2K today released the fifth NBA 2K23 player ratings update, which includes enhancements for Zion Williamson, Anthony Davis, Pascal Siakam, and others.
Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans: 92 OVR (+4) shines this season, averaging 25 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game. Meanwhile, Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam: 89 OVR (+1) has improved his game this season, averaging 24.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game.
Other notable changes include Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis’ 94 OVR (+1), Washington Wizards Kristaps Porziis’ 87 OVR (+2), Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson’s 85 OVR (+1), and others.
Godfather of Harlem tells a story inspired by infamous crime boss Bumpy Johnson (Forest Whitaker) who in the early 1960s returned from 11 years in prison to find the neighborhood he once ruled in shambles.
Season Three will find Bumpy Johnson continuing to battle for control of Harlem with other aspirants to the throne, namely the Cuban Mafia from neighboring Spanish Harlem. Taking on the Cuban mob will put Bumpy, his loved ones, and his community in the crosshairs of not only the rival Italians but ruthless Latin assassins and, ultimately, the CIA. Godfather of Harlem is a collision of the criminal underworld and the civil rights movement during one of the most tumultuous times in American history.
In addition to Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland) as star and executive producer, Season Three cast members include: Vincent D’Onofrio (Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Daredevil), Ilfenesh Hadera (She’s Gotta Have It, Baywatch), Lucy Fry (Bright, Vampire Academy), and Antoinette Crowe-Legacy (Geechee, Passing), Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad, The Mandalorian) and Whoopi Goldberg (Sister Act, The Color Purple) as Miss Willa.
Additional new cast members include Michael Raymond-James (Sweet Girl, Law & Order) as Joe Colombo and Jason Alan Carvell (NCIS: New Orleans, The Baker and the Beauty) as Malcom X.
Produced by ABC Signature, the series is executive produced by Chris Brancato, Paul Eckstein, Forest Whitaker, Nina Yang Bongiovi, James Acheson, Markuann Smith, and Joe Chappelle. Swizz Beatz is an executive music producer.
Godfather of Harlem’s second season was EPIX’s best-performing season of all time, and the series broke records for any single title streams in a single day across EPIX’s digital platforms. The season two finale was EPIX’s best-performing finale episode to date.
Ryan Reynolds and his Deadpool character are ready to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe. According to ComicBook.com, Deadpool 3 will also bring Hugh Jackman into the MCU, reprising his role as Wolverine. Jackman was believed to have wrapped his role as the slashing superhero in 2017’s LOGAN.
Deadpool 3 is set to release on September 6, 2024, and will be directed by Shawn Levy (Free Guy, The Adam Project) and will bring in Wendy Molyneaux and Lizzie Molyneaux-Loeglin (Bob’s Burgers) for the script. Deadpool and Deadpool 2 writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick will join in penning the script.
Over the years, Spike Lee has been critical of Tyler Perry’s film and television work, specifically his Madea character.
While sitting with Chris Wallace, Perry is asked about Lee’s 2009 comments stating that the Madea character is “coonery buffoonery.”
“There’s a certain part of our society, especially Black people in the in the culture that, they look down on certain things within the culture,” Perry said. “For me, I love the movies that I’ve done because they are the people that I grew up with that I represent and they, like, my mother would take me in the projects with her on the weekends, she played cards with these women.
“So when someone says, you’re harkening back to a point in our life that we don’t want to talk about or we don’t want the world to see, you’re dismissing the stories of millions and millions of Black people, and that’s why I think it’s been so successful because it resonates with a lot of us who know these women.”
For film fans who wish to see a different style of Tyler Perry’s work. His new film, A Jazzman’s Blues, is now available on Netflix.
Speaking with PEOPLE, Perry reveals it’s the first screenplay he ever penned.
“I wrote it in 1995. It was the first screenplay I ever wrote,” Perry said. “The two characters are just trying to find their own way in the world. Initially, I wanted to play the lead role of Bayou, but that was 1995 — I aged out.”
He added, “I was in Atlanta struggling to make it. I was hungry, sleeping on my cousin’s couch, eventually getting put out and being homeless. I was trying to get my first play off the ground, and this screenplay just poured out of me. I held onto it for all of these years.”
