Shanice Williams Cast A Dorothy In NBC’s ‘The Wiz Live!’

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August 5, 2015

Rising star Shanice Williams, an 18-year-old New Jersey native who has been raised and trained in musical theater, is the new Dorothy in NBC’s upcoming holiday production of “The Wiz Live!,” set for Thursday, Dec. 3.

Williams was selected out of hundreds of applicants nationwide who had auditioned to portray the iconic role of a Kansas farm girl who gets swept up in a tornado and is sent to the mysterious land of Oz.

With five years of musical training that also includes extensive dance and piano, Williams has co-starred in several local productions, including “West Side Story,” “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” “42nd Street,” “Seussical” and “Pippin.”

Last year Williams was nominated for best leading actress in a musical at the Paper Mill Playhouse’s annual Rising Star Awards.

Michael Jackson – You Can’t Win – The Wiz

NBC recently raised the project’s star quotient in a big way by adding multi-award winners and A-list stars Queen Latifah and Mary J. Blige to the telecast.

Queen Latifah stars as the Wiz, the mysterious and powerful wizard who holds the keys to the Emerald City, but whose metamorphosis from ordinary to extraordinary is itself a hoax. She rose to her lofty position after being transported by accident to Oz in a hot air balloon during a snowstorm.

Mary J. Blige will play Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West, who holds sway over the Winkies and the Winged Monkeys that do her bidding. She captures Dorothy and her friends to avenge the unintentional murder of her evil sister, Evvamean, and to get back the powerful silver slippers given to Dorothy by the Good Witch of the North.

David Alan Grier will play the Cowardly Lion, who asks Dorothy if he can join her in her journey down the Yellow Brick Road and ask the Wiz for some courage, which he is severely lacking.

Stephanie Mills was previously announced to portray Auntie Em in “The Wiz Live!” Mills is best known to many for playing Dorothy in the original Broadway production of “The Wiz.”

“The Wiz Live!” is adapted from “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum, with a book by William F. Brown, and music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls. The production opened on Broadway in 1975 at the Majestic Theatre and won seven Tonys, including Best Musical.

Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (“The Sound of Music Live!,” “Peter Pan Live!,” Oscar-winning “Chicago”) will executive produce. Kenny Leon (Tony winner, “A Raisin in the Sun”) is stage director and Matthew Diamond is TV director, with Harvey Fierstein (three-time Tony winner, “Torch Song Trilogy,” “Hairspray” and “La Cage aux Folles”) providing new written material.

Esteemed choreographer Fatima Robinson (“Dreamgirls,” “Ali”) is also on board, along with music producer Harvey Mason Jr. (“Dreamgirls, “Pitch Perfect 2”) and Stephen Oremus (“The Book of Mormon,” “Kinky Boots”) as music director, orchestrator and co-producer of the music.

“The Wiz Live!” is produced by Universal Television in association with Cirque Du Soleil Theatrical.

Source: NBC Media

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Review: ‘Ricki and The Flash’ Is an Ambiguous Hodgepodge

By

Dewey Singleton - Film Critic

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August 5, 2015

I’m sure the premise for Ricki and the Flash made a lot of sense to a lot of people. You have a mother who abandons her husband and kids to pursue her rock and roll fantasy, only to come home to a family in turmoil. Throw in a couple of family meltdowns and redemption moments and presto! You’ve got a great story. However, often what was envisioned and what we end up with can be two different things.

Writer Diablo Cody and Director Johnathan Demme assemble what amounts to be a box of spare parts. And the parts are plentiful; they almost have the makings of something that resemble layered characters, but the result is, ultimately, a very disappointing movie.

The role of Ricki Rendazzo, on the surface, must have looked like an amazing opportunity for Meryl Streep to showcase her talents. But one can only do so much with a role that was written inconsistently, and forces Streep to wear hideous fake braids that are reminiscent of Ewan Mcgregor in The Phantom Menace. Streep is, without question, one of the most gifted of all actresses, and she is believable in just about anything she does on screen. However, even Streep has limitations; she can’t pull this one off.

Decades after ditching her family to attempt to make it big in Los Angeles, Ricki gets a call from her ex-husband Pete (Kevin Kilne) to return to the Midwest to visit their daughter Julie (Mamie Gummer – her real life daughter), who’s suicidal after being abandoned by her husband. This allows Ricki to catch up with her sons: Adam (Nick Westrate) who’s gay and loathes his mother and Josh (Sebastian Stan of Captain America: The Winter Soldier) who’s about to be married and doesn’t want his mother to attend the wedding. Oh, did I mention that at that moment in the film, for no apparent reason, we learn that Ricki is this ultra-conservative? Yep, makes a ton of sense to me too.

