The Dog Pound is safe to keep on barking. According to Shadow and Act, The Arsenio Hall Show has been renewed for a second season. Tribune Broadcasting, a partner in production of the syndicated, late-night talk show, will continue to be the anchor station group, airing the show on 17 stations, including in the three largest markets on WPIX, New York, at 11 p.m.; KTLA, Los Angeles, at 11 p.m.; and WGN, Chicago, at 10 p.m.
“Since 9/9/13, I’ve been waking up without an alarm clock,” said Arsenio Hall. “Producing and hosting my late-night talk show brings me great joy. I’m back where I belong! Thanks to my partners at CBS Television Distribution and Tribune.”
“Arsenio is an incredibly talented host who has connected with his viewers; we look forward to watching the show grow and develop in year two,” said Sean Compton, President Strategic Programming and Acquisitions, Tribune Company. The Arsenio Hall Show is produced by CBS Television Distribution, in association with Arsenio Hall Communications Ltd. and Octagon Entertainment Productions. article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
First Lady Michelle Obama speaks as actress Amy Poehler, (L) listens during a visit to the Gwen Cherry Park NFL/YET Center on February 25, 2014 in Miami, Florida at a “Let’s Move!” event. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (AP) — NBC’s Parks and Recreation is getting a stunning new cast member for a night: First Lady Michelle Obama. According to the Associated Press, the first lady’s office says Mrs. Obama will appear on the show’s April 24th season finale. The show’s Twitter account said it’s “time to get real about Pawnee’s obesity,” which is a reference to Pawnee, Indiana, the fictional town where Parks and Recreation takes place, and the first lady’s campaign against child obesity. Obama recently appeared in a comedy sketch on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon with Fallon and Will Ferrell also designed to promote “Let’s Move.” Parks and Recreation star Amy Poehler helped the campaign earlier this week when she appeared at a “Let’s Move” event in Miami, where Mrs. Obama joked that she and Poehler are best friends. Mrs. Obama won’t be the first White House figure to appear on the show. Vice President Joe Biden made a cameo on the show in 2012. article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
According to Variety.com, Universal Studios has started pre-production on a sequel to its hit buddy comedy Ride Along, with Ice Cube and Kevin Hart on board to reprise their starring roles. Ride Along has topped $117 million in U.S. box office after five weekends, starting its run with three consecutive first-place finishes. The film was budgeted at a cost-effective $25 million. Will Packer, Ice Cube, Matt Alvarez and Larry Brezner will again produce. Tim Story is attached to direct again from a script by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. Universal signed the writers to script the sequel last year. The decision to greenlight Ride Along 2 comes on the heels of the healthy opening of another Hart comedy, Sony’s About Last Night, which took in $27.8 million over the four-day weekend. article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
Members of the Summer Journalism Program pose for a photo at the entrance to The New York Times, one of several news organizations they visited during a visit to New York City. The students also visited CNN as well as Newsweek and The Daily Beast as part of the broad exposure they received on various forms of journalism. (Photo by Brian Rokus)
An all-expenses-paid program for high school student journalists from low-income backgrounds will take place for 10 days next summer on the campus of Princeton University. The program is entering its 13th year; since 2002, approximately 250 students from high schools across the country have participated. The program’s goal is to diversify college and professional newsrooms by encouraging outstanding students from low-income backgrounds to pursue careers in journalism.
Classes at the program are taught by reporters and editors from The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, The Daily Beast, Time, Foreign Policy, The New Republic, Sports Illustrated, CNN and NPR, among other media outlets. Students meet with numerous Princeton professors, as well as Princeton’s president and dean of admissions. They report an investigative story, cover a professional sports event, produce a TV segment, and publish their own newspaper. And they receive guidance on the college admissions process not only during the 10 days of the program, but also during the fall of their senior year of high school.
Students selected for the program will have all their costs, including the cost of travel to and from Princeton, paid for by the program, which will run from August 1-11, 2014. The application process will take place in two rounds. The first round of the application should be filled out online here: https://fs4.formsite.com/pusjp/form1/secure_index.html. This part of the application must be completed by 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, February 21, 2014.
Pharrell Williams, Daft Punk and Nile Rodgers accepting Best Duo/Group Performance Grammy Award
Although he easily could have been remembered solely for his avant garde Vivienne Westwood hat this Grammy year, Pharrell Williams‘ musical forays trumped his sartorial whims last night, garnering him Producer of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance honors. Williams also has partial claim to the Album of the Year award, which electronic duo Daft Punk won for Random Access Memories (featuring two Pharrell collaborations.) Other notable winners were Mackelmore & Ryan Lewis, (Best New Artist, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, Best Rap Album), Alicia Keys (Best R&B Album), Bruno Mars (Best Pop Vocal Album), Ziggy Marley (Best Reggae Album) and Jay Z and Justin Timberlake, who won Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for “Holy Grail.” Beyoncé and Jay Z opened the show with the steamy, risqué “Drunk in Love,” kicking off a night filled with larger-than-life performances including Pink‘s literal and vocal acrobatics on “Try” and “Just Give Me A Reason,” Katy Perry‘s witchy snap vibe on “Dark Horse” with Juicy J , Kendrick Lamar and Imagine Dragons‘ brilliant, burning mash up of “m.A.A.d City” and “Radioactive,” and Pharrell, Nile Rodgers and Daft Punk with Stevie Wonder on a version of “Get Lucky” that flawlessly blended in Chic’s “Le Freak” and Wonder’s “Another Star.”
One of the biggest, funnest surprises of the evening came late in the show when Queen Latifah introduced Mackelmore & Ryan Lewis, Mary Lambert and Trombone Shorty‘s performance of “Same Love.” Midway through the song, Latifah re-appeared to officiate a wedding ceremony for thirty-three couples – heterosexual and homosexual – in the aisles of the Los Angeles Staples Center. As they said their “I dos”, Madonna strolled out in a white suit, hat and cane, melding the chorus of “Open Your Heart” into “Same Love.”
A full list of the Grammy winners follows below: Album of the Year: “Random Access Memories,” Daft Punk
Record of the Year: “Get Lucky,” Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams Song of the Year: “Royals,” Joel Little, Ella Yelich O’Connor (Lorde) Best Country Album: “Same Trailer, Different Park,” Kacey Musgraves Best Pop Vocal Album: “Unorthodox Jukebox,” Bruno Mars Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: “Holy Grail,” Jay Z and Justin Timberlake Best Pop Solo Performance: Lorde Best Rock Song: “Cut Me Some Slack,” Dave Grohl, Paul McCartney, Krist Novoselic, Pat Smear Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: “Get Lucky,” Daft Punk Best New Artist: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
According to Variety.com, while Lionsgate’s I, Frankenstein failed to spark audience interest, delivering only an estimated $8.3 million in three days, the domestic box office still saw signs of life, thanks to solid holds from such films as the Kevin Hart/Ice Cube comedy Ride Along and the Mark Wahlberg-starrer Lone Survivor, which led with $21.2 million and $12.6 million, respectively.
In its second outing, Ride Along fell just 49%, lifting its Stateside totals to a sizable $75.4 million; while Lone Survivor, which dropped just 43% in its fifth frame, reached $93.6 million domestically.
The full list of this weekend’s Top 10 follows below: Film(Weeks in release): 3-day gross*; Locations; Per-theater average; Cume*; Percentage change
British Actor John Boyega to play Jesse Owens in biopic “Race.” (Jeff Vespa/WireImage) According to Variety.com, British actor John Boyegawill portray Olympic athlete Jesse Owens in the biopic Race, with shooting set to start in May in Berlin and Montreal. Stephen Hopkins (Judgment Night, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers) who will direct from a script by Anna Waterhouse and Joe Shrapnel, said, “John Boyega is definitely one of the most exciting young actors working today and I am thrilled to have him on board to play the iconic role of Jesse Owens in Race.” The 21-year-old Boyega stars in Malik Vitthal’s inner-city drama Imperial Dreams, which premiered Jan. 17 at the Sundance Film Festival. He debuted in feature films in 2011′s Attack the Block and appeared in 2012′s Half of a Yellow Sun opposite Thandie Newton and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Race will focus on how Owens, the son of an Alabama sharecropper, shattered Adolf Hitler’s myth of Aryan supremacy at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by winning a record four gold medals in the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, the long jump and the 400-meter relay. Owens’ victories are considered among the greatest atlhetic feats of all time. Hitler had insisted Jews and Blacks not be allowed to participate in the games, but relented when threatened with a boycott. He shook hands only with the German victors on the first day of competition and then skipped all further medal presentations.
