Billie Jean King is set to become the first-ever female athlete to receive the Congressional Gold Medal after the House passed a bill to honor the tennis legend and advocate.
Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Mikie Sherrill (D-n.J.) said Tuesday that their bipartisan legislation to award King had cleared the House of Representatives after previously passing through the Senate. The bill now just awaits President Joe Biden’s signature, the Associated Press reports.
Rep. Sherrill said in a statement Tuesday, “Billie Jean King’s lifetime of advocacy and hard...
Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Mikie Sherrill (D-n.J.) said Tuesday that their bipartisan legislation to award King had cleared the House of Representatives after previously passing through the Senate. The bill now just awaits President Joe Biden’s signature, the Associated Press reports.
Rep. Sherrill said in a statement Tuesday, “Billie Jean King’s lifetime of advocacy and hard...
- 9/18/2024
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Before people got tired of seeing Chris Pratt in everything, the actor was reportedly set to star in a TV show remake of an ‘80s classic. The Jurassic World star was reportedly set to headline a series based on Kevin Costner’s Field of Dreams, which would reunite him with his Parks and Recreation showrunner Michael Schur.
According to a new report, the actor ‘abruptly’ dropped out of the project, which was set to cost $15 million per episode. The original film was done for a budget of $15 million and was a commercial success, earning $84 million at the box office. Pratt may have dodged a bullet by departing from the project as it is a well-known classic.
Chris Pratt Left The Remake Of Kevin Costner’s Classic Sports Drama Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams | Credits: 20th Century Fox
The 1989 sports drama Field of Dreams is a classic that still remains...
According to a new report, the actor ‘abruptly’ dropped out of the project, which was set to cost $15 million per episode. The original film was done for a budget of $15 million and was a commercial success, earning $84 million at the box office. Pratt may have dodged a bullet by departing from the project as it is a well-known classic.
Chris Pratt Left The Remake Of Kevin Costner’s Classic Sports Drama Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams | Credits: 20th Century Fox
The 1989 sports drama Field of Dreams is a classic that still remains...
- 8/25/2024
- by Nishanth A
- FandomWire
Mike Schur built it, but Chris Pratt did not come.
According to Puck, Pratt was originally set to star in Schur’s now-cancelled series adaptation of the 1989 baseball drama Field of Dreams — presumably in the role of Ray Kinsella, played in the movie by Kevin Costner — until Pratt “abruptly dropped out” of the project.
This casting would have served as a Parks and Recreation reunion between Schur,...
According to Puck, Pratt was originally set to star in Schur’s now-cancelled series adaptation of the 1989 baseball drama Field of Dreams — presumably in the role of Ray Kinsella, played in the movie by Kevin Costner — until Pratt “abruptly dropped out” of the project.
This casting would have served as a Parks and Recreation reunion between Schur,...
- 8/24/2024
- by Andy Swift
- TVLine.com
"Barney Miller" may not be one of the most talked-about sitcoms of the '70s these days, but perhaps it should be. The NYPD-set show was in some ways the "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" of its time, a socially conscious, funny series that set its action squarely in the precinct where members of the public came to ask the authorities for help -- or get arrested by them.
Like most shows about cops, it has its inherent biases, and some parts of the show have aged poorly. But "Barney Miller" is also surprisingly progressive at times. As TV historian Matt Baume writes in his queer sitcom history "Hi Honey, I'm Homo," the show broke new ground for gay characters on TV, facing off against network censors to portray New York's Greenwich Village neighborhood (post-Stonewall!) with authenticity and diversity.
Only two seasons of "Barney Miller" are currently available to rent digitally in the U.
Like most shows about cops, it has its inherent biases, and some parts of the show have aged poorly. But "Barney Miller" is also surprisingly progressive at times. As TV historian Matt Baume writes in his queer sitcom history "Hi Honey, I'm Homo," the show broke new ground for gay characters on TV, facing off against network censors to portray New York's Greenwich Village neighborhood (post-Stonewall!) with authenticity and diversity.
Only two seasons of "Barney Miller" are currently available to rent digitally in the U.
- 8/19/2024
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
Willie Mays, “The Say Hey Kid,” who was among the greatest baseball players of all time, won two MVPs, was a 24-time All-Star and made one of the greatest catches in the game’s history, died Tuesday afternoon at 93, the San Francisco Giants announced.
The epitome of the five-tool player — hitting for average, hitting for power, base running, fielding, and throwing — Mays would be on any Mount Rushmore of Major League Baseball. After a few seasons in the Negro Leagues, he broke in with the New York Giants in 1951 before the club relocated to the Bay Area for the 1958 season. He then played there for most of the next 15 seasons. He finished his singular career with the New York Mets in 1973.
He only won the World Series once, in 1954, but made an everlasting mark on the sports in Game 1 of that series. With the score tied in the eighth inning...
The epitome of the five-tool player — hitting for average, hitting for power, base running, fielding, and throwing — Mays would be on any Mount Rushmore of Major League Baseball. After a few seasons in the Negro Leagues, he broke in with the New York Giants in 1951 before the club relocated to the Bay Area for the 1958 season. He then played there for most of the next 15 seasons. He finished his singular career with the New York Mets in 1973.
He only won the World Series once, in 1954, but made an everlasting mark on the sports in Game 1 of that series. With the score tied in the eighth inning...
- 6/19/2024
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
A new documentary honoring and exploring the history of Rickwood, a field that once served as home to the Negro Leagues’ Birmingham Black Barons, will be the focus of a new documentary that debuts June 11 on Hearst Television’s Very Local app.
“Rickwood: The Soul of Birmingham,” produced by Burning Sands Productions, explores the legacy of the Black Barons and even offers a roadmap for towns across America faced with tough decisions about their aging ballparks. Among local luminaries offering reminiscences in the documentary are area natives, including former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones and popular actor and comedian Roy Wood Jr.
“This story is told through the voice of Rickwood Field,” said Laura Ling, vice president of programming at Very Local, in a statement. “It may be an inanimate object, but it comes to life to share stories of the ghosts of the past and the promise of tomorrow.
“Rickwood: The Soul of Birmingham,” produced by Burning Sands Productions, explores the legacy of the Black Barons and even offers a roadmap for towns across America faced with tough decisions about their aging ballparks. Among local luminaries offering reminiscences in the documentary are area natives, including former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones and popular actor and comedian Roy Wood Jr.
“This story is told through the voice of Rickwood Field,” said Laura Ling, vice president of programming at Very Local, in a statement. “It may be an inanimate object, but it comes to life to share stories of the ghosts of the past and the promise of tomorrow.
- 6/6/2024
- by Brian Steinberg
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Amazon MGM Studios has begun development on a Untitled Kenny Washington film about the triumphs and hardships of the first Black NFL player leading up to his professional debut with the Los Angeles Rams. La Monte Edwards is penning the script. Adam Scott Epstein will produce through his Comet Company banner, Cottrell B. Guidry producing through his Stay Cool Productions Banner and Evan Silverberg, Darin Friedman and Guymon Casady producing through Entertainment 360. Ryan Rottman, Nate Raabe and New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers exec producing through their Awkward Handshake production company.
Washington’s story is set a year before Jackie Robinson revolutionized baseball, where his UCLA teammate, LA Rams running back Kenny Washington shattered the NFL’s color barrier, altering the course of sports history and igniting the civil rights movement. Despite overcoming five knee surgeries, Washington played three seasons in the NFL, averaging 6.1 yards per carry and...
Washington’s story is set a year before Jackie Robinson revolutionized baseball, where his UCLA teammate, LA Rams running back Kenny Washington shattered the NFL’s color barrier, altering the course of sports history and igniting the civil rights movement. Despite overcoming five knee surgeries, Washington played three seasons in the NFL, averaging 6.1 yards per carry and...
- 6/5/2024
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
Baseball history has now changed forever, as Major League Baseball has officially incorporated Negro Leagues statistics into its record book.
An estimated 2,300 players who played in the Negro Leagues from 1920-1948 were integrated into MLB’s database as of Wednesday. To incorporate the stats, a review was conducted for the long project.
