We learned last month that Jack Harlow has already been confirmed to star in a remake of the 1992 hoops hustler classic White Men Can’t Jump. While Harlow is a lock to play Woody Harrelson’s Billy Hoyle role, Quavo had thrust his name into the ring to play Wesley Snipes’ Sidney Deane character. In a seemingly random encounter with a TMZ paparazzo, Quavo said, “I think they need to call me so me and Jack Harlow can do it. I need to play Wesley Snipes’ role. Huncho and Harlow, let’s do it.” While the above-average basketball skills that Quavo flashed at last year’s NBA All-Star Weekend Celebrity helped notch him a role as a playable character on the NBA 2K22 video game, he doesn’t really have much of an acting resume to speak of.
To be fair, neither did Harlow, who apparently wowed enough in his audition for the “First Class” rapper to claim the starring role in producer Kenya Barris’ (Blackish) reboot. But Quavo officially won’t be joining Harlow in the film as 37-year old Sinqua Walls — who you may know from Teen Wolf, The Breaks, and Friday Night Lights — has been cast in Wesley Snipes’ Sidney Deane role, according to Deadline. While the pipe dream of a Huncho and Harlow silver screen pairing was appealing, having an established actor as a co-star is probably a better way for the film to be taken seriously.
Jack Harlow is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
— DJ Jazzy Jeff the Tutor (@djjazzyjeff215) March 28, 2022
Jazz has since expanded on his thoughts during an interview with Chicago radio station 107.5 WCGI (via People). “Don’t get it twisted that it was something he was proud of. It was a lapse in judgment, you know?” The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actor said. “I think the thing that I’ve realized is I don’t know too many people that has had the least amount of lapse of judgment than him. I can name 50 times that he should’ve smacked the sh*t out of somebody and he didn’t.” Unfortunately, that 51st time was during Hollywood’s biggest night when 15 million people were watching at home.
Jazz continued:
“So, for him to have a lapse in judgment, he’s human. And I think a lot of the criticism comes from the people who don’t think people like that are human.”
Here’s a dramatic reenactment of DJ Jazzy Jeff protecting Smith from criticism:
Others (not named Billy Crystal and Jim Carrey) in the entertainment industry who have worked with Smith have also come to his defense. “To me, it’s just like, enough of it. All right, so a dramatic thing happened, but I just think we’ve got to get our priorities straight,” Bad Boys director Michael Bay said about the Slap. Would he work with Smith again? “Absolutely, 100 percent,” he replied. “He’s a very even-keeled guy.”
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are very much in love, but for the second time in their lives, they’re ready to tie the knot! Lopez shared the news in a message to readers of her On The JLo newsletter and it came days after she was spotted earlier this week with what many believed to be an engagement ring on her finger. Prior to sharing the exciting news, Lopez teased a “major announcement” in a video she posted on Twitter Friday night. “So I have a really exciting and special story to share…” Lopez said in the video. She also added a ring emoji to her name on Twitter.
In the newsletter, Lopez included a video of her fawning over the large, green diamond ring, and her sister Lynda also shared images of the ring on her Instagram Story. Lopez and Affleck’s engagement comes nearly 20 years after their first engagement which occurred back in November 2002. At that time, the couple planned to get married in September 2003, but the wedding was postponed with four days’ notice. Two months later, the wedding was called off. Their engagement also comes a year after Lopez and ex-fiance Alex Rodriguez called off their own wedding.
In a past interview with People, Lopez was asked what makes her connection with Affleck different this time around. “We’re older now, we’re smarter, we have more experience,” she said. “We’re at different places in our lives, we have kids now, and we have to be very conscious of those things.”
You can view images of Lopez’s engagement ring above.
Our favorite season? Awards season, and even though Hollywood is rolling up the red carpets, we’re here to celebrate the history-making wins and nominations that should’ve dominated headlines this year.
First up? The Oscars.
