Negromancer News Bits and Bites from Feb. 18th to 24th, 2024 - UPDATE #16

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

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ENTERTAINMENT AND CULTURE NEWS:

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  The latest "Game of Thrones" spinoff, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: A Hedge Knight" is currently in pre-production and will debut in late 2025.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Warner Bros. has signed Tom Cruise and Margot Kidder to be big production deals.  It has spent $200 million on its "Joker" sequel.  It's all to make Warner Bros. attractive to a buyer or merger partner beginning in April.

MOVIES/TRAILERS - From Deadline:  Lionsgate has released the first trailer for its star-studded film adaptation of the videogame, "Borderlands."  Directed by Eli Roth, the film stars Cate Blanchett who leads a cast including Kevin Hart and Jamie Lee Curtis, to name a few.  It is due in theaters August 9, 2024.

MUSIC - From Deadline:  Beyonce has become the first Black woman to reach No. 1 on Billboard's "Hot Country Songs" chart.  Her song, "Texas Hold 'Em," released February 11, 2024, debuted at the top of the "Hot Country Songs" list.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Gareth Edwards is in final negotiations to direct the fourth "Jurassic World" movie.  This comes after news that talks with the first choice, "John Wick" director David Leitch, fell through.  Edwards is best known for directing Godzilla (2014) and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and recently directing "The Creator."  The new Jurassic World movie is due in theaters July 2, 2025.

MOVIES/BOOKS - From Deadline:  Stephen Kings calls out Warner Bros. on Twitter for holding back on the released date of "Salem's Lot," its film adaptation of King's 1975 classic horror novel. The film has been having release date changes since September 2022.

MOVIES/MUSIC - From Deadline:  Oscar-winning director, Sam Mendes ("American Beauty") will direct four separate films about "The Beatles."  Each film will focus on one of four members of "the Fab Four": John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.

AMAZON - From Deadline:  Jonathan van Tulleken will direct and executive produce the first two episodes of the high-profile limited series, Amazon Prime Video‘s "Blade Runner 2099."  Van Tulleken also directed the first two episodes of FX's upcoming "Shogun."

BAFTAS - From Deadline:  The winners at the 2024 / 77th BAFTA Film Awards have been announced.  "Oppenheimer" wins seven awards, including "Best Film," "Best Director" (Christopher Nolan), and "Best Actor" (Cillian Murphy).

AWARDS - From People:  "Barbie" dominates at the 2024 People's Choice Awards, winning six awards. Also, this article has a complete winners list.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Sony Pictures has bought the international film distribution rights for "Materialists," the next film from Celine Song, whose recent "Past Lives" has won several awards and is currently Oscar-nominated.  A24 will handle the U.S. release.

BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficePro:  The winner of the 2/16 to 2/18/2024 weekend box office is Paramount Pictures' "Bob Marley: One Love" with an estimated take of 27.7 million dollars.

MOVIES - From Deadline:  Ridley Scott will direct Paramount Pictures' biopic about the Grammy-winning, hit-making pop music group, the "Bee Gees" (brothers Barry, Maurice, and Robin Gibb).

OBITS:

From Deadline:   Film, television, and stage actor, Paul D'Amato, has died at the age of 75, Monday, February 19, 2024.  D'Amato is best known for the role of "Tim 'Dr. Hook' McMcCraken" in the 1977 sports movie classic, "Slap Shot."  He also appeared in such films as "The Deer Hunter" (1978) and "Suspect" (1987).

From Deadline:  Film and television actor, Tony Ganios, has died at the age of 64, Sunday, February 18, 2024.  Ganios may be best known for two roles, his debut role as "Paul LaGuardia" in "The Wanderers" (1979) and as "Anthony 'Meat' Tuperello" in the hit 1981 sex comedy, Porky's, and its two sequels.  He also had a recurring role in the former CBS crime drama, "Wiseguy."

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AWARDS:

From THR:  Key award season dates leading up to the 2024 / 96th Academy Awards, which are Sunday, March 10th, 2024.

From Variety: The nominations for the 2024 / 96th Academy Awards have been announced.  "Oppenheimer" leads with 13 nominations, and "Poor Things" follows with 11.  The winners will be announced Sun., March 10th, 2024.

From THR:   The Directors Guild of America has announced the winners at the 2024 / 76th DGA Awards.  Christopher Nolan won the top category, "Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film of 2023," for his work on his blockbuster film, "Oppenheimer."

From Deadline:  The winners at the 2024 / 51st Annie Awards have been announced.  "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" won six, including "Best Feature."  Its predecessor, "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" also won six categories, including "Best Feature."

From AwardsWatch:  The NAACP has announced the nominees for the 2024 / 55th NAACP Image Awards.  By visiting www.naacpimageawards.net, the public can vote to determine the winners of the 55th NAACP Image Awards’ in select categories. Voting closes February 24th at 9:00 p.m. NAACP will also recognize winners in non–televised Image Awards categories March 11–14th, which will stream via naacpimageawards.net.  The winners will be revealed during the two–hour LIVE TV special, airing Saturday, March 16, 2024 at 8:00 PM ET/ PT on BET and CBS.

From THR:  The Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800) has announced the winners at the 28th Art Directors Guild Awards.  "Poor Things," "Oppenheimer," and "Saltburn" win top prizes.

From Deadline:  The nominations for the 2024 Writers Guild Awards have been announced. The winners will be announced on April 14th, more than a month after the Oscars.

From Variety:  The nominations for the 2024 / 77th EE BAFTA Film Awards have been announced.  "Oppenheimer" leads with 13 nominations, and "Poor Things" follows with 11 nominations.  The winners will be announced Feb. 18th.

From Variety:  The Producers Guild of America has announced the nominees for the 2024 / 35th annual Producers Guild Awards.  For the first time in the history of the awards, two international films, "Anatomy of a Fall" and "The Zone of Interest," have made been nominated in the PGA's top category, "Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures." The winners will be announced Feb. 25th.

From Variety:   The nominees for the 2024 / 51st Annie Awards have been announced.  Netflix's "Nimona" leads the features categories with nine nominations.  The winners will be announced Sat., Feb. 17th.

From Deadline:  The Screen Actors Guild nominations for the 2024 / 30th annual SAG Awards have announced. "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" leads the film side of things with four nominations apiece.  The winners will be announced Saturday, Feb. 24th.

From AwardsWatch:  The Latino Entertainment Journalists Association has announced the 6th Annual LEJA Awards.  "Past Lives" won "Best Picture."  Actor Coleman Domingo won "Best Actor" for his role in "Rustin" and "Best Supporting Actor" for his role in "The Color Purple."

From AwardsWatch:  The Vancouver Film Critics Circle has announced its 2023 film awards.  "Anatomy of a Fall" won "Best Picture."

From Variety:  The Directors Guild of America has announced the nominations for the 2024 / 76th DGA Awards.  In the top category, "Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film of 2023," the nominees are Greta Gerwig for "Barbie," Christopher Nolan for “Oppenheimer,” Martin Scorsese for “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Yorgos Lanthimos for “Poor Things,” and Alexander Payne for “The Holdovers.”  The winners will be announced Feb. 10th.

From AwardsWatch:  The London Critics Circle announced the winners of its 44th annual film awards. "The Zone of Interest" won three awards, including "Film of the Year" and "Best Director" (Jonathan Glazer).

