NEGROMANCER 2.0: Woody Allen

Showing posts with label Woody Allen. Show all posts

Saturday, April 13, 2024

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from April 7th to 13th, 2024 - UPDATE #26

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

Amazon wants me to inform/remind you that any affiliate links found on this page are PAID ADS, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on affiliate links like this, MOVIES PAGE, and BUY something(s).

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

DISNEY - From Deadline: ESPN has greelit a "30 for 30" documentary about the late ESPN anchor, Stuart Scott (1965-2015). According to "Deadline," Scott "shattered preconceived notions of how on-air figures were expected to look, talk, act, and think–and in the process, helped bring hip-hop and Black culture into the sports media mainstream." Currently in production, the film is being directed by Andre Gaines.

CINEMACON - From THR: Paramount revealed footage from "Gladiator 2," the sequel to the 2000 "Best Picture" Oscar winner, "Gladiator," at CinemaCon 2024. Reports suggest that the footage from the film, which is directed by Ridley Scott, director of the first film, left the audience very entertained.

From Deadline: Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle will set his next film inside a prison, according to unconfirmed reports. The film will be part of his overall deal with Paramount.

TELEVISION - From Deadline: Remember when CBS' "S.W.A.T." was cancelled and its sixth season was to be its last before it got a reprieve for a seventh season. Well, CBS has renewed it for an eighth season.

NETFLIX - From Deadline: Prince Harry and Megan, the Duchess of Sussex are launching two non-fiction series at Netflix. This is part of the overall deal they signed with the streamer via their Archewell Productions in 2020.

CELEBRITY - From Variety: The Cinema for Gaza auction has received several new celebrity donations from the entertainment world, with its fundraising efforts now surpassing $200,000. Among the new lots are a “Joker” poster signed by Joaquin Phoenix. He also donated a poster for “You Were Never Really Here” that he signed alongside director Lynne Ramsay.

TELEVISION - From Deadline: Actor Malcolm Jamal Warner will guest-star on four upcoming episodes of ABC's "9-1-1." Warner, who is best known for his role on NBC's former sitcom, "The Cosby Show," was a series regular on Fox's drama, "The Resident."

MOVIES - From Deadline: Danny Boyle is set to direct the first film in the new "28 Years Later," the follow-up to his film, 28 Days Later, and its sequel, 28 Weeks Later, perhaps, later this year. Sony Pictures is already lining up a director for the second film and is talks with The Marvels and Candyman (2021) director, Nia DaCosta, to direct it.

TELEVISION - From Deadline: CBS has renewed "NCIS" and "The Neighborhood" for the 2024-25 broadcast season. For "NCIS," that will be its 22nd season. For the sitcom, "The Neighborhood," that will be it seventh season.

From Deadline: CBS has renewed its "FBI" franchise trio for the 2024-25 broadcast television season. "FBI: Most Wanted" will get a sixth season, and "FBI: International," will get a fourth. The flagship, "FBI," gets three-season renewal which will over Seasons 7 through 9.

TELEVISION - From Variety: Actor Kit Harrington, who played "Jon Snow" in HBO's "Game of Thrones," says that the Jon Snow spinoff series is no longer in development. Harrington says the team of showrunners/writers that he brought onto the project couldn't find the right story to tell.

MOVIES - From Variety: John Waters is trying to get financing for his first film in 20 years, "Liarmouth." Meanwhile, "Fruitcake," a sequel to "Hairspray" (1998), might happen.

BOX OFFICE - From Variety: A list the 30 highest-grossing films of all time. "Avatar" (2009) is #1 and "Skyfall" is #30.

MOVIES - From THR: The big Hollywood studios are apparently wary of Francis Ford Coppola's self-financed epic film, "Megalopolis." The word is that the film is too experimental and "not good," which makes the studios wary of spending 40 million prints and advertising and all marketing for domestic distribution and another 80 to 100 million for an international release.

CANNES - From Deadline: Francis Ford Coppola's "Megalopolis" will premiere in competition at Cannes 2024 on May 17th.

ANIMATION - From IndieWire: David Lynch says that Netflix has passed on financing his proposed animated feature film, "Snootworld." Although Lynch will not commit to directing the film, which he co-wrote with The Nightmare Before Christmas scribe, Caroline Thompson, he would produce the film. He is currently looking for new financiers.

MOVIES - From THR: The recent success of the hit film, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, practically ensures that Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros' "MonsterVerse" has a bright future.

CANNES - From Variety: The first installment of Kevin Costner's Western epic, "Horizon, an American Saga," will makes its premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. It will be shown out of competition May 19th. The film will be released in two installments, with the first debuting June 28th and the second arriving August 16th.

DISNEY - From Deadline: 20th Century Studios has closed a deal to finance and release "Deliver Me from Nowhere." This will be a narrative film written and directed by Scott Cooper and starring Emmy-winner, Jeremy Allen White ("The Bear"), as Bruce Springsteen in a pivotal moment in his life.

SCANDAL - From Deadline: Former Marvel Studios star, Jonathan Majors, has avoided jail time. Over three months after being convicted of "reckless assault and harassment," Jonathan Majors was sentenced by Judge Michael Gaffey in an NYC courtroom to participate a domestic violence treatment program. The one-year “in person batterers” intervention program will be in Los Angeles, where Majors is based.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro: The winner of the 4/5 to 4/7/2024 weekend box office is Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment's "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" with an estimated take of 31.7 million dollars.

From Here: Leroy Douresseaux reviews "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire."

MOVIES - From Deadline: 58 years after making his debut feature ("What's Up, Tiger Lily"), Woody Allen is sitting “on the fence” about whether his latest movie, "Coup de Chance," his 50th feature, will be his last cinematic outing. "The romance of filmmaking is gone," Allen says.

