#ShotsFired! Will Packer (@willpowerpacker) & Aaron McGruder (@aaronmcgruder23) Create “Black America” Series on Amazon (@amazon) As HBO Gears Up For “Confederate!”

Petty and power are going hand in hand as the controversy on television is only about to heat up. Then when you add the current racial climate of the country you just know things are about to blow up! As you may recall, the creators of HBO’s Game Of Thrones announced they were creating a new series after their current hit show ends known as Confederate. The new series is set in an alternate universe where the Confederate States of America (The South) successfully seceded from The Union (The North) and slavery still exists. It answer a “What If” question that Black America is not happy with! Thousands of people took to Twitter to voice their outrage with HBO for even thinking of creating such a controversial series, but all this buzz may fall on mute ears. Those mute ears will not be director, Will Packer’s, or Boondocks creator, Aaron McGruder!

Will Packer

The pair are creating  their own alternate universe series of the United States where African-Americans received reparations after the Civil War called Black America! The series has been in the works for over a year and  is set to be on Amazon Drama and already it too is causing controversy.

Aaron McGruder

We have to admit, both “alternate universe” stories are interesting. If for no other reason they might shed some light on just how different this country could have been with one historical outcome or decision. However, we are not with anything that honors the evils of The Confederacy and slavery! You all lost the war–GET OVER IT! As for Packer’s new series, we definitely want to see what the hype is about and hope it will not be any “shucking, jiving, or coonery.” There’s enough of that with Black people on regular television nowadays.

What do you guys think? Confederate and Black America, will you be watching? Sound off in the comments section below!

Written By: Michael “Hey Mikey” Fanning

Follow me on Twitter/IG @HeyMikeyATL

More Whitewashing? Disney (@Disney) Slammed for Casting Non-Arab Actress for Aladdin’s Princess Jasmine!

In 2017 you would think whitewashing and accusations thereof would be a thing of the past. Well we definitely thought wrong!

Casting news for Disney’s upcoming, live action remake of Aladdin has been marred by accusations of whitewashing after casting Power Rangers actress, Naomi Scott, in the role of Princess Jasmine!

via Fortune

Casting for Disney’s Aladdin; Will Smith, Naomi Scott, and Mena Massoud

To find the cast for its upcoming live-action reboot of the 1992 animated classic Aladdin, Disney and director Guy Ritchie reportedly undertook a months-long, worldwide search with an estimated 2,000 actors reading for the lead roles of Jasmine and Aladdin.

And after all that buildup, fans are still finding fault in the studio’s picks. Disney is catching some blowback for casting a non-Arab actress to play Jasmine.

Naomi Scott, who starred in this year’s Power Rangers film, landed the role alongside Mena Massoud as Aladdin, and Will Smith as Genie. Scott is of British and Indian heritage and some critics of the decision see it as a suggestion by Disney that women of Indian and Middle Eastern heritage look the same. Massoud is of Egyptian descent.

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[VIDEO] Rubble! Matt Damon’s “The Great Wall” (@thegreatwall) Bombs Opening Weekend!

Matt Damon is definitely one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. However, even a film starring him can take at the box office. That is exactly what happened with his latest film, The Great Wall! The film did horribly its opening weekend, only earning 25 millions dollars–its budget was 150 million dollars, however! YIKES!

To be fair a few other films had horrible debuts. Ice Cube’s Fist Fight only earned 14.6 million and a Cure For Wellness earned under 5 million. These numbers are odd considering this is a long weekend when you include President’s Day. Fifty Shades Darker is the exception (unsurprisingly) taking in 20.9 million in its third weekend!

“You Sit Behind Your Computer Like You Really All That”–Steve Harvey (@IAmSteveHarvey) To Critics on Black Twitter!

Steve Harvey took quite a few fans in the African-American community after he met with Donald Trump late last month. He alleges he went to meet with the then President-elect to try and facilitate change. However, the Black community, especially those of Black Twitter were NOT having it. In BeyHive fashion, they swarmed and attacked the actor/talk show host calling him everything from an Uncle Tom, sell out, and coon to a full fledged traitor!

Steve has come forward stating he was hurt by the attacks; and though he expected a backlash he did not expect it to be so great. Recently, however Steve has gone on the offensive, addressing critics on Black Twitter.

via Baller Alert:

Steve Harvey says that he doesn’t agree with many of the policies brought forth by Trump and the Republican party, however by sitting at the table, he feels his input can bring about change.

