In attendance today was the cast of Motown Chester Gregory, Allison Semmes, J.J. Batteast, Elijah Ahmad Lewis, Rashad Naylor, Marq Moss, Rod Harrelson, Galen J. Williams, Jarvis B. Manning, Jr., Trisha Jeffrey,Krisha Marcano, Chante Carmel, Nik Alexander, Chadae, Julius Thomas III, Loren Lott,Ramone Owens, Olivia Puckett, Jamison Scott, Joey Stone, Martina Sykes, Anissa Felix, Talya Groves, Nicholas Ryan who performed the songs 'I Want You Back,' 'Stop In the Name of Love,' 'Do You Love Me,' 'Get Ready,' 'Dancing in the Street' and more. Check out highlights below...
- 7/14/2016
- by BroadwayWorld TV
- BroadwayWorld.com
Jim Davidson has criticised the BBC for having a left-wing bias and said that there isn't enough working class comedy on TV anymore.
The Celebrity Big Brother winner and stand-up comic, who hosted primetime BBC shows such as The Generation Game and Big Break in the '90s, said that modern TV is dominated by university-educated talent.
Watch Jim Davidson talk about political correctness, the BBC and Dappy:
"The BBC are all lefties really. If you sliced the BBC in half, the Guardian newspaper would fall out," he told Digital Spy.
"There was a time when I was growing up, when comedy came from the working class streets of the big cities. Billy Connolly, me, Jasper Carrott, Jethro. All working class lads. And now, they all come from universities and all us old guys are old hat."
Davidson added: "And who is the worst? Me. Since Bernard Manning died,...
The Celebrity Big Brother winner and stand-up comic, who hosted primetime BBC shows such as The Generation Game and Big Break in the '90s, said that modern TV is dominated by university-educated talent.
Watch Jim Davidson talk about political correctness, the BBC and Dappy:
"The BBC are all lefties really. If you sliced the BBC in half, the Guardian newspaper would fall out," he told Digital Spy.
"There was a time when I was growing up, when comedy came from the working class streets of the big cities. Billy Connolly, me, Jasper Carrott, Jethro. All working class lads. And now, they all come from universities and all us old guys are old hat."
Davidson added: "And who is the worst? Me. Since Bernard Manning died,...
- 1/7/2015
- Digital Spy
Elsewhere in comedy this week: John Cleese targets BBC comedy chiefs, Tina Fey resurrects her Sarah Palin impression and Peter Kay's new sitcom gears up for an iPlayer premiere
Reading this on mobile? Click here to watch video
This week's comedy news
Comedians are picking fights this week. Here's Jim Carrey versus the National Rifle Association, in the form of a Funny or Die? video that's got danders up in the Us. It sees Carrey team up with the band Eels on a comic country-and-western number, Cold Dead Hand, mocking Charlton Heston and Us gun-lovers. Backed by a band including John Lennon, Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln (all killed by guns), Carrey's alter ego Lonesome Earl accuses gun enthusiasts of having small penises, and sings: "On the ones who sell the guns/ [God would] set the vultures and coyotes/ Only the devil's true devotees/ Could profiteer from pain and fear." Carrey announced...
Reading this on mobile? Click here to watch video
This week's comedy news
Comedians are picking fights this week. Here's Jim Carrey versus the National Rifle Association, in the form of a Funny or Die? video that's got danders up in the Us. It sees Carrey team up with the band Eels on a comic country-and-western number, Cold Dead Hand, mocking Charlton Heston and Us gun-lovers. Backed by a band including John Lennon, Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln (all killed by guns), Carrey's alter ego Lonesome Earl accuses gun enthusiasts of having small penises, and sings: "On the ones who sell the guns/ [God would] set the vultures and coyotes/ Only the devil's true devotees/ Could profiteer from pain and fear." Carrey announced...
- 3/26/2013
- by Brian Logan
- The Guardian - Film News
Feature Louisa Mellor Jan 22, 2013
Louis Ck’s eclectic, funny, honest series Louie finally starts in the UK tonight. Here’s why it’s worth your time…
In 2010, stand-up and comedy writer Louis Ck told FX head John Landgraf that he didn’t want to be Charlie Sheen. This was in the pre-tiger blood days, when Sheen was the face of mainstream Us TV comedy and drawing $1.8million per episode of CBS’ Two and a Half Men. At that time, Ck was being wooed by the major networks and having $400 grand personal pay cheques waved under his nose to come up with a sitcom pilot.
The deal Ck reached with FX was for half that amount, a sum that wasn’t just to cover his fee, but the costs of the entire production: cast, crew, sets, helicopter stunts… the whole shebang. Ck’s proviso? He be given the money and left...
