Entertainment

In celebration of Black History Month, The Paley Center for Media in New York City is hosting its “Salute to Black Achievements in Television” from Saturday, February 5 to Sunday, February 27. The television work of the late Sidney Poitier will be spotlighted, along with classic episodes of Soul Train, Soul! and The Wire. The 50th anniversary of the premiere of Sanford and Son, starring Redd Foxx, will also be featured

A gallery exhibit of milestones in Black television will include original costumes from black-ish, Queen Sugar, Saturday Night Live, and All American.

On Thursday, February 17, the new ABC-TV series The Wonder Years will be explored in a virtual event starring executive producer Lee Daniels and the cast members, including Dulé Hill.

In other news, Joe Morton and director/producer Tracey Moore are hosting the 10-episode series Inside the Black Box premiering February 17 on the Crackle streaming service. The show will spotlight actors, producers, directors, writers, and musicians of color. Phylicia Rashad and Raven-Symone are among the stars that will be interviewed.

“Inside the Black Box is a space that reigns with pride; a safe haven where artists of color can learn from their ancestry, exchange ideas, celebrate their history, and grow, within the here and now,” said Morton, who currently stars in the new Fox series, Our Kind of People.

Finally, AXS TV is celebrating Black History Month throughout February with tributes to legendary music stars, including Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Chuck Berry, and Patti LaBelle. In addition to daily Black History Month programming, AXS will also present a special, all day, “Saturday Stack” on February 19 featuring specials dedicated to Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Marvin Gaye, Tupac Shakur, Jimi Hendrix, Tina Turner, Pharrell Williams, Nicki Minaj, and Anderson .Paak.

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Steve Agee reprises his role as John Economos from The Suicide Squad in HBO Max’s new hit spin-off Peacemaker.

For the series, Agee’s character graduates from being that superhero movie staple “the guy in the chair” to a gorilla-chainsawing secret agent, helping John Cena’s titular character tackle an alien invasion.

“I’m so stoked that we get to develop this guy,” Agee tells ABC Audio.

“You know, he was a pretty flat character in Suicide Squad, so it’s great for a number of reasons. I get to step out from sitting behind a computer and kill gorillas and get a body count going,” he adds with a laugh. 

From its opening moments, the series went viral, thanks to an absurd opening dance number featuring all of its characters that runs at the start of each episode. Set to Finnish band Wigwam‘s 2010 track “Do Ya Wanna Taste It,” Agee explains that the opening put the group, first formed in 1968, back on the map — along with Cinderella, Hanoi Rocks and other bands writer/director James Gunn laced into Peacemaker‘s soundtrack. 

“Wigwam is still a band, they’re still together,” Agee points out. “Their tour manager [recently had] fired them. Three days later, our show drops with, like, the greatest opening sequence of all time and kick-starts this band into full gear…[Now] they’re touring again. This has been a huge boost for them.”

Agee adds, laughing, “It’s been a boost for us! That opening number…it’s the thing I get asked most about. It’s like, ‘What was that like and how long did you have to rehearse?’ Yeah, it comes out of left field, man.”

The sixth episode of Peacemaker just debuted on HBO Max.

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The second season of truTV’s Fast Foodies is here, allowing fans to watch the exciting combination of celebrities, cooking and, of course, fast food. If that wasn’t enough to grab your attention, star Justin Sutherland teased to ABC Audio, “Everything’s just taken up a notch this season.”

Sutherland, who’s one of the chefs tasked with recreating the celebrity guest’s favorite fast food and giving it a five-star remix, dished, “The celebrities that we’re having this season just run the gamut from athletes to top-end actors.” Among those he name-dropped were Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Baron Davis.

In addition, Sutherland says his fellow chefs have gotten into the swing of things. “I think we’re all doing way better food, not that last year’s food wasn’t good, but we just we know the format. We’re comfortable with each other,” he remarked.

And while he is responsible for fancying up fast food for his celebrity guests, one must wonder which drive-thru Sutherland likes to visit the most. “I love a beef and cheddar from Arby’s,” the Iron Chef champion revealed, noting that it’s his go-to when he’s “hung over and, like, you can’t stomach a lot of food.”

Sutherland also has a penchant for a particular condiment from a famous fried chicken chain. “I will put KFC gravy on anything,” he admitted. “Sometimes I will get [an] Arby’s beef and cheddar and then go across the street and get just a side of gravy from KFC. And then I call it a slutty French dip, and then just sit in the parking lot and shamefully shovel this gravy and make sure nobody’s looking.”   

Fast Foodies season two airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on truTV.

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We’re less than two weeks out from Valentine’s Day — BTW, it’s February 14, Romeos and Juliets — so why not spend the big night cuddled up with a romantic movie? 

Fandango’s on-demand streaming service Vudu surveyed 2,000 people, and 82% said watching a movie with their main squeeze is their favorite Valentine’s-themed activity. 

