[“We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.”]
Pages
Thursday, March 31, 2022
TRAILER: New "TOP GUN: Maverick" Official Trailer (3/29/2022)
Negromancer News Bits and Bites from March 27th to 31st, 2022 - Update #37
by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:
ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:
MOVIES - From Deadline: Bruce Willis' family have announced that the two-time Emmy Award-winning actor is retiring due to health related issues.
WILL SMITH/CHRIS ROCK - From Variety: Will Smith walks onstage at the 94th Academy Awards and slaps Chris Rock in the face for making a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
From Variety: The Academy has said that Will Smith was asked to leave the 94th Academy Awards ceremony after slapping presenter Chris Rock, but he refused. The Academy has started disciplinary proceedings against Smith.
From Deadline: Oscar-winner Will Smith formally apologizes to comedian Chris Rock for slapping him during the 94th Academy Awards show.
From Variety: Chris Rock says that he is "still kind of processing what happened."
From Variety: "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe says that he is "dramatically bored" with hearing people's opinion about "THE SLAP."
From Variety: Will Smith won the "Best Actor" Oscar for portraying the father of tennis stars, Venus and Serena Willaims, Richard Williams, in the biopic, "King Richard." In regards to Smith slapping Chris Rock onstage during the 94th Academy Awards, Richard says, "We don't condone anyone hitting anyone else."
From Variety: The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has confirmed that Chris Rock has declined to file a police report regarding Oscar-winner Will Smith slapping him during the 94th Academy Awards.
From THR: The actors' union, SAG-AFTRA, calls Will Smith's slap of Chris Rock to be "unacceptable."
From People: Of the Oscar slap, "Aquaman" Jason Momoa says that he is shocked that Will Smith slapped Chris Rock and that "There's a tipping point for everyone."
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro: The winner of the 3/25 to 3/27/2022 weekend box office is "The Lost City" with an estimated take of 31 million dollars.
OSCARS - From ABC7: A list of nominees for the 2022 / 94th Academy Awards.
From CNN: A complete winners list from the 2022 / 94th Academy Awards.
From Deadline: How to watch the Oscars on TV (ABC) and online (in some markets - abc.com and the ABC app.
MOVIES - From Deadline: Michael Bay criticizes some of the CGI in his upcoming action film, "Ambulance."
TELEVISION/BUSINESS - From Deadline: Tammy Williams is the owner of a new television studio in Atlanta, making her the first Black woman to own a $135 million studio and post-production facility
OBIT:
TAYLOR HAWKINS:
From RollingStone: Singer-songwriter and rock musician, Taylor Hawkins, has died at the age of 50, Friday, March 25, 2022 in a hotel in the town of Chapinero in Bogota, Columbia. Hawkins was best known as the drummer of the band, "Foo Fighters." The band announced Hawkins as its new drummer in March 1997, and in addition to being the drummer, Hawkins wrote songs, provided vocals, and played piano and guitar. He first appeared on the Foo Fighters third album "There is Nothing Left to Lose" (1999). His side-projects included the bands, "Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders" and "The Birds of Satan."
From Deadline: This link leads to the entertainment "breaking news" site's "Taylor Hawkins page."
From CNN: The Attorney General’s Office of the South American nation of Columbia released a preliminary “forensic medical study” Saturday following the death of Foo Fighters’ drummer Taylor Hawkins. The report said a urine toxicology test was carried out on Hawkins and 10 substances were found, including THC, tricyclic antidepressants, benzodiazepines and opioids. Hawkins died Friday, March 25th at a hotel in the town of Chapinero in the Columbian capital of Bogota.
From EW: Fellow drummers: Sheila E., Travis Barker (Blink 182), and Lars Ulrich (Metallica) pay tribute to Foo Fighters drummer, Taylor Hawkins.
From YahooEntertainment: Music industry legends such as Mick Jagger, Ozzy Osbourne, and Axl Rose react to the death of Taylor Hawkins, the drummer of the Foo Fighters.
