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Posts tagged as “Leslie Jones”

Donald Glover, "Atlanta," "Blackish" Garner Multiple Nominations for 2017 Primetime Emmys

2017 Emmy nominees Viola Davis, Donald Glover, Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)
The nominees for the 2017 Primetime Emmys were announced this morning, and among them are nods in the Best Comedy Series category for writer/creator/star Donald Glover‘s freshman FX half-hour “Atlanta” as well as writer/creator Kenya Barris‘ veteran ABC show “Black-ish,” which also garnered nods in the Lead Comedy Actor and Actress categories for its stars Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross. Glover also picked up a nod for Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.
Emmy winner Viola Davis was recognized again for her role as Annalise Keating in ABC’s  “How to Get Away With Murder,” and Sterling K. Brown came through in the Lead Actor in a Drama Series category for his work on the popular NBC hit “This is Us.” Jeffrey Wright and Thandie Newton were acknowledged for their Supporting Roles in “Westworld,” as was Samira Wiley for her work in the original Hulu series “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Up against Wiley in the same category is her former “Orange Is the New Black” castmate Uzo Aduba.
Additionally, Leslie Jones grabbed a nomination in the Supporting Role in Comedy category for her work on “Saturday Night Live,” and RuPaul Charles got some love in the Host for a Reality/Reality-Competition Program category for his work on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
Behind the scenes, Donald Glover earned his third Emmy nomination for “Atlanta” in the directing category, and his fourth, along with his brother Stephen Glover, for Writing for a Comedy Series. Ava DuVernay & Spencer Averick were nominated in the Writing for a Nonfiction Program category for their outstanding work on the Netflix documentary “13th.” The full list of nominees follows below:
Drama Series
“Better Call Saul” (AMC)
“The Crown” (Netflix)
“The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu)
“House of Cards” (Netflix)
“Stranger Things” (Netflix)
“This Is Us” (NBC)
“Westworld” (HBO)
Comedy Series
“Atlanta” (FX)
“Black-ish” (ABC)
“Master of None” (Netflix)
“Modern Family” (ABC)
“Silicon Valley” (HBO)
“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” (Netflix)
“Veep” (HBO)
Drama Actress
Viola Davis (“How to Get Away with Murder”)
Claire Foy (“The Crown”)
Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Keri Russell (“The Americans”)
Evan Rachel Wood (“Westworld”)
Robin Wright (“House of Cards”)
Drama Actor
Sterling K. Brown (“This Is Us”)
Anthony Hopkins (“Westworld”)
Bob Odenkirk (“Better Call Saul”)
Matthew Rhys (“The Americans”)
Liev Schreiber (“Ray Donovan”)
Kevin Spacey (“House of Cards”)
Milo Ventimiglia (“This Is Us”)
Comedy Actor
Anthony Anderson (“Black-ish”)
Aziz Ansari (“Master of None”)
Zach Galifianakis (“Baskets”)
Donald Glover (“Atlanta”)
William H. Macy (“Shameless”)
Jeffrey Tambor (“Transparent”)
Comedy Actress
Pamela Adlon (“Better Things”)
Tracee Ellis-Ross (“black-ish”)
Jane Fonda (“Grace and Frankie”)
Lily Tomlin (“Grace and Frankie”)
Allison Janney (“Mom”)
Ellie Kemper (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Veep”)

"How To Be Heard" For Real: Roxane Gay Pulls Book From Simon & Schuster Over Imprint's Deal with Alt-Righter Milo Yiannopoulos

Author Roxane Gay (photo via colorlines.com)

article by Sameer Rao via colorlines.com
Culture critic and “Bad Feminist” author Roxane Gay told Buzzfeed News yesterday (January 25) that she split with her next book’s publisher, Simon & Schuster, over its recent deal with infamous Breitbart journalist and banned Leslie Jones Twitter troll Milo Yiannopoulos. The Hollywood Reporter first revealed in late December that Yiannopoulos signed a $250,000 book deal with Simon & Schuster’s conservative-leaning imprint Threshold Editions.
“When the announcement about Milo’s book first came out, I was relieved because I thought I didn’t have a book with Simon & Schuster and tweeted something to that effect,” said Gay to Buzzfeed News. “Then I remembered my TED Book and that TED is an imprint of Simon & Schuster.”
TED Books slated Gay’s “How to be Heard” for publication in March 2018. It is still listed on Simon & Schuster’s website. “I was supposed to turn the book in this month and I kept thinking about how egregious it is to give someone like Milo a platform for his blunt, inelegant hate and provocation,” she continued. “I just couldn’t bring myself to turn the book in. My editor emailed me last week and I kept staring at that email in my inbox and finally over the weekend I asked my agent to pull the book.”
To read full article, go to: Roxane Gay Pulls Simon & Schuster Book Deal Over Milo Yiannopoulos’ Advance | Colorlines