This movie appears to be one where the main character is supposed to transform from being bitter/broken to being adored by everyone. Diablo Cody manages to take a very formulaic plot and turn the film into a mystifying collection of pretense. Instead of adoring Ricki toward the end of film, I found myself hyper-focused on just how selfish her character was. Casting Meryl Streep as a hard-on-her-luck rocker makes as much sense as hiring me to be a spokesperson for hair products.

Diablo Cody seems so focused on fitting in all these loose ideas into the plot that she masks the obvious holes in the script by having these long musical interludes of Ricki (Meryl Streep) and her boyfriend ( Rick Springfield) rocking out. At first you think, “wow … Streep is good,” but after seeing it a dozen times you are thinking, “Okay… I get it… she can sing.” Under normal circumstances I would probably write that the repetitious nature of the musical numbers took away from the plot but that of course would mean that Ricki and the Flash had some sort discernible plot.

Ricki and the Flash is a band not worth listening to.

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Lance Gross Wants To Be A Green Lantern

By

Matthew Sardo

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August 5, 2015

Lance Gross wants to be a Green Lantern in Warner Bros’ Green Lantern Corps., and what better way to tell the world than with Instagram. The actor posted a very leafy Green Lantern symbol on his account with the quote “In Brightest Day.” Gross is best known for the TV series House of Payne.

Green Lantern Corps. comes out June 19, 2020.

In Brightest Day

A photo posted by lancegross (@lancegross) on Aug 1, 2015 at 5:41pm PDT

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The ‘Deadpool’ Red-Band Trailer is Here… Finally!

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Larry Taylor - Managing Editor

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August 4, 2015

The Deadpool trailer we all watched from weird angles, with crowd noise and reverb and poor lighting emanating from Hall H at the San Diego Comic Con, finally has its official red band trailer. Ryan Reynolds debuted Deadpool to the world tonight on Conan, and this thing looks even better in hi-res.

Here it is, the trailer, NSFW:

For anyone jumping into this property brand new, here is an official synopsis:

Based upon Marvel Comics’ most unconventional anti-hero, DEADPOOL tells the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life.

The trailer assures fans that Deadpool’s humor will be front and center, along with his violent, skull-cracking tactics. We’ll see if Ryan Reynolds can get himself back in the good graces of fanboy nation when Deadpool hits theaters this February.

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Review: The Gift Shouldn’t be Returned

By

Dewey Singleton - Film Critic

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August 4, 2015

Is Gordo (Joel Edgerton), who works as emcee on trivia night at a local bar, a person who’s willing to let go of the past? Or, is he something or someone much more dangerous? This question hovers over The Gift, a razor-sharp new thriller and a respite for those looking for something other than superheroes in the dog days of summer. The more we learn about Gordo, the more we realize that he’s just a very socially awkward man with a broken heart, but his victims seem to think he’s more of a threat.

The “victims” are Simon (Jason Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall), a married couple freshly relocated from Chicago to Southern California. They are out one day at what looks to be a Pottery Barn when Simon runs into Gordo, a guy he knew from High School. They exchange pleasantries, Simon takes Gordo’s number , and the three go about their day. But then, gifts start showing up at the house, and when the couple doesn’t say thank you in a timely fashion, Gordo stops by for a visit. Even though Simon severs ties with Gordo in an incrediably uncomfortable scene, the needy Gordo refuses to leave them be.

The super fans of this genre are probably saying to themselves they canpredict what is on the horizon.. I’m sure they are all anticipating this movie to take a turn down that Fatal Attraction path, where someone ends up being deranged sociopath and manages to tear the happy family apart with manipulation and violence. I commend Edgerton, who wrote and directed the film as well for going in an entirely different direction. Edgerton peels away the onion layers of each of the main characters rather than resort to simple good versus evil ,and as we quickly learn , these characters are not who appear to be. What was wonderful about The Gift was the more it veered away from a traditional thriller the more compelling the movie became. I applaud Edgerton for creating a film that zigs when the audience expects it to zag.

I can see why Jason Bateman signed on for this movie, attempting to flex his dramatic muscles in a quality screenplay . His serious roles are few and far between, and most of them (Disconnect, The Kingdom) fall flat. Bateman’s smarmy nature is a perfect cover for what we learn later on about Simon. Meanwhile, Rebecca Hall provides the perfect foil to Jason Bateman’s prickly persona .

Edgerton’s cinematography (by Eduard Grau) is utilitarian, not flashy. He does a wonderful job creating the right atmosphere for the film by expressing those subtle visual cues, indicating that someone might be lurking in the dark.

