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Monday, October 16, 2023
Comic Books, Magazines and Books from Diamond Distributors for October 18, 2023
Saturday, October 7, 2023
Negromancer News Bits and Bites from October 1st to 7th, 2023 - Update #22
by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:
ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:
MOVIES - From Deadline: Guillermo del Toro explains why he didn't direct nor watch "Pacific Rim: Uprising," the 2018 sequel to his 2013 film, "Pacific Rim."
CELEBRITY - From THR: That time Primetime Emmy winner, Kerry Washington, found out that she was conceived via a sperm donor.
MOVIES - From Deadline: Kevin Costner's Western epic, "Horizon: An American Saga," will be released in two-parts. Chapter 1 opens June 28, 2024, and Chapter 2 opens August 16, 2024. The Oscar-winning Costner's previous Western epics include "Dances with Wolves" (1990) and Open Range (2003).
MOVIES - From Deadline: Universal Pictures is setting up to produce definitive biographical film about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The studio has optioned the rights to adapt Jonathan Eig’s critically acclaimed biography, "King: A Life." Chris Rock is in final talks to direct and produce, and Steven Spielberg will be executive producer. [Don't forget Selma, though. - Ed.]
STREAMING - From Deadline: Apple TV+ has released first-look photos from its World War II drama series, "Master of the Air," starring Austin Butler (Elvis). The series, which is produced by the "Band of Brothers" team of Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Gary Goetzman is set to debut Friday, January 26, 2024.
POLITICS - From CNN: Retired Marine Corps General John Kelly was also former president Donald Trump's longest serving White House chief of staff. Now, Kelly is confirming numerous horrid stories about Trump's utter disrespect to servicemen who were wounded, killed in action, or prisoners of war.
SCANDAL - From BleedingCool: A lawsuit alleges that a media entity once asked Robert Downey, Jr. (Iron Man) pay it 60 million dollars in order to get a bigger payday.
TELEVISION - From Deadline: "The Drew Barrymore Show" will finally return on Oct. 16th, but the show will be without its three head writers, who have decided not to return.
DISNEY - From Variety: This year is the 30th anniversary of the release of the Disney film, "Cool Runnings," a Disneyfied account of a real event in Jamaican Olympic history. Apparently, the director, Jon Turteltaub (The Meg) and the cast, tussled with Disney over the cast's Jamaican accents.
STREAMING - From Deadline: Hulu has renewed its popular series, "Only Murders in the Building," its most watched original comedy series ever.
MOVIES - From Deadline: Lionsgate's Michael Jackson biopic, entitled "Michael," will have Universal Pictures International as its distributor to the international film market.
TELEVISION/NFL - From Deadline: Just the presence of Taylor Swift attending made the Chiefs at Jets Sunday Night Football game (Sun., Oct. 1st) the highest rated NFL games since Super Bowl LVII in February.
AI - From Deadline: Zelda Williams, the daughter of the late legend Robin Williams, says that she is disturbed by a use of AI to recreate his voice.
POLITICS - From SheKnows: Author Michael Lewis was on "60 Minutes" (Sun., Oct. 1st) promoting his new book, "Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon," which is about disgraced FTX founder, Sam Bankman-Fried. In the book Bankman-Fried says that Donald Trump told him that he wanted 5 BILLION DOLLARS to sit out the 2024 presidential race. Lewis wrote the book that was the basis for the 2009 Sandra Bullock film, The Blind Side.
BUSINESS - From Deadline: Miramax CEO Bill Block is leaving the company as soon as today, Tues., Oct. 3rd. Block is credited with reviving the company since his became CEO in 2017.
MOVIES - From EW: Action director John Woo (Paycheck) talks about making the essentially dialogue-free revenge thriller, "Silent Night," starring Joel Kinnaman. The film is due Dec. 1st.
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro: The winner of the 9/29 to 10/1/2023 weekend box office is Paramount's "Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie" with an estimated take of 23 million dollars.
TELEVISION - From THR: Director Albert Hughes says that his John Wick prequel series, "The Continental" (Peacock), was locked in before they knew the how John Wick 4 would conclude.
