Mark Russell, the political satirist who delivered his wisecracks to the tunes of his piano on PBS specials for nearly 30 years, died today of prostate cancer at his home in Washington, D.C. He was 90.
His death was announced to the Washington Post by his wife Alison Russell.
Russell, sporting a bow tie and standing behind a usually flag-draped piano, was a staple of PBS from 1975 to 2004, where his bipartisan jabs and jaunty playing melded with the gently intellectual tone of the network. With a persona and style closer to Will Rogers than Lenny Bruce, Russell was an affable TV presence whose topical observations offered a family-friendly alternative during an era when George Carlin was saying seven dirty words and Saturday Night Live was making pot jokes.
Still, his amenable demeanor could serve as Trojan Horse for his most pointed and ego-deflating quips. After the exposure of President Bill Clinton’s sexual peccadillos,...
His death was announced to the Washington Post by his wife Alison Russell.
Russell, sporting a bow tie and standing behind a usually flag-draped piano, was a staple of PBS from 1975 to 2004, where his bipartisan jabs and jaunty playing melded with the gently intellectual tone of the network. With a persona and style closer to Will Rogers than Lenny Bruce, Russell was an affable TV presence whose topical observations offered a family-friendly alternative during an era when George Carlin was saying seven dirty words and Saturday Night Live was making pot jokes.
Still, his amenable demeanor could serve as Trojan Horse for his most pointed and ego-deflating quips. After the exposure of President Bill Clinton’s sexual peccadillos,...
- 3/30/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Apple is turning its lens on the Iron Horse.
The iPhone maker/streamer is teaming with Universal Television and Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video to adapt author Jonathan Eig’s book, Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig, as a scripted television series, sources say.
Dan Kay (the upcoming Spider & Jessie) is on board to co-write the script alongside the author, Eig, and serve as showrunner on the drama, which is currently in the development stages. Eig will be credited as a co-exec producer. Peter Farrelly (Apple’s The Greatest Beer Run Ever) is attached as an exec producer and would direct the pilot should the untitled drama move forward. Michael Uslan, David Uslan and Charles Wessler will also exec produce alongside Saturday Night Live mastermind Michaels and his son, Broadway Video creative exec Eddie Michaels.
It’s unclear if Major League Baseball will be involved in the potential series.
The iPhone maker/streamer is teaming with Universal Television and Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video to adapt author Jonathan Eig’s book, Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig, as a scripted television series, sources say.
Dan Kay (the upcoming Spider & Jessie) is on board to co-write the script alongside the author, Eig, and serve as showrunner on the drama, which is currently in the development stages. Eig will be credited as a co-exec producer. Peter Farrelly (Apple’s The Greatest Beer Run Ever) is attached as an exec producer and would direct the pilot should the untitled drama move forward. Michael Uslan, David Uslan and Charles Wessler will also exec produce alongside Saturday Night Live mastermind Michaels and his son, Broadway Video creative exec Eddie Michaels.
It’s unclear if Major League Baseball will be involved in the potential series.
- 3/30/2023
- by Lesley Goldberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Former DreamWorks exec Mark Sourian has been appointed as President of Production for the Angel Studios Original The Chosen, with plans to build out an entertainment “universe” from the hit faith-based series.
Related Story ‘The Chosen’ Distributor Angel Studios Launches Theatrical Division Related Story 'BTS: Yet To Come' Sings Green On Screen – Specialty Box Office Related Story Jordan Walker Ross Says His Disability Took His Character On 'The Chosen' To New Level
The largest fan-supported entertainment project of all time, Dallas Jenkins’ The Chosen is an episodic drama series about the life of Jesus Christ (Jonathan Roumie) and the calling of his initial disciples. The crowdfunded show available via Angel Studios’ website and app, as well as its own dedicated app, has been translated into more than 50 languages, garnering over 510M views across 175 countries. The show licensed by Angel Studios to the likes of Netflix, Prime Video,...
Related Story ‘The Chosen’ Distributor Angel Studios Launches Theatrical Division Related Story 'BTS: Yet To Come' Sings Green On Screen – Specialty Box Office Related Story Jordan Walker Ross Says His Disability Took His Character On 'The Chosen' To New Level
The largest fan-supported entertainment project of all time, Dallas Jenkins’ The Chosen is an episodic drama series about the life of Jesus Christ (Jonathan Roumie) and the calling of his initial disciples. The crowdfunded show available via Angel Studios’ website and app, as well as its own dedicated app, has been translated into more than 50 languages, garnering over 510M views across 175 countries. The show licensed by Angel Studios to the likes of Netflix, Prime Video,...
