Celebrity makeup artist Alexx Mayo has been working with Lizzo for roughly seven years, so he says the Grammy-winning artist possesses “a lot of trust” in the beauty looks he creates for her wide variety of appearances. He calls the ability to create a glam design for this year’s Met Gala with its “The Garden of Time” dressing theme “really a dream come true for me.”
“I gather a lot of my inspiration from botanical gardens, so I was thrilled — nature has the best color combinations,” Mayo adds.
His enthusiasm kicked into overdrive once he saw the dress Lizzo is wearing, a design by Paris-based label Weinsanto. “When you see the dress, there’s this idea as though flowers are being blown by the breeze, and it definitely gives this goddess vibe,” Mayo tells The Hollywood Reporter.
Victor Weinsanto originally created the gown for his Spring/Summer 2024 “Perfect Day...
“I gather a lot of my inspiration from botanical gardens, so I was thrilled — nature has the best color combinations,” Mayo adds.
His enthusiasm kicked into overdrive once he saw the dress Lizzo is wearing, a design by Paris-based label Weinsanto. “When you see the dress, there’s this idea as though flowers are being blown by the breeze, and it definitely gives this goddess vibe,” Mayo tells The Hollywood Reporter.
Victor Weinsanto originally created the gown for his Spring/Summer 2024 “Perfect Day...
- 5/7/2024
- by Laurie Brookins
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
After misleading fans with her announcement earlier this month that she was quitting, Lizzo returned to the red carpet on Saturday for the 10th Annual Breakthrough Prize Ceremony, wearing a dramatic black gown by Quine Li.
I’m usually not a fan of Lizzo’s red carpet style, as it’s often over-the-top. Remember her MTV VMAs 2022 gown? It’s indescribable! I understand, though, that her fashion sense reflects her rather unapologetic personality.
However, her latest red carpet appearance left me speechless in a positive way. It’s avant-garde yet glamorous, and I appreciate how she adhered to the event’s theme, celebrating scientists who have made significant contributions to fundamental physics, life sciences, and mathematics.
Lizzo stuns in a dramatic black gown by Quine Li at the 10th Annual Breakthrough Prize Ceremony at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles on April 13, 2024 (Credit: Faye’s Vision / Cover Images)
Radiating sophistication,...
I’m usually not a fan of Lizzo’s red carpet style, as it’s often over-the-top. Remember her MTV VMAs 2022 gown? It’s indescribable! I understand, though, that her fashion sense reflects her rather unapologetic personality.
However, her latest red carpet appearance left me speechless in a positive way. It’s avant-garde yet glamorous, and I appreciate how she adhered to the event’s theme, celebrating scientists who have made significant contributions to fundamental physics, life sciences, and mathematics.
Lizzo stuns in a dramatic black gown by Quine Li at the 10th Annual Breakthrough Prize Ceremony at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles on April 13, 2024 (Credit: Faye’s Vision / Cover Images)
Radiating sophistication,...
- 4/18/2024
- by Anne De Guia
- Your Next Shoes
There had been drill sergeants in movies before Louis Gossett Jr. played one in “An Officer and a Gentleman” in 1982. There would be a lot of them afterwards. But it’s a role that Gossett made his own, and the movie role that, more than any other, came to define him. Gossett, who died on March 29 at the age of 87, was a great actor who imposed his presence; just watch the ferocious way he plays an alien soldier, under a mask of beaded make-up, in “Enemy Mine.” But in “An Officer and a Gentleman,” Gossett took the showpiece role of a tough-nut drill sergeant and invested it with such flourish that he made it mythological. He took possession of the role, infusing the very idea of the drill sergeant with a richness, a soul and wit, and a touch of something that no other actor ever brought to it — a quality of mystery.
- 3/30/2024
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Oppenheimer took the top prize at the 2024 Producers Guild of America Awards on Sunday night.
The film won the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for outstanding producer of theatrical motion pictures, a day after taking top prize at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Other big winners were Beef, which also won at the SAG Awards and Sunday’s Film Independent Spirit Awards, along with Succession and The Bear, both of which also won SAG Awards on Saturday.
Oppenheimer producer Emma Thomas accepted the theatrical motion picture award, noting that in a room full of producers, “This means so much coming from you, this room is full of people whose work we admire,” adding, “You know how hard the job can be, you also know how great the job can be; it’s the best job on set.” She also called director Christopher Nolan (who is also her husband) “the best producer you can possibly hope for.
The film won the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for outstanding producer of theatrical motion pictures, a day after taking top prize at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Other big winners were Beef, which also won at the SAG Awards and Sunday’s Film Independent Spirit Awards, along with Succession and The Bear, both of which also won SAG Awards on Saturday.
Oppenheimer producer Emma Thomas accepted the theatrical motion picture award, noting that in a room full of producers, “This means so much coming from you, this room is full of people whose work we admire,” adding, “You know how hard the job can be, you also know how great the job can be; it’s the best job on set.” She also called director Christopher Nolan (who is also her husband) “the best producer you can possibly hope for.
- 2/26/2024
- by Kirsten Chuba and Kimberly Nordyke
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Michael Kelly. (Courtesy photo)
Dish Network’s emerging wireless division is losing another top executive.
Michael Kelly, the Executive Vice President of Dish Wireless, will step away from the role at the end of February, a Dish Network spokesperson confirmed this week.
“We appreciate his hard work and commitment to our business,” the spokesperson said. “While we conduct a search for his successor, Hamid Akhavan, the President and CEO of EchoStar, will lead strategy and key day-to-day operations for the retail wireless brands.”
Kelly first joined Dish and Echostar in 2000 — prior to its split and eventual reunification — when Echostar purchased his Kelly Broadcasting Systems (Kbs). The acquisition was intended to bolster Dish’s international programming distribution; at the time, Kbs offered live channels from Greece, India, Brazil and several Middle Eastern countries.
For 15 years, Kelly served as an Echostar — and, later Dish — executive in various roles, to include overseeing the...