From AwardsWatch:  The Kansas City Film Critics Circle (KCFCC) has won the 2023 film awards.  "Oppenheimer" won six awards, including "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Christopher Nolan), and "Best Actor" (Cillian Murphy tied with Paul Giamatti for "The Holdovers").

From Variety:  The American Cinema Editors has announced the nominees for the 2024 / 74th Annual ACE Eddie Awards.  The winners will be announced March 3rd, 2024.

From AwardsWatch:  The Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) has named its 2023 film awards. "Oppenheimer" won eight awards, including "Best Picture" and "Best Director" (Christopher Nolan).

From AwardsWatch:  The Houston Film Critics Society (HFCS) has announced its 2023 films awards.  "Poor Things" won three awards, including "Best Picture."

From AwardsWatch:  The Chicago Indie Critics (CIC) has announced its 2023 films awards.  "Oppenheimer" won seven awards, including "Best Studio Film." Celine Song's "Past Lives" won three, including "Best Independent Film."

From Variety:  The Motion Picture Sound Editors has revealed the nominations for the 71st annual MPSE Golden Reel Awards in categories spanning feature film, television, animation, computer entertainment and student productions.  The winners will be announced March 3rd.

From AwardsWatch: The Iowa Film Critics Association (IFCA) has announced its 2023 film awards.  Alexander Payne's "The Holdovers" won four awards, including "Best Picture."

From Variety:  The Visual Effects Society has announced the nominations for the 2024 / 22nd Annual VES Awards have been announced.  The winners will be announced Feb. 21st.

From AwardsWatch:  The North Dakota Film Society (NDFS) has announced its 2023 films awards.  "Oppenheimer" won nine awards, including "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Christopher Nolan), and "Best Actor" (Cillian Murphy).

From AwardsWatch:  The Music City Film Critics Association has announces it MCFCA 2023 Film Awards.  Oppenheimer won seven awards, including "Best Picture" and "Best Director" (Christopher Nolan).

From AwardsWatch:  The Portland Critics Association (PCA) has announced its 2023 films awards.  "Oppenheimer" won nine awards, including "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Christopher Nolan), and "Best Actor" (Cillian Murphy).

From Deadline:  The African-American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) announced the 15th annual African-Ameri an Film Critics Awards. "American Fiction" was voted the #1 film and won four awards, including "Best Comedy." Ava DuVernay's "Origin" was voted the #2 film and won three awards, including "Best Drama." 

From Deadline:  The winners of the 2024 / 29th Annual Critics Choice Awards have been announced.  "Oppenheimer" won eight awards, including "Best Picture" and "Best Director" (Christopher Nolan).

From AwardsWatch:  The Hawaii Film Critics Society (HFCS) has announced its 2023 films awards.  "Barbie" wins four awards, including "Best Picture."

From AwardsWatch:  The Denver Film Critics Society (DFCS) has announced the winners of its 2023 films awards.  "Oppenheimer" won four awards, including "Best Film," "Best Director" (Christopher Nolan), and "Best Actor" (Cillian Murphy).

From AwardsWatch:  The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) revealed the nominees for the "2024 / 38th Annual ASC Awards" with categories in feature film, documentary, television and music video categories.  The winners will be announced March 3rd, 2024.

From AwardsWatch:  The Austin Film Critics Association (AFCA) has announced its 2023 film awards.  "Killers of the Flower Moon" won "Best Picture."

From AwardsWatch:  The Seattle Film Critics Society (SFCS) announced the winners in 21 categories for the 2023 Seattle Film Critics Society Awards.  Director Celine Song’s "Past Lives" was named the "Best Picture of 2023."

From AwardsWatch:  The Cinema Audio Society (CAS) has announced the nominations for the 60th CAS Awards.  The winners will be announced March 2nd.

From AwardsWatch:  The Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800) has announced the nominations for the 28th Art Directors Guild Awards. The winners will be announced Feb. 10th.

From AwardsWatch:  The Hollywood Creative Alliance (HCA) has announced it 2024 ASTRA Film Awards.  "Barbie" won eight awards, including "Best Picture.

From AwardsWatch:  The Greater Western New York Film Critics Association (GWNYFCA) has announced its 2023 film awards.  "Past Lives" was named "Best Picture."

From NSFC:  The National Society of Film Critics announce its 58th annual NSFC Awards.  "Past Lives" was named "Best Picture of 2023."

From Deadline:  The 2024 / 81st Golden Globes Awards ceremony was held Sun. night, Jan. 7th, 2024.  "Oppenheimer" won five awards, including "Best Motion Picture-Drama," "Best Director" (Christopher Nolan), "Best Actor-Drama" (Cillian Murphy), and "Best Supporting Actor-Motion Pictures" (Robert Downey, Jr.). "Poor Things" won "Best Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy."

From Deadline:  NIGHT 2 of the 75th Creative Arts Emmys took place Sun., Jan. 7th, 2024.  (Former) President Barack Obama and Keke Palmer were among the winners.

From Deadline:  NIGHT 1 of the 75th Creative Arts Emmys took place Sat., Jan. 6th, 2024.  HBO's "The Last of Us" lead the night with 8 wins, including wins in both "Guest Actor in a Drama Series" categories: Nick Offerman (Guest Actor) and Storm Reid (Guest Actress).

From AwardsWatch:  The 5th annual DiscussingFilm Critics Awards were announced.  "Oppenheimer" won eight awards, including "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Christopher Nolan), and "Best Actor" (Cillian Murphy).

From AwardsWatch:   The Utah Film Critics Association (UFCA) has announced its 2023 film awards. "Past Lives" won three awards, including "Best Picture" and "Best Director" (Celine Song).

From AwardsWatch:  The Georgia Film Critics Association (GFCA) has announced its 2023 film awards.  "Oppenheimer" won seven honors, including "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Christopher Nolan), and "Best Actor" (Cillian Murphy).

From AwardsWatch:  The San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) has announced its 2023 film awards.  "Oppenheimer" was named "Best Picture."

From AwardsWatch:  The Columbus Film Critics Association (COFCA) has announced its 2023 film awards.  "Killers of the Flower Moon" won six awards including "Best Film" and "Best Director" (Martin Scorsese).

From AwardsWatch:  The Costume Designers Guild (Local 892) announced the official nominees list for the 26th CDGA (Costume Designers Guild Awards). The annual CDGA ceremony will take place Wed., Feb. 21st, 2024.

From Variety:   The British Academy has unveiled the results of the first round of voting across all 24 categories for the 2024 / 77th BAFTA Film Awards.  These results are known as "the longlists."  "Barbie," "Killers of the Flower Moon," and "Oppenheimer" all appeared on the longlist of 15 categories.  The nominations will be announced Jan. 18th, and the winners will be announced Feb. 18th.

From AwardsWatch:  The Oklahoma Film Critics Circle (OFCC) has announced its 2023 film awards.  "Killers of the Flower Moon" won five awards, including "Best Film," "Best Director" (Martin Scorsese), and "Best Actress" (Lily Gladstone).

From AwardsWatch:  The Critics Association of Central Florida (CACF) has announced the winners of its 2023 films awards.  "Oppenheimer" won 10 awards, including "Best Picture" and "Best Director" (Christopher Nolan). 