Louis Ck’s eclectic, funny, honest series Louie finally starts in the UK tonight. Here’s why it’s worth your time…
In 2010, stand-up and comedy writer Louis Ck told FX head John Landgraf that he didn’t want to be Charlie Sheen. This was in the pre-tiger blood days, when Sheen was the face of mainstream Us TV comedy and drawing $1.8million per episode of CBS’ Two and a Half Men. At that time, Ck was being wooed by the major networks and having $400 grand personal pay cheques waved under his nose to come up with a sitcom pilot.
The deal Ck reached with FX was for half that amount, a sum that wasn’t just to cover his fee, but the costs of the entire production: cast, crew, sets, helicopter stunts… the whole shebang. Ck’s proviso? He be given the money and left...
- 1/22/2013
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
There was a terrific reminder last night of the brilliant investigative and campaigning journalism of Granada TV's World In Action in the 35 years from 1963 until 1998.
ITV1 screened a 90-minute documentary showing a variety of the highlights from the series with contributions from past editors - such as Ray Fitzwalter, John Birt, Leslie Woodhead, Steve Boulton and Ian McBride - plus a former editor, Paul Greengrass, cameraman George Jesse Turner, researcher Michael Apted and Granada's ex-chairman Sir Denis Forman.
Among about the programmes they spoke about, with understandable pride, were those that helped to effect genuine changes, such as the release of the innocent Birmingham Six, the reuniting of Anwar Ditta with her three children and the exposures of John Poulson and Reginald Maudling.
As Greengrass pointed out, it was the mixture of journalism and film-making that made the programmes so popular and so successful. It is fair to say World In Action...
ITV1 screened a 90-minute documentary showing a variety of the highlights from the series with contributions from past editors - such as Ray Fitzwalter, John Birt, Leslie Woodhead, Steve Boulton and Ian McBride - plus a former editor, Paul Greengrass, cameraman George Jesse Turner, researcher Michael Apted and Granada's ex-chairman Sir Denis Forman.
Among about the programmes they spoke about, with understandable pride, were those that helped to effect genuine changes, such as the release of the innocent Birmingham Six, the reuniting of Anwar Ditta with her three children and the exposures of John Poulson and Reginald Maudling.
As Greengrass pointed out, it was the mixture of journalism and film-making that made the programmes so popular and so successful. It is fair to say World In Action...
- 1/8/2013
- by Roy Greenslade
- The Guardian - Film News
David Cameron has 'a hilarious sense of humour', according to Helena Bonham Carter. Perhaps so, but who were the really funny rightwingers?
Are Tories funny? Of course, with the exception of Jim Davidson. Expressing amazement that they might be funny is like saying that because someone has different political views from us they can't have a sense of humour. Yet this appears to be exactly what Helena Bonham Carter did in an interview at the weekend, when she insisted her friend David Cameron was "not a rightwing person", citing his "hilarious sense of humour, which nobody really knows about".
Bernard Manning was funny. And racist and misogynistic too, but the jokes were good even if the laughter died on your lips. Peter Cook spent much of his life savaging Labour politicians, but there's no doubt that he was funny. You might recall the Tory rally in 1983 when Kenny Everett spoke for Margaret Thatcher.
Are Tories funny? Of course, with the exception of Jim Davidson. Expressing amazement that they might be funny is like saying that because someone has different political views from us they can't have a sense of humour. Yet this appears to be exactly what Helena Bonham Carter did in an interview at the weekend, when she insisted her friend David Cameron was "not a rightwing person", citing his "hilarious sense of humour, which nobody really knows about".
Bernard Manning was funny. And racist and misogynistic too, but the jokes were good even if the laughter died on your lips. Peter Cook spent much of his life savaging Labour politicians, but there's no doubt that he was funny. You might recall the Tory rally in 1983 when Kenny Everett spoke for Margaret Thatcher.
- 4/23/2012
- by Simon Hoggart
- The Guardian - Film News
Frank Carson was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland on November 6, 1926 from a family of Italian descent. He began his working life as a plasterer and electrician before joining the Parachute Regiment. He served in the Middle East for three years during the 1950s, before he tried his hand at stand-up comedy. Carson soon became popular on Irish television and later moved to England. He appeared in the music hall show The Good Old Days and eventually hit the mainstream with his appearances on talent show Opportunity Knocks, which he won three times. Carson went on to reach further fame by appearing alongside fellow comics including Charlie Williams, Bernard Manning, Mike Reid and Jim Bowen in The Comedians in the 1970s. Over the next two decades he would appear in various UK television shows including Who Do You Do? and The (more)...
- 2/22/2012
- by By Tom Eames
- Digital Spy
I enjoyed Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns but can see why it received a thorough critical kicking on its release, and now there’s a little more of Singer’s Supes to enjoy/hate.
