Chris Tucker has revealed his openness to reuniting with Ice Cube to make another Friday film. However, the actor is unsure that it will ever happen as the future of the project lies with the studios. “It’s studios, and if they got they got to want to do it, and then it’s uh producers and all that stuff, so that that’s it’s a lot, it’s a lot that goes with it. I don’t know, it has to come back right because, like I said, at this point, you know, I’m only doing stuff that I know that I could do my best and I can have a lot of fun, got to be right,” Tucker told V-103 Atlanta.
Previously, Ice Cube has spoken at length about the obstacles standing in the way of another Friday film. “I’m trying to get it out of Warner Bros., they don’t believe in the culture man. I had two scripts. I wrote one; it was the shit. They was like, ‘Yo, we don’t want Craig and Day-Day in jail, ’cause Craig and Day-Day went to jail for selling weed before it was legal! Then after they rejected it they had all these fucking movies about going to jail: Orange Is The New Black …Get Hard. So then I wrote another script, and the script was really about … the youngsters in the hood having beef with the OG’s in the hood and Craig has to come back and squash that because Smokey’s son is the new Deebo and he’s wylin!” Cube said in an interview.
Karlissa Saffold Claims Katt Williams Wanted Her To Star In “Next Friday”
However, Cube and Tucker aren’t the only ones talking about the beloved Friday franchise. In early January, Karlissa Saffold claimed that Katt Williams “shouted her out” in his Club Shay Shay interview and that he wanted her to play the role of D’Wana in Next Friday. Saffold said that she turned down the role because of the outfit they wanted her to wear. The role was eventually played by Tamala Jones. Saffold’s comments appear to stem from fans telling her that she should have played D’Wana.
However, people immediately called cap on Saffold’s claims. “Man cap I didn’t hear him say blueface momma or the name Karlissa,” one person argued. “Katt never said that I watched the whole 3 hour interview twice ,” agreed another. “LIES…KATT NEVER SAID THAT YOU HAD A POSSIBLE ROLE IN FRIDAY ,” a third added. Williams did not appear to reference Saffold in his wide-ranging interview. While Williams may have privately told Saffold about Next Friday, he did not appear to say anything to that regard on camera.
Paula Jai Parker has graced the silver screen in a variety of memorable roles. Renowned for her versatility and emotive performances in movies like Sprung and Hustle & Flow, the actress has left an indelible mark on cinema. The movies that Paula Jai Parker has starred in have also highlighted her exceptional talent in the entertainment industry. Recently, she called out Cassie for suing Diddy, claiming the singer is not “built for the industry,” and has understandably received backlash.
Nonetheless, Parker’s groundbreaking performances in film have won her significant praise. She has starred in multiple box-office successes, showcasing her range. The following three films not only showcase her artistic range but also her ability to connect with audiences on a profound level. Let’s embark on a cinematic journey through the three biggest Paula Jai Parker movies.
Ray (2004)
Ray, a captivating and emotionally charged biographical film released in 2004, chronicles the life and career of Ray Charles, one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. The Taylor Hackford-directed film captures Charles’ journey from his humble beginnings in the segregated South. It especially shines a light on his rise to fame in the 1950s and 1960s, which made him an American music icon.
Ray also delves deep into Charles’ struggles with racism, drug addiction, and the challenges of his visual impairment. This offers a raw and honest portrayal of his life’s trials and triumphs. Jamie Foxx delivers a masterful performance as Ray Charles, embodying the musician’s spirit, talent, and complexity. Moreover, the execution of the role earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor. Notably, Paula Jai Parker wasn’t one of the main characters in Ray. However, she contributes a memorable performance as Ruth Brown, a fellow musician and one of Charles’ contemporaries. Her portrayal of Brown provides an insightful glimpse into the vibrant music scene of the era, highlighting the interactions and influences among artists of that time. Paula Jai Parker also brings her star quality, as seen in the bulk of her movies. Even though her role is not central to the plot, she adds depth to the narrative.
Overall, Ray stands out not only for its powerful storytelling and stellar performances but also for its authentic depiction of the music industry. The film’s portrayal of Ray Charles’ innovations in soul, R&B, and other music genres underscores his profound influence on the music industry and his enduring legacy. It is no wonder that Ray won two Oscars. Additionally, the movie’s box office performance was also impressive, as it ended up grossing $124 million.
