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Eleven years have gone by since the release of a new entry in the Scary Movie horror parody series – but the franchise isn’t going to remain dormant for much longer. Back in April, it was announced that the Miramax label at Paramount, which is now operating under new boss Jonathan Glickman, had given the greenlight to a new Scary Movie sequel, with the plan being to get the film into theatres sometime in 2025. We recently learned that the series is being revived with the help of the people who got it started in the first place: the Wayans Brothers – and now Regina Hall, who played the character Brenda Meeks in the first four movies, has said she thinks it would be fun to come back and work on the new sequel with the Wayans.

Directed by In Living Color creator Keenen Ivory Wayans from a screenplay written by a bunch of people,...

A sterling lineup of stars and filmmakers have been set to be honored at the Critics Choice Association’s seventh annual Celebration of Black Cinema & Television, which is set for December 9 at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.

Among those being recognized are stars of 2024’s most acclaimed and anticipated films including Regina King, John David Washington, Cynthia Erivo, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Jharrel Jerome and The Fire Inside breakout Ryan Destiny. On the TV side, honorees include Natasha Rockwell, Wendell Pierce and Michael Rainey Jr. Filmmakers Steve McQueen and Malcolm D. Lee among other luminaries will also be receiving awards.

As previously announced, actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry will be honored with the Icon Award for his body of work and achievements throughout the years. The writer, director and producer of Netflix’s upcoming The Six Triple Eight, Perry has helmed 24 feature films, 20 stage plays, 17 TV shows and penned...

Tyler Perry, Regina King, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and “The Best Man’s” Malcolm D. Lee will be honored at the Critics Choice Association’s seventh annual Celebration of Black Cinema and Television.

Actor and comedian Jay Pharoah, best known for “Saturday Night Live” and his recent comedy special “Jared,” will host the gala on Dec. 9 at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. The ceremony will air on Starz in January 2025. It will then be televised on Ktla and shown nationwide on select Nexstar stations through the month of February in honor of Black History Month.

Perry will be presented with the Icon Award, celebrating his body of work. In addition to his upcoming Netflix film “The Six Triple Eight”, Perry has helmed 24 feature films, 20 stage plays, 17 television shows and penned two New York Times bestselling books, in addition to establishing the 330-acre Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta.

Lee will be...

Eleven years have gone by since the release of a new entry in the Scary Movie horror parody series – but the franchise isn’t going to remain dormant for much longer, and it’s being revived with the help of the people who got it started in the first place: the Wayans Brothers! Back in April, it was announced that the Miramax label at Paramount, which is now operating under new boss Jonathan Glickman, had given the greenlight to a new Scary Movie sequel, with the plan being to get the film into theatres sometime in 2025. That announcement didn’t include any mention of writers or a director – but now Deadline has revealed that Scary Movie 6 marks the return of the Wayans Brothers to the franchise. They haven’t been involved with the Scary Movie series since the second movie.

Scary Movie was developed by Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans,...

Grammy®-nominated music video director Cooper Roberts makes his feature directorial debut with horror-comedy All You Need Is Blood, and we’ve got the trailer for you today.

All You Need Is Blood debuts exclusively on the Kino Studio app on October 12. The film will be available across VOD outlets following the Kino premiere. Watch the trailer below.

Logan Riley Bruner (Stranger Things), Neel Sethi (The Jungle Book) and newcomer Emma Chasse star alongside Mena Suvari (American Pie) and comedian Eddie Griffin (Undercover Brother) in the “blood-soaked, heartfelt” zombie-comedy.

The film follows Bucky, a 16-year-old aspiring director who dreams of becoming the next arthouse auteur sensation. After a strange meteor crash lands in his backyard and turns his deadbeat father into a brain-eating zombie, Bucky and his friends seize the opportunity to create the ultimate horror flick, starring his undead dad.

They’ll soon realize that making a movie with...

After having its world premiere at the 2023 Sitges Film Festival, the new zombie horror-comedy flick All You Need Is Blood has been acquired by Level 33 Entertainment. The distribution company has set the movie's streaming release for October 2024.

According to Variety, the zombie movie will be released on the Kino Studio app on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. If you weren't aware, Kino is an interactive streaming service that consists of an extensive list of feature films, documentaries, etc. Then, following its Kino debut, the film will be available across all Video on Demand outlets.

Yale Entertainment is the production company behind All You Need Is Blood. Grammy-nominated music video director Cooper Roberts wrote and directed the zombie movie, marking it as his feature directorial debut.

In addition, Yale Entertainment's Jordan Yale Levine, Jordan Beckerman, and Jesse Korman signed on as producers, along with Russell Posternak. Michael J. Rothstein, Jason Kringstein, Scott Levenson,...

Grammy®-nominated music video director Cooper Roberts makes his feature directorial debut with horror-comedy All You Need Is Blood, and Variety reports today that the zom-com has been picked up for October release by Level 33 Entertainment.

All You Need Is Blood debuts exclusively on the Kino Studio app on October 19. The film will be available across VOD outlets following the Kino premiere.