Exhibition games (called barnstorming) were not counted. It’s estimated that the league had access to about 75% of of box scores from Negro League games during that timespan, per The Athletic.
Fabled catcher Josh Gibson is the big winner of the new statistics. He’s now the lifetime career batting average, slugging percentage, and Ops (on base plus slugging) leader, and holds the single season batting average record, among other stats.
The move comes 3½ years after MLB said it would consider the Negro Leagues as major leagues. The assorted Negro leagues were formed before MLB was integrated.
Several...
An estimated 2,300 players who played in the Negro Leagues from 1920-1948 were integrated into MLB’s database as of Wednesday. To incorporate the stats, a review was conducted for the long project.
Exhibition games (called barnstorming) were not counted. It’s estimated that the league had access to about 75% of of box scores from Negro League games during that timespan, per The Athletic.
Fabled catcher Josh Gibson is the big winner of the new statistics. He’s now the lifetime career batting average, slugging percentage, and Ops (on base plus slugging) leader, and holds the single season batting average record, among other stats.
The move comes 3½ years after MLB said it would consider the Negro Leagues as major leagues. The assorted Negro leagues were formed before MLB was integrated.
Several...
- 5/30/2024
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Two producers who attempted to make a biopic about Roberto Clemente are now suing the baseball legend’s sons, alleging that the family twice sold the rights to Clemente’s life story.
Producers Jonah Hirsch and Angel Munoz announced plans in March 2023 to adapt the family-written biography, “Clemente: The True Legacy of an Undying Hero,” into a feature film. But after the announcement, the pair discovered that Thomas Tull, the former CEO of Legendary Pictures, was developing his own Clemente feature.
Legendary, which produced “42,” starring Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson, had optioned Clemente’s life rights in 2015, intending to produce a film based on the David Maraniss biography “Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero.”
According to the suit, the Clemente family initially claimed that Legendary had failed to make a payment, causing the life rights to revert back to the family. But that turned out to be untrue,...
Producers Jonah Hirsch and Angel Munoz announced plans in March 2023 to adapt the family-written biography, “Clemente: The True Legacy of an Undying Hero,” into a feature film. But after the announcement, the pair discovered that Thomas Tull, the former CEO of Legendary Pictures, was developing his own Clemente feature.
Legendary, which produced “42,” starring Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson, had optioned Clemente’s life rights in 2015, intending to produce a film based on the David Maraniss biography “Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero.”
According to the suit, the Clemente family initially claimed that Legendary had failed to make a payment, causing the life rights to revert back to the family. But that turned out to be untrue,...
- 5/29/2024
- by Jack Dunn and Gene Maddaus
- Variety Film + TV
Negro Leagues statistics will become part of the official Major League historical record today, May 29. More than 2,300 players who played in the seven iterations of the Negro Leagues from 1920-1948 will be integrated into MLB’s database, a move that comes several years after MLB first announced it would elevate the Negro Leagues.
Black players were barred from MLB until Jackie Robinson broke the league’s color barrier in 1947 when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers.
“We are proud that the official historical record now includes the players of the Negro Leagues,...
Black players were barred from MLB until Jackie Robinson broke the league’s color barrier in 1947 when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers.
“We are proud that the official historical record now includes the players of the Negro Leagues,...
- 5/29/2024
- by Emily Zemler
- Rollingstone.com
Before his Black Panther fame, Chadwick Boseman was a rising actor, proving his mettle as an actor in many of his incredible films. The actor has confidently played three real-life people with great conviction over the years in Get On Up, Marshall, and 42. The latter became his breakthrough film which got Hollywood to get up and take notice.
Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson in 42 | Warner Bros
The actor played famed baseball player Jackie Robinson in the latter. The film was directed by Brian Helgeland and his casting director brought in several actors for the role including Boseman. The actor was the second one to go for a read through and he impressed Helgeland big time. He was blown away by the actor’s aura of a great movie star.
Brian Helgeland Instantly Knew Chadwick Boseman Was the One for 42
For Brian Helgeland, Chadwick Boseman was the best candidate to...
Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson in 42 | Warner Bros
The actor played famed baseball player Jackie Robinson in the latter. The film was directed by Brian Helgeland and his casting director brought in several actors for the role including Boseman. The actor was the second one to go for a read through and he impressed Helgeland big time. He was blown away by the actor’s aura of a great movie star.
Brian Helgeland Instantly Knew Chadwick Boseman Was the One for 42
For Brian Helgeland, Chadwick Boseman was the best candidate to...
- 5/25/2024
- by Rahul Thokchom
- FandomWire
As the Dodgers’ first year with Shohei Ohtani brings a new wave of fans to Vin Scully Avenue, tour guides at the nearly 62-year-old stadium have voted to unionize.
During a National Labor Relations Board election on Tuesday afternoon, 18 tour guides voted “yes” to unionize and 12 voted against. As a result, pending Nlrb certification of the election results, a group of nearly 40 tour guides, tour leads and one plant data collector (a.k.a. the guide of the stadium’s “garden tour”) will join IATSE B-192, a growing Local that represents fellow tour guides at Universal Studios Hollywood and ushers at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre. Since the Dodger Stadium group went public with their unionization drive, more tour guides have been hired and will ultimately be included in the union, according IATSE B-192.
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to the Dodgers for comment.
Responsible for leading the wide array...
During a National Labor Relations Board election on Tuesday afternoon, 18 tour guides voted “yes” to unionize and 12 voted against. As a result, pending Nlrb certification of the election results, a group of nearly 40 tour guides, tour leads and one plant data collector (a.k.a. the guide of the stadium’s “garden tour”) will join IATSE B-192, a growing Local that represents fellow tour guides at Universal Studios Hollywood and ushers at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre. Since the Dodger Stadium group went public with their unionization drive, more tour guides have been hired and will ultimately be included in the union, according IATSE B-192.
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to the Dodgers for comment.
Responsible for leading the wide array...
- 4/2/2024
- by Katie Kilkenny
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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The Little Golden Books have been a staple of childhood across several generations. Created in 1942, the collection is known for bringing picture books to children at affordable prices, with text ranging from adventures and fairytales to educational material. In fact, the story of "The Poky Little Puppy" from the Little Golden Books roster is actually the best-selling children's book of all time.
After delivering classic tales from the likes of Mary Blair, Margaret Wise Brown, Richard Scarry, Eloise Wilkins, Garth Williams, and many more, Little Golden Books have also dived into the wide world of established intellectual property, including stories inspired by "Star Wars," "Sesame Street," DC and Marvel Comics, Barbie, Disney, Nickelodeon, and much more. In recent years, Little Golden Books have also been delivering biographies of the most influential people in history, starting with Martin Luther King Jr....
The Little Golden Books have been a staple of childhood across several generations. Created in 1942, the collection is known for bringing picture books to children at affordable prices, with text ranging from adventures and fairytales to educational material. In fact, the story of "The Poky Little Puppy" from the Little Golden Books roster is actually the best-selling children's book of all time.
After delivering classic tales from the likes of Mary Blair, Margaret Wise Brown, Richard Scarry, Eloise Wilkins, Garth Williams, and many more, Little Golden Books have also dived into the wide world of established intellectual property, including stories inspired by "Star Wars," "Sesame Street," DC and Marvel Comics, Barbie, Disney, Nickelodeon, and much more. In recent years, Little Golden Books have also been delivering biographies of the most influential people in history, starting with Martin Luther King Jr....
- 3/25/2024
- by Ethan Anderton
- Slash Film
It’s Game 6 of the 1971 World Series. Orioles-Pirates. Tied game, bottom of the ninth, two outs. Mark Belanger is on first when Don Buford rips a double down the line. Belanger should score easily on the play. Not today. In right field, the Pirates’ Roberto Clemente plays the carom perfectly — not easy in a visitor’s ballpark — and throws a perfect strike to catcher Manny Sanguillen, his best friend on the team. Belanger has to hold at third.
It was an extraordinary throw that Clemente made routinely during a Hall of Fame career that included two world titles, 3,000 hits, four batting titles, and 12 Golden Gloves. But it wasn’t all highlights, as the new documentary, “Clemente,” shows in aching detail. Even Clemente’s greatest talents were turned against him in an America that viewed number 21 as already having three strikes against him: Black, Puerto Rican and outspoken. Matter of fact,...
