Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts tagged as “Mark Wahlberg”

Issa Rae’s ‘Insecure’ and Dwayne Johnson’s ‘Ballers’ Series Both Renewed by HBO

By goodblacknews on September 6, 2018

by Daniel Holloway via Variety.com

HBO has renewed “Insecure” for a fourth season and fellow comedy series “Ballers” for a fifth season.

The renewals come nearly a month after the two series returned for new seasons Aug. 12 on HBO and its digital platforms.

Created by Issa Rae and Larry Wilmore, “Insecure” follows the friendship of two women dealing with their own real-life flaws while attempting to navigate different worlds and cope with an endless series of uncomfortable everyday experiences. Issa Rae, Yvonne Orji, Lisa Joyce, Natasha Rothwell, Amanda Seales and Y’lan Noel star.

Executive producers are Rae, Prentice Penny, Melina Matsoukas, Michael Rotenberg, Dave Becky, Jonathan Berry, Jim Kleverweis and Dayna Lynne North.

Starring Dwayne Johnson and created by Stephen Levinson, “Ballers” explores the world of pro football through a group of past and present players striving to stay in the game. Johnson plays ex-superstar Spencer Strasmore, who has reinvented himself as a financial manager for today’s players.

Other cast members include John David Washington, Rob Corddry, Omar Benson Miller, Donovan Carter, Troy Garity, London Brown and Brittany S. Hall. Levinson, Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Peter Berg, Rob Weiss, Denis Biggs, Karyn McCarthy and Julian Farino serve as executive producers for the series.

Source: https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/insecure-ballers-1202929924/

The Game Donates $500,000 to Provide Water to Flint, Michigan Residents

By goodblacknews on January 27, 2016
The Game (Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast)

Platinum-selling rapper The Game donated half a million dollars to provide water to Flint, Michigan.  On Tuesday, the Compton rapper posted a picture to his Instagram account of a wire transfer from his charity, the Robin Hood Project, to Avita for half a million bucks. Avita, an artesian alkaline water company, is matching The Game’s $500,000 for a grand total of $1,000,000.

It’s the biggest public celebrity donation so far to Flint, which is in the throes of a federal emergency after it came to light that its water supply contained high levels of lead, poisoning its people. Experts estimate that roughly 8,000 to 9,000 children under the age of six may have suffered permanent brain damage after being exposed to the tainted water. And that’s just the kids.

“It’s obviously a very big deal and a tragedy in Flint, and I saw people donating small amounts, and I just thought I’d go above and beyond that,” says The Game. “So I donated the funds from the first 11 shows of my European tour. Avita matched it and they’ll be one million bottles of water given out—33,000 bottles of water at a time because of trucking and shipping it in and out. It’s not easy shipping it out because of the snowstorms, and trucks being backed up. But we’ll get it there, however long it takes.”
The Game isn’t the only celebrity who’s come onboard to help. Pop legend Cher got the ball rolling, donating 180,000 bottles of water; Mark Wahlberg and Diddy’s AQUAhydrate, joined by Eminem and Wiz Khalifa, pledged one million bottles; Meek Mill donated $50,000; and Madonna and Jimmy Fallon forked over $10,000 apiece.
“What Meek did was very generous, and that’s great. But what I want celebrities to do is to stop saying, ‘I pledge water.’ There are people who get up every morning and say they pledge allegiance to the flag, but don’t really honor it. Talk is cheap,” The Game said.  “So I posted a picture of my wire transfer and I’ll post pictures of the water going into Flint every day until it’s done—not to brag, but to speak to the people who actually want to fix the problem.”
Unlike some of these other celebrities, The Game has a personal connection to the embattled City of Flint.  “My sister lives in Flint with my nieces and nephews and her husband, and so it directly affected me,” he says. “I’ve got friends who are still stuck there, too. I’ve been on tour in Europe for weeks and weeks, and I wanted to do something. I try to do the best I can from wherever I am.”
Through his Robin Hood Project, The Game has donated millions to the less fortunate.  “You know, the thing is man, when I first became a rapper I always said to myself that any amount of money that I acquire past getting me an apartment, a decent car, and the Internet I’d pay it forward,” says The Game.
“Once I accumulated a large amount of finances, I just started giving back randomly. At first I would do it to different places because I didn’t have a charity, then one day I came up with the Robin Hood Project because Robin Hood was my favorite cartoon back in the day—he’d rob from the rich and give to the poor. So I started giving money out of my own pockets. It wasn’t a tax write-off thing. It’s about helping your fellow people and doing the right thing, man.”
article by Marlow Stern via thedailybeast.com

Sean "Diddy" Combs and Mark Wahlberg to Donate 1 Million Bottles of their AQUAhydrate to Flint

