NEGROMANCER 2.0: Tyler Perry

Showing posts with label Tyler Perry. Show all posts

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Review: "MEA CULPA" May Be Tyler Perry's Craziest Movie... Yet

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 19 of 2024 (No. 1963) by Leroy Douresseaux

Mea Culpa (2024)

Running time: 120 minutes (2 hours)

MPA – R for strong sexual content, graphic nudity, language, some violence and drug use

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Tyler Perry

PRODUCERS: Will Areu, Tyler Perry, Angi Bones, and Kelly Rowland

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Cody Burmester (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Larry Sexton

COMPOSERS: Amanda Delores and Patricia Jones

DRAMA/THRILLER

Starring: Kelly Rowland, Trevante Rhodes, Nick Sagar, Sean Sagar, RonReaco Lee, Shannon Thornton, Kerry O'Malley, Arianna Barron, Connor Weil, Maria Gabriela Gonzalez, Paul Ryden, Ava Hill, and Angela Robinson

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

--Tyler Perry's Mea Culpa could be titled Tyler Perry's I Want to Screw My Client

--The first half of the film is a slow-burn (slightly dull) romantic thriller; the second half is an explosion of WTF moments

--Despite poorly developed and under-utilized characters and middling dialogue, Mea Culpa is a typical shameless Tyler Perry guilty pleasure – that I found somewhat pleasurable.

Mea Culpa is a 2024 drama and legal thriller from writer-director Tyler Perry. The film is a “Netflix Original,” Perry's fourth for the streamer (as of this writing), and it began streaming on Netflix February 23, 2024. Mea Culpa follows an ambitious criminal defense attorney who takes on the case of an artist accused of murder, which only further complicates her own dysfunctional marriage.

Mea Culpa introduces Chicago-based defense attorney, Mea Harper (Kelly Rowland). She and her husband, Kal Harper (Sean Sagar), are having marital difficulties, made worse by Kal's overbearing and interfering white mother, Azalia (Kerry O'Malley). Forced to financially support the two of them because of Kal's professional and personal problems, Mea decides to take on the defense of an accused murderer. Acclaimed portrait painter, Zyair Malloy (Trevante Rhodes), has been charged with the murder of his girlfriend, Hydie (Maria Gabriela Gonzalez). Her body is missing, but there is enough blood evidence in Zyair's loft, where he lives and paints, to get him charged with murder.

The problem is that Mea's brother-in-law and Kal's older brother, Raymond “Ray” Harper (Nick Sagar), is the assistant district attorney who is prosecuting Zyair's murder case. Also complicating matters is that Zyair does not respect boundaries and wants to f**k Mea. Eventually, Mea will have to admit “mea culpa,” but that might not save her from the myriad conspiracies that surround Zyair Malloy and this case.

Mea culpa is a Latin phrase that means “my fault” or “my mistake,” and it is also an acknowledgment of having done wrong, a wrong that could have been avoided. It's my fault that I love Tyler Perry's work so much because otherwise, I would not have watched Mea Culpa. Make no mistake, however; loving Tyler Perry films, no matter how crazy they are, is not a wrong. Mea Culpa may be Perry's craziest non-Madea film to date, being even wackier than Temptations: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor (2013).

Mea Culpa is quite enjoyable, especially the second hour of the film. Critics tend to fault Perry's screenwriting, but the plot for Mea Culpa isn't any more nonsensical than a host of legal and erotic thrillers from the past five decades. I'm thinking of Body Heat (1981), Presumed Innocent (1990), and Primal Fear (1996), to name a few. If Mea Culpa had been released around a quarter-century ago, it would have been considered a clone of the classic erotic thriller, Basic Instinct (1992).

Where Perry's writing shows weakness is the dialogue and character development. If the actors in this film seem average or mediocre to you, dear readers, I would bet it is because they are trying to build convincing characters while mouthing stiff, unimaginative dialogue. The film's actual plot and action is not anywhere near as bland as the dialogue. In fact, when this film finally explodes in the second half, even bad dialogue can't keep Mea Culpa's cheesy, shameless melodrama and violence from being its trashiest and most glorious self. The shame of it is that there are some very interesting characters who are not fully realized and who would have made much the action in this film seem plausible, at the very least. Perhaps, Mea Culpa should have been a miniseries instead of a film.