STAGE - From Deadline: The Jamie Lloyd Company has announced that its upcoming West End production of Romeo & Juliet, headlined by Sony/Marvel "Spider-Man" star, Tom Holland, will head to Broadway after its 12-week London run. Juliet will be played by Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, who is making her West End debut.

MOVIES - From Deadline: In a deal worth $500,000 against $1.5 million, Legendary Entertainment has optioned Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen‘s nonfiction book, "Nuclear War: A Scenario." Legendary plans to use the film adaptation potential reteam with director Denis Villeneuve, who has directed the "Dune" films for Legendary and Warner Bros. The expectation is that Villeneuve would work on this film after he finishes his third "Dune" film, "Dune: Messiah," which would be the final part of the "Dune" trilogy.

OBITS:

From Deadline: American screenwriter and director and documentary filmmaker, Eleanor Coppola, has died at the age of 87, Friday, April 12, 2024. Coppola is best known for her 1991 documentary film, "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse," for which she won two Emmy Awards. Eleanor was married to legendary film director Francis Ford Coppola from 1963 to her passing. They had three children: the late Gian-Carlo Coppola (1963-86), and filmmakers Sofia Coppola and Roman Coppola.

From ESPN: Former NFL player, actor, and broadcaster, O.J. Simpson, has died at the age of 76, Wednesday, April 10, 2024. Simpson was the 1968 Heisman Trophy winner at USC, and he was a member of the 1967 USC "National Championship" team that finished No. 1 in the AP and Coaches Polls. He was the No. 1 pick in the 1969 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills. When he retired in 1969, he was 2nd on the NFL's all-time rushing list. After football, Simpson had an active two-and-a-half decade acting career, appearing in such films as "The Towering Inferno" (1974), "Capricorn One" (1978), and the "Naked Gun" film trilogy. His television appearances included the ABC miniseries, "Roots" (1977), "Goldie and the Boxer" (1979), and "In the Heat of the Night" (1979). After his playing career, Simpson was a "color commentator," including on ABC 's "NFL Monday Night Football" (1983-85). However, Simpson will best be remembered for being arrested, charged, and later acquitted for the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her... friend, Ron Goldman, on June 12, 1994.

Monday, February 19, 2024

Review: DreamWorks "ANTZ" Can Still Dance

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 11 of 2024 (No. 1955) by Leroy Douresseaux

Antz (1998)

Running time: 83 minutes (1 hour, 23 minutes)

MPAA – PG for mild language and menacing action

DIRECTORS: Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson

WRITERS: Todd Alcott and Chris Weitz & Paul Weitz

PRODUCERS: Brad Lewis, Kenneth Nakada, Aron Warner, and Patty Wooton

EDITOR: Stan Webb

COMPOSERS: Harry Gregson-Williams and John Powell

ANIMATION/FANTASY/ADVENTURE/COMEDY

Starring: (voices): Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Sylvester Stallone, Anne Bancroft, Danny Glover, Jennifer Lopez, Paul Mazursky, Grant Shaud, John Mahoney, Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtain, and Christopher Walken

Antz is a 1998 computer-animated adventure comedy film from directors Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson. It was produced by DreamWorks Pictures, DreamWorks Animation, and Pacific Data Images and released by DreamWorks Pictures. Antz was also DreamWorks Animation's debut film. The movie focuses on a neurotic ant who bucks the system of his ant colony in order to pursue an ant princess, which sends them both on a perilous journey.

Antz opens in an ant colony, the home of a race of anthropomorphic ants (walk and talk like humans). The focus is on Z (Woody Allen), an anxious and neurotic worker ant who chafes at the state of conformity in the colony. While at the local bar one night, Z has a chance encounter with the Queen Ant's daughter, Princess Bala (Sharon Stone), and he falls in love with her. Z doesn't know that Bala is struggling with her suffocating royal life, although her mother, the Queen Aunt (Anne Bancroft), is the ruler of the colony. Bala also has misgivings about her planned marriage to General Mandible (Gene Hackman), the cunning and arrogant leader of the colony's ant military.

Z wants to see more of Bala, but as a worker ant, he can't get near her. He convinces Corporal Weaver (Sylvester Stallone), a soldier ant, to switch places with him. This causes a series of events that finds Z and Princess Bala on a perilous journey outside the colony. Meanwhile, General Mandible uses this turn of events to serve his own plans.

I am about to watch DreamWorks Animation's most recent release, Orion and the Dark, which was animated by the French production company, Mikros Animation. So I decided that it was time to finish my review of DreamWorks' first animated feature film, Antz.

Early in Antz, I was not impressed by the CGI-animation. It looks stiff and not imaginative, but as the film progresses, especially once the story leaves the colony, Antz begins to show some visual inventiveness. The film's technical prowess improves as the story demands more complicated and involved action set pieces.

I like the voice cast, which I would call stellar; nine members of Antz's voice cast have won or been nominated for an Oscar – some several times. However, I'm not that crazy about Woody Allen as the lead character, Z. It's not that he doesn't do a good job; he does, but Allen is playing a character type that is familiar from his own films, such Hollywood Ending (2002) and Scoop (2006). At times, Woody doing Woody doesn't really serve this film well. As much as I like Sharon Stone, I can think of other actresses who could have given a better performance as Princess Bala. I can say, however, that Gene Hackman is convincingly menacing as General Mandible.

So I'm glad that I finally watched Antz. 2023 was the 25th anniversary of its initial wide theatrical release (specifically October 2, 1998). It is not as good as even recent DreamWorks Animation productions like The Bad Guys and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Still, Antz is what kicked off a line of fine animated feature films.