Dish Network’s emerging wireless division is losing another top executive.
Michael Kelly, the Executive Vice President of Dish Wireless, will step away from the role at the end of February, a Dish Network spokesperson confirmed this week.
“We appreciate his hard work and commitment to our business,” the spokesperson said. “While we conduct a search for his successor, Hamid Akhavan, the President and CEO of EchoStar, will lead strategy and key day-to-day operations for the retail wireless brands.”
Kelly first joined Dish and Echostar in 2000 — prior to its split and eventual reunification — when Echostar purchased his Kelly Broadcasting Systems (Kbs). The acquisition was intended to bolster Dish’s international programming distribution; at the time, Kbs offered live channels from Greece, India, Brazil and several Middle Eastern countries.
For 15 years, Kelly served as an Echostar — and, later Dish — executive in various roles, to include overseeing the...
- 2/22/2024
- by Matthew Keys
- The Desk
Exclusive: The sinking of the Titanic continues to fascinate filmmakers and audiences, and a new two-part doc about the tragic ship has pre-sold into the UK and Australia.
Channel 4 and Sbs have both boarded Titanic in Colour, which comes from the British indie behind World’s Most Evil Killers and Mandela, My Dad and Me maker Woodcut Media.
The doc will feature little-known stories such as the impact of the Titanic’s sinking in 1912 on the UK port city of Southampton and the last trauma of those who survived. It will feature interviews with relatives of passengers.
Through extensive research and colorization techniques, the doc will also bring to life the lavish interiors of the ship, artefacts and clothing from passengers and many of the larger-than-life people who built, sailed on and ultimately survived the sinking.
The Titanic set off on its maiden voyage from the UK to New York City,...
Channel 4 and Sbs have both boarded Titanic in Colour, which comes from the British indie behind World’s Most Evil Killers and Mandela, My Dad and Me maker Woodcut Media.
The doc will feature little-known stories such as the impact of the Titanic’s sinking in 1912 on the UK port city of Southampton and the last trauma of those who survived. It will feature interviews with relatives of passengers.
Through extensive research and colorization techniques, the doc will also bring to life the lavish interiors of the ship, artefacts and clothing from passengers and many of the larger-than-life people who built, sailed on and ultimately survived the sinking.
The Titanic set off on its maiden voyage from the UK to New York City,...
- 1/18/2024
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
New Zealand-based sales and distribution company Black Mandala has picked up international rights to Spanish-language genre film and 2023 festival hit “I’ll Crush Y’All” (aka “Os Reviento”).
Portrayed by Mario Mayo, Gabriel, better known as ‘Tarado,’ is a former boxer who lives in a secluded village outside the city with his father and his dog. He could still box, but to avoid what led him to spend a few years in prison, he prefers to lead a quiet life. The death of his father and the shady dealings he was hiding attract a wide range of characters to his home, each with worse intentions than the last: a brother with a troublesome new girlfriend, an angry admirer, mobsters with dark purposes, and thugs looking for a stolen bag of money.
It debuted at the FantasticFest in September and won the audience prize at both FantasticFest and the Sitges genre film festival.
Portrayed by Mario Mayo, Gabriel, better known as ‘Tarado,’ is a former boxer who lives in a secluded village outside the city with his father and his dog. He could still box, but to avoid what led him to spend a few years in prison, he prefers to lead a quiet life. The death of his father and the shady dealings he was hiding attract a wide range of characters to his home, each with worse intentions than the last: a brother with a troublesome new girlfriend, an angry admirer, mobsters with dark purposes, and thugs looking for a stolen bag of money.
It debuted at the FantasticFest in September and won the audience prize at both FantasticFest and the Sitges genre film festival.
- 1/17/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium may be the crown jewel of Tennessee music venues, but no live-music space goes as deep as the Caverns in Pelham, just southeast of town. Literally an underground performance venue, the natural cave will host the 13th season of The Caverns Sessions, a live-music PBS series, next year.
The 2024 lineup includes subterranean sets by rootsy soul singer Yola, hardscrabble country band 49 Winchester, and the multilayered Elizabeth Cook. Bluegrass ace Dan Tyminski and his band are also on the bill, along with fellow bluegrasser Lindsay Lou, and...
The 2024 lineup includes subterranean sets by rootsy soul singer Yola, hardscrabble country band 49 Winchester, and the multilayered Elizabeth Cook. Bluegrass ace Dan Tyminski and his band are also on the bill, along with fellow bluegrasser Lindsay Lou, and...
- 11/3/2023
- by Joseph Hudak
- Rollingstone.com
Another week, another new arrival on the beach in “Bachelor in Paradise.”
In an exclusive clip of Thursday’s episode shared with TheWrap, “The Bachelor” Season 27 alum Genevie Mayo makes an unexpected appearance on the beach, date card in hand. While Jess Girod — who knew Mayo from Zach Shallcross’ season of “The Bachelor” — gives her a huge hug to welcome her to the beach, Mayo’s arrival might stand to shake up Girod’s relationship with Blake Moynes.
“Genevie arrived today — I feel like she’s going to bring a ball of energy and excitement to the beach,” Girod said in the clip. “She has a date card, and I just don’t know who she’s gonna take.”
As the new arrival considers which beachgoer she might choose to go on a date with her — with the date card reading “Genevie, who can you see yourself with?” — she names Moynes,...
In an exclusive clip of Thursday’s episode shared with TheWrap, “The Bachelor” Season 27 alum Genevie Mayo makes an unexpected appearance on the beach, date card in hand. While Jess Girod — who knew Mayo from Zach Shallcross’ season of “The Bachelor” — gives her a huge hug to welcome her to the beach, Mayo’s arrival might stand to shake up Girod’s relationship with Blake Moynes.
“Genevie arrived today — I feel like she’s going to bring a ball of energy and excitement to the beach,” Girod said in the clip. “She has a date card, and I just don’t know who she’s gonna take.”