I must say that Mea Culpa may be Tyler Perry's most beautifully photographed film; kudos to director of photography, Cody Burmester. The cinematography captures Kelly Rowland's unappreciated beauty, and when she gets nude, the camera celebrates her fineness. Yes, Trevante Rhodes as Zyair Malloy is also fine, and the camera suggests that his big muscular body also comes with... an impressive endowment. Yeah, the sex scene between Mea and Zyair is kinda funny, but they look so good pumping and bumping and grinding.

With Mea Culpa, Tyler Perry does unleash “strong sexual content, graphic nudity, language, some violence and drug use” as the “R” rating declares. However, Perry's first almost NC-17 makes me love his work even more, and it makes me hope for future movies like Mea Culpa or even better. I'll say “mea culpa” if I'm wrong and be happy about it.

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

Thursday, April 18, 2024

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Saturday, April 6, 2024

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from April 1st to 6th, 2024 - UPDATE #19

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: Drew Barrymore has said that her frequent co-star, Adam Sandler, has written the screenplay for "Happy Gilmore 2," a sequel to one of his most popular films.

TELEVISION - From Deadline: Actor Raymond Lee, star of NBC's "Quantum Leap," reboot announced via "Instagram" that the NBC has cancelled the series after two seasons.

MOVIES - From Deadline: Writer-producer-director-star Dev Patel talks about how important Oscar-winner Jordan Peele was in getting his debut feature, "Monkey Man," into theaters.

NETFLIX - From Deadline: Netflix has revealed the cast of "Tyler Perry’s Beauty in Black." The new 16-episode, hour-long drama series is coming to the streamer as a result of a previously announced creative partnership between Netflix and Tyler Perry. The deal calls for Perry will write, direct, and produce feature films and series under a multi-year first-look deal. Cast members include Taylor Polidore Williams, Amber Reign Smith, Crystle Stewart, Ricco Ross, Debbi Morgan, and Richard Lawson, to name a few.

TELEVISION - From Deadline: Emmy-winning actress, Gillian Anderson, won't say "No" to appearing in Ryan Coogler's planned reboot of Fox's former sci-fi drama, "The X-Files." Anderson played FBI Agent Dana Scully in the series, which ran from 1993 to 2002 and again from 2016-18.

DISNEY - From Deadline: Bob Iger thug life is still a thing. Disney has succeeded in barring Nelson Peltz from its board of directors as shareholders at the company’s hotly anticipated annual meeting today voted in its slate of 12 nominees, fending off outsiders. It was a months-long bitter and costly fight. Neither Pletz nor anyone from his Trian Group or Blackwells landed anyone on the board.

MOVIES - From Variety: Warner Bros. is returning to "the Matrix" for a fourth sequel. "Matrix 5" will be written and directed by Drew Goddard. Lana Wachowski, the co-creator of the franchise and the director of the fourth film, "The Matrix: Resurrections," will be an executive producer on this film. No word yet on what actor will be returning.

STAGE - From Deadline: The Jamie Lloyd Company announced the full cast for the upcoming West End production of Romeo & Juliet. They confrimed that newcomer Francesca Amewudah-Rivers confirmed as Juliet opposite Tom Holland as Romeo. "Romeo & Juliet" opens at the Duke of York’s Theatre on Thursday, May 23, 2024, with previews from Saturday, May 11, and runs until Saturday, August 3.

MUSIC/MOVIES - From TheRoot: Inspired by Beyonce's smash hit new country album, "Cowboy Carter," "The Root" has a list of must see Black Western films. The list includes a couple of Idris Elba films, "The Harder They Fall" and "Concrete Cowboy."

SCANDAL - From THR: The estate of the late, legendary comedian, George Carlin, has settled a lawsuit it brought against the makers of a podcast that used generative AI to impersonate the late stand-up comic's voice and style for an unauthorized special.

TELEVISION - From Variety: Chris Carter, the creator of Fox's former sci-fi drama, "The X-Files," talks about the reboot being shepherded by Ryan Coogler ("Black Panther"). Also, he mentions that original series star, Gillian Anderson ("Dana Scully") did not have enough "sex appeal" for Fox executives.