MOVIES/MUSIC - From Variety: A film based on Beyonce‘s smash hit "Renaissance World Tour" is in advanced talks to distribute directly to AMC Theatres, sources with knowledge of the project told Variety.
DISNEY - From Deadline: Media entrepreneur Byron Allen talks about his 10 billion dollar offer for ABC and other Disney networks. Allen said that "capital’s not an issue,” but that Disney CEO Bob Iger “is not ready” yet to pursue linear sale.
OBITS:
From ESPN: The former American football player, sportscaster, actor, and philanthropist, Dick Butkus, has died at the age of 80, Thursday, October 5, 2023. Butkus was best known for his legendary career as a middle linebacker for the NFL's Chicago Bears from 1965-73. Butkus was one of the "Monsters of the Midway," and was an eight-time "Pro Bowl" selection and was twice voted "NFL Defensive Player of the Year." He was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979. Butkus has an extensive acting career, appearing in a number of films ("The Longest Yard," "Any Given Sunday) and television series ("My Two Dads," "Hang Time").
From Deadline: Film and television actor, Keith Jefferson, has died at the age of 53, Thursday, October 5, 2023. Jefferson has announced his cancer diagnosis on August 9th. Jefferson had appeared in three of director Quentin Tarantino's films: Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. He was set to appear in "The Burial," an Amazon Prime film starring his longtime friend, Jamie Foxx, who announced Jefferson's passing.
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WRITERS/ACTORS STRIKE:
From Deadline: The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Hollywood studios CEOs met for strike talks for the first time since the actors went on strike July 14th. They plan to meet again, Wed., Oct. 4th.
BREAKING - From Deadline: The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to end its strike after nearly five months. The parties finalized the framework of the deal Sunday when they were able to untangle their stalemate over AI and writing room staffing levels.
From WGAContract: The WGA contract page has additional information on the settlement.
From WGAContract: A summary of the new agreement.
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From Deadline: Television writers rooms are opening again in the wake of the end of the writers strike. On Monday, such series as "Grey's Anatomy," "9-1-1," and "Family Guy," to name a few, go back to work.
From Variety: The Writers Guild (WGA) and AMPTP to meet today (Sun., Sept. 24th) after the studios supposedly make their "best and final" offer to the writers.
From Deadline: A meeting between leading television showrunners, including Kenya Barris and Noah Hawley, and WGA leadership has been cancelled.
From Deadline: The actors’ strike is now in its 63rd day. Now, SAG-AFTRA leaders are ramping up their rhetoric against the studio heads, accusing them in the latest issue of the "SAG-AFTRA Magazine" of “behaving like petty tyrants,” “would-be feudal lords” and “land barons in feudal times.”
From Deadline: Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Tony Vinciquerra says that Hollywood unions need to embrace AI.
From Deadline: The AMPTP says that the Writers Guild's claims that their is division in the ranks of the studios about the strike are false.
From Deadline: The WGA (Writers Guild of America) told its members Friday (Sept. 8th) that despite the united front the streamers and studios (via the AMPTP) have shown in public during the guild’s 130-day strike, several of the legacy companies privately have expressed “both the desire and willingness to negotiate an agreement that adequately addresses writers’ issues.”
From Deadline: Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav says the industry must focus and fight to resolve the writers and actors strikes.
From Deadline: The writers of MTV’s "Ridiculousness" are coming closer to being unionized. The show’s writing team, which was behind over 230 episodes last year, has been going through the process to unionize over the last few months, hoping to join the WGA.
From THR: As talks with the Writers Guild of America stall, the studio trade association, AMPTP, has retained D.C.-based firm, The Levinson Group, to pursue a fresh messaging strategy.
From Deadline: Regarding the Hollywood writers strike, the AMPTP (representing the studios) released the details of a proposed labor agreement that it made to the WGA (the Writers Guild) on August 11th.
From Deadline: A pair of former production assistants-turned-assistant directors have created a nonprofit in hopes of providing financial aid to PAs (production assistants) who’ve been put out of work due to the strike.
From Deadline: Writers Guild (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) will resume strike talks today, Fri., Aug. 11th.
