Tatyana Ali to Appear on Season Three of ABC’s Hit Comedy Series “Abbott Elementary”

Tatyana Ali is heading to the classroom…

The 45-year-old half-Afro-Panamanian American actress and singer will appear on season three of ABC’s hit comedy series Abbott Elementary.

Tatyana AliAli, best known for her roles on NBC’s The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and CBS’ long-running soap opera The Young and the Restless, is among a list of recently announced guest stars/recurring stars that includes Lana CondorKeegan-Michael KeyCree Summer and Karan Soni.

It’s been a star-studded season on the Emmy-winning series.

During Sunday’s post-Oscars special episode, Bradley Cooper made a special appearance, while Season 3 kicked off in February on a high note with guest appearances from Philadelphia Eagles players Jalen Hurts, Brandon Graham and Jason Kelce.

The series has also previously had guest appearances from Taraji P. Henson, Ayo Edebiri, Vince Staples and Leslie Odom Jr.

Abbott Elementary takes place in a predominantly Black Philadelphia public school. Quinta Brunson, who created the series, plays Janine Teagues, an optimistic second-grade teacher who makes it her mission to help enrich her students’ lives while also managing her own personal life.

Tyler James Williams, Janelle James, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, William Stanford Davis and Sheryl Lee Ralph also star.

Ada Limón Named to Time Magazine’s 2024 Women of the Year List

Ada Limón has earned a special place in Time

The 47-year-old Mexican American poet, the first Latina to be Poet Laureate of the United States, has been named to Time magazine’s annual Women of the Year list.

Ada Limon,The Time list is designed to recognize “extraordinary leaders working toward a more equal world.”

In 2022, Limon was appointed the 24th poet laureate of the U.S., a role previously held by the likes of Tracy K. SmithJoy Harjo, and Rita Dove.

Last spring, she was granted a two-year second term. And in October came the announcement that she’d won a MacArthur “genius” grant.

These are the achievements most writers only dream of—but there was one invitation that even the most inventive of poets would not have imagined: NASA reached out. It wanted Limón to compose an original poem to be launched into space.

“As soon as I hung up, I thought, Oh, no,” Limón says.

Her poem “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa” will be engraved inside the Europa Clipper, a spacecraft set to launch on October 10 and begin orbiting Jupiter by 2030.

Out of this world though the commission may be, it’s a fitting one for a poet dedicated to exploring the ties between the human experience and the universe we all share.

“When I’m in my darkest space, as a poet and as a human, turning to nature is the one thing that will bring me back to myself,” Limón says. “It’s very hard to write from a place of fear and isolation. If you can, connect to the natural world—a tree, a shrub, whatever you can set your sight on for a moment. We’re not alone.”

This summer, Limón will embark on a tour across the U.S. to unveil poetry installations in seven national parks as part of her signature program as poet laureate, dubbed You Are Here—which is also the title of an anthology she’ll publish in April. From Washington to Florida, Limón will convene people from all walks of life to celebrate both poetry and the land.

Other Class of 2024 honorees this year include actor, writer and director Greta Gerwig; actor Taraji P. Henson; singer, songwriter and actor Andra Day; tennis player Coco Gauff; Global CEO of Chanel Leena Nair; co-founder and leader of the Israeli movement Women Wage Peace Yael Admi; founder and director of Women of the Sun Reem Hajajreh; president and chairwoman of nonprofit Nadia’s Initiative Nadia Murad; medical scientist and professor of research on hyperemesis gravidarum Marlena Fejzo; founder and executive director of The Chisholm Legacy Project Jacqui Patterson; and economic historian and labor economist Claudia Goldin.

Time will host the third annual invite-only Time Women of the Year Gala on Tuesday, March 5, in Los Angeles. The event will feature appearances and remarks from Women of the Year honorees, the presentation of a Time Earth Award, as well as a special musical performance by Andra Day.

Colman Domingo to Serve as a Presenter at This Weekend’s Screen Actors Guild Awards

Win or lose, Colman Domingo will be taking the stage at the SAG Awards

The 54-year-old Belizean-Guatemalan American actor, who is nominated for two SAG Awards, is among 30 presenters announced for the 30th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards set for Saturday in Los Angeles.

Colman DomingoDomingo is among a roster of presenters that includes America Ferrera, nominated for being part of the cast of Barbie, Idris Elba, Margot Robbie, Jessica Chastain, Erika Alexander, Emily Blunt, Danielle Brooks, Sterling K. Brown, Michael Cera, Robert Downey Jr., Fran Drescher, Phil Dunster, Billie Eilish, , Brendan Fraser, Taraji P. Henson, Troy Kotsur, Greta Lee, Melissa McCarthy, Cillian Murphy, Glen Powell, Issa Rae, Storm Reid, Tracee Ellis Ross, Alexander Skarsgård, Omar Sy, Hannah Waddingham, Naomi Watts and Jeffrey Wright.

