Film

LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s The Springhill Company Will Produce Jesse Owens Documentary for History Channel

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Ruffles Ruffles DNA TVC LeBron Image

The SpringHill Company, the production house founded and owned by LeBron James and Maverick Carter, is partnering with the History Channel to present three new documentary projects. 

As reported by Shadow and Act, the first is Triumph: A Jesse Owens and the Berlin Olympics (working title). An award-winning actor, Don Cheadle will narrate the doc, which Andre Gaines will direct. Triumph is set as a two-hour documentary that will “showcase Jesse Owens’ historic triumph over Nazi Germany during the 1936 Berlin Olympics.”

“LeBron and The SpringHill Company have been steadfast creative partners with The History Channel and we are excited to team up with them again to expand our storytelling footprint,” in a statement from Eli Lehrer, Executive Vice President and Head of Programming for The History Channel. “Together, we are committed to shining a light on diverse narratives that broaden our view of the world, enrich our knowledge of society, and cultivate a new generation of history lovers. Jesse Owens is the perfect sports legend to highlight next in our partnership.”

Here’s the official description:

The setting is the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, which is overpowered by the politically charged backdrop of swastikas, racial discrimination, and goose-stepping storm troopers. Three years before the start of WWII, African American track and field athlete Jesse Owens took the world stage and launched into international fame by making Olympic history after winning four gold medals in the 100-meter dash, long jump, 200-meter dash and 4×100-meter dash. This feat made him arguably one of the greatest and most impactful athletes of all time. “Triumph: Jesse Owens and the Berlin Olympics” (w.t.) will explore the dramatic tale of Owen’s athletic dedication, perseverance, and triumph over Hitler’s Aryan supremacy agenda. 

Shadow and Act also reports that the “documentary will also feature archival footage, smartly executed animation, and first-hand interviews from family members, journalists, historians, and reputable athletes, including former track and field athlete Carl Lewis, American sprinters Noah Lyles, Erriyon Knighton, and Christian Coleman, and Owen’s daughters Marlene and Beverly Owens,among others.”

“LeBron and The SpringHill Company have been steadfast creative partners with The History Channel and we are excited to team up with them again to expand our storytelling footprint,” said Eli Lehrer, Executive Vice President and Head of Programming for The History Channel. 

“Together, we are committed to shining a light on diverse narratives that broaden our view of the world, enrich our knowledge of society, and cultivate a new generation of history lovers. Jesse Owens is the perfect sports legend to highlight next in our partnership.”

The SpringHill Company has also set a documentary on legendary Olympian Jim Thorpe. This one will be directed by Chris Eyre, where the project will display the “life and legacy of the United States’ first Native American Olympic gold medalist whose athletic prowess across baseball, football and basketball made him one of the greatest athletes of all-time.

Details of the third project are not known yet.

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WATCH: Andre 3000 and Big Boi Share Moment at ‘New Blue Sun’ Show in ATL

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Andre 3000 and Big Boi Share Moment at 'New Blue Sun' Show in ATL

Andre 3000 and Big Boi linked up to give fans a bit of nostalgia. The Outkast duo shared a pair of videos from behind the scenes of one of 3000’s flute shows.

“Antwan & Andre 🛸 Flutie Hoooooo #NewBlueSun,” Andre wrote online.

Andre 3000 was close to being part of the Fast and Furious franchise. Speaking on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, 3 Stacks revealed he auditioned around 2 Fast 2 Furious.

“I think Ludacris took the role,” Andre said.” I actually tried out. I tried out for Fast & Furious, and Ludacris actually took the role.”

You can see the moment below.

With the release of Kamasi Washington’s new album, the spotlight has returned to American rapper and actor André 3000. The analytics team at CEnligneGuru was curious about how much the artist earns from music platforms. For instance, on Spotify, he boasts 2,628,951 monthly listeners, translating to an estimated $10,515.80. Notably, his most popular track on YouTube Music, “Life of the Party,” has amassed 18 million views, which, if monetized, would approximate earnings of $31,500.00.

