Steve Pond's Blog, page 2011
January 16, 2020
Leslie Jones Boycotted the Comedy Cellar Over Louis CK
Leslie Jones was so upset that The Comedy Cellar allowed Louis C.K. to perform there just nine months after he admitted to sexually harassing younger female comics that she the boycotted New York comedy institution.
The former “Saturday Night Live” star Jones told the New York Times in an interview published Thursday that she spoke to the Cellar’s management to express her disappointment, but noted her decision to stay away was a personal decision. “I knew girls, and they got to walk into the club and see him talking to the owner. That ain’t cool,” she said.
For months, she performed instead at The Comic Strip. “They took his picture down,” Jones told the Times about The Comic Strip. “Mine’s up.”
Jones told the Times she eventually resumed appearances at the Cellar, but suggested she’s willing to take similar stances in the future. “I am at the age when I will get off the boat and get on another damn boat,” she said.
In 2017, C.K. admitted to forcing younger female comics to watch him masturbate, confirming years of rumors. At the time he said in a statement he was stepping back from his career to “listen” and learn. However, he began taking the stage at The Comedy Cellar the following summer.
His appearances sparked widespread criticism, along with some protests and walkouts, but major names in comedy largely remained silent about it.
Read the whole interview here.
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Recording Academy CEO Deborah Dugan Put on Administrative Leave Amid Investigation of ‘Misconduct’
Less than a year after taking the job, Recording Academy president and CEO Deborah Dugan has been placed on administrative leave as the organization investigates “a formal allegation of misconduct by a senior female member of the Recording Academy team.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, which first reported the news, Dugan stepped down entirely after being placed on leave. The move comes less than two weeks before the 2020 Grammy Awards.
“In light of concerns raised to the Recording Academy Board of Trustees, including a formal allegation of misconduct by a senior female member of the Recording Academy team, the Board has placed Recording Academy President and CEO Deborah Dugan on administrative leave, effective immediately,” the organization said in a internal memo first published in full by Variety.
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“The Board has also retained two independent third-party investigators to conduct independent investigations of the allegations. The Board determined this action to be necessary in order to restore the confidence of the Recording Academy’s Membership, repair Recording Academy employee morale, and allow the Recording Academy to focus on its mission of serving all music creators,” the memo continues. “Board Chair Harvey Mason Jr. will serve as interim President and CEO pending the conclusion of the investigation. The Recording Academy Board of Trustees is committed to fostering a safe, diverse, and inclusive workplace, music industry, and society.”
Details about the accusation of misconduct have not been made public. Representatives for the Recording Academy did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap.
Dugan was the first woman to serve in the Grammy Awards organization’s top job. She replaced Neil Portnow, who had served in the role since 2002 but stepped down in 2018 after an open letter from a group of female music executives called for his resignation. The group cited the lack of female representation at the 2018 Grammy Awards, and Portnow’s comments during the post-ceremony press conference where he said that women need to “step up” if they want to improve the gender imbalance in the music industry.
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Colbert Turns Into His Own Meme to Celebrate Lev Parnas Implicating Trump in Ukraine Scandal (Video)
On Thursday’s “The Late Show,” Stephen Colbert didn’t have a lot to say about several bombshell interviews with indicted Rudy Guiliani associate Lev Parnas the day before. But he didn’t have to, because he said everything when he recreated one of the most commonly used Stephen Colbert memes.
Like a lot of people, Colbert watched Rachel Maddow’s ratings cash cow of an interview with Parnas, who is accused of being involved in Trump’s attempts to pressure the Ukrainian government to investigate former vice president Joe Biden’s son. Parnas was indicted on campaign finance charges in October 2019.
“And last night, Parnas gave a bunch of interviews outlining the president’s involvement, and they were juicy” Colbert said during his monologue. “So I hope you guys are standing by with that popcorn gif of me.” He was referring to this gif, captured from an episode of “The Colbert Report.”