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

Thursday, February 15, 2024

NOTES:

1999 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Special Effects” (Ken Bielenberg, Philippe Gluckman, John Bell, and Kendal Cronkhite

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

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Review: "CAFÉ SOCIETY" Sounds More Scandalous Than It Actually Is

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 2 of 2024 (No. 1946) by Leroy Douresseaux

Café Society (2016)

Running time: 96 minutes (1 hour, 36 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for some violence, a drug reference, suggestive material and smoking

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Woody Allen

PRODUCERS: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum, and Edward Walson

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Vittorio Storaro

EDITOR: Alisa Lepselter

COMEDY/ROMANCE with elements of crime

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Steve Carell, Blake Lively, Sheryl Lee, Jeannie Berlin, Ken Stott, Sari Lennick, Stephen Kunken, and Corey Stoll

Café Society is a 2016 period comedy and romance film written and directed by Woody Allen. Set in the 1930s, the film follows a Bronx native who moves to Hollywood and falls in love with a young woman who is already in an affair with a mysterious married man.

Café Society introduces Robert Jacob “Bobby” Dorfman (Jessie Eisenberg). He is the youngest child and younger son of Marty Dorfman (Ken Stott) and his wife, Rose Dorfman (Jeannie Berlin). The Dorfman's middle child is their adult daughter, Evelyn (Sari Lennick), who is married to Leonard (Stephen Kunken), a teacher, an intellectual, and a communist. Dorfman's oldest child is their elder son, Ben (Corey Stoll), a gangster. While his siblings' lives are set, Bobby's is not. He is discontented with working for his father, Marty, who is a jeweler, so Bobby decides to move to Hollywood.

There, his mother Karen's brother, Phil Stern (Steve Carell), is a powerful talent agent who works with the most famous stars, biggest filmmakers, and most powerful movie studios. Phil is married to a beautiful woman, Karen (Sheryl Lee), and he lives in a lavish mansion in Hollywood. And he might have a job for his wayward nephew, Bobby Dorfman.

Bobby ends up taking a job running menial errands for Phil, and that brings him into contact with on of Phil's employees, Veronica “Vonnie” Sybil (Kristen Stewart). Bobby falls in love with Vonnie, but she claims that she already has a boyfriend, Doug, whom she describes as a journalist. Ultimately, Bobby returns to New York City, where he runs a high-end nightclub that he names “Les Tropiques.” It is there that Bobby embraces “café society,” as the club soon becomes a famous hangout for the rich and powerful. Bobby, however, cannot escape his recent past, nor can he avoid Ben's gangster activities.

Coup de chance, the film Woody Allen says will likely be his final directorial effort, was released in France in September (2023). Because of the controversies surrounding Allen the last few decades, especially the last five years, the film may not get a stateside theatrical release (although there has been a rumor that it has found a thus far secret U.S. distributor). In anticipation of eventually somehow seeing Coup de chance, I have decided to watch the recent Woody Allen films that I missed, such as the 2015 film, Irrational Man, and Cafe Society.

Cafe Society is an amiable, lightweight Woody Allen period comedy. It's nostalgic overtones certainly recall Allen's utterly delightful and semi-autobiographical period film, Radio Days (1987). I adore Radio Days and am tempted to call it his masterpiece. Unfortunately, Cafe Society is nowhere near the film that Radio Days is.

The first half of Cafe Society, which is mostly set in Hollywood, ends up being a prologue to the main story. You see, dear readers, Cafe Society's real story takes place after Bobby Dorfman returns to New York City and becomes a player in cafe society, the party scene of the Big Apple's rich and famous – from the blue bloods and celebrities to politicians and gangsters. In fact, the film is practically sleepy until Bobby becomes the impresario of NYC's most popular and notorious nightclub. That is when the two strands of his past – his aborted relationship with Vonnie and the natural end of Ben's activities – meet. Of course, it is a time when Bobby has the best of everything.

Cafe Society's themes of love-at-first-sight, love lost, and yearning for what might have been are familiar, and the film deals with it all so slightly that the story feels underdeveloped. I can't help but believe Cafe Society would work better as a television series, which would allow it to fully develop its multiple subplots and to play out a cast that is filled with potential. Ultimately, Café Society is an average put-together of familiar Woody Allen tropes, decorated with gorgeous production values. The cinematography, costumes, and sets are all Oscar worthy.

5 of 10

B-

★★½ out of 4 stars

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

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

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

Friday, December 15, 2023

Review: Woody Allen's "SLEEPER" is Comedy Gold and a Sci-Fi Classic

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 53 of 2023 (No. 1942) by Leroy Douresseaux

Sleeper (1973)

Running time: 87 minutes (1 hour, 27 minutes)

MPAA – PG

DIRECTOR: Woody Allen

WRITERS: Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman

PRODUCER: Jack Grossberg

CINEMATOGRAPHER: David M. Walsh (D.o.P.)

EDITORS: Ralph Rosenblum, O. Nicholas Brown, and Ron Kalish

COMPOSER: Woody Allen

COMEDY/SCI-FI

Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, John Beck, Mary Gregory, Don Keefer, John McLiam, Bartlett Robinson, Chris Forbes, Mews Small, Peter Hobbs, and John Cannon (voice)

Sleeper is a 1973 science fiction-comedy film directed by Woody Allen. The film focuses on a store owner who is revived from a cryogenic state into a future world in which the United States has been transformed into an oppressive government that forces its citizens happy and content.

Sleeper opens in the year 2173. The American Federation, a police state (of sorts), has replaced the United States of America, which was destroyed long ago. The government is oppressive, but it keeps its citizens happy by giving them good jobs, plenty of food, mood-altering drugs, happiness via mind alteration, and a device called the “orgasmatron” to keep them sexual satisfied.

There is, however, an underground rebellion determined to take down the government and its mysterious “Leader.” Towards that end, the rebels revive Miles Monroe (Woody Allen), a jazz musician who also owned of the “Happy Carrot” health food restaurant. In 1973, Miles went in for a routine operation, which managed to go wrong, and the result was that he was cryogenically frozen. The rebels illegally revive Miles and plan to use him as spy to infiltrate and derail the government because he would be the only member of this society without a known “biometric identity.”