From Deadline: Shocked fans and music industry mourn the death of Foo Fighters drummer, Taylor Hawkins, at the age of 50 on Fri., March 25th.
From Deadline: Watch a video of Foo Fighters drummer, Taylor Hawkins, last ever performance with the Foo Fighters. At the Lollapalooza Festival in Argentina on March 20th, Hawkins sang a cover version of the song, "Somebody to Love," by "Queen," a band Hawkins loved.
From Deadline: Foo Fighters’ drummer Taylor Hawkins had 10 substances in his system at the time of his death...
From CBSBoston: The organizers of the music festival, Boston Calling, said they will keep fans updated following the death of Foo Fighters drummer, Taylor Hawkins. The band was among the headliners scheduled for the festival which is to be held May 27th-29th at the Harvard athletic complex.
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
Comics Review: "THE MAGIC ORDER 2 #6" - the Finale That Kills
THE MAGIC ORDER 2 #6 (OF 6)
IMAGE COMICS/Netflix
STORY: Mark Millar
ART: Stuart Immonen
COLORS: David Curiel
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Stuart Immonen
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Stuart Immonen; Greg Tocchini
36pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (April 2022)
Rated M / Mature
The Magic Order created by Mark Millar at Netflix
The Magic Order 2 is a six-issue comic book miniseries written by Mark Millar and drawn by Stuart Immonen. It is a sequel to The Magic Order, a 2018-19 miniseries written by Mark Millar and drawn by Olivier Coipel. The Magic Order is a group of sorcerers, magicians, and wizards that protects humanity from darkness and from monsters of impossible sizes. Colorists David Curiel and Sunny Gho and letterer Clem Robins complete the creative team of the current series.
The Magic Order 2 finds The Magic Order and its new leader, Cordelia Moonstone (an “escapologist”), caught in a turf war. Their adversaries are Victor Korne and his group of Eastern European warlocks whose ancestors the Order once banished.
The Magic Order 2 #6 opens and it seems as if Victor Korne has won. He has used the ancient Egyptian talisman, the Stone of Thoth, to summon the creature, Othoul-Endu, from the “Outer Dark.” With the creature's power, Korne can think anything and it will happen.
A wayward son and a child will ride to the Order's rescue. But for the Order, nothing will be the same … even if they survive.
THE LOWDOWN: As I wrote in my reviews of the fourth and fifth issues: with each issue, The Magic Order 2 surpasses it predecessor. That is quite the accomplishment, as the first miniseries, The Magic Order, was and is awesome, but the imagination of Mark Millar is like a magic wand. Now, The Magic Order 2 #6 closes this great series.
I feel comfortable saying that The Magic Order series is the best English-language, magical fantasy comic book franchise of the moment. Walt Disney Pictures and Marvel Studios may indeed deliver a gem in its upcoming film, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, but Marvel Comics' Doctor Strange comic book... Well, don't believe the hype. Steve Ditko's Doctor Strange showed the potential in comic books about magic, and with The Magic Order 2, Millar pays off on that potential.
Artist Stuart Immonen and colorist David Curiel create a symphony of lightning and supernovas. I could feel the energy of Immonen and Curiel's work in my eyes. This story is alive, so alive that it feels like a curtain closing on an act rather than feeling like a finale of an arc.
Comic book readers who hate good comic books are not reading The Magic Order 2. So I ask again. Are you reading it, dear readers?
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of Mark Millar and of The Magic Order will want to read The Magic Order 2.
A+
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
https://twitter.com/ImageComics
https://twitter.com/mrmarkmillar
https://twitter.com/netflix
https://twitter.com/themagicorder
https://www.mrmarkmillar.com/
http://www.millarworld.tv/
www.imagecomics.com
The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
-------------------
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).
