Negromancer News Bits and Bites from April 1st to 6th, 2024 - UPDATE #19

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

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ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Drew Barrymore has said that her frequent co-star, Adam Sandler, has written the screenplay for "Happy Gilmore 2," a sequel to one of his most popular films.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Actor Raymond Lee, star of NBC's "Quantum Leap," reboot announced via "Instagram" that the NBC has cancelled the series after two seasons.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Writer-producer-director-star Dev Patel talks about how important Oscar-winner Jordan Peele was in getting his debut feature, "Monkey Man," into theaters.

NETFLIX - From Deadline:  Netflix has revealed the cast of "Tyler Perry’s Beauty in Black."  The new 16-episode, hour-long drama series is coming to the streamer as a result of a previously announced creative partnership between Netflix and Tyler Perry.  The deal calls for Perry will write, direct, and produce feature films and series under a multi-year first-look deal.  Cast members include Taylor Polidore Williams, Amber Reign Smith, Crystle Stewart, Ricco Ross, Debbi Morgan, and Richard Lawson, to name a few.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Emmy-winning actress, Gillian Anderson, won't say "No" to appearing in Ryan Coogler's planned reboot of Fox's former sci-fi drama, "The X-Files."  Anderson played FBI Agent Dana Scully in the series, which ran from 1993 to 2002 and again from 2016-18.

DISNEY - From Deadline:  Bob Iger thug life is still a thing.  Disney has succeeded in barring Nelson Peltz from its board of directors as shareholders at the company’s hotly anticipated annual meeting today voted in its slate of 12 nominees, fending off outsiders. It was a months-long bitter and costly fight.  Neither Pletz nor anyone from his Trian Group or Blackwells landed anyone on the board.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Warner Bros. is returning to "the Matrix" for a fourth sequel.  "Matrix 5" will be written and directed by Drew Goddard.  Lana Wachowski, the co-creator of the franchise and the director of the fourth film, "The Matrix: Resurrections," will be an executive producer on this film.  No word yet on what actor will be returning.

STAGE - From Deadline:  The Jamie Lloyd Company announced the full cast for the upcoming West End production of Romeo & Juliet.  They confrimed that newcomer Francesca Amewudah-Rivers confirmed as Juliet opposite Tom Holland as Romeo.  "Romeo & Juliet" opens at the Duke of York’s Theatre on Thursday, May 23, 2024, with previews from Saturday, May 11, and runs until Saturday, August 3.

MUSIC/MOVIES - From TheRoot:  Inspired by Beyonce's smash hit new country album, "Cowboy Carter," "The Root" has a list of must see Black Western films.  The list includes a couple of Idris Elba films, "The Harder They Fall" and "Concrete Cowboy."

SCANDAL - From THR:  The estate of the late, legendary comedian, George Carlin, has settled a lawsuit it brought against the makers of a podcast that used generative AI to impersonate the late stand-up comic's voice and style for an unauthorized special.

TELEVISION - From Variety:  Chris Carter, the creator of Fox's former sci-fi drama, "The X-Files," talks about the reboot being shepherded by Ryan Coogler ("Black Panther").  Also, he mentions that original series star, Gillian Anderson ("Dana Scully") did not have enough "sex appeal" for Fox executives.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Oscar-nominee Benedict Cumberbatch and Oscar-winner Olivia Colman will star in director Jay Roach's reimagining of the 1989 film, "The War of the Roses."  The original was directed by Danny DeVito and starred Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Emmy-winner Felicity Huffman ("Desperate Housewives") joins Paramount+'s "Criminal Minds: Evolution" Season Two.

BOX OFFICE - From Variety:  The winner of the 3/29 to 3/31/2024 weekend box office is Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment's "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" with an estimated take of 80 million dollars.

From Variety:  "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" had an opening weekend of RMB317 (the equivalent of 44.6 million dollars) in mainland China, between Friday and Sunday (March 29th-31st).  Thus far, it is the biggest opening of any Hollywood film in China this year.

From Here:  A review of "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" by Leroy Douresseaux.