Logan Riley Bruner (Stranger Things), Neel Sethi (The Jungle Book) and newcomer Emma Chasse star alongside Mena Suvari (American Pie) and comedian Eddie Griffin (Undercover Brother) in the “blood-soaked, heartfelt” zombie-comedy.

The film from writer-director Cooper Roberts follows “Bucky, a 16-year-old aspiring director who dreams of becoming the next arthouse auteur sensation. After a strange meteor crash lands in his backyard and turns his deadbeat father into a brain-eating zombie, Bucky and his friends seize the opportunity to create the ultimate horror flick, starring his undead dad.

Starz has announced the movie and TV titles that will be available on the service in September. The Starz September 2024 schedule includes the premiere of Three Women, a limited series based on the New York Times bestselling book that explores female desire through the compellingly raw and honest stories of three women on a crash course to radically change their lives.

Part Two of the final season of Power Book II: Ghost will also premiere. On the film front, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, Imaginary, Arthur the King, Knock at the Cabin, The Strangers: Chapter 1, Training Day, Ant-Man, and several other notable titles will join the Starz app this month.

Three Women Starz Highlights

Power Book II: Ghost Season 4 Part 2

The second half of the fourth and final season of “Power Book II: Ghost” premieres on Friday, September 6, at midnight Et on the Starz app. On linear, it will air on Starz at 8:00 p.

PodcastOne (Nasdaq: Podc), a leading podcast platform and a subsidiary of LiveOne (Nasdaq: Lvo), announced today that it has signed comedian and actor Chris Kattan to a multi-year contract for the exclusive sales and distribution rights for Kattan’s debut podcast, Idiotically Speaking with Chris Kattan. The weekly comedy variety show podcast is set for a July 24, 2024 debut and upcoming guests include Saturday Night Live alum and fellow comedians Fred Armisen, Dana Carvey, Rachel Dratch, Tim Meadows, Bobby Moynihan, Chris Parnell and Cecily Strong.

Join Kattan and co-hosts Andy Bolduc and Joseph Nuñez as each week Kattan invites his funniest friends to catch up on old times and hear about the new stuff too (if we have to). Then, our trio ropes their guest into an outrageous scenario where they have to improvise their way out! Will they spin comedy gold or will they just be... Idiotically Speaking?

“PodcastOne is thrilled to welcome Chris,...

Chris Kattan, known for his career in comedy and for starring on Saturday Night Live, is set to launch his debut podcast.

PodcastOne has signed Kattan to a multiyear contract for the distribution and sales of his podcast Idiotically Speaking With Chris Kattan. The weekly comedy and variety show podcast is set to launch July 24 and will feature guests chatting with Kattan and co-hosts Andy Bolduc and Joseph Nuñez and then participating in an improv comedy scenario.

The fellow SNL alums set to join forthcoming episodes of Idiotically Speaking include Fred Armisen, Dana Carvey, Rachel Dratch, Tim Meadows, Bobby Moynihan, Chris Parnell and Cecily Strong.

“PodcastOne is thrilled to welcome Chris, Andy and Joseph to the network,” PodcastOne president Kit Gray said in a statement. “Chris’ comic genius, his improvisational skills and his rapport with his co-hosts on Idiotically Speaking are great additions to the roster of shows already part of our slate of programming.

With its list of May 2024 releases, Amazon Prime Video is giving us the kindest gift of all: cougar Anne Hathaway.

May 2 sees the premiere of The Idea of You, a romantic-comedy that features Hathaway as a 40-year-old mom finding romance with a 24-year-old boy band singer (Nicholas Galitzine). Having saved the medium of film forever, Prime Video is celebrating with some big time library titles this month as well. American Fiction and BlacKkKlansman arrive on May 14 and will be followed by Creed and Pearl: An X-traordinary Origin Story on May 16.

For its TV offerings, Prime is leading off with Outer Range season 2 on May 16. This James Brolin sci-fi Western will continue the mysteries of the strange happenings on Thanos’ ranch. Reality TV fans will be able to enjoy the Daniel Tosh-hosted competition series The Goat on May 9.

Here’s everything coming to Prime Video and Freevee in April – Amazon...

Eleven years have gone by since the release of a new entry in the Scary Movie horror parody series – but the franchise isn’t going to remain dormant for much longer. Deadline reports that the Miramax label at Paramount, which is now operating under new boss Jonathan Glickman, has given the greenlight to a new Scary Movie sequel, with the plan being to get the film into theatres sometime in 2025. If any writers or a director are attached to the project, they weren’t named in this announcement.

Directed by In Living Color creator Keenen Ivory Wayans from a screenplay written by a bunch of people, the first Scary Movie was released by Dimension Films back in 2000. Scary Movie 2 was released in 2001, and the Wayans remained at the head of the creative team for that one. Keenen Ivory Wayans directed it from a screenplay credited to Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans,...

Exclusive: Veteran actor and comedian Eddie Griffin has signed with Independent Artist Group across the board, Deadline has learned.

