Netflix have acquired the distribution rights to the film, Concrete Cowboy, a 2020 American Western drama film which stars English actor, Idris Elba, for a release in 2021. The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 13, 2020, after it was set to have its premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in September 2020, prior to its cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In August 2019, it was announced Idris Elba, Caleb McLaughlin, Jharrel Jerome, Lorraine Toussaint, Byron Bowers and Method Man had joined the cast of the film, with Ricky Staub directing in his feature directorial debut from a screenplay by himself and Dan Wasler, based upon the novel Ghetto Cowboy by Greg Neri. Elba and Lee Daniels served as a producers on the film. The role of Amahle was originally written to be a drug addict, and when Liz Priestley auditioned for the role she built up a few days of sleep deprivation to make her performance believable. The character was later rewritten to be a nurse instead.

Filming began in North Philadelphia in August 2019. Staub originally got the idea for the film when seeing a man riding a horse down a Philadelphia street, which led him to researching the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club and discovering Neri’s book.

“Concrete Cowboy” follows 15-year-old Cole (Caleb McLaughlin), who discovers the world of urban horseback riding when his mother sends him to live with his estranged father, Harp (Elba) in North Philadelphia. Jharrel Jerome, Lorraine Toussaint, Byron Bowers and Clifford “Method Man” Smith also star in the film, which is based on the real-life horsemen of the Pennsylvania area and the novel “Ghetto Cowboy” from G. Neri. Filmmaker Ricky Staub makes his feature-length debut with the project, written with Dan Walser. Elba and Philly native Lee Daniels are among the producers of the film.

“For a long time, there’s been a real sort of mistelling of history around Black people and horses and cowboys and whatnot,” Elba told Variety in an interview during the festival. “It feels really apt to be able to tell a part history that’s been definitely buried, and in the case of ‘Concrete Cowboy,’ that history is right now. Those stables — they face being taken away forever and, part of what Ricky said to me was that, ‘I’m hoping that we made this movie and they keep the stables, based on the fact that people fall in love with the story and history and heritage of the stables.’”

Daniel Kaluuya shared an interesting take on Barney, and the motivation behind his up-coming live-action adaptation of the children’s series. The 31-year-old British actor is producing what will be a sobering interpretation of the lovable purple T-Rex, one that Kaluuya says is “really needed” at the moment.

“Barney taught us, ‘I love you, you love me. Won’t you say you love me too?’ That’s one of the first songs I remember, and what happens when that isn’t true? I thought that was really heartbreaking,” Kaluuya told Entertainment Weekly in an interview promoting his upcoming film Judas and the Black Messiah. “I have no idea why but it feels like that makes sense. It feels like there’s something unexpected that can be poignant but optimistic. Especially at this time now, I think that’s really, really needed.’’

Mattel Films is co-producing the live-action Barney film alongside Kaluuya’s production company, 59%, and Valparaiso Pictures.

Barney & Friends originally aired on PBS from 1992-2009. The purple dinosaur and his sidekick, B.J. and Baby Bop, taught legions of young viewers educational messages through songs and dance.

Aside from Barney, Kaluuya opened up to EW about portraying Black Pantry Party member Fred Hampton in Judas and The Black Messiah, co-starring Lakeith Stanfield.

“One of my aspirations was to show how brilliant these people were in every way, and what they were really doing, to show the full picture, away from the narrow narrative that has been portrayed. Show what they were really doing in this time, and how revolutionary their ideas were. It didn’t necessarily mean destruction. They were actually about healing and loving and taking care of your community. These activities do not feel like they’re associated with the Black Panther party but that’s the foundation of it, which is why it spread.”

Source: www.vibe.com

Off his “The Zing Network” production company, Bright Okpocha, a popular Nigeria comedian known as Basketmouth has released a nearly 6-minute trailer, directed by Adasa Cookey, which offers an insight into his ‘Papa Benji’ web comedy series that promises to be an interesting one with characters such as Nedu, Broda Shaggi, Buchi the comedian and Basketmouth himself

With the use of cartoons to depict his characters, the comedy series tells the story of an industrious Igbo man who took a loan to start his pepper soup joint which attends to many other interesting characters who come into the pepper soup joint to discuss pop culture, current affairs and other people’s business. The much anticipated web series is billed to premiere October 31, 2020.

In October 2019, Davido had been cast in a cameo role in the Coming 2 America movie – an upcoming American comedy film which is the second installment in the Coming to America film series, and serves as a sequel to the original film of 1988. The film is scheduled to be released in theaters on December 18, 2020 by Paramount Pictures in the United States and Canada.

On August 17, 2019, filming officially began in Atlanta, Georgia. Rick Ross confirmed during the same month that his Georgia mega mansion will be used as a location in the film. On October 1, 2019, in an interview with Collider, Murphy confirmed that production on Beverly Hills Cop IV will commence after the filming of Coming 2 America has wrapped. Filming officially wrapped on November 9, 2019.

Set after the events of the first film, former Prince Akeem Joffer (Eddie Murphy) is set to become King of Zamunda when he discovers he has a son he never knew about in America – a street savvy Queens native named Lavelle (Jermaine Fowler). Honoring his royal father’s (James Earl Jones) dying wish to groom this son as the crown prince, Akeem and Semmi (Arsenio Hall) set off to America once again.

The film stars Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Michael Blankson, Jermaine Fowler, Leslie Jones, Shari Headley, John Amos, Tracy Morgan, Wesley Snipes, and James Earl Jones, Rick Ross etc.