Paula Jai Parker has shown off her versatility in multiple movies. One of them is Phone Booth, a gripping psychological thriller directed by Joel Schumacher. The film follows the intense experience of Stu Shepard (Colin Farrell), a slick and self-absorbed publicist. Stu’s comfortable life is shaken when he answers a ringing phone booth and finds himself speaking to a sniper.
The sniper seems to know all about Stu and presents him with the fact that he has been cheating on his wife with Pamela McFadden (Katie Holmes). The sniper presents Stu with two choices: confess your misdeeds or die. At this point, the plot spirals in different directions, and the consequences of Stu’s actions or inactions are exposed. Phone Booth is noteworthy for its real-time narrative structure and the way it maintains high tension, even within a confined setting. It also explores themes of voyeurism, confession, and the consequences of one’s actions, all while keeping the audience on edge. The voice of the caller, provided by Kiefer Sutherland, adds a chill to the film, turning a simple phone booth into a stage for psychological warfare.
In one of the most high-stakes movies of the 2000s, Paula Jai Parker plays the role of Felicia, Stu’s assistant. Her character adds a layer of personal drama and tension to the plot, as her interactions with Stu reveal more about his character and life. Parker’s performance also contributes to the film’s exploration of the complexities of human relationships and the masks people wear in public, versus their true selves. Phone Booth stands out as a unique cinematic experience, combining a simple setting with psychological depth and suspense. Grossing $97.8 million, it also goes into the records as one of the biggest Paula Jai Parker movies.
Friday (1995)
Friday is a cult classic comedy film directed by F. Gary Gray and written by Ice Cube and DJ Pooh. Set in South Central Los Angeles, the movie offers a humorous and relatable slice of life in the urban community. It follows the story of Craig Jones (Ice Cube) and his best friend Smokey (Chris Tucker). They spend a typical Friday dealing with multiple comical and challenging situations, including neighborhood bullies, relationship woes, and an ill-fated drug deal.
Friday’s authentic portrayal of African-American life and culture has been praised. It also notably broke away from the stereotypes of violence and despair. Instead, it presents a lighter, more comedic side while still touching on serious issues like drug use and unemployment. In one of the most lauded Hip Hop movies of all time, Paula Jai Parker shines in her role as Joi, Craig’s demanding and overbearing girlfriend. Her character also adds a humorous layer to the film, as she embodies the stereotypical troublesome girlfriend, contributing to Craig’s already complicated day.
Overall, Parker’s portrayal adds to the dynamic range of characters in the neighborhood. Today, Friday has become an iconic film in the comedy genre, known for its witty dialogue and memorable one-liners. Moreover, the film’s ability to capture the essence of life in the inner city with humor and heart is also worth noting. The film ended up grossing $59.8 million.
Earlier this month, Snoop Dogg took to social media to announce his plans to “give up smoke” for good. While he didn’t provide many more details, users assumed that he had decided to stop smoking weed. The cultural icon is known to be a heavy cannabis consumer, so of course, fans were shocked. Snoop leaned into the chatter, subsequently sharing a variety of Instagram posts hinting that he was going through it amid the quitting process.
While surprising, Snoop Dogg’s announcement managed to inspire some of his peers to do the same. Coi Leray, for example, revealed that she’ll also be quitting marijuana this month. Meek Mill even chimed in, claiming that he’s kicking the habit as well, in hopes of mitigating health problems. In a turn of events, however, Snoop eventually revealed that the entire thing was a hoax. In reality, he hadn’t quit smoking weed at all, and was simply endorsing Solo Stove smokeless firepits.
“Announcement: I’m giving up smoke,” an ad later posted on his Instagram page reads. “I know what you thinking — ‘Snoop, smoking’s kind of your whole thing.’ But I’m done with it. Done with the coughing and my clothes smelling all sticky-icky. I’m going smokeless.” He went on to share a black-and-white photo of a blunt in his hand, confirming that he was only trolling everybody. He then posted a clip from Friday, which features his own face deepfaked onto Chris Tucker’s character Smokey. “I was just bullsh*ttin’! And you know this, man!” he says.
What do you think of Snoop Dogg tricking his fans into thinking he’d given up weed? Did you really believe that he quit smoking for good? Are you surprised that he was able to pull off the weed-quitting hoax? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below, and keep an eye on HNHH for more updates.
After about seven years outside of the ring, The Rock made his comeback appearance at Friday Night SmackDown last night (September 15). Of course, this wasn’t a surprise to many fans who knew that an announcement from SmackDown meant that he’d be cooking up again. Still, the sheer energy when his music started, and fans cheered him on, was pretty cool to see. Before he emerged, Pat McAfee kicked the whole thing off, and Austin Theory interrupted him by talking some smack about the show. But McAfee said that SmackDown is “the people’s show,” and that’s when the pro wrestling legend made his return.