Colbert then rolled a clip from Maddow’s interview, in which Parnas said: “President Trump knew exactly what was going on. He was aware of all of my movements. I wouldn’t do anything without the consent of Rudy Giuliani and the president.”
Then, after the clip ended the camera turned back to Colbert, who was suddenly dressed up as a recreation of his gif, only holding a giant box of popcorn. It’s funny stuff, and you can watch it below:
TONIGHT: Who is the latest Trump associate to flip? His name is Lev Parnas and he is ready to sing! #LSSC pic.twitter.com/QJx8hvwX4c
— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) January 17, 2020
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Here’s What ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’ Host Chris Tarrant Said to Michael Sheen After He Played Him in AMC’s ‘Quiz’
Michael Sheen went all-in to portray “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” host Chris Tarrant, whom he called one of the most recognizable faces in British broadcasting, but the actor says Tarrant himself was less than thrilled at the casting.
“I didn’t meet Tarrant until I was going to an event in London not that long ago — way after we’d finished,” Sheen said at the Television Critics Association press tour on Thursday. “I was having a photograph taken, and I hear this voice going ‘You look nothing like me!'”
“I turn around and there’s Chris Tarrant,” he continued. “Who is already this incredibly recognizable face and voice, but now because I’ve been watching him so much, is like a ghost appeared in real life. Or like an alien.”
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Sheen plays Tarrant in the three-part AMC miniseries “Quiz,” which stars “Succession’s” Matthew Macfadyen and “Fleabag’s” Sian Clifford as Major Charles Ingram and Diana Ingram, the husband and wife duo who were accused to conspiring to cheat on the U.K. version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”
Sheen said part of his process, aside from the extremely convincing hair and makeup, was to go back and watch as many episodes of “Millionaire” and footage of Tarrant as he could. He also watched the specific Charles Ingram episodes “over and over and over and over and over again.”
“The more I watched those episodes, the more I realized how brilliant Tarrant was,” Sheen said. “I think we know he was brilliant at it because he was such a huge success and he was so loved doing it, but watching it really forensically and to see just what he’s doing there — I mean, he’s kinda running the show.”
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“He’s sort of got all the timings,” Sheen said. “He’s sort of like this extraordinary conductor. I had a newfound respect for what he’s doing there and how he made that work.”
Sheen said he and Tarrant had a “nice little chat” after that initial encounter but he isn’t sure whether or not the host had a chance to watch the series yet.
If not, he can watch the show when it premieres on AMC on Monday, May 25 on AMC.
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Facebook Watch Cancels ‘Sorry for Your Loss’ and ‘Limetown’
Facebook has canceled its Facebook Watch original series “Sorry for Your Loss,” which stars Elizabeth Olsen, and “Limetown,” starring Jessica Biel, an individual with knowledge of the situation tells TheWrap.
“Limetown” aired one season, while “Sorry for Your Loss” had two. According to Deadline, which first reported that the shows have been canceled, “Sorry for Your Loss” is being shopped around to other outlets.
Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap, but Deadline reports that the cancellations are the beginning of a push away from scripted series at Facebook Watch in favor of unscripted shows.
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However, Facebook Watch still plans to release scripted series already in development. Scripted shows currently planned for Facebook Watch include Season 3 of “The Real Bros of Simi Valley,” and a second season of “Sacred Lies,” a Blumhouse Television series starring Juliette Lewis, Ryan Kwanten, Jordan Alexander and Kristen Bauer.
Among Facebook Watch’s recent unscripted productions is a revival of Steve Harvey’s daytime talk show. Titled “Steve on Watch,” the show was announced six months after NBCUniversal canceled Harvey’s self-titled talk show in May. Facebook Watch also produced a revival of the seminal MTV reality series “The Real World,” which premiered last summer.
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Hank Azaria on Future of ‘Brockmire': ‘I Bet We Find Some Other Life for It’
Hank Azaria’s IFC comedy “Brockmire” may be coming to an end with its fourth and final season in March, but the actor isn’t ready to say goodbye to Jim Brockmire’s voice just yet.
