Negromancer News Bits and Bites from March 19th to 25th, 2023 - Update #12

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

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ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

DISNEY - From Deadline:  Recently departed (fired?) Marvel Studios executive, Victoria Alonso, is weighing legal action against the Walt Disney Company and Marvel Studios.

GHOSTBUSTERS - From Deadline:  Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, comedian James Acaster, and Emily Alyn Lind have joined the cast of the live-action sequel to Sony Pictures’ hit film, "Ghostbusters: Afterlife." The film is due December 2023.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Oscar winner Adam McKay has lined up Rob Pattinson, Amy Adams, Robert Downey Jr, Forest Whitaker, and Danielle Deadwyler ("Till") to head the ensemble cast of his next directorial effort, the serial killer comedy, "Average Height, Average Build."

MOVIES - From Variety:  Apple and Amazon are making pricey investments in making films for release to theatres.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Destry Allyn Spielberg, the daughter of legendary director, Steven Spielberg, will make her directorial debut with the thriller, "Please Don't Feed the Children."

NETFLIX - From Deadline:  Netflix has tapped "Dune" screenwriter, Jon Spaihts, to pen its live-action "Gears of War" film, based on the hit video game series.

CELEBRITY - From Deadline:  President Joe Biden will present the "2021 National Medals of Arts" in conjunction with the "2021 National Humanities Medals" tomorrow, Tues., March 21st 2023, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House.  The list for the National Medal of Arts recipients includes Bruce Springsteen, José Feliciano, Gladys Knight, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mindy Kaling, Antonio Martorell-Cardona, Judith Francisca Baca, Fred Eychaner, Joan Shigekawa and Vera Wang, along with organizations the Billie Holiday Theatre and the International Association of Blacks in Dance.

The National Humanities Medals for 2021 will go to "Just Mercy" writer and justice advocate Bryan Stevenson; poet Richard Blanco; anthropologist Johnnetta Betsch Cole; historian Earl Lewis; educator Henrietta Mann; authors Walter Isaacson, Ann Patchett, Amy Tan, Colson Whitehead and Tara Westover; and call-in show "Native America Calling."  Elton John is also on the 2021 NEH medal list, but he received his honor in September and played a concert on the White House lawn.

MOVIES - From BloodyDisgusting:  According to the site, director Jordan Peele's next film will debut December 25, 2024. In addition, his production company, Monkeypaw, is producing a film that will arrive in theaters Friday, September 27, 2024.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 3/17 to 3/19/2023 weekend box office is Warner Bros. Pictures' "Shazam! Fury of the God" with an estimated take of 30.5 million dollars.

From Here:  Leroy Douresseaux's review of "Shazam! Fury of the Gods."

EN MEMORIAM - From Deadline:  Film and television actor, Lance Reddick, died suddenly, Friday, March 17, 2023.  He leaves behind a number of projects yet to be released, but in which he finished filming his scenes.  Those includes the upcoming "John Wick: Chapter 4" and its upcoming spinoff, "The Ballerina."

OBITS:

From Deadline:  Film and television producer and screenwriter, Norman Steinberg, has died at the age of 83, Wednesday, March 15, 2023.  He was best known for co-scripting Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles," and he won an Primetime Emmy as a writer on the former NBC variety show, "The Flip Wilson Show" (1970-74).

From Deadline:  Screenwriter Hal Dresner has died at the age of 85, Friday, March 17, 2023.  He is best known for his work on such films as "Cool Hand Luke" (1967) and "Zorro, the Gay Blade" (1981).  He is credited with writing the line, "What we have here is a failure to communicate" for "Cool Hand Luke."