Appearing in over 50 films and TV shows over more than three decades, Griffin won an NAACP Image Award from multiple nominations for his starring role in Malcolm & Eddie, a sitcom that aired on Upn for four seasons.

Appearing alongside Dave Chappelle, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper in the latter’s Academy Award winner A Star Is Born, he’s also been seen over the years in titles like the Denzel Washington thriller John Q, blaxploitation pic Undercover Brother, Armageddon, the Deuce Bigalow comedy franchise, Eddie Murphy starrer Norbit, Date Movie, Scary Movie 3, and My Baby’s Daddy, which he wrote, exec produced and starred in for Miramax.

Previously, Griffin also voiced the role of Richard Pryor on Adult Swim’s animated series Black Dynamite and starred on BET’s The Comedy Get Down.

Grammy®-nominated music video director Cooper Roberts makes his feature directorial debut with horror-comedy All You Need Is Blood, and we’ve got images today.

Logan Riley Bruner (Stranger Things), Neel Sethi (The Jungle Book) and newcomer Emma Chasse star alongside Mena Suvari (American Pie) and comedian Eddie Griffin (Undercover Brother) in the “blood-soaked, heartfelt” zombie-comedy.

Check out the image gallery below for your first look.

In the film from writer-director Cooper Roberts, “When a strange meteor lands in his backyard and turns his deadbeat father into a brain-eating zombie, a 16-year-old aspiring director teams up with his friends to create the ultimate student film.”

“It’s a zombie film but I love it because of how much heart it has. At its core, this story has so many meaningful themes it’s exploring, buried under the carnage,” said producer Jesse Korman.

“Cooper [Roberts] has a tremendously assured vision with this project,...

Independent talent agency 33 & West has signed comedians Masood Boomgaard, Tyler Fischer and Jimmy Dore, TheWrap can exclusively report.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Masood, Jimmy and Tyler to the 33 & West family,” said Peter DeSantis, head of talent & music crossover. “We’ve created an ecosystem at the agency that allows us to properly service their long-term upward trajectory, and a key function for our comedians is our ability to provide film and television opportunities for our comedy roster.”

“Masood is a perfect example of a comedian that started on TikTok and Instagram who is now performing live and headlining their own sold out shows,” said agency co-founder JJ Cassiere.

Boomgaard, who is also known by his alter ego Self-Help Singh, has sold out shows around the world in Singapore, London, Los Angeles, Boston, Australia and Dubai. In 2020, Boomgaard was the first South African comedian to record a lockdown comedy special from his home,...

Tubi opens June with an intense WWII drama “Inglourious Basterds.” Allied officer Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) assembles a team of five tough Jewish soldiers to spread fear throughout the Third Reich. They have one assignment: assassinate Nazi leaders. Quentin Tarantino wrote and directed the unconventional war drama. Eli Roth, Melanie Laurent, and Christopher Walz co-star.

Watch the trailer of “Inglourious Basterds”:

The network is also streaming the original documentary “Mystery Unsolved: The Adnan Syed Story” on June 7. The murder of teenager Hae Min Lee was the focal point of a “Serial” podcast, which questioned if boyfriend Syed was her killer. After serving 22 years in prison, Syed was released, still proclaiming his innocence. Now, he may return.

Another streamer original, “Magic Carpet Rides,” arrives June 14. It centers on a social influencer torn between sharing her budding romance or honoring her boyfriend’s request to keep their life private.

Check...

As far as 1990s and 2000s-era screen goddesses go, Denise Richards was probably the biggest of them all. From her role in Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers to her iconic turn in Wild Things, Denise Richards was a formative crush for many of us who came of age in that era, and the image of Richards emerging from a swimming pool in Wild Things was enough to make many teenage pulses flutter. In this episode of What Happened to this Celebrity, we take a look at Richards’ rise to fame, from early roles in low-budget fare such as Tammy & the T-Rex to her eventual breakthrough to her controversial casting as nuclear physicist Dr. Christmas Jones in the James Bond epic The World is Not Enough and beyond.

Arguably, the late nineties and early 2000s were her peak, with her memorably turning up on Friends in a guest spot as Ross’s hot cousin,...

A new season of “The Boys,” the latest “Bond” movie and the entire “Twilight” franchise are among the new streaming additions to Amazon Prime Video in June. The highly anticipated “The Boys” Season 3 is set to premiere on June 3 with the first three episodes of the season, followed by one new episode weekly.

The Jenny Han adaptation “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” a new YA series, premieres on June 17. And Daniel Craig’s final James Bond movie “No Time to Die” makes its streaming debut on Prime Video on June 10.

As far as noteworthy library titles go, this is also your new streaming home for the “Twilight” franchise, while “Shaun of the Dead,” “Galaxy Quest” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox” will all be streaming starting June 1.

We’ve also included a complete list of what’s new on Freevee – formerly known as IMDbTV – in June, which will be hosting the entire...

