by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
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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."
, nor is it a Bruce Lee
movie. However, if you want to see a ninja movie in which the clichés and bodies pile up in a mass of gore and severed limbs and heads, then, Ninja Assassin is just for you (and me).
focuses on an outcast ninja named Raizo (Rain). An orphan, he was taken from the streets as a child and brought into a ninja clan. There, Lord Ozunu (Shô Kosugi) gave him the name “Raizo” and transformed him into a trained killer in the service of the Ozunu Clan, a secret society whose very existence is considered a myth. After a terrible incident, Raizo leaves the Clan and vanishes. Now, living in Berlin, he waits for his former brethren to come for him, and he prepares to exact his revenge.
) is fair. The Asian cast is pretty good. Rain, a South Korean pop star, as Raizo is charismatic, and Shô Kosugi as Ozunu is dynamite.