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Craig Brewer is no stranger to the music world with films like Hustle & Flow and Black Snake Moan (which is a good recommendation if you’re a fan of the blues music in Sinners). The director recently collaborated with Eddie Murphy on Dolemite is My Name and Coming 2 America, as well as helming episodes of the Peacock Original, Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist. Now, Brewer is getting back to the music with a Neil Diamond-themed film starring Hugh Jackman and an upcoming biopic about rapper Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus Jr.

Deadline is now reporting that Brewer’s biopic of the West Coast rapper has now found its star in Jonathan Daviss, who is known for Outer Banks and Do Revenge from Netflix. The film will be coming from Universal Pictures, which also released the hit rap biopic Straight Outta Compton and featured a...

Christina Ricci is recalling what she “dreaded” most on set as a child actress.

The “Yellowjackets” star made her film debut in 1990 at age nine in “Mermaids.” She went on to lead iconic films such as “Sleepy Hollow,” “The Addams Family,” “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” and “Casper” as a teen before continuing her career into adulthood with “Monster,” “Black Snake Moan,” and more.

Ricci, who is now receiving her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, told Variety that growing up in the spotlight came with its downsides, namely being told “what was wrong” with her during camera tests.

“I hated fittings and I hated camera-test days because I knew those were the days when everyone would look at me and talk about what was wrong with me, with my appearance and what they needed to fix,” Ricci said. “‘We can’t ever shoot her from this side.

Quick Links Z: The Beginning of Everything Was Based on a 2013 Novel Christina Ricci Played a Subversive Version of Zelda Fitzgerald in Z: The Beginning of Everything Christina Ricci Starred With Margot Robbie in Another Short-Lived 2010s Series

Actress Christina Ricci rose to stardom in her childhood roles in the 1990s. She appeared in comedy-horror movies like The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993), Casper (1995), and family comedies like That Darn Cat (1997). She's never shied away from the darker or more challenging roles, even as she reached adulthood. In 1999, she starred in Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow alongside Johnny Depp. Later, she gained praise for her performance as Rae Doole in Black Snake Moan (2006) opposite Samuel L. Jackson. Still, she has had bouts of dry spells of work over the years, and unfortunately, more than one canceled television project to her name.

One of these failed television projects was of...

Paramount has announced the lineup of movies, TV shows, and live sports coming to the Paramount+ streaming service in November. The Paramount Plus November 2024 schedule includes Taylor Sheridan’s Landman, which navigates the fortune-seeking world of Texas oil rigs.

Sports fans can also enjoy an incredible spread of games over the holiday week, including the Nwsl Championship and UEFA Champions League marquee matches, as well as NFL on CBS and Big Ten on CBS action.

Landman

In November, audiences will be treated to the premiere of the new original series Landman, from Taylor Sheridan, co-creator of Yellowstone and starring Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton, Golden Globe nominee Demi Moore, and Emmy Award winner Jon Hamm.

Set in the proverbial boomtowns of West Texas, the series tells the gripping story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires in the world of oil rigs fueling a boom so big that it’s reshaping our climate,...

For his next trick, the Greatest Showman will impersonate a Neil Diamond impersonator. Variety reports that production has begun on Song Sung Blue, a biopic about a Diamond tribute band starring Hugh Jackman. Kate Hudson will portray the singer’s wife. Michael Imperioli, Fisher Stevens, Jim Belushi, King Princess, Ella Anderson, Mustafa Shakir, and others are also in the cast.

Filmmaker Craig Brewer, who directed Hustle & Flow and Black Snake Moan, is helming the production, which will be a musical drama. It’s based on a 2008 documentary, also titled...

Winsome Sinclair, the casting director who helped bring in actors for Waiting to Exhale, Amistad, Precious, The Best Man and a dozen films directed by Spike Lee, has died. She was 58.

Sinclair died Monday in hospice care on Long Island after a long battle with colon cancer, publicist Clorissa Wright-Thomas told The Hollywood Reporter. Her family was at her bedside.

The New York native launched the global casting agency Winsome Sinclair and Associates in New York in 1996, then relocated the business to Atlanta in 2014 amid that city’s production boom.

Sinclair also cast extras for the John Singleton-directed features Higher Learning (1995), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) and Abduction (2011), for the Malcolm D. Lee-helmed The Best Man (1999) and Barbershop: The Next Cut (2016) and for the Dee Rees-directed Pariah (2011) and Bessie (2015).

She handled similar duties on the Hughes brothers’ Dead Presidents (1995), Forest Whitaker’s Waiting to Exhale (1995), Steven Spielberg’s...

Trolls Band Together features new villains Velvet and Veneer, voiced by recognizable actors, joining the beloved characters in the franchise. The impressive cast, catchy songs, and fun animation in Trolls Band Together led to a 63% Rotten Tomatoes rating and $209M global box office. The ensemble of vocal artists in Trolls Band Together includes Emmy-winning, Golden Globe, and Grammy-winning actors, making the film a musical treat.