For all it did right, and I hold to the opinion that it did quite a lot of things right, it disappointed a lot of people and I doubt this rediscovered opening sequence would have held any sway with them. Available on the Superman Anthology Blu-ray set this sequence would have preceded the events we saw in the film and I’m guessing would have been our first introduction to Routh’s Superman, which seems like a poor beginning to such an iconic role.
Apparently this sequence cost $10m and is available to watch in full HD below. Several of the commenters on the Youtube video claim to have been involved with the production of this...
For all it did right, and I hold to the opinion that it did quite a lot of things right, it disappointed a lot of people and I doubt this rediscovered opening sequence would have held any sway with them. Available on the Superman Anthology Blu-ray set this sequence would have preceded the events we saw in the film and I’m guessing would have been our first introduction to Routh’s Superman, which seems like a poor beginning to such an iconic role.
Apparently this sequence cost $10m and is available to watch in full HD below. Several of the commenters on the Youtube video claim to have been involved with the production of this...
- 7/27/2011
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Imagine if you were the lucky one to succeed in pulling the sword from the stone. You'd be revered as a hero or heroine, your name would be toasted in pubs up and down the country, you'd be a living legend.
Well, unless you pulled the sword from the stone, then toppled backwards because the sword was so heavy, then fall down the stairs behind you, hurt yourself while doing so, and then end up in a big, smelly pile of cow dung in front of a chortling crowd of millions.
That's what Battlefield feels like. It's one of those frustrating tales in which the good bits are regularly balanced out by the story's own limitations. On paper, it's got all the promise of a Who classic. Ancient knights and an evil sorceress do battle with The Doctor and also...
So all of that sounds inviting for the fans and viewers.
Well, unless you pulled the sword from the stone, then toppled backwards because the sword was so heavy, then fall down the stairs behind you, hurt yourself while doing so, and then end up in a big, smelly pile of cow dung in front of a chortling crowd of millions.
That's what Battlefield feels like. It's one of those frustrating tales in which the good bits are regularly balanced out by the story's own limitations. On paper, it's got all the promise of a Who classic. Ancient knights and an evil sorceress do battle with The Doctor and also...
So all of that sounds inviting for the fans and viewers.
- 4/8/2011
- Shadowlocked
What better way to spend a Friday night than in the company of a Red Band trailer and a handful of clips for a forthcoming American comedy?
Hall Pass is the latest Farrelly brothers comedy so make of that what you will, but I’m guessing we don’t delve too far into the subtleties of modern American life with this one – but expect jokes and things that would make Bernard Manning blush (if he could).
The Red Band trailer is in no way safe for work so if you’re at work – get up, leave early, log on at home and laugh until your face is dry.
Synopsis: Best buds Rick and Fred (Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis) have both been married for many years. When they begin to show signs of restlessness at home, their wives (Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate) take a bold approach to revitalize their...
Hall Pass is the latest Farrelly brothers comedy so make of that what you will, but I’m guessing we don’t delve too far into the subtleties of modern American life with this one – but expect jokes and things that would make Bernard Manning blush (if he could).
The Red Band trailer is in no way safe for work so if you’re at work – get up, leave early, log on at home and laugh until your face is dry.
Synopsis: Best buds Rick and Fred (Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis) have both been married for many years. When they begin to show signs of restlessness at home, their wives (Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate) take a bold approach to revitalize their...
- 2/18/2011
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
British funnyman Matt Lucas has been forced to defend his latest sketch show with comedy partner David Walliams following a raft of complaints about racial elements of the programme.
The Little Britain duo is back on the small screen in new series Come Fly With Me, based around a fictional U.K. airport, and Lucas and Walliams dress up as a number of characters from different ethnicities to score laughs.
In the episode which aired in Britain on Christmas Day, Lucas is seen with a darkened face and a beard playing a Muslim airport worker called Taaj. He also adopts a West Indian accent to portray a black woman called Precious, while Walliams is seen in a number of guises including as a Middle Eastern employee called Moses.
But the characters have sparked numerous complaints online and some fans have even addressed Lucas directly about their concerns by posting messages on his Twitter.com page.
One fan wrote, "Do you not think that blacking up and adopting an accent is a bit Bernard Manning, and more importantly not funny."
The message prompted Lucas to respond, "Like in Little Britain, we try to reflect, affectionately, the multi-cultural Britain we love. No offence is intended."
A spokesman for the BBC adds, "The characters are representative of all of Britain. Of course no offence is intended."...
The Little Britain duo is back on the small screen in new series Come Fly With Me, based around a fictional U.K. airport, and Lucas and Walliams dress up as a number of characters from different ethnicities to score laughs.
In the episode which aired in Britain on Christmas Day, Lucas is seen with a darkened face and a beard playing a Muslim airport worker called Taaj. He also adopts a West Indian accent to portray a black woman called Precious, while Walliams is seen in a number of guises including as a Middle Eastern employee called Moses.
