Entertainment

He was a Maryland slave who taught himself to read and write, then escaped to New York disguised as a sailor. At just 20 years old, young Frederick Douglass took his first steps to becoming one of the most prominent voices in civil rights history. That journey is the focus of a new HBO documentary Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches.

Part of HBO’s Black History Month programming, the documentary spotlights five keys speeches in Douglass’ career, brought to life by actors Jeffrey Wright, Nicole Beharie, Jonathan Majors, Denzel Whitaker and Colman Domingo.

“I knew the ‘Cliff notes’ of Frederick Douglass to be honest,” Domingo tells ABC Audio. “And then I went deeper into his speeches. And how extraordinary they were…he was so bold, and articulate and intelligent.”

The Euphoria and Fear The Walking Dead star recites passages from Douglass’ 1863 speech “The Proclamation and a Negro Army” in the HBO project.

Colman says the 19th century activist’s words have a powerful resonance in light of present-day social issues. “…There’s always a direct link to the recent movements of Black Lives Matter,” Coleman asserts. “Always. Just saying ‘we matter’ See us as human. See us as fully invested, involved human beings.”

And if Douglass were actually here today? Domingo thinks there can be only one occupation for him: “I think he would be probably one of the dopest hip hop artists! Because he knows the power of music. And poetry. And getting the message out to young Black men….He would be more like an artist like Common, someone who is really in service of uplifting our people.” 

Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by David Blight, premieres tonight on HBO 9:00 p.m. ET.

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(NOTE LANGUAGE) While there were plenty of explosions in George Miller‘s Oscar-winning action epic Mad Max: Fury Road, a new book details some of the major fireworks were between stars Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron. 

The pair played, respectively, Max and Furiosa, who came to blows onscreen before ultimately teaming up to escape across the wasteland. However, their real-life relationship was no less volatile, according to New York Times columnist Kyle Buchanan‘s new book Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road.

According to excerpts from the U.K.’s Mirror, the pair clashed even before a frame was shot, and got into arguments so heated that a “threatened” Oscar winner Theron needed to be escorted at all times by a female producer on the project.

“It got to a place where it was kind of out of hand…I didn’t feel safe,” Theron says in the book. 

One exchange saw Theron, now 46, exploding about her 44-year-old co-star’s reported tardiness on set. “She jumps out of the War Rig, and she starts swearing her head off at him, saying, ‘Fine the f***ing c*** a hundred thousand dollars for every minute that he’s held up this crew,'” recalls cinematographer Mark Goellnicht.

“…[H]e charged up to her up and went, ‘What did you say to me?’ Goellnicht added.

Hardy seems to take the blame: “In hindsight, I was in over my head in many ways,” he admitted.

“The pressure on both of us was overwhelming at times. What she needed was a better, perhaps more experienced partner in me.”

The Venom series star added, “I’d like to think that now that I’m older and uglier, I could rise to that occasion.”

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The Critics Choice Association on Tuesday announced the nominees for the second annual Critics Choice Super Awards, and Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Spider-Man: No Way Home lead the film nominations, with five apiece. Two of the three Peter Parkers — Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland — landed acting nods. Zack Snyder’s Justice League also snagged nominations in the best superhero movie category alongside Black Widow, Eternals, Shang-Chi, Spider-Man and The Suicide Squad. On the TV side, Paramount Plus’ Evil and Netflix’s Midnight Mass led with six each. Disney+ dominated the superhero categories with multiple nominations for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Hawkeye, Loki and WandaVision. The winners will be announced on March 17. Disney is the parent company of ABC News…

Aziz Ansari, who created the Netflix series Master of None, will write, produce, direct and star alongside Bill Murray in as yet untitled comedic drama for Searchlight Pictures, according to Variety. The project is being adapted from Atul Gawande’s 2014 nonfiction book Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, which centers on aging, patients’ anxieties regarding death, and doctor’s tendencies to fall back on false hope — as having the potential to “change medicine — and lives.” Plot details have not been announced, nor have Ansari or Murray’s roles been revealed…