It was an extraordinary throw that Clemente made routinely during a Hall of Fame career that included two world titles, 3,000 hits, four batting titles, and 12 Golden Gloves. But it wasn’t all highlights, as the new documentary, “Clemente,” shows in aching detail. Even Clemente’s greatest talents were turned against him in an America that viewed number 21 as already having three strikes against him: Black, Puerto Rican and outspoken. Matter of fact,...
- 3/8/2024
- by Stephen Rodrick
- Variety Film + TV
Hank Bradford, the clever stand-up comic who performed a half-dozen times on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson before serving a five-year stint as head writer on the program, has died. He was 88.
Bradford died Jan. 18 in Los Angeles, his family announced.
Bradford did uncredited dialogue rewrites on the Burt Reynolds-starring Smokey and the Bandit (1977) — when he got the script, “it wasn’t a comedy,” he revealed to host Mark Malkoff on a 2017 episode of The Carson Podcast — and wrote for such TV shows as M*A*S*H, Private Benjamin and Three’s Company.
The Brooklyn native made his first appearance on the Tonight Show in September 1966 when it was based in New York. He got a spot inside the writers room in 1969, succeeded Marshall Brickman as head writer in 1970 and moved with the show to Burbank in 1972.
Bradford’s role on the fabled NBC late-night program was...
Bradford died Jan. 18 in Los Angeles, his family announced.
Bradford did uncredited dialogue rewrites on the Burt Reynolds-starring Smokey and the Bandit (1977) — when he got the script, “it wasn’t a comedy,” he revealed to host Mark Malkoff on a 2017 episode of The Carson Podcast — and wrote for such TV shows as M*A*S*H, Private Benjamin and Three’s Company.
The Brooklyn native made his first appearance on the Tonight Show in September 1966 when it was based in New York. He got a spot inside the writers room in 1969, succeeded Marshall Brickman as head writer in 1970 and moved with the show to Burbank in 1972.
Bradford’s role on the fabled NBC late-night program was...
- 2/9/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Chadwick Boseman’s tragic death at the age of 43 shocked the world on August 28, 2020. The talented young actor, best known around the world for his portrayal of the superhero Black Panther, broke into Hollywood through a series of portrayals of black historical figures. Boseman was a versatile actor, capable of playing his roles with both a dignified stoicism and a manic energy. In honor of the late actor’s memory, let’s take a look back at his greatest film roles in our ranked photo gallery.
Boseman began his career as a theater actor and director, and shortly after starred in several small television roles, culminating in a recurring role on the show “Persons Unknown.” The actor got his big break when he was cast as baseball star Jackie Robinson in the biopic “42,” and was subsequently cast as singer James Brown in another biopic, “Get On Up.” Boseman received...
Boseman began his career as a theater actor and director, and shortly after starred in several small television roles, culminating in a recurring role on the show “Persons Unknown.” The actor got his big break when he was cast as baseball star Jackie Robinson in the biopic “42,” and was subsequently cast as singer James Brown in another biopic, “Get On Up.” Boseman received...
- 11/25/2023
- by Zach Moore, Chris Beachum and Zach Laws
- Gold Derby
For over 125 years, Pepsi has not only created ads, it has created culture, collaborating with musicians, artists, and icons to make moments that transcend marketing and contribute to the broader cultural conversation. So, we brought together a couple world-class mad men to have a conversation about Pepsi’s role as a maker, a cultural force, and a brand that has lived in the new, and the now, for 125 years.
Creative Director, Jeremy Hodges, founder of the Project Art Collective and Steven Simoncic, Partner/Cco at Morning Walk, sat down to talk about craft,...
Creative Director, Jeremy Hodges, founder of the Project Art Collective and Steven Simoncic, Partner/Cco at Morning Walk, sat down to talk about craft,...
- 11/21/2023
- by Jeremy Hodges and Steve Simoncic
- Rollingstone.com
Fisherman, family, blue-collar life, debts that pile up, and crime all swirl together in the new drama, “Finestkind” from Oscar-winning writer/director Brian Helgeland, who won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for “LA Confidential” in 1998. Helgeland’s done a ton since, writing the Oscar-winning “Mystic River” for Clint Eastwood, “Man on Fire” for Tony Scott, and directing the Jackie Robinson biopic “42,” “Legend” with Tom Hardy, and now, “Finestkind.”
“Finestkind” stars Ben Foster, Toby Wallace, Tommy Lee Jones, and Jenna Ortega, and it’s a crime drama about a crew of fishermen who tread dangerous waters after their debts start piling up.
Continue reading ‘Finestkind’ Trailer: Bluecollar Fisherman Get Ensared In Crime Starring Ben Foster, Jenna Ortega, Tommy Lee Jones & More at The Playlist.
“Finestkind” stars Ben Foster, Toby Wallace, Tommy Lee Jones, and Jenna Ortega, and it’s a crime drama about a crew of fishermen who tread dangerous waters after their debts start piling up.
Continue reading ‘Finestkind’ Trailer: Bluecollar Fisherman Get Ensared In Crime Starring Ben Foster, Jenna Ortega, Tommy Lee Jones & More at The Playlist.
- 10/26/2023
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
If Peacock had built it, look who would have come!
A year and a half after the streaming outlet pulled the plug on his Field of Dreams adaptation, executive producer Mike Schur has revealed the ill-fated limited series’ all-star lineup — an A-list roster that would’ve brought together veterans of Schur comedies Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Good Place and Parks and Recreation, all under one clubhouse.
More from TVLine<em>Brooklyn Nine-Nine</em>‘s 10 Best Cold Opens, Ranked — Which Comes In at No. 1?Galentine’s Day: How a <i>Parks and Rec</i> Episode Has Haunted Me for 13 YearsElite to End With Season 8 at Netflix...
A year and a half after the streaming outlet pulled the plug on his Field of Dreams adaptation, executive producer Mike Schur has revealed the ill-fated limited series’ all-star lineup — an A-list roster that would’ve brought together veterans of Schur comedies Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Good Place and Parks and Recreation, all under one clubhouse.
More from TVLine<em>Brooklyn Nine-Nine</em>‘s 10 Best Cold Opens, Ranked — Which Comes In at No. 1?Galentine’s Day: How a <i>Parks and Rec</i> Episode Has Haunted Me for 13 YearsElite to End With Season 8 at Netflix...
- 10/18/2023
- by Ryan Schwartz
- TVLine.com
In the 24th weekly installment of the Deadline Strike Talk Podcast, host Billy Ray doesn’t seem too shaken by the surprise breakoff of talks between the studios and SAG-AFTRA.
Even though CAA chief Bryan Lourd stated publicly there is a wide gap between the streamers and actors over residuals, Ray believes a deal could be had by the end of next week. The pressure is high, as crew members stretch further without a paycheck, and the streamers find themselves the focus over issues like viewer transparency and what that should mean in the area of residuals and health benefits for actors.
This week, Ray takes a look at the actor’s life with three veterans who each trod a hard road to get to a position of prominence: Ashley Nicole Black, Clark Gregg, and Robert Wisdom. They discuss the ongoing strike, the importance of continued solidarity and the essential next steps for performers to protect their work.
Ray’s intro deals with Jackie Robinson and former Dodgers Gm Branch Rickey and how the historic shattering of baseball’s color line came two years in the making and involved a key person who’d grown up in the segregated South and had to be swung over to the right side of history in order for the audacious move to succeed. Luck is opportunity meeting preparation, Ray says. He believes that the planning that went into the current painful labor stoppage will change the business long term, for the better, and make it possible for the next Ashley Nicole Black, Clark Gregg and Robert Wisdom to thrive in an art form that pours of billions in revenues, and ought to provide for health benefits and a cushion against lean times like the ones we are all dealing with right now.
Listen here:...
Even though CAA chief Bryan Lourd stated publicly there is a wide gap between the streamers and actors over residuals, Ray believes a deal could be had by the end of next week. The pressure is high, as crew members stretch further without a paycheck, and the streamers find themselves the focus over issues like viewer transparency and what that should mean in the area of residuals and health benefits for actors.