Host Drew Dorsey recapped the glitz and glamour of the film industry’s most iconic awards show by hyping the women who made huge strides in their categories. Save your hot takes on the Will Smith and Chris Rock drama because we’re here for Jane Campion’s historic nomination (and win) for her work directing The Power of the Dog. The Netflix Western also snagged cinematographer Ari Wegner a history-making nod — she became just the second woman recognized by the Academy in the Best Cinematography category — and, as a bonus, it gave us all the gift of seeing Benedict Cumberbatch don a pair of leather chaps.
But it’s not just in the movies that women are making moves. Drew highlights the many femme artists headlining this year’s GRAMMYs potential winners list. From Olivia Rodrigo’s huge wins to Doja Cat slaying the red carpet and H.E.R. taking home her own hardware — women ruled the GRAMMYs stage. Of course, because everyone’s still scandalized by the latest season of Netflix’s Bridgerton, Drew also had to give the two femme composers who crafted an entire musical based on the show’s first season, their rightful due.
You can watch all that plus a highlight reel featuring everyone from Zendaya and Sian Heder to movies like Disney’s Turning Red in the video above.
Our favorite season? Awards season, and even though Hollywood is rolling up the red carpets, we’re here to celebrate the history-making wins and nominations that should’ve dominated headlines this year.
First up? The Oscars.
Host Drew Dorsey recapped the glitz and glamour of the film industry’s most iconic awards show by hyping the women who made huge strides in their categories. Save your hot takes on the Will Smith and Chris Rock drama because we’re here for Jane Campion’s historic nomination (and win) for her work directing The Power of the Dog. The Netflix Western also snagged cinematographer Ari Wegner a history-making nod — she became just the second woman recognized by the Academy in the Best Cinematography category — and, as a bonus, it gave us all the gift of seeing Benedict Cumberbatch don a pair of leather chaps.
But it’s not just in the movies that women are making moves. Drew highlights the many femme artists headlining this year’s GRAMMYs potential winners list. From Olivia Rodrigo’s huge wins to Doja Cat slaying the red carpet and H.E.R. taking home her own hardware — women ruled the GRAMMYs stage. Of course, because everyone’s still scandalized by the latest season of Netflix’s Bridgerton, Drew also had to give the two femme composers who crafted an entire musical based on the show’s first season, their rightful due.
You can watch all that plus a highlight reel featuring everyone from Zendaya and Sian Heder to movies like Disney’s Turning Red in the video above.
We apparently live in a golden age of game show blunders. Recently there’s been a spate of cartoonishly wrongWheel of Fortuneanswers. Now the trend is infecting other shows. On a recent episode of the U.S. reboot of The Weakest Link — which swaps out original terrifying host Anne Robinson for the comparatively warmer Jane Lynch — one contestant was asked to show off his knowledge of legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese. Not only was his expertise lacking, but his answer was powerfully, inventively wrong.
The viral clip shows a man named Sean being asked by Lynch a simple question: Of the nine Oscar nominations the Marvel villain has earned for directing over his long career, which film did he wind up winning for? The answer is one of Scorsese’s most popular films, 2006’s star-studded gangster epic The Departed, which grossed a pretty penny back in the day and has been a home video/streaming favorite ever since.
Sean did not know that. “I’m horrible with films,” Sean admitted while visibly wracking his brain. He admitted he would “have to guess.” And so his mind landed on…8 Mile. The 2002 biopic about Eminem, starring Eminem as himself.
Sadly, the director of Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, The Last Temptation of Christ, and the lengthy video for Michael Jackson’s “Bad” has never once directed the onetime Slim Shady. Those duties went to another Oscar-nominated director, the late Curtis Hanson, the versatile filmmaker of L.A. Confidential who directed 8 Mile in between the comedic dramas Wonder Boys and In Her Shoes. So it’s not too far-off.
There is one other connection between the two: At the 2020 Oscars, when Scorsese’s The Irishman was up for a pile of awards, the great director was forced to listen to “Lose Yourself,” the song that won 8 Mile’s lone Academy Award. And he did not exactly seem to be enjoying it.
Is it unfiltered talking head interviews from an artist’s inner circle, narrating their rise to fame and filling in the gaps with unheard tales of tragedy and triumph? Is it hundreds of hours’ worth of archival footage that transports fans back to the tour buses and motels and the chaotic marathon of on-the-road, small-town gigs? Is it the artist themselves taking control of the camera to give us a more intimate, insightful look into their creative process — the highs, the lows, the sacrifices, and the perks of fame?