Comics Review: "PANTHA Volume 2 #2" a Strong, Very Stong Second Issue
PANTHA VOLUME 2 #2
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
STORY: Thomas Sniegoski and Jeannine Acheson
ART: Igor Lima
COLORS: Adriano Augusto
LETTERS: Dezi Sienty
COVER: Giuseppe Matteoni
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Jorge Fornes; Vincent Aseo; Alvaro Sarraseca; Elena Pianta; Ken Haeser; Andrew Mangum
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (March 2022)
Rated Teen+
A Dynamite Entertainment, Pantha first appeared in Vampirella #30 (cover date: January 1974). She is an ancient Egyptian queen who was cursed by the goddess, Sekhmet, because of the murders she committed. Pantha must walk the world forever, trapped between the forms of human and panther. She will never know home or peace, burdened by the fury of a goddess and the rage of the innocents she ordered slain.
Pantha, like Vampirella, is now belongs to Dynamite Entertainment, which gave the character her own six-issue miniseries in 2012. Pantha returns in a new comic book series, entitled Pantha Volume 2. It is written by Thomas Sniegoski and Jeannine Acheson; drawn by Igor Lima; colored by Adriano Augusto; and lettered by Dezi Sienty. In this new series, Pantha must save the Egyptian pantheon from a mysterious adversary that is older than the gods and wants the gods' power.
As Pantha Volume 2 #2 opens, Sekhmet, the goddess of war, has fallen captive to the mysterious adversary, Ta'Nakht, that wants to devour the “divinity” of every god. In Sekhmet's case, her divinity is her “wrath.”
That wrath, however, is in present day, Toortooga, Florida. It resides as a curse inside Maatkar Samira a.k.a. Pantha, who lives at the Toortooga City Zoo in the guise of a six-hundred pound black panther. Nick Heart, the god “Ihy” (the god of music and joy), has found Samira and is ready to bring her and her curse to where they can help Sekhmet. With Sekhmet captured, Nick and Samira need a new plan. Enter Set, the god who seems to keep to himself as Darian Blackwood, CEO of a munitions manufacturer. Will Set/Darian help and what is that help worth?
THE LOWDOWN: In July 2021, Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department began providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles. They recently provided me with a PDF for Pantha Volume 2 #2, which is only the second Pantha comic book that I have read.
Right now, Pantha Volume 2 is one of the best new titles of the year. I'd never heard of the character, yet I find myself deeply engaged with Thomas Sniegoski and Jeannine Acheson riveting story featuring this new-to-me character. It's like the perfect serial, as the writers give readers just enough to keep their appetites whet without them feeling cheated.
Artist Igor Lima's illustrations manage to be beautiful comic book art and really gripping comic book storytelling. I find myself racing through the pages of this most excellent storytelling with its intriguing plot and strongly drawn characters. Adriano Augusto sparkling colors and Dezi Sienty letters complete the power of this story.
I'll repeat what I said in my review of the first issue. Don't walk. Don't run. Drive like a maniac (without causing an automobile accident) to your local comic shop and get Pantha Volume 2 #2.
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of Dynamite's dark fantasy titles will want to read Pantha Volume 2.
A
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
https://twitter.com/DynamiteComics
https://www.dynamite.com/htmlfiles/
https://www.facebook.com/DynamiteComics/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNOH4PEsl8dyZ2Tj7XUlY7w
https://www.linkedin.com/company/dynamite-entertainment
The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
------------------
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).