The film’s synopsis reads:
A sweeping tale of forbidden love, A JAZZMAN’S BLUES unspools forty years of secrets and lies soundtracked by juke joint blues in the deep South. Written, directed and produced by Academy Award honoree Tyler Perry, the film stars Joshua Boone and Solea Pfeiffer as star-crossed lovers Bayou and Leanne alongside an ensemble cast that includes Amirah Vann, Austin Scott, Milauna Jemai Jackson, Brent Antonello, Brad Benedict, Kario Marcel, Lana Young and Ryan Eggold. The film features an original song performed by Ruth B., songs arranged and produced by multi-Grammy winner & two-time Academy Award nominee Terence Blanchard, music by Aaron Zigman and choreography by Debbie Allen.
With just a couple months until the release of one of the most anticipated movies of the year, Marvel studios President Kevin Feige revealed why he and Black Panther director Ryan Coogler decided against recasting T’Challa after the death of Chadwick Boseman.
“It just felt like it was much too soon to recast,” Feige told Empire magazine. “Stan Lee always said that Marvel represents the world outside your window. And we had talked about how, as extraordinary and fantastical as our characters and stories are, there’s a relatable and human element to everything we do. The world is still processing the loss of Chad. And Ryan poured that into the story.”
Feige said that once he and Coogler landed on a decision, they then spoke on how to honor Boseman in Wakanda Forever.
“The conversations were entirely about, yes, ‘What do we do next? And how could the legacy of Chadwick and what he had done to help Wakanda and the Black Panther become these incredible, aspirational, iconic ideas–continue? That’s what it was all about.”’
A new age of Wakanda is dawning. Introducing Empire’s world-exclusive Black Panther: #WakandaForever issue – speaking to Ryan Coogler and his cast about their impossible sequel. On sale Thurs 29 Sept.
Shortly after Boseman’s passing, it was announced that his role as T’Challa would not be re-casted. In an interview with the Ringer-Verse podcast last year, Marvel’s VP of Development, Nate More, spoke on how the studio had no plans to recast T’Challa.
“You will not see T’Challa in the earth 616 universe,” More said. “We couldn’t do it. I will say, when Chad passed, it was a real conversation we had with Coogler about ‘what do we do?’ And it was a fast conversation. It wasn’t weeks, it was minutes of, ‘We have to figure out how to move this franchise on without that character.’”
MCU VP of Development Nate Moore puts to rest any discussion about recasting the character of T’challa as Black Panther. Says he talked with Ryan Coogler about it, and “we just couldn’t do it” more on @RingerVerse. T’challa is gone guys you agree or no? pic.twitter.com/MYoWKyqlmF
Actress Tiffany Haddish says she lost all her jobs after a recent lawsuit was filed against her. Along with Aries Spears, the two comedians were accused of grooming and coercing two siblings “Jane” and “John Doe”, aged 7 and 14 at the time, to take part in sexually explicit skits on two separate occasions.
On Wednesday Haddish told reporters the lawsuit cost her everything, including all her jobs, but that she feels relieved now that the whole thing is behind her.
According to reports, Haddish worked out a settlement agreement, privately with the two accusers and in return, the “Jane Doe” has now dismissed the lawsuit entirely.
Distinguished actor James Earl Jones is officially retiring from Star Wars. After 45 years of voicing ‘Darth Vader,’ Jones announced he’s officially signed his voice rights over to Lucasfilm.
The Oscar winner first debuted his voiceover role in the original 1977 film, as the iconic Star Wars villain, giving voice to the ‘Sith Lord’ while David Prowse physically portrayed the character.
Now, sound editors will use archival recordings and an A.I. program to create new dialogue with his iconic voice. This method has already been used in the Star Wars franchise to recreate the voice of a young ‘Luke Skywalker,’ and to mimic Darth Vader’s voice in the new show ”Obi-Wan Kenobi.”
According to Vanity Fair, Jones has given his blessing for Lucasfilm to use his signature voice in future Star Wars content, even those made after his own passing.
The owner of one of cinema’s most epic and iconic voices of all-time, James Earl Jones, has retired from voicing Darth Vader.
Thank you for literally everything. May your retirement be full of love and peace. I’m tearing up right now just writing this. #thankyoujamespic.twitter.com/wzZ12luAdo
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, an Academy Award winner for his documentary Summer of Soul, is slated to executive produce Dilla Time, a film on the life and enduring legacy of music producer J Dilla.
The documentary will be created in collaboration with the James Dewitt Yancey (aka J Dilla) estate by Thompson’s Two One Five Entertainment, his “Summer of Soul” producer Joseph Patel, New York Times bestselling author Dan Charnas, Cinetic Media, and Scenario Media.