As someone from the distant past, Miles is considered by the current government to be an “alien.” If caught by the police, he will be brainwashed into a complacent member of society. The success of Miles' spy mission and his hope of remaining free of brainwashing rest in an idle socialite and poet, Luna Schlosser (Diane Keaton), who may be too self-indulgent to become a rebel.

Coup de chance, the film Woody Allen says will likely be his final directorial effort, was released in France in September (2023). Because of the controversies surrounding Allen the last few decades, especially the last five years, the film may not get a U.S. theatrical release. In anticipation of somehow seeing Coup de chance, I have decided to watch the recent Woody Allen films that I missed, such as the 2015 film, Irrational Man.

I also decided to review Allen's 1973 classic film, Sleeper, because this year (2023) is the fiftieth anniversary of its original theatrical release (specifically December 17, 1973). I have seen the film twice before, but I have previously not written a review of it.

Because Woody Allen has become such a controversial and, in recent years, such a toxic figure in American cinema and culture, people may have forgotten what a charming cinematic figure he was for at least three decades. They may also be unaware that Allen is also an accomplished clarinetist as one can discover in Sleeper's lively Dixieland-style jazz soundtrack, which features Allen performing with “The Preservation Hall Jazz Band” and “The New Orleans Funeral Ragtime Orchestra.”

Sleeper is certainly an excellent parody of the science fiction films of its time, and it is a sharp satire of pseudo-intellectuals, pretentious artists and their patrons, self-indulgent poets, and other assorted poseurs. The film expertly references such then current science fiction films as 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), A Clockwork Orange (1971), and THX 1138 (1971). [Douglas Rain, who provided the voice of “HAL 9000” in 2001: A Space Odyssey, also provided the voice of the medical computer in Sleeper.]

However, Sleeper is a showcase of Wood Allen's immense comedic talents, both as writer and as an actor possessing impeccable comic timing. His skill at physical comedy is also quite impressive and reveals the influence of great performers such as Charlie Chaplin, Bob Hope, and Groucho Marx, and I would add the work of the great master of silent films, Buster Keaton. Allen uses facial expressions and the rapid delivery of dialogue, which transforms this slightly built man into a comedy force of nature. Allen uses his body like a prop, something to abused so long as it stirs a the barrel of laughs. The result is a winning and lovable character in Miles Monroe.

Sleeper also proves (at least for me) that Diane Keaton is the perfect comic foil and partner for Woody Allen. Obviously, she has serious dramatic chops, but Keaton is also pure magic and sparkly delight as a comedic actress. I could watch another hour of her and Allen in this scenario. Sleeper may seem a bit dated in some aspects, but its leads are eternally pleasing. Sleeper is a clever satire as well as a witty spin on dystopian science fiction. Other than Mike Judge's 2006 satirical sci-fi comedy, Idiocracy, there is nothing like it. Still, the treat in Sleeper is an energetic Woody Allen and an equally smart and savvy Diane Keaton.

8 of 10

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Friday, December 15, 2023

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

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Review: Phoenix is the Man in Woody Allen's "IRRATIONAL MAN"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 51 of 2023 (No. 1940) by Leroy Douresseaux

Irrational Man (2015)

Running time: 95 minutes (1 hour, 35 minutes)

MPAA – R for some language and sexual content

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Woody Allen

PRODUCERS: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum, and Edward Walson

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Darius Khondji

EDITOR: Alisa Lepselter

COMEDY/DRAMA/MYSTERY/ROMANCE

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Parker Posey, Joe Stapleton, Nancy Carroll, Betsy Aidem, Ethan Phillips, Jamie Blackley, Nancy Giles, and Tom Kemp

Irrational Man is a 2015 comedy-drama, romance, and mystery film written and directed by Woody Allen. The film focuses on a college professor who finds the will to live after committing the act of murder and the young student who falls deeply in love with him.

Philosophy professor Abe Lucas (Joaquin Phoenix) arrives in Newport, Rhode Island with some acclaim. He joins the faculty of (fictional) Braylin College where he will teach “ethical strategies.” Abe is depressed, is experiencing an existential crisis, and sees no meaning in his life. He drinks excessively and considers suicide.

Despite his tormented state, Abe catches the attention of two women. The first is chemistry professor, Rita Richards (Parker Posey), and the second is Jill Pollard (Emma Stone), one of his students. Each is crazy about him in her own way. Abe's relationship with the two really goes nowhere … at first.

Abe hatches the idea of murdering Judge Thomas Augustus Spangler (Tom Kemp), an unethical family court judge who is plotting to take the custody of her children away from a woman. Plotting and committing murder has given Abe's life a sense of purpose that he has not felt in ages. For various reasons, however, both Rita and Jill suspect Abe of Judge Spangler's murder.

Coup de chance, the film Woody Allen says will likely be his final directorial effort, was released in France in September (2023). Because of the controversies surrounding Allen the last few decades, especially the last five years, the film may not get a U.S. theatrical release. In anticipation of seeing Coup de chance, I have decided to watch the recent Woody Allen films that I missed, beginning with the most recent that I had not seen, Irrational Man.

Some of Woody Allen's films have previously focused on a lead character who is involved in murder or commits murder. Examples include Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) and Match Point (2005). Having murder as subplot gives Allen's films an edge they don't normally have. Irrational Man seems to drift with no purpose until Abe Lucas actually commits murder, and suddenly this film seems like a totally different movie from what it was during its first half. Frankly, Irrational Man seems to be asleep for at least half its runtime.

I find myself entirely sympathetic with Phoenix's Abe Lucas. Of course, I would feel differently if this were a real murder victim that was friends or family to me. As it is, I find myself really liking the post-crime Abe Lucas, and I found his later, darker turn to be a bit alluring.

