Jussie Smollett’s Directorial Debut and First Project Since Trial Picked Up by BET+

EXCLUSIVE: Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow) has signed on to star in The Sea Change—a drama marking the feature directorial debut of Oscar-nominated actress Kristin Scott Thomas (Slow Horses), which is currently in production.

a five-month prison sentence in March for lying to Chicago cops about a racist and homophobic 2019 attack. “I know how grateful I must be. It is not up for debate.

2 min read Former Empire star and convicted criminal Jussie Smollett who was previously sentenced to five months in prison for staging a homophobic attack is returning to the world of entertainment with his directorial debut, B-Boy Blues.

Jussie Smollett has launched his directorial debut with BET+ "B-Boy Blues." The LGBTQ+ centered show will debut on the streaming network June 9, just in time for Pride Month. This project marks the first for Smollett since he was found guilty of making false reports on what he alleged to be a hate crime.

Spotify for the first time in over two years, the streaming service has confirmed.In early 2020, Spotify announced that it was pausing all political ad sales in the US ahead of the 2020 presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, saying in a statement that the advertisements were too hard to “validate and review.”Now, as reported by Protocol, Spotify has said that ads of this nature are slowly set to return to the service.“Following our pause of political ads in early 2020, we have spent the past two years strengthening and enhancing our processes, systems and tools to responsibly validate and review this content,” Spotify said in a statement.“We are now beginning to sell select political advertisements in opted-in third-party podcasts via the Spotify Audience Network in the U.S.”According to Pitchfork, political ads will not play between songs for users on Spotify’s free tier, and that the service will only work with known candidates.“At this point in time, we do not yet have the necessary level of robustness in our process, systems and tools to responsibly validate and review this content,” Spotify said in a statement to Ad Age at the time of removing political ads at the start of 2020.

bilked the U.S. government out of millions of dollars because he billed them his own secret service detail — “It’s funny to think Donald Trump’s only profitable business venture was being President of the United States,” Kimmel joked.Then he talked about a weird twist in one of the Jan.

Freddie Gibbs make his film debut, with a starring role in the forthcoming Down With The King.The movie sees Gibbs star as Mercury “Money Merc” Maxwell, a superstar rapper who is sent by his manager to a farm in the countryside in order to escape the pressures of fame in the city.The first full-length trailer arrived yesterday (May 23), and sees a glimpse of Maxwell’s high-profile celebrity life before cutting away to a plaintive look at his time in the countryside.Initially there on a creative retreat, the trailer shows Maxwell bonding with the local community, working on the farm, and eventually becoming conflicted when it comes to returning to his old life.The film is directed by Diego Ongaro and also stars Bob Tarasuk, Sharon Washington, and Jamie Neumann. Gibbs is also executive producer.The film, which received its Cannes debut as part of the ACID (Association for Independent Cinema and its Distribution) lineup, was also awarded the Grand Prize at the Deauville American Film Festival.

EXCLUSIVE: Gersh has signed actor, writer and producer David Koechner (Anchorman) for representation.

EXCLUSIVE: Screen Media has acquired North American rights to Renny Harlin’s actioner The Bricklayer from Millennium Films, slating the pic for release in theaters and on VOD next summer. The Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment company has also unveiled a new still from the film, starring Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) and Nina Dobrev (xXx: Return of Xander Cage), which can be found below.

EXCLUSIVE: Jeremy Renner is set to star as the journalist who helped blow the lid off the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma’s role in the rampant spread of the highly addictive painkiller OxyContin. The two-time Oscar nominee will play Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist David Armstrong in a drama that is being sold here in the Cannes Market through Expanded Media/LBI Entertainment and 101 Studios.

Elizabeth Wagmeister Senior CorrespondentRiley Keough has been in the business for more than a decade. At just 32 years old, the granddaughter of Elvis Presley has made a name for herself as a performer with great range, known for “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “Magic Mike,” “Zola” and Steven Soderbergh’s “The Girlfriend Experience,” which earned her a Golden Globe nomination.

ESPN is reporting that the NBA playoffs are back for China’s TV viewers after a long banishment over controvesial political statements by an executive.

Rebekah Vardy and husband Jamie are denying reports they will leave the UK for the United States.

EXCLUSIVE:  NEON has taken the North American distribution rights to Mark Jenkin’s horror feature Enys Men, starring Mary Woodvine and Edward Rowe. The deal was hatched before Cannes, ahead of the pic’s world premiere in the Directors’ Fortnight section.