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Posts tagged as ““American Crime””

Academy Award Winners Regina King and John Ridley Re-Team to Make Shirley Chisholm Biopic

The universe’s desire to honor Shirley Chisholm continues! Yesterday, Good Black News posted a Black History Month tribute to Chisholm, the first Black woman to be elected to U.S. Congress and a one-time candidate for U.S. President.

Today, Variety.com reported Regina King will produce and star in a new biographical feature on Chisholm, to be written and directed by John Ridley (12 Years a Slave, All is By My Side):

“Regina’s passion for bringing a complete and very human portrait of Shirley to life has been evident since literally the day we first met,” Ridley said. “I’m very thankful to both Regina and Reina trusting me to partner in telling the story of this truly remarkable individual.”

The film is being produced based on the life story rights through an exclusive agreement with the Chisholm Estate.

Ridley and King previously worked together on the ABC anthology series American Crime, for which King garnered two Emmys as Best Supporing Actress in a Limited Series.

John Singleton-Produced Documentary “L.A. Burning: The Riots 25 Years Later” to Air April 18 on A&E Network 

Director John Singleton (photo via Variety.com)

article by Cynthia Littleton via variety.com
A&E Network will mark the 25th anniversary of the Los Angeles riots next month with a two-hour documentary from filmmaker John Singleton. “L.A. Burning: The Riots 25 Years Later,” set to debut April 18, tells the story of the civil unrest that shook the nation from the perspective of those who lived through a week of upheaval following a jury’s acquittal of four Los Angeles Police Department officers charged in the 1991 beating of African-American motorist Rodney King.
King’s arrest and savage treatment at the hands of veteran LAPD officers was caught on videotape by a local resident who gave the incendiary footage to KTLA-TV Los Angeles. KTLA’s coverage and airing of the nine-minute recording depicting cops kicking and beating King with batons while he was lying on the ground set off a firestorm of outrage and protest over the LAPD’s treatment of minorities.
The incident coincided with the dawn of the 24/7 news cycle fueled by the growth of cable news and the spread of home video recording technology.Singleton, a native of Los Angeles, was fresh out of USC film school and had just launched his career as a movie director with 1991’s Oscar-nominated “Boyz n the Hood” when the riots erupted on April 29, 1992, the day acquittals of the four officers were handed down by a nearly all-white jury.
Five days of violence and unrest left at least 55 people dead, more than 2,000 injured and inflicted more than $1 billion in property damage.“I believe the 1992 L.A. uprising has never truly been given a voice until now,” Singleton said. “We’ve attempted to chronicle the untold stories and unique perspectives of people whose lives were profoundly affected by this event. As a native Los Angeleno I know the actions of that three-day event didn’t just appear out of thin air. The city was a powder keg boiling at the seams for many years under police brutality and economic hardship of people of color.”
Among those featured in the documentary are actor-activist Edward James Olmos, police officers, rioters, bystanders caught in the crossfire and reporters who covered the upheaval. “L.A. Burning” hails from Entertainment One and Creature Films. The doc is directed by One9 and Erik Parker.
“L.A. Burning” is one of several TV productions in the works to mark the anniversary of the violence that shook Los Angeles and the world. Filmmaker John Ridley is behind the two-hour ABC special “Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992,” set to air April 28.  On April 18, Showtime will air the documentary “Burn Mother—–r Burn!,” examining the history of racial tensions and rioting in Los Angeles.
To read full article, go to: A&E Network Sets Los Angeles Riots ‘25 Years Later’ Documentary From John Singleton (EXCLUSIVE) | Variety