“I’ll still do [the voice], believe me. I’ve been doing it since I was 15 years old, I’m not going to stop now,” Azaria told TheWrap Thursday at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour in Pasadena. “I bet we find some other life for it, whether it’s a podcast or another version of a weird show.”
“Brockmire” is based on the viral video from Funny or Die that featured Azaria as sportscaster Jim Brockmire, who suffers a hilarious public breakdown following his wife’s infidelity. The IFC series picked up Brockmire’s story a decade later as he tries to recapture his former glory.
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“I go into the booth for ESPN once a year as Brockmire,” Azaria continued. “I’ll still mess around with it. You know, more like for fun. But I’m open to the idea of finding another life for it, if we can figure it out. I always wanted to do like a foul-mouth four-camera show, like you know, a live audience. ‘Brockmire’ would be hilarious. Imagine this sensibility with this kind of foul language and content but for a live audience, like a sitcom type atmosphere. That might be fun to try someday.”
The series is written and developed by Joel Church-Cooper. This season Azaria, Church-Cooper and Funny Or Die’s Farah and Joe Farrell are executive producers. Mo Marable is also an executive producer and series director.
Season 4 of “Brockmire” premieres March 18 on IFC.
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‘Weathering With You’ Film Review: Cloudbursts Can’t Drown Love in Romantic Anime
Soaked with climate-altering passion, Makoto Shinkai’s new animated spectacle “Weathering With You” once again pits two young lovers against forces beyond their control, treading similar waters as his 2016 global hit “Your Name,” for a thrilling extravaganza of scintillating imagery, uproarious music, and gravity-defying stunts with spiritual panache.
Torrential rain drowns Tokyo like it hasn’t in recent memory, and with every enormous drop that reaches the ground, the city’s dwellers long a little harder for the sunshine of summer. Such inclement conditions welcome 15-year-old Hodaka (voiced by Kotaro Daigo), a small-town dreamer who’s run away from home to the chaotic metropolis.
Necessity propels him to take a live-in job transcribing for a scruffy father figure, Keisuke (Shun Oguri), whose occupation is to write engaging fake news. But his luck changes when he, gun in hand, attempts to defend Hina (Nana Mori), a “sunshine girl” with the power to momentarily stop the downpour.
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Precipitation as a connector for unlikely sweethearts was previously featured in Shinkai’s medium-length effort “The Garden of Words,” a great example of how the director harnesses the elements with evocative impetus to accentuate or externalize innermost sentiments. In “Weathering With You,” Hina’s gift (obtained from a visit to a Shinto shrine) blesses the clients for her mystical services with a respite from the downpour that permits outdoor activities. A permanent solution to this weather crisis, however, will come only with a major sacrifice that neither she nor the infatuated Hodaka can fathom.
Cityscapes overflow with superb detail so densely and exquisitely packed into every shot that even the dew on surfaces glimmers. The excellent production design reflects the obsessive care Shinkai has always displayed for the depiction of liquids and radiance in his realms.
Light beams illuminate objects and buildings whenever the clouds disperse, charging the screen with a celestial aura. Sun-dappled horizons contrast with merciless rainfall, making us and the characters appreciate more intensely the miracle of a clear day. In real life, witnessing skies as glorious as the ones the film’s team fashioned could overwhelm one with their magnificence.
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A faux-musical trapped in a quasi-music video (and that’s a compliment), “Weathering With You” reunites its maker with Radwimps, the Japanese band behind “Your Name’s” now cherished songs. For this collaboration, the tracks continue to speak for the couple with lyrics that verbalize their come-what-may type of relationship.
Thanks to the creator’s decision to subtitle these melodic messages, their significance travels across language. Rather similar to the emotional pieces created for the previous anime feature, these pop gems care not for subtly mirroring the general approach to this fantastical teen drama.
