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☆ ‘Menace II Society’ at 30: A Bleak Nightmare Then, a Milestone Now
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Lawrence Ware | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When it was released 30 years ago, “Menace II Society” was a shock to the system. Maybe because the trailer conveyed a sense of optimism amid scenes of Black urban life, many moviegoers were expecting another “Boyz N the Hood,” which had met with universal acclaim two years earlier. Not so in “Menace.” It is about those who cannot escape, the thousands of boys who grow into men trapped by circumstances. If “Boyz N the Hood” was a dream that few got to experience, “Menace II Society” was the reality of those who were left behind. But he’s really raised by Pernell, played by Glenn Plummer, and other denizens of the streets.

Persons: ”, Cuba Gooding, Albert, Allen Hughes, Tyger Williams, Caine, Tyrin Turner, he’s, Pernell, Glenn Plummer, He’s, Larenz Tate, Ronnie, Jada Pinkett Organizations: Morehouse College Locations: Los Angeles

☆ How TikTok helps Will and Jada Pinkett Smith's Westbrook find fresh talent and supercharge its marketing strategy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Nhari Djan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Westbrook is an entertainment company whose founders include Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. Two execs explain how they use the app to find talent and incorporate TikTok creators in their marketing projects. TikTok specifically has helped Westbrook find creators to work on its marketing projects. Sadao Turner, Westbrook Media's SVP of talent strategy, said TikTok has been a better recruiting tool than some other social-media platforms because of its search and discovery features. Turner said that TikTok creators display a different level of creativity and freedom than he had seen from other digital creators.

The new Netflix docudrama “Queen Cleopatra,” produced and narrated by Jada Pinkett Smith, has already elicited a passionate response, though perhaps not the kind that publicists hoped for. “Queen Cleopatra” depicts the legendary monarch as Black. Many contemporary Egyptians view her as a key figure in the preservation of their history and even as a role model for contemporary Egyptian women. Scholars have long debated whether certain references in Shakespeare’s “Antony and Cleopatra” suggest that the playwright believed she had dark skin. “Queen Cleopatra,” however, has touched an international nerve.

☆ Gisele Fetterman says she faces the same 'vicious attacks' that Meghan Markle, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Jill Biden do as women in the public eye
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Talia Lakritz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In an Elle op-ed, Gisele Fetterman detailed the scrutiny she experiences as a politician's wife. When her husband, John Fetterman, sought treatment for depression, she faced "vicious attacks." When John Fetterman checked himself into Walter Reed hospital to receive treatment for clinical depression in February, the attacks "exploded," Gisele Fetterman wrote. Despite the constant criticism, Gisele Fetterman said she doesn't want to grow a thicker skin because empathy "drives my career and provides me with purpose and hope." Gisele Fetterman and John Fetterman met in 2007 while he was serving as mayor Braddock, Pennsylvania, and she was working as a nutritionist and food justice activist.

☆ Oscar host Jimmy Kimmel hails movie-going rebound, cracks wise about 'the slap'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LOS ANGELES, March 12 (Reuters) - Comedian Jimmy Kimmel, returning for a third stint as Oscar host, led a back-to-basics show on Sunday that sought to celebrate a moviegoing rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic while avoiding the kind of unscripted outburst that marred the 2022 telecast. "We know this is a special night for you," Kimmel told the crowd of Hollywood luminaries. Kimmel, who was cheekily promoted ahead of Sunday's telecast as an "unflappable, unslappable" Oscar host, then went on to give a mock recitation of "strict policies in place" to prevent a repeat of last year's incident. "If anything unpredictable or violent happens during the ceremony, just sit there and do what you did last year, nothing," Kimmel added. It was a departure from many years in which relatively little-seen, but critically acclaimed, films have dominated the Academy Awards.

☆ What could go wrong? Oscars team prepares for anything after Will Smith slap
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Lisa Richwine | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LOS ANGELES, March 8 (Reuters) - Organizers of Sunday's 95th Academy Awards are preparing for the unexpected after Will Smith's infamous slap of Chris Rock convulsed Hollywood's biggest awards ceremony last year. For the first time, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has created a crisis team to respond to any mishaps. The organization has not disclosed details about the membership of the crisis team or how it may react to anything out of the ordinary. Weiss said the team was planning to pepper the show with moments that they hope would spread on Twitter and TikTok. Pop superstar Rihanna will sing her nominated song "Lift Me Up" from "Wakanda Forever."

☆ Chris Rock Slaps Back in Netflix’s First Live Comedy Special
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Ellen Gamerman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Chris Rock at the Hippodrome in Baltimore. It took a year, and almost an entire Netflix special, but Chris Rock finally slapped back. In the very last minutes of his live stand-up show on Netflix on Saturday night, the comedian addressed the bizarre encounter at last year’s Oscars when Will Smith bounded to the stage and slapped him after the comedian joked about Mr. Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith .

☆ Chris Rock unleashes on Will Smith and wife Jada a year after Oscars slap
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Lisa Richwine | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In March 2022, Smith walked on to the Oscars stage and slapped Rock's face after the comedian made a joke about the appearance of Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Pinkett Smith said she was protesting the fact that Will Smith and other Black actors were not nominated. Rock, who also is Black, joked about Pinkett Smith at the Oscars that year and again last year. Pinkett Smith admitted to an affair that she called an "entanglement" in 2020. Netflix agreed to pay $40 million for two Rock comedy specials under a deal reached in 2016, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The film won nominations for best picture, best director and its stars Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan won nods for best performance by an actress and actor in a leading role. The nominations were announced by Allison Williams and Riz Ahmed on Tuesday morning at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Voting for the nominations concluded Jan. 17, and 9,579 members of the academy were eligible to vote, according to Variety. Neither women of color made it to the list for best leading actress. The Oscar nominations come just weeks after the Golden Globes returned to the airwaves.

☆ 'Ain't No Mo'' earns more time on Broadway but raises questions about gatekeeping
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Uwa Ede-Osifo | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Broadway play “Ain’t No Mo’” has been extended to Dec. 23 after its cast and fans mobilized online support to prevent the show from closing just two weeks after its debut at the Belasco Theatre. The traditional decision-makers around Broadway’s financing and marketing “don’t know what to do with your type of audience,” Cooper said. “Our stories are not niche.”Cooper said “Ain’t No Mo’” was not given a fair shot to establish an audience. “I’m trying to make a Broadway theater look like an HBCU homecoming,” he said. When plays such as “Ain’t No Mo’” struggle to fill seats, Shade, of Broadway Black, said the blame is cast onto Black people for not attending.

☆ The Biggest Debates and Opinions in 2022 - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +30 min

Opinion The 22 Debates That Made Us Rage, Roll Our Eyes, and Change Our Minds in 2022Debating is what we do here at Times Opinion. To many, she was an icon: She ruled for 70 years, presided over the transition from empire to commonwealth and served as a living link to the generation that won World War II. (Though Ben Bernanke, a former Fed chairman himself, wrote in The Times that that wasn’t going to happen.) The United States and its European allies poured weapons and aid into Ukraine, but how was this going to end? As 2022 draws to a close, the fighting continues and peace talks look as distant as ever — which probably means that the debates will continue.

☆ The Year in Pictures 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +57 min

Every year, starting in early fall, photo editors at The New York Times begin sifting through the year’s work in an effort to pick out the most startling, most moving, most memorable pictures. But 2022 undoubtedly belongs to the war in Ukraine, a conflict now settling into a worryingly predictable rhythm. Erin Schaff/The New York Times “When you’re standing on the ground, you can’t visualize the scope of the destruction. Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 25. We see the same images over and over, and it’s really hard to make anything different.” Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 26.

Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss, the longtime DJ on Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show, has died, according to his wife. Boss was pronounced dead just before 11:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday in Encino, the medical examiner said. Stephen 'tWitch' Boss in 2018. Holker Boss said her husband valued family, friends and community, adding that "leading with love and light was everything to him." Ellen DeGeneres said she was left “heartbroken” by news of Boss’ death, calling him "pure love and light."

☆ Will Smith takes over ‘Red Table Talk’ to discuss toughest role of his career
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Smith got emotional talking about his character in the film, recounting a scene in which Peter pauses to praise God in the midst of a harrowing journey through a swamp. Will Smith and Ben Foster in "Emancipation," premiering n Apple TV+. Quantrell Colbert/Apple TV+“It was one of the things that I wanted to be able to share with you all, the ideas that I learned from Peter,” Smith told his children. Smith talked about some of the “brutal” and “dehumanizing” moments of portraying the character and how the role affected him. Ben Foster plays Jim Fassel, who hunted Peter in the swamp, and praised Smith’s performance in a video sent for the “Red Table Talk” episode.

☆ tWitch tributes: Friends honor dancer who was 'loved by everyone'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Dan Heching | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —The late Stephen “tWitch” Boss was a man who wore many hats. He was hungry, eager, and willing to do the work that would lift him in spirit and means,” she wrote. Murphy shared that the first time she met Boss, “there was something about him. Other celebrities to mourn Boss’s passing included Questlove, who wrote on Instagram, “I have no words man. Ciara continued in her missive to Boss that she always knew him “as joy, laughter, good times, and a big smile!

☆ 21 production companies that are acquisition targets as streamers race to get profitable and private equity bets big on Hollywood content
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Lucia Moses | Elaine Low | Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The streaming wars have fueled a wave of deal-making for Hollywood production companies. Private equity is leading the charge, with firms like Apollo and Blackstone spending big on content. Insider identified 21 top production companies that could attract buyers or investors in 2023. Media companies need fresh content to win and keep subscribers who have more options than ever to choose from. Insider spoke with five industry dealmakers, consultants, and other experts who named 20 companies that could be hot acquisition targets as the drive for content continues.