Phoenix gives life to a character that Allen does not develop very well. As the narrative moves towards its conclusion, Phoenix makes Abe feel richer, and the character might have improved even more with a longer runtime, more because of what Phoenix would do rather than what Allen would not. Emma Stone is whiny and unlikable as Jill Pollard, but Parker Posey makes the best of horny Rita Richards. I wish Rita had more screen time.

Irrational Man is strictly for Woody Allen fans, although Phoenix is the one who saves this film and uplifts it. So Joaquin Phoenix fans may find something in Irrational Man to like, also.

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

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

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

Saturday, September 9, 2023

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from September 1st to 9th, 2023 - Update #18

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

SCANDAL - From CNN: 47-year-old actor Danny Masterson ("That '70s Show") was sentenced on Thursday, September 7th to 30 years to life in prison after he was convicted on two counts of rape earlier this year in a Los Angeles courtroom, according to Deputy D.A. Reinhold Mueller of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.

From THR: Actors Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis have apologized for writing "character letters" for their former "That '70s Show" castmate, Danny Masterson, who was recently sentenced to prison after being convicted on two counts of rape.

TELEVISION - From Deadline: Warner Bros. Television continues to suspend the "overall deals" it made with some of its top creators. The latest round includes Greg Berlanti, Bill Lawrence, and Mindy Kaling.

DISNEY - From Deadline: The Disney-Charter Communications carriage fees battle seems like the death knell for cable TV and the pay-TV bundle.

MOVIES - From Deadline: At the Venice Film Festival, Deadline site conducted an interview with Oscar-nominated filmmaker, Ava DuVernay, who talks about her new film "Origin" and the state of her career.

TELEVISION - From Deadline: "NCIS: Sydney," the first international spinoff for a CBS Studios global drama franchise, will debut exclusively on Paramount+ Australia on Nov. 10th, followed by its U.S. premiere on CBS on Nov. 13th, with weekly rollout of new episodes on both.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro: The winner of the 9/1 to 9/3/2023 weekend box office is Sony Pictures' "The Equalizer 3" with an estimated take of 34.5 million dollars.

From Variety: "The Equalizer 3" leads the Labor Day weekend box office frame.

From Deadline: The site examines the career trajectory of Oscar-winner Denzel Washington in "Denzel Washington: Deadline's How They Reached the Top."

MOVIES - From Variety: The site talks to 87-year-old director, Woody Allen, about his new film, "Coup de Chance," and the sexual abuse allegations made by his daughter, Dylan Farrow.

STREAMING - From Variety: Hulu has cancelled "How I Met Your Father" after two-seasons. The series was spinoff of the long-running CBS sitcom, "How I Met Your Mother" (2005-2014).

TELEVISION - From Deadline: ESPN and 18 other Disney networks as well as ABC stations have gone dark across Spectrum, the No. 2 cable TV service in the U.S. Charter Communications, which runs Spectrum, and Disney had been locked in a distribution dispute for at least for a few weeks.

From Deadline: Charter Communications executives say Disney rejected their proposed “New Model” distribution deal for Charter's Spectrum cable service. And Charter says it's ready to move on...

From Deadline: Disney hits back at Charter Communications over Spectrum cable service, saying that it offered "the most favorable terms."

MUSIC/MOVIES - From Deadline: First day pre-sales on Taylor Swift's concert film, "Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour" surpass 37 million dollars. The film looks to have an opening weekend of more than 70 million dollars. It opens Oct. 13th.

From Variety: October, Friday the 13th will be the release date for Taylor Swift's concert film, "Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour."

From THR: "The Exorcist" sequel/reboot thingie, entitled "The Exorcist: Believer," has moved up its release date to Oct. 6th. It's original release date was Oct. 13th, which is now the parking spot of the concert film, "Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour."

WRITERS/ACTORS STRIKE:

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.

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

Saturday, September 24, 2022

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from September 18th to 24th, 2022 - Update #20

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

MOVIES - From THR: Young actress, Storm Reid ("A Wrinkle in Time," HBO's "Euphoria"), has landed the lead role in the horror movie, "The Nun 2." The film is due in theaters Sept. 8th, 2023.

MOVIES - From THR: The duo of Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein ("Freaks") will direct "Final Destination 6," which will be a relaunch of the franchise.

SCANDAL - From Variety: In Canada, "Riverdale" and "Supernatural" actor Ryan Grantham has been sentenced to life in prison for March 2020 killing of his mother, Barbara Waite.

MOVIE - From Variety: Lead actor, Jon Hamm, gave back 60 percent of his salary and director Greg Mottola gave back some of his salary, so that they could get extra days of filming in for their new film, "Confess, Fletch." The film is a reboot of the 1980s Chevy Chase "Fletch" film series.

STREAMING - From Variety: Multiple Oscar-nominee Saoirse Ronan will lead director Steve McQueen's World War II film, "Epic." The film, which is being produced for Apple+, will focus on a group of Londoners during the Nazi aerial bombing campaign of WWII.

STREAMING - From Deadline: FX's "Reservation Dogs" gets a third season that will stream exclusively on "Hulu."

NETFLIX - From Deadline: Four cast members of the original "Beverly Hills Cop": Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser, and Bronson Pinchot, are returning for the Netflix sequel, "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley." The film is currently shooting in California.

DISNEY - From TheWrap: An oral history of how 1993's "Hocus Pocus" went from box office dud to holiday hit.

MOVIES - From Deadline: Multiple Oscar and Emmy winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy will make her feature film debut with Paramount's "Brilliance." Will Smith is producing and may star in the film. Sharmeen directed several episodes of Disney+/Marvel Studios' "Ms. Marvel."

SCANDAL - From Deadline: The plaintiffs have dismissed their sex abuse civil suit against actress/comedian Tiffany Haddish and Aries Spears.