MOVIES - From Variety: Oscar-nominee Benedict Cumberbatch and Oscar-winner Olivia Colman will star in director Jay Roach's reimagining of the 1989 film, "The War of the Roses." The original was directed by Danny DeVito and starred Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.

TELEVISION - From Deadline: Emmy-winner Felicity Huffman ("Desperate Housewives") joins Paramount+'s "Criminal Minds: Evolution" Season Two.

BOX OFFICE - From Variety: The winner of the 3/29 to 3/31/2024 weekend box office is Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment's "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" with an estimated take of 80 million dollars.

From Variety: "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" had an opening weekend of RMB317 (the equivalent of 44.6 million dollars) in mainland China, between Friday and Sunday (March 29th-31st). Thus far, it is the biggest opening of any Hollywood film in China this year.

From Here: A review of "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" by Leroy Douresseaux.

OBITS:

From Variety: American actor, writer, and comedian, Joe Flaherty, has died at the age of 82, Monday, April 1, 2024. A prolific actor, he was best known for his roles on the Canadian sketch comedy series, "Second City Television" ("SCTV"), and on the former NBC sitcom, "Freaks and Geeks." As a writer, he shared nine Primetime Emmy nominations for his work on SCTV, winning twice.

From THR: American film, television, and stage actress, Barbara Rush, has died at the age of 97, Sunday, March 31, 2024. She appeared in over one hundred films, TV series, and TV movies. Her best known film appearances include "It Came From Outer Space" (1953), "Magnificent Obsession" (1954), "The Young Philadelphians" (1959), and "Robin and the 7 Hoods" (1964), to name a few. She appeared in such TV series as ABC'S "Peyton's Place" and "All My Children," NBC's "Flamingo Road," and The WB's "7th Heaven," to name a few. In 1954, Rush won the "Golden Globe Award" for "New Star of the Year - Actress."

From THR: American visual effects artist, Tim McGovern, has died at the age of 68, Saturday, March 30, 2024. He won the "Special Achievement Academy Award" for his work on "Total Recall," sharing the win with Eric Brevig, Rob Bottin, and Alex Funke. A digital effects pioneer, McGovern was also a founding member of Sony Picture ImageWorks, where he worked on such films as "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" (2015) and "Dunkirk" (2017). His other credits include "Last Action Hero" (1993), "As Good as It Gets" (1997), and "Shazam: Fury of the Gods" (2023).

From THR: American film and television writer and producer and TV director, Norman Steinberg, has died at the age of 83, Saturday, March 15, 2024. Steinberg is best known for co-writing Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" (1974) and Richard Benjamin's "My Favorite Year" (1982), which starred Peter O'Toole. He won a Primetime Emmy Awards for cowriting an episode of the former NBC variety series, "The Flip Wilson Show."

Friday, February 9, 2024

Review: "A MADEA HOMECOMING" Doesn't Come Out Quite Right

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 6 of 2024 (No. 1950) by Leroy Douresseaux

A Madea Homecoming (2022)

Running time: 105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for crude sexual content, language, and drug references throughout

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Tyler Perry

PRODUCERS: Will Areu and Mark E. Swinton

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Taylor Randall (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Larry Sexton

COMPOSER: Philip White

COMEDY/DRAMA

Starring: Tyler Perry, Cassi Davis, David Mann, Tamela J. Mann, Gabrielle Dennis, Brendan O'Carroll, Jennifer Gibney, Brandon Black, Isha Blaaker, Candace Maxwell, Geneva Maccarone, and Amani Atkinson

A Madea Homecoming is a 2022 African-American comedy-drama from writer-director Tyler Perry. It is the 12th film in the Madea film series. The film is a Netflix original and was released to the streaming service on February 25, 2022. In A Madea Homecoming, family drama erupts and secrets are revealed during the celebration of Madea's great-grandson's college graduation.