From AwardsWatch:  U.K. Film Critics Association (UKFCA) has announced the winners of its 2023 films awards.  "Oppenheimer" won three awards: "Best Film," "Best Director" (Christopher Nolan), and "Best Actor" (Cillian Murphy).

From Variety: The Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild (MUAHS, IATSE Local 706) has announced nominations for the 11th MUAHS Guild Awards. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 led with five mentions in the film categories and ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" led with four in the television categories. The winners will be announced Sunday, February 18, 2024.

From AwardsWatch:  The Nevada Film Critics Society has announced its 2023 film awards.  "Oppenheimer" won five awards, including "Best Picture" and "Best Director" (Christopher Nolan).

From AwardsWatch:  Florida Film Critics Circle (FFCC) has announced its 2023 film awards.  Hayao's Miyazaki's anime film, "The Boy and the Heron" was named "Best Picture."

From AwardsWatch:  The Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC) has announced its 2023 films awards.  "American Fiction" won six awards, including "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Cord Jefferson), and Best Actor (Jeffrey Wright).

From AwardsWatch:  The San Diego Film Critics Society (SDFCS) has announced its 2023 film awards.  Always trying to be difficult, it named "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" the "Best Picture."  It named Martin Scorsese "Best Director" for "Killers of the Flower Moon."

From AwardsWatch:  The Dublin Film Critics Circle has announced its 2023 film awards.  "Past Lives" wins "Best Film" and "Best Director" (Celine Song)"

From AwardsWatch:  The North Texas Film Critics Association (NTFCA) has announced its 2023 films awards.  "Oppenheimer" wins five awards, including "Best Picture" and "Best Director" (Christopher Nolan).

From AwardsWatch:  The Southeaster Film Critics Association (SEFCA) has announces its 2023 films awards.  "Oppenheimer" won eight awards including "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Christopher Nolan), and "Best Actor" (Cillian Murphy).

From AwardsWatch:  The Indiana Film Journalists Association (IFJA) has announced its 2023 films awards.  "Poor Things" won six awards, including "Best Pictuere," "Best Director" (Yorgos Lanthmos), "Best Actress" (Emma Stone"), and "Best Supporting Actor" (Mark Ruffalo).

From AwardsWatch:  The Philadelphia Film Critics Circle (PFCC) has announced it 2023 film awards.  "Poor Things" won four awards, including "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Yorgos Lanthimos), and "Best Actress" (Emma Stone).

From AwardsWatch:  The St. Louis Film Critics Association (StLFCA) has announced its 2023 awards.  "Oppenheimer" won seven awards, including "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Christopher Nolan), and "Best Actor" (Cillian Murphy)

From AwardsWatch:  The Phoenix Film Critics Society (PFCS) has named its 2023 film awards.  "Killers of the Flower Moon" wins "Best Picture."  Oppenheimer wins six, including "Best Director" for Christopher Nolan.

From AwardsWatch:  The Dallas-Ft. Worth Film Critics Association (DFWFCA) has named its 2023 films awards.  "The Holdovers" wins "Best Picture."  "Oppenheimer" wins four, including "Best Director" for Christopher Nolan.

From AwardsWatch:  The Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA) have announced their 2023 film awards.  "The Zone of Interest" wins "Best Picture" and "Best Director" (for Jonathan Glazer).

From AwardsWatch:  The 2023 Boston Online Film Critics Association (BOFCA) awards have been announced.  "Killers of the Flower Moon" wins "Best Picture," one of two awards its won.  "Oppenheimer" wins five, including a "Best Director" for Christopher Nolan.

From AwardsWatch:  The nominations for the 2024 / 24th annual Black Reel Awards have been announced.  "The Color Purple" leads with 19 nominations.  The winners will be announced Jan. 16th, 2024.

From AwardsWatch:  The Phoenix Critics Circle (PCC) has announced its 2023 film awards.  "Past Lives" wins "Best Picture."

From AwardsWatch:  The New York Film Critics Online (NYFCO) have named "Killers of the Flower Moon" the "Best Film" of 2023.  Christopher Nolan wins "Best Director" for "Oppenheimer."

From AwardsWatch:  The Las Vegas Film Critics Society have named "Oppenheimer" the "Best Picture" of 2023, with the film's director, Christopher Nolan, winning "Best Director."

From AwardsWatch:  The winners at the 2023 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards have been announced.  "Killers of the Flower Moon" wins "Best Picture," and Christopher Nolan wins "Best Director" for "Oppenheimer."

From THR:   The winners at the 2023 / 49th annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards have been announced.  The Holocaust historical drama, "The Zone of Interest," wins four awards, including "Best Picture," "Best Director" (Jonathan Glazer), and "Best Actress" (Sandra Huller).

From Deadline:  The nominations for the 2024 / 29th annual Critics Choice Awards have been announced. "Barbie" leads with 18 nominations.

From Deadline:  The nominations for the 2024 / 81st annual Golden Globe Awards have been announced.  The winners will be announced Jan. 7th, 2024 on CBS and Paramount Plus.

From AwardsWatch:  The Las Vegas Film Critics have announced their 2023 LVFC Awards nominations.  "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" are the leading vote getters.  The winners will be announced Wed., Dec. 13th.

From THR:  The winners at the 2023 European Film Awards have been announced.  "Anatomy of a Fall" won five awards including for "Best Film," "Best Director" (Justine Triet), and "Best Actress" (Sandra Huller).

From AwardsWatch:  The 2023 National Board of Review film honors have been announced.  "Killers of the Flower Moon" won "Best Film," "Best Director" (Martin Scorsese), and "Best Actress" (Lily Gladstone).

From AwardsWatch:  The American Film Institute (AFI) names its top ten films: American Fiction, Barbie, The Holdovers, Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, May December, Oppenheimer, Past Lives, Poor Things, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.  It also names its top ten television series: Abbott Elementary, The Bear, Beef, Jury Duty, The Last of Us, The Morning Show, Only Murders in the Building, Poker Face, Reservation Dogs, and Succession.

From AwardsWatch:  "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" lead the nominations for "Astra Film & Creative Arts Awards," which are put on by the "Hollywood Creative Alliance" (formerly known as the Hollywood Critics Association).  The winners will be announced Jan. 6th, 2024 in Los Angeles.

From Deadline:  At the 2023 / 26th British Independent Film Awards, director Andrew Haigh's "All of Us Strangers" won seven awards, including "Best British Independent Film."

From Variety:  The winners at the 2023 / 89th New York Film Critics Circle Awards have been announced.  "Killers of the Flower Moon" (directed by Martin Scorsese) was named "Best Film of 2023."  Christopher Nolan won "Best Director" for his film, "Oppenheimer."

From Variety:  The winners at the 2023 / 33rd Annual Gotham Awards were announced Mon., Nov. 27th.  Writer-director Celine Song's South Korean romantic drama, "Past Lives" won the "Best Feature" award.

BEST PICTURE COUNT:

All of Us Strangers: 1

American Fiction: 2

Anatomy of a Fall: 2

Barbie: 2

The Boy and the Heron: 1

The Holdovers: 2

Killers of the Flower Moon: 9

Oppenheimer: 21

Past Lives: 9

Poor Things: 4

The Zone of Interest: 3

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from January 26th to 31st, 2020 - Update #31

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

Support Leroy on Patreon:

TRAILERS - From YouTube:  The trailer for "F9: The Fast Saga" debuts.  The film is due May 22, 2020.

