Humanitas Prizes: ‘Black-ish’, ‘Encanto’, ‘Pachinko’, ‘Don’t Look Up’ Among Winners

There is a tragic update on the horrific incident involving the 3-year-old Illinois boy whose aunt allegedly threw him into Lake Michigan.

Kate Aurthur editor The cold open of the Sept. 28 Season 3 premiere of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” featured at the bottom of this post harks back to a more innocent time for the Bravo cast members — before it then reveals how their lives and friendships have exploded during the show’s run. The scene begins in December 2019 with the first confessionals the women filmed for the show’s freshman season, as they introduce themselves, and present their relationships to other cast members. Jen Shah — who in July of this year pleaded guilty to criminal fraud charges, and will be sentenced (likely to prison) in November — attempts to explain her job, which she calls “direct response marketing.” As the audience now knows, Shah was in fact — as she’s now admitted — a high-up figure in a telemarketing scheme that defrauded tons of (often elderly) people. She was arrested during the filming of Season 2, practically on camera. And as Shah protested her innocence, the second season made much hay of her legal issues.

Star Wars character Darth Vader after 45 years in the role.As reported by Vanity Fair, the actor, 91, has signed off on archival voice recordings being used by young filmmakers, who plan to recreate Jones’ voice from his previous films for future Lucasfilm projects using artificial intelligence.“He had mentioned he was looking into winding down this particular character,” Matthew Wood, a veteran at Lucasfilm, said. “So how do we move forward?”Lucasfilm first partnered with Respeecher, a Ukrainian start-up that uses AI technology to create new dialogue from old voice recordings, on Disney+ series The Book Of Boba Fett to replicate the voice of young Luke Skywalker.Jones’ voice was artificially recreated for Darth Vader in recent series Obi Wan Kenobi, although Lucasfilm said the actor “guided” the performance.

A next-level Bravo crossover. Over the years, Below Deck viewers have been surprised with cameos from some of the biggest Real Housewives stars.

James Earl Jones is reportedly stepping back from voicing “Star Wars” villain Darth Vader.

James Earl Jones is reportedly stepping back from voicing “Star Wars”‘ Darth Vader.

Vanity Fair reporting that the 91-year-old actor has agreed to allow a Ukrainian AI company to replicate his voice for future “Star Wars” titles. In Vanity Fair’s new report published on Friday, sound artists at Lucasfilm and the Ukrainian AI speech company Respeecher discussed how Jones’ voice was recreated digitally for the recently released Disney+ series “Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi,” which saw prequel trilogy stars Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen return as Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker.

BreAnna Bell James Earl Jones, who has voiced Darth Vader for nearly 40 years of “Star Wars” films, seems to be stepping away from the role. According to Vanity Fair, the 91-year-old actor has signed off on archival voice recordings being used by young filmmakers, who plan to utilize artificial intelligence synthetic speech technology to recreate Jones’ younger voice from his previous films for future Lucasfilm projects. “He had mentioned he was looking into winding down this particular character,” Matthew Wood, a Lucasfilm veteran of 32 years, told the outlet. “So how do we move forward?”

It looks like James Earl Jones will no longer be providing the voice of Darth Vader.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Yara Shahidi will kick it with celebrity peers in a new show premiering on Facebook Watch later this month. The actor, model, activist and self-proclaimed “music nerd” — best known for starring on “Black-ish” and “Grown-ish” — stars in and executive produces Facebook Watch original series “Yara Shahidi’s Day Off.” In each episode, Shahidi will participate in a range of activities with her celeb guests that reflect “their authentic interests outside of their fame,” spanning horseback riding, gymnastics, golfing, soccer and game night. “Yara Shahidi’s Day Off” premieres Thursday, Sept. 29, at 9 a.m. PT, on Facebook Watch, Shahidi’s Facebook page (2.2 million followers) and her Instagram page (7.6 million followers).

Jennie Punter Stoked by raves and strong receptions to their world-premiering Toronto festival films, “Brother” producers Damon D’Oliveira and Clement Virgo, “Black Ice” producer Vinay Virmani, and “Alice, Darling” producer Noah Segal are warming up a new basketball-themed crime series, “The Count,” for this fall’s marketplace, Variety has learned. A modern spin on French author Alexandre Dumas’ classic 19th-century novel of wrongful imprisonment “The Count of Monte Cristo,” the TV drama will bounce between Toronto’s basketball milieu and Haiti’s cultural mélange as it follows the transformation of a Haitian basketball player facing a life sentence for murder into to justice-seeking saboteur.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Retiring ABC series “Black-ish” picked up one more honor on Friday, a Humanitas Prize for comedy teleplay, while Apple TV+’s “Pachinko” and ABC’s “Women of the Movement” also were recognized at the event. Held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and hosted by comedian Larry Wilmore, the 46th annual Humanitas Prize event centered on awards and $10,000 cash prizes to screenwriters across ten categories. In addition, Humanitas board president Jenny Bicks presented Filmmakers for Ukraine with the Kieser Award “in recognition of their work to connect the Ukrainian film and TV community impacted by the Russo-Ukrainian War with resources, jobs, and funding to meet basic needs.”

Naman Ramachandran A first trailer has been unveiled for Toronto selection “Salt Lake,” Kasia Rosłaniec’s exploration of late-life desire and emancipation. In the film, 64-year-old Helena announces her intention to pursue sexual experiences with other men – much to the shock of her husband of 40 years. The cast includes Katarzyna Butowtt, Krzysztof Stelmaszyk, Adam Ferency, Dorota Kolak, Dagmara Krasowska, Judyta Paradzińska and Jacek Poniedziałek. The film will screen at Toronto as part of Industry Selects – 10 titles chosen by festival programmers for their sales potential. It is produced by Warsaw-based Mañana in co-production with Common Ground Pictures from Gothenburg, Sweden, the partners behind “United States of Love,” which won a Silver Bear at Berlin in 2016. The project was presented at the Berlinale coproduction market 2020, received a Creative Europe – MEDIA development grant and Polish Film Institute production support. “Salt Lake” will be released in Poland in spring 2023.

John Legend is clearing the air about the political rift that ended his friendship with Kanye West. It was previously reported that the longtime friends and collaborators had struggled to see eye-to-eye regarding the 2020 presidential race and West's public support of Donald Trump.

Imagine sipping on a glass of fizz as you watch the sunset over the Cumbrian countryside, before curling up on a plush sofa after a day walking in the Lake District fells. There’s not a soul around as you enjoy the tranquillity of your own private cabin.

The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City is back!