In a world where it seems Hollywood is more and more formulaic, it’s quite refreshing to see something original, in August no less. The Gift will satisfy the biggest of thriller fans and keep audiences entertained until the very end (and yes, for anyone wondering, the end is quite shocking). Edgerton’s The Gift is most unique suspense film, bordering on true horror. Sometimes just being unique can be the best gift of all.

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Not Your Mom’s Little Mermaid – ‘Monster Girls,’ ep. 5

By

Logan Peterson

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August 4, 2015

This weeks episode of Monster Girls really did it for me, in a variety of ways. Now, for your sake, I won’t get into the nitty-gritty of some of those “ways.” But just know that, for me, this show is still doing its job, and better than ever. I honestly think that I would have watched this show all the way through just to get to the scene with Suu and Papi making out. If you’re wondering what my favorite part about this episode was, it was that. In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I am compelled to put the screenshot into this article.

And through the first half of the show we get Suu doing her job as the show’s own personal molestation machine. Because it seems like whenever she’s on-screen, and is not being buddy-buddy with Papi, she’s molesting someone with her sliminess. These scenes are great. They offer a good amount of titillation and toss in some good physical comedy and wit in the writing. However, I totally understand that someone would see these scenes as “rapey.” But do they really want to just let Suu dehydrate and die? That’s as good as manslaughter. I’m more than willing to take one for the team and watch intensely as Suu gets water by whatever means necessary. This joke still feels fresh no matter how many times I see it, and I think the more I can see it coming the better it makes the payoff.

But we’re on episode five now and that means some of the jokes may be wearing off for some people. While Monster Girls progresses in episodes, I can see the novelty of it being the monster girls wearing off with some people. As the show goes on, it’s more important for the jokes to start taking meta route and for them to be hitting harder and more frequent. This can be seemingly hard, seeing we’re five episodes in and still introducing more characters. Introducing more characters takes away time from jokes because they have to lay a ground work for new characters. The way it seems Monster Girls has remedied this is that every new girl they introduce is partly a joke in and of itself.

For example, while Mero has an almost royal appearance and demeanor to her, that’s not what defines her character in Monster Girls. The thing which defines her is her goal, to acquire a tragic love like the one in The Little Mermaid. Now, I’m not going to get into women being portrayed poorly in a harem show. Since it is a harem and it’s a unique set of circumstances, girls acting certain ways and being defined by that is at least a little more tolerable. And to be honest, no one in the show gets actual character development anyway. Literally every character is a walking joke waiting for the right time to be unleashed. It just seems like it’s degrading towards women because it’s primarily women characters. So if all that defines Mero’s character right now is that she wants to be some sort of tragic mistress, that’s perfectly fine with me. I’m sure the show will at least give something more in due time. But seeing as she was just introduced, I can live with this.

With the introduction of Mero, we get to see a very aggressive side from Miia. Now it’s been the defining part of her character so far to overreact and be overly forward with her “darling.” But having someone who is seemingly advancing on Kimihito makes Miia go sort of over the edge in this episode. I’ve already seen people complain about how she overreacted in this episode, but I think it’s completely in character for her to be doing so. It’s great to see characters react to a situation that feels natural for them, instead of them just doing whats convenient for the story. I also think its great that everyone else in the house is being rather calm about it, except Miia. I mean, it would be weird if Cerea openly objected Mero because that’s not her personality. And having the conflicting dynamic of Miia and Cerea reacting to the same situation makes it feel more natural.

Maybe I look into the dynamic of character a little too much in Monster Girls, but it’s honestly the thing that really ties the show together. In between the echii and comedic scenes, its nice to see character interactions that don’t make me want to blow my brains out. And while people may have the complete opposite opinion, well they’re just wrong. So if you think that, come and fight me over my love for Monster Girls. I’m not afraid, I’m ripped…

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See the Tantalizing Teaser for ‘Vinyl,’ the Martin Scorsese, Mick Jagger HBO Collaboration

By

Larry Taylor - Managing Editor

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August 4, 2015

Vinyl, the new HBO series from Martin Scorsese – teaming up with Mick Jagger – dropped a little teaser trailer via Instagram today. If you need any more motivation to watch Vinyl next year aside from the names “Scorsese” and “Jagger,” well, here you go:

This is #Vinyl, a new @hbo series from Martin Scorsese, Mick Jagger and Terence Winter. More coming your way this week.

A video posted by Vinyl on HBO (@vinyl) on Aug 4, 2015 at 12:00pm PDT

Here is the official synopsis for the project as well:

Set in 1970s New York, the series will explore the drug- and sex-fueled music business as punk and disco were breaking out, all through the eyes of a record executive trying to resurrect his label and find the next new sound.