A Madea Homecoming opens in Atlanta, Georgia. Mabel “Madea” Simmons (Tyler Perry) is preparing for the arrival of her extended family. Uncle Joe (Tyler Perry) is criticizing people, and Mr. Brown (David Mann) is about to set himself afire while preparing the barbecue pit. It is a special time for Madea's daughter, Cora Simmons (Tamela J. Mann), because of the impending arrival of her daughters, Laura (Gabrielle Dennis) and Ellie (Candace Maxwell). Laura's son, Timothy “Tim” Marshall (Brandon Black), is graduating from college. He is traveling to Madea's house with his best friend and fellow graduate, Davi O'Malley (Isha Blaaker), for a large family dinner before graduation day.

But there are some surprises arriving, also. Tim has a secret to tell his family. Laura has a secret. Laura's divorce attorney, Sylvia (Geneva Maccarone), has a secret. Richard (Amani Atkinson), Laura's ex and Tim's father, has a secret to tell, although Madea doesn't want him at her house. Davi has a secret. Davi's great-aunt, Agnes Brown (Brendan O'Carroll), and Agnes' daughter and David's cousin, Cathy Brown (Jennifer Gibney), have a secret. They're coming to Madea's, but they weren't invited. And it isn't a secret that Betty Ann Murphy a.k.a. “Aunt Bam” (Cassi Davis) is usually high, and everyone else may have to get high to make it through the family drama that is about to erupt.

2019's A Madea Family Funeral was supposed to be the final film in the Madea film series, but I ain't complaining. A Madea Homecoming is similar to A Madea Family Funeral in that it features a large cast of new extended family members that many of us didn't know that Madea had. Unfortunately, the 2019 film is better put together than A Madea Homecoming.

First, it should be noted that A Madea Homecoming is a crossover with British-Irish sitcom, “Mrs. Brown's Boys,” which is headlined by the character, “Agnes Brown,” played by Irish actor, Brendan O'Carroll. Agnes Brown has been called the “Irish Madea,” but because this is my first encounter with O'Carroll and his character, I can't say otherwise. Truthfully, neither the Agnes nor Cathy characters really add that much to A Madea Homecoming, but they are a pleasant addition, at least.

A Madea Homecoming has many, many very funny moments, but the film seems too long and too much of a rehash of scandals that have appeared in earlier films in the series. The main plot and subplot feel more flat and dry than lively and funny. The most consistently funny part of this movie is Madea Beyoncé parody that runs over the end credits, and Madea in a blonde Beyoncé wig singing off-key with the “Marcella Band” is delightful.

When I reviewed A Madea Family Funeral in 2021, I said that if it were indeed the final Madea film, I could say that the series went out on a relatively high note. Madea returns on an off-key note with A Madea Homecoming, and it isn't the final Madea film. Coming sometime in the future is Madea's Destination Wedding.

5 of 10

C+

★★½ out of 4 stars

Friday, February 9, 2024

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Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from October 22nd to 31st, 2023 - Update #29

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: Quiver Distribution announced they have completed production on the military action/science fiction film, "Agent Recon." It features legendary martial arts expert and action film and TV hero, Chuck Norris (The Expendables 2, "Walker Texas Ranger"). Quiver and will launch sales at the 2023 American Film Market (AFM), which takes place Oct. 31st to Nov. 5th.

AMAZON - From Deadline: Michael B. Jordan's production company, Outlier Society, will join Amazon MGM Studios to develop Rebecca Yarros' fantasy novel series, "The Empyrean," for television.

From Variety: Amazon MGM Studios is in the early stages of developing a TV series based on the 1982 film, "Poltergeist."

MOVIES - From THR: David Robert Mitchell is ready to make a sequel to his hit horror film, It Follows (2014). Mitchell is taking "They Follow" to the 2023 American Film Market (AFM), where film people try to find buyers for new films and projects. The fun starts Oct. 31st and ends Nov. 5th.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro: The winner of the 10/27 to 10/29/2023 weekend box office is "Five Nights at Freddy's" with an estimated take of 78 million dollars.

From THR: It's 78 million dollar opening weekend gives "Five Nights at Freddy's" the largest box office opening for a Halloween weekend.

MOVIES - From Deadline: Jason Statham will star in the film, "Levon's Trade," directed by David Ayer from a script by Sylvester Stallone.