Walt Disney Celebrates Six Oscar Wins at the 94th Academy Awards
Monday, March 28, 2022
BOOM! Studios Shipping from Diamond Distributors for March 30, 2022
DC Comics Shipping from Lunar Distributors for March 29, 2022
Aquamen #2 (Cover A Travis Moore), $3.99
Aquamen #2 (Cover B Mico Suayan Card Stock Variant), $4.99
Aquamen #2 (Cover C Jim Lee), AR
Batman Beyond The White Knight #1 (Of 8)(Cover A Sean Murphy), $4.99
Batman Beyond The White Knight #1 (Of 8)(Cover B Sean Murphy), $4.99
Batman Faze Clan #1 (One Shot)(Cover A Tyler Kirkham), $3.99
Batman Faze Clan #1 (One Shot)(Cover B Jason Badower Connecting Variant 1 Batwoman), $3.99
Batman Faze Clan #1 (One Shot)(Cover C Jason Badower Connecting Variant 2 Nightwing), $3.99
Batman Faze Clan #1 (One Shot)(Cover D Jason Badower Connecting Variant 3 Batman), $3.99
Batman Faze Clan #1 (One Shot)(Cover E Jason Badower Connecting Variant 4 Robin), $3.99
Batman Faze Clan #1 (One Shot)(Cover F Tyler Kirkham Black & White Variant), AR
Batman One Dark Knight #2 (Of 3)(Cover A Jock), $6.99
Batman One Dark Knight #2 (Of 3)(Cover B Paul Pope), $6.99
Challenge Of The Super Sons TP, $16.99
DC Connect #23, AR
DC Poster Portfolio Jim Lee Volume 2 TP, $24.99
DC Vs Vampires #6 (Of 12)(Cover A Otto Schmidt), $3.99
DC Vs Vampires #6 (Of 12)(Cover B Francesco Mattina Card Stock Variant), $4.99
Sensational Wonder Woman Special #1 (One Shot)(Cover A Belen Ortega), $9.99
Sensational Wonder Woman Special #1 (One Shot)(Cover B Junggeun Yoon Variant), $9.99
Sensational Wonder Woman Special #1 (One Shot)(Cover C Maria Laura Sanapo International Women’s Day Variant), $9.99
Sensational Wonder Woman Special #1 (One Shot)(Cover D Emanuela Lupacchino), AR
Sensational Wonder Woman Special #1 (One Shot)(Cover E Cat Staggs), AR
Shadow War Alpha #1 (One Shot)(Cover A Jonboy Meyers), $5.99
Shadow War Alpha #1 (One Shot)(Cover B Viktor Bogdanovic Card Stock Variant), $6.99
Shadow War Alpha #1 (One Shot)(Cover C Dan Mora Card Stock Variant), AR
Swamp Thing #11 (Of 16)(Cover A Mike Perkins), $3.99
Swamp Thing #11 (Of 16)(Cover B Francesco Francavilla Card Stock Variant), $4.99
Swamp Thing #11 (Of 16)(Cover C Kyle Hotz Card Stock Variant), AR
War For Earth-3 #2 (Of 2)(Cover A Rafa Sandoval), $5.99
War For Earth-3 #2 (Of 2)(Cover B Gleb Melnikov Card Stock Variant), $6.99
--------
Dark Horse Comics Shipping from Diamond Distributors for March 30, 2022
Dynamite Entertainment Shipping from Diamond Distributors for March 30, 2022
IDW Publishing Shipping from Diamond Distributors for March 30, 2022
Image Comics Shipping from Diamond Distributors for March 30, 2022
Marvel Comics Shipping from Diamond Distributors for March 30, 2022
Comic Books, Magazines and Books from Diamond Distributors for March 30, 2022
Marvel Studios Releases New Stephen Strange Image from "DOCTOR STRANGE 2"
Marvel Studios has released four new images from its upcoming film, "DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS," which arrives in theaters May 6, 2022. Directed by Sam Raimi, the film stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor. and Xochitl Gomez. The image below features Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange/Doctor Strange standing in a room full of candles:
------------------------------
Saturday, March 26, 2022
Review: Hurt and Turner Put All the Heat in "BODY HEAT"
Body Heat (1981)
Running time: 113 minutes (1 hour, 53 minutes)
MPAA – R
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Lawrence Kasdan
PRODCUER: Fred T. Gallo
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Richard H. Kline (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Carol Littleton
COMPOSER: John Barry
DRAMA/ROMANCE/CRIME
Starring: William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna, Ted Danson, J.A. Preston, Oscar Grace, Mickey Rourke, Kim Zimmer, Jane Hallaren, Lanna Saunders, and Carola McGuinness
Body Heat is a 1981 romance and crime drama written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan. The film is set in Florida during a searing heat wave and focuses on a small-town lawyer and a sultry woman who conspire to murder her rich husband.