A lover of high-stakes finales, Shinkai doesn’t skimp on the setbacks he buries as landmines along his heroes’ road to happiness. Hodaka’s tears are nearly as incessant as the heavy showers washing over the Japanese capital. As the police pursue him to return him to his parents, and Hina’s body fades into transparency for the greater good, he loses sight of his own safety in pursuit of companionship.
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As a bloodied Hodaka vehemently claws and bites in the name of sincere adoration, his desperation turns infectious. We can’t help but root for his cause, even when the ending reaches peak dramatic excess with a sublime fall from heaven to earth. More grounded in true hardship is Hina’s secretive lifestyle in order to prevent being separated from her precious younger brother Nagisa (Sakura Kiryu). The awful weather she can control at least partially, but her familial devotion is a tempest she can’t dismiss with her supernatural gift.
Far from making a concrete statement about global warming and its quantifiable effects, Shinkai seems instead to make a case for an idealistic hope: Even if entire communities are eventually submerged under the ocean, having one’s object of affection close by will empower us to weather even the most apocalyptic storm. It’s not scientifically sound, but risking the fate of humanity for the sake of a beloved individual is as selfishly lovey-dovey as it gets.
It’s messaging that could be construed as problematic, if interpreted as Shinkai’s refusal to address a crisis; in keeping with the anime superstar’s other stories, the plot, like the protagonists, may truly be concerned only with the heartfelt goal of defeating loneliness.
As irresistibly romantic as it is awe-inspiringly gorgeous, “Weathering With You” on the whole satisfies the craving for more of what “Your Name” ignited in viewers, yet with slightly less impact. Aside from the narrative tightness missing here and at work in “Your Name,” despite how elliptically it transpires, there’s also a bias that’s sure to affect reception of any of Shinkai’s future projects.
Assuming that most audiences and critics weren’t familiar with his oeuvre prior to “Your Name,” that film has now become the barometer against which all of his subsequent directorial endeavors will be unfairly measured. But an imperfect offering from a titan of the medium still easily defeats most of the soulless cash-grabs that studios market as cinematic nannies for young moviegoers.
Keep an eye out for cameos by “Your Name’s” leads. Now that we have the certainty that both films’ realities exist in the same timeline, Hodaka and Hina should plan a double date with Taki and Mitsuha to share anecdotes on overcoming force majeure to stay together for a crossover sequel: “Weathering with Your Name.”
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Roland Emmerich Signs China Distribution Deal for ‘Moonfall’ With Huayi Brothers
Roland Emmerich has signed a deal with Huayi Brothers to distribute his next film, “Moonfall,” in China, the company announced on Thursday.
Huayi Brothers’ Dennis and James Wang will also serve as executive producers on the sci-fi film, which follows a last-ditch attempt to stop the moon from colliding with Earth after a mysterious force knocks it out of orbit. Emmerich is directing from a script by himself, Harald Kloser and Spenser Cohen.
Emmerich is producing Moonfall under his Centropolis banner with Kloser producing through
his company, Street Entertainment. Ute Emmerich, Stuart Ford, J.P. Pettinato, Carsten Lorenz, and
Marco Shepherd are all listed as executive producers.
“We believe that the most effective way to facilitate worldwide cultural exchange is in collaboration with top artists, and this project marks a milestone for us as a solid content creator in the international film business,” James Wang said in a statement. “Moonfall reinforces Huayi’s strategy of integrating global resources and exploring innovative ways to promote Chinese culture internationally.”
“Moonfall” will use the same independent financing strategy that Emmerich used on his latest film, the WWII epic “Midway” by using equity funding raised by Emmerich’s Centropolis with the assistance of CAA Media Finance and Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios, who oversaw the deal with Huayi Brothers. Huayi Brothers and Lionsgate, the latter of whom handled U.S. and U.K. distribution for “Midway,” will assist with marketing and distribution for “Moonfall.”