From Deadline: Meeting for the first time in more than three months, the Writers Guild and the AMPTP on Friday failed to reach an agreement to resume contract negotiations. The Writers Strike will go on indefinitely.
From Deadline: Hollywood’s superstars are answering the call from the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, donating $1 million or more each to help their fellow performers during the ongoing actors and writers strikes. Among the big donors are Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Oprah Winfrey, and Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively.
From Deadline: If you are interested, here is a list of the film and TV productions SAG-AFTRA has granted waivers to continue filming.
From Variety: International superstar, Dwayne Johnson, makes a seven-figure contribution to the "SAG-AFTRA Foundation Relief Fund." Foundation president, actor Courtney B. Vance, says the amount will remain confidential.
From Variety: Why haven't A-list stars joined the SAG-AFTRA picket line?, asks "Variety."
From Deadline: Author George R.R. Martin, whose works were the basis for HBO's "Game of Thrones," says the strikes will be long and bitter.
From THR: Production works at Warner Bros. Animation (66) and at Cartoon Network (22) have gone public with their attempt to unionize via The Animation Guild.
From Variety: Halted film productions due to the writers and actors strikes are costing each Hollywood studio at least 600,000 dollars per week.
From Variety: Said at a strike meeting: “Without a transformative change in SAG-AFTRA’s current contract with the AMPTP, the acting profession will no longer be an option for future generations of performers, and actors already working in the industry will need to pursue other careers in order to survive.”
From Deadline: If you are a "social media influencer" who is NOT a member of SAG-AFTRA, you can be barred from future membership for promoting a film or television series during the actors' strike.
From Variety: The SAG/AFTRA strike begins in New York and Los Angeles. Hollywood actors began striking today, Fri., July 14th.
From Deadline: The site has the video of the powerful strike speech given by SAG-AFTRA president, Fran Drescher, the actress best known for CBS' former sitcom, "The Nanny."
From Deadline: Concerning the Hollywood writers strike (via the WGA), the Hollywood Studios (as represented by the AMPTP) is to let the writers go broke before resuming talks deep into the Fall.
From Deadline: SAG-AFTRA is already preparing strike picket signs in case the actors' strike begins next week.
From Deadline: WGA is picketing the New York City filming location of the 12th series of FX's "American Horror Story" (entitled "Delicate") after series co-creator Ryan Murphy threaten litigation against an east coast strike captain.
From THR: TV super-producer, Ryan Murphy, in a letter from his attorney to the leadership of the Writers Guild of America, threatened litigation against Warren Leight, an East Coast strike captain and Strike Rules Compliance Committee member who has subsequently forfeited those positions.
From Deadline: The Hollywood studios via the AMPTP has given Canadian actors a new contract, including a 5 percent raise.
From Deadline: Writers Strike puts the spotlight back on the challenge from writers for animation productions to be covered by the WGA.
From THR: Studios won't give writers better pay, and now, are laying off janitors.
From Deadline: The Directors Guild of America (DGA) has reached a tentative new three-year deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). So what does the Writers Guild (WGA), currently on strike and negotiating with the AMPTP, think of that deal.
From Deadline: Netflix shareholders declined to support the 2023 pay packages of top executives during a non-binding vote at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on Thursday. The vote won't prevent these execs from getting their loot (an total of $166 million), but this is a rare public rebuke. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has urged shareholders to vote "No" because the pay was "inappropriate" at this time.
From Deadline: Warner Bros Discovery chief David Zaslav gave the commencement address at Boston University. There he was met with jeers and also chants of "pay your writers" from picketers and from some in the audience.
From Deadline: President Joe Biden speaks on the Writers Guild of America strike.
From Deadline: Retaliation! The studios have starting informing writer-producers who have "overall" and "first-look" deals that such deals are being suspended.
From Deadline: Retaliation! Prolific HBO creator, David Simon, who is best known for "The Wire," is one of the many writers who have had their overall deals suspended the studios due to the WGA strike. Simon has been with HBO for 25 years.
From Deadline: The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is on strike.