The beloved characters from the Trolls franchise are joined by two new villains, Velvet and Veneer in Trolls Band Together, and like the other characters, are voiced by some recognizable actors. Trolls Band Together is the third movie in the animated musical Trolls franchise. The film once again stars Branch (Justin Timberlake) and Poppy (Anna Kendrick), who set out to find Branch's four older brothers to restart their family band, BroZone. However, two villainous Mount Rageon teenagers, Velvet (Amy Schumer) and Veneer (Andrew Rannells), also...

With shows like Six Feet Under, Good Grief, Fun at the Funeral Parlor, and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina putting the “fun” back in funeral homes, it’s high time a show came along to remind audiences how grim and mysterious these houses of death can be. That’s why I’d like to bring Chop Shop to your attention. Deadline says a new series starring Christina Ricci and Hamish Linklater is gaining buzz as it prepares to court a network.

Inspired by the Kathy Braidhill novel, Chop Shop retells the true crime story about the Lamb Funeral Home in 1980s Los Angeles. The following description comes courtesy of Deadline‘s exclusive article: When David Sconce — the Machiavellian scion of a Bible college football coach and a church organist — takes the reins of the family business, the seemingly All-American clan begins a jaw-dropping descent from saints to sinners. Desperate to keep their funeral home afloat,...

Prolific is a massive understatement when it comes to describing producer Samuel L. Jackson, who next stars in The Kill Room, which opens Sept. 29.

Since his debut in indie film Together For Days in 1972, the 74-year-old Jackson has been in more than 100 films that have collectively grossed more than $27 billion, making him the highest-grossing live-action actor of all time as of 2021, according to The Numbers.

In his career, he’s been in some of the most iconic films ever, as well, including Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing (1989), Mo’ Better Blues (1990) and Jungle Fever (1991), Jurassic Park (1993), A Time to Kill (1996), Black Snake Moan (2006), Goodfellas (1990), Die Hard With A Vengeance (1995) and the unforgettable Snakes On A Plane (2006).

Jackson got his big break after he appeared in True Romance (1993), which was written by Quentin Tarantino. After that experience, Tarantino came to Jackson with the role of Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction...

Dexter Darden (Chang Can Dunk) is ready to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee as Muhammad Ali for Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist, a limited crime series coming to Peacock. The forthcoming series features Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Hart, and Terrence Howard for a story about an infamous armed robbery after Muhammad Ali’s historical comeback fight in 1970.

In the series, Jackson plays Frank Morten, a real-life underworld kingpin dubbed the Black Godfather by the New York tabloids. The project finds Jackson reuniting with Black Snake Moan filmmaker Craig Brewer, who will direct the first two episodes of Fight Night. Meanwhile, Howard plays Richard “Cadillac” Wheeler, a gangster and associate of the Council of 12. Hart plays Chicken Man in the series, while Taraji P. Henson portrays Vivian Thomas, a savvy businesswoman and Chicken Man’s mistress.

The plot takes place on the night of Ali defeating...

Pulp Fiction and Marvel's Samuel L. Jackson is set to star in Peacock's upcoming true crime limited series, Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist.

Peacock ordered the series in December 2023, and Variety reports the limited series will have the MCU star playing the notorious gangster Frank Moten, also known as "the Black Godfather" in the tabloids. Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist is based on the podcast Fight Night, and it also stars Kevin Hart, who will executive produce the series alongside Will Packer, who also produces the podcast. The limited series will reunite Jackson with Craig Brewer, as the two previously collaborated on 2006's Black Snake Moan. Brewer is set to direct two episodes of the series.

Related Samuel L. Jackson's Best Movies, Ranked According To Metacritic One way to rank Samuel L. Jackson's best movies is by reviewing Metacritic, which generates a Metascore for each film.

The upcoming...

Peacock is ready to touch gloves with Samuel L. Jackson after the Pulp Fiction and Snakes on a Plane star joined the cast of its Muhammad Ali limited series, Fight Night. Jackson plays Frank Moten for the series, a real-life underworld kingpin dubbed the Black Godfather by the New York tabloids. The project finds Jackson reuniting with Black Snake Moan filmmaker Craig Brewer, who will direct the first two episodes of Fight Night.

The plot takes place on the night of Ali defeating Jerry Quarry after he was banned from boxing for military draft dodging. The disturbing events of that evening include hundreds of guests at an after-party being robbed at gunpoint, becoming one of the most significant armed robberies in United States history. The tale unfolds in Atlanta, with story elements revolving around the cop, J.D. Hudson, and Morten (Jackson), the hustler, orchestrating the unprecedented criminal event.

Fight Night also stars Kevin Hart,...

Samuel L. Jackson is set to star in the upcoming Peacock true crime limited series “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist,” Variety has learned.

The show was ordered to series at Peacock in December with Kevin Hart attached to star and executive produce with Will Packer also executive producing. It is based on the podcast “Fight Night,” which was produced by Packer along with iHeartPodcasts and Doghouse Pictures.

