Review: "FAST X" is Too Fast, Too Furious For One Movie

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 22 of 2023 (No. 1911) by Leroy Douresseaux

Fast X (2023)

Running time: 141 minutes (2 hours, 21 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, language and some suggestive material

DIRECTOR: Louis Leterrier

WRITERS: Justin Lin and Dan Mazeau; from a story by Justin Lin & Dan Mazeau and Zach Dean (based on the characters created by Gary Scott Thompson)

PRODUCERS: Vin Diesel, Neal H. Moritz, Justin Lin, Jeffrey Kirschenbaum, and Samantha Vincent

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stephen F. Windon (D.o.P.)

EDITORS: Dylan Highsmith and Kelly Matsumoto

COMPOSER: Brian Tyler

ACTION/CRIME/DRAMA

Starring:  Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Nathalie Emmanuel, Sung Kang, Leo Abelo Perry, Jason Statham, Jordana Brewster, Charlize Theron, Jon Cena, Brie Larson, Scot Eastwood, Alan Ritchson, Daniela Melchior, Pete Davidson, Joaquim de Almeida, Rita Moreno, Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot, and Helen Mirren

Fast X is a 2023 action movie that is directed by Louis Leterrier and is produced by Universal Pictures.  It is the tenth installment in the Fast & Furious movie franchise (now also called the “Fast Saga”).  A direct sequel to 2021's F9, Fast X finds Dom Toretto and his family targeted by the vengeful son of a drug kingpin they defeated over a decade ago.

Fast X begins in 2011 in Rio de Janeiro and recounts events, some of which were depicted in Fast Five (2011).  That time, professional criminals, Dominic “Dom” Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O'Connor, led their crew/family in a heist against drug lord, Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida).  It is revealed that Reyes' son, Dante Reyes (Jason Momoa), failed in his bid to stop the heist.

In present day Los Angeles, Dom is living a quiet life with his wife, Letitia “Letty” Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez), and his son, Brian “Little B” Marcos (Leo Abelo Perry).  Dom holds a family reunion that gathers the current incarnation of his crew-family:  Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), Tej Parker (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges), Han Lue (Sung Kang), and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), as well as Dom's grandmother, Abuelita Torreto (Rita Moreno).

Roman, Tej, Han, and Ramsey are about to embark on a mission in Rome, Italy – with Roman leading – for Little Nobody (Scott Eastwood), the current head of “the Agency.”  However, what Dom and his family will discover is an elaborate trap laid for them by Dante Reyes, returned after over a decade and looking to avenge himself and his late father, Hernan.  Dante promise to kill Dom, but not before he makes him suffer by targeting his family and everyone connected to them or who helped them.  Now, a ragtag friends, enemies, and frenemies must gather together to stop Dante, who is always one step ahead of Dom and his family.  And Dante is enjoying every minute of the chaos and violence he causes.

When the first film, The Fast and the Furious, arrived in movie theaters in June of 2001, I ignored it, although I recognized the film's two stars, Vin Diesel and Paul Walker (1973-2013).  However, a few years later, I wanted to see 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) because it was directed by the late John Singleton (1968-2019) and because I was a fan of actor Tyrese and rapper/actor Chris “Ludacris” Bridges.  Three years later, I was in a local theater to see The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), but I called it quits after that, refusing to see Fast & Furious (2009).  I eventually did see it because I wanted to see the fifth film in the series.

That would be 2011's Fast Five.  I found it hugely entertaining, and it was the film that made me a consistent fan of the “Fast & Furious” film series.  I think that Fast Five was the first film in the series in which the action was more fantasy or fantastic than realistic.  Beginning with Dom and company's adventures in Rio, the series became some hybrid of science fiction-action, quasi-superhero fantasy, and James Bond-type super spy adventure.  After Fast Five, the series was never the same.

I won't say that Fast X epitomizes that any more than the previous four films:  Fast & Furious 6 (2013), Furious 7 (2015), The Fate of the Furious (2017), and F9 (2021).  There may be more crashes and collisions of automobiles, military vehicles, aircraft, etc, but it is all familiar, solidly entertaining, but familiar.  Fast X does seem to have the highest body count of any of the films, which I did find off-putting.  The characters shoot to kill and injury as if they are players in a video game and not characters in a narrative film.

Jason Momoa and Charlize Theron really give stand out performances in the film.  Momoa's Dante Reyes seems to be the first series villain that can really destroy Dominic Toretto, and Theron's Cipher is simply, majorly cool.

Fast X is also surprisingly funny, with more wit and humor than I think the series has delivered since 2 Fast 2 Furious.  The action is non-stop, but it is also apparently too big for a single film, as you will discover when you watch it, dear readers.  Fast X isn't a great work of cinema, but it is a superb entry in this crazy series.

[Fast X has one mid-credit scene.]

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Friday, May 19, 2023

The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: "MORBIUS" is Anemic, But Jared Leto is Hot Blooded

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 18 of 2022 (No. 1830) by Leroy Douresseaux

Morbius (2022)
Running time:  104 minutes (1 hour, 44 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, some frightening images, and brief strong language
DIRECTOR:  Daniel Espinosa
WRITERS:  Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless; from a story by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless (based on the Marvel Comics)
PRODUCERS:  Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, and Lucas Foster
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Oliver Wood
EDITOR:  Pietro Scalia
COMPOSER:  Joe Ekstrand

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/HORROR/ACTION

Starring:  Jared Leto, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Matt Smith, Al Madrigal, Charlie Shotwell, Joseph Esson, and Tyrese Harris and Michael Keaton

Morbius is a 2022 superhero fantasy-horror and action film directed by Daniel Espinosa.  The movie is based on the Marvel Comics character, “Morbius, the Living Vampire”/Dr. Michael Morbius, which was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Gil Kane and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #101 (cover dated: October 1971).  This is also the third film in “Sony's Spider-Man Universe” (SSU) series.  Morbius the film focuses on a scientist who tries to cure himself of a rare blood disease but instead turns himself into a new kind of vampire.

Morbius introduces Dr. Michael Morbius (Jared Leto).  He is a genius, a scientist, and has a talent for fabricating technology.  He is also suffering from a rare blood disease and has spent his adult life looking for a cure to that disease which often kills those afflicted with it at a young age.  Michael is 35-years-old, and he recently refused a Nobel Prize.

Michael is currently engaged in illegal experiments involving vampire bats that he stole from a cave in Costa Rica.  Although she is critical of him for these experiments, Martine Bancroft (Adria Arjona), Michael's fellow scientist and girlfriend, works with him.  Once he believes that he has finally created the cure for his rare blood disease, Michael injects himself with the formula.  Michael's body is transformed into that of an Olympic-level athlete, but the cure also turns him into a vampire – one with a powerful blood lust.  Now, the bodies of people with the blood drained from their bodies are being found all over the city.  Is Morbius the killer … or is Morbius responsible?

Morbius is about Morbius.  The only other character that this film allows any traction is Martine Bancroft.  It isn't that the screenplay is shallow; I find that it attempts a serious contemplation of both Dr. Michael Morbius' character and Morbius the vampire's dilemma.  I wish the film's story had taken more time with the two FBI agents hunting Morbius, comic relief Alberto “Al” Rodriguez (Al Madrigal) and the really serious Black man, Simon Stroud (Tyrese Gibson).

Morbius may be Jared Leto's best performance in a film in years.  I prefer Leto's Dr. Michael Morbius to “Rayon,” the drug addicted, HIV-positive trans woman he played in the 2013 film, Dallas Buyers Club.  Leto won a “Best Supporting Actor” Oscar for playing Rayon, a character I found shallow.  In Morbius, Leto's good looks, his vanity, his obvious acting talent, and his imaginative approach to fashioning characters and performances serve both him and film, quite well.  I found both Dr. Michael Morbius and Morbius the vampire to be endlessly fascinating characters and not at all shallow.

It feels weird for me to recommend this film for Jared Leto's performance, but I am.  Morbius is officially part of a superhero film universe.  Adrian Toomes/Vulture (Michael Keaton) from the 2017 film, Spider-Man: Homecoming, even makes an appearance in Morbius in order to solidify some connections between Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).  That connection thrills the fanboy in me.  I like Morbius, and I am giving it a higher grade than I probably would.  And that is because of Jared Leto's outstanding work in Morbius.