Furthermore, he and Theory got into it right after The Rock started a “You are an a**hole” chant against him. Not only that, but the 51-year-old had to treat the crowd to some signature moves, and hit Theory with a People’s elbow and a spine buster. In fact, he even prompted Pat McAfee to give the former a shot, and swapped out the lead character role for a coach. To top it all off, The Rock grabbed one of Theory’s shoes and threw it into the stands, much to the viewers’ delight both in-person and on social media, where people reacted wildly to the appearance.
Last time Dwayne Johnson graced the WWE with an appearance was about seven years ago. He fought alongside John Cena against Eric Rowan and Luke Harper at an impromptu match at WrestleMania 32. However, this time around, Cena was just there to support The Rock from the sidelines, as a clip also went viral of their reunion last night. Regardless, the superstar suggested in the past that there might be one more blowout showing in him. Rumors floated around concerning his potential match-up against Roman Reigns, the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, at WrestleMania 40.
Meanwhile, Dwayne Johnson’s presence within the organization is like a shadow that peeps out and back in every once in a while. Some wrestlers face accusations of being a copycat all the time, but that’s just because his influence is undeniably high-profile. As such, fans will always be ecstatic to see him in the ring again- and we hope this isn’t the last time. For more news and the latest updates on The Rock, come back to HNHH.
Ice Cube showcased his range as an actor when Friday dropped. The iconic stoner comedy dropped in 1995 and boasted a star cast including Chris Tucker in the supporting role of Smokey, the late John Witherspoon as Willie Jones, and Tiny “Zeus” Lister Jr. as Deebo. Unfortunately, in recent years, both Witherspoon and Lester Jr. have passed away, along with several other members of the cast, such as Bernie Mac, Reynaldo Rey, and Yvette Wilson.
During a recent appearance on GQ, Chris Tucker reflected on his first “co-starring role,” praising director Gary F. Grey and recounting his experience alongside several of his cast mates. “Tiny Zeus Lister, I don’t know if I mentioned him when he passed away. One of my good friends, the legendary Tiny Zeus Lister, who played Deebo. Casting him as like, the big villain coming like the shark from Jaws,” he said. Lister Jr. passed away at 62 in 2020 from hypertension and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Chris Tucker Looks Back At “Friday”
Along with Tiny Lister, Tucker also reflected on working alongside the talents such as Witherspoon, Bernie Mac, Rey, and Wilson. “The legendary iconic John Witherspoon,” Tucker continued, “and Bernie Mac. Those guys, comedy legends and gods, man. You had Reynaldo Rey, and Yvette Wilson. So many legends that was in this movie that passed away. I’m so, so honored to have worked with them.”
Chris Tucker only appeared in the first Friday film before Mike Epps took over in the supporting role as Craig’s cousin, Day Day. However, fans have undoubtedly hoped that Smokey would return to the screen. During a recent interview with Audacy’s V-103, he said that he’d be willing to join the cast ofLast Friday as long as the script’s to his liking. “I love that they did two more after the one I did. If it’s possible, if it comes together right, I would try to do it. I’m a perfectionist, I’m sorry. If it ain’t gonna be great – I don’t believe in ‘some movies are good, some are not.’ Nah, I’m going all the way; I want it to be great.”
The Dallas Cowboys lost to the Washington Commanders Sunday 6-26. Anybody who watches sports knows that Stephen A. Smith lives for moments like this; seeing the Cowboys fall apart just to rub it in Michael Irvin’s and every Cowboys fan’s face. And thats exactly what he did on Monday’s episode of First Take. He and Irvin started the episode off with a reenactment of the scene at Pinky’s record store between Craig and Pinky in Next Friday.
“Shut up,” Stephen A. Smith shouted at Michael Irvin, reenacting the scene from Next Friday. “Shut up! What happened to the Cowboys yesterday? What happened to them? Shut up! Say another word and this is over.” Smith continued: “What happened to the running game huh? What happened to the running game? Shut up!
In other Friday news, Ice Cube said that he won’t sue Warner Bros. to regain the rights to the Friday franchise and doesn’t plan on making a “Saturday” movie to get around having to use the Friday name.