Two-Time Emmy Winner Regina King Secures Production Development Deal With ABC

Regina King (photo via madamenoire.com)
article by Nellie Andreeva via deadline.com
Emmy-winning American Crime actor Regina King has signed a two-year deal with the studio behind the acclaimed John Ridley limited series, ABC Studios, for her production company Royal Ties. King’s sister, Reina King, will serve as development executive as the two develop and produce new projects.
King won two back-to-back best supporting actress in a limited series Emmy awards for the first two seasons of ABC’s American Crime. She is back for the franchise’s upcoming third installment, slated to air in midseason. Additionally, she recently signed on to star the upcoming Netflix crime drama series Seven Seconds, from The Killing creator Veena Sud and Fox 21 TV Studios.
In addition to acting, King has been producing as well as directing episodic television. She recently helmed episodes of ABC’s Scandal and The Catch, TNT’s Animal Kingdom, OWN’s Greenleaf and Fox’s Pitch.
Source: Regina King Secures Production Development Deal With ABC

John Ridley Series "American Crime" Renewed by ABC for Season 3

American Crime season 2 Andre Benjamin
Andre Benjamin and Emmy winner Regina King in “American Crime” (photo via Variety.com)

article by Daniel Holloway via Variety.com

ABC has renewed “American Crime” for a third season.The anthology drama from creator and executive producer John Ridley ended its second season March 9. The series’ first season was nominated for 10 Primetime Emmy awards last year and won one, with actress Regina King taking home the award for best supporting actress in a supporting role in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television.

Season three, like its two predecessors will focus on a new crime in a new setting.
American Crime” averaged a 1.6 rating in adults 18-49 and a little over 6 million viewers in Nielsen’s “live plus-7” estimates. While it was down from season one when it aired on Thursdays following “Scandal,” it was fairly competitive in its Wednesday timeslot.
Ridley, an Academy Award winner for best screenplay for the feature film “12 Years a Slave,” will again serve as executive producer with Michael J. McDonald. The series is produced by ABC Studios.

Idris Elba, John Ridley Limited Series "Guerrilla" Ordered at Showtime

John Ridley Idris Elba GUERRILLA Showtime
RIDLEY: RYDER SLOANE; ELBA: RAY BURMISTON (image via Variety.com)

article by Daniel Holloway via Variety.com
Showtime has ordered “Guerrilla,” a limited series from “American Crime” creator John Ridley, starring Idris Elba. The six-episode drama will be broadcast in the U.S. on Showtime and in the U.K. on Sky Atlantic.
Ridley will write the bulk of the episodes and direct the first two. A love story set in one of the most explosive political times in U.K. history, the miniseries tells the story of a 1970s London couple who liberates a political prisoner and forms a radical underground cell. The group targets the Black Power Desk, a true-life counter-intelligence unit within Special Branch dedicated to crushing all forms of black activism. Though set against a backdrop of social upheaval and activism, the story focuses on the relationship between the two characters at its center.
“Guerrilla” will be co-produced by Fifty Fathoms and ABC Signature, and will begin production in London late this summer.

“We’re excited to partner with our friends at Sky to bring a fascinating and unexplored story spearheaded by John and Idris, two major creative talents at the top of their game,” said Showtime president and CEO David Nevins. “Guerilla will surely keep our audience at their edge of their seats.”
Elba will serve as executive producer through his Green Door Pictures with Ridley. Patrick Spence and Katie Swinden of Fifty Fathoms, Tracy Underwood of ABC Signature and Michael McDonald of Stearns Castle will also exec produce.
Ridley extended his overall deal with ABC Studios in January for three years. His “American Crime,” which ended its second season last month on ABC, received 10 Primetime Emmy Award nominations last year for season one, with star Regina King winning for outstanding supporting actress in a miniseries or movie. In 2014, Ridley won the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay for “12 Years a Slave.”
“I am both humbled by and impressed with Idris’s passion toward bringing this story to life,” said Ridley. “I share his commitment for populating the culture with driven and complicated people of color, and believe we have great partners on the producorial level, and with our broadcasters Sky Atlantic and Showtime.”
Elba is a four-time Emmy nominee whose TV credits include “The Wire” and “Luther.” He was nominated for a Golden Globe award for his work in last year’s Netflix feature film “Beasts of No Nation.” His upcoming films include “Star trek: Beyond” and “The Dark Tower.”
“It’s been a long time desire of mine to collaborate with Mr. Ridley and his work here is nothing short of a masterclass in character building and story-telling,” Elba said. “TV is in for a treat.”

