Cornelius Smith Jr. on His Hopes to Bring ‘American Prophet’ to Broadway

respective times they got attacked on stage this year. They dropped their assault-based sets during the Liverpool, UK leg of their current European standup tour, Deadline reported.“Did that s–t hurt?” Rock, 57, who went first, asked the audience regarding getting slapped by Will Smith at this year’s Oscars.

Naman Ramachandran Janus Films has acquired North American rights for Hlynur Pálmason’s “Godland,” which bowed at Cannes and is bound for Telluride and Toronto. The film follows a young Danish priest in the late 19th century who travels to a remote part of Iceland to build a church and photograph its people. But the deeper he goes into the unforgiving landscape, the more he strays from his purpose, the mission and morality. It stars Elliott Crosset Hove (“Winter Brothers”), Ingvar Sigurðsson (“A White, White Day”), Vic Carmen Sonne (“Holiday”), Jacob Hauberg Lohmann (“Shorta”), Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir (“A White, White Day”), Waage Sandø “The Team”) and Hilmar Guðjónsson (“Sóttkví”).

Will Smith slapping him at this year’s Oscars. The 57-year-old comedian reportedly made the quip during a stand-up show in Arizona last Sunday when he revealed he had turned down an offer to host next year’s Academy Awards. Rock was infamously slapped by Will Smith at this year’s Oscars after making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith while presenting an award.

EXCLUSIVE: Sunita Mani (GLOW, Mr. Robot) will topline the horror Wilder Than Her from Bombo Sports & Entertainment, which has wrapped production in Guerneville, CA. The three other leads for the film, written and directed by Jessica Kozak, are Kate Easton (When They See Us), Kayla Foster (Call Jane) and Danny Deferrari (Oppenheimer).

stroke, while visiting a friend in Orange County, USA. The serious incident proved the last in a series of physical maladies that had befallen the star who appeared in more than 70 films. Having always been proud of his body, physically, health wise it has let him down on numerous occasions.

Former American Idol winner Samantha Diaz has been hospitalized for a mystery illness.

A new musical written by Anna Deavere Smith and featuring music from the Ella Fitzgerald songbook is currently in development. Ella: An American Miracle will receive an Aug. 25-Sept. 21 work session, with Tony-winner Dee Dee Bridgewater and Charity Angél Dawson portraying the iconic singer at different points in her life.

Will Smith sparked a huge reaction with his latest comical post as he continued his return to Instagram on Wednesday.The actor, 53, first made his comeback to social media over the weekend, with a terrifying tarantula video, nearly five months after he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars over a quip about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith's hair loss.READ: A look into Will Smith's upcoming rolesSeemingly not disheartened by the fall-out of the incident, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star had no qualms poking fun at himself in front of his audience of 63.7million Instagram followers.WATCH: Will Smith reappears months after Chris Rock Oscars slap In the new clip, the American rapper looked stunned as a woman told him: "They’re going to try belittle you, they’re going to try salvestize your name, they’re going to try to do anything they can to destroy you."Alongside the clip, Will wrote: "Nobody likes having their name salvestized!"SEE: Chris Rock responds to Will Smith's apologyWOW: Will Smith's family celebrate special milestone involving his nephewHis celebrity friends and fans alike were quick to share they were amused by the post and so far received 340,112 likes. Among the comments, many welcomed the actor back and one fan even claimed it was the "funniest" social media return campaign.

Oscars slap earlier this year.After Chris Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith, the actor took to the stage and hit the comedian across the face.Q Scores has since provided data to Variety regarding star power and appeal, showing Smith’s ratings had been declining since the Oscars.The database had polled roughly 1,800 US consumers about various celebrities, with Smith often ranking in the Top 10 of positively rated actors.Smith’s score reportedly went from a 39 to a 24 between January and July 2022, as Q asks for two polls per year.Q Scores executive vice president Henry Schafer called Smith’s trajectory this year on their site results “a very significant and precipitous decline”.The negative ratings for Smith significantly increased, climbing from less than 10 to 26 – the average score usually sits around 16 or 17, according to the aggregator.Jada Pinkett Smith’s score was also affected, with her positive score falling from 13 to 6 and her negative score rising from 29 to 44.Last month, Smith posted an apology video addressing his altercation with Rock at the Oscars.

slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars but, ultimately, it’s his own public image that has taken a hit. Data outlining Q Scores — which measure celebrities’ star power and appeal — shows that Smith’s numbers greatly declined in the months following his actions that led to his resignation from the Academy, Variety reported on Thursday.Before the slap, the 53-year-old “Pursuit of Happyness” star usually ranked in the top five or 10 of America’s most positively rated actors in the surveys, which are conducted every January and July.

EXCLUSIVE: Jaclyn Smith has signed with BRS/Gage Talent Agency for theatrical representation.

American Prophet: Frederick Douglass in His Own Words (★★★☆☆), in its world-premiere production at Arena Stage, wisely draw directly from the source for their expansive, though not exhaustive, biography of the great abolitionist, author, publisher, statesman, escaped slave, and public speaker.The bulk of Douglass’ lines and lyrics in the show are words that the man either spoke or wrote, interpreted and interpolated fluidly by book writers Charles Randolph-Wright and Marcus Hummon.Randolph-Wright also directs, while Grammy-winner Hummon composed music and lyrics for the score, which floats between R&B, pop, and gospel influences, but stays too comfortably within theater conventions.The music doesn’t start down the most adventurous path. Opening with Douglass plaintively singing “What Does Freedom Look Like?” feels way too obvious.The follow-up number, “Going to the Great House,” turns out to be a sharply satirical subversion of happy-dancing-slave tropes, but then shifts into a sober — and, again, very on-the-nose — “Wade in the Water,” complete with choreography reminiscent of Alvin Ailey’s “Revelations.”Fortunately, the show goes bolder in its characterization of Frederick Douglass.

walked on stage and slapped Chris Rock on national television, shortly before winning the Best Actor Oscar. And after Smith recently apologized for the slap, Oscars producer Will Packer has a message for the actor. Prior to the infamous slap, Will Smith was an A-lister who had been America’s sweetheart for decades.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and Media“Bullet Train,” a John Wick-ian romp with Brad Pitt in the aisle seat, arrived in theaters with a $30.1 million opening weekend. That’s enough to top the domestic box office chart, but it’s only a so-so result given “Bullet Train’s” $90 million price tag and Pitt’s star power.