After Hilarious Series of Die-Hard Team USA Tweets, Leslie Jones Officially Joins NBC Olympics Coverage Team

U.S.A. Superfan Leslie Jones (photo via zimbio.com)
U.S.A. Superfan Leslie Jones (photo via zimbio.com)

article by Daniel Holloway via Variety.com
“Ghostbusters” star Leslie Jones is headed to Rio de Janeiro to join NBC’s Summer Olympics coverage. Jones announced the news via a video posted on Twitter Monday, which featured her wearing an NBC Olympics hat, waving an American flag and singing “Guess who’s going to Rio!”  NBC Sports confirmed to Variety that Jones will be joining its coverage team.
As a contributor to NBC’s Olympics team, Jones will attend live events such as swimming, track and field, gymnastics and beach volleyball and provide coverage on air and online.  Olympics executive producer Jim Bell invited Jones via Twitter last week to join NBC’s coverage team after the comic went on an epic Twitter tear commenting on the games.
The “Saturday Night Live” cast member has been posting Olympics-related comments and videos — mostly of Jones talking over the games on TV — since shortly after the opening ceremonies Friday night.“We’re thrilled to have Leslie come to the Olympics,” said Bell. “She’s a member of the family, and her passion for the Olympics is remarkable.”
Source: Leslie Jones Joins NBC Olympics Coverage Team | Variety

‘Ghostbusters’ Star Leslie Jones Fights Racist Twitter Hate Speech, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Responds

Leslie Jones arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of “Ghostbusters.” (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

article by Associated Press via yahoo.com

NEW YORK (AP) — Under a barrage of hateful posts on Twitter, “Ghostbusters” star Leslie Jones said she was “in a personal hell” and urged the social networking service to do more to eradicate abuse.  In a series of posts Monday night, Jones said she had been pummeled with racist tweets. She retweeted numerous tweets directed at her with disturbing language and pictures of apes.

Jones said the messages were deeply hurtful and brought her to tears. The “Saturday Night Live” cast member called on Twitter to strengthen guidelines and for users to “stop letting the ignorant people be the loud ones.”

“I feel like I’m in a personal hell,” wrote Jones. “I didn’t do anything to deserve this. It’s just too much. It shouldn’t be like this. So hurt right now.”

The exchanges came at a career high point for the “Saturday Night Live” cast member. “Ghostbusters,” which opened last week, is her first major film role. “It’s like when you think, ‘OK I’ve proven I’m worthy’ and then you get hit with a shovel of (hatred),” she said.

She concluded a string of messages early Tuesday morning. “I leave Twitter tonight with tears and a very sad heart,” wrote Jones. “All this cause I did a movie.”

The tweets caught the attention of Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey, who sent Jones a message asking her to get in touch with him. Twitter later responded in a statement.

“This type of abusive behavior is not permitted on Twitter, and we’ve taken action on many of the accounts reported to us by both Leslie and others,” said a spokesperson for Twitter. “We rely on people to report this type of behavior to us but we are continuing to invest heavily in improving our tools and enforcement systems to prevent this kind of abuse. We realize we still have a lot of work in front of us before Twitter is where it should be on how we handle these issues.”

Many, however, have come to Jones’ defense, tweeting support for the actress under the hashtag “#LoveForLeslieJ.”

To read more, go to: https://www.yahoo.com/news/leslie-jones-under-hateful-barrage-twitter-fights-back-145423122.html?ref=gs

Leslie Jones Pays Touching Personal Tribute to Whoopi Goldberg on "The View" (VIDEO)

Leslie Jones (photo via celebuzz.com)
Leslie Jones (photo via celebuzz.com)

article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)
While promoting her new film “Ghostbusters” on ABC’s “The View,” comedian and “Saturday Night Live” cast member Leslie Jones spent several minutes paying homage to “View” host and lifelong inspiration Whoopi Goldberg.  She holds herself back from tears as she thanks Whoopi for being someone who she could watch on TV as a young woman who finally looked like her, who she could look up to, and one day emulate.  It is a beautiful, sincere and poignant moment and we wanted to share it. Watch below:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUZFkY6rLfc&w=560&h=315]

SNL's Leslie Jones Graces the Cover of ELLE’s 1st Women in Comedy Issue

ELLE
Comedian Leslie Jones on Elle Magazine (photo courtesy ELLE)

article via clutchmagonline.com
Leslie Jones is looking fierce with her signature spiky hair on July’s cover of Elle, which celebrates women in comedy.
Jones, who is starring in the upcoming Ghostbusters remake, made mention of her Elle cover at an impromptu stand-up appearance.
“I ain’t used to that (crap)!” she said, adding that her recent fame has inhibited her love life. “I used to be able to be on those sites, you know Tumblr, Grindr, Tinder. Yeah, I said Grindr, I ain’t passed trickin’ a gay man into (having sex) with me,” she joked.