TELEVISION - From Deadline: The site has a list of television premiere dates for new and returning series on broadcast, cable and streaming for the 2022-23 television season.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro: The winner of the 9/16 to 9/18/2022 weekend box office is Sony Pictures' "The Woman King" with an estimated take of 19 million dollars.

From Here: Leroy's review of "The Woman King."

From Deadline: In an interview with the site, "The Woman King" star Shelia Atim talks about triumph of the film's "dark-skinned" Black women stars.

MOVIES - From Variety: Woody Allen has officially announced his retirement from filmmaking. He will start shooting his final film in a "couple of weeks." The film will be shot in Paris and will be entirely in French.

FILM FESTIVAL - From Deadline: Steven Spielberg's semi-autobiographical film, "The Fablemans," wins "The People's Choice Award" at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

TELEVISION - From Deadline: Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson has decided not to renew his deal with Starz. His G-Unit Film & Television is reportedly entertaining offers from several streamers and studios.

MOVIES - From Variety: Sony Pictures is developing a new "Karate Kid" film with a June 7, 2024 release date. It would be the first since the 2010 reboot starring Jaden Smith.

OBITS:

From Variety: Film and television actress, Louise Fletcher, has died at the age of 89, Friday, September 23, 2022. Fletcher is best known for the role of "Nurse Ratched" in the 1975 film, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," for which she won the Academy Award for "Best Actress." She also had a recurring role on the TV series, "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993-99) and was a two-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee.

From Deadline: Former Major League Baseball player and manager, Maury Wills, has died at the age off 89, Monday, September 19, 2022. Wills was a member of the 1959, 1963, and 1969 Los Angeles Dodgers World Series teams, and he was the 1962 National League MVP. Wills had the MLB's first 100-stolen base season and is considered to have revived base-stealing as a part of baseball strategy in the 1960s.

BRITTNEY GRINER:

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."

Saturday, July 9, 2022

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from July 1st to 9th, 2022 - Update #17

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

BREAKING NEWS - From ABC: Japan’s longest-serving Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated by a gunman during a campaign speech Friday in Nara, Japan.

STAR TREK - From THR: In the final episode of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" Season 1, actor Paul Wesley debuts as "Captain James T. Kirk," the iconic character most famously played by the iconic actor, William Shatner.

LEGAL - From Deadline: Oscar-nominee, Sacha Baron Cohen ("Borat"), has won an appeal in the lawsuit brought against him by failed Alabama U.S. senatorial candidate and accused sexual predator, Roy Moore.

CRIME - From TMZ: Eric Holder, Jr. has been found guilty of 1st-degree murder for shooting rapper Nipsey Hussle to death in 2019. He was also found guilty of five other charges.

MOVIES - From Variety: Woody Allen has said that his next film will be a French-language project, shot in Paris with a local cast. He just needs to get the financing set.

MOVIES - From Deadline: James Cameron's film series, "Avatar," will apparently be comprised of five films, but Cameron recently said that he might not direct the fourth and firth films.

BOX OFFICE - From Deadline: "Minions: The Rise of Gru" had a four-day July 4th holiday weekend total of 125.1 million dollars at the domestic box office.

From BoxOfficePro: The winner of the 7/1 to 7/3/2022 weekend box office is "Minions: The Rise of Gru" with an estimated take of 108.5 million dollars.

MOVIES - From Deadline: Writer-director Jordan Peele has revealed a viral website, Jupiterclaim.com, that ties into his upcoming film, "Nope" (July 22nd).

TELEVISION - From Deadline: CBS cancelled its "Magnum P.I." reboot after four seasons. Now, NBC has rescued the series ordering a fifth and sixth season, 10 episodes each season for a total of 20.

DISNEY - From Deadline: The original "Buzz Lightyear," Tim Allen, speaks about the new "Lightyear" film.

TELEVISION - From ShadowandAct: "In Living Color" veteran, Tommy Davidson, talks about how the demoralizing experience he had trying to develop a TV series based on Eddie Murphy's 1988 hit, "Coming to America."

OBITS:

From Variety: The actor and comedian, Larry Storch, has died at the age of 99, Friday, July 8, 2022. He was best known for playing "Corporal Randolph Agam" in the former ABC sitcom, "F Troop" (1965-67). He reunited with his "F Troop" cast mate, Forrest Tucker, for the 1975 CBS Saturday morning children's series, "The Ghost Busters." For Warner Bros. animation, Storch performed voice on numerous animated series, including "Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales," The Pink Panther," and "The Brady Kids," to name a few.

From Deadline: The actor Tony Sirico has died at the age of 79, Friday, July 8, 2022. Sirico was best known for playing "Paulie Walnuts" on the former HBO television series, "The Sopranos." He also appeared in several Woody Allen films, including "Bullets Over Broadway," "Mighty Aphrodite," and "Celebrity," to name a few.

From Variety: The film and television actor, James Caan, has died at the age of 82, Wednesday, July 6th, 2022. He was best known for the role of the hot-headed "Sonny Corleone" in "The Godfather" (1972), for which he received an Oscar nomination. He also appeared in the famous television movie, "Brian's Song" (1970), which earned him an Emmy nomination. Other notable film roles include "Rollerball" (1975), "Thief" (1981), "Gardens of Stone" (1987), and "Misery" (1990), to name a few.

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

BRITTNEY GRINER:

From CBSSports: The Brittney Griner situation explained.

From RSN: According to The Washington Post Editorial Board: "Brittney Griner is a hostage, plain and simple.

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

ROE V. WADE - From NPR: The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has overturned "Roe v. Wade." It's gone, boo.

From TheRoot: During a re-election really with Donald Trump, Congresswoman Mary Miller said that the overturning of "Roe v. Wade" a "historic victory for white life." [Sometimes, they tell you who they are - Leroy]

From GoogleDocs: "Roe v. Wade": What you can do.