Body Heat introduces Ned Racine (William Hurt), an inept lawyer who operates out of Okeelanta County, in southern Florida, which is in the middle of a searing heatwave. One night, he chances upon a very attractive woman, who is all alone. Although she initially rebuffs his amorous attempts, she eventually gives in to Ned's advances and identifies herself as Matty Walker (Kathleen Turner). She lives in a posh mansion with her mysteriously wealthy husband, Edmund Walker (Richard Crenna). Edmund is usually away on business during the week, so that is when Matty is alone.
Ned and Matty begin a torrid affair. When they can be together, they have lots of sex in the sweltering heat of the night. When Edmund is home on the weekends, Matty longs to be with Ned, as he longs to be with her. If Matty were to divorce her husband, an onerous marital prenuptial agreement would leave her with very little, but she would get half his estate if he died... Matty wishes Edmund was dead, and Ned presents her with a way to get rid of him. Ned believes that he has figured out how to get away with murder, but has he figured out Matty Walker?
William Hurt (1950-2022) recently died after a reported battle with cancer, and I was taken aback. William Hurt was one of the biggest names in Hollywood in the 1980s when I was first coming of age an a film fan. I have decided to go back and watch some of his films that I'd previously seen and also to watch some for the first time. One of those first time films is Body Heat, which was only the third film in which he'd starred. It is apparently the film that made him a “bankable” Hollywood movie star.
Body Heat is also the film debut of Kathleen Turner. Her physicality and obvious and frank sexuality made her a star of the 1980s. Her adventurousness in choosing movie roles created an eclectic filmography, but Turner's star waned in the 1990s. In Body Heat, however, she is ready to unleash her unique skill set on the world. Matty Walker is Turner's signature work, and bits and pieces of the character and her performance of the character continued to show up in her work in the decades that followed the original release of Body Heat.
Here, in Body Heat, Hurt and Turner are stars ascendant. At first, I wondered if they would have screen chemistry, and from my point of view, they are magnificent together. The fact that they are willing to be naked together so often in this film speaks to their professionalism and also the depth of their skill as actors. Both had performed on stage before they entered the world of Hollywood films, so they had acting experience. That experience was needed in filming what has been described as many explicit sex scenes that were not included in the finished film.
Still, what is left on screen is hot and nasty. Turner and Hurt are so hot together that they damn near burned this film down, which it needs. The truth is that Body Heat is rather tepid. The film is described as a “neo-noir,” a modern version of the classic Hollywood film genre, “Film-Noir.” Outside of the depictions of sex and nudity, Body Heat's story and the execution of its narrative, to me, seem rather tame compared to a film like, for instance, 1950's Gun Crazy, another romantic crime drama about a killer couple. Writer-director Lawrence Kasdan, one of the best writer-directors and screen writers of the last five decades, apparently found inspiration for Body Heat in the 1944 Film-Noir classic, Double Indemnity. Well, it's time for me to see that one.
Beside Ned Racine and Matty Walker, I like the other characters in this film. Richard Crenna is really good in a small role as Edmund Walker; he deserved more screen time. Ted Danson's Peter Lowenstein is good, but seems extraneous in this film, and J.A. Preston's Oscar Grace, a police detective, has his best moments in Body Heat's last act. Also, if you ever wondered what Hollywood executives saw in Mickey Rourke that would make him a star, his small but potent turn as Teddy Lewis, an explosives expert and former client of Ned's, reveals the first glimmer of his movie star potential.
Body Heat is not William Hurt's best work, but his quirky takes make Ned Racine an interesting character. Kasdan throws out hints about the general sloppy nature of Ned's skills as an attorney and also his inability to see the big picture. Hurt takes that the rest of the way, creating a Ned Racine that is not savvy enough not to be a fall guy, but too smart not to figure it out eventually. Body Heat is not a crime fiction classic, but it is a classic “erotic thriller.” Hurt and Turner make it so.