The series will be set in Atlanta in 1970. The official description states that it will tell “the infamous story of how an armed robbery during the night of Muhammad Ali’s historic 1970 comeback fight changed not only one man’s life, but an entire city’s destiny.”

Jackson will star as notorious gangster Frank Moten, who was given the moniker “the Black Godfather” by New York tabloids.

Shaye Ogbonna serves as creator, and showruns alongside Jason Horwitch. Both executive produce alongside Hart,...

Samuel L. Jackson has joined the Peacock Muhammad Ali limited series Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist. He will portray Frank Moten, a real-life underworld kingpin coined the Black Godfather by the NY tabloids.

The project reunites Jackson with Craig Brewer, who will direct the first two episodes of the show. The pair previously collaborated on the 2006 film Black Snake Moan.

The series will tell the story of how on the night of Ali’s defeat of Jerry Quarry, which came after he was banned from boxing for refusing to enter the military draft, hundreds of guests at an after-party were robbed at gunpoint, becoming one of the largest armed robberies the country has ever seen. Fight Night, set in Atlanta, will focus on the cop and the hustler, at the center of it all.

Kevin Hart will star in and produce the limited...

The American Society of Cinematographers has announced the honorees for its 38th Annual Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography Gala on March 3, 2024. They are: Don Burgess, ASC; Steven Fierberg, ASC and Amy Vincent, ASC.

Burgess, Robert Zemeckis’ longtime collaborator, will be recognized with the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award. While his latest work is Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, directed by James Wan, Burgess is best known for shooting Zemeckis’ Oscar-winning Forrest Gump, for which he earned ASC Award and Oscar nominations. The duo have also collaborated on such films as last year’s live-action Pinocchio, Flight, Contact, Cast Away, What Lies Beneath, The Polar Express and the upcoming Here.

Burgess’ other credits include Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, the first Aquaman, Brian Helgeland’s 42, Allen and Albert Hughes’ The Book of Eli, Gary Winick’s 13 Going on 30, Jonathan Mostow’s Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Billy Crystal’s Forget Paris.

Pierce Brosnan, Samuel L. Jackson, and Brandon Lessard (Murder at Yellowstone City) are saddling up for Richard Gray’s Unholy Trinity, an upcoming Western revenge feature currently filming in Montana under a SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement.

According to Deadline‘s exclusive report, Unholy Trinity delves into dark secrets, buried treasure, and bloody murder. Deadline says, “the film is set against the turbulent backdrop of 1870s Montana. It picks up in the moments before the execution of Isaac Broadway, as he gives his estranged son, Henry (Lessard), an impossible task: murder the man who framed him for a crime he didn’t commit. Intent on fulfilling his promise, Henry travels to the remote town of Trinity, where an unexpected turn of events traps him in town and leaves him caught between Gabriel Dove (Brosnan), the town’s upstanding new sheriff, and a mysterious figure named St. Christopher (Jackson).”

Gray directs Unholy Trinity...

Christina Ricci's diverse range allows her to excel in a wide variety of roles, from darkly comedic to relatable girl next door characters. Unlike many child stars, Ricci easily broke out of typecasting due to her ability to seamlessly transition from child to teen to adult roles. Many of Ricci's best movies and TV shows came after her child-star heyday, showcasing her talent for pushing herself into new and uncharted territory as a performer.

The best Christina Ricci movies and TV shows illustrate her amazing range and allow her to play a diverse set of characters from darkly comedic to the girl next door. Breaking onto the Hollywood scene in the 1990s, Ricci quickly became one of the biggest child and teen stars of the decade and appeared in a slew of massive hits that defined her career. Even from a young age, Ricci's ability to fully inhabit a character was apparent,...

Just announced this week, the Hollywood Walk of Fame Class of 2024 includes horror icon Christina Ricci, who finally gets her well-earned star on the Walk of Fame next year.

Christina Ricci is of course a longtime favorite among horror fans, becoming a household name thanks to her performance as Wednesday Addams in the live action Addams Family movies of the 1990s. She just returned to the world of The Addams Family in the Netflix series “Wednesday,” playing a new character for director Tim Burton.

Ricci also starred in Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow back in 1999, with other notable genre roles including Casper, Bless the Child, Wes Craven’s Cursed, The Lizzie Borden Chronicles, and Showtime’s hit series “Yellowjackets.” Ricci also appeared in Sam Raimi’s series “50 States of Fright,” and most recently starred in the 2022 horror movie Monstrous.

Nominated twice for Primetime Emmy Awards, Christina Ricci’s enduring body...

Christina Ricci has said that she was once threatened with legal action for refusing to film a sex scene “in a certain way”.

The former child star made her screen debut aged eight, before rising to fame as Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family when she was 10. When she was older, Ricci went on to appear in films such as Casper, Buffalo ‘66 and Black Snake Moan.

On Thursday (16 March), Ricci was a guest on US show The View, where she spoke with admiration about her young female co-stars on the hit drama Yellowjackets.

“It’s really great,” she told the panel. “Us older ladies talk about it all the time.