FEATURE: Director, Producer and Emmy Award-Winning Actress Regina King Has So Many Stories to Tell

Regina King (Credit: Elizabeth Weinberg for The New York Times)

article by Wesley Morris via nytimes.com

LOS ANGELES — Regina King’s house has a cozy seat at the foot of a hill in a section of the Los Feliz neighborhood here. The house isn’t far from the street but fosters an aura of secluded serenity anyway: A grapefruit tree guards the property. Off the rear patio is a small room with a vintage Pac-Man console and a signed LP of Prince’s “Controversy” on the wall.
On a sunny January morning, Ms. King sat in the kitchen calmly as the finishing touches were being done on her hair and makeup. She was hours from a trip to the Critics’ Choice Awards. Getting dressed would happen later. In the meantime, she wore a black one-piece unitard that unzipped in the front.
It’s easy to imagine this scene playing out regularly in her kitchen. After 30 years in the business, starting as a teenage actor on the NBC sitcom “227” and continuing with a series of notable but supporting film roles, Ms. King has made her mix of hard candor and intense warmth an asset for dramatic television. In 2015, five years after she published a short but action-packed plaint in The Huffington Post criticizing the lack of inclusion at the 2010 Emmys, she won her first Emmy for her work as Aliyah Shadeed, the Muslim-American sister of a murder suspect on John’s Ridley’s ABC anthology series, “American Crime.”

ABC Renews 'Scandal,' 'How to Get Away With Murder', 'Black-ish' and More for 2016/2017 Season

Scandal
Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope in “Scandal” (photo via blogs.indiewire.com)

article by Tambay A. Obenson via Shadow And Act

New ABC president Channing Dungey, who replaces exiting Paul Lee (making her the first African American to not only head ABC, but a major TV network) is already making her presence felt a mere 2 weeks into the job, announcing today the early renewals of a handful of ABC series.
Of note, “Scandal” will return for a 6th season (recall the show’s creator, Shonda Rhimes, said that she knows exactly how and when it will end, adding that it would be a 6 or 7 season series, at most. So can we assume that “Scandal” is near its end, now that it’s been renewed for a 6th season?); Also “How to Get Away With Murder” has been renewed for a 3rd season; and “Black-ish” will get a 3rd season.
Also renewed are: “Agents of SHIELD,” “Dancing With the Stars,” “Modern Family,” “Quantico,” “The Goldbergs,” “Once Upon a Time,” “Fresh Off the Boat,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Shark Tank,” and “The Bachelor.”
No announcement on the fate of John Ridley‘s critically-acclaimed anthology series “American Crime,” unfortunately. Although it’s still early, so I wouldn’t count it out yet.
Ridley is working on another series for the network. In December, ABC gave an early pilot order to a new crime drama from Ridley titled “Presence,” with the 2016/2017 season eyed for a premiere – assuming it goes to series eventually.
To read more, go to: http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/abc-renews-scandal-how-to-get-away-with-murder-black-ish-and-more-for-2016-2017-season-20160303

Channing Dungey Makes TV History, Becomes 1st African-American Network President

Channing Dungey
New ABC President Channing Dungey (photo via eurweb.com)