6 of 10
B

Friday, April 1, 2022


The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: "F9" is for the "Fast & Furious" Family of Fans

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 43 of 2021 (No. 1781) by Leroy Douresseaux

F9 (2021)
Running time: 145 minutes (2 hours, 25 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, and language
DIRECTOR: Justin Lin
WRITER: Justin Lin and Daniel Casey; from a story by Justin Lin, Daniel Casey, and Alfredo Botello (based on the characters created by Gary Scott Thompson)
PRODUCERS: Vin Diesel, Neal H. Moritz, Justin Lin, Jeffrey Kirschenbaum, Joe Roth, Clatyon Townsend, and Samantha Vincent
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stephen F. Windon (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Greg D'Auria, Dylan Highsmith, and Kelly Matsumoto
COMPOSER: Brian Tyler

ACTION/CRIME/DRAMA

Starring:  Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Nathalie Emmanuel, Sung Kang, Charlize Theron, Jon Cena, Kurt Russell, Anna Sawai, Don Omar, Shea Whigham, Vinnie Bennett, Finn Cole, JD Pardo, Michael Rooker, Lucas Black, Shad Moss, Jason Tobin, Thue Ersted Rasmussen, Isaac and Immanuel Holtane, Cardi B, and Helen Mirren

F9 is a 2021 action movie from director Justin Lin and is produced by Universal Pictures.  It is the ninth installment in the Fast & Furious movie franchise (now also called the “Fast Saga”).  A direct sequel to 2017's The Fate of the Furious, F9 finds Dom and his racing family facing a powerful figure from Dom's birth family.

As F9 begins, Dominic “Dom” Toretto (Vin Diesel) has retired from his previous life.  He is living in seclusion with his wife, Letitia “Letty” Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez), and his son, Brian (Isaac and Immanuel Holtane), the child he conceived with his former girlfriend, the late Elena Neves.  Dom and Letty get a surprise visit from his team/family:  Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), Tej Parker (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges), and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel).  Their sometime compatriot, covert operative Frank Petty (Kurt Russell), a.k.a. “Mr Nobody,” apparently captured cyberterrorist, Cipher (Charlize Theron).  The plane in which Mr. Nobody was transporting Cipher was attacked by rogue agents, but Mr. Nobody was able to send a coded distress signal meant for Dom and his team.

The leaders behind this attack are Otto (Thue Ersted Rasmussen), the mysterious son of a very wealthy and politically powerful man, and Jakob (Jon Cena), a man who has close ties to Dom.  Soon, Dom's sister, Mia (Jordana Brewster), a former member of Dom's team, returns to join the hunt for Jakob.  They must stop Jakob and Otto before they can obtain and activate a device called “Aries,” which can hack into any computer system in the world.  Before this mission is over, however, Dom will have to reveal his past and his past mistakes, and he will need help from a few figures from his past – including one thought to be dead.

As I write this, it is the morning after I saw F9 at a Thursday night preview show.  I can say the same thing about F9 that I wrote about The Fate of the Furious in a review I wrote a few days ago.  I love F9.  It is the latest installment of a film franchise that has seen its over-the-top action become so … over-the-top that it is practically a kind of superhero and car chase movie series.  However,  F9 sends this franchise higher – literally – than it has ever gone before.  The ludicrous and ridiculous, but oh-so-fun set pieces are a hallmark of this franchise, but F9 actually takes two characters into space.  Gravity and physics are totally subverted, but “Fast & Furious” fans won't give a damn while watching F9 anymore than they did watching the last 12 years of this franchise.

I will give F9 credit, however, for inserting some dark and edgy family drama into the story, melodrama even darker and edgier than what The Fate of the Furious gave audiences.  And, as in that film, Vin Diesel gets to show his dramatic chops, and he reveals that Dom isn't right all the time, and that sometimes his errors really cost the people close to him.  I don't think F9 is quite as good as The Fate of the Furious because the new film's villains are not quite as diabolical as Fate's super-villain (the aforementioned Cipher).  Still, I like how F9 puts the family in the fast and the furious.

7 of 10
B+

Friday, June 25, 2021


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS is Perfectly 2 Fast 2 Furious

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 42 of 2021 (No. 1780) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Fate of the Furious (2017)
Running time: 136 minutes (2 hours, 16 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for prolonged sequences of violence and destruction, suggestive content, and language
DIRECTOR: F. Gary Gray
WRITER: Chris Morgan (based on the characters created by Gary Scott Thompson)
PRODUCERS: Vin Diesel, Neal H. Moritz, Chris Morgan and Michael Fottrell
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stephen F. Windon (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Christian Wagner and Paul Rubell
COMPOSER: Brian Tyler

ACTION/CRIME/DRAMA

Starring:  Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Charlize Theron, Kurt Russell, Nathalie Emmanuel, Scott Eastwood, Elsa Pataky, Kristopher Hivju, Patrick St. Esprit, Luke Evans, and Helen Mirren

The Fate of the Furious is a 2017 action movie from director F. Gary Gray and was released by Universal Pictures.  It is the eighth installment in The Fast and the Furious movie franchise (now called the “Fast Saga”).  A direct sequel to 2015's Furious 7, The Fate of the Furious introduces a mysterious woman who has the power to turn Dominic Toretto into a terrorist.

As The Fate of the Furious begins, Dominic “Dom” Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Letitia “Letty” Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez) are on their honeymoon in Havana, Cuba.  While there, Dom meets a mysterious woman who turns out to be the elusive cyberterrorist, Cipher (Charlize Theron).  She has obtained something that she uses to coerce Dom into working for her.  Soon afterwards, Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) agent, Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), recruits Dom and his team – his family:  Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), Tej Parker (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges), and Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) to retrieve an EMP device from a military outpost in Berlin.  However, Dom betrays them all and steals the device for Cipher, and Hobbs and Dom's family, including Letty, are branded criminals.

Intelligence operative and leader of a covert ops team, Frank Petty (Kurt Russell), a.k.a. “Mr Nobody,” arrives with his protege, Eric Reisner (Scott Eastwood), and he has an offer.  Mr. Nobody wants Hobbs and Dom's family to help him find Dom and capture the highly elusive Cipher.  Mr. Nobody also has a surprise for Hobbs and company.  He has recruited Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), the rogue British Special Forces assassin who was hunting Dom and his family until they defeated him and Hobbs and the DSS imprisoned him.  But will even Shaw be enough?  Cipher can disappear at will and with Dom at her side, she seems unbeatable.  Cipher's threat to the world and Dom's betrayal will test the family as never before.

When The Fate of the Furious was initially released to theaters in April 2017, I was too mired in family troubles to bother going to a movie theater to see it.  And quite frankly, after what I considered to be a barely average installment in Furious 7, I thought I was done with the franchise.  In fact, I didn't even watch The Fate of the Furious when it started playing on basic cable.  Recently, I saw a clip from the soon-to-be-released F9 (2021), and I was shocked to see Dominic Toretto playing with a baby.  A friend informed me of the events in The Fate of the Furious, and because he and I talked about seeing F9, I decided to rent The Fate of the Furious via Netflix.

Well, I will never doubt you again, Fast & Furious / Fast Saga.  I loved The Fate of the Furious.  This film franchise's over-the-top action has become so … over-the-top that it is practically a kind of superhero and car chase movie series.  These movies are fun, but I thought that the series had reached narrative exhaustion with Furious 7.  The Fate of the Furious was the hot-shot injection of jet fuel that the series needed, as far as I'm concerned.  And Vin Diesel may have given his best performance of the series in The Fate of the Furious.  He really seemed like an evil terrorist, but, at the same time, his grit and determination to manage the evil in order to protect his family feels genuine.

I also want to credit Universal Pictures and The Fate of the Furious in using Havana, Cuba as the setting for the film's opening scenes.  It is a love letter to a place that looks beautiful on film.  And The Fate of the Furious is also a crazy, mad, insane, and beautiful action movie.

