News

It’s well over 100 degrees inside Market Hotel, an all-ages venue on the second floor of an aging building in Bushwick, Brooklyn, but no one seems to mind the heat once Amyl and the Sniffers take the stage. As the band launches into “I’m Not a Loser,” off their 2017 Bandcamp Ep Big Attraction, the crowd leaps together into a pit. Amy Taylor, the petite 23-year-old Aussie fronting the band, contorts her eyeliner-smeared face as she rips around the stage, throttling the lyrics into a high-pitched grunt: “I fell asleep...

Here's the latest Austin and Texas film news.

Slackerwood isn't at San Diego Comic-Con this year but plenty of Austin people are, including local filmmaker Robert Rodriguez. Indiewire has a roundup of the Sin City: A Dame to Kill For panel with Rodriguez, co-director Frank Miller, and several cast members. The article also includes a new (short) red-band trailer for the Sin City sequel, which hits theaters August 22.We don't normally include images with Slackery News Tidbits, but the newly revealed 2014 Texas Book Festival poster (pictured right) featuring the Texas Theatre in Seguin is so gorgeous, I couldn't resist. (Someone tell me how to get one of these, please.) In addition, the festival announced eight authors that will attend -- quite an eclectic bunch, from Martin Amis to Ziggy Marley, and from Valerie Plame Wilson to chef Lidia Bastianich. Texas Book Festival runs from Oct. 25-26 ... as usual, conflicting with Austin Film Festival,...

Following the October debut of their first episode, executive producer Idris Elba and production company Brown Paper Dolls have released the second installment of their webseries "Milk & Honey."

Starring Lance Gross, Bryce Wilson, Faune Chambers, and veteran actress Debbie Allen the scripted series follows the professional and romantic journeys of four young and ambitious women navigating the lights, smoke and mirrors of Hollywood.

"I decided to get involved with 'Milk & Honey' because of the strong demand for content that is relatable and authentic," Elba stated about his involvement with the project, "Brown Paper Dolls has an intuitive way of displaying positive images of women throughout the series."

The series also introduces Asha Kamali, Yaani King, Shauntay Hinton, Charles Divins and Rob Smith. Check out episode two above, and as an added bonus check out episode one and three exclusive character videos below.

'Milk & Honey': Episode One:

About Nia:

About Samirah:...

Here’s a first-look trailer at a new web series executive produced by Idris Elba, titled Milk & Honey, created by Brown Paper Dolls (Dana Gills, Asha Kamali May, and Jeanette McDuffie – all Chicago natives (Spelman, Howard U & Famu grads) who started the production company in La.

The series, which is headlined by Lance Gross, Debbie Allen, Faune Chambers, Bryce Wilson, and Asha Kamali, centers on 4 black women living in Los Angeles, who are on “spiritual, professional and romantic journeys to make their dreams reality.”

Brown Paper Dolls have been working on the project for “over 3 years,” and say that it will be available on all platforms, not just the web (TV, mobile and more). They describe it as “a mix between HBO’s Entourage and Sex and the City.”

I have no info on when exactly the series will debut, but you can follow its progress on Facebook (Here) and...

The "Beauty Shop" is getting crowded. Wilmer Valderrama and Golden Brooks have signed on for beauty duties for MGM and helmer Bille Woodruff. Shooting is under way on the Queen Latifah starrer. Valderrama will play a customer in the salon in a cameo role, with Brooks playing the larger role of a stylist named Chanel. Kevin Bacon, Andie MacDowell, Alicia Silverstone, Djimon Hounsou, Mena Suvari, Alfre Woodard, Bryce Wilson and Lil' JJ also star. Woodruff directs from a script by Kate Lanier, Norm Vance and Audrey Wells. "Shop" is produced by Queen Latifah, her producing partner Shakim Compere, Mandeville's David Hoberman and State Street partners Robert Teitel and George Tillman. Mandeville president of production Todd Lieberman and CubeVision's Ice Cube and Matt Alvarez are executive producing. Elizabeth Cantillon, Erik Baiers and DeVon Franklin are overseeing for MGM. Valderrama is repped by UTA and manager Glenn Rigberg. Brooks, a star of UPN's "Girlfriends", is repped by Nine Yards Entertainment and attorney Jeff Bernstein.

Andie MacDowell, Alfre Woodard and Bryce Wilson are joining the cast of MGM's Queen Latifah comedy Beauty Shop. MacDowell will play a conservative Southern socialite who goes through a rebirth when she follows Queen Latifah's character from her fancy hairdressers, run by Jorge (Kevin Bacon), to her new salon. Woodard is set to play Miss Josephine, the shop's Afrocentric stylist, who spouts Maya Angelou poetry. Wilson, meanwhile, will play James, a con/truck driver turned hairstylist. Nobody can figure out whether he is the ultimate metrosexual or actually gay. Alicia Silverstone, Djimon Hounsou, Mena Suvari and Lil' JJ round out the cast of the Barbershop spinoff. Bille Woodruff directs from a script by Kate Lanier, Norm Vance and Audrey Wells. Beauty Shop is being produced by Queen Latifah, her producing partner Shakim Compere, Mandeville's David Hoberman and State Street partners Robert Teitel and George Tillman. Mandeville president of production Todd Lieberman and CubeVision's Ice Cube and Matt Alvarez are executive producing. Elizabeth Cantillon, Erik Baiers and DeVon Franklin are overseeing for the studio. MacDowell next appears in The Last Sign from director Douglas Law. Woodard's upcoming features include The Forgotten with Julianne Moore. MacDowell is repped by ICM. Woodard is repped by WMA. Wilson is repped by Anonymous Content.