Universal has unveiled a first-look photo from Christopher Nolan’s anticipated thriller Oppenheimer, about J. Robert Oppenheimer, one of the creators of the atomic bomb, and announced the addition of Kenneth Branagh to its already star-studded cast, according to Deadline. The Oscar-nominated Belfast filmmaker joins previously announced stars Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Rami Malek, Benny Safdie, Josh Hartnett, Dane DeHaan, Jack Quaid, Matthew Modine, Dylan Arnold, David Krumholtz, Alden Ehrenreich and Michael Angarano. Production is now underway…

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Martin Lawrence and his TV series crew are back together again to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his self-titled sitcom. Taping for reunion special began Sunday; it’ll air on BET+ later this year.

“To be able to sit here thirty years later with this amazing cast that has had such an impact on pop culture is truly a blessing,” Lawrence said in a statement. “I am always humbled that the fans still want more of the show and its characters. I am looking forward to the reunion special.”

Lawrence and Tisha Campbell, who portrayed his girlfriend Gina, both won NAACP Image Awards for their roles in the show. Martin also won Outstanding Comedy Series in 1994 and 1995.  Martin aired from 1992-1997.

In addition to Martin and Tina, the reunion will also feature Tichina Arnold, who starred as Pam, and Carl Anthony Payne II, who played Cole. You can expect some very emotional moments as the fifth regular cast member, the late Thomas Mikal Ford, is remembered. He passed away in 2016 at the age of 52.

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Eight major Oscars will not be presented live on this year’s show in an effort to present a more TV friendly telecast, the Academy announced on Tuesday.

The awards will be given out an hour ahead of time, edited down, and then cut into the live telecast. However, the Academy points out that everyone will still have their “Oscar moment” — all nominees will still have their names read in their categories, and all winners will have their acceptance speeches televised.

Those categories being handed out earlier in the ceremony are for Documentary (Short Subject), Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling, Music (Original Score), Production Design, Short Film (Animated), Short Film (Live Action) and Sound.

The 94th Annual Academy Awards airs March 22 on ABC.

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Via her spokesperson Howard Bragman, Wendy Williams responded to the news that her eponymous talk show would be ending this season, and that current substitute host Sherri Shepherd would be carrying the torch permanently.

As reported, producers Debmar-Mercury will launch Sherri in The Wendy Williams Show‘s syndicated time slots beginning in the fall.

Williams hasn’t been on her show since this season began, as she’s been dealing with health problems. Fill-in hosts, including Shepherd, have been talking in her stead.

“It’s been a challenging time for Wendy as she deals with her health issues,” the statement began. “She is incredibly grateful to Debmar-Mercury, to Sherri and everybody else who has supported the show through this time.”

The statement continued, “She, more than anyone, understands the reality of syndicated television — you can’t go to the marketplace and sell a show that’s The Maybe Wendy Show.”

The note from Bragman concludes, “[Williams] understands why this decision was made from a business point of view, and she has been assured by Debmar-Mercury that should her health get to a point where she can host again and should her desire be that she hosts again that she would be back on TV at that time.”

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Martin Lawrence and his TV series crew are back together again to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his self-titled sitcom. Taping for reunion special began Sunday; it’ll air on BET+ later this year.

“To be able to sit here thirty years later with this amazing cast that has had such an impact on pop culture is truly a blessing,” Lawrence said in a statement. “I am always humbled that the fans still want more of the show and its characters. I am looking forward to the reunion special.”

Lawrence and Tisha Campbell, who portrayed his girlfriend Gina, both won NAACP Image Awards for their roles in the show. Martin also won Outstanding Comedy Series in 1994 and 1995.  Martin aired from 1992-1997.

In addition to Martin and Tina, the reunion will also feature Tichina Arnold, who starred as Pam, and Carl Anthony Payne II, who played Cole. You can expect some very emotional moments as the fifth regular cast member, the late Thomas Mikal Ford, is remembered. He passed away in 2016 at the age of 52.