From Deadline: Disney, HBO/HBO Max, and CBS have sent letters to showrunners (the TV equivalent of film directors) instructing them to return to work, inspite of the writer's strike.
From Deadline: The WGA's chief negotiator, Ellen Stutzman, talks about the state of the writers' strike, including the lack of engagement on the part of the strike's other party, AMPTP.
From Deadline: What went wrong between the WGA and AMPTP? What could they not agree on that led to a strike?
From Deadline: The site explains the WGA strike: the issues, the stakes, movies and TV shows affected, and how long it might last.
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Thursday, June 29, 2023
Review: "INDIANA JONES and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" is a Nice Coda
Wednesday, June 28, 2023
Review: "INDIANA JONES and the Last Crusade" Stills Feels Like a True Ending
Sunday, June 25, 2023
Review: Steven Spielberg's "EMPIRE OF THE SUN"
Saturday, March 11, 2023
Negromancer News Bits and Bites from March 1st to 11th, 2023 - Update #20
by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:
ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:
OSCARS - From EW: EW.com interviews four anonymous assholes who also happen to be Oscars voters about their "brutally honest ballots" - how and why they made the choices they did. What they say reflects why the Oscar have always been overrated and why they are becoming trashier.
From Deadline: Lady Gaga will not perform her "Best Song" nominee “Hold My Hand” from "Top Gun: Maverick" at Sunday’s 95th annual Academy Awards. She will, however, attend the ceremony.
From Variety: Goldie Hawn was not in attendance at the 42nd Academy Awards on the night of April 7, 1970. So Raquel Welch had to accept the "Best Supporting Actress" Oscar on her behalf for her win for the film, "Cactus Flower."
AWARDS - From Deadline: The winners/losers at the 2023 / 43rd annual Razzie Awards have been announced. The controversial "Blonde" is "Worst Picture," and Tom Hanks "wins" two Razzies.
ANIMATION - From Deadline: Fox is moving head with "Bedrock," an adult animated comedy series that is a spinoff of the classic prime time animated TV series, "The Flintstones" (ABC, 1960-66). Elizabeth Banks will lead the voice cast.
TELEVISION - From Variety: “Act Your Age,” the Bounce TV sitcom starring Kym Whitley, Tisha Campbell, and Yvette Nicole Brown, is now Bounce's most-watched half-hour series debut. It opened to an audience of 2.14 million total viewers with its two-episode back-to-back premiere on March 4th on Bounce TV, according to figures from Nielsen.
STREAMING - From THR: Nick Kroll talks about getting a call from Mel Brooks and on helping to put together "History of the World, Part II" 42 years after the Brooks film, "History of World, Part I."
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro: The winner of the 3/3 to 3/5/2023 weekend box office is "Creed III" with an estimated 58.6 million dollars.
From Here: A review of "Creed III" by Leroy Douresseaux.
From Deadline: The success of "Creed III" at the box office is a game changer for Amazon, which owns MGM, the film's studio.
From Variety: Why is Sylvester Stallone not in "Creed III?" Part of it has to do with him not getting his way.
SCANDAL - From GuardianUK: According to recent reports, in 2018, the FBI interviewed Oscar-winning actor, Leonardo DiCaprio, concerning his friendship and business connnections with fugitive Malaysian financier, Jho Low, who is believed to be hiding in China.
MOVIES - From Variety: A new "Alien" film, the ninth one in the series, will begin filming March 9th under the direction of Fede Alvarez.
MOVIES - From Deadline: In an interview with Stephen Colbert for CBS' "The Late Show," legendary director, Steven Spielberg, describes only one of his films as "pretty perfect," 1982's "E.T. the Extraterrestrial."
STAR TREK - From Deadline: The upcoming fifth season of "Star Trek: Discovery," which arrives in 2024, will be the series' last.
SCANDAL - From Deadline: Actress Jena Malone talks about being sexually assaulted while she was filming one of "The Hunger Games" sequels.
NETFLIX - From Variety: Netflix has released a teaser trailer for the action-comedy, "Fubar," the first TV series for Arnold Schwarzenegger.
