Uncategorized
It’s exciting anytime we get a new Peanuts special. Charles M. Schulz’s cadre of youngsters are still as beloved as ever. But their next adventure is extra special because it’s long overdue. Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin will finally put the spotlight on a kid who has been overlooked for far too long. And the film’s trailer promises a touching origin story that will have long-time fans racing to watch how Franklin found his lifelong friends.
Welcome Home, Franklin looks like a sweet story that celebrates the very best of Peanuts. It will also show us how Franklin, Peanuts‘ first Black character, became a member of the group after some initial trouble adjusting to his newest home. Here’s the special’s official synopsis from Apple TV+:
The origin story for one of Peanuts’ most beloved characters, the special follows Franklin as he moves to a new town and navigates new friendships. Franklin’s family is always on the move with his dad’s military job, and everywhere he goes Franklin finds support in a notebook filled with his grandfather’s advice on friendship. But when Franklin tries his usual strategies with the Peanuts gang, he has trouble fitting in. That’s until he learns about the neighborhood Soap Box Derby race – according to his grandfather, everyone loves a winner! He’s sure that winning the race will also mean winning over some new friends. All he needs is a partner, which he finds in Charlie Brown. Franklin and Charlie Brown work together to build a car and in the process become good buddies. But as the race nears, the pressure mounts – can their car and their newfound friendship make it to the finish line?
Did you pick up on that A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving reference? Not only will this special finally put the spotlight on Franklin, it will also let him sit on the same side of the table as his friends. Talk about correcting a long overdue problem!
This new Peanuts story comes from Emmy-winning director Raymond S. Persi (The Simpsons, Wreck-It-Ralph). Robb Armstrong (Jump Start) co-wrote with Craig Schulz, Bryan Schulz, and Cornelius Uliano. It’s based on an original story by Armstrong and Scott Montgomery (The Snoopy Show).
Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin drives onto Apple TV+ on Friday, February 16.
The post WELCOME HOME, FRANKLIN Trailer Finally Gives a Classic PEANUTS Character the Spotlight appeared first on Nerdist.
It’s exciting anytime we get a new Peanuts special. Charles M. Schulz’s cadre of youngsters are still as beloved as ever. But their next adventure is extra special because it’s long overdue. Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin will finally put the spotlight on a kid who has been overlooked for far too long. And the film’s trailer promises a touching origin story that will have long-time fans racing to watch how Franklin found his lifelong friends.
Welcome Home, Franklin looks like a sweet story that celebrates the very best of Peanuts. It will also show us how Franklin, Peanuts‘ first Black character, became a member of the group after some initial trouble adjusting to his newest home. Here’s the special’s official synopsis from Apple TV+:
The origin story for one of Peanuts’ most beloved characters, the special follows Franklin as he moves to a new town and navigates new friendships. Franklin’s family is always on the move with his dad’s military job, and everywhere he goes Franklin finds support in a notebook filled with his grandfather’s advice on friendship. But when Franklin tries his usual strategies with the Peanuts gang, he has trouble fitting in. That’s until he learns about the neighborhood Soap Box Derby race – according to his grandfather, everyone loves a winner! He’s sure that winning the race will also mean winning over some new friends. All he needs is a partner, which he finds in Charlie Brown. Franklin and Charlie Brown work together to build a car and in the process become good buddies. But as the race nears, the pressure mounts – can their car and their newfound friendship make it to the finish line?
Did you pick up on that A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving reference? Not only will this special finally put the spotlight on Franklin, it will also let him sit on the same side of the table as his friends. Talk about correcting a long overdue problem!
This new Peanuts story comes from Emmy-winning director Raymond S. Persi (The Simpsons, Wreck-It-Ralph). Robb Armstrong (Jump Start) co-wrote with Craig Schulz, Bryan Schulz, and Cornelius Uliano. It’s based on an original story by Armstrong and Scott Montgomery (The Snoopy Show).
Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin drives onto Apple TV+ on Friday, February 16.
The post WELCOME HOME, FRANKLIN Trailer Finally Gives a Classic PEANUTS Character the Spotlight appeared first on Nerdist.