In other news, Will Smith was among the winners of the non-televised portion of the NAACP Image Awards on Monday. Smith won Outstanding Literary Work — Autobiography, for his memoir, Will. The late Cicely Tyson was also honored with the Outstanding Literary Work — Debut Author Award, for Just As I Am. The 53rd NAACP Image Awards will air live on Saturday, February 26 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on BET.

Finally, Netflix announced that Dave Chappelle is executive-producing four specials starring some of his favorite comics. The first show, premiering Monday, February 28, titled Legendary, will feature comedian Earthquake. A date for the second special, starring Donnell Rawlings, will be announced later.

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Streaming service Roku has released the first official picture of Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe in the biopic of Grammy-winning song-parody master “Weird” Al Yankovic.

The shot shows Daniel as Al, in a curly fright wig, wearing one of Yankovic’s trademarks, a loud Hawaiian shirt, while rocking out on an accordion. “Your first look at #WEIRD is here,” the network announced, referencing the film’s title, WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story.

As previously reported, “The biopic holds nothing back,” according to a press statement from the streaming network, “exploring every facet of Yankovic’s life, from his meteoric rise to fame with early hits like ‘Eat It’ and ‘Like a Surgeon’ to his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle.”

The release further notes, cheekily, “WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story takes audiences on a truly unbelievable journey through Yankovic’s life and career, from gifted child prodigy to the greatest musical legend of all time.”

There’s no release date yet for the film, which will stream exclusively on Roku.

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More than two decades after the acclaimed original premiered, a continuation of the animated series The Proud Family, called The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, drops Wednesday on Disney+.

The streaming service is also home to the original series, which stars Kyla Pratt as Paula Proud, Tommy Davidson as her dad, Oscar, Paula Jai Parker as her mom, Trudy Proud, and Jo Marie Payton as Paula’s grandma, Suga Mama.

Tommy tells ABC Audio that after the original series signed off on 2005, fans couldn’t wait for a return. “Over the years, there’s been a presence for The Proud Family…” he explains. “You know, and I’m out there tactile in every market in the country, and I know for a fact that people are wanting the show back from from from the time that we went off the air. You know, so with it coming back, if it’s just double, it’s double the amount of people that want it.”

In his long career, Davidson explains he’s often recognized for his animated alter-ego, no matter where he goes — including a particular comedy club, he recalls.

“There was a really young waitress there, and all of the staff…were like waiting to say hey, goodbye and take pictures. And she was like, ‘I don’t know who he is. I don’t know.’ So they were saying, Ace Ventura and all this stuff…”

“And then somebody said, ‘What about The Proud Family?'” Affecting Oscar Proud’s boisterous voice, Tommy replied, “Yeah, what about The Proud Family?” He laughs, “She was like, ‘AHHH!'” 

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

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Bill Pullman narrates the upcoming PBS documentary Nature: American Horses, which explores the story of the horse, and how various breeds helped shaped the American landscape.  Turns out the Independence Day and Spaceballs actor knows more than a little about horses himself.

“In our valley in southwest Montana there’s a few people that are go-to riders that can do a little whispering, because it’s fairly hazardous,” says Pullman, who splits time between New York and his Montana ranch, where he says life there “teaches you to get up in the morning.” He tells ABC Audio the connection between man and horse runs deep: “You learn so much about what it is to be human by being around horses.”

Nature: American Horses, centers on four signature breeds: The Appaloosa, Morgan Horse, Mustang, and the American Quarter Horse, the latter of which can gallop at speeds up to 55 MPH, faster than any other breed. But Pullman recalls his first riding experience was a little more tame.

“It was a pony so it was really easy to get up on,” he says.  “[J]ust throw yourself on the horse, no saddle or anything else and just…skinny up there and feel that connection to an animal bigger than yourself!”

As a rancher, Pullman also has tremendous respect for environmental preservation, and the lands on which the horses and other animals roam. 

“Our connection to parks has changed in the last couple of years with the COVID thing,” says Pullman, “and everybody is appreciating their connection to vistas, and what responsible ranching is with maintaining good pasture use.”

Nature: American Horses airs on PBS Wednesday, February 23 at 8:00 ET/7:00 CT.

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