revival of the play, "Death of a Salesman."
From Heavy: Prolific Japanese voice actor Keiji Fujiwara has died at the age of 55, Sunday, April 12, 2020 of cancer. Fujiwara was a voice actor in numerous Japanese anime film ("Crayon Shin-chan" franchise) and television series ("Fullmetal Alchemist," "Kingdom Hearts") and video games ("Final Fantasy" franchise). He also provided the Japanese dub for numerous English-language live-action movies. He was most notably the Japanese voice dub for actor Robert Downey, Jr., providing the Japanese voice for Downey's "Tony Stark/Iron Man" and "Sherlock Holmes."
From CNN: American actor and animation voice actor, Danny Goldman, has died at the age of 80, Monday, April 12, 2020, has died from complications of two strokes he suffered earlier this year. Goldman is best known for being the voice of "Brainy Smurf" on NBC's Saturday morning animation series, "The Smurfs" (1981 to 1989). His most memorable scene in a movie was as an annoying medical student vexing Gene Wilder in Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein" (1974).
From BleacherReport: Former NFL quarterback Tarvaris Jackson has died at the age of 36, Sunday, April 12, 2020 in a single-car crash. Jackson played in the NFL from 2006 to 2015. It was during his second stint with the Seattle Seahawks (2013-2015) that he was a member of the Seahawks' Super Bowl XLVIII (#48 held on Feb. 2nd, 2014) championship team. Since 2019, he had been a quarterbacks coach with Tennessee State University.
From CNN: American entrepreneur, publisher, businessman, philanthropist, and advocate of African-American businesses, Earl G. Graves, Sr., has died at the age of 85, Monday, April 6, 2020 of complications from Alzheimer's disease. Graves was best known for founding "Black Enterprise" magazine, which was founded to focus on Black entrepreneurs and Black businesses.
Saturday, February 29, 2020
Negromancer News Bits and Bites from February 23rd to 29th, 2020 - Update #27
by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
Support Leroy on Patreon:
DISNEY - From YahooEntertainment: Walt Disney's classic animated feature film, Pinocchio, is 80 years old. This article tells you five things you may not know about the film, including that Disney had to make us like an unlikable character.
----------
AWARDS - From Deadline: At the 2020 Cesar Awards (France's Academy Awards), Roman Polanski wins "Best Director" for his film, "An Officer and a Spy." That caused some comotion...
----------
MOVIES - From Variety: The coronavirus outbreak is wreaking havoc with the launch efforts of major Hollywood films.
----------
TELEVISION - From Deadline: Television super-producer, Dick Wolf ("Law & Order" and "Chicago" franchises), signs a five-year, nine-figure mega-deal with Universal TV. That follows his nine-figure deal with Universal's "Peacock" streaming network. Both deals are thought to be worth close to a one billion dollars.
----------
TRAILER - From THR: Jordan Peele debuts the first trailer for his new film, "Candyman," which he produced and Nia DaCosta.
----------
JAMES BOND - From CNET: The upcoming James Bond film, "No Time to Die," looks to be the longest Bond film ever at over two and a half hours.
----------
CELEBRITY - From YahooFinance: Former action movie box office star, Steven Seagal, has been fined by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) for promoting a "cryptocurrency."
From TheGuardian: On a trip to Europe, Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow takes precautions in lights of the "coronavirus" outbreak, and that reminds her of a movie in which she starred - Steven Soderbergh's excellent "Contagion" (2011).
----------
MOVIES - From Variety: Steven Spielberg has directed all the "Indiana Jones" films thus far, beginning with "Raiders of the Lost Art" (1981) to the most recent "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls" (2008). For "Indiana Jones 5," Spielberg wants to hand the directorial reigns to Oscar-nominee James Mangold ("Ford v. Ferrari").
----------
MOVIES - From Variety: Kevin Hart's next film is an untitled action-comedy being developed by Universal Pictures and is based on an original idea from “Broad City’s” Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs.