Aunjanue Ellis is aware she’s having a bit of a career renaissance. The talented actor has been consistently delivering great performances in films like 2002’s “Undercover Brother,” 2004’s “Ray” and 2018’s “If Beale Street Could Talk.” But in the last three years, she has earned two Emmy nominations, one for 2019’s limited series “When They See Us” and one for 2020’s HBO series “Lovecraft Country.”

And now Ellis is earning Oscar buzz for her role in “King Richard,” the story of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams that focuses on their supportive family – namely parents Richard Williams (Will Smith) and Oracene “Brandy” Price (Ellis.) Listen below!

On this week’s Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast, Ellis admits she isn’t sure what changed – she does say the more she worked, the more she learned. “I think that I started learning how to act,” she muses. “I didn’t learn...

Amazon Prime Video’s epic The Lord of the Rings series won’t arrive until 2022. Thankfully, with its list of new releases for November 2021, Amazon has a pretty major fantasy adaptation to hold us over.

The Wheel of Time is set to premiere on Nov. 19 and will bring Robert Jordan’s massive fantasy universe to life. Rosamund Pike stars as Moiraine, a powerful magic-user who guides five young people on a perilous journey around the world. One of them just might be the reincarnation of the Dragon, a powerful entity who could save the world…or destroy it.

Read more TV The Wheel of Time: Who Are the Aes Sedai? By Michael Ahr TV How The Wheel of Time Adapts a Sprawling Epic Fantasy By Michael Ahr

In addition to that bit of fantasy fun, Amazon Prime also has some other TV options this month. Lesbian dating show Tampa Baes (Nov.

The comedian and former The Daily Show correspondent talks about his favorite Blaxploitation movies with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Casablanca (1942) – John Landis’s trailer commentary

The Castle (1997)

The Spook Who Sat By The Door (1973) – Bill Duke’s trailer commentary

Pressure (1976)

Robinson Crusoe On Mars (1964) – Mick Garris’s trailer commentary

Boss (1975)

Django Unchained (2012) – Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary

The Thing With Two Heads (1972) – Stuart Gordon’s trailer commentary

The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant (1971)

The Liberation of L.B. Jones (1970)

Last of the Mobile Hot Shots (1970)

Black Samurai (1977)

Truck Turner (1974)

Schindler’s List (1993)

Black Caesar (1973) – Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary

Hell Up In Harlem (1973) – Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary

Judas And The Black Messiah (2021)

Friday Foster (1975)

That Man Bolt (1973)

Blacula (1972)

Foxy Brown (1974) – Jack Hill’s trailer commentary

Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde (1976)

Willie Dynamite (1973) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Billy Jack (1971)

John Wick (2014)

The Matrix (1999)

Cleopatra Jones...

Nichelle Protho has been hired as SVP Development & Production at Loud Sis Productions, Dayna Lynne North’s company that is aiming to produce content that amplifies the stories of Black women, women of color and marginalized voices.

Protho, most recently a development executive at Sander/Moses Productions, joins after North, the former writer and executive producer on HBO’s Insecure, formed Loud Sis and inked a two-year overall deal with Sony Pictures Television. Among Loud Sis’ first projects sees North writing and executive producing with Malcolm D. Lee’s The Best Man: The Final Chapters, Peacock’s 10-episode limited dramedy series adapted from Universal’s movie franchise.

Protho previously oversaw production at Urban Entertainment, where she developed and produced the John Ridley web series Undercover Brother that eventually became one of the industry’s first web-to-film adaptations.

“When launching a production company, having an executive by your side who’s an experienced,...

Stars: Michael Jai White, Michael Eklund, Sabryn Rock, Nakai Takawira, Lyric Justice, Sagine Sémajuste, Gary Owen, Anthony Grant, Kristen Harris, Marrese Crump | Written by Dallas Jackson, Gene Quintano | Directed by Dallas Jackson

It started last year, with the release of Benchwarmers 2… Which is when I speculated that Universal’s Dtv arm Universal 1440 Entertainment were scraping the bottom of the barrel. How little did I know. After being set up to produce sequels to Universal’s properties such as Death Race, Tremors and The Scorpion King, the company has in recent years has churned out sequels to Kindergarten Cop, Daddy Day Care, Cop and a Half, Honey, Bring it On and unexpected sequels to the likes of Backdraft, Bulletproof and Undercover Brother.

Speaking of which, Michael Jai White – who starred in the aforementioned blaxploitation comedy film – is back working with Universal’s Dtv arm for Welcome to Sudden Death. A...

Stars: Faizon Love, Kirk Fox, Tony Todd, Pearl Thusi, Cassie Clare, Fiona Ramsay | Written by Rick Wilkes | Directed by Don Michael Paul

Back in February 2019, when I reviewed Benchwarmers 2 I speculated that Universal’s Dtv arm Universal 1440 Entertainment were scraping the bottom of the barrel. How little did I know… Yes, after being set up to produce sequels to Universal’s properties such as Death Race, Tremors and The Scorpion King, the company has in recent years has churned out sequels to Kindergarten Cop, Daddy Day Care, Cop and a Half, Honey, Bring it On and even Backdraft. Oh, and last November’s out-of-nowhere sequel to Undercover Brother.