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MUSIC - From BET:  Music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs calls out the Grammys, and former label mate, Ma$e calls out Diddy!

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SCANDAL - From THR:  Jessica Mann is the second key accuser to claim that Harvey Weinstein raped her during Weinstein's New York rape trial.  Earlier this week, Miriam Haley testified to the same.

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FESTIVALS - From Deadline:  At Sundance, the buzzy "Bad Hair," from Justin Simien ("Dear White People) is nearing an 8 million dollar worldwide rights deal with Hulu.

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AWARDS - From Deadline:  The Casting Society of America is another group that also hands out awards for movies, the "Artios Awards."  The 35th edition of those awards handed about trophies to "Once Upon a Time... in America" and "Jojo Rabbit," among others.

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KOBE - From Deadline:  "Grey's Anatomy" actress, Ellen Pompeo, has said that the "TMZ" television series should be cancelled for breaking the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash story and for other abusive behavior.

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  Oscar-winning director Ron Howard will direct "The Fixer" for Paramount Pictures.  The film dramatizes the real-life story of a plot to assassinate Cuban revolutionary, Fidel Castro.

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MOVIES - From Newsarama:  Universal Pictures has released seven character posters for the upcoming film "F9: The Fast Saga," the ninth film in the "Fast & Furious" franchise.

From ScreenRant:  The trailer for "F9" is due for release online Friday, Jan. 30th, 2020.

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MOVIES - From Variety:  Wes Anderson's next film, "French Dispatch" will be released July 24th, 2020 by Searchlight Pictures.

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TELEVISION - From THR:  Newly minted U.S. citizen, John Oliver, talks about the return of his Emmy-winning TV series, "Last Week Tonight."

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TELEVISION - From Deadline:  It's "pilot season" for the broadcast networks and they are facing stiff salary competition for top talent because of the streaming giants.

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GRAMMYS - From CNN:  At Sunday's (Jan. 26th) 2020 Grammy Awards ceremony, First Lady Michelle Obama won the Grammy Award for "Best Spoken World Album."  Her husband, President Barack Obama, has previously won the award twice.

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FILM FESTIVAL - From Deadline:  The 2020 / 70th Berlin Film Festival (Feb. 20th to March 1st, 2020) has announced its competitive film lineup which will include 18 films.  Oscar-winning actor Jeremy Iron will serve as the president of the international jury which will hand out the Golden and Silver Bear awards.

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TELEVISION - From Deadline:  "True Detective" creator, Nic Pizzolatto, reunited with one of the series' biggest stars, Matthew McConaughey, for the series, "Redeemer," for FX.

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MOVIES - From THR: Priyanka Chopra joins "The Matrix 4."

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OSCARS/KOBE - From THR:  The late basketball great, Kobe Bryant, killed in a helicopter crash Sun., Jan. 26th, will be remembered at the upcoming Academy Awards ceremony on Sun., Feb. 9th.

From THR:  The late Kobe Bryant, an Oscar winner himself, was remembered at Monday's (Jan. 27th) Oscar nominees luncheon.

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TELEVISION - From THR:  CBS gives a pilot pick-up order to a reboot its old TV series, "The Equalizer" (1985-1989), with Oscar-nominated actress Queen Latifah in the lead.

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  Sony Pictures has removed its "Masters of the Universe" reboot film from its release schedule.

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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 1/24 to 1/26/2020 weekend box office is "Bad Boys for Life" with an estimated take of 34 million dollars.  It is a repeat winner having topped its debut weekend last week.

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GRAMMYS - From Deadline:  The site is updating the winners list at 2020 / 62nd annual Grammy Awards.  UPDATE:  Billie Eilish sweeps the marquee cateogries: "Album of the Year," "Song of the Year," "Record of the Year," and "Best New Artist."

From YahooEntertainment:  Here is a complete list of winners at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards.

From YahooEntertainment:  Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas O'Connell, set or tied numerous records at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards last night (Sun., Jan. 26th).  Eilish becomes only the second artist to win the coveted "big four" awards: "Album of the Year," "Song of the Year," "Record of the Year," and "Best New Artist." The first person to do it was Christopher Cross, 39 years ago.  The article in this link also talks about the Grammys ceremony's "highs and lows."

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AWARDS - From Deadline:  Sam Mendes wins the "Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Film" award at the 2020 / 72nd Directors Guild Awards for his film "1917."  This is the second major guild win for "1917" after winning the top prize at the Producers Guild Awards.

From Deadline:  Netflix's "Klaus" wins "Best Animated Feature" at the 2020/ 47th Annie Awards, one of the seven awards the film won.  Netflix's entries won 19 Annies at the ceremonies, which were held last night (Sat., Jan. 25th).

From Deadline:  Cinematographer Roger Deakins wins the top prize, the "Theatrical Release" trophy, for his work on the film, "1917," at the 34th annual ASC Awards, which are given by the American Society of Cinematographers.

From Deadline:  Greta Gerwig took home top film honors Saturday night (Jan. 25th) at the 32nd annual USC Libraries Scripter Awards for "Little Women," her adaptation of the Louisa May Alcott novel.  In the TV category, the Scripter went to Phoebe Waller-Bridge for the first episode of her English TV series "Fleabag," which is streamed on Amazon Prime and is based on her one-woman play.

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TELEVISION - From Deadline:  The cast is set for Tyler Perry's Nickelodeon series, "Tyler Perry's Young Dylan."  Carl Anthony Payne II of the 1990's series, "Martin," is one of the stars.

OBITS:

From THR:  NBA player and legend and member of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, has died at the age of 41, Sunday, January 26, 2020.  Bryant was a five-time NBA champion; two-time NBA Finals MVP; league MVP in 2008; 18-time NBA All-Star; fourth-leading scorer in NBA history; and he was a two-time Olympic gold medal winner with the USA Basketball team (2008, 2012).  Kobe played his entire career for only one team, the Lakers.  Kobe wore two numbers in his career, and both No. 8 and No. 24 have been retired by the Lakers.

From Deadline:  American television network executive, Fred Silverman, has died at the age of 82, Thursday, January 30, 2020.  He was an executive at CBS, ABC, and NBC.  During his time at these networks, he was responsible for TV series like "All in the Family" and "MASH" at CBS; "Happy Days" and the miniseries, "Roots" at ABC; and "Hill Street Blues" and the miniseries, "Shogun" at NBC.

From Deadline:  Theater and television actress, Marsha Kramer, has died at the age of 74, Friday, January 24, 2020.  Over a forty year career, Kramer appeared in numerous TV series, including a recent stint on ABC's long-running sitcom, "Modern Family."

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from January 12th to 18th, 2020 - Update #23

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

Support Leroy on Patreon:

AWARDS - From Deadline:   Bong Joon-Ho's "Parasite" tops the 70th annual ACE Eddie Awards, which are awarded b the American Cinema Editors

----------
DISNEY - From Deadline:  Disney is dumping the word "Fox" from the names 20th Century Fox (which will become 20th Century Studios) and Fox Search Pictures (which will be Searchlight Pictures).

----------
TELEVISION - From Variety:  HBO's "Game of Thrones" prequel, "House of the Dragons," will likely premiere in 2022.

----------
STREAMING - From Deadline:  Netflix has been accused of funneling its international profits to tax havens while also seeking tax relief in the United Kingdom.