With that in mind, Vudu has released a list of its most-streamed romantic movies of all time. 

A Star Is Born, starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, took the top slot, followed by the hit Crazy Rich Asians with starring Constance Wu and Henry Golding, while The Twilight Saga, with Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, took third.

Other entries on the list are classics you might expect like Titanic, The Notebook, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, and The Princess Bride — though it should be noted that the far naughtier Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy is right up there, at number four.

Vudu even made it easy for you to set the mood, with a playlist of its most-watched romantic movies. What’s more, through February 6, you can get $40 off the purchase of select bouquets from The Bouqs Company if you rent or purchase any films on Vudu, or buy movie tickets through Fandango — so all you have to do is arrange some dinner, and you’re good to go.

“Certain movies age like fine wine, and you need to break them out for special occasions,” says Fandango correspondent Nikki Novak.

Oh, and while you’re at it, maybe don’t skimp on the wine.

Here’s Vudu’s list of the top 25 most-streamed romantic movies: 

1. A Star is Born (2018)
2. Crazy Rich Asians
3. The Twilight Saga
4. Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy
5. Beauty and the Beast (2017)
6. Love and Monsters
7. Titanic
8. The Notebook
9. Trainwreck
10. The Proposal
11. Last Christmas
12. Warm Bodies
13. Dirty Dancing
14. Overboard (2018)
15. The Shape of Water
16. Crazy, Stupid Love
17. Silver Linings Playbook
18. La La Land
19. How Stella Got Her Groove Back
20. The Princess Bride
21. Pretty Woman
22. What Men Want
23. Love, Simon
24. Yesterday
25. Sweet Home Alabama

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(NOTE LANGUAGE) On Thursday’s installment of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Oscar winner Halle Berry explained how her youngest son, Maceo, has just picked up cursing as a habit — and demonstrated where he could have learned the F-word.

Berry explained the little one is going through a cursing phase. She demonstrated — with much use of the TV’s show’s “beep” button — how her son with ex-husband Olivier Martinez routinely salts up his favorite kids book. However, when Ellen shifted gears to Berry’s current boyfriend, musician Van Hunt, Berry proved pretty deft with the F-bomb herself. 

Ellen explained that both Hunt and Berry appeared on Ellen‘s first season, but on different installments. Berry said she told Hunt, “You mean you could have found me 20 years ago and saved me all this misery I’ve been through?”

“Why didn’t you arrange that, Ellen?” Halle protested. “It would have saved me from three f***ing marriages!”

“But then you wouldn’t have had that f***ing kid,” Ellen shot back, cracking up the actress and the audience.

Berry said, “No, I woulda had two other f***ing kids that I wouldn’t have to share two f***ing daddies with, and I’d be f***ing happier!” she said to laughs. “So it’s your f***ing fault, Ellen!”

“I am so f***ing sorry,” Ellen said, before noting of her final season, “This is how I should go out, my last three months, just cursing.”

Moonfall star Berry also has a 13-year-old daughter, Nahla, with ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry. Other than Martinez, Halle was previously married to former baseball star David Justice and musician Eric Benet, but didn’t have kids with them.

(Video contains censored profanity.)

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It’s that time of year again: The nominees for the 94th Annual Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, February 8.

Emmy-nominated black-ish star Tracee Ellis Ross, and Emmy-winning The Help veteran Leslie Jordan will do the honors starting at 8:18 a.m. Eastern time, presenting nominations for all 23 categories live via a livestream on Oscars.org and the Academy’s social media sites. 

The 94th Annual Academy Awards will air live on March 27 on ABC.

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Netflix released the first trailer for season two of Love Is Blind. This season, Nick and Vanessa Lachey and will bring together 30 new singles who are looking for love — but there’s a catch. The singles won’t be able to see what the other person looks like until they get engaged. If any couples form a connection, they’ll agree to spend four weeks together in Mexico and then tie the knot. Love Is Blind premieres February 11 on Netflix…(Trailer contains uncensored profanity.)

Starz has dropped the first trailer for Gaslit, the anthology series from Mr. Robot writer and director Robbie Pickering, based on the award-winning Slate podcast Slow Burn. Julia Roberts and Sean Penn star as Martha and John Mitchell in the series, which focuses on “the untold stories and forgotten characters of Watergate, from [Richard] Nixon’s opportunistic subordinates to the deranged zealots aiding and abetting their crimes to the tragic whistleblowers who would eventually bring the whole rotten enterprise crashing down.” Slow Burn also stars Shea Whigham as G. Gordon Liddy and Darby Camp as Marty Mitchell, as well as Allison Tolman. Chris Messina, Hamish Linklater, Nat Faxon and Patton Oswalt also star…