ComicView on BET was a staple during BET’s late-night T.V. run for what seemed like decades. Numerous comedians matriculated through the doors of ComicView to reach their audience, and it’s hard to recall just how many were made famous by ComicView, ranging from D.L. Hughley and Cedric the Entertainer to Don “D.C.” Curry and Kevin Hart. Truly, ComicView was one of the most influential comedy platforms for elevating comedy talent — primarily African American comedians — into the national spotlight.
ComicView debuted on BET, also known as Black Entertainment Television, in 1992, and it only had HBO’s Def Comedy Jem to compete with. The latter was the only other comedy show that focused on African American comedians, and it’s actually credited for propelling Martin Lawrence and Chris Tucker’s careers. During its time on air (1992 to 2006) ComicView kept to its original format and aired short stand-up segments of various comedians on each episode. However, in 2008, the show evolved into a spin-off called ComicView: One Mic Stand, featuring longer segments.
Over the years, during its initial run, ComicView had several hosts, some of whose careers were propelled to new heights by the very platform they hosted, enabling them to establish their own movie and television careers. Now, it’s time to discuss who the top five comedians are who owe their careers to the stage of ComicView.
D.L. Hughley
D.L. Hughley is perhaps best known as the original host of ComicView from 1992 to 1993. His tenure on the show allowed him to reach a wider audience and set the foundations for becoming a household name in the future. The exposure he got on the platform led to other opportunities, as well. In 1993, he also appeared in the third season of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as Keith Campbell, a comedian from Philadelphia.
He’s also known for his very own sitcom. From 1998 to 2002, Hughley wrote, produced, and starred in the T.V. sitcom series The Hughleys, which was based on his real-life experiences of growing up in an upscale neighborhood. He now hosts a talk show, The D.L. Hughley Show, that premiered on T.V. One in 2019.
Cedric the Entertainer
Known for his charisma and vibrant stage presence, Cedric the Entertainer found a perfect outlet in ComicView, which he hosted during the 1993-1994 season, after which he switched to Def Comedy Jam in 1995. Just like with D.L. Hughley, Cedric’s time on ComicVIew was a stepping stone to greater heights, which he achieved by co-starring in The Steve Harvey Show as one of The Original Kings of Comedy.
Cedric the Entertainer — the name that stuck after someone introduced him as an entertainer rather than just a comedian — went on to act in numerous movies and television shows, including The Neighborhood. His fruitful career resulted in him receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2019. However, and in most recent news, comedian Katt Williams called Cedric out for (allegedly) stealing some of his jokes.
Sommore
Sommore, also known as the Diva of Contemporary Comedy, first gained fame as the first female ComicView host (1995 to 1996) and as one of the four female comedians that headlined the Queens of Comedy tour. She attributes her success as a comedian to her writing skills and the fact that she extensively researched both the art and the business of comedy.
After gaining fame in ComicView, she also appeared on Def Comedy Jam and Showtime at Appollo but also made guest appearances on T.V. sitcoms The Hughleys and The Parkers, as well as Ice Cube’s Friday After Next movie.
Rickey Smiley
Though he had been a professional stand-up comedian for quite some time, Rickey Smiley’s career was propelled by his appearances on both Def Comedy Jam and ComicView (2000-2001). Smiley’s career exploded during the early 2000s, and he soon found himself as the host of the nationally syndicated Rickey Smiley Morning Show for the WHTA.
Smiley is best known for his prank calls, many of which have been compiled into six albums. However, he’s also known for his television, radio, and comedy acting work, particularly in his own sitcom, called The Rickey Smiley Show, which aired for one season in 2012.
Lavell Crawford
Though he’s probably best known for playing Huell Babineaux in Breaking Bad (2011–2013) and its spin-off Better Call Saul (2017–2022), Crawford’s rise to success is owed to his frequent performance on ComicView during the 1990s — he actually wasn’t the host. His other comedic roles also include It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Tosh.0, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, and Aqua TV Show Show.
Honorable Mention: Kevin Hart
By the time he hosted ComicView, the show had already changed its format, and Kevin Hart was already an established comedian. But what makes his mention honorable is the fact that he understands the importance of ComicView as a platform for comedians to showcase their talent and he was the sole reason that ComicView had a “revival” of sorts for four days in 2023, which also featured performances by Tommy Davidson, Tacarra Williams, Tony T. Roberts, Bresha Webb, D.C. Young Fly and rapper Tip “T.I.” Harris.