----------
STREAMING - From Deadline:   Amazon sets the regular cast for its "Lord of the Rings" TV series.

----------
JAMES BOND - From YahooMusic:  Grammy-nominated teen recording sensation, Billie Eilish, has recorded the movie theme for the next James Bond film, "No Time to Die."  At 18-years-old, she is the youngest ever to do so.  The previous record holder was then 22-year-old Sheena Easton who recorded the theme for 1981's "For Your Eyes Only."

----------
TELEVISION - From Deadline:  The CW has given series pickups to two reboots of popular 1990s TV series, "Superman & Lois" and "Walker," a re-imagining of "Walker Texas Ranger" starring Jared Padalecki of "Supernatural."

----------
SPORTS - From ESPN:  The LSU Tigers won the2019 national college football championship Mon., Jan. 13th, 2020 by winning the "CFP National Championship " game 42-25 over the Clemson Tigers.

----------
OSCARS - From Variety:  The 2020 / 92nd Oscar nominations have been announced.  Winners will be announced Feb. 9, 2020.

From Deadline:  One of the "best documentary feature" nominees is "American Factory" which is presented by President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama.

From Variety:  Opinion: "5 Reasons Why Jennifer Lopez’s Oscar Snub Is Bad for the Academy Awards"

From YahooEntertainment:  A list of Oscar snubs (Lupita N'yongo for "Us") and surprises (Scarlett Johnasson becomes 12th actor nominated in both lead, for "Marriage Story," and supporting acting, for "JoJo Rabbit") categories.

From LATimes:  Tom Hanks earns his first Oscar nod since 2001 with his best supporting actor nomination for "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood."

From YahooEntertainment:  I was not one of those people who thought that Jennifer Lopez would really get an Oscar nomination for a role in the film, "Hustlers," which I have not yet seen.  I think Lopez herself had the feeling that it was not happening.

----------
CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertainment:  In an Sunday night (Jan. 12th) on CBS' "60 Minutes," Joaquin Phoenix talks about the intrusion of the media when he was grieving for his brother, the late River Phoenix, who died of a drug overdose in 1993.

----------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 1/10 to 1/12/2020 weekend box office is director Sam Mendes' "1917" with an estimated take 36.5 million dollars.

----------
TELEVISION - From Variety:  CBS has ordered a TV series that follows FBI agent, "Clarice Starling," after the events depicted in the film, "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991).  Entitled, "Clarice," the series will open in 1993.

----------
AWARDS - From Variety:   The winners of the 25th Critics Choice Awards were announced Sun., Jan. 12, 2020.  "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" was named best picture of 2019.

----------
TELEVISION - From THR:  Syfy has picked up a TV series starring horror movie icon and doll, "Chucky," from the character's creator, Don Mancini.

----------
DISNEY - From THR:  Megan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex and the wife of British royal, Prince Harry, has signed a voice-over deal with Disney for an unspecified project.

OBITS:

From TheMirror:  The British author, Christopher Tolkien, has died at the age of 95, Wednesday, January 15, 2020.  Tolkien was the third son of legendary author, J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings."  Christopher completed and/or edited most of his father's posthumous work.

From WWE:  WWE Hall of Fame professional wrestler, Rocky "Soul Man" Johnson, has died at the age of 75, Wednesday, January 15, 2020.  He wrestled for the "National Wrestling Alliance" and "World Wrestling Federation" from 1964 to 1985.  He is also known as the father of football player turned wrestler turned actor, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

From YahooEntertainment:  Actor, director, and acting coach, Stan Kirsch, died at the age of 51, Saturday, January 11, 2020.  He was best known for his role of the syndicated TV series, "Highlander."  The cause of Kirsch's death was suicide.

From Variety:  Noted British film ant TV producer, Tony Garnett, has died at the age of 83, Sunday, January 12, 2020.  He is best known for founding the production company, World Productions, and for his 13-year association with acclaimed filmmaker, Ken Loach.

Amblin Partners Announces Sam Mendes Film, "1917"

Sam Mendes to Make Self-Penned WW1 Drama 1917 for Amblin

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oscar winning director Sam Mendes brings his World War I film, 1917, to Amblin Partners. Mendes, who wrote the original script with Krysty Wilson-Cairns, will direct and produce the film. Pippa Harris, Mendes’ producing partner at Neal Street Productions, will also produce.

    “I couldn’t be happier to be back working with Amblin and Steven Spielberg again, alongside Donna Langley and all at Universal. I’ve been working on this script for over a year, so it’s very exciting to start making the movie itself a reality.”

Production is targeting an April 2019 start for a US release in December 2019 through Amblin’s distribution partner, Universal Pictures.

1917 marks a reunion for Mendes and the Steven Spielberg-led Amblin Partners. The British director made his first feature, the Oscar winning American Beauty, under the DreamWorks Pictures label, followed by two other productions – Road to Perdition and Revolutionary Road. Mendes most recently directed the last two movies in the James Bond franchise, Spectre and Skyfall.

Said Sam Mendes: “I couldn’t be happier to be back working with Amblin and Steven Spielberg again, alongside Donna Langley and all at Universal. I’ve been working on this script for over a year, so it’s very exciting to start making the movie itself a reality.”

Said Steven Spielberg: “Our company has been a home for Sam since his first film. I am so happy to have him back here in his old room spinning new stories – especially this hugely daring and ambitious new movie.”

CAA Media Finance packaged the film and brokered the deal.


About Amblin Partners
Amblin Partners is a content creation company, led by Steven Spielberg, that develops and produces films using the Amblin, DreamWorks and Participant Media banners and includes Amblin TV, a longtime leader in quality programming. The company’s investment partners include: Participant Media, Reliance Entertainment, Entertainment One (eOne), Alibaba Pictures and Universal Pictures.

About Neal Street Productions
Neal Street Productions was formed in 2003 by Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris and Caro Newling, and Nicolas Brown joined in 2013 to work across the film and TV portfolio. The company has been successful in film, theatre and television with hit movies including Revolutionary Road, Jarhead and Starter for 10.

Their diverse television slate includes the award-winning Stuart A Life Backwards, with Tom Hardy and Benedict Cumberbatch, three series of Penny Dreadful starring Josh Hartnett, Eva Green, Timothy Dalton and Rory Kinnear, and the hugely successful Call the Midwife. The show regularly gains over 10m viewers, it is the UK’s most watched TV drama series and it has been voted the Best Drama of the 21st Century in the BFI & Radio Times Festival Audience Poll. Neal Street also produced the critically acclaimed and award-winning The Hollow Crown - a series of Shakespeare films for the BBC/PBS - starring Ben Whishaw, Tom Hiddleston and Jeremy Irons, and a second series; The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Judi Dench, Hugh Bonneville, Keeley Hawes and Sophie Okonedo. Other TV projects include Britannia, a major new original drama series written by Jez Butterworth starring Kelly Reilly, Zoe Wanamaker and David Morrissey, for Sky and Amazon, and contemporary thriller, Informer, starring Paddy Considine, Bel Powley and Nabhaan Rizwan which will air on BBC and Amazon in 2018.