article via eurweb.com
Television history and black history has crossed paths today.
Channing Dungey, executive VP of drama at ABC, was today named entertainment president of ABC, replacing Paul Lee, who was removed after a reported power struggle with Disney/ABC Television President Ben Sherwood, according to reports.
Dungey is now the first African-American woman to lead a major broadcast network. The ABC veteran, known by industry insiders as the Shonda Rhimes’ whisperer, will now report directly to Sherwood.
“Channing is a gifted leader and a proven magnet for top creative talent, with an impressive record of developing compelling, breakthrough programming that resonates with viewers,” said Sherwood. “We thank Paul for his many accomplishments at ABC and his devotion to the ABC brand, and we wish him continued success in the future.”
Dungey, a UCLA grad who’s been with the network since 2009 (and Disney since 2004), is credited with developing many of ABC’s successful dramas, including “Scandal,” “Quantico,” “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “How to Get Away with Murder,” and “American Crime,” according to Variety.
Said Dungey, “I’m thrilled and humbled that Ben has entrusted me with this tremendous opportunity. And I am truly grateful to Paul for being a valued mentor and friend. I’ve had the great honor of working alongside the talented team at ABC for many years and look forward to starting this exciting new chapter with them.”
Dungey began her career as a development assistant at 20th Century Fox-based Davis Entertainment, and did stints at other companies including Steamroller Productions and Warner Bros.
Read more at http://www.eurweb.com/2016/02/apollonia-calls-vanitys-death-the-end-of-an-era-for-me/#Ff0TQ4cW3ec6B2x4.99

"American Crime" Creator John Ridley Gets Greenlight on ABC Drama Pilot "Presence"

John Ridley Presence pilot
Writer/Director/Executive Producer John Ridley (Photo by Terence Patrick)

As pilot season kicks off, ABC is looking to stay in business with “American Crime” creator and Oscar winner John Ridley, giving his detective drama project “Presence” a formal pilot order.
In contention for the 2016-17 television season, “Presence” has been hot at ABC since the get-go, as the drama was the first pilot script order at the network this development season.  “Presence” follows Presence Foster, a former Army veteran who finds herself navigating a widely divergent and highly colorful cross section of L.A., as she unintentionally begins a career as an unlicensed private investigator.
Hailing from ABC Studios, Ridley wrote the pilot script and will direct and executive produce through his International Famous Players Radio Picture Corporation with his fellow “American Crime” executive producer Michael McDonald, who will executive produce “Presence” by way of his ABC-based Stearns Castle banner.

Aside from “Presence” and “American Crime,” which debuts its second season on January 6, Ridley and McDonald have another drama set up in the early stages with ABC Studios — the duo optioned the rights to Kim Reid’s novel “No Place Safe: A Family Memoir” for a limited series.
Ridley also has a top-secret Marvel project in the works at ABC Studios, where he is under a producing deal.
article by Elizabeth Wagmeister via Variety.com

History! Viola Davis Becomes 1st Black Woman To Win Emmy For Lead Actress in Drama; Regina King and Uzo Aduba win Emmys for Supporting Roles

67th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards - Show
Viola Davis made history Sunday night as the first Black woman to win an Emmy for outstanding actress in a drama series, bringing a sisterhood of Black actresses to their feet at the announcement of her accomplishment.
But Davis’ win was the second history-making moment of her night — as Vanity Fair points out, the nomination of lead actress, alongside Taraji P. Henson’s nomination, was the first time multiple women of color have been considered for the award at the same time.
The significance of the moment was not lost on Henson, who stood to embrace Davis as she made her way to the stage.  In a powerful speech that amplified the voices of Black women who have called for more representation in TV, media and film, Davis noted that roles for Black women are scarce in a whitewashed Hollywood.

“The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there,” she said.

A quote from Harriet Tubman, which she recited at the top of her acceptance speech, served as a succinct but profound outline of what many Black actresses are facing in the world of film, even in 2015.

“In my mind I see a line and over that line I see green fields and lovely flowers and beautiful white women with their arms stretched out to me over that line, but I can’t seem to get there no how. I can’t seem to get over that line.”

You can watch her speech here:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrkGmYbvISo&w=560&h=315]

But Davis’ win was not the first exceptional moment for Black women at the 2015 Emmy Awards. Orange Is The New Black star Uzo Aduba also made her own history when she accepted the Emmy for Best Actress in a Drama Series, making her the first actress to win both a drama and a comedy award for the same role.
67th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards - Show
Hollywood veteran and favorite Regina King also took home an award for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie for “American Crime.” It was King’s first nomination and win.
67th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards - Show
For a full list of winners, click below:
2015 Emmy Awards: A List Of The Night’s Big Winners
article by Christina Coleman via newsone.com