“I just knew that I was funny, and I knew that it was just a matter of time. I didn’t know what was going to actually happen—this is definitely way bigger than I thought—but I knew there was no way I was going to be that funny and nobody was going to notice it.” — Leslie Jones

Jones even joked about how uncomfortable she was dressing for the cover, especially as a size 12.
“I had 22 (bleeping) outfits on today. Jimmy Kimmel had on one (bleeping) suit,” she complained. “I can’t move in this (outfit), trying to be cute. You’re going to see some bra straps.” She said she took off the jacket and then her shoes. “Let me take these shoes off, too,” she said, kicking off her heels.
Well, no one never said Jones doesn’t keep it real.

FILM FUN: Check Out New Cool Photo from All-Female "Ghostbusters" with SNL's Leslie Jones

The Ghostbusters Abby (Melissa McCarthy), Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon), Erin (Kristen Wiig) and Patty (Leslie Jones) inside the Mercado Hotel Lobby in Columbia Pictures' GHOSTBUSTERS.
The Ghostbusters Abby (Melissa McCarthy), Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon), Erin (Kristen Wiig) and Patty (Leslie Jones) inside the Mercado Hotel Lobby in Columbia Pictures’ GHOSTBUSTERS.

Who you gonna call? I know it’s early to get geeked about summer movies seeing as winter just officially started last week, but when I saw this new image from the upcoming all-female version of GHOSTBUSTERS, I got more than a little hyped, especially since SNL’s Leslie Jones looks like such a b-o-s-s in the photo!
Jones, alongside fellow comedic beasts Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Kristen Wiig, is making GHOSTBUSTERS look like it will be the comedy-action event movie of 2016.  And truth be told, I also can’t wait to see who’s going to cover the Ray Parker, Jr. title song.
I’m personally hoping for a fresh take from a female artist like Rihanna, Beyoncé or Mary J. Blige – or even a way-out hip-hop version from Nicki Minaj.
Is there any movie or event you’re excited about that’s coming in 2016? If so, sound off below!
by Lori Lakin Hutcherson, Editor-in-Chief
by Lori Lakin Hutcherson, Editor-in-Chief

Ernie Hudson Joins ‘Ghostbusters’ Reboot

Ernie Hudson (Photo by Jim Smeal/BEI/REX Shutterstock (4728287bz)
Ernie Hudson (Photo by Jim Smeal/BEI/REX Shutterstock (4728287bz)

Ernie Hudson, one of the original Ghostbusters, has materialized in the cast of Sony’s bid to reboot the franchise. Hudson joins original scream teammates Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd in writer/director Paul Feig’s update that stars Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Chris Hemsworth and Neil Casey.

Hudson is the latest original cast member to surface in the reboot scripted by Feig and Kate Dippold. The movie is currently slated to open next summer on July 15, 2016.

article via deadline.com

"SNL" Writer and Cast Member Leslie Jones On Tap for All-Female ‘Ghostbusters’ Reboot

Leslie Jones
According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Saturday Night Live” cast member Leslie Jones is in final negotiations to sign on for the all-female version of the classic 1980s film “Ghostbusters.”
Joining Jones for the reboot will be her fellow SNL’ers Kristen Wiig and Kate McKinnon, in addition to “Bridesmaids” and “The Heat” star Melissa McCarthy. Although negotiations are still ongoing, the film’s director Paul Feig (“Bridesmaids”) tweeted a picture of the ladies, which suggests they’re in it for the long run.
Jones’ involvement in the “Ghostbusters” reboot could mark a major milestone for the funny lady, who has been making people laugh for more than 30 years. Jones’ achievements, as noted by Vulture.com, include opening for Jamie Foxx and Katt Williams as well as starring in her own Showtime stand-up comedy special in 2011. Last January, Jones joined the cast of SNL, becoming one of two Black female cast members currently on the show’s roster. Jones also recently appeared in Chris Rock’s film “Top Five.”
article by Qwest7 via eurweb.com

Check Out Trailer for Chris Rock's Upcoming Release, "Top Five" (VIDEO)

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jejCmmawzLY&w=560&h=315]
Chris RockAs GBN reported last month, Chris Rock’s new film Top Five sparked a bidding frenzy at the Toronto International Film Festival, with Paramount Pictures emerging as the winner for distribution rights to the tune of $12.5 million. Last week, the studio dropped the first trailer.  Written, directed by, and starring Rock, Top Five tells the story of New York City comedian-turned-film star Andre Allen, whose unexpected encounter with a journalist (Rosario Dawson) forces him to confront the comedy career—and the past—that he’s left behind.
Kevin Hart, Tracy Morgan, Cedric The Entertainer, J.B. Smoove, Sherri Shepherd, Anders Holm, Romany Malco, Leslie Jones, Michael Che, and Jay Pharoah also star.
The movie is set for a limited release on December 5, going wide a week later on December 12.
If you can’t wait to see Rock in action before then, check out him and musical guest Prince as he hosts “Saturday Night Live” this weekend.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)