Hip Hop Film and Movie News

Jayme Lawson and Wunmi Mosaku Join Cast of Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan’s Mysterious Supernatural Film

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Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan’s Next Film Project Set for Warner Bros After Bidding War

When it comes to that top-secret supernatural, which may be a period vampire film that Ryan Coogler is directing, producing, and starring Michael B. Jordan, well, they just added Wunmi Mosaku and Jayme Lawson to the cast, joining Delroy Lindo and Jack O’Connell, who were both recently announced. The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline reported that both actresses are confirmed to star in the mysterious film. 

This massive project is still under wraps, so both new announcements indicate who they will play. Still, Mosaku has starred in roles in the ballpark of supernatural, sci-fi, and fantasy series to Lovecraft Country and Loki. Now get this: more from the rumor mill. She is said, again, it’s just a rumor to be the female lead and possibly a romantic interest of one of the twin brothers Jordan is expected to play. Yes, that part – Jordan is rumored to be playing twin brothers, while O’Connell might be playing the antagonist.

More rumors say the film is set in the Jim Crow South and might revolve around vampires and Southern supernatural lore and culture, as reported by Shadow and Act. 

Check this part. New Orleans is accustomed to vampire lore, and that is where this film is kick-starting production this month.

Coogler wrote the film and is directing and producing under his Proximity Media banner. Proximity Media’s Zinzi Coogler and Sev Ohanian will also be producing.

Except this blockbuster to hit theaters in March 2025. 

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‘Maxxxine’: Trailer With Giancarlo Esposito, Singer Halsey and Moses Sumney

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‘Maxxxine’: Trailer With Giancarlo Esposito, Singer Halsey and Moses Sumney

Pop star Halsey, Moses Sumney, and veteran actor Giancarlo Esposito are all caught up in the crazy, murder-filled world of A24’s MAXXXINE. This is the newest film from the X universe, written and directed by Ti West. In case you’re not up on this world, MAXXXINE wraps up a trilogy that also includes X and Pearl, a 2022 film.

According to the synopsis:

“In 1980s Hollywood, adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine Minx finally gets her big break. But as a mysterious killer stalks the starlets of Hollywood, a trail of blood threatens to reveal her sinister past.”

Not much else is known about the film as it’s being kept under wraps, but the gist of the trailer gives a first look at the type of wild going-on for the characters in this film.

MAXXXINE includes Elizabeth Debicki, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Lily Collins and Kevin Bacon. The film hits theaters July 5.

Esposito is very busy these days. He has many other projects lined up for him this year, including Netflix’s The Gentlemen from Guy Ritchie and The Residence, with the latter taking over a role originally played by the late Andre Braugher. He will also star in AMC’s upcoming series The Driver.

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Spike Lee, Tessa Thompson, and More Celebs Donate Items to Cinema for Gaza Auction Fundraising Over $100,000 Since March

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Spike Lee Says 'I Got Questions' About 9/11 While Promoting Upcoming Documentary

Donated items from Spike Lee, Tessa Thompson, Olivia Colman, and more have been added to the Cinema for Gaza auction, raising over $113,000.

Variety reports that the items, iconic to say the least, include a framed “Malcolm X” poster signed by Lee, an “Aftersun” poster signed by Mescal with a personalized video message from Colman are included in the auction lots that launched this past Monday, as well as additional items including a “beer on Zoom” with Tessa Thompson. Memorabilia from “The Marvels,” a “Worst Person in the World” poster signed by Joachim Trier, were also auctioned.

Foreseeably, this won’t be a forever thing, as the auction closes on April 12. All donations will go to Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP). Cinema for Gaza was set up by U.K.-based filmmakers and film journalists Hanna Flint, Julia Jackman, Leila Latif, Sophie Monks Kaufman, and Helen Simmons. It has been consistently growing since its inception on March 28. More celebrity donations are coming through daily, adding to the original lots from A-list names such as Tilda Swinton, Josh O’Connor, Ken Loach, and more. 