This week, Ray takes a look at the actor’s life with three veterans who each trod a hard road to get to a position of prominence: Ashley Nicole Black, Clark Gregg, and Robert Wisdom. They discuss the ongoing strike, the importance of continued solidarity and the essential next steps for performers to protect their work.
Ray’s intro deals with Jackie Robinson and former Dodgers Gm Branch Rickey and how the historic shattering of baseball’s color line came two years in the making and involved a key person who’d grown up in the segregated South and had to be swung over to the right side of history in order for the audacious move to succeed. Luck is opportunity meeting preparation, Ray says. He believes that the planning that went into the current painful labor stoppage will change the business long term, for the better, and make it possible for the next Ashley Nicole Black, Clark Gregg and Robert Wisdom to thrive in an art form that pours of billions in revenues, and ought to provide for health benefits and a cushion against lean times like the ones we are all dealing with right now.
Listen here:...
- 10/13/2023
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline Film + TV
As the Hollywood strikes stretched to Week 23, optimism is high that a deal between signatories and SAG-AFTRA is close and the town can go back to work. That enthusiasm could be felt with all the deal stories that Deadline broke this week, a clear signal of hope.
Not so fast, says Deadline Strike Talk host Billy Ray. Citing examples that range from director Ted Kotcheff changing the death of John Rambo in First Blood to Jackie Robinson retiring rather than the lifelong Dodger accepting a deal to play for the Giants and all that Jimmy Carter accomplished post-White House, Ray implores SAG-AFTRA to remember it isn’t who drew first blood but who sticks the landing. And for actors, that means safeguards against AI.
Joining him as guests this week are Rumman Chowdhury, an expert in AI and machine learning with fellowships and research positions at Harvard, Cambridge and NYU,...
Not so fast, says Deadline Strike Talk host Billy Ray. Citing examples that range from director Ted Kotcheff changing the death of John Rambo in First Blood to Jackie Robinson retiring rather than the lifelong Dodger accepting a deal to play for the Giants and all that Jimmy Carter accomplished post-White House, Ray implores SAG-AFTRA to remember it isn’t who drew first blood but who sticks the landing. And for actors, that means safeguards against AI.
Joining him as guests this week are Rumman Chowdhury, an expert in AI and machine learning with fellowships and research positions at Harvard, Cambridge and NYU,...
- 10/6/2023
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline Film + TV
Perhaps no other film has shaped Hollywood like "Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope" has since 1977, which is not bad for a movie whose crew regarded it as a joke during production. George Lucas' epic saga of space wizards, space fascists, and plucky everyday heroes long ago in a galaxy far, far away was ground-breaking in its VFX, yet its story looked to the past. Drawing from a myriad of sources across different cultures and genres, Lucas wove a fairy tale as elemental as any in its depiction of the eternal war between the forces of darkness and light.
Due to its success, the cast of "Star Wars" would forever be associated first and foremost with their roles in the film, sometimes to the chagrin of the actors who had led long and illustrious careers before that. For the likes of Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Anthony Daniels,...
Due to its success, the cast of "Star Wars" would forever be associated first and foremost with their roles in the film, sometimes to the chagrin of the actors who had led long and illustrious careers before that. For the likes of Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Anthony Daniels,...
- 10/4/2023
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
Amid Hollywood’s double strikes and a recent resurgence of Covid-19, rolling with the punches is a necessary quality for those looking to enter the entertainment industry, according to FredAnthony Smith, who serves as head of nonscripted development at “Bs High” producer Smac Entertainment, which was co-founded by Constance Schwartz-Morini and Michael Strahan.
“Part of the job is planning, and being very detailed… but also knowing that as soon as you wake up the next day, getting ready to enact that plan, you’re gonna have to rip the plan up, because something’s gonna go wrong,” Smith told TheWrap for this week’s Office With a View. “At the very beginning of the day, something’s going to happen where you have to completely change your plan.”
It’s not just trying to guess when the guilds and studios might come back to the negotiating table or navigating a stubbornly persistent pandemic.
“Part of the job is planning, and being very detailed… but also knowing that as soon as you wake up the next day, getting ready to enact that plan, you’re gonna have to rip the plan up, because something’s gonna go wrong,” Smith told TheWrap for this week’s Office With a View. “At the very beginning of the day, something’s going to happen where you have to completely change your plan.”
It’s not just trying to guess when the guilds and studios might come back to the negotiating table or navigating a stubbornly persistent pandemic.
- 8/31/2023
- by Loree Seitz
- The Wrap
One of the greatest pitchers in Los Angeles Dodgers history was honored Friday night at Dodger Stadium before the game.
The Dodgers retired Fernando Valenzuela’s No. 34 jersey, the culminating event in the city council declaration of “Fernando Valenzuela Day.”
In a pregame moment, the 62-year-old Valenzuela admitted, “It’s very emotional” to a crowded room of English and Spanish-language media hours before the ceremony. “I never expected it.”
A drone show honoring Valenzuela is expected after the game against the Colorado Rockies. On Saturday, the team is giving away his bobblehead, and on Sunday, the giveaway is a replica of Valenzuela’s 1981 World Series ring.
Valenzuela broke in with the Dodgers in a huge way in 1981. Besides winning the World Series, he won Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award, the first player to do so in the same year.
He was named the Opening Day starter...
The Dodgers retired Fernando Valenzuela’s No. 34 jersey, the culminating event in the city council declaration of “Fernando Valenzuela Day.”
In a pregame moment, the 62-year-old Valenzuela admitted, “It’s very emotional” to a crowded room of English and Spanish-language media hours before the ceremony. “I never expected it.”
A drone show honoring Valenzuela is expected after the game against the Colorado Rockies. On Saturday, the team is giving away his bobblehead, and on Sunday, the giveaway is a replica of Valenzuela’s 1981 World Series ring.
Valenzuela broke in with the Dodgers in a huge way in 1981. Besides winning the World Series, he won Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award, the first player to do so in the same year.
He was named the Opening Day starter...
- 8/12/2023
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
To look at Ruth E. Carter’s body of work is intimidating, ranging from nearly all of Spike Lee’s directorial efforts to crafting the wardrobe for both “Black Panther” features. Now, the two-time Oscar-winner is receiving a tribute courtesy of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures this Saturday where she’ll be sitting down with the Academy’s director and President, Jacqueline Stewart, for a discussion about her illustrious career and a signing of her first book, “The Art of Ruth E. Carter.”
“It further confirms that I am supported by my peers, and that the efforts that I have made throughout my career that [are] outlined in this book are supported and celebrated by the Academy,” Carter told TheWrap. “For a young girl from Springfield who pulled herself up by her bootstraps and made it out to Los Angeles in a little Volkswagen Rabbit, and worked hard in the...
“It further confirms that I am supported by my peers, and that the efforts that I have made throughout my career that [are] outlined in this book are supported and celebrated by the Academy,” Carter told TheWrap. “For a young girl from Springfield who pulled herself up by her bootstraps and made it out to Los Angeles in a little Volkswagen Rabbit, and worked hard in the...
- 7/28/2023
- by Kristen Lopez
- The Wrap
Chicago – Sam Pollard has established himself as a top director of documentaries, to add to his stellar career as a film editor … including for Spike Lee. His latest doc is a deep dive into the 20th Century curiosity of the Negro League. With interviews, archival photos/footage and comprehensive storytelling, the doc is entitled “The League.”
The Negro Leagues were born because of Major League Baseball’s segregation in the first half of the 20th Century, as the owners colluded to keep blacks off their teams. It took black entrepreneur Rube Foster to organize the rag-tag “negro” teams of the era into a collective in 1920. At the League’s peak they forged their own top players, introduced a more modern speed-oriented game and produced many future stars … including Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. Barely surviving the Depression, the barnstorming league changed teams and areas of the country with impunity,...