STREAMING - From Deadline: On Fri., Oct. 27th, Spectrum SportsNet and the Los Angeles Lakers announced the launch of "Spectrum SportsNet+." This is a new direct-to-consumer streaming subscription service that will deliver a 24/7 feed of Spectrum SportsNet programming, including live Lakers games and behind-the-scenes Lakers content. Now available, it is free to existing Spectrum SportsNet customers. Others will pay $19.99 a month or $179.99.

DISNEY - From THR: Disney releases a first-look at its film, "Disney's Snow White," a live-action version of its classic animated feature film, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937). The other news is that the film is moving to a 2025 release date from its original March 2024 release date. This will be first of many release date changes as the Hollywood actors' strike continues.

AMAZON - From THR: Amazon's ad revenue soars to $12 billion - in the third quarter.

POLITICS - From Medium: Former President Barack Obama offers "Thoughts on Israel and Gaza."

BOX OFFICE - From Deadline: There is a new film in The Hunger Games franchise. "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" looks to have a strong box office debut.

MUSIC - From Variety: Taylor Swift, SZA, and Morgan Wallen lead the nominations for the 2023 Billboard Music Awards. The winners will be announced Nov. 19th.

MOVIES - From Variety: While promoting his new film, "Killers of the Flower Moon," Martin Scorsese comments on fellow director Quentin Tarantino's impending retirement.

SCANDAL - From Deadline: In a hearing today (Wed. Oct. 25th), New York Supreme Court Judge Michael Gaffey denied a defense motion to dismiss the domestic abuse charges that actor Jonathan Majors (Creed III) is facing. Judge Gaffey set a start date of November 29th for the trial.

MOVIES - From Deadline: "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two," starring Tom Cruise, changes its release date from June 28, 2024 to May 23, 2025.

NETFLIX - From Deadline: Filmmaker and media mogul Tyler Perry has struck a new, multi-year first-look deal with Netflix that will see him write, direct and produce features for the streamer. Perry signed a deal with Amazon Studios in November 2022 to write, direct and produce four features for Prime Video.

AMAZON - From Deadline: "Good Omens" hopes to be renewed for a third and final season on Amazon Prime. If it renewed, co-showrunner Douglas Mackinnon will not return. The series is based on the book by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

SCANDAL - From Deadline: During his stand-up performance at the TD Garden in Boston on Thurs., Oct. 19th, comedian Dave Chappelle addressed the events in Israel-Palestine and the audience reacted with cheers, jeers, and walk-outs.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro: The winner of the 10/20 to 10/22/2023 weekend box office is "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" with an estimated take of 31 million dollars.

DISNEY - From ScreenRant: Disney has confirmed "Zootopia 2," the sequel to its 2016 Oscar-winning hit, Zootopia. The sequel may not arrive in theaters until 2028.

OBITS:

From Variety: Television and film actor, Matthew Perry, has died at the age of 54, Saturday, October 28, 2023. Perry was best known for the role of "Chandler Bing" in the long-running former NBC sitcom, "Friends" (1994-2004), a role for which he received one Primetime Emmy nomination in the category of "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series." Perry would receive two more Emmy nominations for his guest role in the former NBC drama, "The West Wing" (2003) and another Emmy nomination for his starring role in the television film, "The Ron Clark Story" (2006, TNT). His final Emmy nod came as an executive producer on HBO Max's "Friends: The Reunion" special (2021).

From Deadline: In a joint statement to "People," the five surviving leads of the former NBC sitcom, "Friends": Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer said “We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family. There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.”

From Deadline: Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, paid an emotional tribute to his former classmate, "Friends" actor, Matthew Perry, who died on Sat., Oct. 28th. They both attended Rockcliffe Park Public School in Ottawa, Canada.

From Deadline: The Hollywood "breaking news" site, "Deadline," has a page dedicated to the recently deceased "Friends" actor, Matthew Perry.

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From Deadline: The film and television actor, Richard Roundtree, has died at the age of 81, Tuesday, October 25, 2023. Roundtree is considered to be "the first black action hero" for his most famous role, the private detective, John Shaft, in the 1971 film, "Shaft." He played the role in two sequels, "Shaft's Big Score!" (1972) and "Shaft in Africa" (1973), as well as a series to TV films for CBS during the 1973-74 broadcast season. He would return to the role in the "contemporary sequels," "Shaft" (2000) and "Shaft" (2019). In addition to his film roles, he made numerous TV appearances, including in such TV miniseries and series as "Roots," "Murder, She Wrote," "Beauty and the Beast," and "Desperate Housewives," to name a few.