From RSNNewYorker: We're not going back to the time before Roe. We're going somewhere worse.

From RSNVanityFair: Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Stephen Breyer's wrote a withering dissent to the court's conservative majority. Their conclusion: this opinion is "the curtailment of women's rights, and of their status as free and equal citizens."

From Truthout: Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass) led a group of 20 Black Congresswomen who urged President Biden to to take urgent action to protect abortion rights.

From GuardianUK: "'Fewer Rights Than Their Grandmothers': Read Three Justices' Searing Abortion Dissent"

UVALDE, TEXAS MASS SHOOTING:

From YahooAP: An 18-year-old gunman slaughtered 19 children and two teachers on Tues., May 24th, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. All 21 victims were in the same 4th grade classroom at Robb Elementary.

From TheDailyBeast: Texas's top law enforcement official, Department of Public Safety Director Steve McGraw, has said that the school shooter in Uvalde, Texas could have been taken down in three minutes.

From TheDailyBeast: Police officers responding to last month’s mass shooting at an Uvalde, Texas, elementary school never even tried to open the door to the classroom where young children were trapped with the gunman, according to a new report.

From Jacobin: "The Uvalde Massacre has exposed the lies that once justified police militarization" by Branko Marcetic

From Truthout: We don’t need more evidence that police can’t be trusted.

From Truthout: 44 percent of GOP voters view mass shootings as part of living in “Free Society”

From ABCNews: Arnulfo Reyes, a teacher who survived the school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, calls the local police "cowards" because of slow response to an active shooter at his school, Robb Elementary. All of 11 students in his class were killed.

From DallasNews: Joe Garcia, the husband of Irma Garcia, one of the two teachers killed at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, has died of a heart attack two days after the murder of his wife. They had been married for 24 years and had been high school sweethearts.

From Axios: Texas gubernatorial candidate, Beto O'Rourke, interrupted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's gaslighting press conference on the Uvalde elementary school mass shooting.

From USAToday: Beto O'Rourke's outburst at Gov. Greg Abbott's Uvalde news conference shows the spine Democrats need.

From BostonGlobe: Steve Kerr, head coach of the NBA's Golden State Warriors, asks "When are we going to do something?"

From NBCNews: A Robb Elementary teacher describes "the longest 35 minutes of my life" and the terror she now feels.

From NBCNews: The Uvalde school district had an extensive safety plan, but 19 children were killed at Robb Elementary anyway. Even security plans that appear to be up to the latest research-based standards may have gaps and fall short of preventing the worst-case scenario, experts said.

From MSN: Angeli Rose Gomez, the mother who was handcuffed outside Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, was able to get inside the school and rescue her two children.

From YahooNews: Daniel Defense, the maker of the rifles used by the Uvalde massacre killer, has used "incendiary ads" in the past, including one in which a toddler holds one of its rifles.

From TheIntercept: The police aren't obligated to protect anyone NOT in their custody, as the Supreme Court has ruled twice.

From RollingStone: Right wing lies about the Second Amendment and why they tell them are killing America's childrne.

From Vice: The law enforcement personnel in Texas that arrived at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas on Tues., May 24th did the opposite of what their own training documentary videos show.

From Vox: Uvalde police keep changing their story.

From TheDailyBeast: The families in Uvalde, Texas who lost loved one in the Robb Elementary massacre say that the cops there are "Nothing more than cowards" and that they need to pay for doing nothing while a gunman rampaged through the school last Tues, May 24th.

From TheNewYorker: Thoughts and prayers, Uvalde, Texas. This is the America that Republicans and the right wing have being thinking about and praying for all these decades.

From ABC: Sources say that Uvalde police and school district no longer cooperating with Texas probe of shooting of the May 24th massacre of 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas.

From GuardianUK: Canada plans to freeze all handgun ownership.

From RSNWashPost: Is it time to show the true horror of mass shooting - in pictures?

From MSN: Angeli Gomez, the Uvalde mother who rescued her two children from the Robb Elementary shooting massacre, says that a police officer threatened to arrest her if she did not stop telling her story.

From RSNTheAtlantic: The Uvalde police chose dishonor. Where was there courage?

From RSNWashPost: Brenda Bell: I hid from the Texas Tower sniper (Charles Joseph Whitman) in 1966. His successors have found us all.

From RSNTheIntercept: "AR-15s Were Made to Explode Human Bodies. In Uvalde, the Bodies Belonged to Children" by Murtaza Hussain

From RSNNPR: The tragic history of police responding too late to active shooters.

From VICE: There is likely bodycam footage of the school shooting in Uvalde, TX, but the public may never see it.

BLM-BUFFALO:

From ABCNews: A 18-year-old white MAN shot 13 people, killing 10 at a Buffalo, New York Tops Friendly Markets supermarket on Saturday, May 14, 2021.

From RSNAP: The white male suspect in the Buffalo Tops Supermarket shooting, Payton Gendron, was charged with federal hate crimes on Wed., June 15th and could face the death penalty if convicted.

From Truthout: The racist attack in Buffalo at the Tops Friendly supermarket was crafted to terrorize us. We can fight back, and here’s how we fight back.

From WGRZ: Who are the victims of the Buffalo Tops Friendly Markets grocery store shooting. This comes from local station WGRZ Channel 2 and includes video and some victim photos.

From BuffaloNews: One of the 10 Black murder victims of the Buffalo massacre was Katherine "Kat" Massey. She was a leader in her community and civil rights activist and advocate for education.

From NewYorkPost: One of the 10 Black murder victims of the Buffalo massacre was Andre Mackniel. He was at TOPS Supermaket to pick up a birthday cake for his son.

From Truthout: The racist attack in Buffalo, NY at the Tops supermarket was crafted to terrorize us, so here is how we fight back.