The Negro Leagues were born because of Major League Baseball’s segregation in the first half of the 20th Century, as the owners colluded to keep blacks off their teams. It took black entrepreneur Rube Foster to organize the rag-tag “negro” teams of the era into a collective in 1920. At the League’s peak they forged their own top players, introduced a more modern speed-oriented game and produced many future stars … including Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. Barely surviving the Depression, the barnstorming league changed teams and areas of the country with impunity,...
- 7/15/2023
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
There’s no shortage of great movies about baseball, but there is a severe lack of films about the Negro leagues. The fifth inning of Ken Burns’ expansive “Baseball” covers them with admirable reverence, but feature-length projects — whether narrative or documentary — are vanishingly rare. “The League” is therefore something close to required viewing for devotees of our national pastime just by virtue of its existence, so it comes as a relief that Sam Pollard’s documentary (exec produced by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson) is also quite good on the merits.
Given his résumé, that shouldn’t come as a surprise. Pollard’s prior work as director includes “MLK/FBI” and “Citizen Ashe,” and he’s also edited several Spike Lee joints; in addition to a Peabody Award and career achievement prize from the International Documentary Association, he shared an Oscar nomination with Lee for 1997’s “4 Little Girls” about the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing.
Given his résumé, that shouldn’t come as a surprise. Pollard’s prior work as director includes “MLK/FBI” and “Citizen Ashe,” and he’s also edited several Spike Lee joints; in addition to a Peabody Award and career achievement prize from the International Documentary Association, he shared an Oscar nomination with Lee for 1997’s “4 Little Girls” about the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing.
- 7/14/2023
- by Michael Nordine
- Variety Film + TV
If you didn’t grow up in Pittsburgh (which boasted rival baseball greats the Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords) or watch Episode 5 of the 1994 Ken Burns docu-series “Baseball,” you may not know much about the Negro Leagues. That’s about to change.
Sam Pollard’s “The League” is an eye-opening slice of American baseball’s 154-year history. In fact, the recent rule changes imposed on the Majors by Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred were inspired in part by the practices of the Negro Leagues: while Babe Ruth focused on home runs (like many players today), these extraordinary Black athletes favored a fast, hit-and-run, base-stealing game.
“If you watch footage of Jackie Robinson from the ’40s and the ’50s, his style of play, his aggressiveness, all came from the Negro Leagues,” Oscar-nominated documentary director Pollard told IndieWire during a recent interview. “If you watch the players who integrated Major League Baseball,...
Sam Pollard’s “The League” is an eye-opening slice of American baseball’s 154-year history. In fact, the recent rule changes imposed on the Majors by Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred were inspired in part by the practices of the Negro Leagues: while Babe Ruth focused on home runs (like many players today), these extraordinary Black athletes favored a fast, hit-and-run, base-stealing game.
“If you watch footage of Jackie Robinson from the ’40s and the ’50s, his style of play, his aggressiveness, all came from the Negro Leagues,” Oscar-nominated documentary director Pollard told IndieWire during a recent interview. “If you watch the players who integrated Major League Baseball,...
- 7/13/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Spike Lee and the photographs, album covers, movie posters, letters, books, costumes and film memorabilia that have inspired him will be explored through a new immersive exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum.
Spike Lee: Creative Sources will offer an in-depth look at the individuals, places and influences that have shaped the Oscar winner’s work. Running Oct. 6, 2023 to Feb. 4, 2024 and organized by Kimberli Gant, a curator of modern and contemporary art, with Indira A. Abiskaroon, curatorial assistant, modern and contemporary art at the Brooklyn Museum, the installation will feature over 300 objects displayed thematically in seven sections, each of which will feature a clip from one of Lee’s films.
“By making Lee’s collection accessible to the public, this showcase celebrates his legacy while honoring his deep connection to Brooklyn, a place that has been an integral part of his storytelling,” Gant said in a statement.
The seven sections of influences span Black history and culture,...
Spike Lee: Creative Sources will offer an in-depth look at the individuals, places and influences that have shaped the Oscar winner’s work. Running Oct. 6, 2023 to Feb. 4, 2024 and organized by Kimberli Gant, a curator of modern and contemporary art, with Indira A. Abiskaroon, curatorial assistant, modern and contemporary art at the Brooklyn Museum, the installation will feature over 300 objects displayed thematically in seven sections, each of which will feature a clip from one of Lee’s films.
“By making Lee’s collection accessible to the public, this showcase celebrates his legacy while honoring his deep connection to Brooklyn, a place that has been an integral part of his storytelling,” Gant said in a statement.
The seven sections of influences span Black history and culture,...
- 7/10/2023
- by Abbey White
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A sci-fi comedy by Mel Eslyn and a literary noir by Alice Troughton – who are, respectively, the longtime producer for the Duplass brothers and an award-winning UK television director — debut in limited release this weekend, alongside Adele Lim’s Joy Ride, a Lionsgate wide-release – marking first-time feature film debuts by three women.
(Noting that Chelsea Peretti’s recent Tribeca-premiering film First Time Female Director sort of re-coined that phrase.)
Troughton called it “really reassuring” to see female helmers opening films. In the UK “we are below 20% of the directing force and … directorial women’s roles are dropping, as are roles for people of color. So the diversity is sort of slacking off a bit after a really good push. So it felt really important as somebody who had the privilege to be in the position to go and make a film, to go and do it.
(Noting that Chelsea Peretti’s recent Tribeca-premiering film First Time Female Director sort of re-coined that phrase.)
Troughton called it “really reassuring” to see female helmers opening films. In the UK “we are below 20% of the directing force and … directorial women’s roles are dropping, as are roles for people of color. So the diversity is sort of slacking off a bit after a really good push. So it felt really important as somebody who had the privilege to be in the position to go and make a film, to go and do it.
- 7/7/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Sam Pollard’s “The League” Is Not Your Typical Baseball Doc.
The documentary filmmaker grew up in the 1960s watching the St. Louis Cardinals, whose roster of players included Black or Latino players including Bill White, Curt Flood, Orlando Cepeda and Lou Brock, but did not know much about the Negro Leagues that existed when the sport was still segregated.
“I knew who Jackie Robinson was and that it was because of him Blacks had integrated the Major Leagues in 1947,” says Pollard. “But what I did not know much about in 1964 at the age of 14 was that he had come out of the Negro Leagues and that the Negro Leagues had been home to Black and Latino ballplayers who had to play segregated baseball during the height of the Jim Crow era.”
While some segregation in the sport always existed, the color line in baseball was not rigidly enforced until...
The documentary filmmaker grew up in the 1960s watching the St. Louis Cardinals, whose roster of players included Black or Latino players including Bill White, Curt Flood, Orlando Cepeda and Lou Brock, but did not know much about the Negro Leagues that existed when the sport was still segregated.
“I knew who Jackie Robinson was and that it was because of him Blacks had integrated the Major Leagues in 1947,” says Pollard. “But what I did not know much about in 1964 at the age of 14 was that he had come out of the Negro Leagues and that the Negro Leagues had been home to Black and Latino ballplayers who had to play segregated baseball during the height of the Jim Crow era.”
While some segregation in the sport always existed, the color line in baseball was not rigidly enforced until...
- 7/7/2023
- by Addie Morfoot
- Variety Film + TV
During the opening frames of Sam Pollard’s “The League,” a wistful and profound documentary about the rise and fall of the Negro Leagues, baseball hall-of-famers Hank Aaron and Monte Irvin share how they played the game as kids, even when they had nothing more than broomsticks.
As footage of Black kids playing on a sandlot rush by, what’s being discussed isn’t merely successful men reminiscing about their past hardships, they’re talking about how they overcame those obstacles through resourcefulness and guile. Pollard’s newest incisive documentary about one of the largest Black-owned businesses in America, the Negro Leagues, is filled with those gems of perseverance and adaptation.
And yet, Pollard doesn’t skirt from the deeply felt dangers that afflicted these athletes living under the cloud of systemic racism. He tells this history through his narration and chronologically. He begins by straightening a misconception: Though Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier,...
As footage of Black kids playing on a sandlot rush by, what’s being discussed isn’t merely successful men reminiscing about their past hardships, they’re talking about how they overcame those obstacles through resourcefulness and guile. Pollard’s newest incisive documentary about one of the largest Black-owned businesses in America, the Negro Leagues, is filled with those gems of perseverance and adaptation.
And yet, Pollard doesn’t skirt from the deeply felt dangers that afflicted these athletes living under the cloud of systemic racism. He tells this history through his narration and chronologically. He begins by straightening a misconception: Though Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier,...
- 7/7/2023
- by Robert Daniels
- Indiewire
The story of the Negro baseball leagues has the hallmarks of a feel-good story: determination, inventiveness, and relentless optimism in the face of unyielding hatred. But while Sam Pollard’s mostly straightforward and celebratory documentary The League doesn’t skimp on those elements, he also introduces knottier emotions that allow the film, which is executive produced by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, to escape two-dimensionality.
Unlike many other manifestations of American racial prejudice, baseball in its early years was at least somewhat integrated. The historians here describe how late-19th-century baseball featured largely white teams with occasional Black players. In the film’s telling, this relative openness started coming to an end after an 1883 game where star white player and manager Adrian Constantine Anson, nicknamed “Pop” and “Cap,” refused to play an integrated team. When the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson “separate but equal” ruling provided legal justification for segregation, the practice became standardized across many American institutions,...
Unlike many other manifestations of American racial prejudice, baseball in its early years was at least somewhat integrated. The historians here describe how late-19th-century baseball featured largely white teams with occasional Black players. In the film’s telling, this relative openness started coming to an end after an 1883 game where star white player and manager Adrian Constantine Anson, nicknamed “Pop” and “Cap,” refused to play an integrated team. When the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson “separate but equal” ruling provided legal justification for segregation, the practice became standardized across many American institutions,...
- 6/30/2023
- by Chris Barsanti
- Slant Magazine
We all know Harrison Ford as a big movie star now, but he only had a handful of credits when George Lucas decided to cast him as Han Solo. After that, nothing would be the same. Suddenly, he was in one of the world’s biggest movies. He would go on to have a very storied career and play some of the biggest icons on the big screen. With Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny, he is putting one of his most enduring characters to rest. Now, it’s time to go back and look at his filmography and seek out some of the most underrated Harrison Ford movies.
K-19: The Widowmaker (2002)
Ford plays Russian Submarine Captain Alexei Vostrikov in the true story of the K-19 Russian submarine. During the 60s Cold War, Russia hurries to compete with the United States’ nuclear submarine capabilities. They hastily put...
K-19: The Widowmaker (2002)
Ford plays Russian Submarine Captain Alexei Vostrikov in the true story of the K-19 Russian submarine. During the 60s Cold War, Russia hurries to compete with the United States’ nuclear submarine capabilities. They hastily put...
- 6/25/2023
- by Bryan Wolford
- JoBlo.com
[Warning: The below contains Major spoilers for the June 20 episode of Jeopardy!] In the June 20 episode of Jeopardy!, two-day champ Ben Goldstein had to secure his $15,198 winnings against scrum master Janie Sullivan and cryptocurrency & angel investor Tym Blanchard. However, several wrong answers and a bunch of stumpers made it a rough watch for fans, especially when it came to Tym’s performance. During the first Daily Double, host Mayim Bialik read for $800 in the Architects category, “In the 1690s, he began designing the twin-domed Royal Hospital for seamen in London.” Janie answered incorrectly, dropping $1,500 from her $4,400 total against Ben’s $6,200. By this time, there were more than a few stumpers and misses from the contestants, including one where no one guessed Jackie Robinson when asked which Brooklyn Dodger’s name is on a foundation to help minority kids go to college. It was also becoming evident that Tym was answering questions before the host could call on him. Going ...
- 6/20/2023
- TV Insider
“Wait, the name at the top of this website reads ‘Den of Geek’ and now they’re talking about sports? Don’t they know I’m gangly and uncoordinated?”
Yes, dear reader, we know that. Truth is, we’re all gangly and uncoordinated as well. But that doesn’t mean that we geeks can’t occasionally get together and enjoy the dramatic majesty of competitive sports. Sports documentaries have always been a part of the entertainment ecosystem. Of late, however, it seems as though there’s more of them for the casual sports fan or even fully sports-phobic TV-watcher to enjoy.
ESPN’s “30 for 30” sports documentary initiative kicked off a new era of TV sports documentaries in 2009. And since then, the offerings have only gotten better. With streamers like Netflix fully into the fray there have never been as many compelling sports stories being told as there is right now.
Yes, dear reader, we know that. Truth is, we’re all gangly and uncoordinated as well. But that doesn’t mean that we geeks can’t occasionally get together and enjoy the dramatic majesty of competitive sports. Sports documentaries have always been a part of the entertainment ecosystem. Of late, however, it seems as though there’s more of them for the casual sports fan or even fully sports-phobic TV-watcher to enjoy.
ESPN’s “30 for 30” sports documentary initiative kicked off a new era of TV sports documentaries in 2009. And since then, the offerings have only gotten better. With streamers like Netflix fully into the fray there have never been as many compelling sports stories being told as there is right now.
- 6/16/2023
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Yogi Berra smiling. Photo credit: Getty. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
It doesn’t get any more delightful than the surprising, warm documentary about beloved baseball legend Yogi Berra, It Ain’T Over. Surprising? Yes, as this well-made bio documentary looks back at Yogi’s outstanding baseball career as player, something overshadowed and even forgotten by fans, as he became best known as a lovable pop culture icon and for his “Yogi-isms,” quotable phrases like “it’s deja vu all over again,” “when you come to a fork in the road, take it” and “it ain’t over until it’s over.” Yet Yogi Berra was a baseball player whose record put him among the greats of the game, As actor and baseball fan Billy Crystal put it, Yogi was “the most overlooked superstar in the history of baseball.”
The numbers are impressive, jaw-dropping even, considering what we might think we know about Yogi Berra.
It doesn’t get any more delightful than the surprising, warm documentary about beloved baseball legend Yogi Berra, It Ain’T Over. Surprising? Yes, as this well-made bio documentary looks back at Yogi’s outstanding baseball career as player, something overshadowed and even forgotten by fans, as he became best known as a lovable pop culture icon and for his “Yogi-isms,” quotable phrases like “it’s deja vu all over again,” “when you come to a fork in the road, take it” and “it ain’t over until it’s over.” Yet Yogi Berra was a baseball player whose record put him among the greats of the game, As actor and baseball fan Billy Crystal put it, Yogi was “the most overlooked superstar in the history of baseball.”
The numbers are impressive, jaw-dropping even, considering what we might think we know about Yogi Berra.
- 5/19/2023
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
It’s another weekend of box office domination for “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which collected a towering $40 million in its fourth frame. Those ticket sales, down just 33% from the weekend prior, were easily enough to rule over the weekend’s newcomers, including literary adaptation “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” Finnish war drama “Sisu” and biopic “Big George Foreman.”
After four weeks on the big screen, “Mario” has grossed $490 million in North America and $532 million internationally to loom even larger as the highest-grossing film of 2023. It’s also the first movie of the year to cross $1 billion globally. Only five pandemic-era blockbusters have hit that milestone.
“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” fared the best among the new releases, opening in third place with $6.8 million from 3,343 North American theaters. Those are rocky ticket sales for the $30 million-budgeted coming-of-age story, which is based on Judy Blume’s seminal novel,...
After four weeks on the big screen, “Mario” has grossed $490 million in North America and $532 million internationally to loom even larger as the highest-grossing film of 2023. It’s also the first movie of the year to cross $1 billion globally. Only five pandemic-era blockbusters have hit that milestone.
“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” fared the best among the new releases, opening in third place with $6.8 million from 3,343 North American theaters. Those are rocky ticket sales for the $30 million-budgeted coming-of-age story, which is based on Judy Blume’s seminal novel,...
- 4/30/2023
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
Denzel Washington wants to touch people’s lives.
In a new interview on “Good Morning America”, the Oscar-winning actor opens up about his work with the Boys & Girls Club, and reveals how he once met a very young Drake.
Read More: Denzel Washington In Talks To Star Opposite Paul Mescal In Ridley Scott’s ‘Gladiator’ Sequel
"You just never know who you touch."