OBITS:
From Variety: Film and television actor Tom Sizemore has died at the age of 61, Friday, March 3, 2023. Sizemore was taken off life support Friday. He had suffered a brain aneurysm on February 18. Sizemore was best known for his supporting role in some of the biggest films of the 1990s and early 2000s, including "Heat" (1995), "Saving Private Ryan" (1998), and "Black Hawk Down" (2001). He was also the star of one of my favorite short-lived TV series, "Robbery Homicide Division" (CBS, 2002-03).
From Variety: American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader, Wayne Shorter, has died at the age of 89, Thursday, March 2, 2023. He was considered one of the most distinctive voices of his generation and one of jazz's greatest composers. In the late 1950s, he was the primary composer for bandleader Art Blakey's "Jazz Messengers." He was an important collaborator of Miles Davis, and then founded the jazz fusion band, "Weather Report." Shorter was nominated for 23 Grammy Awards and won 12, including a win at the most recent ceremony, the 2023 / 65th Grammy Awards.
From THR: Actor, director, underwater cinematographer, and stuntman, Ricou Browning, has died at the age of 93, Monday, February 27, 2023. Browning was best known for wearing the costume and playing the titular "Gill-man" in the underwater sequences of "Creature from the Black Lagoon" (1954) and he did the same for the film's sequels, "Revenge of the Creature" (1955) and "The Creature Walks Among Us" (1956). Browning also with Jack Cowden the former NBC series, "Flipper" (1964-67), and he directed at least 37 of the series 88 episodes. Browning and Cowden had written the screen story for the 1963 film, "Flipper," upon which the series was based.
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AWARDS:
From Oscar: The nominations for the 2023 / 95th Academy Awards have been announced. The winners will be announced Sunday, March 12, 2023.
From THR: The winners at the 2023 Writers Guild Awards have been announced. "Everything Everywhere All at Once" (original screenplay) and "Women Talking" (adapted screenplay) were the top winners.
From Deadline: The winners at the 2023 / 38th Film Independent Spirit Awards have been announced. "Everything Everywhere All at Once" won six trophies, including "Best Feature."
From Deadline: The winners at the 2023 / 29th annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards have been announced. "Everything Everywhere All at Once" wins the big prize, "Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture," one of four awards the film won.
From Deadline: The winners at the 2023 / 34th annual Producers Guild Awards have been announced. "Everything Everywhere All at Once" wins the top prize, "Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures."
From Deadline: At the 2023 / 50th annual Annie Awards (for animated productions), "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio" wins the "Best Feature" award, one of its four wins. "Best Indie Feature" goes to "Marcel the Shell with Shoes On."
From Variety: The winners of the 2023 EE BAFTA Film Awards have been announced. The French film, "All Quiet on the Western Front" wins a record seven awards including "Best Film." "The Banshees of Inisherin" won four, including "Best British Film."
From Deadline: The winners of the 75th annual Directors Guild Awards have been announced. The top honor, "Outstanding Directorial Achievment in a Theatrical Feature Film," went to Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for "Everything Everywhere All at Once."
From Deadline: The winners at the 2023 / 21st annual VES Awards, handed out by the Visual Effects Society, have been announced. "Avatar: The Way of Water" topped the night with 9 wins.
From Deadline: "Top Gun: Maverick" wins "Best Picture" at the "AARP Movies for Grownups Awards" held Saturday night in Beverly Hills.
From Variety: The nominations for the 2023 Writers Guild Awards have been announced. Winners will be announced Sunday, March 5, 2023.
From Variety: The nominations for the 2023 EE BAFTA Awards have been announced. The Netflix World War I drama, "All Quiet on the Western Front," leads with 14 nominations. The winners will be announced Sunday, February 19, 2023.
From Deadline: The winners were announced at the 2023 / 28th annual Critics Choice Awards. "Everything Everywhere All at Once" was named "Best Picture."
From Deadline: The nominees for the 2023 / 34th Producers Guild of America Awards have been announced in both film and TV categories. The winners will be announced Sat. Feb. 25th, 2023.
From Deadline: The nominations for the 2023 / 29th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards have been announced. The winners will be announced Sun., Feb. 26th, 2023.