----------
TELEVISION - From THR: The main cast for "American Horror Story" Season 10 has been announced. Among the cast is child star icon, Macaulay Culkin of "Home Alone" fame.
----------
DISNEY - From Deadline: Bob Iger has stepped down effective immediately as CEO of the Walt Disney Company. Disney's Board of Directors has named Bob Chapek the new CEO effective immediately. Iger will remain "Executive Chairman" through the end of his contract on Dec. 31, 2021.
----------
MOVIES - From Newsarama: The title of the third "Jurassic World" film is "Jurassic World: Dominion." The film is due June 11, 2021.
----------
MOVIES - From YahooEntertainment: The writers of the 1995 film, "Outbreak," talk about the sudden relevance of their film as the coronavirus "COVID-19" scares the world.
----------
MOVIES - From Collider: Ahead of the release of the first trailer for Jordan Peele's update of "Candyman," we get some teasing.
From BloodyDisgusting: This article provides a look at writer Clive Barker's iconic horror character, "Candyman," before he was a movie character played by actor Tony Todd.
----------
CELEBRITY - From Variety: Leonardo Di Caprio honors Jamie Foxx at the American Black Film Festival Honors on Sunday night (Feb. 23rd.)
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HARVEY WEINSTEIN - From THR: This morning (Mon, Feb. 24th), a jury found former movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein, guilty on two of five criminal charges. Weinstein was convicted of "criminal sexual assault in the first degree," based on the testimony of former "Project Runway" production assistant Miriam Haley, which carries a sentence of 5 to 25 years. He was also found guilty of "rape in the third degree," based on the testimony of former aspiring actress Jessica Mann, which carries a sentence of 18 months to 4 years.
From WBAL: Harvey Weinstein was immediately handcuffed and taken to jail after being convicted of rape and sexual assault charges Monday morning.
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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo: The winner fo the 2/21 -2/23/2020 weekend box office is "Sonic the Hedgehog" with an estimated take of $26.3 million.
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STREAMING - From Deadline: David Weil, creator of the Amazon series, "Hunters," responds to criticism from the "Auschwitz Memorial" Twitter account that his series is "historical inaccurate.
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AWARDS - From Deadline: The winners at the 51st NAACP Image Awards were announed last night (Sat., Feb. 22nd). Grammy-winning recording artist, Lizzo, was named "Entertainer of the Year." This link also leads to a complete list of the winners.
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POLITICS - From Variety: Oscar-winning filmmaker and legendary actor, Clint Eastwood, has gone from supporting President Donald Trump to endorsing former Mayor Mike Bloomberg in the 2020 presidential race.
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MOVIES - From SlashFilm: New Republic Pictures has won the rights to "Family Jewels," a multi-generational family comedy that reunited the "First Wives Club" trio of Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, and Diane Keaton.
OBITS:
From Deadline: Talk show host and television soap opera creator, Lee Phillip Bell, has died at the age of 91, Tuesday, February 25, 2020. With her late husband, William J. Bell, Lee created the TV soap opera dramas, "The Young and the Restless" (1973) and "The Bold and the Beautiful" (1987). Lee also hosted her own local TV talk show in Chicago, "The Lee Phillip Show," that ran from 1953 to 1986.
From Variety: Pioneering NASA mathematician, Katherine Johnson, has died at the age of 101, Monday, February 24, 2020. Her works was fundamental to landing U.S. astronauts on the moon. Johnson was featured in the 2016 book, "Hidden Figures." In the 2016, Oscar-nominated film adaptation, also entitled "Hidden Figures," Johnson was portrayed by actress Taraji P. Henson. Johnson received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2019.
From Variety: Film and television music composer, Bob Cobert, died at the age of 95, Wednesday, February 19, 2020. Cobert composed themes for the ABC horror soap opera, "Dark Shadows" (1966-71), which are probably his best known work. Cobert received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for composing music for the ABC miniseries, "War and Remembrance" (1988), the follow-up to "The Winds of War" (1983), for which Cobert also composed music.