Denzel Washington talks about the impact the Boys & Girls Club has had on his life as he celebrates its 5,000th location. @reevewill has more. pic.twitter.com/4zUUNaX1Mi
— Good Morning America (@GMA) April 13, 2023
“You just never know who you touch. I met a kid in Toronto who came up and was fascinated because I was like this star, and he wanted to talk to me, and he couldn’t believe that he met me,” Washington said.
“Well, 10 or 15 years later, he came up and he said,...
In a new interview on “Good Morning America”, the Oscar-winning actor opens up about his work with the Boys & Girls Club, and reveals how he once met a very young Drake.
Read More: Denzel Washington In Talks To Star Opposite Paul Mescal In Ridley Scott’s ‘Gladiator’ Sequel
"You just never know who you touch."
Denzel Washington talks about the impact the Boys & Girls Club has had on his life as he celebrates its 5,000th location. @reevewill has more. pic.twitter.com/4zUUNaX1Mi
— Good Morning America (@GMA) April 13, 2023
“You just never know who you touch. I met a kid in Toronto who came up and was fascinated because I was like this star, and he wanted to talk to me, and he couldn’t believe that he met me,” Washington said.
“Well, 10 or 15 years later, he came up and he said,...
- 4/14/2023
- by Corey Atad
- ET Canada
“Sweetwater” is a biopic about Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, the Black power forward who broke the color barrier of the NBA in 1950, three years after Jackie Robinson accomplished the same feat in baseball. It’s telling that Robinson remains one of the most celebrated heroes in sports history, while Clifton is still a somewhat obscure figure.
There’s a biting irony to that contrast. It relates to how the integration of basketball totally changed the game, even more than the integration of baseball changed baseball. “Sweetwater,” written and directed by Martin Guigui, is a straight-down-the-middle inspirational sports movie — and, one regrets to say, a kind of benign sketchbook version of the form. Yet it also tells the tale of the Harlem Globetrotters, the fabled team of barnstorming trickster prodigies who Clifton started off as a member of. There were several levels to the Globetrotters’ athletic magic, and the film captures how...
There’s a biting irony to that contrast. It relates to how the integration of basketball totally changed the game, even more than the integration of baseball changed baseball. “Sweetwater,” written and directed by Martin Guigui, is a straight-down-the-middle inspirational sports movie — and, one regrets to say, a kind of benign sketchbook version of the form. Yet it also tells the tale of the Harlem Globetrotters, the fabled team of barnstorming trickster prodigies who Clifton started off as a member of. There were several levels to the Globetrotters’ athletic magic, and the film captures how...
- 4/13/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Emmy-winning filmmaker Erika Dilday is joining Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon as co-director and co-producer of the upcoming documentary film Emancipation to Exodus (working title). It’s a long-term commitment – the film about a critical period in the African American experience isn’t expected to air on PBS until 2027.
Dilday’s participation in the project will be as an independent filmmaker – in other words, separate from her role as executive director of American Documentary and executive producer of AmDoc’s PBS series Pov and World Channel’s America ReFramed.
Emancipation to Exodus (wt) explores the African American struggle for freedom and opportunity “from the Civil War and end of slavery, through Reconstruction and the start of the Great Migration out of the south that began in the early 20th century,” according to a release about the film.
Erika Dilday at the IDA Documentary Awards on December 10, 2022 in Los Angeles.
Dilday’s participation in the project will be as an independent filmmaker – in other words, separate from her role as executive director of American Documentary and executive producer of AmDoc’s PBS series Pov and World Channel’s America ReFramed.
Emancipation to Exodus (wt) explores the African American struggle for freedom and opportunity “from the Civil War and end of slavery, through Reconstruction and the start of the Great Migration out of the south that began in the early 20th century,” according to a release about the film.
Erika Dilday at the IDA Documentary Awards on December 10, 2022 in Los Angeles.
- 4/6/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
On April 28, Netflix will take viewers inside the world of rare sports cards and collectibles with one of the industry’s best-known experts: Ken Goldin.
Goldin and his team at Goldin Auctions will be the centerpiece of the newest transactional TV series, King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch, a six-episode, half-hour series that offers a first look into the hobby that has turned into a multibillion-dollar business as stars and athletes turn to Goldin to buy and sell rare collectibles.
In the exclusive first look at the series, featured below, Goldin works with athletes including Joe Montana, Peyton Manning (who also exec produces the show) and Mike Tyson. Viewers get a peek into the auction house that features incredible collectibles like a game-worn Jackie Robinson jersey and other high-end items, including Jim Morrison’s ID, the first Apple computer and a signed Michael Jordan uniform. Think of King of Collectibles...
Goldin and his team at Goldin Auctions will be the centerpiece of the newest transactional TV series, King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch, a six-episode, half-hour series that offers a first look into the hobby that has turned into a multibillion-dollar business as stars and athletes turn to Goldin to buy and sell rare collectibles.
In the exclusive first look at the series, featured below, Goldin works with athletes including Joe Montana, Peyton Manning (who also exec produces the show) and Mike Tyson. Viewers get a peek into the auction house that features incredible collectibles like a game-worn Jackie Robinson jersey and other high-end items, including Jim Morrison’s ID, the first Apple computer and a signed Michael Jordan uniform. Think of King of Collectibles...
- 3/31/2023
- by Lesley Goldberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The 54th NAACP Image Awards did the thing! After its regular week-long, non-televised celebrations, the annual awards ceremony concluded with its main ceremony on Saturday night.
Hosted by Grammy, Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress and producer Queen Latifah, Saturday’s ceremony included Janelle Monae, Taye Diggs, Kerry Washington, Jonathan Majors, Zendaya and more presenting awards to their peers, while also highlighting the accomplishments of political leaders and activists.
Jennifer Hudson, Quinta Brunson, Keke Palmer and more scored wins during the pre-awards festivities, while Saturday’s ceremony saw Angela Bassett, Viola Davis, Will Smith and more honoured for their artistic contributions.
Read More: 2023 NAACP Image Awards Nominations: See the Full List
This year’s Activist of the Year Award was presented to Dr. Derrick Lee Foward, president of the Dayton Unit of the NAACP and a vice president of the Ohio NAACP, and the Youth Activist of the Year Award honoured to Bradley Ross Jackson,...
Hosted by Grammy, Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress and producer Queen Latifah, Saturday’s ceremony included Janelle Monae, Taye Diggs, Kerry Washington, Jonathan Majors, Zendaya and more presenting awards to their peers, while also highlighting the accomplishments of political leaders and activists.
Jennifer Hudson, Quinta Brunson, Keke Palmer and more scored wins during the pre-awards festivities, while Saturday’s ceremony saw Angela Bassett, Viola Davis, Will Smith and more honoured for their artistic contributions.
Read More: 2023 NAACP Image Awards Nominations: See the Full List
This year’s Activist of the Year Award was presented to Dr. Derrick Lee Foward, president of the Dayton Unit of the NAACP and a vice president of the Ohio NAACP, and the Youth Activist of the Year Award honoured to Bradley Ross Jackson,...
- 2/26/2023
- by Melissa Romualdi
- ET Canada
When Sidney Poitier was honored as the first African American male to win a competitive acting Oscar in 1964 for his lead performance in “Lilies of the Field,” it had been 24 years since Hattie McDaniel became the Jackie Robinson of the Academy Awards with her breakthrough triumph in 1940 for “Gone With the Wind.” And it would be another 19 years before there was a third: Louis Gossett Jr.’s supporting actor victory in 1983 for “An Officer and a Gentleman.”
Wins for three performers of color in 43 years didn’t exactly represent a trend. But in the 39 years after that, there would be 19 more, including a pair of African American actors (Denzel Washington and Mahershala Ali) who won twice apiece. Poitier’s ’64 triumph proved as surprising as it was stirring, and undeniably political. Leading up to that historic event, his inscrutable countenance and the almost regal way he carried himself made Poitier a...
Wins for three performers of color in 43 years didn’t exactly represent a trend. But in the 39 years after that, there would be 19 more, including a pair of African American actors (Denzel Washington and Mahershala Ali) who won twice apiece. Poitier’s ’64 triumph proved as surprising as it was stirring, and undeniably political. Leading up to that historic event, his inscrutable countenance and the almost regal way he carried himself made Poitier a...