8 of 10
A

Wednesday, June 23, 2021


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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"Saving Our Selves: A BET COVID-19 Relief Effort" Airs Wed., April 22nd

Anthony Anderson Joins Kelly Rowland, Terrence J, and Regina Hall as Host of “SAVING OUR SELVES: A BET COVID-19 RELIEF EFFORT” Special Set to Air on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 at 8 PM EDT

Performances by Alicia Keys, John Legend, Usher, Jhene Aiko, Chloe X Halle, CeeLo Green, H.E.R., Ella Mai, Jermaine Dupri, Ludacris, Swae Lee, Tyrese Gibson, Buju Banton, DJ D-Nice, SiR, D Smoke and Charlie Wilson

Gospel Performance by Kirk Franklin, Fantasia, Jonathan McReynolds, Kelly Price, Tasha Cobbs, Le’Andria Johnson and Melvin Crispell III

Additional Appearances by Tiffany Haddish, Idris Elba, Ciara, Don Cheadle, Mike Epps, Deon Cole, Angela Rye, Dr. Rheeda Walker, Charlamagne Tha God, Symone D. Sanders, DJ Khaled and Chance The Rapper

Special to Simulcast Across BET, BET HER, BET International Channels and to Over-the-Air Broadcast Viewers via Bounce

BET Has Partnered with United Way to Create a Relief Fund to Receive Financial Donations That Will Be Disbursed to Local Charities That Provide Food and Emergency Assistance to Those Who Need Help Most

For More Information Visit BET.com/COVID19

#BETCOVIDRELIEF

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BET announces comedian and actor Anthony Anderson as the fourth host of the upcoming “SAVING OUR SELVES: A BET COVID-19 RELIEF EFFORT,” special. Anderson joins stars Kelly Rowland, Terrence J, and Regina Hall as host for the two-hour special broadcast. “SAVING OUR SELVES: A BET COVID-19 RELIEF EFFORT,” is set to air on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 at 8 PM EDT.

Performances include Alicia Keys with a special tribute to New York City, and a Gospel moment with Kirk Franklin featuring Fantasia, Jonathan McReynolds, Kelly Price, Tasha Cobbs, Le’Andria Johnson, and Melvin Crispell III. Exclusive performances by John Legend, Usher, Jhene Aiko, Chloe X Halle, CeeLo Green, H.E.R., Ella Mai, Jermaine Dupri, Ludacris, Swae Lee, Tyrese Gibson, Buju Banton, DJ D-Nice, SiR, D Smoke, and Charlie Wilson.

Additional celebrity guest appearances will include Tiffany Haddish, Idris Elba, Ciara, Don Cheadle, Mike Epps, Deon Cole, Angela Rye, Dr. Rheeda Walker, Charlamagne Tha God, Symone D. Sanders, DJ Khaled and Chance The Rapper.

Expanding the reach of the telecast, BET will simulcast the special across BET and BET Her domestically, as well as their channels internationally bringing awareness to over 90 million homes. Additionally, BET will join forces with Bounce to help expand the audience to include free, over-the-air broadcast viewers with Bounce simulcasting “SAVING OUR SELVES: A BET COVID-19 RELIEF EFFORT.”

Addressing the communities around the world, a global check-in segment for “BET SAVING OUR SELVES: COVID-19 RELIEF EFFORT” will highlight how various regions around the globe are coping through COVID-19. BET Breaks’ International talent Nomalanga (South Africa), Flora Coquerel (France), and Jourdan Riane (UK) will report on how the pandemic is affecting their countries. British Hip Hop Artists behind the viral “Don’t Rush” social media challenge, Young T and Bugsy, and Idris Elba’s wife, Sabrina Elba, will make appearances as well. Internationally, the show will be broadcast on Saturday, April 25 in the UK at 9:00 pm BST, Korea at 9:00 pm KST, Africa at 6:00 pm CAT, and France at 10:30 pm CEDT.

The focus of the initiatives is to combat the racial disparities of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent findings have shown that Black Americans are being disproportionately harmed by the health and financial devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic. BET, in partnership with the NAACP, United Way Worldwide, leaders in the African American creative, civil rights and business communities will provide critical financial, educational and community support directly to the African Americans hardest hit by this crisis. Corporate brand donors who have generously contributed to the fund include Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Toyota, Salesforce, McDonald’s, AARP, Pine-Sol®, Morgan Stanley, TJ Maxx, Weight Watchers, and NBA.

You can now donate to the fund online via BET.com or by texting BETGives to 51555. More information on BET’s partnership with UWW and additional extensions of our relief efforts are forthcoming. For further details, please visit BET.com/COVID19.


About BET
BET, a subsidiary of ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIACA, VIAC), is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news, and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel is in 90 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, sub-Saharan Africa, and France. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions including BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; BET HER, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the African-American Woman; BET Music Networks - BET Jams, BET Soul and BET Gospel; BET Home Entertainment; BET Live, BET’s growing festival business; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET around the globe.

About United Way
United Way fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in every community. Supported by 2.9 million volunteers, 9.8 million donors worldwide and $4.7 billion raised every year, United Way is the world’s largest privately-funded nonprofit. We’re engaged in 1,800 communities across more than 40 countries and territories worldwide to create sustainable solutions to the challenges facing our communities. United Way partners include global, national and local businesses, nonprofits, government, civic and faith-based organizations, along with educators, labor leaders, health providers, senior citizens, students and more. For more information about United Way, please visit UnitedWay.org. Follow us on Twitter: @UnitedWay and #LiveUnited.

About BOUNCE
Bounce (@bouncetv) is the popular multi-platform entertainment network targeting African Americans, with programming seen over-the-air, on cable, on DISH channel 359, over-the-top on Roku®, on mobile devices via the Bounce and Brown Sugar apps and on the web via BounceTV.com. Bounce features a programming mix of original series and movies, off-network series, theatrical motion pictures, specials, live sports and events and more. Bounce is part of The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP).

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites from March 1st to 9th, 2019 - Update #37

Support Leroy on Patreon:

DISNEY - From MarketWatch:  On CEO pay, Disney heiress Abigail Disney says "Jesus Christ himself doesn’t deserve this much money."

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BUSINESS-CULTURE - From WashPost:  Uber and Lyft are losing money. At some point, we’ll pay for it.

CRIME-CULTURE - From RSN:  Does Every Felony Sentence Need to Be a Death Sentence? asks John Kiriakou, a former imprisoned felon.

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  Jordan Peele and his new film, "Us," storm SXSW 2019.

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STREAMING - From Variety:  Taraji P. Henson and Ed Helms will star in the Netflix police drama, "Coffee & Kareem."

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TV-SCANDAL - From YahooEntertainment:  CBS News correspondent-host, Gayle King, impressed viewers and commentators (and her friend Oprah), with her composure during an interview with R&B singer R. Kelly.  Kelly, who is facing 10 criminal counts of sexual abuse of minors, was quite agitated during the interview.

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POLITICS-BLM - From Truthout: "Flat Broke, Black Voters Want More Than Just Another Black President"

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TELEVISION - From Variety:  Alex Trebek, the host of the long-running TV game-show, "Jeopardy!", announced that he has stage 4 pancreatic cancer.  Trebek has been hosting "Jeopardy!" since 1984 when it debuted as a daily syndicated television series.

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COMICS-FILM - From Variety:  Idris Elba will replace Will Smith as the character "Deadshot" in "Suicide Squad 2."  The film will be written and directed by James Gunn ("Guardians of the Galaxy") and is scheduled to arrive in theaters August 6, 2021.

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MOVIES - From Variety:  The biopic of Hollywood legend, Rock Hudson, entitled "All That Heaven Allows," moves to Universal Pictures.

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COMICS-FILM - From Variety:  Tyrese Gibson is in talks to join Jared Leto in Sony's "Spider-Man" spin-off film, "Morbius."

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MOVIES - From YahooMovies:  There is a apparently a rumor that Will Smith will play Richard Williams, the father of tennis champions, Venus and Serena Williams, in a biopic about Richard.  There are already complaints that Smith is skin color is "too light" to play the Richard Williams, who is a fairly dark brother.

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POLITICS-MOVIES - From RSN:  Civil rights leader Dolores Huerta says she's in "awe" of Mexican actress Yalitza Aparicio (an Oscar nominee for "Roma") and freshman Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez because of conversations they are sparking in the U.S.

STAR TREK - From Variety:  Two actors, Santiago Cabrera and Michelle Hurd, have been cast in the still-developing "Star Trek" spinoff series from CBS All Access that will focus on Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

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MOVIES - From People:  Chiwetel Ejiofor talks about choosing "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" as his directorial debut.

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SCANDAL - From YahooEntertainment:  Disgraced TV star, Roseanne Barr (Roseanne"), sits down for another meltdown interview, this time with fake-Negress conservative, Candace Owens.  Of course, Barr takes time to attack another African-American woman, this time Sen. Kamala Harris.

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MOVIES/STREAMING - From Variety:  Theatrical distribution vs. Netflix streaming is a hot topic as the AMPAS considers Oscar rule changes.

From Variety:  Netflix responds to Steven Spielberg's criticism of streaming films being eligible for Academy Awards.

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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 3/1 to 3/3/2019 weekend box office is "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World" with an estimated take of 30 million dollars.

From Variety:  "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World" leads the international box office thanks to its $33.4 million debut in China.

From Variety:  "Green Book" apparently got a box office boost after winning the best picture Oscar at the 91st Academy Awards Sun., Feb. 24th.

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SCIENCE - From TheAtlantic:  In the Mariana Trench, the lowest point in any ocean, every tiny animal tested had plastic pollution hiding in its gut.

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OSCARS - From MSN:  With his best supporting actor Oscar win for "Green Book," Mahershala Ali becomes only the second Black actor to win more than one competitive Academy Award.  The other is Denzel Washington.

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MOVIES - From Vulture:  Steven Spielberg wants Netflix films banned from the Oscars.  He will bring his case to next week's Board of Governor's meeting at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

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ANIMATION - From THR:   Tracy Morgan is among the actors slated to perform voice roles in a "Scooby-Doo" animated film.  The film will include other characters from famed animation studio, Hanna-Barbera's library.

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MOVIES - From Variety:  "Stranger Things" star Finn Wolfhard and "Avengers: Infinity War" actress Carrie Coon are in talks to join Jason Reitman's in-development Ghostbusters sequel.

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STAR TREK - From TheWrap:   CBS All Access has hired "Star Trek: Discovery" director, Hanelle Culpepper, to direct the pilot of its in-development untitled Jean-Luc Picard-centric Star Trek spin-off.  Culpepper, an African-American, will be the first woman to direct a "Star Trek" pilot.

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MOVIES - From TheWrap:  Tyrese Gibson will star as R&B legend, Teddy Pendergrass, in a film produced by Lee Daniels and Donald De Line and Warner Bros.

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MOVIES - From Collider:  Recent Oscar-winner, Rami Malek ("Bohemian Rhapsody"), is in final negotiations to play the villain in the 25th James Bond, which will star Daniel Craig.

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MOVIES - From Collider:  Josh Brolin and Peter Dinklage will star in a movie, "Brothers," that is similar to Ivan Reitman's 1988 Arnold Schwarzenegger-Danny DeVito film, "Twins."

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CANNES - From YahooEntertainment: Four-time Oscar winner Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu has been named jury president for the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.

TRAILERS:

From YouTube:  This is the new "red band" trailer for the Lionsgate's "Hellboy" reboot film.  It is due in theaters April 12, 2019.

OBITS:

From Variety:  Former MCA/Universal Studios COO, Sidney Sheinberg, has died at the age of 84, Thursday, March 7, 2019.  Sheinberg is also known as the executive who nurtured and mentored Steven Spielberg.

From Variety:  The television actor Luke Perry has died at the age of 52, Monday, March 4, 2019.  Perry had suffered a massive stroke on Wednesday, February 27, 2019.  Perry was best known for his two runs on Fox television series, "Beverly Hills, 90210," 1990-95 and 1998-2000.  Perry was currently appearing on The CW's "Riverdale."  He was appear posthumously in Quentin Tarantino's upcoming film, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood."

From YahooNews:  The pro wrestler "King Kong Bundy" (whose real name was Christopher Alan Pallies) has died at the age of 61, Monday, March 4, 2019.  Bundy was best known as Hulk Hogan's rival in the 1980s.

From THR:  The actress Katherine Helmond died at the age of 89, Saturday, February 23, 2019.  Helmond was best known for playing the man-crazy mother, Mona Robinson, on the ABC sitcom, "Who's the Boss?" (1984-92).  She was also the ditzy matriarch, Jessica Tate, in the ABC sitcom, "Soap" (1977-81).  She also had a memorable supporting role in the Terry Gilliam film, "Brazil."

From Variety:  The actor Nathaniel Taylor died at the age of 80, Wednesday, February 27, 2019.  Taylor is best known for playing "Rollo Lawson" in the 1970s TV sitcom, "Sanford and Son."

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from September 10th to 16th, 2017 - Update #43

Support Leroy on Patreon.

MOVIES - From GlobalNews:  Are real-life clowns losing work because of "IT's" Pennywise the Clown?

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MOVIES - From Vox:  The site explains why Hollywood keeps making the same kinds of movies.

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JAMES BOND - From Fortune:  Apple and Amazon are among the players that will bid for the rights to distribute the 27th James Bond film, which is due in 2019.

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MOVIES - From Vulture:  The site lists 17 horror movies remake it thinks you should actually watch.

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BLM - From YahooNews:  The AP takes a look at high-profile killings of African-American men by law enforcement.

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MOVIES - From THR:  Joel McHale joins Melissa McCarthy's puppet comedy, "The Happytime Murders."

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HISTORY - From StillCrew:  The story of how the late Dick Gregory forced the FBI to find the bodies of three slain Civil Rights workers in Mississippi.

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MOVIES - From THR:  Jamie Lee Curtis reportedly returning to the Halloween film franchise for the 2018-scheduled reboot, remake, re-whatever.

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TELEVISION - From TheWrap:  Jack Whitehall, Miranda Richardson, and Michael McKean have joined Neil Gaiman's TV series, "Good Omens."

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TELEVISION - From TheWrap:  Apparently Oscar-winner and multiple Oscar-nominee, Jennifer Lawrence, once auditioned to play "Serena" on The WB's late "Gossip Girl."  The role eventually went to Blake Lively.

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TELEVISION - From TVLine: Adria Arjona joins Neil Gaiman's "Good Omens" TV series, based on the novel he wrote with the late Terry Pratchett.

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OSCARS - From BleedingCool:  The film to send out movie screeners to Oscar voters is "Logan."  [At least, they're trying, bless their hearts. - Ed.]

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TELEVISION - From Collider:  HBO will shot multiple endings for the "Game of Thrones" finale.

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COMICS-FILM - From YahooEntertainment:  Here is the first photo of David Harbour ("Stranger Things") as Hellboy in the "Hellboy" reboot film.  [Honestly, I think he resembles Ron Perlman, the previous Hellboy actor. - Ed.]

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TELEVISION - From YahooEntertainment:  "South Park" opens its 21st season poking fun at white supremacists and the white working class.

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POLITICS - From YahooEntertainment:  Some actors, entertainers, and performers have decided to be blunt about what they think about President Trump even his supporters are fans of theirs..

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MOVIES - From Variety:  Kiki Layne has won the lead in Oscar-winner Barry Jenkins' ("Moonlight") next film, "If Beale Street Could Talk."

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STAR WARS - From TheWrap:  J.J. Abrams is now the director of Star Wars Episode 9, after the first announced director, Colin Trevorrow, was fired.  Abrams directed "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (Episode 7).  Abrams will co-write the film's script with Oscar-winner Chris Terrio ("Argo").

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LGBTQ - From YahooEntertaiment:  Armie Hammer shuts James Woods down after Wood tweets some silliness about Hammer's gay-themed film, Call Me By Your Name.

From YahooEntertaiment:  Amber Tamblyn weighs in on James Woods' "decency."

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COMICS-FILM - From THR:  Daniel Dae-Kim is in talks to play Major Ben Daimio in the "Hellboy" reboot.  Actor Ed Skrien, who is white, had been hired to play the character who is Japanese-American in the comic book, but Skrien stepped down after social media protests and complaints of "whitewashing."

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COMICS-FILM - From SlashFilm:  "Maze Runner" director Wes Ball to direct a film based on the really cool comic book, "Mouse Guard."