☆ Brad Pitt sells 60% of his Plan B production company to French media conglomerate Mediawan, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Brad Pitt is selling 60% of his production company, Plan B Entertainment, to French media conglomerate Mediawan in a deal that's set to be announced this weekend, according to people familiar with the matter. Neither Plan B nor Mediawan responded to requests for comment. For TV, Plan B's productions have included HBO's 2014 adaptation of "The Normal Heart," directed by Ryan Murphy, and Amazon Prime Video's 2021 miniseries "The Underground Railroad." Candle Media also acquired a minority stake in Westbrook Inc. — the production company founded by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith – earlier this year. The boutique investment bank Moelis led the sale for Plan B.

Actor Johnny Depp topped Google’s list of trending people in 2022. Heard was the third top trending person on Google Search this year. The Depp-Heard trial also took a prominent spot in users’ search history this year. Andrew Tate, the self-described “success coach” who has been criticized online for what many see as misogynistic advice, topped Google’s 2022 category for trending “who is …” questions. In the gaming sphere, the popular online puzzle Wordle was the top trending game worldwide and in the U.S., according to Google Search.

☆ Will Smith's 'Emancipation' scores mixed reviews so far
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Danielle Broadway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Ben Foster, Jordyn McIntosh, Jeremiah Friedlander, Will Smith and Charmaine Bingwa attend a premiere for the film "Emancipation" in Los Angeles, California, U.S. November 30, 2022. REUTERS/Mario AnzuoniDec 1 (Reuters) - Apple TV+’s 2022 slavery drama “Emancipation", actor Will Smith's first film since his famous slap of comedian Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars, has received mixed early reviews from film critics. The movie has scored a 59% positive rating on Rotton Tomatoes so far, with 14 out of 24 reviewers applauding the film as of Thursday afternoon. The first batch of reviews have earned “Emancipation” the rotten label, as many reviewers voice their disappointment in the historical action film’s execution. “Emancipation devolves into a confused jumble of messages,” Lovia Gyarke from The Hollywood Reporter wrote.

☆ Will Smith on slapping Chris Rock at Oscars: 'I lost it'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

But at the end of the day, I lost it,” Smith told Noah. At the Oscars, Rock was on stage presenting an award when he made a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, that referenced the 1997 film "G.I. It was unclear whether Rock was aware that Pinkett Smith has a condition that causes hair loss. Smith marched onto the stage and slapped Rock. ... That was a rage that had been bottled for a really long time ... but I understand the pain," Smith told Noah.

Will Smith knows that fans may be hesitant to see his first movie since slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars. That’s what I’m hoping for. The aftermath of the incident has included several Smith apologies and even more reactions on social media. Smith released his first public apology to Rock the day after the slap amid mounting backlash. “Anyone who says words hurt has never been punched in the face,” Rock said, later adding, “I’m not a victim.

☆ The career rise and stumble of Will Smith, who is back in the awards conversation after the notorious Oscars slap
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

But his career hit a speed bump this year when he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars in March. Will Smith appears to slap Chris Rock onstage during the 94th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 27, 2022 in Hollywood, California. Neilson Barnard/Getty ImagesThe slap followed a joke Rock made about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and came before Smith won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in "King Richard."

☆ For $15k and a signed NDA, students at Kanye West's unaccredited Donda Academy start the day with 'full school worship' before parkour enrichment classes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The unaccredited pre-K through 12th-grade school, Donda Academy, costs $15,000 per year to attend, Rolling Stone reported. In comparison, Donda Academy charges $15,000 per student, Rolling Stone reported, with about half of students receiving some sort of financial aid. Donda Academy, its principal, Brianne Campbell; assistant principal, Allison Tidwell; and sports director Shayla Scott did not respond to Insider's requests for comment. Tamar Andrews, an educational consultant for Donda Academy, confirmed to Rolling Stone that parents are asked to sign an "informal agreement" to enroll. "The process of Donda school is for the parishioners, for the attendees," Yusef told Rolling Stone.

☆ Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend shares the moment he found out she had been killed
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Scott Stump | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Kenny Walker, the boyfriend of Breonna Taylor, has opened up in an emotional interview about the stunning moment he learned she had been killed by police. While executing a drug search warrant at Taylor’s apartment in Louisville, officers opened fire after Walker, believing an intruder was trying to break in, fired a gun toward the door. In August, four former Louisville police officers were federally charged with violating Taylor’s civil rights in the raid that led to her death. Former detective Joshua Jaynes, who obtained the search warrant, is accused of misleading investigators probing the shooting, NBC News reported in August. “The federal charges announced today allege that members of the Place-Based Investigations unit falsified the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant of Ms. Taylor’s home,” Garland said.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Monae said she uses both she/her and they/them pronouns. Jerrod CarmichaelJerrod Carmichael accepts Outstanding Writing for "Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel" at the 74th Primetime Emmys in Los Angeles, on Sept. 12, 2022. Charlee CorraCharlee Corra speaks at Human Rights Campaign dinner on March 12, 2022 in Los Angeles. Ellia GreenEllia Green, right, with his partner Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts and their daughter in Sydney, Australia, on Aug. 15, 2022. Blair came out publicly this year after serving as a consultant for Amazon Prime’s very queer TV reboot of the decades-old film.

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