From NBCNews: Celebrated lifestyle guru, model, and restaurateur, B. Smith, has died at the age of 70, Saturday, February 22, 2020. Smith had been suffering from early onset Alzheirmer's disease. Born Barbara Elaine Smith, B. Smith was a groundbreaking African-American model, she would go on to be a TV host and also author books on cooking and entertaining. She was the first African-American woman to have a home goods line sold at a national retailer (Bed, Bath & Beyond.)
Support Leroy on Patreon:
DISNEY - From YahooEntertainment: Walt Disney's classic animated feature film, Pinocchio, is 80 years old. This article tells you five things you may not know about the film, including that Disney had to make us like an unlikable character.
----------
AWARDS - From Deadline: At the 2020 Cesar Awards (France's Academy Awards), Roman Polanski wins "Best Director" for his film, "An Officer and a Spy." That caused some comotion...
----------
MOVIES - From Variety: The coronavirus outbreak is wreaking havoc with the launch efforts of major Hollywood films.
----------
TELEVISION - From Deadline: Television super-producer, Dick Wolf ("Law & Order" and "Chicago" franchises), signs a five-year, nine-figure mega-deal with Universal TV. That follows his nine-figure deal with Universal's "Peacock" streaming network. Both deals are thought to be worth close to a one billion dollars.
----------
TRAILER - From THR: Jordan Peele debuts the first trailer for his new film, "Candyman," which he produced and Nia DaCosta.
----------
JAMES BOND - From CNET: The upcoming James Bond film, "No Time to Die," looks to be the longest Bond film ever at over two and a half hours.
----------
CELEBRITY - From YahooFinance: Former action movie box office star, Steven Seagal, has been fined by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) for promoting a "cryptocurrency."
From TheGuardian: On a trip to Europe, Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow takes precautions in lights of the "coronavirus" outbreak, and that reminds her of a movie in which she starred - Steven Soderbergh's excellent "Contagion" (2011).
----------
MOVIES - From Variety: Steven Spielberg has directed all the "Indiana Jones" films thus far, beginning with "Raiders of the Lost Art" (1981) to the most recent "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls" (2008). For "Indiana Jones 5," Spielberg wants to hand the directorial reigns to Oscar-nominee James Mangold ("Ford v. Ferrari").
----------
MOVIES - From Variety: Kevin Hart's next film is an untitled action-comedy being developed by Universal Pictures and is based on an original idea from “Broad City’s” Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs.
----------
TELEVISION - From THR: The main cast for "American Horror Story" Season 10 has been announced. Among the cast is child star icon, Macaulay Culkin of "Home Alone" fame.
----------
DISNEY - From Deadline: Bob Iger has stepped down effective immediately as CEO of the Walt Disney Company. Disney's Board of Directors has named Bob Chapek the new CEO effective immediately. Iger will remain "Executive Chairman" through the end of his contract on Dec. 31, 2021.
----------
MOVIES - From Newsarama: The title of the third "Jurassic World" film is "Jurassic World: Dominion." The film is due June 11, 2021.
----------
MOVIES - From YahooEntertainment: The writers of the 1995 film, "Outbreak," talk about the sudden relevance of their film as the coronavirus "COVID-19" scares the world.
----------
MOVIES - From Collider: Ahead of the release of the first trailer for Jordan Peele's update of "Candyman," we get some teasing.
From BloodyDisgusting: This article provides a look at writer Clive Barker's iconic horror character, "Candyman," before he was a movie character played by actor Tony Todd.
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CELEBRITY - From Variety: Leonardo Di Caprio honors Jamie Foxx at the American Black Film Festival Honors on Sunday night (Feb. 23rd.)
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HARVEY WEINSTEIN - From THR: This morning (Mon, Feb. 24th), a jury found former movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein, guilty on two of five criminal charges. Weinstein was convicted of "criminal sexual assault in the first degree," based on the testimony of former "Project Runway" production assistant Miriam Haley, which carries a sentence of 5 to 25 years. He was also found guilty of "rape in the third degree," based on the testimony of former aspiring actress Jessica Mann, which carries a sentence of 18 months to 4 years.