“It’s amazing to see that they don’t have to necessarily go through the things that we had to go through. They’re able to say, ‘I don’t want to do this sex scene,’ ‘I’m not going to be naked.

Christina Ricci revealed Wednesday that as a young actress she was once threatened with legal action for pushing back against filming an intimate scene in a specific way.

The “Yellowjackets” star’s admission came during her appearance on “The View,” as she and the hosts were discussing the strides that have been made in Hollywood for young actresses. Ricci started acting at a young age, becoming a household names thanks to projects like “Casper” and her take on Wednesday Addams in “The Addams Family” and its sequel.

When asked by host Sara Haines how specifically Ricci thinks the acting landscape is different for young actresses now — specifically her adolescent co-stars on “Yellowjackets” — Ricci noted that a big step forward has come in the area of bodily autonomy on screen.

Also Read:

‘The View': Sara Haines Implies Melania Trump Is Being Paid to Stay in Her Marriage At This Point (Video)

“It’s really great,...

Back in December, director David Gordon Green’s sequel to the 1973 classic The Exorcist (watch it Here), which is scheduled to reach theatres on October 13th, had to put filming on hold and begin its holiday break early because lead actor Leslie Odom Jr. (Hamilton) was stricken with an illness. But filming was able to resume after the holidays – and now Deadline has reported that production has officially wrapped.

Deadline’s report also reveals that producer Stephanie Allain has joined the project as an executive producer. Coming to us from Blumhouse Productions and Morgan Creek Entertainment, the film is being produced by Jason Blum, David Robinson, and James Robinson. Green, Danny McBride, and Couper Samuelson serve as executive producers with Allain. Ryan Turek is overseeing the project for Blumhouse.

Green recently directed a trilogy of sequels in the Halloween franchise, and intends for this Exorcist movie to be the first...

Exclusive: Veteran producer Stephanie Allain has joined David Gordon Green’s The Exorcist, as executive producer. In addition, the first film in the trilogy from Blumhouse and Morgan Creek for Universal and Peacock has recently wrapped principal photography. The pic hits theaters on Oct. 13.

“I’ve known Stephanie for years — she’s the coolest and steadiest producer around, and I’m thrilled we’re finally able to work together,” said producer Jason Blum.

“I’m so delighted to join Blumhouse, Dgg, Leslie Odom, Jr., and this remarkable cast and crew on a frightening new iteration of one of my favorite films,” said Allain.

Allain and her Homegrown Pictures have produced such movies as Hustle & Flow, Something New, Black Snake Moan, Beyond the Lights, Dear White People, French Dirty, Burning Sands, Juanita and Really Love. She executive produced four seasons of Dear White People. From 2011-2016, she served as Director of the LA Film Festival,...

The internet is all abuzz now that Showtime has revealed the Yellowjackets Season 2 release date. The episodic drama created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson ignited the pop culture zeitgeist upon its 2021 debut, and fans have been craving more of the harrowing story ever since. Luckily, on streaming and On Demand, Showtime says its Yellowjackets Season 2 release date is poised to sting on Friday, March 24, 2023. Meanwhile, others will have to wait for the show’s on-air date, set for Sunday, March 26, at 9 p.m. Et/Pt.

Nominated for seven Emmy awards, Yellowjackets is sitting pretty with a 100 Average Score on Rotten Tomatoes, with an Average Audience Score of 78 Fresh. The pulse-pounding thriller is the second-most streamed series in Showtime history, and new episodes of the survivalist saga can’t arrive fast enough.

Showtime’s Yellowjackets tells the story of a talented high school soccer team whose plane crashes deep in the Canadian wilderness.

Christina Ricci discusses studio interference in Black Snake Moan. Across both box office hits and smaller indie projects, Ricci is an actor known for playing atypical characters with a darker side. Her breakout role came as Wednesday Addams in Barry Sonnenfeld’s The Addams Family in 1991 and its 1993 sequel, Addams Family Values. Ricci is now returning in a different role, Marylin Thornhill, in the upcoming Netflix reboot, Wednesday, starring Jenna Ortega as the titular character.

In 2006, Ricci starred in Black Snake Moan. Written and directed by Hustle & Flow's Craig Brewer, the film follows a God-fearing Mississippi bluesman played by Samuel L. Jackson who, after finding a sex addict named Rae Doole (played by Ricci) severely beaten on the side of the road, holds the troubled young woman captive in his home and attempts to cure her of nymphomania. Though Black Snake Moan received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, it bombed at...

Snap, snap. Jenna Ortega recently sat down with Christina Ricci for some Wednesday-on-Wednesday chatter to discuss the upcoming Wednesday, exploring the character and the difficulties of playing her under multiple directors.

On the topic of working with different directors on Wednesday, Jenna Ortega said, “I felt like everybody wanted different things from her. I remember Tim did not want me to have any expression or emotion at all. He wanted a flat surface…There were a lot of battles like that [with other directors] because I felt like people didn’t always trust me when I was creating my path in terms of, “Okay, this is her arc. This is where she gets emotional.’”