But in no way did I or anyone else for that matter, Ever expect Bulletproof 2, a sequel to the 1996 Adam Sandler film Bulletproof. After all, it’s been 24(!) years since the original film was released and both its stars Adam...

Stars: Vince Swann, Barry Bostwick, Michael Jai White, Laila Odom, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Lindsay Lamb, Melanie Loren, Gary Owen, Affion Crockett, Brandon Hirsch, Tyler Crumley, Zac Zedalis, Steven Lee Johnson | Written by Ian Edwards, Stephen Mazur | Directed by Leslie Small

Universal 1440 Entertainment, Universal’s direct to DVD production arm, mine old film franchises once again for a sequel to the Eddie Griffin 2002 blaxploitation comedy Undercover Brother… and you thought a sequel to Benchwarmers was unexpected! Though given we’ve already had new sequels to Kindergarten Cop, Daddy Day Care, the aforementioned Benchwarmers, Cop and a Half, Honey, Bring it On and – get this – even Backdraft; a sequel to Undercover Brother, something of a minor hit back in the day, isn’t that much a surprise. Hell, it beats getting yet Another sequel to The Scorpion King!

This time round Michael Jai White stars as the titular brother and Vince...

Writer-producer Saladin K. Patterson has signed a new multi-year, overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television. Under the pact, Patterson, who currently is an executive producer on FX comedy Untitled Lil Dickey, will develop, write and produce comedy series for network, cable and streaming platforms. Untitled Lil Dicky, based on the life of comedian and rapper Lil Dicky, received a series order at FX earlier this year.

“The studio’s history with Saladin began more than sixteen years ago, and we’re so happy to welcome him back,” said Carolyn Cassidy, 20th Century Fox TV President of Creative Affairs. “His writing is as smart as it is hilarious, two adjectives that pretty well sum up Saladin himself. He’s also as versatile a writer as there is, having worked in single cam and multicam, live action and animation. He can pretty much do anything, and we’re very glad that...

Updated, 8:22 Am: The Kennedy Center has set the talent lineup for its Mark Twain Prize for American Humor gala celebrating Dave Chappelle. Bradley Cooper, Tiffany Haddish. Kevin Hart, Trevor Noah, Jon Stewart, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen for the October 27 event at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Manhattan. Other guests will be announced for the show that PBS will air in January.

Previously, May 7: Dave Chappelle will be the recipient of this year’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. The honor, in its 22nd year being handed out by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, will be bestowed at an gala performance event October 27 at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall in Washington, D.C.

The award recognizes individuals who have had an impact on American society in ways similar to the distinguished 19th-century novelist and essayist Samuel Clemens, best known as Mark Twain.

Hey, Bold And The Beautiful fans. We've got some major casting news for you guys in this new article, and it sounds like it could result in a major twist for the Hope stolen baby storyline. It turns out that the producers have decided to bring on the mother of Reese's accomplice Florence! That's right, guys. They're about to make this a family affair. According to the folks over at People.com, the Bold And The Beautiful producers have hired veteran actress Denise Richards to come on and portray Florence's mother Shauna Fulton. The Shauna character is a long term contract role. That means we can expect to see a lot Shauna as well as Florence in the future. Really, it just sounds like they're going to drag this storyline out even more. The official description that's been attached to the new Shauna Fulton character reads like this, "Shauna is a fun-loving,...

Abrams Artists Agency has signed comic and actor Eddie Griffin in all areas.

Griffin, who is onscreen as a pastor in the hit feature A Star Is Born, is a veteran stand-up comedian who probably is best known to moviegoers for starring 2002’s Undercover Brother, written by John Ridley and directed by Malcolm D. Lee. He also toplined the 1996-2000 Upn series Malcom & Eddie alongside Malcom-Jamal Warner.

Griffin’s Las Vegas residency, The Eddie Griffin Experience, is in its ninth consecutive year, and he’s been part of The Comedy Get Down Tour for the past five. He also has done stand-up specials for Comedy Central and Showtime.

His most recent film credits include All About the Money, American Hero and Going to America, and his other credits include Norbit, Date Movie, Deuce Bigelow: Male Gigolo and The Meteor Man.

Alec Bojalad Jul 16, 2019

The LeBron James-starring Space Jam sequel is officially happening with Black Panther director Ryan Coogler producing.

Space Jam 2 is happening. Really! Honestly! Truly! It’s happening this time.

The Hollywood Reporter says that the long-rumored Space Jam 2 starring LeBron James is officially a-go at Warner Bros., thanks to the addition of a prominent producer. Black Panther director Ryan Coogler will produce the untitled Space Jam sequel.

Space Jam 2 News

Malcolm D. Lee is stepping onto the Space Jam 2 court as its new director, replacing Terrence Nance, reports Deadline. Lee has helmed prominent comedies, with recent offerings like Night School, Girls Trip and Barbershop: The Next Cut, as well as horror offering Scary Movie 5 and, years earlier, Undercover Brother and The Best Man.