By goodblacknews on January 25, 2016

Diddy and wahlberg-20130228-30
Sean “Diddy” Combs and Mark Wahlberg have pledged to donate 1 million bottles of their AQUAhydrate water to the residents of Flint, Michigan, until the city’s water problems are solved. The company says it’s sending 5,000 cases initially by Wednesday, and will continue to provide bottles to residents up to 1 million, reports the Associated Press.
High levels of lead have been detected in Flint’s water since officials switched from the Detroit municipal system and began drawing from the Flint River as a cost-saving measure.
Wahlberg and Combs first invested and became the face of the Los Angeles-based bottled water company in 2013.
Big Sean, Cher, Eminem and Wiz Khalifa are among other celebrities who have pledged support and donations to assist Flint’s water crisis.
Read more at http://www.eurweb.com/2016/01/diddy-donating-1-million-bottles-of-water-to-flint-mi-residents/#5iCdD6TjdmfVDMPJ.99

Dwayne Johnson’s HBO Half-Hour Pilot ‘Ballers’ Picked Up To Series

By goodblacknews on February 16, 2014

dwaynejohnsonDwayne Johnson is headed to HBO‘s primetime. The pay cable network has picked up to series half-hour pilot Ballers toplined by the wrestling and movie star in his first major series gig. He is executive producing the series with his Pain & Gain co-star Mark Wahlberg; Wahlberg’s manager/frequent producing partner Steve Levinson, on whose original idea the project is based; showrunner Even Reilly; and Peter Berg, who directed the pilot.
Written by Levinson in his pilot-writing debut, Ballers is exploring the lives of a group of former and current football players. Johnson stars as Spencer Strasmore, a retired athlete. The cast includes Omar Benson Miller as Charles, an affable former pro athlete who is searching for his next career; Denzel Washington’s son John David Washington as Ricky, a highly competitive and highly spiritual pro athlete; Rob Corddry as Joe, a financial advisor who tries really hard to fit in; Troy Garity as Jason, a top-tier sports agent; Donovan Carter as Vernon, a deeply family-oriented pro athlete; Jazmyn Simon as Julie, wife of an ex-pro athlete; Taylor Cole as Michaels, an ESPN sideline reporter who is romantically involved with Spencer; and LeToya Luckett as Tina, widow to one of Spencer’s closest friends.
The series pickup for Ballers, which will start production later this year, comes on the heels of the series order on Tuesday of another half-hour project with marquee stars from a top director and producer, The Brink, starring Jack Black and Tim Robbins. Jay Roach, who directed the pilot, and Jerry Weintraub are executive producing. Both series have been touted as capable of attracting broad audiences, something Johnson already has done in primetime as his WWE alter ego The Rock and on the big screen. He next reprises his role on the Fast & Furious 7 movie, whose production has been delayed by the death of star Paul Walker, and also has feature Hercules and TNT reality series Wake Up Call coming up.

"Ride Along" Tops Box Office for 2nd Week in a Row with $21.2M Take

By goodblacknews on January 26, 2014

Kevin Hart and Ice Cube
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

  1. Ride Along (2): $21.2; 2,759; $7,670; $75.4; -49%
  2. Lone Survivor (5): $12.6; 3,162; $3,985; $93.6; -43%
  3. The Nut Job (2): $12.3; 3,472; $3,547; $40.3; -37%
  4. Frozen (10): $9.0; 2,757; $3,277; $347.8; -23%
  5. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2): $8.8; 3,387; $2,598; $30.2; -43%
  6. I, Frankenstein (1): $8.3; 2,753; $3,006; $8.3; –
  7. American Hustle (7): $7.1; 2,304; $3,082; $127.0; -28%
  8. August: Osage County (5): $5.0; 2,411; $2,091; $26.5; -32%
  9. The Wolf of Wall Street (5): $5.0; 1,804; $2,772; $98.0; -29%
  10. Devil’s Due (2): $2.8; 2,544; $1,081; $12.9; -67%

article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

Denzel Washington's "2 Guns" Tops Weekend Box Office with $27.4 Million

By goodblacknews on August 5, 2013

2guns2 Guns, a buddy cop comedy-thriller featuring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg, was the top weekend film in U.S. and Canadian theaters, collecting $27.4 million for Universal Pictures. (CMCSA).  A tale of undercover lawmen trying to catch a drug kingpin, 2 Guns taps the bickering buddy movie formula successfully mined by Hollywood in films such as Lethal Weapon and marks the seventh No. 1 weekend opening this year for Universal, part of Comcast Corp.  “The chemistry is obvious in the film,” Nikki Rocco, president of distribution for Universal Pictures, said in an interview. “Hopefully, it finds its own life in a marketplace that’s very crowded.”
Washington plays Drug Enforcement Administration agent Bobby Trench, while Wahlberg is cast as U.S. naval intelligence officer Marcus Stigman. The two reluctantly work undercover as members of a narcotics syndicate. When their attempt to infiltrate a Mexican drug cartel goes haywire, they are disavowed by their superiors and can only count on each other.  “This is a business where being No. 1 is always wonderful,” Rocco said. “It’s nice to be on a roll.”
Returning film The Wolverine was second with $21.7 million and The Smurfs 2, a family feature combining animation with live action, opened with $18.2 million in receipts for Sony Corp. (6758) to place third.
article via bloomberg.com

New Denzel Washington Trailer for Action-Comedy "2 Guns" (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on March 29, 2013