Jenna Ortega elaborated further on the often hectic atmosphere on Wednesday. “There have never been so many cooks in the kitchen. I was completely lost and confused. Typically I have no problem using my voice, but when you’re...

Industry veterans Stephanie Allain and Donald De Line have been elected presidents of the Producers Guild of America, the guild announced on Tuesday.

The pair ran unopposed, and will succeed Gail Berman and Lucy Fisher, who have led the organization since 2018. Allain and De Line have both recently served on the PGA national board.

Allain will become the first woman of color to serve as president of the guild. She has produced films including “Hustle & Flow,” “Black Snake Moan,” “Beyond the Lights” and “Dear White People.” In 2020, she co-produced the Academy Awards and received the PGA/UCLA Vision Award for her work championing diverse filmmakers. She is also a former director of the L.A. Film Festival.

De Line’s producing credits include “Ready Player One,” “The Italian Job” and the Epix TV series “Billy the Kid.” Early in his career, De Line served as president of Touchstone Pictures...

Click here to read the full article.

While most showrunners are content to use Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” for soundtrack shorthand, Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg prefer slightly deeper cuts from the Canadian singer-spiritualist.

The duo potently utilized “Who By Fire,” with its ties to the Hebrew “Unetaneh Tokef” prayer, at the climax of the fourth season of The Americans. They return to Cohen again with a song that I won’t spoil featured pivotally in their new FX limited series The Patient, which will air exclusively on Hulu.

It’s easy to see why Fields and Weisberg respond to Cohen (or why their music supervisor thinks their shows and Cohen’s songs are a good match). Like Cohen, Fields and Weisberg are engaged in their own blending of the profane and the sacred, using the trappings of pulpy genres as a delivery mechanism for richer, more haunted storytelling that...

Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” is far from being just about Elvis, when it comes to the music in the film and on a forthcoming soundtrack album. Besides the vintage Presley cuts included, the movie is providing the opportunity for the most high-profile multi-artist soundtrack in years. The lineup of participating artists was announced in May — without any song titles attached — and a handful of singles has been released, by Eminem, Måneskin and Doja Cat. But not until the film began screening more widely, in advance of its June 17 wide release, did it become fully apparent who was singing what and just how some of the more unusual choices would fit into the biopic.

Here’s a guide to the most notable newly recorded tracks and how they’re used in the film — followed by a guide to which songs are Elvis originals and which are sung by Austin Butler or,...

Christina Ricci has been working in Hollywood since she was 10 years old, and after decades onscreen, the “Yellowjackets” star devised a unique tactic to de-stigmatizing female nudity onscreen: Just stay naked off-screen.

During Variety’s Actors on Actors roundtable, Ricci revealed to “Euphoria” actress Sydney Sweeney that she was most uncomfortable when other people were uncomfortable, so Ricci made her nudity a bit of a joke.

“Once I had to do a movie where I was naked pretty much the entire time,” Ricci said, presumably referencing 2006’s “Black Snake Moan” where she plays a sex addict opposite Samuel L. Jackson and Justin Timberlake. “The thing that made me more uncomfortable was other people being uncomfortable with me being naked. So what I did, and you probably wouldn’t be allowed to do this now — I just stayed naked. I was like, ‘Don’t make me feel weird, like I’m...

We're celebrating each of the upcoming Honorary Oscar winners with a few pieces on their careers.

by Cláudio Alves

Previously in the "Honoraries" miniseries, Ben Miller and Lynn Lee looked at Samuel L. Jackson's work in two provocative indies, exploring the actor's innate intensity. Craig Brewer's Black Snake Moan reveals Jackson as a bluesman inflamed by spiritual purpose, while Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction saw him play a hitman and resulted in the actor's only Oscar nomination. It should have also resulted in a victory, but that's a matter for another day, another article. This time, I shall investigate the complexities of his turn in Kasi Lemmons's Eve's Bayou. The director's debut feature was a passion project for many people involved, including Jackson, who also produced.

Such investment, such devotion, may be at the heart of his achievement. Not only is Eve's Bayou a masterpiece of 1990s American cinema,...

We're celebrating each of the upcoming Honorary Oscar winners with a few pieces on their career.

by Ben Miller

Craig Brewer’s Black Snake Moan is a hard sell on paper and an even harder sell in execution. Jackson’s Lazarus finds half-naked and half-dead sex addict Rae (Christina Ricci) on the side of the road. He takes her back to his house to nurse her back to health. In order to cure her sex addiction, Lazarus chains Rae to his radiator. Luckily for Brewer and the film, Jackson fully invests in the provocative material, delivering a fiery performance of angry righteousness, and one of the best star turns of his career...

Warner Bros. Television Group and HBO have inked a new, first-look deal with producer Stephanie Allain and her production company, Homegrown Pictures.

Allain had previously signed a first-look pack with Wbtvg in 2020, so Monday’s news reveals a continuation of her relationship with that company, and adds in HBO.

Under the terms of the agreement, Allain and her Homegrown Pictures team, which includes Director of Development Gabrielle Ebron, will develop original scripted programming. Warner Bros. Television will produce the projects for HBO and HBO Max, external streaming services, cable and broadcast.