Terrence Nance, creator of HBO’s experimental series, Random Acts of Flyness, made an amicable exit as director, according to the report,...

Exclusive: For its first content acceleration program, Imagine Impact has set a diverse roster of established talent to mentor the first round of aspirants. The mentors will be the Oscar-winning Milk scribe Dustin Lance Black, sitcom vet and black-ish exec producer Stacy Traub, Burn Notice exec producer Ben Watkins, The Last O.G. showrunner Saladin K. Patterson, Gaz Alazraki, whose Nosotros los Nobles was a monster hit in Mexico, and Kate Purdy, co-creator of the upcoming Amazon series Undone. They will be the six “Shapers” who will mentor the first group of “Creators,” meeting with their charges twice per week to create a saleable script, teleplay or presentation. After opening the admissions applications process online recently, Imagine Impact received over 37,000 website views from 102 countries, with over 4,000 Creator applications submitted during the two-week window.

Said Tyler Mitchell, the vet exec recently named head of the Imagine Impact initiative: “We are extremely fortunate...

John Ridley and Jason Blum are partnering on a movie adaptation of Ridley’s recent comic book series “The American Way: Those Above and Those Below.”

Ridley is also attached to direct the project, based on his six-issue monthly miniseries published in 2017 by DC Entertainment’s Vertigo label. Ridley wrote the story with illustrator George Jeanty in what was a sequel to their 2007 graphic novel “The American Way,” in which a team of 1960s superheroes were created and called the Civil Defense Corps. The story focuses on Jason Fisher’s the New American, a black man given super strength but a limited pain threshold while the rest of the corps is torn apart by racism and murder.

Ridley won the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay for “12 Years a Slave.” His other film credits include “Ben-Hur,” “Undercover Brother,” “U Turn,” “Three Kings,” “Red Tails,” and the Jimi Hendrix biopic...

Exclusive: Aunjanue Ellis (The Help) and Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty) are joining Emmy-winning actress Uzo Aduba (Orange is the New Black) and Matthew Modine in the independent production of Miss Virginia. Also, Australian actor Christopher Egan, known for his work in Letters to Juliet and Resident Evil, has joined Hanna Griffiths (Macbeth, Underbelly Rush) in the new Warren Zide and James Wallace-produced romantic drama Brookers.

First, for Miss Virginia: Niles Fitch, Nadji Jeter, Amirah Vann and Michael Beasley also round out the cast in the film which is being directed by R.J. Daniel Hanna (Shelter) and produced by Erin O’Connor, Rob Pfaltzgraff, and Maurice Black of the Moving Picture Institute, Stacey Parks of Media Sparks Films and M. Elizabeth Hughes. Miss Virginia is set to commence production later this month in Los Angeles.

Inspired by a true story, Miss Virginia follows a struggling inner-city single mother who moves...

“If I will it, I can have it all.” So goes the million-dollar motto for Ryan Pierce (Regina Hall), the bestselling author who centers Malcolm D. Lee’s sprawling, women-gone-wild comedy “Girls Trip.” Ryan’s aspirational thinking is meant to motivate her faithful followers, but it seems as though Lee himself was similarly inspired. Lee’s never had trouble crafting a confidently glossy film (we’ll pretend “Scary Movie 5” didn’t happen), although some of his endeavors (“Undercover Brother”) have been more memorable than others (“Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins”). “Girls Trip,” a raucous ode to African-American sisterhood, may be his most open-hearted effort since.

Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga have managed to pull in another big-name star for their upcoming version of the much-remade A Star Is Born. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dave Chappelle has signed on to appear in the film, which stars Cooper and Gaga as Hollywood lovers whose careers take rapidly diverging paths.

It’s been a while since Chappelle last dipped into the world of feature films; outside of a small role in Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq in 2015, he hasn’t been credited for acting in a movie since 2002’s Undercover Brother. It’s not clear how Cooper—who’s also directing the movie, his first—managed to lure him in, but Chappelle will apparently be playing “Noodles,” a blues musician who’s an old friend of Cooper’s fading star. Meanwhile, Sam Elliott and Andrew Dice Clay are also set to star.

Since 1994, New Orleans has hosted the Essence Music Festival, the largest event celebrating African-American culture and music in the United States, featuring prominent artists and entertainers every year. The new film “Girls Trip” prominently features the Essence Festival as a destination spot and a symbol of unity. The film follows four lifelong friends who travel to New Orleans to explore their respective wild sides and also rekindle their friendships. It stars Queen Latifah (“Chicago”), Jada Pinkett Smith (“Magic Mike Xxl”), Regina Hall (“Scary Movie”) and Tiffany Haddish (“Keanu”). Watch a sneak peak trailer for the film below.