From WBAL: Harvey Weinstein was immediately handcuffed and taken to jail after being convicted of rape and sexual assault charges Monday morning.
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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo: The winner fo the 2/21 -2/23/2020 weekend box office is "Sonic the Hedgehog" with an estimated take of $26.3 million.
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STREAMING - From Deadline: David Weil, creator of the Amazon series, "Hunters," responds to criticism from the "Auschwitz Memorial" Twitter account that his series is "historical inaccurate.
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AWARDS - From Deadline: The winners at the 51st NAACP Image Awards were announed last night (Sat., Feb. 22nd). Grammy-winning recording artist, Lizzo, was named "Entertainer of the Year." This link also leads to a complete list of the winners.
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POLITICS - From Variety: Oscar-winning filmmaker and legendary actor, Clint Eastwood, has gone from supporting President Donald Trump to endorsing former Mayor Mike Bloomberg in the 2020 presidential race.
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MOVIES - From SlashFilm: New Republic Pictures has won the rights to "Family Jewels," a multi-generational family comedy that reunited the "First Wives Club" trio of Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler, and Diane Keaton.
OBITS:
From Deadline: Talk show host and television soap opera creator, Lee Phillip Bell, has died at the age of 91, Tuesday, February 25, 2020. With her late husband, William J. Bell, Lee created the TV soap opera dramas, "The Young and the Restless" (1973) and "The Bold and the Beautiful" (1987). Lee also hosted her own local TV talk show in Chicago, "The Lee Phillip Show," that ran from 1953 to 1986.
From Variety: Pioneering NASA mathematician, Katherine Johnson, has died at the age of 101, Monday, February 24, 2020. Her works was fundamental to landing U.S. astronauts on the moon. Johnson was featured in the 2016 book, "Hidden Figures." In the 2016, Oscar-nominated film adaptation, also entitled "Hidden Figures," Johnson was portrayed by actress Taraji P. Henson. Johnson received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2019.
From Variety: Film and television music composer, Bob Cobert, died at the age of 95, Wednesday, February 19, 2020. Cobert composed themes for the ABC horror soap opera, "Dark Shadows" (1966-71), which are probably his best known work. Cobert received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for composing music for the ABC miniseries, "War and Remembrance" (1988), the follow-up to "The Winds of War" (1983), for which Cobert also composed music.
From NBCNews: Celebrated lifestyle guru, model, and restaurateur, B. Smith, has died at the age of 70, Saturday, February 22, 2020. Smith had been suffering from early onset Alzheirmer's disease. Born Barbara Elaine Smith, B. Smith was a groundbreaking African-American model, she would go on to be a TV host and also author books on cooking and entertaining. She was the first African-American woman to have a home goods line sold at a national retailer (Bed, Bath & Beyond.)
Saturday, December 7, 2019
Negromancer News Bits and Bites from December 1st to 7th, 2019 - Update #27
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AWARDS - From IndieWire: The National Board of Review has announced its 2019 film awards and name Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman" as its "Best Film of 2019."
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DISNEY - From THR: Disney is developing its first spinoff from its hit, live-action film, "Aladdin." The Disney+ project would focus on "Prince Anders," the dim-witted royal who wanted to marry Jasmine. Actor Billy Magnussen, who played the role in the film, would return for the spinoff.
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TELEVISION - From THR: HBO has picked up Adam McKay's drama about the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers of the professional basketball league, the National Basketball Association (NBA). McKay is executive producing the series that would focus on the "Showtime" era of the Lakers, led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson.
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MOVIES - From Deadline: Jason Reitman's "Ghostbusters" film now has a title, "Ghostbusters: Afterlife." There is also a first poster for the film, which is scheduled for a July 10, 2020 release. There may also be a first trailer of some sort released Mon. Dec. 9th.
