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
The first trailer is being released for M. Night Shyamalan’s new film Knock at the Cabin.
The film follows a young girl (played by Kristen Cui) and her parents taken hostage by four armed strangers while on a vacation at a remote cabin. The strangers tell the family they’ve been sent to stop the end of the world and the family must make a difficult choice to avoid the apocalypse. The movie stars Dave Bautista, Jonathan Groff, and Rupert Grint.
Knock at the Cabin releases in theaters on February 3rd.
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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.
Disney Pictures has released its first look at the live-action The Little Mermaid. A teaser trailer for the remake was unveiled at Disney’s D23 Expo on Friday.
It featured beautiful underwater shots of Halle Bailey starring as Ariel, singing some of the iconic song, ”Part of Your World.”
Bailey said Friday was the first time she had seen footage of the film.
“Being a little girl swimming in the pool, imagining I was a mermaid, I never imagined that would come to life, she gushed on stage. “The three days filming “Part of Your World” was the most beautiful experience of my life.” Bailey continued, “..Feeling all the feelings she feels, her passion, discomfort, and everything she’s experiencing. It was so exciting for me to play those emotions and to have Rob directing me and being such a moving force on this film was really an honor.”
Out of the sea, wish I could be… part of that world.
Director Rob Marshall said it was important they honored the original film while still reimagining other parts to bring more depth to the story, which includes the musical numbers.
Alan Menken, who worked on the original Little Mermaid soundtrack, is teaming up with Lin-Manuel Miranda to create four new songs for the movie as well.
Who is running out to see The Little Mermaid in theaters May 26, 2023?
Yvonne Orji has broken new ground with a new comedy special, A Whole Me, that premieres on HBO at 10 pm on October 1st.
“Not only is October 1st, Nigerian Independence Day but shout out to HBO for giving me the dopest release date for my SECOND HBO special! It’s bout to be a whole lottta Jollof and Afrobeats thumpin!,” said Orji.
The new, full-length special follows her 2020 debut special. Mama, I Made It!,A Whole Me, which promises to bring the audience all the drama, vulnerability, and realness that her previous shows have given.
Documenting Orji’s evolving views and experiences of universal themes we all encounter, like “dating, adulting, and why guys need better friends,” the special brings some much-needed levity to life and dating in the modern age. Orji brings her signature style to the special. Her unabashed vulnerability and mix of genuine heartfelt authenticity bring healing to the star and take the audience along for the ride.
Performed and filmed in downtown LA, Orji takes the audience into a therapy session and narrates the entire performance. With a lively mix of scripted vignettes and live stand-up comedy, the actress offers her point of view with sensitivity and frankness that gives exceptional, genuine warmth and depth.
Orji explores her own history, giving her unique takes on the complexities of growing up the child of Nigerian immigrants, her hilarious takes on issues such as estate planning and the covid pandemic, and the brutal horror of attempting to date in an online world. All things her audience finds deeply relatable.
No stranger to HBO comedy specials, Her debut special for HBO was 2020’s “Mama I Made It!“. This break-out installment explored Orji’s progression from a pre-med student to the unlikely position of stand-up comic, her incredibly strict Nigerian-American upbringing, and all the unforeseen, heartfelt, and funny experiences that brings.
Best known for her role as Molly on HBO’s “Insecure” Orji would receive an Emmy nomination for her portrayal in 2020.
She has also hosted Amazon Prime’s “Yearly Departed,” a comedy special that gives some funny takes on the year-in-review. HBO’s dating reality series “My Mom, Your Dad” also used the star as a captivating host.
The up-and-comer also has some exciting work in development. Her next project includes some really high-profile industry names. Orji is in development for a semi-autobiographical comedy series called “First Gen.” This will premiere on Disney Plus and features the talents of Oprah Winfrey and David Oyelowo as executive producers for the show.
Yvonne Orji is definitely someone to keep an eye on. With two exciting specials on the horizon and one success already under her belt, it is hard to deny that Yvonne Orji is a talent on the rise.
When you think of great weed flicks, you think of Cheech and Chong, Half Baked, Pineapple Express, and one could even argue Friday should be on that list. Now it seems as if another film, Stoned, is trying to make its way to that list, and it’s made by no other than Dame Dash.
Stoned stars Lucien Watson, a former member of “State Of Mind”, the first group that Kanye West was a part of in the 90’s. The film tells the story of two friends from different worlds, Joel and Marquis, who met up at a summer camp as kids and decide to meet up in Wyoming at Marquis’ uncle’s ranch. However, things go awry after Marquis loses his luggage with his weed in it and the two go on a journey to find weed.
The movie was filmed in 8 days in 2020 on Kanye’s ranch in Wyoming. Lucien got the role as he was entertaining Kanye, Dame, and the others on the ranch. In a statement from Lucien, he explained Dame Dash’s involvement in the film and how he got the part.
“Dame Dash was the foundation of the project in terms of acting, producing, writing as well as bringing the vibe for the film,” Lucien said. He added that he got the role while he, Kanye, Dame, and other celebrities were at dinner, “in true Lucien fashion [he] had everybody laughing.” How I even got the role was because one night at Kanye’s ranch in Wyoming, Dame, Kanye, myself, and other celebs were at dinner and in true “Lucien fashion I had everyone laughing. Dame looked at Kanye and said, “I’m putting him in a movie tomorrow” and the rest was history.”