From Deadline: Richard Roundtree (1942-2023) - a life in photographs.

From Deadline: Samuel L. Jackson offers a remembrance of his late co-star, Richard Roundtree.

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ACTORS STRIKE:

From Deadline: Striking actors are set to meet the studios today for Halloween negotiations, but they are still "far apart on key issues."

From Variety: SAG-AFTRA (actors) and AMPTP (studios) will resume strike negotiations tomorrow (Tues., Oct. 24th).

From Deadline: SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher says that the offer from top-earning Hollywood actors to chip in some money to help end the strike "isn't legally compatible with the union's contract.

From Deadline: Top earning Hollywood actors want to chip in some money to end the SAG-AFTRA strike.

From Deadline: George Clooney, Emma Stone, Ben Affleck, Tyler Perry and Scarlett Johansson were among a group of top talent guild members that spoke Tuesday (Oct. 17th) with guild president Fran Drescher and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland for a detailed debrief, we hear.

From Deadline: The movie studios via AMPTP have suspended their talks with striking actors via SAG-AFTRA. The snag seems to be that actors want "2 precent of potential profits" on streaming.

From Variety: SAG-AFTRA (the actors) and AMPTP (the studios) are to resume strike talks Wed., Oct. 11th, as the actors strike enters Day 88.

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: 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: Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav says the industry must focus and fight to resolve the writers and actors strikes.

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 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: SAG-AFTRA is already preparing strike picket signs in case the actors' strike begins next week.

From Deadline: The Hollywood studios via the AMPTP has given Canadian actors a new contract, including a 5 percent raise.

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Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from August 21st to 31st, 2022 - Update #21

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

MUSIC - From RollingStone: Actor, musician, and businessman, Micky Dolenz, is best remembered as a member of pop-rock band, "The Monkeez." Now, the only surviving member, Dolenz has filed a lawsuit against the FBI to force the law enforcement agency to turn over a file kept on the band during the era of FBI director, J. Edgar Hoover.

DISNEY - From Deadline: Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Lil Rel Howery, and Teyonah Parris will star in the holiday comedy, "Dashing Through the Snow," with Tim Story directing. The film is scheduled for Disney+ for the 2023 holiday season.

STAR TREK - From THR: "WandaVision" director Matt Shakman has dropped out of directing Paramount Pictures fourth "Star Trek" reboot film ... perhaps, because "Fantastic Four" is in his future.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro: The winner of the 8/26 to 8/28/2022 weekend box office is Sony Pictures' "The Invitation" with an estimated take of 7 million dollars.

STREAMING - From Deadline: "Zatima" is a new series from Tyler Perry Studios and BET+. A spinoff of the series, "Sistas," it will premiere Sept. 29th, and has also added six new cast members.

NETFLIX - From THR: Netflix's "Resident Evil" live-action series has been cancelled after one season. It was the first live-action TV series in the "Resident Evil" franchise.

CELEBRITY - From Variety: "Archetypes," the new podcast from Princess Meghan Markle, The Duchess of Sussex, has claimed the No. 1 podcast position on Spotify’s charts in six markets worldwide, including the United States and the United Kingdom. For the time being, “Archetypes” is currently more popular than “The Joe Rogan Experience,” which in the U.S. is consistently the most-listened-to podcast on Spotify.

NETFLIX - From Deadline: Francis Lawrence will direct and Michael Green will write a film adaptation of the video game, "BioShock," for Netflix.

STREAMING - From Fangoria: Hulu has released a teaser trailer for the film "Hellraiser," a reboot of Clive Barker's 1987 film of the same name. The films begins streaming on Hulu October 7th.

TELEVISION - From Today: On Thursday, September 22nd, 2022, "Law & Order," "Law & Order: SVU," and "Law & Order: Organized Crime" will come together in a three-hour, three-series crossover event - on NBC, of course.

MOVIES - From Variety: "Halloween Ends," the latest installment in the long-running "Halloween" franchise, will have a simultaneous release in theaters and through the streaming service, "Peacock," on Oct. 14th.