On the theatre side, current productions include The Lehman Trilogy directed by Sam Mendes starring Simon Russell Beale which will be opening at the National Theatre in July 2018, The Ferryman written by Jez Butterworth, which, following its sell-out run and 5* reviews at both the Royal Court and the Gielgud Theatre in London will open at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on Broadway in October 2018, The Moderate Soprano at the Duke of York’s Theatre in the West End, and Shrek The Musical which is touring across the UK throughout 2018/19. Neal Street Productions is an All3Media company, All3Media is owned jointly between Discovery Communications and Liberty Global.

--------------------------------

Review: "Spectre" Tackles the Ghosts of Daniel Craig's James Bond

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 1 (of 2017) by Leroy Douresseaux

Spectre (2015)
Running time:  148 minutes; (2 hours, 28 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, some disturbing images, sensuality and language
DIRECTOR:  Sam Mendes
WRITERS:  John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Jez Butterworth; from a story by John Logan, Neal Purvis, and Robert Wade (based on the character created by Ian Fleming)
PRODUCERS:  Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Hoyte Van Hoytema
EDITOR:  Lee Smith
COMPOSER:  Thomas Newman
SONG:  “Writing's on the Wall” performed by Sam Smith and written by Sam Smith and James Napier
Academy Award winner

SPY/ACTION/ADVENTURE

Starring:  Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Rory Kinnear, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci, Andrew Scott, Jesper Christensen, Marc Zinga, Tam Williams, and Alessandro Cremona

Spectre is a 2015 spy and adventure film from director Sam Mendes.  It is the 24th entry in EON Productions' James Bond film franchise, and it is also the fourth film in which actor Daniel Craig portrays Bond.  Spectre reintroduces the global criminal syndicate and terrorist organization, Spectre (formerly SPECTRE), which first appeared in the 1961 Bond novel, Thunderball, written by Bond's creator, Sir Ian Fleming.

Spectre opens with M16 agent James Bond-007 (Daniel Craig) on a mission in Mexico City where he confronts and kills terrorist leader, Marco Sciarra (Alessandro Cremona).  It turns out that Bond's mission was unauthorized.  That puts Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes), the new “M” and the head of MI6, in a difficult position with one of his own superiors, Max Denbigh (Andrew Scott).  Denbigh wants to combine MI6 with MI5 and also to shutdown the “00” (or “Double-0”) program, and he sees Bond's activities in Mexico City as proof that the Double-0 program is outdated.

Bond disobeys an order that he not leave the U.K. and flies to Rome where he attends Sciarra's funeral.  He meets Sciarra's widow, Lucia (Monica Bellucci), who tells him that her late husband was part of a mysterious criminal organization known as “Spectre.”  Bond learns the location of a secret Spectre meeting and infiltrates it, where he identifies the leader, Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz).  However, Oberhauser has been expecting Bond, and much to Bond's surprise, this shadowy leader is apparently and shockingly connected to Bond himself.

This is sort of spoiler warning:  Spectre is intimately connected to the previous Daniel Craig Bond films, Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), and Skyfall (2012).  It completes the origin story of James Bond (at least the Craig iteration) and, at the end of the film, seems to send Bond off into retirement with a new love interest, Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), who may finally be the real and true love interest for Bond.

Spectre received mixed reviews, but I have to say that I like it a lot and have few complaints.  It is reportedly the most expensive James Bond film ever made, with a production budget of about $245 million.  The Mexico City set piece alone must have cost millions of dollars to produce.  Still, Spectre does not come across as a giant, CGI-laden, blockbuster, event movie.

In different ways and at different moments, Spectre recalls the James Bond movies starring Sean Connery and Roger Moore.  When he needs to be, Craig is like Connery's masculine, gentlemanly killer, who was a chauvinist.  At other times, Craig is Moore's Bond, a suave secret agent who can cross multiple lines of social class in a single day and who always seems to be thinking at least a few steps ahead of his adversaries.  I think that I have always considered Connery and Moore to be the real movie James Bonds, with Moore being my favorite.  For me, Spectre solidified Daniel Craig as a real Bond.

Beside Craig, I cannot think of another performance that really captures my attention, maybe Dave Bautista as Mr. Hinx.  I found the two-time Academy Award winner, Christoph Waltz, somewhat unimpressive as the villain.  I do think that the Bond film series is onto something in giving Fiennes' M, Naomie Harris' Eve Moneypenny, Ben Whishaw's Q, and Rory Kinnear's Bill Tanner something to do other than simply to be at Bond's beck-and-call.

So... being honest with you, dear reader, I have to admit that Spectre hit something primal in me as a fan of James Bond films.  My enjoyment of it is so personal that perhaps you should take my rating of Spectre with a grain of salt – in a glass, shaken, not stirred.

7 of 10
A-

Monday, May 2, 2016


NOTES:
2016 Academy Awards, USA:  1 win: “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song” (Sam Smith and James Napier-as Jimmy Napes for the song “Writing's On The Wall”)

2016 Golden Globes, USA:  1 win: “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Sam Smith and James Napier as Jimmy Napes for the song: “Writing's on the Wall”)

The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

------------------------

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from August 21st to 27th, 2016 - Update #40

Support Leroy on Patreon.

SPORTS - From YahooSports:  San Francisco 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick causes discomfort by not standing for the National Anthem in protest.

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CULTURE - From AmericanHeraldTribune:  American exceptionalism means we can sell cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia to kill civilians in Yemen.

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CRIME - From NBCNews:  Rodney Earl Sanders charged with the the death of two 68-year-old nuns in Mississippi.

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OBIT - From TheWrap:  The actor Marvin Kaplan has died at the age of 89, Thursday, August 25, 2016.  Kaplan was best known for his role on the sitcom, "Alice," as the phone lineman Harry Beesmeyer.  He was also noted for his voice work on the animated series, "Top Cat."

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MOVIES - From Variety:  Sam Mendes is in early talks to direct a live-action film based on Roald Dahl's book, James and the Giant Peach.  20 years ago, Disney released a version of "James and the Giant Peach" that mixed live-action and stop-motion animation.

----------
COMICS-FILM:  From THR:  The screenwriters of the hit film, "The Fault in Our Stars," are working on the script for "New Mutants," Fox's adaptation of one of the X-Men spinoff comic books.  The lineup of characters has also been announced.

From CBR:  Josh Boone, the director of "The Fault in Our Stars," is slated to direct "New Mutants."  He co-wrote the early drafts of the script with Knate Lee, and credited the original creative team of the "New Mutants," Chris Claremont and Bob McLeod.

----------
COMICS-FILM - From YahooNews:  Joe and Anthony Russo are telling tales of "Captain America: Civil War" for its DVD release.

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COMICS - From BleedingCool:  See pages from an unpublished comic book adaptation of "Peter Pan."

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TELEVISION - From BleedingCool:  Seth McFarlane and Jon Favreau unite for a sci-fi comedy that just sounds like crap.

----------
MOVIES - From BleedingCool:  Jeremy Renner is joining the voice cast "Arctic Justice: Thunder Squad."

----------
TELEVISION - From BleedingCool:  Chris O'Dowd and Ray Romano will be the lead in Epix's "Get Shorty" series, based on the book and movie.

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POLITICS - From RollingStone:  Curt Schilling is the next Donald Trump says Matt Taibbi.  I think losing his fortune is what is driving him crazy.

----------
MOVIES - From Variety:  Helen Mirren in talks to join Disney's "The Nutcracker" film.

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  Sarah Paulson in talks to join the all-female "Ocean's Eight."