Summary
In the end, ComicView paved the way for many comedians road to the mainstream, proving that the show was more than just entertainment. It was a platform that shaped the landscape of American stand-up comedy and helped incubate the talent that has gone on to entertain, educate, and enlighten us to this day.
Reporting live from a world on fire is a difficult thing to do, but a lot of us media journalists manage to maintain it, somehow. What gets me through are memories of things as they were, which brought me back into a piece of nostalgia I didn’t expect to make a comeback: Godzilla. Fitting, that we’re reaching a fever pitch of Godzilla content, given that the IP is the most layered metaphor for the many sociopolitical ills we’re facing.
Let’s Take it Back
It’s 2015, in the waning months of the second Obama term. After a long bout of vacation-less Summers, my wife and I take some time and head to somewhere nice. It rained the whole time. So, we order some good food and turn on the TV just in time to catch the title screen. An ominous deep tone and a black screen with big, blood-red letters, Godzilla.
What folks might not know about me is that I’m a sucker for the Kaiju genre and its many intersections. Or that the man who raised me was the GOAT at copying whatever was on TV onto VHS tapes. So by the time I was learning to read I was already watching throwback Godzilla movies, memorizing arcs, and pantomiming tokusatsu before Power Rangers even hit the scene in the U.S. I am what some might call a lover of the franchise, from its highest highs (King of Monsters, in my opinion) to its lowest lows (Scooby-Doo collab), I was there.
So imagine my great surprise to run into a modernized take on the IP, with all the necessary things to elevate the grounding of this seemingly immortal monster that we love to hate, love, hate, revere, and remain terrified of. Looking at the scale and scope of Godzilla as an adult prompted me to make some inferences I couldn’t think of as a child. This led to some research and the discovery that Godzilla was used very often as a metaphor or allegory for unprecedented tragedy and human error. This deepened my appreciation for the ways this “monster” spoke (or roared, or whatever that sound it makes) for those who could not speak for themselves.
The OG Godzilla aka Duke Nukem aka Other Side of Oppenheimer
If you didn’t know, Godzilla goes way back to post World War II Japan. 1954 to be exact. In the same way the Transatlantic Slave Trade has been made a cornerstone to Black media across genre, the decision and act of the United States to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki with nuclear armaments is a cornerstone of Japanese media. There are some things that mark the history of a people, a place. Things that bear repeating due to their severity, barbarity. Anime fans can note that every major explosion looks exactly the same: the flash of light, the shockwave, the stretching of shadows into thin black lines, the tower of flame that tapers into a terrifying cloud. Hallmarks of witnessing a nuclear explosion.
Out of this inhumane act of utter destruction, culture responds. In the same manner that the intentional economic and political strife of living in the ‘hood created this thing called Hip-Hop; Tomoyuki Tanaka, Ishiro Honda, and Eiji Tsuburaya responded by giving the world an irradiated lizard that would grow to become famous the world over as a response to the devastation of WWII.
For real though, if you watch Oppenheimer and then any entry in the Godzilla franchise, it makes way too much sense. But consider this, Toho put an actor in a one-hundred-pound suit fabricated with no ventilation to talk to you about the impact of being attacked in a manner without precedent. Yes, it can get campy as all hell, but that’s how art works, innit? Sometimes we make light of the dark things so that we might face them for ourselves and change them for the future.
In the OG Godzilla flicks, the formula was simple. Japan is doing what it does in the sunshine. Vibes are high, the cities are bustling while the outer prefectures are engaging in their day-to-day activities. Somewhere out to sea, some intrepid fisherman is doing the most to make ends meet and comes across some suspicious activity that tips the viewer off that Godzilla is on his way to wreck shit. Godzilla shows up on the scene, cue the running and the score Pharoahe Monch sampled for “Get The F* Up”. Screaming citizenry, enflamed model buildings, etcetera, etcetera. First, the military responds and makes everything worse by heightening tension and elevating the intensity of the warfare. Then some scientist devises a way to take Godzilla out by first learning to understand the monster as a living thing, repelling it rather than destroying it. The intrepid fisherman watches in awe as Godzilla returns to the sea. Rinse and repeat.
