article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
According to Variety.com, Cube Vision, rapper, actor and producer Ice Cube’s production company, has signed a comprehensive first-look deal with 20th Century Fox TV and Fox 21 Television Studios.
The two-year deal sets up Cube Vision to develop projects for broadcast, cable, and digital outlets. Ice Cube has brought in manager Jeff Kwatinetz to run Cube Vision’s TV production. Cube and Kwatinetz will both executive produce on the projects, which will run the gamut from traditional comedy and drama to animation and reality.
Under the deal, Fox also gets access to Cube Vision’s music library to use in its existing shows.
“It’s hard to think of a more multidimensional artist than Ice Cube, whose influence on the culture and enormous talent is virtually unrivaled,” Fox Television Group chairmen and CEOs Dana Walden and Gary Newman said. “We’ve been dying to be in business with him for years, and we think the combination of Cube and his incredibly talented producing partner Jeff Kwatinetz is going to result in some very compelling television.”
Cube echoed the sentiments. “I’m very happy and excited to work with the talented and creative people at Fox,” he said. “Their ability to bring groundbreaking television of every type through both cable and broadcast makes them the perfect partner for Cube Vision.”
Ice Cube is one of the executive producers behind VH1’s “Hollywood Squares” reboot “Hip Hop Squares”, and will next be seen in the New Line film “Fist Fight” opposite Charlie Day on Feb. 17.
“Straight Outta Compton” may take place more than two decades ago, but its themes of racial tension, poverty and police brutality still speak to moviegoers living in a post-Ferguson world.
The biopic about rap group N.W.A. debuted to a blistering $56.1 million this weekend in 2,757 theaters, surpassing “American Pie 2” to become the biggest-ever August debut for an R-rated movie. It’s the kind of opening usually reserved for so-called tentpole movies that trade in costumed heroes and special effects, not urban violence.
“The movie tapped into something in our culture and that made it more of a must-see,” said Phil Contrino, vice president and chief analyst at BoxOffice.com.
Its debut nearly doubles “Straight Outta Compton’s” budget of $29 million in a single weekend, meaning the film could be among the most profitable releases of the summer. N.W.A members Ice Cube and Dr. Dre helped produce the film about the early days of gansta rap and were integral to its marketing campaign.
Universal, the studio behind the music biopic, has been having a year for the ages, as a steady stream of hits such as “Jurassic World,” “Fifty Shades of Grey,” “Pitch Perfect 2,” “Furious 7” and “Minions” have pushed its grosses to record heights. Legendary Pictures co-financed “Straight Outta Compton.”
“Straight Outta Compton’s” success overshadowed the weekend’s other new release, Warner Bros.’ “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” The stylish action-adventure wilted at the megaplexes, bringing in an etiolated $13.5 million from 3,638 theaters. That’s a particularly rough start considering that “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” cost a sizable $75 million to produce.
Universal domestic distribution chief Nick Carpou labeled “Straight Outta Compton” as a “labor of love” that benefited from being dramatically different from the kind of films flooding cinemas in recent months.
“The public was ready for something with a bit more substance that they could identify with,” he said.
The film’s opening weekend crowd was 52% female, 51% under the age of 30, 46% African-American, 23% Caucasian, 21% Hispanic and 4% Asian. It did not play in Imax or 3D, but did score in premium large format locations, where it grossed $5.1 million, representing 9% of the film’s weekend receipts.
In second place, Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” continued to get a lift from strong word-of-mouth, picking up $17 million in its third weekend. That brings the fifth film in the spy franchise’s North American haul to $138.1 million.
Fox’s “Fantastic Four” dropped steeply in its second weekend, falling nearly 70% from its debut and mustering a paltry $8 million. The film ranks as one of the biggest comicbook movie flops in history, having earned a meagre $42 million Stateside.
STX Entertainment’s “The Gift” rounded out the top five, earning $6.5 million this weekend and pushing its domestic total to $23.6 million.