CBS on Tuesday announced the new series Beyond the Edge. The celebrity-driven, Survivor-style reality series features nine celebrities who will head to the dangerous jungles of Panama, where they’ll “face off in epic adventures and endure the most brutal conditions” and “push themselves to go far beyond their comfort zone.”  Celebs include country stars Lauren Alaina and Craig Morgan, Super Bowl MVP Ray Lewis, NBA champion Metta World Peace, supermodel Paulina Porizkova, NFL legend Mike Singletary, Fuller House actress Jodie Sweetin, The Bachelor‘s Colton Underwood and The Real Housewives of New York City‘s Eboni K. Williams.  Beyond the Edge premieres March 16…

Brooklyn Nine-Nine alum Terry Crews, Parker Posey, Rough Night‘s Jillian Bell, ER‘s Anthony Edwards and Hacks‘ Poppy Liu have been have been tapped to star in AMC’s Walking Dead spinoff, Tales of the Walking Dead, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Each stand-alone episode will focuses on both new and established characters within the Walking Dead universe. Details on which characters the quintet will play, or if they’ll appear together or in separate episodes, are being kept under wraps…

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Oscar nominations are right around the corner, and Tom Holland recently weighed in on the possibility of Spider-Man: No Way Home getting a best picture nod.

“It would be a huge honor for it to be nominated for an Oscar,” the 25-year-old actor told Variety while promoting his upcoming action adventure film, Uncharted, but said he’d also be fine if it didn’t.

“I think I can speak on behalf of everyone at Marvel and Sony and particularly [director] Jon Watts, the fan reaction that we’ve received — the love and support — is enough.”

“We have created something that has been such a culturally enriching experience for so many people, that watching those fan reactions to when Andrew [Garfield] comes through and Tobey [Maguire] comes through and Andrew saves Zendaya, I will never be able to live that down,” he continued. “That is just incredible. And for me, to be able to share that with the world is enough.”

As for another Spider-Man reunion, Holland isn’t ruling anything out.

“Could it happen? Of course it could happen. We’ve done it once before. Will it happen? I don’t know,” he says.

Nominees for the 94th Academy Awards will be announced February 8.

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Adrien Brody says his new ultra-violent action thriller, Clean, isn’t afraid to tackle the hot-button issues of today — because that’s exactly the kind of movie he loved watching as a kid.

Speaking with ABC Audio, the 48-year-old actor explained he wanted to make a “action revenge story” that is more than just about a man beating people up and spilling blood.  “I was looking to find a way to bring a film that speaks to issues that exist around us, that we can’t really ignore, that that justify the rage and sense of failure within many individuals,” says Brody. “Clean represents that.”

The Oscar winner plays the title role of Clean, and said his character will serve as a catalyst for the audience’s emotional experience.  “He embodies this collective sense of failure and of anger and frustration with our powerlessness against what’s coming around us,” said Brody. 

Brody adds his film honors a genre in movies he’s not only drawn to, but sorely misses seeing in theaters.

“In its core it’s an action revenge story. And when I used to hang out with my boys and we go to the movie theater and we’d hang out and we’d just revel in these kinds of movies,” he explained.  “And a degree of that is feels lost today.”

So, is Clean the modern Dirty Harry or Death Wish?  Brody only says the movie shares his “love for a style of filmmaking from the 70s, and filmmakers and writers that I really admired.”

Clean, also starring Glenn Fleshler, Michelle Wilson and Richie Merritt, is now in theaters and available on demand.

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April Simpkins, the mother Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst, who died from suicide, has released a statement about her daughter’s death at age 30.

Kryst leapt to her death from a New York City high rise Sunday.  The next day, the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed the pageant winner-turned lawyer and Extra correspondent’s death as a suicide.

“Today, what our family and friends privately knew was the cause of death of my sweet baby girl, Cheslie, was officially confirmed,” Simpkins’ message began. 

She called her daughter, “a ball of sunshine wrapped in smiles,” adding, “We talked, FaceTimed or texted one another all day, every day.”

Addressing Cheslie directly, her “devastated” mother said, “You were more than a daughter — you were my very best friend. Talking with you was one of the best parts of my day. Your smile and laugh were infectious.”

Simpkins said of her daughter, “While her life on this earth was short, it was filled with many beautiful memories. We miss her laugh, her words of wisdom, her sense of humor and mostly her hugs. We miss all of it – we miss all of her. She was a vital part of our family which makes this loss even more devastating.”

In lieu of flowers, Simpkins asked for people to make a donation to Dress for Success, “an organization that was dear to [Chelsie’s] heart.” The non-profit provides professional clothing to people in need. 

Kryst spoke out about mental health during her reign as Miss USA, saying on the pageant’s Facebook page in 2019, “I do a lot to maintain my mental health, and the most important thing that I did is talk to a counselor.”

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide, or worried about a friend or loved one, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 [TALK] for free confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Even if it feels like it, you are not alone.

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