“The estate of James Dewitt Yancey, and its wholly-owned production entity, Pay Jay Productions, Inc., which benefits J Dilla’s two children, his younger brother, and his mother, is proud to give its blessing to an amazing project created by discerning and talented filmmakers who knew J Dilla. We trust the judgment of Ahmir, Joseph, Dan, and Scenario to elevate Dilla’s life, music, and legacy to their rightful place in the canon of music’s great innovators; and their film is the only documentary project we have endorsed.”
The New York Times bestseller Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, The Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm by Dan Charnas served as the inspiration for the movie Dilla Time. The book chronicles the complex life of the Detroit-born artist who passed away at age 32 from a rare blood condition. It also proposes an important new idea regarding the seismic influence Dilla’s time-bending drum machine manipulations had on contemporary pop music.
The documentary will include commentary from some of the most important and forward-thinking personalities in contemporary music and will be equal parts biography, musicology, and musical meditation.
“Explaining musical genius is my mission. To be able to tell the world about the musician that had the most influence on me is a dream come true,” says Questlove. “Not just on me, but on an entire generation of musicians that everyone knows and loves. J Dilla was our teacher. And what he taught us was how to feel rhythm in a way we had ever felt before. I’m so honored to be a part of bringing his story to the world through this documentary.”
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson will serve as executive producer of “Dilla Time,” along with his producing partners Zarah Zolhman, Shawn Gee, and Tariq Trotter of Two One Five Entertainment. Joseph Patel, Dan Charnas, and Rodrigo Bascuñán, Darby Wheeler and Anupa Mistry, are set to produce. Dana O’Keefe and Cinetic Media will executive produce. The film will be co-directed by Joseph Patel and Darby Wheeler.
Actress Tiffany Haddish says she lost all her jobs after a recent lawsuit was filed against her. Along with Aries Spears, the two comedians were accused of grooming and coercing two siblings “Jane” and “John Doe”, aged 7 and 14 at the time, to take part in sexually explicit skits on two separate occasions.
On Wednesday Haddish told reporters the lawsuit cost her everything, including all her jobs, but that she feels relieved now that the whole thing is behind her.
According to reports, Haddish worked out a settlement agreement, privately with the two accusers and in return, the “Jane Doe” has now dismissed the lawsuit entirely.
In a new interview with The Art of Dialogue, gangsta rap pioneer Spice-1 revealed that Snoop Dogg was harassed by Bloods while on the set of Antoine Fuqua’s 2001 crime thriller Training Day, starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke.
Training Day was known for showing a different side to L.A., opting to film in locations such as East L.A., Compton, Watts, and South Central, many areas of which were home to the Bloods. Snoop’s presence apparently wasn’t welcome, because he was a Crip, leading to Bloods harassing him while on set. Spice-1 apparently heard Snoop was being harassed, and came to the set to put an end to it.
“I’m out in L.A. OG Crip homie hit me and he was like, ‘Spice, they at Snoop’s trailer. It’s some Blood niggas over there throwing bottles at Snoop trailer,’” Spice recalled. “He didn’t say Blood niggas because, you know, he ain’t gonna say that, but that’s what he tell me.
“I’m like, ‘Oh!’ In so many words, he was like, ‘Go over there and try to calm them n-ggas down. They’ll listen to you.’ And I’m thinking in the back of my head like, ‘Man, them n-ggas ain’t gonna listen to me. These n-ggas don’t know me.’ But since the OG n-gga said go over there and holla at them.”
Spice added that once he got there, the Bloods stopped throwing bottles at Snoop’s trailer. He asked if they has some weed, and told them that the police were coming. Spice then said that he and the Bloods went around the corner to smoke, and the cops passed by, but left them alone.
“So I go over there. I see them and they look at me and they’re like, ‘Damn, Blood! That look like Spice-1, Blood! I’m like, ‘It is me, nigga! Y’all ain’t got no weed? What’s happening?’
“I was like, ‘Man, they saying y’all were throwing bottles at Snoop’s trailer and shit. The muthafuckas about to call the police. We need to get the fuck outta here ’cause they might be coming.’ And they was like, ‘OK, cool. Let’s bounce the fuck up outta here.’ Niggas ain’t trying to see the [police] anyway.”
He added: “So we bounced, walked around the corner and started smoking some weed, wait for the po-pos to smash through. They drove through and left. I dapped the niggas and bounced out and went to Snoop’s trailer and started chopping it up with him for a minute, smoking some weed or whatever. I don’t think he knew what I was there for.”