“I’m so excited about the projects we’ve set up at Wbtv over the past two years,” Allain said in a statement. “HBO, HBOMax, and Wbtv really get my vision for Homegrown Pictures, and Gabi and I are grateful for their support. We look forward to producing culturally specific shows that will resonate with wide audiences.”

Financial terms...

Exclusive: Christina Ricci has signed on to play a supporting role in The Dresden Sun, a cyberpunk indie from writer-director Michael Ryan, which also stars Samantha Win.

The film observes as a heist goes south when a brilliant, principled mercenary with a traumatic past works with an insider to steal a valued asset from Peredor Corporation called “the sphere.” The C & Earth corporation, vying for global dominance, seeks to find a solution to an otherworldly technology via a scientist’s project. Meanwhile, a financial analyst, who despises his job at the powerful investment firm Mutual One, finds himself caught between deadly corporate rivals, financial fraud, and technological espionage, and is ultimately forced to run from a psychopathic military contractor.

Ricci will play Dr. Dresden Corliss, an inventor of a cosmic technology, who grieves over the death of a loved one.

Samuel L. Jackson, Elaine May and Liv Ullmann will receive honorary Oscars this year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Thursday. Danny Glover will also receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. The four Oscar statuettes will be presented at the Governors Awards ceremony on Jan. 15, 2022.

“We are thrilled to present this year’s Governors Awards to four honorees who have had a profound impact on both film and society,” Academy president David Rubin said in a statement. “Sam Jackson is a cultural icon whose dynamic work has resonated across genres and generations and audiences worldwide, while Elaine May’s bold, uncompromising approach to filmmaking, as a writer, director and actress, reverberates as loudly as ever with movie lovers. Liv Ullmann’s bravery and emotional transparency has gifted audiences with deeply affecting screen portrayals, and Danny Glover’s decades-long advocacy for justice and human rights reflects his dedication...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Thursday that its Board of Governors voted to present the annual Honorary Awards to Samuel L. Jackson, Elaine May, and Liv Ullmann. The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award will be given to Danny Glover. The four Oscar statuettes will be presented at the Academy’s 12th annual Governors Awards on Saturday, January 15, 2022, in Los Angeles.

Academy President David Rubin summed up the recipients’ impact, cinematic and otherwise, in the following statement: “Sam Jackson is a cultural icon whose dynamic work has resonated across genres and generations and audiences worldwide, while Elaine May’s bold, uncompromising approach to filmmaking, as a writer, director and actress, reverberates as loudly as ever with movie lovers.”

Rubin added, “Liv Ullmann’s bravery and emotional transparency has gifted audiences with deeply affecting screen portrayals, and Danny Glover’s decades-long advocacy for justice and human rights reflects his...

Filmmaker Craig Brewer is a man to whom music is the key that unlocks most things. In his breakthrough film Hustle & Flow, it was the biographic, confessional (and Oscar-winning) rapping of his lead character that propelled the movie forward. In Black Snake Moan, it was swampy blues music; and in Footloose, it was pretty […]

The post ‘Coming 2 America’ Director Craig Brewer on Crafting the Long-Gestating Sequel and the Joys of Working With Wesley Snipes [Interview] appeared first on /Film.

Craig Brewer burst on the scene in 2005 with the hip-hop classic Hustle & Flow, winner of Best Original Song Oscar for Three 6 Mafia’s “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp.” Following his take on a Blaxploitation flick, the sweaty Black Snake Moan starring Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci, and a remake of Footloose, it would be some time before he returned to the director’s chair.

Flash forward to 2019, when Brewer teamed with Eddie Murphy to make the hilarious Dolemite Is My Name, a movie about Rudy Ray Moore’s pimp persona and successful indie film career making Blaxploitation movies. Brewer and Murphy have now reteamed for Coming 2 America, a sequel to the John Landis comedy classic that is now streaming on Amazon Prime.

The Film Stage sat down with Brewer over Zoom to ask about a hidden CNN joke in Coming 2 America courtesy of...

Prolific producer Stephanie Allain has inked a first-look film producing deal with Endeavor Content.

One of Hollywood’s most prolific African American producers, Allain’s filmography includes producing “Dear White People” (the film and series for Netflix), “Hustle & Flow,” Robert Rodriguez’s “El Mariachi & Desperado” and John Singleton’s “Poetic Justice,” “Higher Learning” and the late filmmaker’s directorial debut “Boyz ‘N the Hood.”

“Stephanie’s fierce advocacy for diverse filmmakers is matched only by her exceptional eye and discerning taste, and we are honored to be working with her to produce content that best reflects the world we live in,” Graham Taylor and Chris Rice, co-presidents, Endeavor Content, said in a statement.

“I am beyond excited to work with Graham, Chris, and everyone at Endeavor Content to produce movies that entertain and impact audiences around the world,” Allain added.

An Independent Spirit Awards, NAACP and Image Awards winner,...