OBITS:

From Variety:  American actor, writer, and comedian, Joe Flaherty, has died at the age of 82, Monday, April 1, 2024.  A prolific actor, he was best known for his roles on the Canadian sketch comedy series, "Second City Television" ("SCTV"), and on the former NBC sitcom, "Freaks and Geeks."  As a writer, he shared nine Primetime Emmy nominations for his work on SCTV, winning twice.

From THR:  American film, television, and stage actress, Barbara Rush, has died at the age of 97, Sunday, March 31, 2024.  She appeared in over one hundred films, TV series, and TV movies.  Her best known film appearances include "It Came From Outer Space" (1953), "Magnificent Obsession" (1954), "The Young Philadelphians" (1959), and "Robin and the 7 Hoods" (1964), to name a few.  She appeared in such TV series as ABC'S "Peyton's Place" and "All My Children," NBC's "Flamingo Road," and The WB's "7th Heaven," to name a few.  In 1954, Rush won the "Golden Globe Award" for "New Star of the Year - Actress."

From THR:  American visual effects artist, Tim McGovern, has died at the age of 68, Saturday, March 30, 2024.  He won the "Special Achievement Academy Award" for his work on "Total Recall," sharing the win with Eric Brevig, Rob Bottin, and Alex Funke.  A digital effects pioneer, McGovern was also a founding member of Sony Picture ImageWorks, where he worked on such films as "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" (2015) and "Dunkirk" (2017).  His other credits include "Last Action Hero" (1993), "As Good as It Gets" (1997), and "Shazam: Fury of the Gods" (2023).

From THR:  American film and television writer and producer and TV director, Norman Steinberg, has died at the age of 83, Saturday, March 15, 2024.  Steinberg is best known for co-writing Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" (1974) and Richard Benjamin's "My Favorite Year" (1982), which starred Peter O'Toole.  He won a Primetime Emmy Awards for cowriting an episode of the former NBC variety series, "The Flip Wilson Show."

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from September 8th to 14th, 2019 - Update #24

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COMICS-FILM - From ShadowandAct:  Rihanna addresses rumors that she is being considered to play Poison Ivy in Matt Reeves "The Batman."  Still in development, the film would star Robert Pattison as Batman.

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DISNEY - From Variety:  Walt Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger has stepped down from Apple's board of directors as Disney and Apple launch competing streaming services.

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MOVIES - From THR:  Why J.J. Abrams and his wife Katie McGrath said yes to WarnerMedia and no to Apple, although Apple offered them $500 million for an exclusive deal, where WarnerMedia offered $250 million.

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ANIMATION - From YahooEntertainment:  Longtime voice actor, Frank Welker, talks about being the voice of Fred Jones for 50 years on today, September 13th, the 50th anniversary of "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!"

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SCANDAL - From Deadline:  Emmy-winning actress Felicity Huffman has been sentenced to two weeks/14 days in jail for in the infamous college admissions scandal.  She will have to self-report to Bureau of Prisons officials on October 25 to begin serving her time in a California facility.

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TELEVISION - From TheWrap:  This season on an episode of her hit ABC series, "Black-ish," Tracee Ellis Ross will reunite with Jill Marie Jones, Persia White and Golden Brooks, her three co-stars from the UPN/The CW series, "Girlfriends" (2000-2008).

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MOVIES - From Newsarama:  A brand new "Jurassic World" short film will debut Sunday, September 15, 2019 on cable network, FX.

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MOVIES - From THR:   J.J. Abrams and his wife, Katie McGrath, through their company, Bad Robot, have signed an overall film, TV, game, and digital production deal with WarnerMedia.

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AVATAR - From Deadline:   What does James Cameron feel now that "Avengers: Endgame" has passed his 2009 film, "Avatar," as the all-time box office champ?  He feels "relief" and he explains why.

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  Viacom is in the lead to obtain the the portion of the Miramax film library that is up for sale.  beIN Media Group owns the 700-title library and wants to sell 30 percent to 50 percent, while maintaining a controlling stake.  Lionsgate has withdrawn its bid.