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COMICS-FILM - From Variety:  Patty Jenkins closes deal to direct "Wonder Woman" sequel. [D'uh. - Ed.]

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CELEBRITY - From YahooEntertaiment:  The wife of Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Mara Lane, reveals that the actor has had a substance abuse relapse after she suffered a miscarriage.

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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 9/8 to 9/10/2017 weekend box office is "It," with an estimated take of $117 million.  Among the records that opening sets is the largest opening for any horror movie of any MPAA rating.

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CELEBRITY - From BET:  There is something going on between Tyrese Gibson and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

From BET:  Tyrese continues begging for The Rock's attention, now moving to Instagram.

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BLM - From RawStory:  Claremont, New Hampshire police chief Mark Chase is trying to protect white teenagers who lynched a biracial child after taunting him with racial epithets.  Luckily, the child survived.

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POLITICS - From RawStory:  Incompetent CIA director Mike Pompeo trying to turn the CIA into an evangelical dumpster.

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EMMYS - From Deadline:  Night 1 2017 Creative Arts Emmy winners announced.  RuPaul, Leah Remini, Meryl Streep, and Ava DuVernay among winners.

From Variety:  Here is a winners list from Night 2 of the 2017 Creative Arts Emmys.

From Vulture:  Complete winners list from 2017 Creative Arts Emmy winners.

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FILM FESTIVALS - From Deadline:  Guillermo del Toro's period fantasy film, "The Shape of Water," wins the "Golden Lion" at the 2017 Venice Film Festival.

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STREAMING - From YahooFinance:  Maybe Disney should just buy Netflix.

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FILM FESTIVALS - From YahooEntertainment:  At Toronto International Film Festival, Margot Robbie earning good reviews for her starring role in the Tonya Harding fake documentary/biopic, "I, Tonya."

OBITS:

From Variety:  The actor Harry Dean Stanton has died at the age of 91, Friday, September 15, 2017.  He had a decades-long career, but his breakthrough roles came in the mid-1980s when he was 58, in Alex Cox's "Repo Man" and Wim Wenders "Paris, Texas."  He also appeared in the TV series, "Twin Peaks," during its original run.

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From Variety:  Grant Hart, the drummer for the influential punk band Hüsker Dü, has died at the age of 56, Thursday, September 14, 2017.  Hart had been battling cancer.

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From THR:  The actor Frank Vincent has died at the age of 78, Wednesday, September 13, 2017.  He played the vicious mob boss, Phil Leotardo, on "The Sopranos."  He also played tough guys in three Martin Scorsese films: "Raging Bull" (1980), "Goodfellas," (1990), and "Casino" (1995).  He also had a role in Spike Lee's "Do The Right Thing" (1989).

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From TheWrap:  Edith Windsor, LGBTQ activist, has died at the age of 88, Tuesday, September 12, 2017.  Windsor was the lead plaintiff in the pivotal Supreme Court case, "United States vs. Windsor" that took down the ridiculous federal law, the "Defense of Marriage Act."  Her victory paved the way towards the recognition of the rights of gay people to marry.

From Variety:  X Atencio, Disney animation and Imagineer, has died at the age of 98, Sunday, September 10, 2017. Atencio worked on the Disney animated features, "Pinocchio" and "Fantasia."  He worked on the Disneyland attractions, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion

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From JewishChronicle:  Len Wein, the comic book writer and editor who co-created the characters Wolverine and Swamp Thing," died at the age of 69, Sunday, September 10, 2017.

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From RollingStone:  Troy Gentry, one half of the popular country music duo, Montgomery Gentry, died at the age of 50, Friday, September 8, 2017.  Gentry was killed in a helicopter accident.

From YahooEntertainment:  Federal investigators release details about helicopter flight and crash that killed country music star, Troy Gentry.

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From TheWrap:  The actor Mike Hodge has died at the age of 70, Saturday, September 9, 2017.  Hodge had recurring roles on "Law & Order" and "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit."

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From TheWrap:  Influential television executive Don Ohlmeyer died at the age of 72, September 10, 2017.  A 16-time Emmy winner, Ohlmeyer worked on "Monday Night Football" and coined the phrase, "Must See TV," for NBC.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from May 7th to 13th, 2017 - Update #29

Support Leroy on Patreon.

TELEVISION - From YahooTV:  CBS has cancelled another of its series that is produced by Warner Bros, but that CBS does not own.  Last year, it was "Mike and Molly."  This season, CBS cancels "2 Broke Girls" after six seasons.

From YahooTV:  The stars of "2 Broke Girls" react to the cancellation of their series.

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TELEVISION - From TheWrap:  FOX and Warner Bros. are joining on a live musical version of the classic MGM film, "A Christmas Story."  The three-hour television event will air on the Fox tnetwork in December.

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MOVIES - From THR:  Daniel Radcliffe continues to expand his resume of genres with an action comedy, "Gun Akimbo."  This news about the "Harry Potter" star was announced at Cannes.

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COMICS-ANIMATION - From SideshowToys:  Donald Glover (actor and creator of FX's "Atlanta") and his brother Stephen are joining FXX to create a "Deadpool" animated series that will debut in 2018 with 10 episodes.

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TELEVISION - From Variety:  The major networks start announcing their TV series for the 2017-18 TV season at what are called "Upfronts."  Before these new "Upfronts," the networks have announced the cancellations of some current series, including Tim Allen's "Last Man Standing" at ABC and "Son of Zorn" and "Sleepy Hollow" at FOX.

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BOX OFFICE - From YahooMovies:  Apparently, Guy Ritchie's pricey "King Arthur: The Legend of the Sword" ($175 million production budget) is expected to be a box office disappointment or maybe even a flop.

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CELEBRITY - From YahooMovies:  The story of Johnny Depp and his money "woes."

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CULTURE - From YahooBeauty:  A dad, his daughter, and her half-naked doll.

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MUSIC - From YahooMusic:  According to Fortune magazines, Sean "Diddy" Comics still the richest hip hop star.

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MOVIES - From Variety:  John Ridley's L.A. Riots documentary, "Let It Fall," will try to capture Oscar interest.

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BLM - From ThinkProgress:  Madison County, Mississippi combines the best of Nazi Germany and the Jim Crow South.  Plan your vacation today!

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POLITICS - From TheNation:  Trumpism is really coming from the suburbs, not the trailer parks.

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AVATAR - From TheReelWord:  Cliff Curtis, who is more or less the lead actor in AMC's "Fear the Walking Dead," joins the cast of the "Avatar" sequels in a major role.

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COMICS-FILM - From TheReelWorld:  There apparently a reboot of the "Hellboy" film franchise without writer-director Guillermo del Toro and actor Ron Perlman, who guided two films to the screen.

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COMICS-FILM - From DenofGeek:  Who has what left on their Marvel Studios contract.

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MOVIES - From Variety:  Russell Mulcahy, best known for his mid-1980s film, "Highland," has begun production on a biopic of notorious Hollywood legend, Errol Flynn.

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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 4/5 to 4/7/2017 weekend box office is Marvel Studios' "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" with an estimated take of $145 million.

From Variety:  "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" has a $145 million debut.

From Variety:  For the fifth year, a Marvel/Disney kicks off the box office in style.  This time, it's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3."  This film's box office to date pushed the combined box office total of Marvel Studios films to over $11 billion dollars.

From Variety:  If Marvel has a sequel curse, "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" breaks it.

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OBIT - From THR:  The actress Quinn O'Hara has died at the age of 76, Friday, May 5, 2017.  She was known for being a "sex kitten" in 1960s films like "The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini" and "A Swingin' Summer."

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TELEVISION - From Variety:  Netflix renews its controversial "13 Reasons Why" for a second season.

CRIME - From RSN:  Schools continue to ignore K-12 sexual assualts committed by K-12 students.

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FILM - From BET:  In this video, actor Tyrese Gibson confirms that there will be a sequel to John Singleton's 2001 film, "Baby Boy."

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POLITICS - From GuardianUK:  President Trump's Civil War statement regarding Andrew Jackson the latest in a long line of right wing Republicans trying to downplay slavery and how absolutely important it was to the southern states.

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POLITICS - From VanityFair: Confederate States of America Attorney General Jeff Session is prosecuting a woman who rightfully laughed at him.

