Negromancer News Bits and Bites from May 23rd to 31st, 2021 - Update #22

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

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ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS: 

BOX OFFICE - From Variety:  "A Quiet Place Part II" leads the four-day Memorial Day weekend holiday (5/28 to 5/31/2021) box office with an estimated gross of 57 million dollars.

 

From Variety:  The winner of the 5/28 to 5/30/21 weekend box office is "A Quiet Place Part II" with an estimated take of 48 million dollars.  That is also the biggest three-day take of the pandemic era.

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MEMORIAL DAY - From BusinessInsider:   A soldier who photographed World War II in Europe describes 6 of his photos that reveal the "insanity of war."

TV NEWS/OBIT - From Deadline:  The television and film actor, Joe Lara (58), his wife, diet guru Gwen Shamblin Lara (66), were two of seven people killed in a plane crash near Nashville on Sat. May 29, 2021.  Joe Lara was best known for his starring role in the syndicated TV series, "Tarzan: The Epic Adventures" (1996-97).

MOVIES - From WeGotThisCovered:  Does Universal Pictures really want a "Fast & Furious"/"Jurassic World" spinoff?

MOVIES - From Deadline:   In an interview with the site, Grammy Award-winning electronic music legend, Moby, talks about making a documentary about himself, "Moby Doc."

CHADWICK BOSEMAN - From Variety:  Howard University announced today that the newly re-established college of fine arts, led by Dean Phylicia Rashad, will be named the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts for Chadwick Boseman ("Black Panther"), the late actor and distinguished alumnus.

 

From WashPost:   The renaming of Howard University's newly re-established college of arts and sciences unites Howard and Walt Disney Co.’s executive chairman, Bob Iger, who will spearhead fundraising for an endowment named after Chadwick Boseman, as well as help raise money for the construction of a state-of-the-art building on Howard’s campus. The new building will house the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts, the Cathy Hughes School of Communications, the school’s TV station, WHUT, and radio station, WHUR 96.3 FM.

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AMAZON - From Deadline:  Amazon is reportedly buying movie studio, MGM, for 8.45 billion dollars.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:   The CW has announced its 2021-22 Fall television schedule.

ANIMATION - From Deadline:  Universal Pictures will release "The Boss Baby: Family Business," the sequel to DreamWorks Animation's 2017, Oscar-nominated hit, "The Boss Baby," on July 2nd in theaters and streaming on the premium tiers on the "Peacock" streaming service.

MOVIES - From Deadline:   Oscar-nominee Timothee Chalamet to play "Willy Wonda" in an origin story film from Warner Bros. and Roald Dahl Story Co.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:   CBS has announced its initial 2021-22 television season lineup and it is full of crime shows.

STREAMING - From BloodyDisgusting:   Hulu has reportedly obtained Spyglass Media's remake of the cult horror classic, "Hellraiser" (1987).  HBO Max is also working on a "Hellraiser" TV series with director David Gordon Green of the "Halloween" remake.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:   The winner of the 5/20 to 5/22/2021 weekend box office is "Spiral: From the Book of Saw" with an estimated take of 4.55 million dollars.

 

From Variety:   The "Saw" film franchise is now a billion-dollar franchise.  “Spiral,” the latest entry in the horror series, earned another $4.5 million in North America and $2.67 million overseas this weekend.  That haul pushed the property to $1,000,799,533 globally across nine films.

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MOVIES - From Variety:   To coincide with the release of his new film, "Army of the Dead," writer William Earl of Variety ranks director Zack Snyder ("Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice") ten feature films - 10 through 1.

STREAMING - From Deadline:   Sigourney Weaver is to lead a series adaptation of Holly Ringland’s book, "The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart," for Amazon.

OBITS:

From Variety:   Noted television actor, Gavin MacLeod, has died at the age of 90, Saturday, May 29, 2021.  MacLeod appeared in the first two seasons of the former ABC sitcom, "McHale's Navy."  He was a series regular on CBS' "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (1970-77), during the entire length of the series.  However, MacLeod was best known as "Captain Merrill Stubing" on ABC's romantic comedy-drama series, "The Love Boat" (1977-86).

From Deadline:  The singer and recording artist, B.J. Thomas, has died at the age of 78, Saturday, May 29, 2021.  His biggest hits were recordings of songs written by others, including "Hooked on a Feeling" (1968), "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" (1969), and "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" (1975).  Thomas' recording of "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" appeared in the film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969) reached #1 on the "Billboard Hot 100" chart.  It also won the "Best Song" Oscar for the songwriters, Burt Bacharach and Hal David.  Thomas also won five Grammy Awards for his Christian music recordings.

From DeseretNews:   Former NBA player, Mark Eaton, has died at the age of 64, Friday, May 28, 2021.  Eaton played his entire 11 year career (1982-93) with the Utah Jazz.  At the height of 7 feet 4 inches, Eaton was known as a "gentle giant" and as a gentleman.  However, Eaton was a dominant defender winning "NBA Defensive Player of the Year" in 1985 and 1989, and he was either "NBA All-Defensive First Team" or "Second Team" from 1985 to 1989."  He was a 1989 NBA All-Star.

From Deadline:  Musician and former child star, Kevin Clark, has died at the age of 32, Wednesday, May 26, 2021.  At the age of 13, Clark played the drummer, Freddy "Spazzy" McGee, in the 2003 film, "School of Rock."

From BroadwayWorld:  The actor and singer, Samuel E. Wright, has died at the age of 74, Monday, May 24, 2021.  Wright was best known as the voice of "Sebastian the Crab" in Walt Disney's classic animated feature film, "The Littler Mermaid" (1989).  He provided the lead vocals for the film's signature hit song, "Under the Sea," which one the "Best Song" Oscar.  Wright was also an original cast member of Disney's "The Lion King" Broadway musical, playing "Mufasa."  Wright was also a two-time Tony Award nominee.