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WATCH: Netflix Sports Film ‘The Beautiful Game’ Trailer Based on True Story

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Netflix Sports Film ‘The Beautiful Game’ Trailer Based on True Story

The Homeless World Cup Foundation has inspired The Beautiful Game, a new film from Netflix based on the true stories of that organization starring Bill Nighy, Michael Ward, and Sheyl Cole. 

Let’s get right into the official synopsis from Netflix:

Mal (Bill Nighy, Living, About Time) is the manager of England’s homeless football team, taking his players to Rome with the hope of being crowned champions of the Homeless World Cup, a global street soccer tournament. At the last minute he decides to bring with them a talented striker Vinny (Ward), who could give them a real chance at winning, but only if he’s ready to let go of his past and become part of the team. Made with the support of the Homeless World Cup, The Beautiful Game is a film of second chances – where homeless teams from around the world find that all roads lead to Rome, and everything’s to play for.

In addition to Bill Nighy, the film also stars an ensemble cast with Susan Wokoma, Callum Scott Howells, Kit Young, Sheyi Cole, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Robin Nazari, Aoi Okuyama, Cristina Rodlo, Tadashi Watanabe, Kazuhiro Muroyama and Valeria Golino. The film is directed by Thea Sharrock and is written by Frank Cottrell Boyce.

Diarmuid McKeown, Claudine Farrell, and Ollie Madden are executive producers, along with Film4’s Daniel Battsek. Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, and Ben Knight are producing for Blueprint Pictures with Anita Overland and Colin Farrell.

Here’s the history behind the Homeless World Cup Foundation. According to Shadow and Act, it was founded in 2001. The foundation comprises a “Global Network” of 70 member countries that utilize football (soccer) to battle homelessness and social isolation. The first Homeless World Cup took place in 2003 in Graz, Austria. The foundation’s goal is to use football “to support and inspire people who are homeless to change their own lives, and to change perceptions and attitudes towards people who are experiencing homelessness.” 

The Beautiful Game hits Netflix on March 29, 2024.

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‘Where is Wendy Williams?’ Doc Sets Ratings Record For Lifetime

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Was ‘Where is Wendy Williams?’ Exploitative or Just Another Chapter in Williams Saga?

The verdict is in. Lifetime’s Where is Wendy Williams? set a ratings record for the network. As reported by Deadline, here are the numbers … The controversial 2-part documentary averaged “1.2 million total viewers over the two nights in Nielsen Live+3 and 6.2 million total viewers across linear and digital platforms to date.” So what does that mean? People were glued to the screen watching the latest saga in what is shaping to be a somber moment in the legacy of Wendy Williams. 

Back to the analytics … Lifetime said, “‘Where is Wendy Williams?’ is Lifetime’s best new non-fiction performance in two years since the Janet Jackson documentary, with total viewers W25-64 and A25-64.” The documentary outdid The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, dropping to No. 2 in L+SD.

Regarding social media, on the night Where is Wendy Williams? The documentary premiered on February 24 and was the top program on television among total social media interactions (Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube), according to Lifetime.

ICYMI, Where is Wendy Williams? aired only days after the former queen of daytime television was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and frontotemporal dementia, the same disease that Bruce Willis suffers from. Williams’s guardian even filed a lawsuit against Lifetime parent A+E Networks, seeking “a temporary restraining order to block the network from airing the project.” The ruling by a New York appeals court justice ultimately denied the TRO.

If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the official description: 

Over the course of nearly two years, cameras chronicled the former television host and radio star Wendy Williams on the next phase of her life, following the end of her iconic talk show.  The documentary provides a raw, honest and unfiltered reality of Wendy’s life after she was placed under financial guardianship, shedding light on the vulnerabilities that have turned Wendy into the Hot Topic herself. Suffering mental and physical issues, Wendy’s delicate state of mind, erratic behavior and declining health were all captured by the cameras.