More presenters will be announced later.

Elba will open the ceremony, which has been host-free since 2021, and Aniston will present the 59th SAG Life Achievement Award to legendary actor, singer, producer, writer and director Barbra Streisand.

Barbie and Oppenheimer lead with four nominations apiece in the film races, while on the TV side the last season of Succession scored five nominations to top the field.

Barbie and Oppenheimer are joined in the Cast category by American Fiction, The Color Purple and Killers of the Flower Moon, with each scoring multiple nominations.

The SAG Awards historically have been an almost certain predictor of future Oscars success. Last year, Everything Everywhere All at Once scored the ensemble Cast trophy as well as wins for Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis and Ke Huy Kwan — all four repeated the feat later at the Oscars, as did SAG Best Actor winner Brendan Frasier from The Whale.

Winners in SAG’s 15 categories will be announced Saturday, February 24 at the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles in a ceremony streaming live on Netflix.

Max to Begin Streaming “The Color Purple,” Starring Colman Domingo, on February 16

Colman Domingo is seeing purple to the Max

The Color Purple, starring the 54-year-old Belizean-Guatemalan American actor, will make its streaming debut on Max on February 16.

Colman Domingo, Color PurpleThe film musical remake from Warner Bros. and director Blitz Bazawule is up for an Academy Award, received two SAG Award nominations and earned 17 NAACP Image Award nods.

It stars Fantasia Barrino, who reprises the role of Celie after playing her on Broadway in 2007, as well as Danielle Brooks, who received a Tony nomination for the Broadway role and is now competing for a best supporting actress Oscar.

Domingo, who portrays Albert “Mister” Johnson, Taraji P. Henson and Halle Bailey also star in The Color Purple, which boasts producers including Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones, and is a film adaptation of the Broadway musical, which itself adapted the 1985 Spielberg film based on Alice Walker’s novel.

“Spielberg did justice to Alice Walker’s Pulitzer-winning novel, but he also left room to expand and improve,” wrote Variety chief film critic Peter Debruge in his review of the 2023 film. “Now, nearly four decades later, a rousing new version arrives from director Blitz Bazawule.”

He continued, “Instead of rejecting what came before, the Ghanian filmmaker embraces and builds upon it, collaborating with Spielberg, Quincy Jones and Oprah Winfrey to update the material for the next generation … The main change, apart from a cast with impossibly big shoes to fill, comes from incorporating the songs written for the Broadway musical — which also brings an additional freedom, as those numbers allow the story to transcend the characters’ harsh reality.”

In her November Variety cover story, Barrino talked about her trepidation in returning to the role of Celie. In fact, she initially said no to the movie role, turning down Winfrey herself before changing her mind. “I’m grateful that I did not allow those voices in my head to hold me back from stepping into this woman’s shoes,” Barrino said. “It was important that I did.”

Colman Domingo & His “The Color Purple” Cast Mates Claim Astra Film Award for Best Cast Ensemble

Colman Domingo is celebrating an Astra-nomical win…

The 2024 Astra Film Awards winners have been announced, with the 54-year-old Belizean-Guatemalan American actor among the honorees.

Domingo and his The Color Purple cast members claimed the Best Cast Ensemble prize.

Domingo portrays Albert “Mister” Johnson in the musical/drama that also stars Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks and Taraji P. Henson.

The ASTRA Film Awards, presented by the Hollywood Creative Alliance, were held on Saturday (Jan. 6) at the Biltmore Los Angeles and hosted by comedian Rick Glassman. The ceremony was live-streamed on KNEKTtv and the HCA YouTube channel.

Here’s a look at the 2024 Astra Film Awards winners:

Best Original Song: “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie, Written by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt – Performed by Ryan Gosling (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Best Score:Oppenheimer, Ludwig Göransson (Universal Pictures)
Best Documentary Feature:Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (Apple Original Films)
Best Animated Feature:Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures)
Best Voice-Over Performance: Hailee Steinfeld – Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures)
Best Cast Ensemble:The Color Purple (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Best Supporting Actress: Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers (Focus Features)
Best Supporting Actor: Ryan Gosling – Barbie (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Best Actress: (TIE) Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple Original Films) & Margot Robbie – Barbie (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Best Actor: Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers (Focus Features)
Best Original Screenplay:Barbie, Written by Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Best Adapted Screenplay:American Fiction, Screenplay by Cord Jefferson (Orion Pictures / Amazon MGM Studios)
Best Director: Christopher Nolan – Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures)
Best Picture:Barbie (Warner Bros. Pictures)

“The Color Purple,” Starring Colman Domingo, Tops Box Office on Christmas Day

It’s a Purple reign for Colman Domingo this Christmas

The Color Purple, a vibrant adaptation of the book-turned-beloved-film-turned-hit-Broadway-musical and starring the 54-year-old Belizean-Guatemalan American actor and social justice activist, dominated at the box office on Christmas Day.

Colman Domingo,The film has outperformed expectations with $18 million from 3,152 North American theaters. It’s the largest Christmas Day opening for a film since 2009, and the second-biggest Christmas Day opening of all time.

Those ticket sales were enough to lead the way on Monday ahead of two other newcomers, Neon’s racing drama Ferrari and director George Clooney’s inspirational sports story The Boys in the Boat.

Boosted by positive reviews and a glowing “A” CinemaScore, The Color Purple marks the first musical in some time that’s resonated at the box office. The film, backed by Warner Bros. and directed by Blitz Bazawule, collected more in a single day than recent stage-to-screen stories — including West Side Story ($10.5 million), In the Heights ($11 million), Dear Evan Hansen ($7.5 million) and Cats ($6.6 million) — earned in their opening weekends.

The Color Purple benefitted by premiering on Christmas Day, one of the most popular days of the year for moviegoing. But this is a promising start for the $100 million-budgeted musical, which should benefit from word of mouth in the coming days.

“The Color Purple” looks to remain the de facto choice for families over the remainder of what has otherwise been a lackluster holiday season. American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino brings to life the trials, tribulations and triumphs of Celie, a Black woman living in Georgia in the early 1900s. Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Domingo as  Albert “Mister” Johnson, and Halle Bailey round out the cast.

New Trailer Released for “The Color Purple,” Starring Colman Domingo

Colman Domingo is under a purple haze…

Warner Bros. has released a new look at its upcoming Broadway musical adaptation of The Color People, starring the 54-year-old Belizean-Guatemalan American actor and social justice activist.

Colman DomingoIn addition to Domingo, who portrays Albert “Mister” Johnson, the musical film also stars Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks, Taraji P. Henson, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Halle Bailey and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor.

Directed by Blitz Bazawule, the film will open in theaters on December 25. Marcus Gardley, Alice Walker and Marsha Norman penned the screenplay.

The film is based on the Tony-winning musical from Norman, Brenda Lee, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, which was based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Alice Walker. It comes on the heels of a classic 1985 film adaptation from director Steven Spielberg and centers on Celie, a Black Southern woman who struggles to find her identity after suffering abuse from her father and others over the course of forty years.

The original Broadway musical debuted in 2005, scoring 11 Tony Award nominations in 2006 and Best Performance by an actress in a leading role for award for LaChanze in her role as Celie. The 2015 revival garnered four more Tony nominations and won for Best Revival of a Musical for Cynthia Erivo in her Broadway debut. The musical has also won Grammy and Emmy awards.

Spielberg directed and produced the 1985 adaptation of the Alice Walker novel, which received 11-time Oscar-nominations. The film scored Oprah Winfrey a Supporting Actress Oscar nomination, and Leading Actress Oscar nomination and Golden Globe Award for Whoopi Goldberg.

The Color Purple (2023) producers include Spielberg, Winfrey, Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones with executive producers Walker and Rebecca Walker.

Cardi B Team Ups with Offset to Release New Single “Jealousy” & Self-Directed Music Video

Cardi B is released the green-eyed monster

The 30-year-old half-Dominican American Grammy-winning rap superstar has joined voices with her husband Offset to release the single “Jealousy.”

Cardi B, Offset, JealousyIn the self-directed visual from one of hip-hop’s biggest power couples, Cardi B and Offset work through their issues onscreen while keeping hold of what’s most important: their kids, each of whom makes a cute cameo in the project.

After walking out on a screaming match with Cardi B, Offset indulges in some boy time with their almost 2-year-old son, Wave, while playing mini-basketball and riding bikes with his sons Jordan and Kody from previous relationships.

Kulture, his 5-year-old daughter with Cardi, and 8-year-old Kalea, whom he shares with Shya L’amour, are later captured giggling adorably together in the front seat of a car.

But just because the video was a family function doesn’t mean it was strictly PG. One scene, for instance, featured Cardi B crouching down to mimic a NSFW action on ‘Set, who is leaning against a vintage convertible.