From CNN: What is known about the 18-year-old MAN, Payton Gendron.

From NPR: 198 mass shooting this year ... so far.

From Truthout: White supremacist massacre of 10 people in Buffalo, NY shows that the “Alt-Right” ideology leads to murder.

From RollingStone: Buffalo rampage killing is "Straight Up Racially Motivated Hate Crime."

From InformedComment: Rene Binet, the originator the "great replacement" was a French Nazi, and he saw all American as "Negroes," an "impure mestizo 'race'."

From WashPost: Only 22 people saw the live-stream of a white terrorist kill Black shoppers at the Buffalo Tops Friendly Markets supermarket, but millions have seen it since...

From GuardianUK: Buffalo Tops Friendly Markets shooter may have been motivated by "eco-fascism," a focus on overpopulation and environmental degradation.

From RSN: "What Lessons Have We Learned From the Buffalo Shooting?" by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

From Truthout: “Innocent” White People Are Also Complicit in the Anti-Black Murders in Buffalo by George Yancy.

From Truthout: "Black Lives Matter" cofounder discovered that Alicia Garza has learned that her name is mentioned in the Buffalo Tops supermarket killer's manifesto.

From GuardianUK: Cornell West says, "Trump isn't out there with a gun, but he's enabled this war against Black people.

From Slate: From the Tulsa Race Massacre to the Buffalo Tops Friendly Markets shootings: the legacy of anti-Black violence.

From Truthout: After mass shootings, Republicans shield white supremacists from scrutiny

From MSN: Angeli Gomez, the Uvalde mom who rescued her children from the school shooting at Robb Elementary, says that local police have threatened to have her arrested if she does not stop telling her story.

UKRAINE:

From TheDailyBeast: Russian soldiers allegedly raped and killed a 1-year-old Ukrainian boy and have reportedly raped or sexually abused children as young as 9 months old.

HATE WATCH:

From NPR: 31 members of the white nationalist Patriot Front arrested near a "Pride Month" event in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. They are believed to have been planning to riot held at a local before moving on to rioting downtown. They were not the only haters trying to sour the "Pride in the Park" event, which included families with children.

From SpokesmanReview: The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office released the names and photos of all 31 "Patriot Front" members who are suspects in a planned riot at the "Pride Month" event in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

Thursday, June 30, 2022

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from June 26th to 30th, 2022 - Update #18

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

NETFLIX - From Deadline: Cameron Diaz retired from acting in 2018, but now she is coming out of retirement to star with Jamie Foxx in the Netflix action-comedy, "Back in Action."

JAMES BOND - From Deadline: "James Bond" producer Barbara Broccoli has revealed that it will be “at least two years“ before the next 007 movie begins filming and that the task of finding an actor to replace Daniel Craig hasn’t begun “because it’s a reinvention of Bond.”

SCANDAL - From Deadline: The Grammy-winning recording artist, R. Kelly, was sentenced at a Brooklyn, NYC federal court to 30 years on nine counts of sex trafficking and racketeering.

CELEBRITY - From ScreenGeek: "Jurassic World" star Chris Pratt says that some online commentary about him has made him cry.

CHADWICK BOSEMAN - From RadarOnline: "Black Panther" star Chadwick Boseman died without a will. His widow, Simone Ledward Boseman, has asked that the late actor's estate be divided evenly betweeen her and Boseman's parents.

MOVIES - From Deadline: An array of British acting talent will appear in the period thriller, "The Critic," including Ian McKellen, Gemma Arterton, and Mark Strong, to name a few.

TELEVISION - From Deadline: Alex Wagner will take over Rachel Maddow's coveted 9 p.m. spot on MSNBC beginning Aug. 16th. "The Rachel Maddow Show" is currently only appearing on Monday nights. The name for Wagner's show is to be determined.

CELEBRITY - From Variety: Controversial Oscar-nominee Alec Baldwin will interview controversial multiple Oscar winner Woody Allen. The interview will appear on Instagram live Tues., June 28th at 10:30 a.m. EST.

BOX OFFICE - From Variety: As the final numbers role in, "Elvis" is the winner of the 6/24 to 6/26/2022 weekend box office with a take of 31.1 million dollars over 29.6 million dollars for "Top Gun: Maverick."

From BoxOfficePro: The winner of the 6/24 to 6/26/2022 weekend box office is thus far a tie, according to early estimates. New film, Elvis, and former champ, "Top Gun: Maverick," have both grossed 30.5 million dollars.

From TheWrap: "Top Gun: Maverick" has become the first Tom Cruise movie to surpass the billion dollar mark at the worldwide box office office.

From Variety: The box office is back, and movie theaters are feeling confident.

AWARDS - From Deadline: The winners of at the BET Awards 2022 were announced last night, Sun., June 26th. "Silk Sonic" (Bruno Mars and Anderson.Paak) let all winners.

POLITICS - From YahooHuffPost: Actor and international movie star, Samuel L. Jackson, rips Supreme Coon ... I mean ... Court Justice Clarence Thomas over his hypocrisy on Roe v. Wade and interracial marriage.

EMMYS - From Deadline: The winners at the 2022 / 49th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards were announced Fri., June 24th, streaming on Paramount+. ABC's "General Hospital" won "Outstanding Daytime Drama."

From Deadline: Mishael Morgan becomes the first Black woman to win win "Outstand Lead Actress" at the Daytime Emmys by winning "Outstanding Lead Performance in a Daytime Drama, Actress" at the 49th Daytime Emmy Awards (Fri., June 24th) for her role as "Amanda Sinclair" on "The Young and the Restless."

MOVIES - From BBC: "'Full Metal Jacket' and Kubrick: The Ultimate Anti-War Films" - a look the anti-war themes in the films of the late director, Stanley Kubrick.

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