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Tubi’s ‘Boarders’ Trailer Shows Black Teens at a UK Boarding School in New Coming of Age British Dramedy

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Tubi’s ‘Boarders’ Trailer Shows Black Teens at a UK Boarding School in New Coming of Age British Dramedy

Tubi is bringing more British television to the US side of their streaming platform with the first trailer for Boarders, an upcoming series originally aired on BBC in the UK. As reported by Shadow and Act, viewers can expect all six episodes to premiere exclusively on Tubi beginning March 8. Boarders is penned by BAFTA-nominated screenwriter Daniel Lawrence Taylor. Here’s the official series synopsis:

BOARDERS is a high-energy, warm and funny coming of age drama which follows the lives of five Black inner city school teenagers who find themselves on scholarships to one of Britain’s oldest and most prestigious boarding schools, St. Gilberts. The series will see these students navigate a new world, forming new friendships while also going on journeys of self-discovery.

This series seems like an excellent addition to the content playing field for the culture showing another side to the Black experience albeit from over the pond in the UK. 

The cast includes young Black talent Josh Tedeku as Jaheim, Jodie Campbell as Leah, Myles Kamwendo as Omar, Sekou Diaby as Toby and Aruna Jalloh as Femi.

Studio Lambert produces the series in association with All3Media International for the BBC. Taylor is executive producing alongside Madeline Sinclair and Susan Hogg along with the BBCs’s Nawfal Faizullah and Ayela Butt. 

“I’m beyond excited that Tubi is bringing Boarders to North America,” Taylor said in a statement. “This is a quintessentially British coming-of-age school show with big universal themes of belonging, achievement, first crushes, forging friendships, and awkward sexual encounters that will hit home as hard for the North American audiences as it does for us Brits. It is jam-packed with exciting new talent both in front of and behind the camera and is filled with humour, pathos, and straight up joy. I know the Tubi audience will love watching it as much as I loved creating it.”

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‘Last of Us’ Season 2 Announces Four New Cast Members

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‘Last of Us’ Season 2 Announces Four New Cast Members

One of the most highly anticipated series, The Last of Us, announced four new cast members to join the sophomore season of the HBO tentpole. 

Variety has reported Danny Ramirez (“Top Gun: Maverick,” “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”), Ariela Barer (“How to Blow Up a Pipeline,” “Runaways”), Tati Gabrielle (“You,” “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”), and Spencer Lord (“Riverdale,” “Family Law”) are entering the dystopian series based on the popular video game.

More from the Variety story on the cast breakdowns. Of course Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie are returning as series leads. While Ramirez is playing Manny, who is described as “a loyal soldier whose sunny outlook belies the pain of old wounds and a fear that he will fail his friends when they need him most.” 

Barer is playing Mel, who is “a young doctor whose commitment to saving lives is challenged by the realities of war and tribalism.”

Gabrielle is cast as Nora, “a military medic struggling to come to terms with the sins of her past.” And Lord will appear as Owen, “a gentle soul trapped in a warrior’s body, condemned to fight an enemy he refuses to hate.”

ICYMI, again, The Last of Us, is based on the smash hit video game of the same title created by Neil Druckmann and developed by Naughty Dog. The official synopsis is “the story takes place twenty years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel (Pascal), a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie (Ramsey), a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.”

The series is written and executive produced by Craig Mazin and Druckmann. Each have directed episodes of the series. Carolyn Strauss and Evan Wells, president of Naughty Dog, are executive producing along with PlayStation Productions’ Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan as well as Jacqueline Lesko and Cecil O’Connor. The Last of Us is a co-production between HBO and Sony Pictures Television. PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog produce.

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Tyler Perry’s Upcoming Amazon MGM Studios Film ‘Joy Ridge’ to Star Shannon Thornton and Tosin Morohunfola

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Tyler Perry’s Upcoming Amazon MGM Studios Film ‘Joy Ridge’ to Star Shannon Thornton and Tosin Morohunfola

Tyler Perry is busy dropping films across multiple streamers. His Mea Culpa film just dropped on Netflix, and now his latest Amazon MGM Studios film Joy Ridge announced the project’s leads. Shadow and Act reports that Perry has a four-year-deal with Amazon MGM Studios. Naturally, as part of his brand, Perry is writing, directing, and producing the film Joy Ridge, which is the third as part of his deal with Amazon MGM.