Final numbers are still being tallied, but it looks as though “Straight Outta Compton” will bolster ticket sales over the year-ago period when “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” were drawing the biggest crowds. article by Brett Lang via Variety.com
Photo via slashfilm.com The reviews so far have been great,Dr. Dre has already dropped his well-received companion album, and Variety.compredicts theF. Gary Gray-directed“Straight Outta Compton” is will open to over $40 million on box office receipts this weekend. Made on a $29 million budget, “Compton” is already looking like the sleeper hit of the summer. According tothegrio.com, directorGray (“Friday”, “Set It Off”, “The Italian Job”) teamed up with remaining members of the historic west coast rap group, Ice Cube, DJ Yella, Dre and MC Ren, (Eazy-E died in 1995) to tell the ups and downs of their incredible story. The film, named for the title track on N.W.A.’s 1988 debut album, stars Ice Cube’s son, O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Ice Cube), as well as Jason Mitchell (Eazy-E), Corey Hawkins (Dr. Dre), Neil Brown Jr. (DJ Yella) and Aldis Hodge (MC Ren). A large part of the appeal of the film that is reaching beyond the built-in fanbase of N.W.A. is the timeliness of the subject and subject matter in the wake of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland and continued revelations and exposés of nationwide police brutality and racism. While “F**k The Police” stirred controversy when initially released, today it can be heard as prescient protest. When asked how N.W.A. would respond to the social commentary of today, Gray thinks the revolutionary rap group would respond to #BlackLivesMatter similarly to how they reacted to what they were experiencing nearly 30 years ago. “Probably the same way they did back then. They were pretty frustrated. They spoke their mind,” he said. “They were honest about it, and I think they would respond the same way. ‘Hey listen it’s time to change. It’s time for a change.’” When it comes to hip-hop artists today, Gary, as well as Ice Cube, DJ Yella and O’Shea Jackson Jr., feel fellow Compton native Kendrick Lamar is truly influential and follows closely in the big footsteps that N.W.A. created. “It’s hard to duplicate N.W.A., but I like what Kendrick Lamar is doing,” said Gary. “I like what J. Cole is doing. These guys are conscious, and at least I know Kendrick is from the streets of Compton and stuff like that, so they’re authentic. And I think a lot of that comes from the N.W.A. or at least era.” Straight Outta Compton opens in theaters this Friday, August 14. Check out the trailer below:
by Lesa Lakin, GBN Lifestyle Editor
It’s August, and summer is almost over, but I’m always on the hunt for fun entertaining things to do, read, watch and… enjoy! Here’s a few listed below: IN ART August 25th October 27th Muse by artist Mickalene Thomas
This gorgeous book is at the top of my list. It explores Mickalene’s inspiration of African American female beauty and identity through her photographs. We get lots of inspiring 70’s-themed shots.http://mickalenethomas.com
Serena will compete in the U.S. Open and may just make make tennis history.
IN TELEVISION August 5th
NBC premieres Mr. Robinson starring Craig Robinson as a musician (lead singer and keyboardist of the funk band Nasty Delicious) who takes a job as a high school substitute teacher to pay the bills. Craig is moved to inspire the kids. This sounds like a pretty cool premise promising lots of laughter.http://www.nbc.com/mr-robinson
July 30 L.A. Hair star Kim Kimble Thursdays, catch the new season L.A. Hair on WE tv with celebrity stylist Kim Kimble and her staff. Famed hair stylist Jonathan Antin reappears this season looking to break into the lucrative world of wigs and extensions.http://www.wetv.com/shows/la-hairhttp://kimblehairstudio.com IN CINEMA
August 7th Fantastic Four
Michael B. Jordan joins Miles Teller, Kate Mara and Jamie Bell as four young outsiders who acquire superhuman abilities after a trip to an alternative universe. Check out the trailer here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAgnQdiZFsQ
August 14th Straight Outta Compton
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been looking forward to this one for a while. The F. Gary Gray-directed film about the revolutionary rap legends N.W.A. is steadily gaining rave reviews. Click here for the trailer:http://www.straightouttacompton.com/#/ IN MUSIC
August brings us Erykah Badu!
Odd Future member and solo artist and all-around talented guy begins his second leg of the U.S. world tour this month and I can’t wait to see him!http://earlsweatshirt.com
It’s been a minute since Method Man has released a solo effort. He’s done tons of collaborations but this will be the first album he has put out in a decade. This 5th solo effort proves to be worth the wait.
August 22 -23rd
FYF Festival
Los Angeles-based annual festival featuring music performances from indie and alternative bands. Frank Ocean, Morrissey and Solange are among the many premiere acts.
August 28th
The Weeknd – Beauty Behind the Madness
Finally! The highly-anticipated album is coming out this month.
According to Variety.com, Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced an eclectic lineup of nominees for 2014 induction today, including rap acts LLCoolJ and N.W.A., disco band Chic and New Orleans funk group the Meters. Other newly-anointed candidates include Chicago’s blues-rocking Paul Butterfield Blues Band, British hard rock act Deep Purple, U.K. singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel, blue-eyed soul duo Hall & Oates, costumed Detroit metal act KISS, Seattle grunge icons Nirvana, Minneapolis’ shambolic punks the Replacements, vocalist Linda Ronstadt, singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, pathfinding guitarist Link Wray, Brit prog-rock kings Yes, and ‘60s British Invasion group the Zombies. Stevens, LL Cool J, Butterfield Blues Band, Chic, Deep Purple, KISS, N.W.A. and the Meters are all repeat nominees; it is the first time in the running for the remainder of the field. Gabriel is already a member of the Rock Hall via his association with Genesis, inducted in 2010. The induction ceremony is set for April in New York, and will be presented on HBO in May. Inductees are select by a panel of 600 music biz authorities, including musicians, execs and writers. Beginning today through Dec. 10, fans can vote online at rockhall.com/vote; the top five vote recipients will constitute a “fan’s ballot” counting toward the final vote tally. article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson