Did U Know? 8-5-17 Entertainment News Updates
Did U Know? 8-5-17 Entertainment News Updates…Dr. Dre, Kenan Thompson, Tracy Morgan, L.L. Cool J, Lionel Richie and others are trending this week. Did U Know? is trending entertainment news about the latest movies, music, TV shows and your favorite celebrities that happened during week ending Aug. 5, 2017.
Dr. Dre Puts Up $10 Million For Compton Performing Arts Center
It was in 2015 that Dr. Dre unleashed his Compton album, vowing to donate the royalties ,add off the album to the development of a performing arts facility in his hometown. Now, the rapper and producer has announced his commitment to donate $10 million to the center for the new Compton High School right where he grew up. Set to break ground by the year 2020, the center feature a 1,200-capacity theater and the capabilities of teaching students digital media production skills. “My goal is to provide kids with the kind of tools and learning they deserve,” stated Dre, who is also tasked with raising the remainder of the project’s funds. “The performing arts center will be a place for young people to be creative in a way that will help further their education and positively define their future.”
Quincy Jones Wins $9.4 Million Verdict Against Michael Jackson Estate
On Wednesday, July 26, music impresario Quincy Jones was reportedly awarded $9.4 million after suing the late King of Pop’s estate over unpaid music royalties and production fees, stemming from some of Jackson’s biggest hits, including “Billie Jean” and “Thriller.” According to the Associated Press, Jones, 84, filed nearly four years ago, seeking $30 million while Jackson’s estate placed the figure at about $392,000. Among his claims, Jones alleged he was also underpaid for tunes used in Jackson’s This Is It documentary (2009), as well as two Cirque du Soleil shows, Variety reports. The music legend took the stand during the trial, insisting that he was simply trying to collect money he was due for his work, despite claims by the estate’s attorney, Howard Weitzman, who alleged Jones had already benefited from Jackson’s death, the AP reported. As fans may already know, Jones worked with Jackson on three albums that are considered to be the singer’s greatest work: Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad.
On June 25, 2009, Jackson died suddenly at age 50 as the result of a fatal cocktail of medications in his system that was administered to him by his physician, Conrad Murray who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
Russell Simmons’ ‘All Def Comedy’ Returning To HBO As 6-Episode Series
Back in November, HBO aired the special “Russell Simmons’ All Def Comedy” as part of its overall first-look deal with the mogul. In December 2017, All Def Comedy will return in an expanded capacity. The network announced (July 28) that it has ordered the stand up vehicle as a series for a six-episode season, reports Deadline.com. The shows will be taped October 10-11 at the Avalon Theatre in Los Angeles, and will be hosted by Tony Rock. Like Simmons and HBO’s original Def Comedy Jam, the series will feature stand-up performances spotlighting up-and-coming comics discovered at All Def Digital’s live weekly comedy showcase and online video platform. Earlier in July, Simmons revealed he was looking to restart his Def Poetry Jam franchise with HBO as All Def Poetry, and was talking with Grammy-winner Chance the Rapper to come aboard as its host.
Tracy Morgan Is A Man Back From Prison In New TV Comedy ‘The Last O.G.’
Tracy Morgan is back on TV where he belongs.In his new TBS comedy, The Last O.G., Morgan plays Tray, an ex-con released after a 15-year prison stint who’s a fish out of water in his old Brooklyn neighborhood. His former girlfriend Shay (Tiffany Haddish) is now married to a white guy (Ryan Gaul), and is raising the twins Tray fathered but didn’t know about. And Cedric the Entertainer plays Miniard Mullins, who heads the halfway house where Tray stays and helps him transition back to society. But Morgan, in his first major role since his 2014 accident in New Jersey that left him badly hurt, says the TBS show is not about the black experience. “This is a show about humanity, this is a show about second chances, this is a show about redemption. I wanted to transcend that,” he told the Television Critics Association. But Tray has no money and less connection to his kids, so he falls back on what he learned in prison as he adjusts to society in the series, originally planned for FX. His cousin Bobby (Allen Maldonado) is his guide to the Brooklyn he left behind. Why would Morgan, who craves the limelight, want to surround himself with an ensemble of scene-stealers? “Maybe I’m a better man, after the accident,” he says. “It isn’t about me; it’s bigger than me.”
Lionel Richie, LL Cool J To Receive Kennedy Center Honors
This year’s Kennedy Center honorees will include two singers, a television writer, a dancer – and for the first time, a hip-hop artist. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on aug. 3rd announced the recipients of the 2017 Kennedy Center Honors. They are: hip-hop artist LL Cool J, singers Gloria Estefan and Lionel Richie, television writer and producer Norman Lear and dancer Carmen de Lavallade. It’s the 40th year of the awards, which honor people who have influenced American culture through the arts. The honorees will be celebrated at a gala on Dec. 3 and broadcast on Dec. 26 on CBS.
Hill Harper & Sasheer Zamata Are Bringing ‘Ghetto Plainsman’ to the Big Screen
Jarid Manos’ acclaimed novel Ghetto Plainsman is getting the big screen treatment. Set in the 1980’s and 1990’s in New York City, Ghetto Plainsman follows Marcus; a young man dealing with identity and a deep self-loathing while getting caught up in the gritty worlds of drug dealing and prostitution. Hill Harper, Sasheer Zamata, Angelica Ross and Whoopi Goldberg are set to star in the film. Goldberg will play an androgynous drug lord running the operation that Marcus works for. Zamata will play his college friend who tries desperately to save her friend from descending into chaos. Ross will play Tiffany, a transgender woman who is a prostitute and Marcus’ neighbor. Hill will play Thomas, a lawyer and environmental activist, who is Marcus’ would-be love interest. The role of Marcus has not yet been cast. Filming for Ghetto Plainsman will begin late summer.
Saturday Night Live’s Kenan Thompson Is Returning To His ‘All That’ Roots
Kenan Thompson — Saturday Night Live’s most senior cast member is returning to his All That roots with a new sketch comedy show geared towards kids. The Kenan & Kel alum first rose to fame in the early ’90s on the Nickelodeon series All That. He also starred in several popular films, including the cult classics Good Burger and Fat Albert. A member of the SNL cast since 2003, Thompson is now branching out with the children’s comedy sketch show, SKOOGLE. The premise of the new series certainly has some 21st-century flair. Thompson will voice SKOOGLE, a digital assistant for kids (think Amazon’s Alexa) whose sole purpose is to help children conquer their everyday problems. Thompson will also executive produce the project. According to Deadline, SKOOGLE will debut on pocket.watch, “a media brand that creates, acquires, distributes and curates content for kids age 2-11 across a variety of platforms.” The series will serve as the first major production for the platform.