What hits differently is when you put together that Godzilla is in actuality a metaphor for both the destructive capability of the United States military and the mutually assured destruction of nuclear armament. The idea that Godzilla can show up, destroy anything at a whim, get annoyed, and then leave with no real consequence echoes in no small way the atomic bombing of Japan. Moreover, the existence of such destructive power only encourages more powerful and destructive methods to be designed. Godzilla was alone until he wasn’t, then there’d be two giant monsters rocking the city and Japanese countryside. The lesson? Wouldn’t be none of these things killing nobody if SOMEBODY didn’t drop nukes by land and sea. Not pointing no fingers, *cough * the U.S.
Shin Godzilla: When Your Country is a Corporation and Can’t Make a Decision
Fast forward to 2014. Many non-white voters are now seeing the Obama Presidency for what it is after the killings of Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner. Once an upstart movement, the Tea Party set the groundwork for a more polarized political landscape and by this point, Trump is becoming more politically active. All in all, trust in American institutions is bottoming out. Globally, many are sick and tired of politics moving away from caring about the people. Amid all this turmoil, a Godzilla movie drops.
The what is not so important as the why. In 2011, Japan faced an unprecedented layering of three distinct disasters: a big earthquake, the resulting tsunami, and a nuclear station meltdown. Mind you, each of these things have happened before, but never all at once. Japan was rocked to its core trying to handle the magnitude of the different disasters and their many intersections. When it was all said and done, reports came back saying Japan’s government dropped the ball in a big way. That same shift in the country’s institutional trust hit over there and Shin Godzilla uses Japan’s bureaucratic mismanagement as its inspiration to dramatic effect.
I can boil Shin Godzilla down to two main points. First, to borrow from Yasiin Bey (fka Mos Def), “Why I gotta have ID to get ID? If I had ID, I wouldn’t need ID.” This movie speaks directly to how systems of government are not at all efficient or good at taking care of people. If fifty-leven people need to sign off on an action, there won’t be any action. Shin GOES there, from the rooter to the tooter, blaming every aspect of government inaction. Easily, the filmmakers could retitle this movie as ‘What Not To Do In A Disaster’, make it a documentary, and win at every film festival on Earth. A strong and salient second point is that the only consistent cost is civilian life. Classism, elitism, and any intentionally divisive social stratification create a ruling class that is so far out of touch with citizens it can only handle things the wrong way. So, when I tell you Shin Godzilla houses the most destructive version I have ever seen in my entire life and in the history of the franchise – I mean it (see the video above). The fact that this interpretation of the monster is entirely the product of human hubris is not lost on me. And y’all, that ending had me all fucked up (you gotta focus and pause on that last ten seconds of the movie).
Minus One: So Your Country Turned Its Back on You
We are living in a really wild era in media, movies in particular. One where creators have realized the powerful humanity in a fantasy story. What Favreau did with Robert Downey Jr. in 2008’s Iron Man. What Nolan did with Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight that same year. Through to the cast and crew of George Miller’s Fury Road in 2015, and Ryan Coogler’s direction of Angela Bassett in Wakanda Forever two years ago. A space for these overtly symbolic stories to be considered top-tier cinema. Here, we enter for the world’s consideration, the 37th film in the franchise, the Oscar-nominated Godzilla: Minus One.
Designed as a prequel to the 1954 debut, Minus One explores so much: Government unreliability, anti-war sentiment, the nature of trauma, a staggering amount of the human experience. It posits a more daring and sinister indictment: that Japan’s use of Kamikaze pilots was a prime catalyst for the United States use of atomic weapons against them. Just so we’re clear, the Godzilla IP was used to scrutinize its own country of origin. At that, to inquire as to whether Japan committed a war crime against its own people!
Minus One goes so hard in the paint it don’t even make sense. Writer/Director Takashi Yamazaki originally thought to use his entry into the Godzilla pantheon to talk about the recent governmental response to COVID-19 but thought it would be too similar to Shin Godzilla. Shifting it away from modern times and into immediate post-war Japan gave the movie so much room to showcase the similarities between how the world powers handled atomic fallout and a global pandemic. The ending of this one is another piece of brilliance that leaves you scratching your head and then scouring the Internet for answers. A hallmark of a lot of Godzilla projects is that the ending feels like it isn’t an ending at all. Never in the hopes to eke out a sequel, but to allow the characters, consequences, and context to sit in the minds and hearts of audiences.