Is it a combination of all of these?
Whatever that magical “it” factor is, all of the docs on this list — from tranquil recording sessions to cinematic road trip movies to dramatic reenactments to reels of film that have been hidden away for decades — have it in some form or other.
There’s a kind of mythos surrounding The Beatles, their meteoric rise, and their complicated break-up. Much of that is fueled by the untimely death of their founding member, John Lennon, but more still stems from the group’s prolific lyrical output — something that’s on full display in Peter Jackson’s biographical epic, Get Back. The three-part six-hour-long documentary is a musical odyssey, one that peels back the veneer of nostalgia and gives us a raw, moving, and at times unbearably intimate look at the four lads whose influence is still being felt, decades after their initial peak of stardom. Subdued and unstructured but made with purpose, the series gives us a glimpse of these figures with episodes of genius on full display — like when Paul riffs on his bass and produces one of the band’s biggest hits in just a few minutes. The best moments come when we get an unedited look at the strife, tension, and profound connection these musical icons shared, though.
Billie Eilish: Happier Than Ever, A Love Letter to Los Angeles (2021)
Run Time: 65 min
Billie Eilish has had a prodigious career. That’s not hyperbole, it’s simply a fact. She’s ticked off everything from Grammy wins and Oscars trophies to headlining the world’s major music festivals and being interesting enough that not one, but two documentaries have attempted to distill her star power to something us mere mortals can understand. In this doc, which stands as Billie’s love letter to her hometown, director Robert Rodriguez throws animation into the mix, creating a kind of hybrid doc/album concept film that’s both beautifully straightforward and deceptively insightful.
Go all the way back to the consequential summer of 1969 as Roots crew drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson brings the incomparable Harlem Cultural Festival to life with his Oscar-winning Summer Of Soul. Filled with a collection of performances from iconic musicians like Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight, this doc doubly rewards viewers by diving into the intersection between current events and music, showcasing the power of music and an event that has been shockingly under-remembered until now.
The only female artist who’s had a bigger breakout than Billie Eilish is this Disney star whose catchy-as-hell breakup track, Driver’s License catapulted her to the top of the charts during a pandemic that had us all feeling a little blue. This doc shares some of the same qualities that made that song, and its accompanying music video, such a hit. There’s a barren feeling to all of the deserts and flatlands Rodrigo drives through while on her way from the recording studio where she created her debut album Sour, back home to California. There’s also a vintage, grainy filter imposed on all of the vistas she stops at along the way, performing some of the album’s biggest hits to intimate crowds and fan gatherings. It’s a vibe – and a worthy entry into the music doc space from an artist who’s just getting started.
Of the two stellar albums Taylor Swift dropped in 2020, Folklore was the one with the least fanfare surrounding it — a record Swift quietly unveiled that guided fans even deeper into the fantasy-like wood she’d escaped to during quarantine. And with this doc — an intimate, no-frills recording session in a rustic cabin by a lake, somewhere north of New York City – Swift doubles down on this new era of her career she’s knowingly entered into. This is a doc about Taylor Swift, the songwriter – not the pop star or tabloid target. Stripped down and raw, the doc merges some home videos of Swift recording the album years earlier with frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff and newcomer (to the Swift scene) Aaron Dessner with live performances from Swift, held in between chats that dive deep into her musical knowledge and her artistic process. It’s illuminating in the best way and Swift has never been better.
Before Lin Manuel-Miranda was creating Oscar-nominated bops for Disney flicks and winning Peabody awards for history-making Broadway musicals, he was just a guy on a street corner in the Heights, freestyling with his friends. This doc, which leans heavily on archival footage of Miranda and fellow Freestyle Supreme members like Thomas Kail, Christopher Jackson, and others, charts the rise of the group whose on-stage trick is to take audience suggestions and turn them into feature-length raps and bops and skits for our entertainment. There’s some incredible talent on display here as we see the group perform at fringe fests and basement cellars, but somehow, knowing the success each of these guys will one day find makes viewing their humble beginning even more exciting.