7 of 10
B+
Saturday, March 26, 2022
NOTES:
1983 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Most Outstanding Newcomer to Leading Film Roles” (Kathleen Turner)
The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
Negromancer News Bits and Bites from March 20th to 26th, 2022 - Update #22
by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon:
ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:
MOVIES - From Deadline: A24's recent horror film, "X," could be a budding horror movie franchise. A prequel film is apparently already close to being finished and preparations are being made for a sequel.
STAR TREK - From Variety: Actress Ito Aghayere talks about playing "Young Guinan" on the Paramount+ series, "Star Trek: Picard." "Guinan" is the classic "Star Trek: The Next Generation" character originally played by Oscar-winner, Whoopi Goldberg.
MOVIES - From People: Here are the first look photos of Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage as "Dracula" in Universal Pictures' horror-comedy, "Renfield," in which Nicholas Hoult plays the title role.
BROADWAY - From Deadline: A Broadway musical is being developed based on the 1983 film, "Trading Places." Aneesa Folds will play Eddie Murphy's role, and Bryce Pinkham will play Dan Aykroyd's role.
TELEVISION - From Deadline: The CW has given early renewals to 7 of its 19 scripted dramas. Owners Warner Media and ViacomCBS has put The CW up for sale, with Nexstar being among the suitors.
STREAMING - From Deadline: HBO Max's "Sex in the City" sequel, "And Just Like That..." has been renewed for a second season.
NETFLIX - From Deadline: Actress Christina Ricci, who played "Wednesday Addams," in two 1990s "Addams Family" films directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, will play a major role in Netflix's series, "Wednesday." The nature of her role is still a secret. Jenna Ortega will play Wednesday in the series.
OSCARS - From Deadline: At the 94th Academy Awards, Beyonce will indeed perform her Oscar-nominated song, "Be Alive" (from "King Richard" and co-written with DIXSON) via satellite from a Compton tennis court.
From Variety: Beyonce is in talks to perform her Oscar-nominated song, "Be Alive" (from "King Richard") live from the tennis courts in Compton, California during the 94th Academy Awards. The film focuses on Richard Williams, the father of tennis legends, Venus and Serena Williams, who learned to play tennis on those courts with Richard as their coach.
MOVIES - From Variety: The sequel to the 2021 hit, "Godzilla vs. Kong," will start filming in Australia later this year.
OSCARS - From BBC: The BBC's website has produced a video that presents all the "Best Picture" nominees for the 94th Academy Awards in 59 seconds.
CELEBRITY - From Variety: This year's "Rase to Erase MS" gala will return to Fairmont Century Plaza hotel on May 20th and will feature music by "Nile Rogers & Chic" and a Tommy Hilfiger Adaptive fashion show.
MOVIES - From ShadowandAct: Marvel Cinematic Universe star and New Orleans native Anthony Mackie has reportedly bought 20 acres in New Orleans East where he plans to start a movie studio. However, Mackie has reportedly officially said that it was too premature to discuss specifics of the deal.
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro: The winner of the 3/18 to 3/20/2022 weekend box office is "The Batman" with an estimated 36.8 million dollars.
From Here: Negromancer's review of "The Batman."
STAR TREK - From TheGuardian: Georgia gubernatorial candidate and voting rights champion, Stacey Abrams, made a cameo as "President of United Earth" on the Season 4 finale of "Star Trek: Discovery" (Paramount+). Some people were mad...
TELEVISION - From Deadline: The daytime syndicated talk show "Maury" will be ending after the current season, apparently a mutual decision between the host, Maury Povich, and NBCUniversal Syndication Studios. Povich is reportedly retiring. The last original episodes will air through September 2022, after which repeats of the show will continue to air in syndication
AWARDS - From Deadline: "CODA" wins the top award, "Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures," at the 2022 / 33rd Producers Guild Awards.
AVATAR - From Variety: "Avatar 2" star Zoe Saldana said that after watching 20 minutes of the film, she cried.