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MOVIES - From Variety:  Denzel Washington is interested in starring in "Inner City," a legal drama from Dan Gilroy, the mastermind behind 2014's "Nightcrawler."

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MOVIES - From TheWrap:  Victor Miller, the writer of the original "Friday the 13th," is seeking to reclaim rights to the movie, which has lead to a lawsuit.

----------
MOVIES - From Variety:  Beloved French film, "The Intouchables" (2011), is being remade with Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart.  Neil Burger is set to direct.

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MOVIES - From YahooNews:  Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is the highest-paid actor.

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MOVIES - From YahooMovies:  The fallout from a summer full of movie flops.

----------
COMICS-FILM - From Variety:  Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment announced a new comic book movie, "Dark Universe," also known as "Justice League Dark."  Doug Liman has been announced as the director.

----------
COMICS-FILM - From THR:  Marvel Studios has a short-list of three female directors to helm its "Captain Marvel" movie, which is not due until March 2019.

----------
MUSIC - From YahooMusic:  Prince's "Paisley Park" to open to public tours in October 2016.

----------
TELEVISION - From Variety:  Amazon and Warner Bros. is developing a TV version of Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winning film, "The Departed," which was based on a Hong Kong film, "Infernal Affairs."

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TELEVISION - From Variety:  The actor Steven Hill has died at the age of 94 on Tuesday, August 23, 2016.  Hill was best known as New York City District Attorney Adam Schiff on "Law & Order" during the series first decade.  Schiff was also played "Dan Briggs," the first leader of the Impossible Missions Force during the first season of "Mission: Impossible."  [Actor Peter Graves' Jim Phelps replaced Hill's Briggs as the leader for the series second season.]

----------
MOVIES - From YahooMovies:  Jennifer Lawrence is the world's  highest paid actress.

----------
BOX OFFICE - From YahooMovies:  Box office flop, "Ben-Hur," a remake of an Oscar-winning 1959 film, may lose up to $100 million dollars.

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MOVIES - From TheTrackingBoard:  If you want more original films and fewer remakes and sequels, buy tickets to original films.

----------
COMICS - From Mashable:  The new African-American female Iron Man will be called "Iron Heart."

----------
MOVIES - From FlickeringMyth:  John Boyega gives a small update on "Pacific Rim 2."

----------
FILM - From Variety:  10 actors to watch.

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CULTURE - From HitFix:  Napster founder, Sean Parker, offered Ian McKellen $1.5 million to marry him and his bride, but McKellen had to dress as "Gandalf" from the Lord of the Rings.  McKellen declined.

----------
COMICS-FILM - From ScreenRant:  Doctor Strange may appear in "Thor: Ragnarok."

----------
SPORTS - From YahooFinance:  Kobe Bryant has set up a $100 million dollar venture capital fund with tech entrepreneur and investor, Jeff Stibel.

----------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 8/19 to 8/21/2016 weekend box office is "Suicide Squad" with an estimated take of $20.7 million.

From Deadline:  "The Secret Life of Pets" #1 at international box office.

----------
PRINCE - From YahooNews:  An official in the investigation of the death of Prince says that synthetic drugs were found at his estate and those pills fentanyl, which is 50 times more powerful than heroin.

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MOVIES - From TheDailyBeast:  Comedy god/legend Mel Brooks talks about his films, including the controversial and fantastic "Blazing Saddles."

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CRIME - From ChicagoSunTimes:  Chicago cops throw the bodycam microphones on a roof.

TRAILERS:

From YouTube:  A special clip wishing "Happy Birthday" to Katherine Johnson, one of the women whose story is told in the movie, "Hidden Years," due January 13, 2017.

From YouTube:  The first trailer for the film, "Rings," which may be a reboot of or sequel to "The Ring" horror movie franchise.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from May 22nd to 31st, 2016 - Update #54

Support Leroy on Patreon.

MOVIES - From Variety:  Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda (of the Broadway smash, "Hamilton") to headline Disney's "Mary Poppins" sequel.

---------------
PIXAR - From YahooMovies:  Is that a lesbian couple in "Finding Dory."

---------------
MOVIES - From BleedingCool:  Dan Aykroyd, who co-created "Ghostbusters," praises the all-female remake.

----------------
MOVIES - From TheGuardian:  Before he died, Stanley Kubrick apparently wanted to make a war film and a children's film.

---------------
MOVIES - From THR:  Dwayne Johnson confirmed to star in Shane Black's "Doc Savage" film.

---------------
COMICS - From Vox:  "X-Men: Apocalypse" is what happens when a superhero franchise runs out of ideas.

--------------
SPORTS - From ThePostGame:  Notable college and professional athletes killed during military service.

---------------
TELEVISION - From YahooNews:  LeVar Burton on why the "Roots" reboot matters.

---------------
ECO - From RSN:  Actor/activist, Mark Ruffalo, on why Los Angeles is toxic.

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BLACK LIVES MATTER - From Truthout:  Malcolm X predicted the progress of racism in the United States.

---------------
COMICS - From YahooMovies:  Jeremy Irons, who plays Alfred, Batman's butler, also has criticism for "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice."

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COMICS - From CBR:  On the reveal that Captain America is an agent of Hydra, Marvel legend Stan Lee says "I think it's crazy, but it's a good idea."

From CinemaBlend:  Director James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) doesn't think Hydra Cap is a big deal, either.

---------------
COMICS - From CinemaBlend:  Jeff Bridges has apparently joined "Kingsman: The Golden Circle," the sequel to "Kingmans: The Secret Service."

---------------
COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Actors Adam West and Burt Ward, star of the 1960s "Batman" television series have something secret planned for later this year.

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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The Memorial Day weekend, 5/27 to 5/29/2016, weekend goes to "X-Men: Apocalypse" with an estimated take of $65 million.

From YahooMovies:  Did Disney seriously believe that "Alice Through the Looking Glass" would be a hit.  They got lucky with the first one, Tim Burton's mediocre "Alice in Wonderland."  It was a fluke.

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TELEVISION - From YahooTV:  Meet Malachi Kirby, the young British actor playing "Kunta Kinte" in the "Roots" remake.

---------------
MOVIES - From IndieWire:  A list of female directors ready to direct a blockbuster film.

---------------
MOVIES - From YahooNews:  "Transformers: The Last Knight" offers a cryptic tease for Memorial Day.

---------------
MOVIES - From CinemaBlend:  John Carpenter, who defined the slasher film genre with 1978's "Halloween" is not a fan of the original "Friday the 13th."

---------------
MOVIES - From YahooMovies:  Sam Mendes who directed "Skyfall" and "Spectre" said he will not return for the next James Bond movie.

---------------
MOVIES - From Variety:  Dylan O'Brien was apparently nearly killed in an on-set accident during filming of "The Maze Runner: The Death Cure."  The film is now scheduled for release in 2018, although the start date for resuming of production is unknown.

---------------
MOVIES - From Deadline:  Robert Rodriguez has a star for his "Battle Angel Alita."  James Cameron is producing.

---------------
MOVIES - From TrackingBoard:  Amy Schumer heads to a male friend's bachelor party in "Who Invited Her?"

---------------
CELEBRITY - From TheWrap:  Johnny Depp-Amber Heard divorce turns ugly real quick.

---------------
COMICS - From CinemaBlend:  Sony's animated Spider-Man film may involve Miles Morales, the African-American/Latino teen who is Spider-Man.