CAA reps the filmmakers. For Huayi Brothers, Josh Hu oversaw the Moonfall deal with Stephen
Saltzman of law firm Paul Hastings; JP Pettinato, Marco Shepherd and attorney Richard
Thompson of Goodman Schenkman & Brecheen, LLP negotiated on behalf of Centropolis
Entertainment; and AGC’s President of Worldwide Distribution Michael Rothstein and Vice
President of Business and Legal Affairs Anant Tamirisa negotiated the deal for AGC
International.
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Cate Blanchett Named President of Venice International Film Festival Competition Jury
Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett has been named president of the International Jury of the Competition at the 77th Venice International Film Festival in September.
La Biennale di Venezia, the organization behind the festival, made the announcement Thursday.
“Every year I look expectantly to the selection at Venice and every year it is surprising and distinct. Venice is one of the most atmospheric film festivals in the world – a celebration of the provocative and inspirational medium that is cinema in all its forms. It is a privilege and a pleasure to be this year’s jury president,” Blanchett said in a statement.
Festival director Alberto Barbera commented, “Cate Blanchett is not just an icon of contemporary cinema, courted by the greatest directors of the past twenty years and adored by moviegoers of every kind. Her commitment in the artistic and humanitarian fields and to the protection of the environment, as well as her defense of the emancipation of women in a film industry still coming to terms with male prejudice, have made her an inspiration for society as a whole. Her immense talent as an actress, combined with her unique intelligence and sincere passion for cinema, are the ideal qualities for a Jury President. It will be a great pleasure to welcome her to Venice again in this new capacity, after having applauded her magnificent performances in the films ‘Elizabeth’ by Shekhar Kapur and ‘I’m Not There’ by Todd Haynes, which won her the Coppa Volpi as Best Actress in 2007.”
Last year, “Joker” from director Todd Phillips won the Golden Lion, and “J’Accuse,” or “An Officer and a Spy,” from director Roman Polanski won the Grand Jury Prize, the festival’s runner up prize.
The jury was led by Lucrecia Martel, along with Mary Harron (replacing Jennifer Kent), Piers Handling, Stacy Martin, Rodrigo Prieto, Tsukamoto Shinya and Paolo Virzi rounding out the jury.
This year’s Venice Film Festival runs from September 2-12.
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‘Punky Brewster’ Revival Ordered to Series at NBCU’s Peacock Streaming Service
The “Punky Brewster” revival has been ordered to series at Peacock, the upcoming streaming service from NBCUniversal.
Soleil Moon Frye will reprise her original role from the 1980s NBC sitcom, playing the main character — but now, she’s a single mother of three trying to get her life back on track when she meets a young girl who reminds her a lot of her younger self. Also returning from the original series is Cherie Johnson as Punky’s best friend, Cherie.
The first season will consist of 10 episodes.
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“I am beyond thrilled and honored to be bringing Punky back! I’m grateful to our NBCUniversal Content Studios and Peacock family and to our incredible team of creators, writers, producers, cast and crew that have put their hearts into this journey every step of the way,” said Frye. “It is with great love for the amazing people who were such a pivotal part of creating the Punky magic that I will do my very best to honor their memory as we once again share Punky with the people that love her and a new generation discovering her for the first time. To our incredible fans who have stood by us, thank you for believing in me and I will do my best to make you proud. I love you. Punky Power forever!”
The revival also stars Quinn Copeland, Lauren Donzis, Oliver De Los Santos and Noah Cottrell. Freddie Prinze Jr. will guest star in the pilot as Punky’s ex-husband.
Frye will executive produce along with original series creator David Duclon, Steve and Jim Armogida, who also write, and Jimmy Fox of Main Event Media. UCP will produce. Jonathan Judge directed and executive produced the pilot.
Comcast is holding an investor day presentation at its 30 Rockafeller Center headquarters in New York on Thursday afternoon to formally unveil Peacock. “Punky Brewster” joins fellow Peacock originals including “Brave New World,” “Dr. Death,” “Battlestar Galacatica,” a new “Psych” movie, the third season of “A.P. Bio” and a “Saved by the Bell” reboot.
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