The great Bobby Cannavale will return to HBO in Vinyl, this time in the starring role as record exec Richie Finestra. In addition, the series will feature the work of Olivia Wilde as his wife, Ray Romano, Juno Temple, Andrew “Dice Clay, Ato Essandoh, Max Casella, James Jagger, Jack Quaid, Brirgitte Hjort Sorenson, and P.J. Byrne.

Vinyl should be another grand slam for HBO, their second collaboration with Martin Scorsese on the heels of Boardwalk Empire ending it’s run last year. This is most certainly not the first team up between Mick Jagger and Scorsese as well. Aside from the rock-doc Shine a Light, Scorsese uses Rolling Stones tunes on the reg for his films.

Vinyl will debut on HBO some time in 2016; no date has been set.

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Watch Director Roland Emmerich’s LGBT Drama ‘Stonewall’

By

Matthew Sardo

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August 4, 2015

Roadside attractions Tuesday afternoon released the first trailer to director Roland Emmerich’s LGBT drama Stonewall.

Stonewall is directed Roland Emmerich and stars Jeremy Irvine, Ron Perlman, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Joey King, Caleb Landry Jones, Matt Craven, Atticus Mitchell and Mark Camacho, it’s written by Jon Robin Baitz. Emmerich, Michael Fossat, Marc Frydman, and Carsten Lorenz produce. Stonewall hits theaters September 25.

STONEWALL is a drama about a fictional young man caught up during the 1969 Stonewall Riots. Danny Winters (Jeremy Irvine) is forced to leave behind friends and loved ones when he is kicked out of his parent’s home and flees to New York. Alone in Greenwich Village, homeless and destitute, he befriends a group of street kids who soon introduce him to the local watering hole The Stonewall Inn; however, this shady, mafia-run club is far from a safe-haven. As Danny and his friends experience discrimination, endure atrocities and are repeatedly harassed by the police, we see a rage begin to build. This emotion runs through Danny and the entire community of young gays, lesbians and drag queens who populate the Stonewall Inn and erupts in a storm of anger. With the toss of a single brick, a riot ensues and a crusade for equality is born.

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Watch An Ewok Pull Off An Epic Star Wars Prank

By

Matthew Sardo

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August 4, 2015

There had to be a point in Return of the Jedi where you thought to yourself, “I really don’t trust those Ewoks!” This video proves that you can’t trust the little fur-balls. I’m not sure what part of the world that FEEDBAC had to go to find a few people that had never seen Star Wars before, but the prank is still funny.

What would you do if an Ewok handed you a light saber?

Que l'humor us acompanyi!

STAR WARS JOKE!

Posted by FEEDBAC on Wednesday, May 13, 2015

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5 Actors Who Could Play Hawkeye

By

Elisabeth S. Contreras

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August 4, 2015

So far, we’ve re-assembled The Avengers and we’ve re-cast Hulk. Here, I bring you the list of actors who would be interesting choices to play Hawkeye after Jeremy Renner (44) steps down.

In this case, I didn’t poll the community, so I’m curious to know what you think and what other names would you include in the list. Be sure to let me know in the comments below!

There’s also been a lot of buzz surrounding the fate of Hawkeye in the upcoming Marvel movies, but who’s to say that we couldn’t have a younger actor replace him like we’ve seen with X-Men? That would be a hard task, since we could start running out of actors who haven’t been in a Marvel or DC movie already.

Without further ado, here are my picks, in no particular order. It wasn’t easy!

Aaron Paul (35)

You know who he is, b*tch! At the very least it would be interesting to see his version of Hawkeye, especially in a crowded Avengers movies. He has some experience in action movies, having starred in the less-than-stellar Need for Speed, but more than that he has an edge to his acting.

Dan Stevens (32)

I’m not kidding, this man could do it. You may have seen him in The Guest (and if you haven’t, do yourself the favor). I know looks wise he might be a better fit for Captain America, but Chris Evans is too iconic in that role to be replaced (yet). I can imagine Stevens being an archer, and also delivering his Hawkeye lines with a deadpan. Sold.

Sam Huntington (33)

He has done some comic-related work, as well as comedy and drama. I first saw him in Detroit Rock City and thought he was the perfect balance between funny, awkward, inappropriate, and geeky. But his most notable role was werewolf Josh Levison in Being Human, on Syfy, which was a well received show.

He also might have played Jimmy Olsen in Superman Returns, but who remembers that?

Garrett Hedlund (30)

He’s got the looks and I think he’d be a good choice. He has done action work in Tron: Legacy and Eragon, and will soon be Hook in one of the new adaptations of Peter Pan’s story, Pan.

Dave Franco (30)

Why not? I think he can pull off the look, has done some physical roles, and the right director and writer could bring out his comedic side the way Hawkeye deserves to be represented.

So who would you want to see play Hawkeye?

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