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Saturday, April 24, 2021

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from April 18th to 24th, 2021 - Update #24

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

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:

ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS

AWARDS - From Deadline:   Back around April 11th, the winners at the 21st Annual Black Reel Awards were announced.  "Judas and the Black Messiah" won the "Outstanding Film" award.  Regina King's "One Night in Miami" wins the most awards, picking up five trophies.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:    CBS has renewed "NCIS: Los Angeles" for a 13th season.  It has give a straight-to-series order for "NCIS: Hawaii," which will be the first series in the franchise to have a female lead. The original "NCIS," was renewed for a 19th season.

OSCARS - From Esquire:  On the eve of the 93rd Academy Awards, writer Tom Nicholson ranks the previous 92 "Best Picture" Oscar winners.  No, "Crash" is not #92; it's #84.  "Cimarron" is #92. "Moonlight" is #1.

MOVIES - From Deadline:   Star Vin Diesel and director F. Gary Gray will team-up for STXfilms action-comedy, "Muscle."  The film's story is being kept secret for the time being.

ANIMATION/LGBTQ - From YahooEntertainment:   Pixar is seeking "authentic" young performer to voice its first transgender character

AWARDS - From THR:  "Nomadland" wins "Best Feature" at the 2021 Film Independent Spirit Awards. This article includes a complete winners list.

SCANDAL - From Deadline:  Broadway and film super-producer, Scott Rudin, is now saying that he will step back from his film and streaming projects in the wake of the scandalous revelations about his abusive behavior towards those he works with and those who work for him.  Rudin previously announced that he would step back from his Broadway projects.

STREAMING - From Deadline:  Netflix is nearing a deal on "Shout It Out Loud," a biographical film about the iconic rock band, KISS.  Apparently, the hopes are that it would do for KISS what the Oscar-winning "Bohemian Rhapsody" did for the rock band, Queen. 

From Deadline:  Actress Hillary Duff is set to headline "How I Met Your Father," a spinoff of the long-running CBS comedy series, "How I Met Your Mother" (2005-14).

BLACK HISTORY - From Variety:   Jamie Foxx, Halle Berry, and Kevin Hart are among the Black Hollywood figures behind a two-part Apple Original Films documentary about African-American achievement in Hollywood and about what it takes for Black actors to be successful in the film industry.

DISNEY - From Variety:   Disney and Sony Pictures have signed a massive licensing deal that will bring Sony films to multiple Disney streaming and broadcast and cable TV platforms.  The previously announced Netflix/Sony deals gives Netflix exclusive rights to Sony films in the post-theatrical "Pay 1" window.  The Disney/Sony deal gives Disney all subsequent TV windows.

GOLDEN GLOBES - From Deadline:  The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which hands out the Golden Globes, has expelled former 8-time president, South African-born Phil Berk, from the organization.  Berk recently sent an email to fellow members disparaging "Black Lives Matter" and one of its founders.

From Deadline:  Phil Berk, former 8-time president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (which hands out the Golden Globes), sent out an email to fellow HFPA members blasting the "Black Lives Matter" movement and co-founder Patrisse Cullors.  Fellow members push back at Berk, an 88-year-old South African.

BLM - From YahooNews:   Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted on all counts against him in the killing of African-American victim, George Floyd, nearly one year after kneeling on Floyd’s neck in an incident that sparked global protests against police brutality.  Chavin, a white man, was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the death of Floyd on May 25, 2020.

ANIMATION - From Variety:   Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers (a current Oscar nominee for Disney/Pixar's "Soul"), and Justin K. Thompson have been tapped by Sony Pictures Animation to direct the sequel to the Oscar-winning animated feature “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.”

BOX OFFICE - From Variety:   The winner of the 4/16 to 4/18/2021 weekend box office is "Godzilla vs. Kong" with an estimated take of 7.7 million dollars.

STREAMING - From EW:  Amazon is spending "upwards of 464 million dollars" to produce the first season of its "Lord of the Rings" TV series!

AWARDS - From Deadline:  The American Society of Cinematographers announced its 35th Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards winners.  "Mank" won the "Theatrical Release" trophy.

From Deadline:  At the 2021 / 48th annual Annie Awards, Disney/Pixar's "Soul" wins "Best Feature" and "Wolfwalkers" wins "Best Indie Feature."  The two films were the big winners at the ceremony, with "Soul" winning seven awards and "Wolfwalkers" winning five.

From Deadline:   At the 2021 / 57th annual Cinema Audio Society Awards, Amazon Studios drama, "Sound of Metal," and Disney/Pixar’s "Soul" won out in top categories.

OBITS:

From Deadline:   Film and television producer, Charles "Chuck" Fries, has died at the age of 92, Thursday, April 22, 2021.  Fried was a prolific producer of films and of television series and movies.  He produced such films as "Cat People" (a 1982 remake) and "Troop Beverly Hills" (1989).  Fries is also considered a very important person in the development of the TV movie, especially "issue-oriented" films such as "Bitter Harvest" (1981) and "Small Sacrifices" (1989).

From YahooEntertainment:   Gregory Jacobs, the rapper and record producer best known as "Shock G" and "Humpty Hump," has died at the age of 57, Thursday, April 22, 2021.  As Shock G, Jacobs led the rap group, "Digital Underground," which had a hit in 1990's "The Humpty Dance."  Shock G also produced two tracks and provided background vocals on 2Pac/Tupac Shakur's debut album, "2Pacalypse Now" (1991).

From YahooEntertainment:   Scottish pop singer, Les McKeown, has died at the age of 65, Tuesday, April 20, 2021.  McKeown was the lead singer of the Scottish pop rock band, the "Bay City Rollers," during the group's most successful period, the mid-1970s, including singing lead on the "Billboard Hot 100" #1 single, "Saturday Night" (1975).

From CNN:  Former Vice-President of the United States, Walter "Fritz" Mondale, has died at the age of 93, Monday, April 19, 2021.  Mondale served as VP under President Jimmy Carter from Jan. 20, 1977 to Jan. 20, 1981.  Mondale was also a United States Senator for the state of Minnesota from 1964 to 1976.  He unsuccessfully ran for President, but lost to incumbent President Ronald Reagan in 1984.

From Variety:  Songwriter, composer, playwright, and record producer, Jim Steinman, has died at the age of 73, Monday, April 19, 2021.  Steinman's most famous work is recording artist Meat Loaf's 1977 debut album, "Bat Out of Hell."  Steinman composed all the songs on the album which became one of the bestselling albums of all time.  Steinman also wrote and/or produced songs for Air Supply, Barry Manilow, and Celine Dion, to name a few.


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