As the new arrival considers which beachgoer she might choose to go on a date with her — with the date card reading “Genevie, who can you see yourself with?” — she names Moynes,...
- 11/2/2023
- by Loree Seitz
- The Wrap
Turns out it’s Taylor Tomlinson hosting After Midnight.
The comedian has scored the late-night CBS gig. She beat out X Mayo and Ricky Velez for the hosting job.
The news was announced on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, whose host will exec produce the series, launching in 2024 (see below).
Tomlinson is a rising stand-up who has released Netflix specials including Quarter-Life Crisis and Look At You.
After Midnight, which is based on Comedy Central’s @midnight, which ran between 2013 and 2017, replaces The Late Late Show with James Corden.
Jack Martin, who was the showrunner of all four seasons of @midnight, will serve as co-showrunner alongside Eric Pierce, who has exec produced series including CBS’ The Challenge: USA and The Wheel.
The duo will exec produce alongside Stephen Colbert, Carrie Byalick, president of Colbert’s Spartina Industries, Tom Purcell, an exec producer on The Late Show, Colbert’s wife...
The comedian has scored the late-night CBS gig. She beat out X Mayo and Ricky Velez for the hosting job.
The news was announced on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, whose host will exec produce the series, launching in 2024 (see below).
Tomlinson is a rising stand-up who has released Netflix specials including Quarter-Life Crisis and Look At You.
After Midnight, which is based on Comedy Central’s @midnight, which ran between 2013 and 2017, replaces The Late Late Show with James Corden.
Jack Martin, who was the showrunner of all four seasons of @midnight, will serve as co-showrunner alongside Eric Pierce, who has exec produced series including CBS’ The Challenge: USA and The Wheel.
The duo will exec produce alongside Stephen Colbert, Carrie Byalick, president of Colbert’s Spartina Industries, Tom Purcell, an exec producer on The Late Show, Colbert’s wife...
- 11/2/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
CBS is reportedly closing in on a replacement host to fill the programming slot formerly occupied by James Corden’s Late Late Show.
As previously announced, CBS has decided not to simply continue the show with a new host, instead replacing it with a rebooted version of the popular Comedy Central game show @Midnight.
More from TVLineSNL Video: Bad Bunny Is a Spanish King Not Impressed by the New World's 'Testicle-Face Chickens'snl Goes Cameo-Crazy Again With Mick Jagger, Lady Gaga and OthersYellowstone to Continue Airing on CBS After Putting Up Solid Fall Numbers
According to Puck News, CBS chief George Cheeks...
As previously announced, CBS has decided not to simply continue the show with a new host, instead replacing it with a rebooted version of the popular Comedy Central game show @Midnight.
More from TVLineSNL Video: Bad Bunny Is a Spanish King Not Impressed by the New World's 'Testicle-Face Chickens'snl Goes Cameo-Crazy Again With Mick Jagger, Lady Gaga and OthersYellowstone to Continue Airing on CBS After Putting Up Solid Fall Numbers
According to Puck News, CBS chief George Cheeks...
- 10/20/2023
- by Andy Swift
- TVLine.com
Saturday Night Live trio Please Don’t Destroy aims to deliver comedy gold and actual gold in the full-length trailer for the upcoming Peacock movie Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain.
Written by and starring Please Don’t Destroy members Martin Herlihy, John Higgins and Ben Marshall — all of whom write for SNL and regularly star in well-received digital shorts on the show — The Treasure of Foggy Mountain finds the men on a bizarre, eventful search for the titular loot, in an effort to make some money and not be perceived as losers by their friends and family.
Written by and starring Please Don’t Destroy members Martin Herlihy, John Higgins and Ben Marshall — all of whom write for SNL and regularly star in well-received digital shorts on the show — The Treasure of Foggy Mountain finds the men on a bizarre, eventful search for the titular loot, in an effort to make some money and not be perceived as losers by their friends and family.
- 10/12/2023
- by Rebecca Iannucci
- TVLine.com
Ordinarily, curling up for a night of games, laughter, (optional stimulants) and fun with old friends is a perfect recipe for a catch-up. Real friends can always pick up where they left off – no matter how long they’ve been apart – and adding a pack of cards, a super sweet cocktail and some random board games into the mix should guarantee a good time.
Another good way to find out who your real friends are is for a crazed killer to force you to choose which one should die.
Morgan (Yvonne Orji) and Shawn (Jay Pharoah) are excited to set up for their annual Juneteenth celebration with college friends. The cabin in the woods they’ve rented for the occasion is super cute and Morgan’s trusty group bonding activity – her games night set-up – is good to go. Unfortunately so is The Blackening; the offensively ‘retro’ game the couple stumble...
Another good way to find out who your real friends are is for a crazed killer to force you to choose which one should die.
Morgan (Yvonne Orji) and Shawn (Jay Pharoah) are excited to set up for their annual Juneteenth celebration with college friends. The cabin in the woods they’ve rented for the occasion is super cute and Morgan’s trusty group bonding activity – her games night set-up – is good to go. Unfortunately so is The Blackening; the offensively ‘retro’ game the couple stumble...
- 8/23/2023
- by Emily Breen
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The Blackening is a riotous new comedy horror that excels in both of the genres it’s mashing together. With a huge ensemble cast, full of talented comedic performers, we had the pleasure to speak to, well, pretty much all of them, in the global junket.
Below you can watch our entertaining interviews in their entirety, beginning with Dewayne Perkins, X Mayo & Jermaine Fowler. Following that is a second grouped interview, this time consisting of Antoinette Robertson, Sinqua Walls & Grace Byers, We then speak to Jay Pharoah and Melvin Gregg, before ending on the talent behind the lens, speaking to both Tracy Oliver and Tim Story. Enjoy!
Dewayne Perkins, X Mayo & Jermaine Fowler
Antoinette Robertson, Sinqua Walls & Grace Byers
Jay Pharoah & Melvin Gregg
Tracy Oliver & Tim Story
Synopsis
Seven friends go away for the weekend, only to find themselves trapped in a cabin with a killer who has a vendetta.