- 3/28/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Following their collaboration on Apache Delivery Service, the creative trio of Matt Kindt, Tyler Jenkins, and Hilary Jenkins are reteaming for the horror comic book miniseries Hairball, centered on an increasingly dysfunctional family and the cat that may (or may not) be the source of their destruction.
Ahead of the first issue's release this April through Kindt's Flux House imprint at Dark Horse Comics, we've been provided with an exclusive reveal of the cover art for the fourth issue, as well as a look at the fur-lined cover for the upcoming trade paperback release of Hairball!
Here's what Matt Kindt had to say about Hairball and its uniquely unsettling trade paperback cover:
I want Hairball to be an uncomfortable book, but in an entertaining way.
This is a book about the slow disintegration of a family. It's also about a possibly supernatural cat that seems to be at the center of it all.
Ahead of the first issue's release this April through Kindt's Flux House imprint at Dark Horse Comics, we've been provided with an exclusive reveal of the cover art for the fourth issue, as well as a look at the fur-lined cover for the upcoming trade paperback release of Hairball!
Here's what Matt Kindt had to say about Hairball and its uniquely unsettling trade paperback cover:
I want Hairball to be an uncomfortable book, but in an entertaining way.
This is a book about the slow disintegration of a family. It's also about a possibly supernatural cat that seems to be at the center of it all.
- 3/16/2023
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Anderson East reckons with a collective need for clarity in “Drugs,” the funky new release from his upcoming album Maybe We Never Die. The follow-up to 2018’s Encore, Maybe We Never Die will come out August 20th.
Veering away from the retro R&b sounds that have been a mainstay of his albums, East cooks up a bass-driven disco groove for “Drugs” that’s accented by theremin and perky flute runs. The Alabama native adopts a silky falsetto for most of the tune, pondering the eternal difficulty of facing reality.
Veering away from the retro R&b sounds that have been a mainstay of his albums, East cooks up a bass-driven disco groove for “Drugs” that’s accented by theremin and perky flute runs. The Alabama native adopts a silky falsetto for most of the tune, pondering the eternal difficulty of facing reality.
- 5/19/2021
- by Jon Freeman
- Rollingstone.com
Oscar-nominated actor Gabourey Sidibe (Precious) is making her feature debut with psychological thriller Pale Horse, which is scheduled to shoot this fall.
Set in the Pacific Northwest, Pale Horse follows Naia, an esteemed, yet reclusive African-American YA book author who is living with Ms. When Naia decides to shelter the man who escaped captivity with her long-missing brother, she finds herself caught up in a diabolical mystery.
Asabi Lee and Paul Hart-Wilden (Wolf Town) scripted the film, which is based on a story by Chris Courtney Martin (The Last Laugh).
Effie T. Brown (Dear White People) and Wellington Love (The United States vs. Billie Holiday) are producing on behalf of Gamechanger Films, the production company and development fund dedicated to multi-platform projects by and about women, people of color, LGBTQ+, and people with disabilities, which developed and co-financed the pic.
“I’m super excited to work with Gamechanger on my first feature!
Set in the Pacific Northwest, Pale Horse follows Naia, an esteemed, yet reclusive African-American YA book author who is living with Ms. When Naia decides to shelter the man who escaped captivity with her long-missing brother, she finds herself caught up in a diabolical mystery.
Asabi Lee and Paul Hart-Wilden (Wolf Town) scripted the film, which is based on a story by Chris Courtney Martin (The Last Laugh).
Effie T. Brown (Dear White People) and Wellington Love (The United States vs. Billie Holiday) are producing on behalf of Gamechanger Films, the production company and development fund dedicated to multi-platform projects by and about women, people of color, LGBTQ+, and people with disabilities, which developed and co-financed the pic.
“I’m super excited to work with Gamechanger on my first feature!
- 5/6/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Lady Killer: "Blake Lively To Star In And Produce Lady Killer Adapted By Diablo Cody
Writer: Academy Award Winner Diablo Cody to adapt the screenplay based on the Dark Horse Comic by the same name Producers: Mike Richardson and Keith Goldberg of Dark Horse Entertainment; Blake Lively and Kate Vorhoff for B for Effort Cast: Blake Lively Logline: By all appearances, Josie Schuller is the perfect 1950's housewife. But when she's not catering to the needs of her family, she leads a secret life as a highly-trained killer for hire. Lady Killer is a comic book series written by Joëlle Jones and Jamie S. Rich, illustrated by Joëlle Jones and colored by Laura Allred. It has been published by Dark Horse Comics since January 2015. The comic had great critical reception and was nominated at the Eisner Awards as Best Limited Series in 2016. Netflix has a first look deal with...