TRAILERS:

From TheReelWord:  First teaser trailer for Spike TV's new series, "The Mist," based on the Stephen King story.

From YahooMovies:  See the first official trailer for "Blade Runners 2049."  And it's visually striking.

From YahooMovies:  Viewers of the 2017 MTV Movie Awards were treated to new footage from the new film adaptation of Stephen King's "It."  See the creepy 98 minutes at the link at the front of this line.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from June 26th to 30, 2016 - Update #28

Support Leroy on Patreon.

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Netflix gets the "Lost in Space" remake as a series.

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COMICS - From Kickstarter:  Veteran comic book writer-artist and illustrator, Kody Chamberlain, is working on a new comic book project with newcomer Gavin Guidry.  It is called "Smut and Jeff," and it has a Kickstarter campaign.

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COMICS - From CBR: - All that teasing from Marvel Comics pays off with a larger "Divided We Stand" image.

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COMICS - From TheCheatSheet:  How "Captain America: Civil War" helped Marvel knock out DC Comics movies.

From CBR:  "Captain America: Civil War"  Blu-ray has many bonus features, including one about the upcoming "Doctor Strange" movie.

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SPORTS - From YahooTV:   Is Max Kellerman replacing Skip Bayless on ESPN's "First Take."

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MOVIES - From Variety:  He earned an Oscar nomination  and won a BAFTA for his supporting role in "Captain Phillips."  Now, Barkhad Abdi joins the cast of the "Blade Runner" sequel.

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COMICS - From WeGotThisCovered:  First set photos of Tom Holland in his Spider-Man costume during the filming of "Spider-Man: Homecoming."

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CELEBRITY - YahooCelebrity:  Leslie Jones becomes another in a long line of celebrity women who have trouble getting designers to dress them for big events, because of their size or shape.

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MOVIES - From CinemaBlend:  "Transformers: The Last Knight" (the fifth film) is bringing back another star from the original movies.  Tyrese Gibson will return to play his character, Robert Epps.  He is joining another returning star, Josh Duhamel as Lt. Col. William Lennox.

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MOVIES - From Variety:  Ansel Elgort is in early talks to join Warner Bros.'s "Dungeons & Dragons" movie, which is Rob Letterman (Goosebumps) is set to direct.

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TELEVISION - From Variety:  Freida Pinto joins Idris Elba in the Showtime-Sky miniseries, "Guerilla," which is being written and directed by John Ridley.

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CULTURE - From YahooNews:  Red Cross pulls poster some consider racist.

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OBITS - From YahooSports:  Legendary women's college basketball coach, Pat Summitt, has died at the age of 64 this morning, Tuesday, June 28, 2016.  As head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers women basketball team, Summitt won 1098 games, the most for any NCAA Divsion 1 coach, male or female.  She also won 8 national championships.

From YahooSports:  Former NFL coach, Buddy Ryan, has died at the age of 82.  James David "Buddy" Ryan won two Super Bowl championships as an assistant coach.  He is most famous for his stint as the defensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears team that won Super Bowl XX.

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STAR TREK - From CBR:  "The Kelvin Timeline" - that's the name of the timeline that was created in the 2009 reboot film, "Star Trek" directed by J.J. Abrams.

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MOVIES - From SlashFilm:  Warner Bros.' wants Justin Lin, who directed four "Fast and Furious" films, to direct their long in gestation, live-action adaptation of the manga, "Akira."

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MOVIES - From IndieWire:  John Boyega hints at working once again with director Joe Cornish, who directed Boyega in his breakthrough film, the fantastic "Attack the Block."

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MOVIES - From TheGuardian:  Oscar-nominee Emma Stone and recent Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander will star in competing Agatha Christie biopics.  Vikander's will look at the world famous author's formative years, while Stone's will focus on Christie's "missing 11 days."

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AWARDS - From YahooMusic:  Jesse Williams’s Powerful Speech a Highlight of Politically Charged BET Awards.

AWARDS - From YahooMusic:  At the 2016 BET Awards, a tribute fit for a Prince.

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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 6/24 to 6/26/2016 weekend box office is Pixar's "Finding Dory" with an estimated take of $73.2 million.

From YahooMovies:   "Independence Day: Resurgence" clobbered by "Finding Dory."

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MOVIES - From SlashFilm:  "Twilight's" Kellan Lutz is in the running for "Masters of the Universe," which is McG is supposed to direct.

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MOVIES - From DenofGeek:  A look at Bruce Willis' recent spate of straight-to-DVD movies.

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POLITICS - From YahooNews:  Hillary Clinton makes a surprise appearance at NYC Pride Parade.

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POLITICS - From YahooNews:  President Obama's approval rating is now the highest it has been since 2011, 56 percent (around the time of the Osama bin Laden raid).

TRAILERS:

From YouTube:  The new trailer for "Trolls."

From YouTube:  New "Star Trek Beyond" trailer with Rihanna song.

From YouTube:  See the second trailer for 20th Century Fox and Scott Free's "Morgan."

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from May 15th to 21st, 2016 - Update #41

Support Leroy on Patreon.

MOVIES - From BusinessInsider:  Legendary screenwriter Shane Black says that Mel Gibson is blacklisted in Hollywood.  Black wrote "Lethal Weapon," one of Gibson's most successful film franchises.

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MOVIES - From Variety:  The Weinstein Company has bought the worldwide rights (except for French-speaking territories) to "21 Years: Quentin Tarantino," a documentary about the Oscar-winning filmmaker.

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COMICS - From IGN:  All the spoilers for this coming week's hot comic book, "DC Universe: Rebirth #1."

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BLACK LIVES MATTER - From NYT:  When white cops can't find a black man to kill, they just might kill a white man.  Article comes with shocking video.

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COMICS - From Marvel:  Marvel confirms stellar cast for "Thor: Ragnarok."

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MOVIES - From Variety:  Michael Keaton back in the mix to play the villain in "Spider-Man: Homecoming."

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TELEVISION - From DeadlineTV:  Ewan McGregor to star in Season 3 of "Fargo" for FX.

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OBITS - From Variety:  The actor, Alan Young, has died at the age of 96, Thursday, May 19, 2016.  Young was best known for the classic sitcom, "Mr. Ed."  He played "Wilbur Post," the young architect who kept a talking horse in his suburban stable.  I was a fan.  R.I.P., Mr. Young.

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MUSIC - From YahooNews:  John Berry, one of the original Beastie Boys (from the band's punk rock incarnation), has died at the age of 52.

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COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Mark Millar, creator of "Kick-Ass" and "Kingsman: The Secret Service," wants to do a Star Wars/Marvel Comics crossover project.

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MOVIES - From HitFix:  Daniel Craig rejects the truckloads of cash offered him to play James Bond again.  So we'll have a new Bond... stay tuned.

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OBIT - From Variety:  Legendary CBS and "60 Minutes" newsman, Morely Safer, has died at the age of 84 - Thursday, May 19, 2016.

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COMICS - From YahooMovies:  "Captain America: Civil War" is now the biggest movie of 2016 - in terms of worldwide gross.

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MUSIC - From TheHill:  Sir Elton John writes a piece the ignorance of North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory concerning trans-identity.

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TELEVISION - From YahooTV:  CBS boss defends lack of diversity in its 2016-17 season's new offerings.  You'd think it was the 1950s at CBS.

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COMICS - From THR:  The fallout from "Batman vs. Superman" is a shakeup in executive positions at Warner Bros.

From Vulture:  Meet Geoff Johns, the guy who will change nothing... or very little.

---------------
MOVIES - From Variety:  Noomi Rapace is in talks to join Will Smith and Joel Edgerton in "Bright" (based on a Max Landis script) for Netflix.

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MOVIES - From ScreenRant:  Tyrese Gibson wants back in on the Transformers, specifically 2017's "Transformers: The Last Knight."  Michael Bay responds.

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COMICS - From DCComics:  DC has a new logo.

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POLITICS - From Salon:  Donald Trump, the President of the Confederacy.

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MOVIES - From Variety:  Shia Labeouf for "American Honey" and Joel Edgerton for "Loving" are born-again stars at Cannes.