Stephanie Allain, the veteran producer who championed John Singleton’s “Boyz N the Hood” and produced “Hustle & Flow,” has signed a first look producing deal with Endeavor Content.

Allain produced last year’s Oscars ceremony and recently served as an executive producer on the TV adaptation of “Dear White People.” She’s won multiple Independent Spirit Awards and NAACP and Image Awards, and is also Emmy-nominated for her work on the Oscars.

“I am beyond excited to work with Graham, Chris and everyone at Endeavor Content to produce movies that entertain and impact audiences around the world,” Allain said in a statement.

“Stephanie’s fierce advocacy for diverse filmmakers is matched only by her exceptional eye and discerning taste, and we are honored to be working with her to produce content that best reflects the world we live in,” said Graham Taylor and Chris Rice, co-presidents of Endeavor Content.

Exclusive: Endeavor Content has set a first-look producing deal with Stephanie Allain for feature films.

Allain is the producer who has won Independent Spirit Awards, NAACP and Image Awards, and who became the first woman of color to produce the Academy Awards when she teamed with Lynette Howell Taylor. They were Emmy nominated for their work producing last year’s 92nd Academy Awards. Her TV deal remains at Warner Bros.

“I am beyond excited to work with Graham, Chris and everyone at Endeavor Content to produce movies that entertain and impact audiences around the world,” Allain said.

“Stephanie’s fierce advocacy for diverse filmmakers is matched only by her exceptional eye and discerning taste, and we are honored to be working with her to produce content that best reflects the world we live in,” said Graham Taylor and Chris Rice, Co-Presidents of Endeavor Content.

The movie deal that started Allain...

It’s been a royal pain to wait for it, but the first family of Zamunda is back and so it the long-awaited trailer for “Coming 2 America,” the belated sequel to the 1980s comedy classic, “Coming To America,” starring Eddie Murphy.

Read More: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2021

Eddie Murphy is pretty particular and won’t just star in any sequel to his classic films, but filmmaker Craig Brewer, seems to have earned the comedians trust.

Continue reading ‘Coming 2 America’ Trailer: Eddie Murphy & Zamunda’s First Family Is Back In 2021 at The Playlist.

The Golden Arm on Quibi is a show starring Rachel Brosnahan, and it’s well worth your time.

“Sometimes a creation comes along that is so deliriously bad, so poorly constructed, so wrong in every way, that it becomes the stuff of legend. We saw this with last year’s cinematic debacle Cats, which earned a fan base devoted to mocking it. And these types of mindbogglingly bad projects are the stuff of legend: from Gigli to Viva Laughlin to The Room, we love/hate these bananas entries into the pop culture canon.”

Read more at The Mary Sue.

It’s been over 20 years since the ballet movie classic Center Stage premiered. Here are facts about this film you may not know.

“On May 12, 2000, Center Stage burst into movie theaters across the nation, featuring some of the best ballet dancers in the industry, a bright-eyed and talented newcomer named Amanda Schull,...

Tarence Ray and Tom Sexton from the Trillbilly Worker’s Party take Joe and Josh on a cinematic journey through the South.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Story of Film: An Odyssey (2011)

The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia (2009)

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

Deliverance (1972)

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Boogie Nights (1997)

In Bruges (2008)

The Birds (1963)

Cleopatra (1963)

The Blind Side (2009)

Moneyball (2011)

Next of Kin (1989)

Speed (1994)

Gravity (2013)

Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)

Hustle and Flow (2005)

Black Snake Moan (2007)

Dolemite Is My Name (2019)

Black Snake (1973)

Mandy (2018)

Sling Blade (1996)

One False Move (1992)

The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

George Washington (2000)

Prince Avalanche (2013)

Halloween (1978)

Halloween (2018)

Halloween: H20 (1998)

Halloween (2007)

Joe (2014)

All The Real Girls (2003)

Chrystal (2005)

The Accountant (2001)

O Brother Where Art Thou? (2000)

Wild River (1960)

The Ladykillers (2004)

The Ladykillers (1956)

Baywatch (2017)

Tin Men (1987)

52 Pick-Up (1986)

Gremlins (1984)

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

Mad Max (1978)

Mad Max 2 – The Road Warrior (1980)

Alien (1979)

Aliens (1986)

Fire Down Below (1997)

Coal Miner’s Daughter...

May is shaping up to be an excellent month for new Netflix content with the inclusion of multiple films from major franchises like Back to the Future and Underworld, as well as the premiere of the new Steve Carell workplace comedy Space Force.

But as always, for every month Netflix giveth, Netflix taketh away. May will see the loss of some pretty popular content, such as all seven seasons of the hit show Scandal, some laid back Bob Ross painting, all three Austin Powers flicks, multiple entries in the Final Destination franchise, and the popular pandemic-focused Outbreak.

Here’s the full list of everything departing in May:

May 1st

John Carter

May 15th

Limitless

The Place Beyond the Pines

May 17th

Royal Pains (Seasons 1-8)

May 18th

Scandal (Seasons 1-7)

May 19th

Black Snake Moan

Carriers

Evolution

The First Wives Club

It Takes Two

Love, Rosie

She’s Out of...