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STREAMING - From ShadowandAct:  Whoopi Goldberg will join CBS All Access' new adaptation of Stephen King's classic novel, "The Stand."  A miniseries for the streaming service, it will run for 10 episodes.  Stephen King will write the final episode of the series, which will take the story beyond what was in the original novel.

From BleedingCool:  This article includes lots of information on "The Stand," and its includes the video of Whoopi announcing her casting on "The View," Wednesday morning, Sept. 11, 2019.  Stephen King was a guest on that episode.

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TELEVISION - From Variety:  Two-time Emmy Award winner, Uzo Aduba, will join FX's "Fargo" Season 4, which will feature Chris Rock.

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TELEVISION - From TheWrap:  Jennifer Lopez is reportedly in talks to headline 2020 Super Bowl halftime show.

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TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Actor John C. Reilly will play owner Jerry Buss in HBO's pilot about the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA.  He replaces Michael Shannon.

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TELEVISION - From Deadline:  TV super-producer David E. Kelley and Jack Bender are developing Stephen King's new novel, "The Institute" as a limited series.

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TELEVISION - From BleedingCool: Dan Curtis TV series, "Dark Shadows" (1966-71), is being revived a fourth time.  "Dark Shadows: Reincarnation" is being developed for The CW.  Previously, there was a 12-episode run in 1991 for NBC, an unaired 2004 pilot, and a 2012 film from director Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp.

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  The John Travolta-Nicolas Cage film, Face/Off, (directed by John Woo), is being remade...

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MOVIES - From YahooPeople:  "Crazy Rich Asians" director John M. Chu says he supports the film's co-writer, Adele Lim, who quit the sequel over a pay disparity dispute.

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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 9/6 to 9/8/2019 weekend box office is "It: Chapter Two" with an estimated box office take of 91 million.

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MOVIES-STREAMING - From YahooAP:  Eddie Murphy is getting some of the best reviews of his career in "Dolemite is My Name."

From YahooMovies:  Thirty-three years after his movie, "The Golden Child," Eddie Murphy has reunited with Jasmine L. Reate.  She played the boy ("the Golden Child") that Murphy's character, Chandler Jarrell) had to save.

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STREAMING - From Variety:   Netflix has officially announced that Gillian Anderson ("The X-Files") is joining the fourth season of Netflix's "The Crown" as Margaret Thatcher.  This news had been circulating since early in the year, but Netflix would not confirm it until now.

OBITS:

From YahooMusic:   The rock 'n' roll singer, songwriter, and musician, Eddie Money, has died at the age of 70, Friday, September 13, 2019.  From 1978 to 1991, he had several Top 40 hits, including such hooky rock standards as "Two Tickets to Paradise" and "Baby Hold On."

From Deadline:  The stage, film, and television actor John Wesley has died at the age of 72, Sunday, September 8, 2019.  He has over 100 TV and film credits, including appearances on TV series like "In the Heat of the Night," "Martin," and "Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad."  Wesley was a Vietnam veteran having served in the United States Army.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from January 20th to 26th, 2019 - Update #26

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DISNEY - From SideshowToys:  10 Disney movies for 2019, including "Captain Marvel," "Dumbo," and "Avengers: Endgame."

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CELEBRITY - From Deadline:  The cause of death of comedian, Kevin Barnett, who died Tuesday, Jan. 22nd, 2019 in Mexico, is "Non Traumatic Hemorrhage, caused by pancreatitis."  The stand-up comedian was the co-creator of FOX Network's sitcom, "Rel."

From YahooEntertainment:  The cause of the death of Kim Porter, the actress and model who had three kids with Sean "Diddy" Combs, is "lobar pneumonia."  Porter died Nov. 15th, 2018, and she was 47 years old at the time.

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STREAMING - From Deadline:  Netflix and Constantin Film are developing a "Resident Evil" TV series.  That series will apparently expand the "existing mythology ."

From Deadline:  Netflix has obtained Ron Howard's film, "Hillbilly Elegy" (based on J.D. Vance's bestselling book).