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POLITICS - From TheHill: Oscar-nominated actor, Mark Ruffalo, endorses Senator Bernie Sanders in the 2020 U.S. presidential race.
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BLM - From YahooNews: Georgia college student, Tommia Dean, and a representative of Georgia's Department of Administrative Services have signed a settlement that gives Dean $145,000. Dean, a former Kennesaw State University cheerleader, was disciplined for taking a knee during the national anthem during a September 2017 football game.
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STAR WARS - From YahooGMA: "Star Wars" actress Daisy Ridley says that she does not take selfies with fans for reasons of privacy.
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CELEBRITY - From TheDailyBeast: The Egyptian-born, Canadian actor, Mena Massoud, played "Aladdin," in Disney's billion-dollar-grossing live-action remake, "Aladdin." Massoud says that he has not been able to get an audition since Aladdin debuted in theaters.
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JAMES BOND-TRAILER - From THR: The first official trailer for the next James Bond movie, "No Time to Die," makes it debut.
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MOVIES - From THR: 20th Century Fox has reportedly hired Wes Ball, the filmmaker behind "The Maze Runner" series, to redevelop the "Planet of the Apes" franchise. This would be the first historically Fox property to get the redevelopment treatment since the Walt Disney Company acquired Fox.
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AWARDS - From Variety: The New York Film Critics Circle name "The Irishman" the "best film of 2019."
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SPORTS - From NBA: Los Angeles Lakers Coach Frank Vogel has been named the "NBA Western Conference Coach of the Month" for game played in October and November 2019.
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JAMES BOND - From Newsarama: There are new character posters for the next James Bond film, "No Time to Die." The film is due April 8, 2020.
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COMICS-FILM TRAILER - From EW: Marvel Studios releases the first official teaser trailer and a poster for its next feature film, "Black Widow," which is set for release, May 1, 2020.
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AWARDS - From Deadline: The winners of the 2019 IFP "Gotham Awards" were announced last night (Mon., Dec. 2nd). Noah Baumbach's "Marriage Story" won four awards including for "best feature," "best actor" (Adam Driver), and "best screenplay."
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MOVIES - From Deadline: Two-time Oscar-winner Alexander Payne is attached to a "re-imagining" of the Oscar-winning Danish film, "Babette's Feast" (1987).
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SCANDAL - From Deadline: The actor's union, SAG-AFTRA, has gotten involved in Gabrielle Union's firing from the reality competition TV series, "America's Got Talent" (NBC)," by launching their on probe.
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AWARDS - From Deadline: The nominations for the 47th / 2020 Annie Awards have been announced. The Annies are considered the most important honor in the animation film industry... after the Academy Awards, which currently dedicates two Oscars to animated filmmaking.
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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo: The winner of the 11/29 to 12/1/2019 weekend box office is "Frozen 2" with an estimated take of 85.2 million dollars.
From Variety: "Frozen 2" grossed 123.7 million dollars over the five-day Thanksgiving 2019 weekend. That is a record for that frame, besting previous record holder, "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" (2013), which made 109 million dollars over the five-day period.
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MOVIES - From IndependentUK: 2019 seems to be the year directors and stars of film bombs and flops have been apologizing in public for them. Why? The article offers a reason.
From TorontoSun: The "Toronto Sun" suggests 10 films to see this month, in December 2019.
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AVATAR - From Deadline: The "Avatar" sequel marks the end of filming for 2019 with a set photo.
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ECO - From Deadline: Leonardo DiCaprio responds to the ridiculous claims from Jair Bolsonaro, president of Brazil, that the Oscar-winning actor is bankrolling the fires currently raging through the Amazon rain forest.
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OBITS:
From Deadline: Veteran TV and film executive and producer, Leonard Goldberg, has died at the age of 85, Wednesday, December 4, 2019. He was the former president of 20th Century Fox and Head of Programming at ABC. Goldberg was an executive producer of such TV series as "Charlie’s Angels" (1976-1981) and "Blue Bloods" (2010 to present).