Read More: Review: ‘The Best Man Holiday’ Is Overlong & Overstuffed But Features A Whacked Out Terrence Howard Performance

The film is directed by Malcolm D. Lee, cousin of filmmaker Spike Lee. He previously directed the 1999 film “The Best Man” as well as its sequel “The Best Man Holiday.” He also directed the Eddie Griffin vehicle “Undercover Brother,...

He’s won both an Oscar and Emmy for his writing. Now John Ridley will get a shot to direct a big budget feature. Broad Green Pictures and Imagine Entertainment are partnering to produce Ridley’s script on the La Riots with the award-winning scribe set to work behind the camera.

Ridley won an Oscar for 12 Years a Slave and won an Emmy for American Crime. He does have some experience as a director with the biopic Jimi: All is by My Side (2013) as his last film. In addition, Ridley has directed numerous television episodes. However, it’s his writing talents that have earned him the most acclaim in Hollywood. Those writing credits include Three Kings (1999), Undercover Brother (2002) and Red Tails (2012). His first novel, Stray Dogs, was made into the Oliver Stone film U-Turn (1997).

According to Deadline, a major motion picture about the 1992 La Riots has been kicked around numerous studios for years.

When word came not long ago that a second reboot of "Shaft" was in the works at New Line, fans of the character bristled when it was suggested the tone of the new film would be more comedic in nature - conjuring up images of a straight out blaxploitation satire along "Black Dynamite" or "Undercover Brother" lines.

Not helping was the hiring of sitcom writers Kenya Barris ("Black-ish") and Alex Barnow ("The Goldbergs") to pen the script about the black private detective. Producer John Davis, who is behind the new Wesley Snipes-led NBC series "The Player" along with the new "Shaft" reboot, spoke with Collider at the Television Critics Association and says the film will very much be dramatic in nature albeit with some scattered lighter moments:

"[He's] just a great character. He's just the greatest badass. You start with an amazing character - a great badass with charisma. He's...

ABC’s broadcast of the Cma Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock drew 5.2 million total viewers and a 1.2 demo rating on Tuesday night, falling 29 and 37 percent from last year.

As such, the telecast placed third for the night in audience and tied for second in the demo.

RelatedPretty Little Liars Recap: Undercover Brother

NBC’s America’s Got Talent (10 mil/2.1) led Tuesday in both measures, steady week-to-week. Hollywood Game Night (4.4 mil/1.2) also was flat.

CBS’ Zoo (5.9 mil/1.0) slipped 17 percent and two tenths, hitting and tying season lows.

Fox’s 5th Grader (2.2 mil/0.6) was flat, while a Last Man...

Yes, Stitchers fans, that did just happen.

In the final moments of Tuesday’s season finale, Cameron flatlined on a laboratory table after allowing Kirsten to stitch herself into his memories. But don’t expect star Emma Ishta to offer any words of encouragement about Cameron’s fate next season.

“I got nothing for ya,” Ishta tells TVLine, adding that she hopes Cameron pulls through because of how much his relationship with Kirsten developed over the past few episodes. “I honestly don’t know. Anything could happen.”

If Cameron does survive, Ishta says she’d like to find out more...

David Walker is not happy with news about the upcoming second reboot of "Shaft".

Walker is the writer of Dynamite Entertainment's "Shaft" comic series and the recent novel "Shaft's Revenge," the first official and authorized "Shaft" novel in court decades.

Today he posted an open letter on his website objected to reports from earlier this week which indicated New Line is developing a reboot of the blaxploitation hero with Kenya Barris and Alex Barnow penning the script.

Specifically he's not happy that the new version is said to take the franchise in a more comedic direction, saying that the studio is "more interested in sh--ting the bed, than making a good Shaft movie" and that the film will be a flop that will "ruin the chances of there ever being a decent Shaft movie in the remainder of my lifetime."

Walker says a comedic "Shaft" will essentially just be...

Though it seems hard to believe, Nov. 30 is the 15th anniversary of the release of SisQo's debut album Unleash the Dragon, a.k.a. the record that brought us the crazy catchy track "Thong Song."

The album was an instant smash and sold six million copies in the U.S.

But when Et talked to SisQo back in 1999, he was confident that "Thong Song" was going to be huge. "My next single off of my new album [is] the 'Thong Song,' which is going to be like an international supersmash," he told Et before the single was even released. "It's going to be really big."

The 36-year-old has kept a relatively low profile since the early 2000's, releasing Return of the Dragon in 2001 and then lying low until he appeared on Celebrity Big Brother 7 in 2010 and Celebrity Wife Swap in 2013. But, the "dragon" is now coming back in a big way and will be releasing his third...

Though it seems hard to believe, Nov. 30 is the 15th anniversary of the release of SisQó’s debut album Unleash the Dragon… Aka the record that brought us the crazy, catchy track “Thong Song.”

The album was an instant smash and sold 6 million copies in the U.S.

But when Et talked to SisQó back in 1999, he was confident that "Thong Song" was going to be huge. "My next single off of my new album [is] the 'Thong Song,' which is going to be like an international supersmash," he told Et before the single even was released. "It's going to be really big."