The genre is romantic and stars Shannon Thornton, who is in Mea Culpa, and Tosin Morohunfola. The film wrapped production in Colorado and at his Tyler Perry Studios in Georgia. Producing are Angi Bones and Will Areu under Tyler Perry Studios.

Here’s the logline, that Variety reported:

“Amidst the picturesque landacapes of Colorado Joy (Thornton) finds herself on a holiday trip with a man she envisions as ‘the one,’ However, her journey takes an enchanting turn as she stumbles upon someone who might just redefine her notions about the life she once knew back home.”

Two other films that have been announced under the Amazon MGM are a Meagan Good starrer Divorce in the Black, which is billed as a romance drama about a “broken marriage,” and a police brutality themed film Black, White & Blue that focuses on and stars Meagan Tandy, Tyler Lepley and Kat Graham. Perry is staying busy. He is one of the few production moguls with deals all over the spectrum, including his film and TV deal at Netflix and his massive presence at BET and BET+.

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New Trailer for A24 Horror Film ‘I Saw the TV Glow’ Starring Jurassic World Dominion’s Justice Smith and Danielle Deadwyler

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New Trailer for A24 Horror Film ‘I Saw the TV Glow’

A24 is becoming known for their smart horror films as much as their off beat dramas these days and their upcoming horror thriller I Saw The TV Glow, intends to be their next scary movie hit. 

The film stars Jurassic World Dominion’s Justice Smith with Brigette Lundy-Paine (Bill & Ted Face the Music), Ian Foreman, Helena Howard, Fred Durst and Danielle Deadwyler also star in the film, written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun.

Here’s how the TV is about to glow according to the film’s synopsis:

Teenager Owen is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show — a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.

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[WATCH] First Trailer For “Freaknik” Documentary Featuring 21 Savage, Jermaine Dupri, Lil Jon

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freaknik history

The very first trailer for the forthcoming Freaknik documentary Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told, ATL’s pioneering HBCU festival that was popularized in the early 90s, has been released.

The in-depth doc features various celebrities speaking about going to Freaknik, including Jermaine Dupri, Rasheeda, and Jalen Rose. 21 Savage, Jermaine Dupri, and Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell are also featured in the documentary and serve as the film’s producers. 

Jalen Rose recalls the days of Freaknik, saying “I don’t know what heaven looks like, but this seems like a version of it.”

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Jada Pinkett Smith Reflects on Pay Disparity, Says Being Married to Will Smith Caused Lower Offers

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Jada Pinkett Smith

Reflecting on Taraji P. Henson’s messages about pay disparity in Hollywood, Jada Pinkett Smith chimed in stating she was shorted due to being married to Will Smith.

Speaking on NPR’s It’s Been a Minute, Pinkett Smith saluted Henson for speaking out, while revealing her own pay battles.

“What people don’t understand with us as Black entertainers, we carry a lot of people with us,” Pinkett Smith said. “People would literally say, ‘Well, you don’t need it. You’re married to Will.’”

You can hear the full episode below.

Actress Taraji P. Henson went viral in Decemeber after breaking down in tears during an interview with Gayle King about black women’s pay in Hollywood. Taraji talked about the pay disparities for Black female actors and revealed she was considering quitting her acting career. Now Taraji shares she was surprised by the overwhelming support, because she along with other women of color have been talking about this publicly for years to no avail.

ETonline reports:

Taraji P. Henson was not expecting the amount of support, feedback and attention she has received since passionately speaking out about her experiences with pay disparity throughout her career.

The Color Purple actress walked the red carpet at this years’ Palm Springs International Film Festival’s Film Awards at the Palm Springs Convention Center on Thursday, and she spoke with ET’s Denny Directo about her message, and why she wasn’t expecting it to hit so hard with so many people.

“[It’s] because I’ve been saying it for years,” Henson shared. “If you go and do research and look at any women of color in the industry, they said the same thing.”

“I don’t know why people decided to hear the words [this time], maybe it was the emotion attached to it,” she added. “But like I said in the interview, I’m just tired of us having that same conversation. Something’s gotta give.”

Thoughts?

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