Below you can watch our entertaining interviews in their entirety, beginning with Dewayne Perkins, X Mayo & Jermaine Fowler. Following that is a second grouped interview, this time consisting of Antoinette Robertson, Sinqua Walls & Grace Byers, We then speak to Jay Pharoah and Melvin Gregg, before ending on the talent behind the lens, speaking to both Tracy Oliver and Tim Story. Enjoy!
Dewayne Perkins, X Mayo & Jermaine Fowler
Antoinette Robertson, Sinqua Walls & Grace Byers
Jay Pharoah & Melvin Gregg
Tracy Oliver & Tim Story
Synopsis
Seven friends go away for the weekend, only to find themselves trapped in a cabin with a killer who has a vendetta.
- 8/22/2023
- by Stefan Pape
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Spoiler Alert: This interview contains spoilers from “The Blackening,” now playing in theaters.
Dewayne Perkins is living his dream — though the $8 million box office tally for “The Blackening” wasn’t something he actually dreamed was possible.
The microbudget (just $5 million) horror-comedy, co-written by and starring Perkins, follows a group of college friends who reunite to celebrate Juneteenth at a cabin in the woods, only to be hunted by a killer. But in a genre where the Black character usually dies first, what happens when all the characters are Black?
Perkins conceived the idea in 2016 as a sketch for his Chicago-based comedy troupe 3Peat. When it aired as a short on Comedy Central in 2018, the clip went viral and got the attention of Tracy Oliver, who — hot off the $140 million box office success of 2017’s “Girls Trip” — called with the idea that they could expand “The Blackening” into a feature film.
Dewayne Perkins is living his dream — though the $8 million box office tally for “The Blackening” wasn’t something he actually dreamed was possible.
The microbudget (just $5 million) horror-comedy, co-written by and starring Perkins, follows a group of college friends who reunite to celebrate Juneteenth at a cabin in the woods, only to be hunted by a killer. But in a genre where the Black character usually dies first, what happens when all the characters are Black?
Perkins conceived the idea in 2016 as a sketch for his Chicago-based comedy troupe 3Peat. When it aired as a short on Comedy Central in 2018, the clip went viral and got the attention of Tracy Oliver, who — hot off the $140 million box office success of 2017’s “Girls Trip” — called with the idea that they could expand “The Blackening” into a feature film.
- 6/24/2023
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
The Blackening is a potent blend of comedy, and thrills that parodies and challenges the genre’s tropes, specifically those around a mostly Black cast. Under the direction of Tim Story and script by Tracy Oliver, and Dewayne Perkins, the film pays homage to some iconic horror franchises like Scream, Friday the 13th, and Saw with a bit of Cabin In The Woods sprinkled in for some extra razzle dazzle. In the midst of the chaotic hijinks, the narrative centers Black American culture and all of its complexities. The film also stars Perkins, Jermaine Fowler, Antoinette Robertson, Dewayne Perkins, Sinqua Walls, Grace Byers, X Mayo, Melvin Gregg, with Yvonne Orji, and Jay Pharoah.
Things start at a cabin in the woods like most horror movies these days. Morgan (Orji) and Shawn (Pharoah), a couple who are a part of a group of college friends reuniting after 10 years. The plan is...
Things start at a cabin in the woods like most horror movies these days. Morgan (Orji) and Shawn (Pharoah), a couple who are a part of a group of college friends reuniting after 10 years. The plan is...
- 6/21/2023
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
This comedy has run out of gas. NBC has cancelled American Auto, so there won't be a third season. The second season of 13 episodes finished airing in April.
A workplace comedy series, the American Auto TV show stars Ana Gasteyer, Harriet Dyer, Jon Barinholtz, Humphrey Ker, Michael B. Washington, Tye White, and X Mayo. Set in Detroit, the story finds the corporate executives of Payne Motors at a crossroads -- adapt to the changing times or be sent to the junkyard. Shaking things up is the new CEO, Katherine Hastings (Gasteyer), whose leadership, experience, and savvy is only slightly offset by her complete lack of knowledge about cars. Those also working at the company include Sadie (Dyer), the type-a head of communications; Dori (X Mayo), the sweet assistant to the CEO; Cyrus (Washinton), the Chief Producer...
A workplace comedy series, the American Auto TV show stars Ana Gasteyer, Harriet Dyer, Jon Barinholtz, Humphrey Ker, Michael B. Washington, Tye White, and X Mayo. Set in Detroit, the story finds the corporate executives of Payne Motors at a crossroads -- adapt to the changing times or be sent to the junkyard. Shaking things up is the new CEO, Katherine Hastings (Gasteyer), whose leadership, experience, and savvy is only slightly offset by her complete lack of knowledge about cars. Those also working at the company include Sadie (Dyer), the type-a head of communications; Dori (X Mayo), the sweet assistant to the CEO; Cyrus (Washinton), the Chief Producer...
- 6/17/2023
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
"The Blackening" is finally changing the narrative for Black characters in the horror space - and it's about damn time.
The Tim Story-directed horror-comedy mashup, cowritten by Tracy Oliver and Dewayne Perkins, reunites a group of friends - portrayed by Perkins, Grace Byers, Jermaine Fowler, Melvin Gregg, X Mayo, Antoinette Robertson, Sinqua Walls, Jay Pharoah, and Yvonne Orji - for a Juneteenth cabin trip gone horribly (and gorily) wrong, as they all find themselves trapped playing a deadly game with a deranged killer on the loose. While the scenario may sound familiar, it's unlike anything audiences - especially Black audiences - have ever seen before.
With its comedic moments, satirical elements, and hero-esque endgame, "The Blackening" is rare compared to traditional horror stories where Black characters don't get to control their own fate, much less survive until the end of a movie. So the cast consider it an honor...