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MOVIES - From Collider:  Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson may be the title character in Shane Black's "Doc Savage" movie.

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CRIME - From YahooCelebrity:  Bill Cosby and Playboy's Hugh Hefner are joint defendants in a sexual battery suit.

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MOVIES - From DarkHorizons:  The title of the fifth Transformers film is, "Transformers: The Last Knight."  Josh Duhamel also returns to the franchise.

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MOVIES - From Variety:  "Jurassic World" homies, Steven Spielberg and Colin Trevorrow, reteam for family action movie, Powerhouse.

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POLITICS - From SheKnows:  This Michelle Obama caricature is not "racist" or "sexist," so much as it is simply unimaginative and is also the work of dull and marginally talented cartoonist.

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COMICS - From THR:  Warner Bros. is working on a "Harley Quinn" movie starring Margot Kidder.  She would headline the film with several other female villains and heroes.  The DC Comics character will appear in this year's Suicide Squad."

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MOVIES - From YahooMovies:  "Top Gun" is 30 years old.

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MOVIES - From YahooMovies: "Loving," the film about Mildred and Richard Loving, is hot at the Cannes Film Festival 2016.  The movie tells the story of a black woman and white man who were arrested in their bedroom in 1958 for being married.

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BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner at the box office for the weekend of 5/13 to 5/15/2016 is "Captain America: Civil War" with an estimated haul of $72.5 million.  This is its second straight weekend at #1.

From Variety:  "Captain America: Civil War" hits over $940 million worldwide.

From Patreon:   Haven't seen "Civil War?"  Read my review, which is fairly spoiler free.

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OBIT - From Variety:  The actress Madeleine LeBeau has died at the age of 92, Sunday, May 1, 2016.  She was the last surviving credited cast member of the film Casablanca.

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MOVIES - From CinemaBlend:  Jennifer Lawrence could be the lead in that all-female "Ocean's 11" reboot.

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COMICS - From Twitter:  #BlackPantherSoLit - enjoy!

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MOVIES - From XOJane:  This article by a woman who worked in the film industry is riveting.  I think the unnamed film is "Election," a really good 1999 film and the unnamed director is probably Alexander Payne.

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MOVIES - From YahooMovies:  There may be a deal in the works for director Martin Scorsese and Robert DeNiro to reunited (for the first time since 1995's "Casino"), and they'd bring along Al Pacino.  The film is called "The Irishman."

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COMICS - From TheWrap:  Patrick Stewart has been confirmed to return as "Professor X" in "Wolverine 3."

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TRAILERS:

From YouTube:  Second trailer for "Star Trek Beyond" and it is kick-ass and way better than the first.


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DARWYN COOKE - on the passing, work, and life of the great American cartoonist and comic book artist.

From Deadline:  An obituary of Cooke, which is similar to his Wikipedia page.

From BleedingCool:  Professionals remember the late, great comic book artist, Darwyn Cooke.

From ComicBookBin:  More on the wonderful artist, Darwyn Cooke.

From BleedingCool:  The now-legendary WonderCon panel with Cooke.

From ComicsReporter:  A gallery of Cooke pieces.

2016 Image Awards Nominations - Literature and Recording Categories

The NAACP announced nominees for its 47th annual Image Awards, which celebrate the accomplishments of people of color in Television, Recording (Music), Literary (Books), Motion Picture, Documentary (film and television), Writing (for film and television), Directing (for film and television), and Animated/CGI (for film and television).  Winners will be announced February 5, 2016 during a ceremony airing live on TV One.

2016 / 47th NAACP Image Awards nominees - Literary and Music Recording categories:

LITERATURE
Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction
“Driving the King” – Ravi Howard (HarperCollins/Harper)
“Ghost Summer: Stories” – Tananarive Due (Prime Books)
“Mama’s Boy” – ReShonda Tate Billingsley (Gallery Books, a division of Simon & Schuster)
“Stand Your Ground” – Victoria Christopher Murrary (Touchstone)
“Under the Udala Trees” – Chinelo Okparanta (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Outstanding Literary Work – Non-Fiction

• “50 Billion Dollar Boss: African American Women Sharing Stories of Success in Entrepreneurship and Leadership” – Kathey Porter (Author), Andrea Hoffman(Author), (Palgrave Macmillan)
• “Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America” – Jill Leovy (Spiegel & Grau)
• “SHOWDOWN: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination That Changed America” – Wil Haygood (Alfred A. Knopf)
• “Spectacle: The Astonishing Life of Ota Benga” – Pamela Newkirk (HarperCollins/Amistad)
• “The Light of the World” – Elizabeth Alexander (Grand Central Publishing)

Outstanding Literary Work – Debut Author

• “Between The World and Me” – Ta-Nehisi Coates (Spiegel & Grau)
• “The Fishermen” – Chigozie Obioma (Little, Brown & Company)
• “The Star Side of Bird Hill” – Naomi Jackson (Penguin Press)
• “The Turner House” – Angela Flournoy (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
• “The Wind In The Reeds: A Storm, A Play And The City That Could Not Be Broken” – Wendell Pierce (Author), Rod Dreher (Author), (Riverhead Books)

Outstanding Literary Work – Biography/ Auto-Biography

• “After the Dance: My Life with Marvin Gaye” – Jan Gaye (Author), David Ritz (With), (HarperCollins/Amistad)
• “Between The World and Me” – Ta-Nehisi Coates (Spiegel & Grau)
• “One Righteous Man: Samuel Battle and the Shattering of the Color Line in New York” – Arthur Browne (Beacon Press)
• “Power Forward: My Presidential Education” – Reggie Love (Simon & Schuster)
• “Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person” – Shonda Rhimes (Simon & Schuster)

Outstanding Literary Work – Instructional

• “Big Words to Little Me: Tips and Advice for the Younger Self” – Sakina Ibrahim (Author), Jessie Lee (With), (Createspace (Self published))
• “Free Your Mind: An African American Guide to Meditation and Freedom” – Cortez R. Rainey (CreateSpace)
• “Grandbaby Cakes: Modern Recipes, Vintage Charm, Soulful Memories” – Jocelyn Delk Adams (Agate Surrey)
• “Keep Calm… It’s Just Real Estate: Your No-Stress Guide To Buying A Home” – Egypt Sherrod (Perseus/Running Press)
• “Soul Food Love: Healthy Recipes Inspired by One Hundred Years of Cooking in a Black Family” – Alice Randall (Author), Caroline Randall Williams (Author), (Clarkson Potter)

Outstanding Literary Work – Poetry
“Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude” – Ross Gay (University of Pittsburgh Press)
“How to Be Drawn” – Terrance Hayes (Penguin Books / Penguin Random House)
“Reconnaissance” – Carl Phillips (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
“Redbone” – Mahogany L. Browne (Willow Books)
“Wild Hundreds” – Nate Marshall (University of Pittsburgh Press)

Outstanding Literary Work – Children

• “Chasing Freedom: The Life Journeys of Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony, Inspired by Historical Facts” – Nikki Grimes (Author), Michele Wood (Illustrator), (Orchard Books / Scholastic)
• “Gordon Parks How the Photographer Captured Black and White America” – Carole Boston Weatherford (Author), Jamey Christoph (Illustrator), (Albert Whitman & Company)
• “Granddaddy’s Turn: A Journey to the Ballot Box” – Michael S. Bandy (Author), Eric Stein (Author), James E. Ransome (Illustrator), (Candlewick Press)
• “If You Plant a Seed” – Kadir Nelson (Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)
• “New Shoes” – Susan Lynn Meyer (Author), Eric Velasquez (Illustrator), (Holiday House)

Outstanding Literary Work – Youth/Teens

• “Rhythm Ride: A Road Trip Through the Motown Sound” – Andrea Davis Pinkney (Roaring Brook Press)
• “Stella By Starlight” – Sharon Draper (Simon & Schuster)
• “Untwine” – Edwidge Danticat (Scholastic Press)
• “X: A Novel” – Ilyasah Shabazz (Author), Kekla Magoon (With), (Candlewick Press)
• “You Are Wonderfully Made: 12 Life-Changing Principles for Teen Girls to Embrace” – Gwen Richardson (Author), Sylvia Daye Richardson (Author), (Cushcity Communications)