MAP is currently responding to the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, where the local health authority claims that more than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed after Israel retaliated for Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack, which killed more than 1,100 Israelis.

Hollywood for a good cause is never a bad thing.

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Ryan Coogler Vampire Film With Michael B. Jordan Adds Delroy Lindo

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The next big Hollywood movie from Ryan Coogler starring none other than Michael B. Jordan has just announced more of the untitled film’s cast.

Both Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter reported that Delroy Lindo is confirmed as on board. Jack O’Connell is in talks, and rumor has it that he will play the villain. Lindo’s role is unknown, much like the title. C’mon ya’ll, give us something.

Speaking of under wraps, this project has been protected from leaks, but Shadow and Act gave some rumored intel with the film “set in the Jim Crow-era South, and possibly involves both vampires and Southern supernatural traditions.” Now get this: Shadow and Act regurgitated another rumor that Jordan may play two characters who are twin brothers. That’s interesting. Here’s more from the rumor mill: the tone of the film is described as having a musical element. One source said Lindo’s role has “a musical element to it.” Now, that’s a lot of possible information for a so-called closely guarded project.

Coogler is serving as a screenwriter, director, and producer through his company, Proximity Media. Proximity Media producers Zinzi Coogler (Ryan’s wife) and Sev Ohanian are producing.

Warner Bros won the rights to the film after a crazy bidding war. 

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Halle Bailey Added to Pharrell-Inspired Musical

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Halle Bailey is pulling the curtain back on her decision to keep her pregnancy quiet as long as she could.

Here’s some Hip-Hop in Hollywood news: A Pharrell Williams-inspired musical film in the works at Universal just added another star name. Halle Bailey, the star of The Little Mermaid, will lead opposite Kelvin Harrison Jr. and 2024 Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph.

Pretty much all the industry trades confirmed Bailey’s involvement in the project, but her character and the other character details are tightly under wraps. However, if you know much about Pharrell’s story, you can imagine a whole lot.  

Michael Gondry (Be Kind Rewind) is directing, and Williams, of course, is producing.

So Shadow and Act say the film is a “coming-of-age musical set in 1977 Virginia Beach,” and the story will draw inspiration from Williams’ childhood experiences “growing up in the city’s Atlantis Apartments.” See, there’s a lot of intel there, but they say the project is “under wraps.” How is that guarding a secret? Anyway, Martin Hynes and Steven Levenson are penning the script.

Williams will produce with Mimi Valdés via I am OTHER. Gil Netter produces under his self-titled production company, Gil Netter Productions.

Bailey was last seen in a significant role in The Color Purple and was the titular character in Disney’s The Little Mermaid. 

Insert Neptunes’ track sound. Let’s see how many of you’ll get that one. 

The post Halle Bailey Added to Pharrell-Inspired Musical first appeared on The Source.

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Tyler Perry’s New Series at Netflix ‘Beauty in Black’ Announces Debbi Morgan, Richard Lawson and More

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Tyler Perry Puts $800M Studio Expansion on Hold After Seeing Possibilities of OpenAI

Tyler Perry’s going all out with his deal at Netflix. He just announced the cast of his new series Beauty in the Black, which includes Debbi Morgan, Richard Lawson, Taylor Polidore Williams, Crystle Stewart, and, let his, 14 others!

Naturally, Perry is out front for this project. He will write, direct, and produce the 16-episode, hour-long series, which is expected under his creative partnership with Netflix.

Here’s the casting breakdown for Beauty in Black. The series will star Taylor Polidore Williams, Amber Reign Smith, Crystle Stewart, Ricco Ross, Debbi Morgan, Richard Lawson, Steven G. Norfleet, Julian Horton, Terrell Carter, and Shann on Wallace. Also starring are Bryan Tanaka, Joy Rovaris, Xavier Smalls, Charles Malik Whitfield, Tamera “Tee” Kissen, Ursula O. Robinson, Ashley Versher and George Middlebrook.