But the characters have sparked numerous complaints online and some fans have even addressed Lucas directly about their concerns by posting messages on his Twitter.com page.
One fan wrote, "Do you not think that blacking up and adopting an accent is a bit Bernard Manning, and more importantly not funny."
The message prompted Lucas to respond, "Like in Little Britain, we try to reflect, affectionately, the multi-cultural Britain we love. No offence is intended."
A spokesman for the BBC adds, "The characters are representative of all of Britain. Of course no offence is intended."...
- 12/28/2010
- WENN
It's funny, skilful and charming, but this affectionate hymn to 1970s violence and narcissism may help to sustain harmful attitudes
Anne Billson isn't alone in finding Black Dynamite pointless. Nonetheless, many have found it enthralling. So, on one level or another it must be delivering something. What might that be?
The film is a brilliantly executed parody of one strand of the blaxploitation films of the 1970s. Still, you could make a spoof of anything. To succeed as a parodist, you've got to pick a subject that holds some significance for your audience. A decades-old movie sub-genre wouldn't in itself be a sure-fire target. Interest in this one surely depends on a feature of its subject matter that remains of enduring fascination – the potency of the black male.
Blaxploitation hymned violence, sexual incontinence and narcissistic posturing as the black man's route to self-realisation. In the 1970s this may have been...
Anne Billson isn't alone in finding Black Dynamite pointless. Nonetheless, many have found it enthralling. So, on one level or another it must be delivering something. What might that be?
The film is a brilliantly executed parody of one strand of the blaxploitation films of the 1970s. Still, you could make a spoof of anything. To succeed as a parodist, you've got to pick a subject that holds some significance for your audience. A decades-old movie sub-genre wouldn't in itself be a sure-fire target. Interest in this one surely depends on a feature of its subject matter that remains of enduring fascination – the potency of the black male.
Blaxploitation hymned violence, sexual incontinence and narcissistic posturing as the black man's route to self-realisation. In the 1970s this may have been...
- 8/16/2010
- by David Cox
- The Guardian - Film News
Angelina Jolie is reportedly upset about a new unauthorised book about her, and Jonathan Margolis, author of several celeb biographies, is beginning to see why
There can't be many people who feel a pang of empathy for Angelina Jolie, who, along with her PR team, is reportedly upset about an unauthorised biography of her by Andrew Morton.
The assiduous Morton's book, apparently pieced together from interviews with unnamed sources – oh, and Jolie's childhood nanny – is a veritable juice-a-thon. In it, so it's being said in the States, we learn that Jolie once had a fling with Leonardo DiCaprio, that she was raised for two years by nannies in a Los Angeles serviced apartment, and that she has a tattoo on her bottom in honour of her former husband, Billy Bob Thornton, written in the helvetica font.
Well, as a red-blooded hack of over 30 years' standing (some of this standing outside...
There can't be many people who feel a pang of empathy for Angelina Jolie, who, along with her PR team, is reportedly upset about an unauthorised biography of her by Andrew Morton.
The assiduous Morton's book, apparently pieced together from interviews with unnamed sources – oh, and Jolie's childhood nanny – is a veritable juice-a-thon. In it, so it's being said in the States, we learn that Jolie once had a fling with Leonardo DiCaprio, that she was raised for two years by nannies in a Los Angeles serviced apartment, and that she has a tattoo on her bottom in honour of her former husband, Billy Bob Thornton, written in the helvetica font.
Well, as a red-blooded hack of over 30 years' standing (some of this standing outside...
- 8/3/2010
- by Jonathan Margolis
- The Guardian - Film News
A film about the tempestuous star couple is in the pipeline
The news that there is a film in the offing about the marriage – sorry, marriages – of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor is enough to make any sane person sink several double whiskies in celebration, before throwing a saucepan at their partner and applying for a decree nisi.
Hollywood heavyweights are making their interest known to the director Mike Nichols, who is reported to be adapting Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger's book Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and the Marriage of the Century. Nichols made his feature debut directing Burton and Taylor in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, the 1966 film that became synonymous in the public consciousness with the couple's actual marriage, so he'll have a keener sense than most when it comes to casting. And I was delighted to hear that Russell Crowe may be in the running.
The news that there is a film in the offing about the marriage – sorry, marriages – of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor is enough to make any sane person sink several double whiskies in celebration, before throwing a saucepan at their partner and applying for a decree nisi.
Hollywood heavyweights are making their interest known to the director Mike Nichols, who is reported to be adapting Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger's book Furious Love: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and the Marriage of the Century. Nichols made his feature debut directing Burton and Taylor in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, the 1966 film that became synonymous in the public consciousness with the couple's actual marriage, so he'll have a keener sense than most when it comes to casting. And I was delighted to hear that Russell Crowe may be in the running.
- 7/19/2010
- by Ryan Gilbey
- The Guardian - Film News
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