The 36-year-old has kept a relatively low profile since the early 2000’s, releasing Return of the Dragon in 2001 and then lying low until he appeared on Celebrity Big Brother 7 in 2010 and Celebrity Wife Swap in 2013. But, the “dragon” is now coming back in a big way and will be releasing his third album, Last Dragon...

We’ve reviewed every summer movie season since 1980 to find out which are the best, and which are the worst. Last week we posted our picks for the worst, and here we post our picks for the best.

2015 and 2016 may just be the most overthetop summer movie seasons yet. It seems like nearly every movie slated for a summer 2015 or 2016 release is heavily anticipated. Because of these impending summers of movie awesomeness, we’ve decided to take a look back at summer movie seasons of years past. The idea of the summer movie season is currently in full swing, but it didn’t catch on immediately. Hollywood had to do its fair share of experimenting to determine what types of films would be most successful. As a result, some summer movie seasons have been better than others. We’ve reviewed them all for you and ranked them from worst to best.

The Academy has announced the new class of invited members for 2014 and, as is typical, many of which are among last year's nominees, which includes Barkhad Abdi, Michael Fassbender, Sally Hawkins, Mads Mikkelsen, Lupita Nyong'o and June Squibb in the Actors branch not to mention curious additions such as Josh Hutcherson, Rob Riggle and Jason Statham, but, okay. The Directors branch adds Jay and Mark Duplass along with Jean-Marc Vallee, Denis Villeneuve and Thomas Vinterberg. I didn't do an immediate tally of male to female additions or other demographics, but at first glance it seems to be a wide spread batch of new additions on all fronts. The Academy is also clearly attempting to aggressively bump up the demographics as this is the second year in a row where they have added a large number of new members, well over the average of 133 new members from 2004 to 2012. As far as...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is extending invitations to join the organization to 271 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures.

Those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy’s membership in 2014.

“This year’s class of invitees represents some of the most talented, creative and passionate filmmakers working in our industry today,” said Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs. “Their contributions to film have entertained audiences around the world, and we are proud to welcome them to the Academy.”

The 2014 invitees are:

Actors

Barkhad Abdi – “Captain Phillips”

Clancy Brown – “The Hurricane,” “The Shawshank Redeption”

Paul Dano – “12 Years a Slave,” “Prisoners”

Michael Fassbender – “12 Years a Slave,” “Shame”

Ben Foster – “Lone Survivor,” “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints”

Beth Grant – “The Artist,” “No Country for Old Men”

Clark Gregg – “Much Ado about Nothing,” “Marvel’s The Avengers”

Sally Hawkins – “Blue Jasmine,...

Michael Fassbender and Lupita Nyong’o of 12 Years a Slave were two of the 271 artists and industry leaders invited to become members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which determines nominations and winners at the annual Oscars. The entire list of Academy membership—which numbers about 6,000—isn’t public information so the annual invitation list is often the best indication of the artists involved in the prestigious awards process. It’s worth noting that invitations need to be accepted in order for artists to become members; some artists, like two-time Best Actor winner Sean Penn, have declined membership over the years.

Pop quiz: What do Chris Rock, Claire Denis, Eddie Vedder and Josh Hutcherson all have in common? Answer: They could all be Oscar voters very soon. The annual Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences invitation list always makes for interesting reading, shedding light on just how large and far-reaching the group's membership is -- or could be, depending on who accepts their invitations. This year, 271 individuals have been asked to join AMPAS, meaning every one of them could contribute to next year's Academy Awards balloting -- and it's as diverse a list as they've ever assembled. Think the Academy consists entirely of fusty retired white dudes? Not if recent Best Original Song nominee Pharrell Williams takes them up on their offer. Think it's all just a Hollywood insiders' game? Not if French arthouse titans Chantal Akerman and Olivier Assayas join the party. It's a list that subverts expectation at every turn.

In the same week -- really, the same 24 hours -- he won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for "12 Years a Slave," John Ridley flew to Austin to launch into work on the pilot for ABC's "American Crime." That meant, too, he could promote "Jimi: All Is Lost," to which he referred as his "child," his baby, a film fit for the South By Southwest film conference and is creeping toward theatrical release on May. "All Is By My Side" and "12 Years a Slave" both made their debut at the Toronto International Film Festival last year; but it's the former that he wrote, directed and executive produced. Touching on one year of rocker Jimi Hendrix's early career, Ridley also had to work-around the notoriously difficult Hendrix estate, which denied the film any usage of Hendrix's recorded work, and long timeline conversations with people producing the film. I thought that...

Malcom D. Lee has kept plenty busy since his breakout hit “The Best Man” in 1999, with successful follow-ups like “Undercover Brother” and “Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins” — and has steadily worked with nearly every prominent African American comedy star in Hollywood. But even Lee (above, second from left) acknowledges that “The Best Man” was lightning in a bottle, so it’s no surprise that a sequel came of it, even all these years later. Lee spoke with TheWrap about his movie — which opens Friday and is expected to double the original’s $9 million opening, then play strong through the holidays...