Netflix is out with its list of everything coming and going in May.

Highlights include “Back to the Future” and “Back to the Future II,” the series premiere of Ryan Murphy’s “Hollywood,”

Jerry Seinfeld’s new comedy special “23 Hours to Kill,” and season two of “Dead to Me.”

Leaving throughout the month are “Austin Powers in Goldmember,” “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery,” and “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,” “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” “Limitless” and “The Place Beyond the Pines.”

Also Read: AT&T Q1 Earnings Decline, WarnerMedia Parent Blames Coronavirus

Here’s everything coming and going:

May 1

All Day and a Night — Netflix Film

Almost Happy — Netflix Original

Get In — Netflix Film

Go! Go! Cory Carson: The Chrissy — Netflix Family

The Half Of It — Netflix Film

Hollywood — Netflix Original

Into the Night — Netflix Original

Medici: The Magnificent: Part 2 — Netflix Original

Mrs. Serial Killer — Netflix Film

Reckoning...

Netflix has announced the titles that are leaving their streaming service next month. Some are just moving to a new service like John Carter going over to Disney+, but others will be lost in the ether until you just decide to get a physical copy or own it on digital. Notable movies leaving Netflix in May include The Place Beyond the Pines, Black Snake Moan, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Young Adult, the Austin Powers trilogy, the first four Final Destination movies, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, and Outbreak. Imagine not being able to see Outbreak. Just imagine right now …...

Oscar producers Lynette Howell Taylor and Stephanie Allain are promising that the 92nd Oscars will have plenty of diversity on display on Sunday.

“Lynette and I have always embraced diversity and inclusion in our work and we already had plans before the nominations were announced to celebrate that, so I think you’ll see that in the presenters and performers,” Allain said at a 25-minute news conference Wednesday at the Hollywood and Highland site of the show.

The diversity issue has been highlighted by Cynthia Erivo, who played Harriet Tubman in the film “Harriet” being the only one person of color among the 20 actors nominated for Academy Awards and no female director being nominated in the directing category.

Howell Taylor said the ceremonies will be staged with inclusion in mind with a more open presentation area. “It will be less of a proscenium,” she added.

Allain said Kobe Bryant, who died in a Jan.

Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Juliette Lewis (Camping) and Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Christina Ricci (Z: The Beginning of Everything) are set as series regulars in Showtime drama pilot Yellowjackets, from writers Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson (Narcos), Entertainment One and studio-based producer Drew Comins.

Rounding out the cast are regulars Ella Purnell (Sweetbitter), Sammi Hanratty (Shameless), Sophie Thatcher (Prospect), Sophie Nélisse (The Book Thief), Steven Krueger (The Originals) and Amy Okuda (Atypical). They join previously announced Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress and Jasmin Savoy Brown.

Karyn Kusama (Destroyer) will direct and executive produce the pilot, a co-production of Showtime and Entertainment One. Comins of Creative Engine also serves as executive producer.

Written by Lyle and Nickerson, Yellowjackets is equal parts survival epic, horror story and coming-of-age drama and tells the narrative of a team of wildly talented high school girls soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors...

Oscar-nominated producer Lynette Howell Taylor and Stephanie Allain will produce the 92nd Oscars on Feb. 9.

Academy president David Rubin made the announcement Friday.

“The combined producing talents of Lynette and Stephanie will bring dynamism and excitement to the 92nd Oscars show,” said Rubin. “Their vast production experience ranges from groundbreaking independent film to global blockbuster. We look forward to collaborating with them to bring an unforgettable Oscars event to movie fans around the world.”

Howell Taylor was nominated this year for the best picture Oscar for “A Star Is Born.” She has produced more than 20 movies in the past 15 years, including “The Accountant,” “Captain Fantastic,” “Big Eyes,” “The Place Beyond the Pines,” “Blue Valentine” and “Half Nelson.”

Allain helped launch the careers of directors John Singleton, Robert Rodriguez, Craig Brewer, Sanaa Hamri and Justin Simien. Her feature producing credits include “Black Snake Moan,” “Dear White People” and “Hustle & Flow.

Oscar-nominated A Star Is Born producer Lynette Howell Taylor and Dear White People producer Stephanie Allain will produce the 92nd Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Friday. It will be the first involvement with the Oscars for both.

“The combined producing talents of Lynette and Stephanie will bring dynamism and excitement to the 92nd Oscars show,” Academy president David Rubin said. “Their vast production experience ranges from groundbreaking independent film to global blockbuster. We look forward to collaborating with them to bring an unforgettable Oscars event to movie fans around the world.”

Howell Taylor earned a Best Picture Oscar nomination for last year’s A Star Is Born. She has produced more than 20 movies in the past 15 years, including The Accountant, Captain Fantastic, Big Eyes, The Place Beyond the Pines, Blue Valentine and Half Nelson. Her TV credits include the HBO limited series I Know This Much Is True.