Film & Television

“Men In Black: International’ Director F. Gary Gray Receives A Star On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame

New York native F. Gary Gray was honored with a star on Hollywood Blvd this Tuesday (May 28).

Gray, who made his directorial debut with Friday at age 26, has been killing the game for 20+ years now. His list of box office hits includes Straight Outta Compton, The Italian Job, Law Abiding Citizen, Set if Off, and The Fate of the Furious to name a few. His soon-to-be-released film Men In Black: International (June 14), starring Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth, is the fourth installment in the Men In Black franchise.

Images by Eric Charbonneau for Sony Pictures

Actors Jamie Foxx and Vin Diesel spoke at the ceremony. Gray directed Foxx in Law Abiding Citizen (2009) and worked with Diesel on two projects – the vigilante action film A Man Apart (2003) and the eighth installment in The Fast and the Furious franchise – The Fate of the Furious (2017).

Images by Eric Charbonneau for Sony Pictures

Gray's star can be found at 6426 Hollywood Boulevard in front of the Hollywood Suit Store.

Film & Television

‘Black Adam’: Aldis Hodge To Star as Hawkman

Aldis Hodge (Clemency, The Invisible Man) will join Dwayne Johnson, AKA The Rock who stars as the title antihero in the new DC Comics’ Black Adam movie.

Hodge will play Hawkman who, according to the comic books, is an alien police officer Katar Hol from the planet Thanagar and one of the founding members of the Justice Society.

“A pleasure to welcome Aldis Hodge to Black Adam,” the Rock posted on Instagram. “Hawkman is a critical leading role for our movie, as he is the fiery leader of the JSA (Justice Society of America) and one of the most beloved and legendary characters in the DC Universe.”

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THIS IS HAWKMAN 🦅 A pleasure to welcome @aldis_hodge to BLACK ADAM. HAWKMAN is a critical leading role for our movie, as he is the fiery leader of the JSA (Justice Society of America) and one of the most beloved and legendary characters in the DC UNIVERSE. I called Aldis personally as I wanted to surprise him that he got the role and it wound up being one of the greatest conversations I’ve ever had. Aldis: Hello? DJ: Hello, I’d like to speak to Aldis. Aldis: Who is this? DJ: This is Dwayne Johnson. * long pause Aldis: Whoever this is stop playing on my phone. DJ: This is Dwayne, is this Aldis? * longer pause Aldis: This shit ain’t funny, I said stop playing on my fucking phone. DJ: Aldis, this is DJ. I just called to say thank you so much for sending in your audition – it was great and I really appreciate the efforts you made. Just wanted to say thanks and best of luck in all you do. And one more thing — welcome to Black Adam. * longest pause Aldis: I’m sorry you’ll have to hold on for a one second. * he puts the phone down and walks away and all I hear is inaudible yells 😂 Aldis: DJAYYYY OHHHHH SHIT!!!!!! * Im laughing my ass off by now. DJ: You ok? You’re gonna crush this role! We went on to have an awesome conversation full of gratitude, love and motivation. Can’t wait to work with this very talented brother. The perfect HAWKMAN. Let’s get to work. #aldishodge #jsa #hawkman 🦅 #blackadam⚡️

A post shared by therock (@therock) on Sep 25, 2020 at 3:09pm PDT

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and written by Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani, The film will

The film is scheduled to premiere in theaters on December 22, 2021.

Film & Television

Yara Shahidi To Play Tinkerbell in New Peter Pan Movie

The Black-ish actress is set to play Tinkerbell in David Lowery‘s Peter Pan and Wendy, Disney’s latest live-action adaptation. Shahidi joins a cast that features Jude Law as Captain Hook, Alexander Molony (The Reluctant Landlord) as Peter Pan and Ever Anderson (Black Widow) as Wendy.

This move marks the first time a Black woman will play the role that traditionally has featured a white actress. Much like another Disney animated classic remake Little Mermaid that announced casting their first Black Ariel, Halle Bailey, in 2019.

According to Deadline, the release is expected to be theatrical and not go the Disney+ streaming route.

Film

The Matrix 4: Laurence Fishburne Won’t Be Back as Morpheus

Laurence Fishburne has confirmed that he won’t be reprising his iconic role as Morpheus. The 59-year-old actor revealed that he “has not been invited” to return.

According to The Wrap, Fishburne told New York Magazine that he was never approached about joining the upcoming Lana Wachowski’s sequel. “I have not been invited. Maybe that will make me write another play. I wish them well. I hope it’s great,” Fishburne commented. “It is probably the role that I’ll be best remembered for, which is great; it’s not the only thing I’ll be remembered for, which is better,” He concluded.

As a reminder, Fishburne first portrayed Morpheus, the captain of the Nebuchadnezzar, in the original 1999 film alongside Keanu Reeves as Neo and Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity. The two are set to return for The Matrix 4 (working title) with Jada Pinkett-Smith.

Joining the movie, which details are currently under wraps, are also Neil Patrick Harris, Jonathan Groff, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Jessica Henwick.