- 2/25/2023
- by Ray Richmond
- Gold Derby
February is Black History Month, and with such a wide array of streaming options, there’s no shortage of options for learning about Black heritage and celebrating Black excellence.
Amazon Prime Video
Among the programming being promoted in Prime Video’s “Celebrating Black History Month” lineup are the new second season of “Harlem,” which follows four female friends from Harlem as they navigate their love lives and careers. There’s also the new original unscripted series “Coach Prime,” which chronicles Deion Sanders in his third year coaching football at Jackson State. Other noteworthy selections include Regina King‘s Oscar-nominated “One Night in Miami,” the acclaimed documentaries “My Name is Pauli Murray” and “I Am Not Your Negro,” the Emmy-nominated romance “Sylvie’s Love,” Spike Lee‘s “Chi-Raq,” the Aretha Franklin biopic “Respect” starring Jennifer Hudson, the Oscar-winning stage adaptation “Fences” from Denzel Washington, who also stars in Prime offerings “Devil in a Blue Dress...
Amazon Prime Video
Among the programming being promoted in Prime Video’s “Celebrating Black History Month” lineup are the new second season of “Harlem,” which follows four female friends from Harlem as they navigate their love lives and careers. There’s also the new original unscripted series “Coach Prime,” which chronicles Deion Sanders in his third year coaching football at Jackson State. Other noteworthy selections include Regina King‘s Oscar-nominated “One Night in Miami,” the acclaimed documentaries “My Name is Pauli Murray” and “I Am Not Your Negro,” the Emmy-nominated romance “Sylvie’s Love,” Spike Lee‘s “Chi-Raq,” the Aretha Franklin biopic “Respect” starring Jennifer Hudson, the Oscar-winning stage adaptation “Fences” from Denzel Washington, who also stars in Prime offerings “Devil in a Blue Dress...
- 2/9/2023
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
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In Universal’s She Said, Andre Braugher plays real-life journalist Dean Baquet, the former executive editor of The New York Times who helped spearhead the paper’s investigation into Harvey Weinstein. While this is the first time the actor has played a historical figure who is still alive (he previously portrayed Jackie Robinson and labor unionist A. Philip Randolph, for example), Braugher didn’t feel he had to meet Baquet to capture the spirit of the editor.
“Sometimes when you’re playing real people, there’s a tendency to get stuck on their real mannerisms, and what you imagine their real attitudes are as opposed to the script, and I think my highest loyalty goes to the playwright [Rebecca Lenkiewicz, who penned the screenplay] in collaboration with the director to find out what it is that we want to try to play,” Braugher tells THR.
In Universal’s She Said, Andre Braugher plays real-life journalist Dean Baquet, the former executive editor of The New York Times who helped spearhead the paper’s investigation into Harvey Weinstein. While this is the first time the actor has played a historical figure who is still alive (he previously portrayed Jackie Robinson and labor unionist A. Philip Randolph, for example), Braugher didn’t feel he had to meet Baquet to capture the spirit of the editor.
“Sometimes when you’re playing real people, there’s a tendency to get stuck on their real mannerisms, and what you imagine their real attitudes are as opposed to the script, and I think my highest loyalty goes to the playwright [Rebecca Lenkiewicz, who penned the screenplay] in collaboration with the director to find out what it is that we want to try to play,” Braugher tells THR.
- 12/21/2022
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Don't worry, "Black Panther" fans. The long-awaited Marvel sequel, "Wakanda Forever," may mourn the loss of King T'Challa (played by the late Chadwick Boseman), but the film still finds a way to honor him with a proper sendoff.
Following Boseman's death on Aug. 28, 2020 - the actor died at age 43 after a battle with colon cancer - fans had mixed feelings about his role getting recast in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever." However, during Disney's Investor Day event in December of that year, Marvel confirmed Boseman would not be replaced with another actor.
"You will not see T'Challa in the [Marvel Cinematic Universe] 616 universe. We couldn't do it."
"Chadwick Boseman was an immensely talented actor and an inspirational individual who affected all of our lives professionally and personally," said Marvel President Kevin Feige, per Deadline. "His portrayal of T'Challa the Black Panther is iconic and transcends iteration of the character in any other medium from Marvel's past.
Following Boseman's death on Aug. 28, 2020 - the actor died at age 43 after a battle with colon cancer - fans had mixed feelings about his role getting recast in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever." However, during Disney's Investor Day event in December of that year, Marvel confirmed Boseman would not be replaced with another actor.
"You will not see T'Challa in the [Marvel Cinematic Universe] 616 universe. We couldn't do it."
"Chadwick Boseman was an immensely talented actor and an inspirational individual who affected all of our lives professionally and personally," said Marvel President Kevin Feige, per Deadline. "His portrayal of T'Challa the Black Panther is iconic and transcends iteration of the character in any other medium from Marvel's past.
- 11/12/2022
- by Karenna Meredith
- Popsugar.com
The tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman, a generational talent hitting just the prime of what should have been a decades-long, award-filled acting career, in the summer of 2020 came as a devastating blow to many, especially during a year filled with so much loss and grief due to the then ongoing global pandemic. In a far too short, brilliant career, Boseman specialized in multi-layered depictions of mythic or near-mythic Americans, from Jackie Robinson (42), the first Black man to play in the major leaguers, to James Brown (Get On Up), the funk pioneer and singer-performer, to Thurgood Marshall (Marshall), the ground-breaking NAACP attorney and future Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Each major role demanded a different skill set, some more physical than others,...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 11/9/2022
- Screen Anarchy
Click here to read the full article.
During the 2009 recession, History Channel found an unlikely hit in Pawn Stars, the unscripted series in which everyday people found life-changing treasures in their attic and turned them into cash at a time when money was tight.
The series has since gone on to become a massive hit. More than 700 episodes have been commissioned, with repeats airing across History, Lifetime, A&e and Netflix. Several others in the so-called transactional TV genre launched around the same time, series like Shark Tank, American Pickers, Storage Wars, American Restoration and others. A spinoff of the successful franchise that started it all, Pawn Stars Do America, will launch Nov. 9 on History.
Now, Brent Montgomery — who gave birth to transactional TV with the creation of Pawn Stars — is the driving force behind a rebirth in the genre as the U.S. economy finds itself in familiar territory...
During the 2009 recession, History Channel found an unlikely hit in Pawn Stars, the unscripted series in which everyday people found life-changing treasures in their attic and turned them into cash at a time when money was tight.
The series has since gone on to become a massive hit. More than 700 episodes have been commissioned, with repeats airing across History, Lifetime, A&e and Netflix. Several others in the so-called transactional TV genre launched around the same time, series like Shark Tank, American Pickers, Storage Wars, American Restoration and others. A spinoff of the successful franchise that started it all, Pawn Stars Do America, will launch Nov. 9 on History.
Now, Brent Montgomery — who gave birth to transactional TV with the creation of Pawn Stars — is the driving force behind a rebirth in the genre as the U.S. economy finds itself in familiar territory...
- 10/31/2022
- by Lesley Goldberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts is releasing a documentary film in the days before he pursues his third World Series title that goes behind the baseball diamond to explore the home life and career of the legendary Jackie Robinson. And like Robinson, Betts hopes that with this film he’s able to demonstrate that there’s so much more to him than just being a ball player.
“I’m an athlete in this same space like he was, and I want to be known as more than an athlete,” Betts told TheWrap. “I don’t want to be just the athlete. I don’t want to be in just this little box. I know I’m more than that. Yes, I may be good at hitting the baseball, but I’m also good at being an entrepreneur and running companies and doing these things with my best friends.”
Betts...
“I’m an athlete in this same space like he was, and I want to be known as more than an athlete,” Betts told TheWrap. “I don’t want to be just the athlete. I don’t want to be in just this little box. I know I’m more than that. Yes, I may be good at hitting the baseball, but I’m also good at being an entrepreneur and running companies and doing these things with my best friends.”
Betts...
- 10/10/2022
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
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