As Shadow and Act reports, Perry’s new series follows Kimmie (Williams) and Mallory (Stewart) two Black women whose lives become intertwined. According to the logline, “While Kimmie is struggling to make a living after her mother kicked her out, and Mallory is running a successful business, they find themselves entangled in each other’s lives.”

Here’s a recap of other projects Perry has rolled out under his Netflix deal, including A Fall From Grace, A Jazzman’s Blues, and Mea Culpa, the latter of which was a top-watched movie on the streamer. 

Perry’s upcoming film, Six Triple Eight, tells the story of the only all-Black Women’s Army Corps or WACs during World War II. It’s set to star Kerry Washington. Perry is serving as a writer, director, and producer and is on track to hit Netflix sometime this year.

Perry is flexible and has a lucrative deal with Amazon MGM Studios. His upcoming film Joy Ride will star Shannon Thornton and Tosin Morohunfola. Keep em’ coming, Tyler!

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Octavia Spencer and Ariana Debose Join Demi Lovato for Drama Film ‘Tow’

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Octavia Spencer and Ariana Debose Join Demi Lovato for Drama Film 'Tow'

Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer and Ariana DeBose (West Side Story) are starring alongside Demi Lovato and Rose Byrne in Tow, an upcoming drama feature film currently in production. 

As reported in Deadline, the film also stars Dominic Sessa. Tow dramatizes a true story based on the experiences of Amanda Ogle, who was homeless in Seattle while living in her car and was forced to reclaim her livelihood after being handed an impossible tow bill for $21,634. It sounds like some foul stuff that happens often, and it most certainly went down in real life for Ogle. Her story was profiled around the who’s who of news outlets, and Tow takes the story head on every step of the way.

Tow is being directed by Stephanie Laing from a script by Jonathan Keasey, Brant Boivin, and Annie Weisman, with Ogle herself executive producing with DeBose, Keasey, Jonathan Tropper, Josh Ricks, Danny Gusman, The Exchange’s Nat McCormick and Giovanna Trischitta and Kevin Eggers. Liang also makes cakes and death pictures through her newly formed company. Byrne also produces with Votiv Films’ Justin Lothrop, Brent Stiefel, The Exchange’s Danyelle Foord, and Brian O’Shea.

DeBose is known for starring as Anita in the Oscar-nominated West Side Story. She recently starred in Disney’s latest animated film, Wish, and Apple Original Films’ action/adventure Argylle. DeBose is also starring in Sony’s upcoming R-rated anti-hero film Kraven the Hunter.

Spencer recently starred in Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker and Truth Be Told, among other projects. She is also set to star in the new Prime Video action series with Hannah Waddingham.

The post Octavia Spencer and Ariana Debose Join Demi Lovato for Drama Film ‘Tow’ first appeared on The Source.

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Zoe Saldana Says Disney Should Find a Way to Bring Back ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’

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Zoe Saldana Says Disney Should Find a Way to Bring Back 'Guardians of the Galaxy'

The Marvel Cinematic Universe seems like it’s done with Guardians of the Galaxy, especially since helmer James Gunn is running the show for DC’s films at Legendary and Warner Bros. But Zoe Saldaña was recently asked on the Playlists’s Discourse Podcast if she was “done” playing Gamora after the trilogy ended.

“I mean, so far, I think that she is [gone for good] for me, but I don’t think Gamora has gone for good,” Saldaña said in response. In addition to losing Gunn to DC, even Dave Bautista, who played Drax the Destroyer, said Guardians Vol. 3 was the last movie in that world. Saldaña suggested she’s not interested in reprising her role as Gamora, at least for now the character is still there and that means there are other stories to be told within the Marvel Cinematic Universe along with the new-ish multiverse.

“I would think it would be a huge loss for Marvel if they didn’t find a way to bring back the Guardians of the Galaxy,” Saldaña said. “It’s just such a fan-favorite group of misfits, you know? And then at the helm, they had a voice like James Gunn’s writing — which is just so marvelous for and very specific for this genre. And it’s so great for this genre as well. So, I would be the first one in the first row to sort of celebrate when the Guardians of the Galaxy come back.” 