The Tim Story-directed horror-comedy mashup, cowritten by Tracy Oliver and Dewayne Perkins, reunites a group of friends - portrayed by Perkins, Grace Byers, Jermaine Fowler, Melvin Gregg, X Mayo, Antoinette Robertson, Sinqua Walls, Jay Pharoah, and Yvonne Orji - for a Juneteenth cabin trip gone horribly (and gorily) wrong, as they all find themselves trapped playing a deadly game with a deranged killer on the loose. While the scenario may sound familiar, it's unlike anything audiences - especially Black audiences - have ever seen before.
With its comedic moments, satirical elements, and hero-esque endgame, "The Blackening" is rare compared to traditional horror stories where Black characters don't get to control their own fate, much less survive until the end of a movie. So the cast consider it an honor...
- 6/16/2023
- by Njera Perkins
- Popsugar.com
So much has happened in mainstream horror since Jordan Peele released Get Out that it would be understandable if you felt uneasy about The Blackening, a slasher thriller directed by Tim Story (Barbershop). Peele’s feature debut subjected us to a wave — or maybe a better word is tsunami — of copycats and derivatives. They were labeled “social horror,” written furiously about, sometimes critically praised, commercially erratic and left to collect dust.
They quickly became their own kind of joke, a sign of desperate times. These films aspired to Peele’s Get Out but lacked its humor and its smarts. Their narratives were a Mad Libs-esque exercise of transgressions against Black Americans: They were about racist legal codes, police brutality, microaggressions on campus and macroaggressions everywhere. In a frantic rush to tell us something about ourselves, these flicks rarely said anything at all.
The Blackening is not like those other...
They quickly became their own kind of joke, a sign of desperate times. These films aspired to Peele’s Get Out but lacked its humor and its smarts. Their narratives were a Mad Libs-esque exercise of transgressions against Black Americans: They were about racist legal codes, police brutality, microaggressions on campus and macroaggressions everywhere. In a frantic rush to tell us something about ourselves, these flicks rarely said anything at all.
The Blackening is not like those other...
- 6/15/2023
- by Lovia Gyarkye
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Plot: Seven Black friends go away for the weekend and end up trapped in a cabin with a killer who has a vendetta. Will their street smarts and knowledge of horror movies help them stay alive? Probably not.
Review: I absolutely love the concept of The Blackening. As a lover of the Scream franchise, I love a film that dissects the genre’s tropes. While this is considerably more comedy than horror, I still hoped there would be clever dissections. And there are definitely moments like that, but they’re less prominent than I’d hoped. In fact, there are long stretches where it seems like the film forgets to be a satire.
This is the story of a group of college friends getting back together for their 10-year reunion to celebrate Juneteenth. The friends feel believable, and their dynamics, while stereotypical, feel true to life. This was my first...
Review: I absolutely love the concept of The Blackening. As a lover of the Scream franchise, I love a film that dissects the genre’s tropes. While this is considerably more comedy than horror, I still hoped there would be clever dissections. And there are definitely moments like that, but they’re less prominent than I’d hoped. In fact, there are long stretches where it seems like the film forgets to be a satire.
This is the story of a group of college friends getting back together for their 10-year reunion to celebrate Juneteenth. The friends feel believable, and their dynamics, while stereotypical, feel true to life. This was my first...
- 6/15/2023
- by Tyler Nichols
- JoBlo.com
At last year’s TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival), one of the most raucous screenings I attended was The Blackening. Directed by Tim Story, the movie is a horror-comedy mashup about a group of black friends who rent a cabin together for the weekend, only to be stalked by a masked killer. While it may sound like standard stuff, the movie actually works as a pretty funny satire about the role of black characters in horror, which, in the eighties and nineties, often saw them killed off first. They have fun with the genre conventions and ultimately craft a movie that works well as a comedy but at the same time isn’t “zany” in the way something like Scary Movie is.
I was happy to get the chance to speak to many of the people involved with the film recently, and the faith they have in the movie is infectious.
I was happy to get the chance to speak to many of the people involved with the film recently, and the faith they have in the movie is infectious.
- 6/8/2023
- by Chris Bumbray
- JoBlo.com
Feeling like a love story? Amazon’s excellent Prime Video service allows you to scroll through thousands of great flicks, including some undiscovered romantic gems. And the best part is that it’s free if you have Amazon Prime. If you don’t, you can pick up a 30-day Free trial.
We’ve rounded up some popular Oscar-winning romantic epics, a few rom-coms to make you laugh, and enough tear-jerkers to empty a box of Kleenex. Here are our picks for the best romantic movies on Prime Video.
30-Day Free Trial $8.99 / month amazon.com Titanic November 18, 1997
101-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater tells the story of her life aboard the Titanic, 84 years later. A young Rose boards the ship with her mother and fiancé. Meanwhile, Jack Dawson and Fabrizio De Rossi win third-class tickets aboard the ship. Rose tells the whole story from Titanic’s departure through to its death—on its first and only voyage.
We’ve rounded up some popular Oscar-winning romantic epics, a few rom-coms to make you laugh, and enough tear-jerkers to empty a box of Kleenex. Here are our picks for the best romantic movies on Prime Video.
30-Day Free Trial $8.99 / month amazon.com Titanic November 18, 1997
101-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater tells the story of her life aboard the Titanic, 84 years later. A young Rose boards the ship with her mother and fiancé. Meanwhile, Jack Dawson and Fabrizio De Rossi win third-class tickets aboard the ship. Rose tells the whole story from Titanic’s departure through to its death—on its first and only voyage.
- 6/5/2023
- by Ben Bowman
- The Streamable
A registered sex offender and the bodies of seven people were found on a property near the town of Henryetta, Oklahoma, the Associated Press reports. Jesse L. McFadden, the 39-year-old sex offender, was found dead at his home about 90 miles from Oklahoma City, with who are believed to be his wife, her teenage children, and two visiting teens.