CANNES - From Deadline: Not only will "Top Gun: Maverick" make its premiere at the 75th Cannes Film Festival, but its star Tom Cruise will also feted with a "career retrospective" special tribute.
OBITS:
From RollingStone: Singer-songwriter and rock musician, Taylor Hawkins, has died at the age of 50, Friday, March 25, 2022 in a hotel in Bogota, Columbia. Hawkins was best known as the drummer of the band, "Foo Fighters." The band announced Hawkins as its new drummer in March 1997, and in addition to being the drummer, Hawkins wrote songs, provided vocals, and played piano and guitar. He first appeared on the Foo Fighters third album "There is Nothing Left to Lose" (1999). His side-projects included the bands, "Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders" and "The Birds of Satan."
From CNN: American diplomat and former U.S. Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, has died at the age of 84, Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Albright was the first female U.S. Secretary of State, serving from 1997 to 2001, during President Bill Clinton's second term, the 64th Secretary of State. She was also the 20th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (1993-97). Albright was born in Czechoslovakia and immigrated to the U.S. with her parents in 1948.
-------------------
94TH ACADEMY AWARDS:
From Deadline: With his "Best Actor" nomination for "The Tragedy of Macbeth," Denzel Washington is the most nominated Black actor is Oscar history. He has been nominated in two acting categories a total of 10 times with two wins total.
From Variety: With her "Best Director" Oscar nomination for "The Power of the Dog," Jane Campion becomes the first woman nominated twice in that category. She was previously nominated in that category for "The Piano" (1993).
From Variety: With his three nominations today, Kenneth Branagh of "Belfast" becomes the first person to have been nominated in seven individual categories over his career.
-----------------------
MOVIE AWARDS:From Variety: The Directors Guild of America's 2022 74th annual DGA Awards were held on Sat., March 12th. Jane Campion won the top prize "Outstanding Achievement in Theatrical Film" for directing "The Power of the Dog." She is the third woman to win the award and the second to have been nominated twice.
From Variety: The winners at the 2022 / 49th annual Annie Awards were announced, Sat. Mar. 12th. Netflix's "The Mitchells vs. the Machines" was named "Best Feature."
From Variety: Here is a complete list of winners at 2022 / 53rd NAACP Image Awards in the film, television and music categories. Jennifer Hudson was named "Entertainer of the Year."
From Deadline: The 2022 / 9th annual Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Awards were announced. The Amazon film, "Coming 2 America" (the sequel to the 1988 film, "Coming to America"), led with three wins.
From Deadline: The Los Angeles Film Critics Association has named the Japanese film, "Drive My Car," the "Best Picture" of 2021.
From Deadline: The 2022 / 37th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards have announced their nominations. "Zola" leads with six nominations. The winners will be announced Sun., March 6, 2022.
From THR: The 2022 / 79th Golden Globes Awards nominations have been announced. "Belfast" and "The Power of the Dog" lead with seven nominations each. Winners will be announced Jan. 9th, 2022.
From GoldDerby: The 2022 Critics Choice Awards nominations have been announced. "Belfast" and "West Side Story" leads with 11 nominations each. Winners will be announced Jan. 9th, 2022.
From Deadline: The American Film Institute announced the "2021 AFI Awards" Top 10 list, and the list includes "Dune," "The Tragedy of Macbeth," and "West Side Story."
From THR: Director Aleem Khan's "After Love" tops the 2021 British Independent Film Awards, winning six awards, including "Best Film of 2021."
From Variety: The New York Film Critics Circle has named the Japanese drama, "Drive My Car," as the "Best Film of 2021."
From Deadline: The National Board of Review hands director Paul Thomas Anderson's "Licorice Pizza" it "Best Film" and "Best Director" awards. Will Smith picks up the "Best Actor" award for "King Richard."
From THR: Netflix’s "The Lost Daughter," directed by actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, dominated the 2021 Gotham Awards in New York on Monday night (Nov. 29th). The film won in four of the five categories in which it was nominated, including "Best Feature."
---------------------------------