From Deadline: The actor, Robert Walker, Jr., has died at the age of 79, Thursday, December 5, 2019. He was the son of Hollywood stars, Robert Walker (best known for Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train") and Jennifer Jones (who won an Oscar for her performance in "The Song of Bernadette"). Although he made numerous film and TV appearances, Walker is best known for appearing in the "Charlie X," the second episode of the first season of the original "Star Trek" TV series.
From THR: Television writer Dorothy Catherine Fontana, better known as D.C. Fontana, has died at the age of 80, Monday, December 2, 2019. Once a secretary, Fontana moved into writing scripts for television in the 1960s. She is best known for her association with the original "Star Trek" TV series, being credited for writing or co-writing 10 episodes and working as the series "story editor" for the first two seasons.
From Deadline: Actress Shelley Morrison has died at the age of 83, Sunday, December 1, 2019. She had a 50-year career in film and television, but Morrison was best known for playing fan-favorite character, "Rosario Salazar," on the NBC television series, "Will & Grace" (1999-2006).
From BBC: The African-American songwriter and musician, Irving Louis Burgie - better known as Lord Burgess - has died at the age of 95, Friday, November 29, 2019. Burgess is best known for co-writing a version of the Jamaican folk song, "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)," that Harry Belafonte made famous. He also wrote eight of the 11 songs on Belafonte's 1956 album, Calypso, which was the first album to sell one million copies.
AWARDS - From IndieWire: The National Board of Review has announced its 2019 film awards and name Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman" as its "Best Film of 2019."
----------
DISNEY - From THR: Disney is developing its first spinoff from its hit, live-action film, "Aladdin." The Disney+ project would focus on "Prince Anders," the dim-witted royal who wanted to marry Jasmine. Actor Billy Magnussen, who played the role in the film, would return for the spinoff.
----------
TELEVISION - From THR: HBO has picked up Adam McKay's drama about the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers of the professional basketball league, the National Basketball Association (NBA). McKay is executive producing the series that would focus on the "Showtime" era of the Lakers, led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson.
----------
MOVIES - From Deadline: Jason Reitman's "Ghostbusters" film now has a title, "Ghostbusters: Afterlife." There is also a first poster for the film, which is scheduled for a July 10, 2020 release. There may also be a first trailer of some sort released Mon. Dec. 9th.
----------
POLITICS - From TheHill: Oscar-nominated actor, Mark Ruffalo, endorses Senator Bernie Sanders in the 2020 U.S. presidential race.
----------
BLM - From YahooNews: Georgia college student, Tommia Dean, and a representative of Georgia's Department of Administrative Services have signed a settlement that gives Dean $145,000. Dean, a former Kennesaw State University cheerleader, was disciplined for taking a knee during the national anthem during a September 2017 football game.
----------
STAR WARS - From YahooGMA: "Star Wars" actress Daisy Ridley says that she does not take selfies with fans for reasons of privacy.
---------
CELEBRITY - From TheDailyBeast: The Egyptian-born, Canadian actor, Mena Massoud, played "Aladdin," in Disney's billion-dollar-grossing live-action remake, "Aladdin." Massoud says that he has not been able to get an audition since Aladdin debuted in theaters.
----------
JAMES BOND-TRAILER - From THR: The first official trailer for the next James Bond movie, "No Time to Die," makes it debut.
----------
MOVIES - From THR: 20th Century Fox has reportedly hired Wes Ball, the filmmaker behind "The Maze Runner" series, to redevelop the "Planet of the Apes" franchise. This would be the first historically Fox property to get the redevelopment treatment since the Walt Disney Company acquired Fox.
----------
AWARDS - From Variety: The New York Film Critics Circle name "The Irishman" the "best film of 2019."
----------
SPORTS - From NBA: Los Angeles Lakers Coach Frank Vogel has been named the "NBA Western Conference Coach of the Month" for game played in October and November 2019.