RECORDING

Outstanding New Artist
Andra Day (Warner Bros. Records)
Judith Hill (NPG Records)
Jussie Smollett (Columbia Records)
The Weeknd (Republic Records)
Yazz (Columbia Records)

Outstanding Male Artist
Charlie Wilson (RCA Records)
Kendrick Lamar (Top Dawg Entertainment/Aftermath/Interscope)
Pharrell Williams (Columbia Records/iamOTHER)
The Weeknd (Republic Records)
Tyrese Gibson (Voltron Recordz)

Outstanding Female Artist
Janet Jackson (Rhythm Nation/BMG)
Jazmine Sullivan (RCA Records)
Jill Scott (Atlantic Records)
Lalah Hathaway (Hathaway Entertainment/Entertainment One)
Lauryn Hill (RCA Records)

Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration

• “Conqueror” – Empire Cast feat. Estelle & Jussie Smollett (Columbia Records)
• “Hamilton: An American Musical” – Original Broadway Cast (Atlantic Records)
• “No Sleeep” – Janet Jackson feat. J. Cole (Rhythm Nation/BMG)
• “One Man Can Change The World” – Big Sean feat. Kanye West and John Legend (G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam Recordings)
• “Sound & Color” – Alabama Shakes (ATO Records)

Outstanding Jazz Album

• “BrotherLEE Love: Celebrating Lee Morgan” – Terell Stafford Quintet (Capri Records)
• “Dee Dee’s Feathers” – Dee Dee Bridgewater, Irvin Mayfield, New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (Okeh)
• “Miles Davis at Newport 1955-1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4” – Miles Davis (Columbia/Legacy Recordings)
• “The Complete Concert By The Sea” – Erroll Garner (Legacy Recordings/Octave Music Publishing Corporation)
• The Epic” – Kamasi Washington (Brainfeeder)

Outstanding Gospel Album – (Traditional or Contemporary)

• “A Different Place” – Kim Burrell (Shanachie Entertainment)
• “It’s Personal” – Tina Campbell (Gee Tree Creative)
• “Losing My Religion” – Kirk Franklin (RCA Inspiration)
• “The Gospel According To Jazz – Chapter IV” – Kirk Whalum (Mack Avenue Records, Rendezvous, Top Drawer Records)
• “You Shall Live” – Marvin Sapp (RCA Inspiration)

Outstanding Music Video
“Can’t Feel My Face” – The Weeknd (Republic Records)
“Freedom” – Pharrell Williams (Columbia Records/iamOTHER)
“No Sleeep” – Janet Jackson feat. J. Cole (Rhythm Nation/BMG)
“Shame” – Tyrese Gibson (Voltron Recordz)
“Sound & Color” – Alabama Shakes (ATO Records)

Outstanding Song – Traditional
“Back Together” – Jill Scott (Atlantic Records)
“Everytime I’m With You” – Seal (Reprise Records)
“Feeling Good” – Lauryn Hill (RCA Records)
“Goodnight Kisses” – Charlie Wilson (RCA Records)
“Let It Burn” – Jazmine Sullivan (RCA Records)

Outstanding Album
“Beauty Behind the Madness” – The Weeknd (Republic Records)
“Empire (Original Soundtrack from Season One)” – Empire Cast (Columbia Records)
“Forever Charlie” – Charlie Wilson (RCA Records)
“Unbreakable” – Janet Jackson (Rhythm Nation/BMG)
“Woman” – Jill Scott (Atlantic Records)

Outstanding Song – Contemporary
“Conqueror” – Empire Cast feat. Estelle & Jussie Smollett (Columbia)
“Freedom” – Pharrell Williams (Columbia Records/iamOTHER)
“No Sleeep” – Janet Jackson feat. J. Cole (Rhythm Nation/BMG)
“Unbreakable” – Janet Jackson (Rhythm Nation/BMG)
“You’re So Beautiful” – Empire Cast feat. Jussie Smollett & Yazz (Columbia Records)

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

Review: "Furious 7" is Furious and Bittersweet

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 1 (of 2016) by Leroy Douresseaux

[A version of this review first appeared on Patreon.]

Furious 7 (2015)
Running time: 137 minutes (2 hour, 17 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for prolonged frenetic sequences of violence, action and mayhem, suggestive content and brief strong language
DIRECTOR: James Wan
WRITER: Chris Morgan (based on the characters created by Gary Scott Thompson)
PRODUCERS: Vin Diesel, Neal H. Moritz, and Michael Fottrell
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stephen F. Windon and Marc Spicer
EDITORS: Christian Wagner, Leigh Folsom Boyd, Dylan Highsmith, and Kirk Morri
COMPOSER: Brian Tyler

ACTION/CRIME/DRAMA

Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster, Kurt Russell, Djimon Hounsou, Lucas Black, Nathalie Emmanuel, John Brotherton, Tony Jaa, Ali Fazal, Ronda Rousey, Iggy Azalea, Sarah Sohn, Noel Gugliemi, T-Pain, Luke Evans, and Sung Kang

Furious 7 is a 2015 action movie from director James Wan and released by Universal Pictures.  It is the seventh installment in The Fast and the Furious movie franchise.  Furious 7 is set after the third film, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, but follows the events of Fast & Furious 6.  In Furious 7, a new enemy seeks revenge against Dominic Toretto and his family.

Dominic “Dom” Toretto (Vin Diesel), Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker), and their friends are trying to live a normal life, but that is a bit more complicated than they imagined.  Dom is troubled that his longtime girlfriend and ride-or-die chick, Letitia “Letty” Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez), is having trouble regaining her memories.  Brian struggles with domestic life as a husband to Mia (Jordana Brewster), who is also Dom's sister, and as a father to their small son, Jack.

Meanwhile, trouble is brewing overseas.  Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), the older brother of Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), swears revenge against Dom and his racers who defeated Owen (in Fast & Furious 6), leaving him in a coma.  Deckard infiltrates the DSS (Diplomatic Security Service) office in Los Angeles to get information on Dom and company.  In the process, Deckard severely injures Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), who brought Dom and his race team into his hunt for Owen Shaw.

After Deckard launches a series of attacks on his friends and family, Dom reunites Brian, Letty, Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), and Tej Parker (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges), to find Deckard.  They get help from Frank Petty (Kurt Russell) a.k.a. “Mr Nobody,” the leader of a covert ops team.  However, Deckard finds an ally in Mose Jakande (Djimon Hounsou), a mercenary and terrorist who leads a private military company.  Now, all parties are chasing Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), a computer hacktivist and her creation, God's Eye.

One cannot talk about Furious 7 without making note of the death of actor Paul Walker in November of 2013.  Walker and Vin Diesel were the face of The Fast and the Furious franchise.  Walker was only half-finished with the scenes he needed to film for Furious 7 when he died.  Stand-ins for Paul, including his brothers, Caleb and Cody Walker, and the judicious application of computer-generated imagery were used to finish the rest of Walker's scenes.

Other than for a few scenes and some dialogue/audio, I could not tell the difference between Paul and the Paul stand-ins.  Besides, Furious 7 is so full of over-the-top, eye-popping, and breath-taking action scenes and sequences that my focus was on taking it all in and not on detecting real-Paul vs. faux-Paul.  Yes, Paul's death hangs over Furious 7, but not in a morbid way.  This film is a celebration of the work for which Walker is best known and for which he will be best remembered.

I do find Furious 7 to be a little too long, but there is no point in talking about the art of filmmaking when it comes to Furious 7.  Yes, it is well acted, surprisingly so.  James Wan seems superfluous as director; any of the three directors who have helmed previous installments of this franchise could have directed this film.  The script is half well-written, in terms of drama, and half-ridiculous, as the screenplay for a movie like Furious 7 must be.

When talking about Furious 7, we must talk about the action.  I loved the Predator drone; the multi-million dollar sports car driven through three skyscrapers; the Caucasus Mountains sequence that begins with five vehicles dropped from an airplane; the Tony Jaa-Paul Walker fights; and the awesome Dwayne Johnson-Jason Statham fisticuffs, to name a few.  This is not a great film, but it is fast and furious.  So why let Furious 7 be the last one?  Keep 'em coming.

6 of 10
B

Friday, October 30, 2015


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