All the while, the two superstars take turns getting things off their chest, both of them using their respective verses to call out haters who speculate on their relationship.

The couple first started teasing “Jealousy” earlier this week, enlisting Jamie Lee Curtis to play a reporter questioning their relationship drama in a spoof on James Brown‘s memorable 1988 CNN interview.

Later, Cardi B. shared a video co-starring Taraji P. Henson, in which the “WAP” rapper rants about Offset’s past infidelity and Henson encourages her to stay with him.

“Jealousy” may or may not be Cardi B. and Offset’s response to their own recent real-life relationship issues, which went public last month after the Migos rapper accused his wife of cheating on him via Instagram Stories.

Shortly afterward, Cardi B jumped on Twitter Spaces to emphatically deny the accusations.

But based on a few public appearances in the weeks since, and now, their new collaboration, it definitely seems like the two have resolved the conflict. Plus, an insider tells Billboard that Offset’s family is “his No. 1 priority,” adding, “He’s making sure they are involved.”

Brice Gonzalez Joins Voice Cast of Spin Master Entertainment, Nickelodeon & Paramount’s Sequel “PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie”

It’s paws up for Brice Gonzalez

The young Latino actor, TikTok star and Lopez vs. Lopez scene-stealer has joined the voiceover ensemble cast of Spin Master EntertainmentNickelodeonParamount’s sequel PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie.

Brice GonzalezGonzalez, who rose to acclaim as part of the EnkyBoys with his late father, will voice one of a trio of new pups, alongside Alan Kim and North West, who joins her mom Kim Kardashian who returns as Delores from the first film, along with a cameo from brother Saint West.

Other voice cast members include Kristen Bell, Christian Convery, McKenna Grace, Lil Rel HoweryJames MarsdenFinn Lee-Epp as Ryder and tennis ace Serena Williams.

Additional cast members reprising their roles include Marsai Martin (Liberty), Ron Pardo (Mayor Humdinger) and Callum Shoniker (Rocky). New cast members also include Luxton Handspiker (PAW Patrol series), Christian Corrao (Dino Dana) and Nylan Parthipan (PAW Patrol series).

All of them join Taraji P. Henson in the feature, which is hitting theaters on October 13.

The film’s score is composed and produced by Emmy-nominated Pinar Toprak.

“This year marks the 10th anniversary of the PAW Patrol franchise, and what better way to celebrate than the release of our second feature film,” said Jennifer Dodge, Spin Master’s President of Entertainment and producer of the film. “As we continue to expand the PAW Patrol universe for fans, we’ll follow the pups on mightier missions and explore their backstories, this time with a heartwarming tale centered around our heroine Skye. With this cast of dynamic voice talent, we’re bringing a whole new level of excitement to the big screen.”

Added Ramsey Naito, President of Nickelodeon Animation and Paramount Animation, “Following the historic success of the first film, which truly reinforced the global love for this franchise, we knew that this sequel called not only for an equally great story, but for world-class talent to bring these characters to life once again.”

The first PAW Patrol: Movie was a theatrical-day-and-date title with streaming service Paramount+. The movie opened to No. 1 in more than 25 countries and ultimately amassed $150M+ worldwide. It also became one of the most-watched Paramount+ originals.

PAW Patrol: The Movie helmer Cal Brunker directs again with his writing partner Bob Barlen, who takes on the role as associate producer.

Anitta to Perform During Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty Vol. 4 Fashion Show

Anitta is preparing for a Savage moment…

The 29-year-old Brazilian singer, songwriter, actress and dancer will perform as part of the fourth installment of Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty fashion show.

AnittaThe “Envolver” singer joins a star-studded lineup for the event that includes Burna BoyDon Toliver and Maxwell.

In addition, there’ll be special appearances by Ángela Aguilar, Avani Gregg, Bella Poarch, Cara Delevingne, Damson Idris, Irina ShaykJoan Smalls, Kornbread, Lara Stone, Lilly Singh, Marsai Martin, Precious Lee, Rickey Thompson, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Simu Liu, Taraji P. Henson, Taylour Paige, Winston Duke, Zach Miko and more.

The annual fashion experience will air on November 9 via Prime Video.

The follow-up to the Emmy-winning Vol. 3 iteration of the fashion show will feature the latest Savage X Fenty styles from the music icon, and will stream exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories.

In addition to the show airing on Prime Video, the entire Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 4 collection, which pays tribute to self-expression and personal empowerment, will also be available to shop in the Amazon store and at Savage X Fenty’s website on November 9.