MOVIES - From Deadline: Director Matt Reeves ("The Batman") has signed multi-year first-look deal with Warner Bros., and he has also re-up his deal TV deal with Warner Bros. Television Group.

AMAZON - From Deadline: Cathy Yan, director of "Birds of Prey," will direct and executive produce a live-action adaptation of Yasutaka Tsutsui's novel, "Paprika," for Amazon.

NETFLIX - From Variety: Netflix has just released a first look image from director Rian Johnson's "Glass Onion," the sequel to "Knives Out" (2019). Starring Daniel Craig, the film will debut on Netflix Dec. 23rd, 2022 and will be released to select theaters on a still to be announced date.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro: The winner of the 8/19 to 8/21/2022 weekend box office is Sony/Crunchyroll's "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero" with an estimated take of 20.1 million dollars.

SCANDAL - From EW: Gary Busey has been arrested on four charges: two counts of criminal sexual conduct in the fourth degree, one count of attempted criminal sexual contact, and one count of harassment. Busey has reportedly been taken into custody due to an incident that occurred in Cherry Hill, N.J., when he was visiting for "Monster-Mania Con" at the suburb's Doubletree Hotel from August 12th to 14th, 2022.

CELEBRITY - From Deadline: The family of the late actor, Bill Paxton, has settled their lawsuit against Cedars-Sinai Medical Center of Los Angeles and the surgeon who performed heart surgery on him. Paxton died of a stroke February 25, 2017 eleven days after heart surgery.

OBITS:

From TheDisInsider: Disney/Pixar animator, art director, storyboard artist, and writer-director, Ralph Eggleston, has died at the age of 56, Monday, August 29, 2022. Eggleston won an Oscar for his animated short film, "For the Birds" (2000). Eggleston was responsible for the art direction, production design, and colors of many Pixar films, including the first two "Toy Story" films, "The Incredibles" (2004), and "Inside Out" (2015), to name a few.

From Deadline: British-Canadian film director and animator, Gerald Potterton, has died at the age of 91, Tuesday, August 23, 2022. Potterton was best known for directing the cult animated feature film, "Heavy Metal" (1981), and for his work on "The Beatles" 1968 animated film, "Yellow Submarine." Potterton was also twice nominated for an Academy Award for his work on animated short films.

From ESPN: Former NFL quarterback, Len Dawson, has died at the age of 87, Wednesday, August 24, 2022. Dawson led the Kansas City Chiefs to victory in Super Bowl IV (Jan. 11th, 1970) over the Minnesota Vikings, 23-7. He is a member of the "Pro Football Hall of Fame" (Class of 1987). He also had a 33-year career as a broadcast analyst.

From Variety: The retired actress Virginia Patton Moss has died at the age of 97, Thursday, August 18, 2022. She acted under the name of Virginia Patton, and had a brief career in films during the 1940s before retiring from acting to focus on her family with husband, Cruise W. Moss. Moss was also the last surviving adult actor to appear in Frank Capra's classic 1946 film, "It's a Wonderful Life."

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BRITTNEY GRINER:

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."

Friday, December 10, 2021

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from December 1st to 11th, 2021 - Update #30

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

HARRY POTTER - From Deadline: HBO Max released the first image of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint reunited for the "Harry Potter" 20th anniversary special, "Return to Hogwarts."

TELEVISION - From Variety: According to sources, HBO is developing a reboot of its acclaimed TV series, "Six Feet Under" (2001-05).

BLM - From HuffPost: "I'm Black But Look White. Here Are The Horrible Things White People Feel Safe Telling Me." by Miriam Zinter. “There is a strategic force dedicated to segregation and racism,” Zinter says.

SCANDAL - From THR: Former "Empire" actor, Jussie Smollett, has been convicted on five of the six charges he faced because of an alleged hoax he staged three years ago.

TYLER PERRY - From Deadline: BET is expanding its Tyler Perry originals slate with the greenlight of "Zatima," a spinoff series of "Sistas," on BET+. The 10-episode hour-long series will see Devale Ellis and Crystal Renee Hayslett reprise their roles as "Zac" and "Fatima," respectively.

CELEBRITY - From THR: Jennifer Aniston talks about the "Friends" reunion, her career, upcoming projects, and life.