Saldaña played Gamora in three highly successful unless you were under a rock. Guardians films, not to mention other Marvel movies, including Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Gunn ended “Vol. 3” with the creation of a new Guardians team that included the likes of Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), Kraglin (Sean Gunn), Cosmo (voiced by Maria Bakalova) and Adam Warlock (Will Poulter). 

Even though Gunn left the story open-ended, Marvel has yet to announce any new Guardians films.

Fingers crossed for Guardians of the Galaxy, with or without Saldaña, but at least she’s down for the story to continue one way or another.

The post Zoe Saldana Says Disney Should Find a Way to Bring Back ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ first appeared on The Source.

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Box Office: ‘Godzilla X Kong’ Smashes the Box off With Surprising $80 Million Debut

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Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire raged through the box office this holiday weekend. Variety reported that the monster mashup installment to the Godzilla franchise racked up a higher-than-expected total $80 million debut from 3,861 theaters in North America.

Full stop. Why does this matter? Anyone who enjoys going to the movies as a hobby, pastime, or family activity needs films like this outside of the superhero genre to do well. Without the success of studio film franchises, going to the movies as we know it can be at risk of faltering. So this is a good thing. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire eating at expectations helps protect the theater movie-going experience. In a post-COVID world, it’s clear these films need to do well.  

“Every movie counts, and the importance of each film’s performance carries a lot of weight in terms of moving the needle,” in a quote to Variety from senior Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “The combination of ‘Dune,’ ‘Kung Fu Panda,’ ‘Ghostbusters’ and now ‘Godzilla’ has shown the power of a few key releases to turn the box office tide in a relatively short amount of time.”

Now get this: the fifth film in Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, “Monsterverse,” was only projected to bring in $50 million to $55 million. However, Godzilla x Kong went above and beyond the forecaster’s best guesses on performance. The total is now at $194 million “from 64 overseas territories” after three days of release.

As Variety calls it, this is the second-biggest debut in the MonsterVerse, following 2014’s “Godzilla” ($93 million) but ahead of 2017’s “Kong: Skull Island” ($61 million), 2019’s “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” ($47.7 million) and 2021’s “Godzilla vs. Kong” ($31 million while on HBO Max).

If you want to carry a $135 million production budget, this film needs to hit home with customers across the globe to justify the hefty budget. It is on pace to outgross its previous film in the franchise Godzilla vs. Kong, which was a hit during the pandemic-marred theater economy with $474 million worldwide. 

Hopefully, Godzilla and Kong keep kicking monster butt because the movie theater experience, industry, and fun of it all certainly needs it.

The post Box Office: ‘Godzilla X Kong’ Smashes the Box off With Surprising $80 Million Debut first appeared on The Source.

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Oscar-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr. Dead at Age 87

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Oscar-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr. Dead at Age 87

Louis Gossett Jr., the pioneering actor who made history as the first Black man to win both an Academy Award and an Emmy, passed away at 87.

Gossett’s nephew confirmed the news to The Associated Press. Gossett, renowned for his role in the iconic TV miniseries Roots and his Academy Award-winning performance in An Officer and a Gentleman, died Thursday night in Santa Monica, California.

Born on May 27, 1936, in Brooklyn, New York, Gossett rose to prominence with his memorable roles on stage and screen. His career included acclaimed performances in Broadway productions like A Raisin in the Sun and Hollywood films like Companions in Nightmare.

Gossett’s breakthrough came with his portrayal of Fiddler in the landmark miniseries Roots, which depicted the harrowing realities of slavery. He later achieved cinematic acclaim for his role as a Marine drill instructor in An Officer and a Gentleman, for which he received an Oscar and a Golden Globe. Survived by his sons Satie and Sharron, Gossett leaves a lasting legacy as a trailblazing actor and a champion for diversity and representation in the entertainment industry.

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