---------------
MOVIES - From ThePlaylist:  Cute Jamie Bell ("Billy Elliot," "Fantastic Four") is rumored to be contention to play James Bond, which means that they are going  young for the next Bond, as Bell is 30.  Actually, Bell almost looks like he could be current Daniel Craig's son.  Meanwhile, Craig may not be finished with the franchise...

---------------
MOVIES - From GameSpot:  More striking images from "Alien: Covenant" set.

---------------
MUSIC - From YahooCelebrity:  15 children that are not biologically his (although he claimed them) are fighting over B.B. King's estate.

---------------
COMICS - From YahooMovies:  See photos from the Ellis Island premiere of the first X-Men movie back in 2000.

---------------
MOVIES - From YahooMovies:  Harry Styles of the boy band, One Direction, has cut his signature locks for the movie "Dunkirk."  This link has a photo of Styles from the set.

---------------
CELEBRITY - From People:  Amber Heard files for divorce from Johnny Depp.

---------------
MUSIC - From YahooNews:  New York Police Department Commissioner Bill Bratton:  "so-called rap artists who are basically thugs."

---------------
COMICS - From CinemaBlend:  Wesley Snipes wants back as Blade.

---------------
STAR TREK - From YahooMovies:  Secrets from the "Star Trek Beyond" set.

---------------
OBIT - From Variety:  The pioneering CBS News correspondent, Jeanne Parr, died at 92, Friday, May 20, 2016.  She was also the mother of actor Chris Noth ("The Good Wife," "Sex in the City").

---------------
MOVIES - From OliverStone:  Oliver Stone posts his commencement speech to the Class of 2016 at the University of Connecticut.

---------------
OBIT - From TheGuardian:  The actor Burt Kwouk has died at the age of 85, Tuesday, May 24, 2016.  He was best known for playing Inspector Clouseau's manservant, Cato, in the Peter Sellers' "Pink Panther" movies.
  
---------------
BLACK LIVES MATTER - From ProPublica:  Crime prediction software targets black people - of course.

--------------
MOVIES - From ScreenRant:  John Carpenter will return to executive produce a new "Halloween" film, the tenth sequel to the original "Halloween" that was released in 1978.

---------------
MOVIES - From ScreenRant:  Images from the Prometheus sequel, "Alien Covenant."

---------------
TELEVISION - From DeadlineTV:  Showtime is prepping a documentary on legendary "Saturday Night Live" alumnus and actor, John Belushi.

--------------
MOVIES - From Variety:  It's the 36th anniversary of Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining," specifically May 23rd.

--------------
MOVIES - From YahooMovies:  Actor Elijah Wood says child abuse on Hollywood is kept secret by power players.

---------------
MOVIES:  From CinemaBlend:  Karl Urban freely talks about why the super-excellent sci-fi comic book film, Dredd, was a box office flop.  He blames marketing.

---------------
MOVIES - From YahooMovies:  Get your first glimpse of Emma Watson as "Belle" in Disney's live-action "Beauty and the Beast," which is due March 17, 2017.

----------------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  "The Angry Birds Movie" won the 5/20 to 2/22/2016 box office weekend with an estimated haul of $39 million.

---------------
AWARDS - From Variety:  Ken Loach wins the Palme d'Or at the 69th Cannes Film Festival.  The win, for his film "I, Daniel Blake," is his second one.

---------------
TELEVISION - From TheWrap:  Anthony Mackie talks playing Dr. Martin Luther King for HBO.

---------------
MOVIES - From ThePlaylist:  Shane Black, the legendary screenwriter of "Lethal Weapon," talks about his new film, "The Nice Guys."  He also talks about the "Lethal Weapon 5" that almost was, and, of course, Mel Gibson.

---------------
MOVIES - From ThePlaylist:  40 most anticipated movies of Summer 2016.

---------------
COMICS - From ThePlaylist:  11 reasons why "Captain America: Civil War" is better than "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice."

TRAILERS:

From YouTube:  The third trailer for Pixar's "Finding Dory."

From YouTube:  The first trailer from FOX for the film "Morgan," directed by Luke Scott, the son of Ridley Scott.

James Bond "SPECTRE" Has Begun Production

SPECTRE THE 24TH JAMES BOND ADVENTURE SET TO BEGIN PRODUCTION

Directed by Sam Mendes Produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli Starring Daniel Craig as James Bond 007

LONDON, UK, - 007 Soundstage, Pinewood Studios, London. James Bond Producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, released the title of the 24th James Bond adventure, SPECTRE. The film, from Albert R. Broccoli’s EON Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and Sony Pictures Entertainment, is directed by Sam Mendes and stars Daniel Craig, who returns for his fourth film as Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007. SPECTRE began principal photography on Monday, December 8, 2014 and is set for global release on November 6, 2015.

Along with Daniel Craig, Mendes presented the returning cast, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw and Rory Kinnear as well as introducing Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci and Andrew Scott. Mendes also revealed Bond’s sleek new Aston Martin, the DB10, created exclusively for SPECTRE.

A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organisation. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.

The 007 production will be based at Pinewood Studios, and on location in London, Mexico City, Rome and Tangier and Erfoud, in Morocco. Bond will return to the snow once again, this time in Sölden, along with other Austrian locations, Obertilliach, and Lake Altaussee.

Commenting on the announcement, Wilson and Broccoli said, "We’re excited to announce Daniel’s fourth installment in the series and thrilled that Sam has taken on the challenge of following on the success of SKYFALL with SPECTRE."

Written by John Logan and Neal Purvis & Robert Wade, Director of Photography is Hoyte van Hoytema and Editor is Lee Smith. Production Designer, Dennis Gassner returns along with Costume Designer, Jany Temime and Composer, Thomas Newman. Action Specialist, Alexander Witt is the 2nd Unit Director. Stunt Coordinator is Gary Powell, SFX Supervisor is Chris Corbould, and Visual Effects Supervisor is Steve Begg.

Skyfall, the 23rd James Bond film, was a worldwide box office phenomenon, opening #1 in 70 territories around the world, taking over $1.1 billion worldwide and setting a new all-time box office record in the UK by becoming the first film to take over £100 million.

The launch of SPECTRE was streamed live on 007.com and Facebook.com/JamesBond007, and the video is now available on demand at both sites.

About Albert R. Broccoli’s EON Productions
EON Productions Limited and Danjaq LLC are wholly owned and controlled by the Broccoli/Wilson family. Danjaq is the US based company that co-owns, with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, the copyright in the existing James Bond films and controls the right to produce future James Bond films as well as all worldwide merchandising. EON Productions, an affiliate of Danjaq, is the UK based production company which makes the James Bond films. The 007 franchise is the longest running in film history with twenty-three films produced since 1962. Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli succeeded Albert R ‘Cubby’ Broccoli and have produced some of the most successful Bond films ever including CASINO ROYALE, QUANTUM OF SOLACE and SKYFALL.

About Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is celebrating 90 years as a leader in the entertainment business and as an innovator in the industry. Today, MGM is an entertainment company focused on the production and distribution of film and television content globally. The company owns one of the world’s deepest libraries of premium film and television content. In addition, MGM has investments in domestic and international television channels and is the majority owner of and distributor for United Artists Media Group (UAMG). For more information, visit www.mgm.com.

About Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com.

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