AWARDS - From Deadline: Disney/Marvel Studios' "Black Widow" was chose "The Movie of 2021" at the "2021 People's Choice Awards." Halle Berry also accepted "The People's Icon" award.

MOVIES - From Deadline: Jordan Peele's screenplay for "Get Out" just topped the Writers Guild of America's list of "101 Greatest Screenplays of the 21st Century (So Far)."

TELEVISION - From Deadline: AMC has renewed "Fear the Walking Dead" for an eighth season. Actress Kim Dickens, a regular on Seasons 1 to 4," will return as a series regular in Season 8 after appearing in the current Season 7.

MOVIES - From Deadline: Dave Bautista ("Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3) is in negotiations to star in writer-director M. Night Shyamalan's secret project, "Knock at the Door."

TELEVISION - From Deadline: Sylvester Stallone is in negotiations to star in and exec produce "Kansas City," a drama series from Taylor Sheridan and Terence Winter for Paramount+. It will be Stallone's first major foray into television.

MOVIE NEWS - From THR: Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story" has been banned from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States, likely because the film has a transgender character.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro: The winner of the 12/3 to 12/5/2021 weekend box office is Disney's "Encanto" with an estimated gross of 12.7 million dollars.

SPIDER-MAN - From Variety: CCXP Worlds 21 (Brazil Comic Con), Sony Pictures Animation debuts a two-minute "first look" teaser for "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One)," which is due in theaters October 7, 2022. A sequel to the Oscar-winning hit, "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," the teaser features eye-popping graphics.

BREAKING NEWS - From Deadline: CNN said today that anchor Chris Cuomo, host of the network's "Cuomo Prime Time" political talk show, has been “terminated” by the network, “effective immediately.” The move comes as an outside law firm was retained to discover how much Cuomo aided his brother, former New York state governor Andrew Cuomo, when he faced multiple allegations of sexual harassment.

NETFLIX - From Deadline: Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry has signed a multi-picture deal with Netflix in the wake of her directorial debut, "Bruised," which is a massive hit on Netflix.

MOVIES - From Deadline: Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage will play "Dracula" in Universal Pictures film about the count's henchman, entitled "Renfield." Nicholas Hoult will play Renfield."

ANIMATION/NETFLIX - From IGN: The animated virtual band, Gorillaz, is getting a full-length animated film from Netflix, confirms the band's co-creator Damon Albarn.

MOVIES - From TheAVClub: The site has a list of movies coming out to theaters or streaming for the month of December 2021.

AWARDS:

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

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

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

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

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

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OBITS:

From Deadline: American musician and songwriter, Michael Nesmith, has died at the age of 78, Friday, December 10, 2021. Nesmith was best known for being the wool-capped singer and guitarist of the pop-rock band, "The Monkees" and for also being one of the stars of "The Monkees" television series that ran from 1966 to 1968 on NBC. In 1981, Nesmith also won the first Grammy Award given for "Video of the Year," which he won for his hour-long television show, "Elephant Parts."

From Deadline: American film producer, Martha De Laurentiis, has died at the age of 67, Saturday, December 2012. She was the wife of the legendary Italian-born American film producer, the late Dino De Laurentiis. Until 1995, she was known by her birth name, Martha Schumacher. She produced such film as "Silver Bullet" (1995), "Breakdown" (1997), "U-571" (2000), and "Hannibal" (2001), to name a few.

From Deadline: Former U.S. Senator, Republican from Kansas (1969-96), Bob Dole, has died at the age of 98, Sunday, December 5, 2021. Dole ran for president in 1988, losing the nomination to eventual President George H.W. Bush, and in 1996, when he won the Republican nomination before losing to President Bill Clinton.

From Variety: American actor and stuntman, Tommy Lane, has died at the age of 83, Tuesday, November 30, 2021. He played the villain, "Adam," in the 1973 James Bond film, "Live and Let Die." he was both an actor and a stuntman in the 1971 film, "Shaft." Lane was also a jazz musician.

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"RUST" ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING DEATH:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Saturday, November 13, 2021

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

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

From Negromancer: My review of "Eternals."

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

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

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

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

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

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

OBITS:

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

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

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"RUST" ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING DEATH:

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

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