Okmulgee County Sheriff Eddy Rice said Monday that two missing teens, Ivy Webster, 14, and Brittany Brewer, 16, were believed to be among the bodies; Rice cautioned that a medical examiner would still have...
Okmulgee County Sheriff Eddy Rice said Monday that two missing teens, Ivy Webster, 14, and Brittany Brewer, 16, were believed to be among the bodies; Rice cautioned that a medical examiner would still have...
- 5/2/2023
- by Charisma Madarang
- Rollingstone.com
Latinx creatives gathered around sopes and mezcal at Cantina Frida in Beverly Hills on Monday afternoon for a conversation around community and representation in Hollywood.
“The fact that this room exists now is so enormous,” said writer and producer Gloria Calderón Kellett, who created the Prime Video series With Love. “We’ve got to talk about the trauma and we’ve got to talk about the wins. This room did not exist when I started where we could come together and just gather and celebrate, so give yourselves a round of applause.”
Kellett sat on a panel during the Latinx Creatives Empowerment Brunch, sponsored by The Hollywood Reporter in partnership with Zomoz Mezcal and Lucasfilm Ltd., alongside actress X Mayo (American Auto); Tara Hernandez, co-creator of Mrs. Davis; Henry R. Muñoz III, owner of Funny or Die; and actor Gabriel Luna (The Last of Us). The conversation was moderated by Andor star Diego Luna,...
“The fact that this room exists now is so enormous,” said writer and producer Gloria Calderón Kellett, who created the Prime Video series With Love. “We’ve got to talk about the trauma and we’ve got to talk about the wins. This room did not exist when I started where we could come together and just gather and celebrate, so give yourselves a round of applause.”
Kellett sat on a panel during the Latinx Creatives Empowerment Brunch, sponsored by The Hollywood Reporter in partnership with Zomoz Mezcal and Lucasfilm Ltd., alongside actress X Mayo (American Auto); Tara Hernandez, co-creator of Mrs. Davis; Henry R. Muñoz III, owner of Funny or Die; and actor Gabriel Luna (The Last of Us). The conversation was moderated by Andor star Diego Luna,...
- 5/2/2023
- by Brande Victorian
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The heat roles on in the 2023-24 television season. NBC has renewed the Chicago Fire series for a 12th season. The 11th season airs on Wednesday nights and will finish in May.
A first-responder drama series, Chicago Fire stars Taylor Kinney, David Eigenberg, Eamonn Walker, Christian Stolte, Joe Minoso, Kara Killmer, Miranda Rae Mayo, Alberto Rosende, Daniel Kyri, and Hanako Greensmith. This series revolves around the personal and professional lives of the firefighters, rescue squad, and paramedics of Chicago Firehouse 51. Battalion Chief Wallace Boden (Walker), Lt. Kelly Severide (Kinney), Lt. Stella Kidd (Mayo), and their teammates risk their lives week in and week out to save and protect the citizens of the Windy City. The series also features crossovers with Chicago Med and Chicago Pd. Read More…...
A first-responder drama series, Chicago Fire stars Taylor Kinney, David Eigenberg, Eamonn Walker, Christian Stolte, Joe Minoso, Kara Killmer, Miranda Rae Mayo, Alberto Rosende, Daniel Kyri, and Hanako Greensmith. This series revolves around the personal and professional lives of the firefighters, rescue squad, and paramedics of Chicago Firehouse 51. Battalion Chief Wallace Boden (Walker), Lt. Kelly Severide (Kinney), Lt. Stella Kidd (Mayo), and their teammates risk their lives week in and week out to save and protect the citizens of the Windy City. The series also features crossovers with Chicago Med and Chicago Pd. Read More…...
- 4/11/2023
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
The Beyoncé-inspired thriller series “Swarm” comes with an EP carrying songs from Childish Gambino, Kirby and the show’s fictional star Ni’Jah.
If you didn’t love Beyoncé enough, now there’s a show that seems to be inspired by her and the singer’s enormous fanbase, the BeyHive. Dominique Fishback leads the eight-episode series, as obsessive and crazed fan Dre, who will go to violent lengths to defend her favorite Queen Bey-like R&b pop star Ni’Jah.
The show dropped on Amazon’s Prime Video on Friday and features six new tracks from some of Hollywood’s biggest music talents, including the show’s co-creator Donald Glover.
Also Read:
‘Swarm’ Review: Prime Video Nails Genre-Blending Formula, but Story Lacks Depth
“Donald did a lot of work on songs,” “Swarm co-creator Janine Nabers told TheWrap. “There’s a lot of really incredible people who gave their voices...
If you didn’t love Beyoncé enough, now there’s a show that seems to be inspired by her and the singer’s enormous fanbase, the BeyHive. Dominique Fishback leads the eight-episode series, as obsessive and crazed fan Dre, who will go to violent lengths to defend her favorite Queen Bey-like R&b pop star Ni’Jah.
The show dropped on Amazon’s Prime Video on Friday and features six new tracks from some of Hollywood’s biggest music talents, including the show’s co-creator Donald Glover.
Also Read:
‘Swarm’ Review: Prime Video Nails Genre-Blending Formula, but Story Lacks Depth
“Donald did a lot of work on songs,” “Swarm co-creator Janine Nabers told TheWrap. “There’s a lot of really incredible people who gave their voices...
- 3/17/2023
- by Raquel "Rocky" Harris
- The Wrap
When Chinonye Chukwu was approached to direct Till, she saw it as an opportunity to approach shift the narrative, and give viewers a varied point of view. One that centered the characters, and the aftermath. “I saw an opportunity to subvert expectations and approach the narrative through another lens – from the maternal point of view of Mamie Till-Mobley,” said Chukwu.
Directed by Chukwu with a screenplay by Michael Reilly, Keith Beauchamp and Chukwu, Till tells the true story of the murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till — for whistling at a white woman in Money, Mississippi in 1955 — through the eyes of his mother Mamie Till-Mobley. The director adds, “Had it not been for Mamie, her son’s memory would have evaporated into thin air. She was the catalyst for a modern day civil rights movement that has laid a formidable framework for future activists and Freedom Fighters.”