New Kids on the Block: Monarch, Godzilla KoM, Vs. Kong
Last but not least, Apple TV+ brings us the epic episodic Godzilla spinoff Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. It’s not as practiced in the subversion game, but it does what it can as a show to carry on the symbolism of the franchise to talk about something deeper. At first glance, the blockbuster movie-grade visual effects are enough to keep audiences engaged. The corporate espionage and globetrotting adventuring in the ‘Monsterverse’ are more than enough to present a sleek piece of television, but underneath all of that is another subversive metaphor.
In the lengthy history of Godzilla from about the 70s and on, Monarch was there. Typically, the fight against Godzilla features a third party either providing the military with weapons or providing scientists with tech. Shadowy, but in public. That legacy continues in the show, but after thirty-plus years we see the once altruistic and clandestine organization turn into a morally gray public mega-conglomerate. A simple parable, borrowed from The Dark Knight, “You either die a hero or see yourself become the villain.” Monarch plays into that duality to great effect and lays the groundwork to explore the tip of the iceberg of globalization and colonization.
Godzilla: King of Monsters on the surface is a smash-mouth Kaiju fight vehicle that has the ‘will they, won’t they destroy the world’ tension running the whole way through. In reality, the whole plot of KoM hinges on how the Titans are an integral part of Earth’s ecosystem, and their presence reverses the damage humans have done to the environment. So out of this CGI bonanza comes a modern tale addressing environmentalism. Think The Lorax, but more violent. It pits a rogue Monarch scientist against the organization and the world powers-that-be in defense of the titans, who represent nature itself. There’s a lot of action and a lot of monsters, but also a hard lesson about giving up individual comforts to make things right for the collective.
Godzilla Vs. Kong feels the most like a money grab of any of the recent Monsterverse flicks, so I won’t even pretend to make it out to be more than it was. I still liked it though, my Kaiju bias is locked in.
All in all, Godzilla remains one of the most potent and symbolic metaphors in the history of media. Of course, it’s because people have made such terrible and resounding choices that have created so much strife that the only way to express it is with a gigantic personification of destructive force and energy.
Want to get Black Nerd Problems updates sent directly to you? Sign up here! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram!
The post Why ‘Godzilla’ is the Most Potent Metaphor in Media appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
If Jurassic Park has taught us anything over 30 years, it’s that you can’t keep prehistoric monsters down. No, seriously, don’t even try it never works. That’s also true in a very different way of big-time, money-making movie franchises. So it’s only fitting a new report says Universal has plans for another Jurassic World movie. But while the sixth film in the series brought back the original movie’s stars, the seventh is bringing back its original screenwriter. David Koepp, who penned both the scripts for the 1993 classic that brought dinosaurs to life and its 1997 followup Jurassic Park: The Lost World, is already working on the next new installment in the Jurassic World universe. In addition, the new Jurassic World movie may have set its release date and revealed that it will be a universe reboot.
Most recently, Deadline reported that the release date for this new Jurassic World movie will be July 2, 2025. Additionally, the publication notes the film will be a reboot of the franchise. Deadline further shares that Universal is eyeing David Leitch to direct.
Before this latest batch of information, The Hollywood Reporter shared that Universal Pictures is “deep” in development on another dinosaur fim. Koepp, the person responsible for writing Jurassic Park‘s two best scripts, is writing the new movie. The apparently top-secret project is reportedly far enough along in the process that Universal not only likes the current script’s “shape,” it believes the film could hit theaters in 2025. That’s ambitious, especially since a director is not yet attached.
As for the plot, no specifics are known yet about this new Jurassic World movie. Only that the film will explore a “new” Jurassic era and a new story. This installment will almost certainly launch a whole new trilogy. We’d also bet the film will start with a new title. (Our official prediction is Jurassic Planet.)
Koepp isn’t the only veteran returning. Jurassic World trilogy producer Frank Marshall is also back for more prehistoric fun. As is series alum Patrick Crowley. And Steven Spielberg, who directed Koepp’s two previous scripts, will also serve as an executive producer on this new Jurassic World movie via his Amblin Entertainment.
And, no matter the story, if the movie is a big enough success, we expect some old stars to come back for later installments, too. Just like dinosaurs and this franchise, they always do.
Originally published on January 22, 2024.
The post New JURASSIC WORLD Movie Reportedly Sets Release Date appeared first on Nerdist.