In 1972, Aretha Franklin gave a two-night performance of some of her biggest hits in a crowded Baptist church. Decades later, we finally get that footage. Filmed by Sydney Pollock, this is Aretha Franklin before people universally recognized her as an icon. Her voice is unparalleled, her energy infectious, her talent obvious, but this doc shows the synergy between her religious upbringing and the music she would bring to the world. It might just move you to tears.
Of the two Blackpink docs circulating the streaming world, this Hulu entry highlights the girl group’s undeniable stage presence, weaving concert footage from their most recent internet-breaking performance, “The Show” with older clips from when they were just beginning their reign as the queens of KPop. There’s a bit of commentary from the women as they reflect on their bond and how they’ve gotten this far, but the strongest moments are when fans get to watch them in their element, killing intricately choreographed numbers and serving up some of the best live shows we’ve seen yet.
The most fascinating music docs tell the stories of stars before they became them. Plenty of entries on this list fit the bill, but none do it like this hybrid film that mixes archival footage and glimpses of Madonna’s old stomping grounds in Detroit with dramatic reenactments of the artist’s earliest days in New York. The journey is gripping, from mourning her mother and hoping to escape the dreariness of her hometown, to hitting the scene in Queens during a musical rebirth when fashion and art, and street culture were colliding to form a creative environment unique enough to turn a talented former dancer into a pop music behemoth.
Music fans have likely heard the name Frank Zappa, but few truly understand just how unique and idiosyncratic his career truly was. This doc aims to rectify that, combing through hundreds of hours of archival footage supplied by Zappa’s estate to paint a picture of the sometimes-acclaimed, sometimes-controversial musician that we simply haven’t seen before. From his early beginnings worshipping the musical oddities to spoofing hit Beatles records to fighting American censorship, Zappa was an individual in every sense of the word, which makes charting his musical journey all the more interesting.
After starring as the “Godfather of Rap” in My Name is Dolemite, Eddie Murphy will portray another legendary “godfather” in an upcoming biopic.
Deadline reports that the Coming to America actor is in “early talks” to play George Clinton, the “Godfather of Funk” who has led the Parliament-Funkadelic collective since the late 1960s. The passion-project film “will tell the story of the iconic musician’s humble beginnings in North Carolina in the 1940s, to the formation of his groundbreaking band George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic, and ultimately to becoming a musical influence on artists of the hip-hop generation including Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Outkast, and Wu-Tang Clan, among many others.”
“Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker),” “One Nation Under a Groove,” and “Flash Light” are the songs you hear on the radio, but be sure to take a deeper dive into the Parliament and Funkadelic discographies, as well as Clinton’s solo material. Not only for the funky grooves, but also the song titles. I, for one, can’t wait to hear Eddie Murphy sing “Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow,” “Standing on the Verge of Getting It On,” and my personal favorite, “Do Fries Go with That Shake?”
A two-hour documentary on the late rapper Ol’ Dirty Bastard will air on A&E. Approved by the “Got Your Money” rapper’s estate, the documentary, tentatively titled Biography: Ol’ Dirty Bastard, will feature never-before-seen archived footage filmed by his wife, Icelene Jones, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“I am thrilled to tell the full story of my husband. With this documentary the world will learn about the son, the husband, the father and the artist,” Jones told The Hollywood Reporter. “I’m proud of the team that we built, including Pulse, my producing partners Nicole Beckett and Messiah Jacobs at Four Screens, and our directing team, the Pollards.”
Produced by Pulse Films, alongside Four Screens, the documentary will showcase ODB from the beginning of his solo career in 1995 up until 2004, when he died of a drug overdose. The documentary will also provide looks back to the Wu-Tang Clan founder’s “trauma-filled” childhood and how it influenced his craft. Fans, close friends, and family will also share stories of ODB.
“Biography: Ol’ Dirty Bastard will present viewers with the untold story of the man and the musician who made an immense cultural impact across just a few short years,” said A&E’s executive vice president and head of programming, Elaine Frontain Bryant, to the magazine.
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