Shooting locations include the actual Berlin Olympic stadium where Owens won the four gold medals. Producers are aiming for a release in the spring of next year. Race is supported by the Jesse Owens Foundation, the Jesse Owens Trust and the Luminary Group, and has been been in development for the past two years. Race is a different project from the Disney biopic about Owens, which has Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, Olympus Has Fallen) attached to direct. article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
This morning, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominees for its 86th annual Awards, and recent Golden Globes Best Picture winner 12 Years A Slave was honored nine times, including nods for Best Supporting Actress (Lupita Nyong’o), Best Supporting Actor (Michael Fassbender), Best Adapted Screenplay (John Ridley), Best Actor (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Best Director (Steve McQueen) and Best Picture (Brad Pitt is one of the producers).
Other notable nominations include Barkhad Abdi for Best Supporting Actor in Captain Phillips, Pharrell Williams for Original Song (“Happy” from Despicable Me 2) and U2 for Original Song (“Ordinary Love” from Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom). American Hustle and Gravity tied for most nominations with ten nominations each, and will likely provide the stiffest competition for 12 Years during the March 2nd awards ceremony.
The full list of nominations follows below: BEST PICTURE
“12 Years a Slave”
“American Hustle”
“Captain Phillips”
“Dallas Buyers Club”
“Gravity”
“Her”
“Nebraska”
“Philomena”
“The Wolf of Wall Street”
According to Variety.com, NBC is back in the Rashida Jonesbusiness. The former Parks & Recreation star is returning to her single-camera roots with A to Z, a half-hour comedy set in the world of an online dating company that details the “A to Zs” of a relationship. The ensemble cast will navigate the complicated world of modern dating.
Ben Queen is writing and executive producing A to Z alongside Will McCormack and Jones, who is also an EP on the project. Warner Bros. TV and Le Train Train are producing the project. article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
Juanita Moore, who broke barriers for African-American actors and was Oscar-nominated for 1959′s remake of Imitation of Life, died Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles. Her step-grandson, actor Kirk Kahn, said she was 99. Moore received a supporting actress nomination for the Douglas Sirk-directed Imitation of Life, playing Annie Johnson, the housekeeper whose daughter passes for white, in the racially-themed film that was based on the Fannie Hurst novel. She was the fifth African-American to ever be nominated for an Academy Award.
Kahn said she was still running lines with him recently, and had planned to participate in a reading at the Saban Theater in a few weeks. “She didn’t candy-coat it for you,” he said. “She said, ‘If you’re no good, the play’s no good.’” “She gave back to the community in so many ways,” he said. “Wherever we went she stopped and told black boys and girls they could do anything with their lives.”
Moore, who was a founding member of the Cambridge Players along with thespians such as Esther Rolle, was honored at the Black Theater Festival in North Carolina, her grandson said. Born in Los Angeles, Moore was a chorus girl at the Cotton Club who started out as a film extra, then worked as an actor at the Ebony Showcase Theater. She made her film debut in 1949′s Pinky, and often played a maid in 1950s films such as The Girl Can’t Help It. In the 1960s and ’70s, she played a nun in The Singing Nun and appeared in films including Uptight and The Mack.
Though she didn’t work often through the 1980s, she began appearing onscreen again in later years on TV shows such as E.R. and Judging Amy and in films such as Disney’s The Kid. In addition to her grandson, she is survived by two nephews. To learn more about her life and career, click here. article by Pat Saperstein via Variety.com; additions by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
According to 