Jet Magazine was given exclusive...
Directed by Chukwu with a screenplay by Michael Reilly, Keith Beauchamp and Chukwu, Till tells the true story of the murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till — for whistling at a white woman in Money, Mississippi in 1955 — through the eyes of his mother Mamie Till-Mobley. The director adds, “Had it not been for Mamie, her son’s memory would have evaporated into thin air. She was the catalyst for a modern day civil rights movement that has laid a formidable framework for future activists and Freedom Fighters.”
Jet Magazine was given exclusive...
- 1/4/2023
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Damien Chazelle is a master at translating the pains of creative ambition into a thriving, energetic cinematic landscape. "Whiplash" traces the educational path of an ambitious jazz drummer in the crosshairs of an exhaustively tough, abusive instructor. "La La Land" tracks the relationship between an aspirant actress and a jazz musician who dreams of his own club, a romance that becomes strained against the realities of the entertainment industry. "Babylon," the largest of the three films in terms of scale, follows a set of early Hollywood players in an era of decadence and upheaval. It's a grandiose, energetic ode to revelry, transformation, and self-destruction as we watch a set of protagonists engage with forces they can neither control nor contain.
"Babylon" takes place in that pivotal early period of Hollywood turmoil when the silent era is overwhelmed by the transition into the talkies. It's an era that's been memorialized before on film before.
"Babylon" takes place in that pivotal early period of Hollywood turmoil when the silent era is overwhelmed by the transition into the talkies. It's an era that's been memorialized before on film before.
- 12/16/2022
- by Jeff Ewing
- Slash Film
Galling Oscar snubs are often as well remembered as the actual winners. R. Lee Ermey's performance as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket" is a legendary one, but it was totally unrecognized by the Academy. Ermey, a former Marine and drill instructor himself, drew on his past life to play the psychopathic Sergeant. Hartman goes above and beyond what's required of him, speaking in a constantly raised tone and saying nothing but bigotry and abuse. In the end, he pushes Private Leonard Lawrence (Vincent D'Onofrio) too far and gets a personal taste of how successful he was at making the boy into a killer.
When awards season came around, the best result Ermey came to was a Golden Globe Best Supporting Actor nomination (he also won the Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor). Matthew Modine, who played the movie's protagonist Private...
When awards season came around, the best result Ermey came to was a Golden Globe Best Supporting Actor nomination (he also won the Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor). Matthew Modine, who played the movie's protagonist Private...
- 11/14/2022
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
The original short directed by Chioke Nassor asked a group of Black friends to choose who among them was the “blackest” as a sacrifice to save the rest. Why? Because the killer got confused when starting his spree, unable to find the “Black character” his trope-fueled brain demanded as its first victim. Hilarity ensues, everyone desperately trying to erase said blackness to keep breathing, revealing embarrassing (some unforgivable) secrets along the way. It’s an ingenious conceit for satire that’s perfectly suited for a full-fledged horror comedy willing to tread heavily in that vein while also holding some surprises up its sleeve. So that’s exactly what screenwriters Tracy Oliver and Dewayne Perkins (the lone holdover from that skit) do with Tim Story’s The Blackening.
Fans will be glad to hear the aforementioned scene is reenacted almost verbatim here, complete with that revelation. Before we get there, however,...
Fans will be glad to hear the aforementioned scene is reenacted almost verbatim here, complete with that revelation. Before we get there, however,...
- 9/14/2022
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
Director Tim Story’s slasher The Blackening has a killer premise: if all of the characters are Black, who dies first? In the adaptation of 3peat’s Comedy Central short, co-writers Dewayne Perkins and Tracy Oliver strand a group of friends at a remote cottage in the woods for Juneteenth (yes holiday horror!). Unbeknownst to them, the weekend is more than just a reunion: they’re being pitted against a Machiavellian game master intent on deciphering their level of Blackness in order to kill them in the appropriate order.
While the film isn’t Scream levels of meta, The Blackening fuses social commentary about the Black experience in contemporary America with slasher conventions in a highly entertaining fashion. It doesn’t hurt that the characters are extremely likable – to the point that when the bloodshed begins, you worry for their survival because no one is expendable.
Reuniting for a weekend...
While the film isn’t Scream levels of meta, The Blackening fuses social commentary about the Black experience in contemporary America with slasher conventions in a highly entertaining fashion. It doesn’t hurt that the characters are extremely likable – to the point that when the bloodshed begins, you worry for their survival because no one is expendable.
Reuniting for a weekend...
- 9/13/2022
- by Joe Lipsett
- bloody-disgusting.com
Humphrey Bogart may have built himself a reputation as the perfect smoldering lead — the tough guy who could banter with the villain, save the day, then wash his cares away with a nightcap — but he was far from pretentious about it. Rather than always insisting upon playing the lead role, Bogart was excited by small parts. And despite his widespread success, he never saw minor characters as beneath him.
Bogart wasn't shy about his willingness to experiment, either. When actress and journalist Hedda Hopper asked him if he had ever turned down a role because it was too small, the mega-star replied:
"Somebody once asked my pal [character actor] George Tobias that same question ... and George said, 'There are no small parts, there are only small actors.' Well, that goes for me, too.'"
And experiment Bogart did. Though he primarily played serious, heavy characters (and dubbed them his favorites), Bogart...
Bogart wasn't shy about his willingness to experiment, either. When actress and journalist Hedda Hopper asked him if he had ever turned down a role because it was too small, the mega-star replied:
"Somebody once asked my pal [character actor] George Tobias that same question ... and George said, 'There are no small parts, there are only small actors.' Well, that goes for me, too.'"
And experiment Bogart did. Though he primarily played serious, heavy characters (and dubbed them his favorites), Bogart...
- 9/9/2022
- by Demetra Nikolakakis
- Slash Film
Mark Kermode has struck again – he’s torn a film to shreds so much that people are now considering seeing it.