----------
JAMES BOND - From Newsarama: There are new character posters for the next James Bond film, "No Time to Die." The film is due April 8, 2020.
----------
COMICS-FILM TRAILER - From EW: Marvel Studios releases the first official teaser trailer and a poster for its next feature film, "Black Widow," which is set for release, May 1, 2020.
----------
AWARDS - From Deadline: The winners of the 2019 IFP "Gotham Awards" were announced last night (Mon., Dec. 2nd). Noah Baumbach's "Marriage Story" won four awards including for "best feature," "best actor" (Adam Driver), and "best screenplay."
----------
MOVIES - From Deadline: Two-time Oscar-winner Alexander Payne is attached to a "re-imagining" of the Oscar-winning Danish film, "Babette's Feast" (1987).
----------
SCANDAL - From Deadline: The actor's union, SAG-AFTRA, has gotten involved in Gabrielle Union's firing from the reality competition TV series, "America's Got Talent" (NBC)," by launching their on probe.
----------
AWARDS - From Deadline: The nominations for the 47th / 2020 Annie Awards have been announced. The Annies are considered the most important honor in the animation film industry... after the Academy Awards, which currently dedicates two Oscars to animated filmmaking.
----------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo: The winner of the 11/29 to 12/1/2019 weekend box office is "Frozen 2" with an estimated take of 85.2 million dollars.
From Variety: "Frozen 2" grossed 123.7 million dollars over the five-day Thanksgiving 2019 weekend. That is a record for that frame, besting previous record holder, "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" (2013), which made 109 million dollars over the five-day period.
----------
MOVIES - From IndependentUK: 2019 seems to be the year directors and stars of film bombs and flops have been apologizing in public for them. Why? The article offers a reason.
From TorontoSun: The "Toronto Sun" suggests 10 films to see this month, in December 2019.
----------
AVATAR - From Deadline: The "Avatar" sequel marks the end of filming for 2019 with a set photo.
----------
ECO - From Deadline: Leonardo DiCaprio responds to the ridiculous claims from Jair Bolsonaro, president of Brazil, that the Oscar-winning actor is bankrolling the fires currently raging through the Amazon rain forest.
----------
OBITS:
From Deadline: Veteran TV and film executive and producer, Leonard Goldberg, has died at the age of 85, Wednesday, December 4, 2019. He was the former president of 20th Century Fox and Head of Programming at ABC. Goldberg was an executive producer of such TV series as "Charlie’s Angels" (1976-1981) and "Blue Bloods" (2010 to present).
From Deadline: The actor, Robert Walker, Jr., has died at the age of 79, Thursday, December 5, 2019. He was the son of Hollywood stars, Robert Walker (best known for Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train") and Jennifer Jones (who won an Oscar for her performance in "The Song of Bernadette"). Although he made numerous film and TV appearances, Walker is best known for appearing in the "Charlie X," the second episode of the first season of the original "Star Trek" TV series.
From THR: Television writer Dorothy Catherine Fontana, better known as D.C. Fontana, has died at the age of 80, Monday, December 2, 2019. Once a secretary, Fontana moved into writing scripts for television in the 1960s. She is best known for her association with the original "Star Trek" TV series, being credited for writing or co-writing 10 episodes and working as the series "story editor" for the first two seasons.
From Deadline: Actress Shelley Morrison has died at the age of 83, Sunday, December 1, 2019. She had a 50-year career in film and television, but Morrison was best known for playing fan-favorite character, "Rosario Salazar," on the NBC television series, "Will & Grace" (1999-2006).
From BBC: The African-American songwriter and musician, Irving Louis Burgie - better known as Lord Burgess - has died at the age of 95, Friday, November 29, 2019. Burgess is best known for co-writing a version of the Jamaican folk song, "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)," that Harry Belafonte made famous. He also wrote eight of the 11 songs on Belafonte's 1956 album, Calypso, which was the first album to sell one million copies.
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