In the same statement, Lucien said that Stoned is inspired by other great weed flicks including How High, Half Baked, and Cheech and Chong, but is made for today’s audience, given that in 2022, weed is legal for recreational use in many states and the stigma of it has changed since those movies were made almost two decades ago.
Given the change in perception of weed over the last two decades, the rate of “stoner” movies in the last decade has slowed down. When asked why he wanted to star in a movie based around weed given the change in perception, Lucien said that the perception of weed has never changed for him.
“Within the Hip Hop community and my circle of friends, weed has always had a positive perception so it has never changed for me,” Lucien said. “It’s cool that the world sees all the positive effects that weed has in people’s lives from the health benefits to the financial aspect of it. The connection between this film and myself is that I come from the legacy market within the cannabis industry where the oppressed have been jailed for doing what companies are getting millions for today. In my younger days, I made money in the streets because of weed just like so many others within this culture. This film is a comedy, but it really gives great insight to cannabis culture and where we are today in terms of the perception of it.”
You can check out Stoned when it premieres next month on Tubi, Peacock, and the Dame Dash Network.
Disney Pictures has released its first look at the live-action The Little Mermaid. A teaser trailer for the remake was unveiled at Disney’s D23 Expo on Friday.
It featured beautiful underwater shots of Halle Bailey starring as Ariel, singing some of the iconic song, ”Part of Your World.”
Bailey said Friday was the first time she had seen footage of the film.
“Being a little girl swimming in the pool, imagining I was a mermaid, I never imagined that would come to life, she gushed on stage. “The three days filming “Part of Your World” was the most beautiful experience of my life.” Bailey continued, “..Feeling all the feelings she feels, her passion, discomfort, and everything she’s experiencing. It was so exciting for me to play those emotions and to have Rob directing me and being such a moving force on this film was really an honor.”
Out of the sea, wish I could be… part of that world.
Director Rob Marshall said it was important they honored the original film while still reimagining other parts to bring more depth to the story, which includes the musical numbers.
Alan Menken, who worked on the original Little Mermaid soundtrack, is teaming up with Lin-Manuel Miranda to create four new songs for the movie as well.
Who is running out to see The Little Mermaid in theaters May 26, 2023?
LeBron James and Drake are being sued for allegedly stealing the rights to a movie about a segregated hockey league. Billy Hunter, the former head of the NBA players union, claims he holds the exclusive rights to produce any movie about Canada’s old Colored Hockey League, an all black hockey league founded in 1895.
The lawsuit states Lebron and Drake used their production companies to go behind Hunter’s back and sign a deal with the authors of a book their Black Ice documentary is based on.
The authors, George and Darril Fosty, are also listed as defendants, citing breach of contract for allegedly violating the agreement. However, the authors say no one violated any agreements because a documentary is different from a movie.
The lawsuit says Hunter paid the authors a total of $265,000 for the movie rights to the story. Hunter is asking for a cut of Lebron and Drake’s profits off their documentary and an additional $10M in damages.
James and Drake’s documentary, directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Hubert Davis, is being showcased at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 10.
Representatives for LeBron James and Drake haven’t made any comments on the allegations.
New Jack City will be revived on stages around the nation by theatrical hitmaker Je’Caryous Johnson thirty years after its initial debut.
The Met in Philadelphia will host the world premiere of Johnson’s traveling stage version of the Warner Bros. cult favorite on Nov. 4. Johnson wrote, directed, and produced the stage edition, which is presented by Je’Caryous Johnson Entertainment. During its run, the play will make visits to a number of cities, including Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, DC, Detroit, Charlotte, North Carolina, Atlanta, Brooklyn, Texas, and Los Angeles, California. Up until the spring of 2023, more cities are expected to be added.
The cast of Johnson’s NEW JACK CITY LIVE includes critically acclaimed actor Allen Payne, who will reprise his role as “Gee Money,” legendary rapper “Treach,” who will be “Nino Brown,” legendary rapper “Big Daddy Kane,” who plays “Stone,” and actor Flex Alexander, who will take on the role of “Pookie.”
While experiencing classic theater storytelling through the culturally astute lens of Je’Caryous Johnson, NEW JACK CITY LIVE will give audiences across the nation the opportunity to relive all their favorite, intense, heart-pounding moments from the blockbuster movie.
LeBron James and Drake are being sued for allegedly stealing the rights to a movie about a segregated hockey league. Billy Hunter, the former head of the NBA players union, claims he holds the exclusive rights to produce any movie about Canada’s old Colored Hockey League, an all black hockey league founded in 1895.
The lawsuit states Lebron and Drake used their production companies to go behind Hunter’s back and sign a deal with the authors of a book their Black Ice documentary is based on.
The authors, George and Darril Fosty, are also listed as defendants, citing breach of contract for allegedly violating the agreement. However, the authors say no one violated any agreements because a documentary is different from a movie.
The lawsuit says Hunter paid the authors a total of $265,000 for the movie rights to the story. Hunter is asking for a cut of Lebron and Drake’s profits off their documentary and an additional $10M in damages.
James and Drake’s documentary, directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Hubert Davis, is being showcased at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 10.
Representatives for LeBron James and Drake haven’t made any comments on the allegations.
#thankyoujames pic.twitter.com/wzZ12luAdo