The film critic shared his review for new release Blackbird, which is a passion project by Lord of the Dance creator Michael Flatley.
Flatley writes, directs and stars in the film, which he has described as “a tribute to the golden age of cinema”. However, according to Kermode: “I think a session on the golden toilet of cinema is closer.”
The film, which Kermode called “mind-bendingly terrible”, follows a retired secret agent whose past comes back to haunt him after opening a nightclub in Barbados.
Reviews of the film have seen the film branded “fabulously bad” and “oddly entertaining” – but Kermode has gone out on a limb to call Blackbird “genuinely one of the worst films I have ever seen”, telling his followers: “As we all know, I’ve seen Oversexed Rugsuckers From Mars.
The film critic shared his review for new release Blackbird, which is a passion project by Lord of the Dance creator Michael Flatley.
Flatley writes, directs and stars in the film, which he has described as “a tribute to the golden age of cinema”. However, according to Kermode: “I think a session on the golden toilet of cinema is closer.”
The film, which Kermode called “mind-bendingly terrible”, follows a retired secret agent whose past comes back to haunt him after opening a nightclub in Barbados.
Reviews of the film have seen the film branded “fabulously bad” and “oddly entertaining” – but Kermode has gone out on a limb to call Blackbird “genuinely one of the worst films I have ever seen”, telling his followers: “As we all know, I’ve seen Oversexed Rugsuckers From Mars.
- 9/2/2022
- by Jacob Stolworthy
- The Independent - Film
Click here to read the full article.
Few looks caused a social-media frenzy at MTV’s Video Music Awards on Aug. 28 like the strapless pleated silk gown Lizzo wore, a haute-couture design by Glenn Martens for the Jean Paul Gaultier Spring 2022 collection — and stylist Brett Alan Nelson was ready for it.
“The carpet dress I have been drooling over since it showed [in January],” Nelson tells The Hollywood Reporter exclusively. “It was a major risk, because both Lizzo and I knew, with the trolls of the internet, the look could be judged in a bad light. But neither of us cared, because it was couture, baby, off the runway. I live for the absurdity of fashion, and that is what we gave: grunge and a bit of rock ‘n’ roll, but glam, glam, glam.” An assortment of Jennifer Fisher earrings, gloves by Los Angeles-based Lael Osness, and boots by New Rock completed the look.
Few looks caused a social-media frenzy at MTV’s Video Music Awards on Aug. 28 like the strapless pleated silk gown Lizzo wore, a haute-couture design by Glenn Martens for the Jean Paul Gaultier Spring 2022 collection — and stylist Brett Alan Nelson was ready for it.
“The carpet dress I have been drooling over since it showed [in January],” Nelson tells The Hollywood Reporter exclusively. “It was a major risk, because both Lizzo and I knew, with the trolls of the internet, the look could be judged in a bad light. But neither of us cared, because it was couture, baby, off the runway. I live for the absurdity of fashion, and that is what we gave: grunge and a bit of rock ‘n’ roll, but glam, glam, glam.” An assortment of Jennifer Fisher earrings, gloves by Los Angeles-based Lael Osness, and boots by New Rock completed the look.
- 8/29/2022
- by Laurie Brookins
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This Better Call Saul review contains spoilers.
Better Call Saul Season 6 Episode 12
Jimmy McGill used to be good. Morally dubious? Sure, but at his core, Jimmy McGill was good. You could see it in the way he treated his best and ultimately most fruitful clients — the elderly. Jimmy McGill had a heart.
When Jimmy McGill traveled to Sandpiper Crossing way back in Season 1, his intentions may not have been the purest, but when he notices that defenseless Mrs. Landry is being conned out of money, he springs into action and takes legal action. Later in the series, when he realizes his machinations have hurt Mrs. Landry personally, he pulls back and keeps the Sandpiper case going despite the potential windfall he could receive in its settlement. Faced with hurting an elderly woman for personal gain, Jimmy McGill couldn’t stomach it.
There’s something poetic then about the fact that...
Better Call Saul Season 6 Episode 12
Jimmy McGill used to be good. Morally dubious? Sure, but at his core, Jimmy McGill was good. You could see it in the way he treated his best and ultimately most fruitful clients — the elderly. Jimmy McGill had a heart.
When Jimmy McGill traveled to Sandpiper Crossing way back in Season 1, his intentions may not have been the purest, but when he notices that defenseless Mrs. Landry is being conned out of money, he springs into action and takes legal action. Later in the series, when he realizes his machinations have hurt Mrs. Landry personally, he pulls back and keeps the Sandpiper case going despite the potential windfall he could receive in its settlement. Faced with hurting an elderly woman for personal gain, Jimmy McGill couldn’t stomach it.
There’s something poetic then about the fact that...
- 8/9/2022
- by Nick Harley
- Den of Geek
“We worked so well together. To me, that’s the model of how projects should work,” says “61st Street” actor and executive producer Courtney B. Vance. “If we’re not trying to work together and we don’t have each other’s back, I’m out and it’s not worth it. It’s too hard.” It was easy to see that sense of unity during our lively special “Making of” roundtable discussion with Vance, actor Andrene Ward-Hammond, executive producer Alana Mayo and executive producer and writer J. David Shanks. Watch the exclusive video interview above.
The AMC drama series “61st Street” tells the tense story of Moses (Tosin Cole), a young Chicago man bound for college who finds himself caught up in a drug bust and then accused of murdering a police officer. Vance plays Franklin, a beleaguered public defender who decides to defend Moses despite also having to fight newly diagnosed cancer.
The AMC drama series “61st Street” tells the tense story of Moses (Tosin Cole), a young Chicago man bound for college who finds himself caught up in a drug bust and then accused of murdering a police officer. Vance plays Franklin, a beleaguered public defender who decides to defend Moses despite also having to fight newly diagnosed cancer.
- 6/16/2022
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
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