Writer: Academy Award Winner Diablo Cody to adapt the screenplay based on the Dark Horse Comic by the same name Producers: Mike Richardson and Keith Goldberg of Dark Horse Entertainment; Blake Lively and Kate Vorhoff for B for Effort Cast: Blake Lively Logline: By all appearances, Josie Schuller is the perfect 1950's housewife. But when she's not catering to the needs of her family, she leads a secret life as a highly-trained killer for hire. Lady Killer is a comic book series written by Joëlle Jones and Jamie S. Rich, illustrated by Joëlle Jones and colored by Laura Allred. It has been published by Dark Horse Comics since January 2015. The comic had great critical reception and was nominated at the Eisner Awards as Best Limited Series in 2016. Netflix has a first look deal with...
- 5/6/2021
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Blake Lively is set to star in and produce the Dark Horse comic adaptation ‘Lady Killer’ for Netflix.
Lively will take on the role of Josie Schuller. On the surface, she is the perfect 1950’s housewife. But when she’s not catering to the needs of her family, she leads a secret life as a highly-trained killer for hire. She really likes the second job, and her husband has no idea.
Oscar-winning scribe Diablo Cody will pen the feature. Mike Richardson and Keith Goldberg of Dark Horse Entertainment will produce along with Lively and Kate Vorhoff for B for Effort.
Also in news – Marvel reveals first look at ‘Eternals’ + sequel titles for ‘Black Panther’ and ‘Captain Marvel’
The comic book series is written by Joëlle Jones and Jamie S. Rich, illustrated by Joëlle Jones, and coloured by Laura Allred. It has been published by Dark Horse Comics since January 2015 and...
Lively will take on the role of Josie Schuller. On the surface, she is the perfect 1950’s housewife. But when she’s not catering to the needs of her family, she leads a secret life as a highly-trained killer for hire. She really likes the second job, and her husband has no idea.
Oscar-winning scribe Diablo Cody will pen the feature. Mike Richardson and Keith Goldberg of Dark Horse Entertainment will produce along with Lively and Kate Vorhoff for B for Effort.
Also in news – Marvel reveals first look at ‘Eternals’ + sequel titles for ‘Black Panther’ and ‘Captain Marvel’
The comic book series is written by Joëlle Jones and Jamie S. Rich, illustrated by Joëlle Jones, and coloured by Laura Allred. It has been published by Dark Horse Comics since January 2015 and...
- 5/6/2021
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Exclusive: Netflix has set Blake Lively to star in and produce, and Oscar-winning scribe Diablo Cody to adapt Lady Killer, based on the Dark Horse Comic series.
The plan is for Lively to play Josie Schuller. By all appearances, she is the perfect 1950’s housewife. But when she’s not catering to the needs of her family, she leads a secret life as a highly-trained killer for hire. She really likes the second job, and her husband has no idea.
Pic will be produced by Mike Richardson and Keith Goldberg of Dark Horse Entertainment along with Lively and Kate Vorhoff for B for Effort.
Lively is coming off an action turn in The Rhythm Section and before that, The Shallows. She is repped by WME, Management 360 and Sloane Offer.
Cody most recently scripted the upcoming Madonna biopic at Universal, which Madonna will direct. Cody is repped by WME, Mxn Entertainment and McKuin Frankel.
The plan is for Lively to play Josie Schuller. By all appearances, she is the perfect 1950’s housewife. But when she’s not catering to the needs of her family, she leads a secret life as a highly-trained killer for hire. She really likes the second job, and her husband has no idea.
Pic will be produced by Mike Richardson and Keith Goldberg of Dark Horse Entertainment along with Lively and Kate Vorhoff for B for Effort.
Lively is coming off an action turn in The Rhythm Section and before that, The Shallows. She is repped by WME, Management 360 and Sloane Offer.
Cody most recently scripted the upcoming Madonna biopic at Universal, which Madonna will direct. Cody is repped by WME, Mxn Entertainment and McKuin Frankel.
- 5/5/2021
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
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