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MOVIE - From Deadline:  Warner Bros. has scheduled Christopher Nolan's next film for releases July 17, 2020.  The subject matter of the unnamed film is not known.

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COMICS-FILM - From Variety:  Actor Matt Smith of "Doctor Who" has reportedly joined Sony's "Morbius" film, starring Jared Leto.  Morbius is a vampire and a Spider-Man villian.

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MOVIES-SCANDAL - From Newsarama:  Despite new sexual abuse of underage boys allegations levied against him, Bryan Singer is still scheduled to direct Millennium Film's "Red Sonja" film.

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MOVIES - From Collider:  Nicolas Cage will star in an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's story, "Color Out of Space."

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SCANDAL - From Deadline:  In expose by "The Atlantic" magazines, director Bryan Singer ("Bohemian Rhapsody," "X-Men") is hit with more sexual abuse allegations involving underage boys.

From Deadline:  Director Bryan singer responds to "The Atlantic," calling it a "homophic smear piece..."

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COMICS-STREAMING - From Deadline:  Sandra Bullock is part of the team developing Mark Millar and Greg Capullo's comic book, "Reborn," for Netflix.

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  Actor Michael Gandolfini will play a young Tony Soprano in David Chase's in "The Many Saints of Newark," a prequel to Chase's "The Sopranos" TV series.  Michael's late father, James Gandolfini, played Tony Soprano in "The Sopranos."

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OSCARS - From Deadline:  The 2019 / 91st Academy Award nominations have been announced.  "Roma" and "The Favourite" lead with 10 nominations each.  "Black Panther" received 7 nominations, including a "best picture" nod.

From TheNewYorker:  "The Dismaying 2019 Oscar Nominations—and Who Should Have Made the List" by Richard Brody

From BleedingCool:  Concerning his first Oscar nomination (in the "best supporting actor" category) after 50 years of acting, Sam Elliot ("A Star is Born") says, "It's about fucking time!"

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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 1/18 - 1/20/2019 weekend box office is "Glass" with an estimated take of $40.58 million.

From Variety:  "Glass" leads the international box office with an estimated take of $48.5 million.

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POLITICS - From Deadline:  U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (Democrat-California) announces that she is running for President of the United States.

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MOVIES - From TheWrap:   Edgar Wright says that a first draft of a screenplay for "Baby Driver 6" exists.

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COMICS-FILM - From CNBC:   Superhero movies are in for a major shakeup in 2019

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STREAMING - From Deadline:  "The X-Files'" Gillian Anderson is joining Netflix's "The Crown" in the role of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

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OSCARS - From GoldDerby:  Paul Sheehan offers his Oscar predictions ahead of the nominations announcement Tuesday morning, Jan 22nd.

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AWARDS - From Deadline:  "Green Book" tops the 2019 Producers Guild Awards, winning the Producers Guild version of a "best picture" prize.

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OSCARS - From Deadline:  "BlackKklansman" producer Jason Blue says that it is "Spike Lee's time" if Oscar voters do the right thing.

OBIT:

From THR:  Veteran film and television director, James Frawley, has died at the age of 82, Tuesday, January 22, 2019.  Over his five-decade career, Frawley directed episodes of "Perry Mason," "The Outer Limits," and "Gunsmoke," and he directed "The Muppet Movie" (1979).  Frawley is probably best known for being a key figure in the development of "The Monkees" TV series.  Frawley also directed 28 of the series' 58 episodes.

From TheWrap:  The comedy writer and stand-up comedian, Kevin Barnett, has died at the age of 32, Tuesday, January 22, 2019.  Barnett co-created the Fox sitcom, "Rel."

From Variety:  Film producer Andrew Vajna has died at the age of 74, Sunday, January 20, 2019.  In 1976, he co-founded Carolco with Mario Kassar.  Vajna produced such films as "Nixon" and "Evita," but he was known for the numerous film on which he was an executive producer.  Among the best known are the first three "Rambo" films (including 1982's "First Blood"); "Angel Heart," "Total Recall," "Tombstone," and "Judge Dredd," to name a few.