“With all the stuff going on with Friday, have you ever thought about making a Saturday,” the interviewer asked before Cube told her that he can’t do a Saturday movie because Warner Bros. owns the Friday franchise’s intellectual property, meaning he couldn’t use the same characters from the Friday movies.
“Is Friday a lost cause at this point?” she asked. “Nah, never,” Cube responded. The interviewer then asked if Cube was going to sue over teh rights to the film, to which he responded, “no.”
Ice Cube has been pretty vocal about his disdain towards Warner Bros for stalling the final installment of the Friday franchise. Now that John Witherspoon and Tommy Lister Jr. have passed, it is unsure whether Last Friday will come out or not.
Since Last Friday is stalled, Cube seems to not want any other adaptions of Friday to come about. He even responded to a fake story posted on Twitter claiming that a O’Shea Jackson Jr. directed Friday prequel starring Druski and Vince Staples was in the works and headed to HBO Max.
“This is blasphemy,” Cube tweeted in response to the false claim.
This isn’t the first time the Twitter page spread fake news about an upcoming project. O’shea Jackson Jr. actually fell for one of the fake tweets regarding him being cast in a Boyz N The Hood remake produced by 50 Cent.
According to a report, disagreements between Cube and Warner Bros. about the script stalled development on the fourth installment on the Friday franchise. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Warner Bros. executives “told him prison isn’t funny,” and that “they felt the fans of the franchise wanted to see the characters in their familiar settings instead of behind bars for much of the movie.”
Ice Cube’s lawyer then accused Warner Bros. of discrimination, something that was quickly refuted. “We strongly disagree with any claims of discriminatory treatment, and stand by our ongoing and proven commitment to support diverse voices and storytellers and will continue to do so as we move forward,” Warner Bros. wrote in regards to Cube’s lawyer’s claims.
Ice Cube‘s Friday series is a classic, but the chances of getting another film in the series is apparently in doubt due to a dispute between the multi-hyphenate and the studio behind the series.
According to a Wall Street Journal story detailing the dispute, Ice Cube apparently wants Warners to surrender the rights to the Friday series as well as All About The Benjamins and The Players Club, two other films he made with the studio.
According to letters between the parties, Warner Bros. doesn’t intend to do this, instead blaming Ice Cube for dragging his feet on a new movie with the studio.
Warner Bros. replied, calling the demand “extortionate” and saying it won’t release rights to the valuable franchise or any other Ice Cube movies, according to the correspondence.
One letter from Ice Cube’s lawyer said the studio has been excessive in its feedback notes on the scripts Ice Cube wrote for the latest “Friday” and contends Warner Bros. has been a “poor steward” for the franchise. “These guys don’t get me, and I don’t get them,” Ice Cube said in an interview.
The report indicates that Cube’s other projects, such as the Big 3 basketball league, is distracting him from the next installment in the series, titled Last Friday. Meanwhile, the rapper and actor says potential discrimination in allocating resources is part of his issues with Warners.
In one letter, Ice Cube’s representative wrote that movies he has done for the studio “are habitually underfunded in comparison with projects featuring white casts and creative teams.” The correspondence points to other Ice Cube films he says weren’t well supported; it doesn’t offer specific comparisons to projects from other filmmakers.
Warner Bros. denies it has discriminated against Ice Cube or that it gave short shrift to any of his projects. In a letter sent in May to Ice Cube’s lawyer Bryan Freedman, the studio said the complaints are “grounded in a libelous set of knowing falsehoods.”
The disagreement between the two sides seems serious, and also doesn’t seem likely to be resolved anytime soon. Which means a sequel to Friday, which came out in 1995, isn’t on the horizon anytime soon. As the report noted, an agreement to make a new Friday movie was first signed in 2012. The story details some plot details the studio objected to, and the pushback that Cube gave about the film’s direction.
It’s all certainly been a long time coming, but fans are likely to have to wait even longer before any real progress is made on on Last Friday.
Hollywood actor Tommy “Tiny” Lister passed away on Dec. 10, 2020, and initial rumors were that his death was related to COVID-19. While the Friday and Next Friday star was battling the virus, the medical examiner’s report shines a light on what really happened to the man known best as Deebo. Cause Of Death Revealed […]
,” agreed another. “LIES…KATT NEVER SAID THAT YOU HAD A POSSIBLE ROLE IN FRIDAY 
,” a third added. Williams did not appear to reference Saffold in his wide-ranging interview. While Williams may have privately told Saffold about Next Friday, he did not appear to say anything to that regard on camera.