From Deadline: The National Society of Film Critics has named "Tar" its "Best Picture" of 2023 and its star, Cate Blanchette, as "Best Actress."
From Deadline: The nominations for the 2023 / 23rd Annual Black Reel Awards have been announced. "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" and "The Woman King" have tied for the lead in nominations with 14 apiece. The winners will be announced February 6, 2023.
From Deadline: The Black Film Critics Circle named "The Woman King" the "Best Film" of 2022.
From Deadline: The winners of the 2022 Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) Awards have been announced. "Everything Everywhere All at Once" and "Tar" tie for "Best Picture" award.
From Deadline: The nominations for the 2023 / 80th annual Golden Globes Awards were announced today (Mon., Dec. 12th). "The Banshees of Inisherin" led the film field with eight nominations. ABC's "Abbot Elementary" lead the TV side with five nominations. The winners will be announced January 10, 2023.
From Deadline: The American Film Institute (AFI) has named its "AFI Awards Film" list of "Top 10 Films of 2022." The list includes "Avatar: The Way of Water," "Top Gun: Maverick," and "The Woman King."
From THR: The African-American Film Critics Association name "The Woman King" the "Best Film of 2022."
From Deadline: The nominations for the "2023 Critics Choice Awards" in the television categories have been announced. ABC's sitcom, "Abbot Elementary" leads the nominations. The winners will be announced Sunday, January 15, 2023 and broadcast on The CW.
From Variety: The 2022 / 88th Annual New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC) Awards have been announced. Todd Field's "Tar" wins "Best Film" and "Best Actress" (Cate Blanchett). Keke Palmer wins "Best Supporting Actress" for her performance in "Nope."
From Deadline: "Everything Everywhere All at Once" wins the "Best Feature" award at the 2022 / 32nd Annual Gotham Awards, one of two wins for the film.
From IndieWire: The nominations for the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards have been announced. "Everything Everywhere All at Once" leads with eight nominations. The winners will be announced March 4th, 2023.
From Variety: The nominations for the 2022 / 32nd Annual Gotham Awards were announced a month ago. Todd Field's "Tar" leads with five nominations. The winners will be announced Monday, November 28th.
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BRITTNEY GRINER:
From CBSNews: WNBA star Brittney Griner has been released from her Russian imprisonment in a one-for-one prisoner swap for notorious international arms dealer, Viktor Bout.
From NBCNews: Brittney Griner will enter a system of isolation, grueling labor and psychological torment when she is transferred to a penal colony, the successor to the infamous Russian gulag, to fulfill a nine-year sentence handed down Tuesday in Moscow, former prisoners and advocates said.
From NBCNews: A Russian court has rejected Brittney Griner's appeal of her nine-year prison sentence on (fake) drug charges.
From Reuters: Russia says that it is ready to talk prisoner swamp for Brittney Griner and U.S. Marine veteran Paul Whelan, but also scolds the U.S. Embassy.
From TheDailyBeast: Legendary NBA bad boy and champion (Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls), Dennis Rodman claims that he has been given permission to go to Russia and help free imprisoned hostage, WNBA star, Brittney Griner.
From Vox: Vox's Jonathan Guyer talks the Brittney Griner case with Danielle Gilbert, a Dartmouth professor who is writing a book about states and rogue actors that take hostages.
From ESPN: A Russian court sentenced WNBA star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison Thursday, Aug. 4th. Griner was arrested Feb. 17 for bringing cannabis into the country and pleaded guilty July 7, though the case continued under Russian law.
From ESPN: The Biden administration has offered a deal to Russia aimed at bringing home WNBA star Brittney Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.
From RSN: "Will Support From LeBron James, Joe Rogan, Kim Kardashian, and Other Celebrities Help Free Brittney Griner From a Russian Prison?" by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar via Substack
From ESPN: Detained WNBA star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty on Thursday to bringing hashish oil into Russia, telling a judge that she had done so "inadvertently" while asking the court for mercy.
From CBSSports: The Brittney Griner situation explained.
From RSN: According to The Washington Post Editorial Board: "Brittney Griner is a hostage, plain and simple."
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