However, Harvey’s co-host, Nephew Tommy, suggests that Steve shouldn’t meet with Trump ever again. “We not going back to no more of these damn tables,” said Tommy. “That’s it with these tables. It’s too much stress on us. You’re not going to have my uncle at the table no more. We’re not sitting at no coffee tables, no end tables, no card tables, you won’t even catch him at the buffet table.”

Harvey then, much like Chrisette Michele, compared his meeting with Trump to Barack Obama.

“After everything Donald Trump said about Barack Obama  during his campaign, after everything he said after, when President Trump was elected, Obama invited him to the White House,” Harvey explains. “They met in a private meeting for an hour and a half. After all he has said about President Obama, he still left Trump a personal note at the White House for when he came in. After all he said about President Obama, he still patted him on the shoulder. Michelle still kissed Melania. After all he said about Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton was sitting at the inauguration, clapping for the same man.”

Steve Harvey concludes the segment by sending out a message to black people, specifically those who sat behind a computer and criticized him for meeting with Trump.

“I’ve been on this earth 60 years. Half y’all talking about me ain’t been on this earth no time and don’t know what we had to do to even get here. But you sit behind your computer like you really all that and you type about us and you don’t even know us, now talking about me. Let me leave you with this, this is my final message. This is to my people, the ones who want to hear this, in the words of the Temptations: ‘I know you wanna leave, but I refuse to let you go. If I gotta beg and plead for your sympathy, I don’t mind because it means that much to me.’”

We understand what Steve was trying to do, however, that does not negate the fact it was a wrong move on his part. He is not the person to do any bridging between communities. He should stick to his talk shows, radio show, and giving women bad relationship advice. Like Chrisette Michele his arrogance and presumptuous nature have cost him the love of the people who got him to the top. By the way what protests, marches, or sit ins have anyone ever seen Steve participate in? It is dishonorable or inappropriate when one man tries to include himself in the accomplishments of a revered generation. Mr. Harvey have several seats–off your multi-million dollar platform!

Written By: Michael “Hey Mikey” Fanning

#RIP…Bishop Eddie L. Long Has Passed…

Death has reared its ugly head yet again and invaded the ranks.

No we do not have another celebrity death, but someone who was a celebrity in his own right–and a pastor. It is with a heavy heart we report that Bishop Eddie L. Long has passed.

There has been a report on Channel 2 Action News, and  reports are coming in from social media, members of his congregation, and namely his former Minister of Music, Byron Cage. Byron tweeted the following below.

As you may already know Bishop Long was the pastor of megachurch, New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. He was known for years for his large congregation, affluence, and powerful sermons of hope and love throughout the metro-Atlanta area. In recent years he was embroiled by controversy, namely allegations of sexual misconduct. In the last year, however, it was his dramatic weight loss that caught national news. Originally, Bishop explained his weight loss was attributed to a raw, vegan diet; and later a still as of yet unexplained illness. Then homophobic pastor, Kim Burrell, alleged his weight loss was due to engaging in a homosexual lifestyle. He died from an aggressive form of cancer.

Whatever anyone’s personal feelings are about Bishop Long he was still a man and a human being. We will be praying for his family and congregation during this tragic time. Feel free to leave your comments and APPROPRIATE condolences below.

Written By: Michael “Hey Mikey” Fanning

 

 

Michelle Rodriguez (@MRodOfficial) To Play Male Assassin In New Movie!

“Fast & Furious“ star Michelle Rodriguez will have a new interesting role to add to her resume. Michelle decided to give her Instagram fans a sneak peek of her new role in the upcoming movie “Tomboy”. In the movie Michelle plays a male assassin who is forced to have a sex change.

 

According to Michelle the movie will be pretty edgy and a bit controversial,

“It’s in the B -Movie genre, a culture shock pic, shot like a ‘film Noir’ graphic novel. I played a male assassin for four days in the movie, boy was that beard itchy. Then out revenge, a twisted Doctor played by Sigourney Weaver decides to take my character’s manhood away with a sex change to teaching him a lesson.”

Tyler Perry (@tylerperry) Speaks Out on Social Media Backlash for Mostly White-Casted Show, “Too Close To Home!”

Tyler Perry really is trying to take over television! His series are running, or in syndication, across multiple networks and seem to be going stronger than ever! We definitely love The Haves & The Have Nots and If Loving You Is Wrong, and his fans definitely seem to love them as well when you look at how OWN dominates cable television’s ratings during that time slot. However, those same fans may very well be the cause of the backlash Tyler is currently facing for his new series, Too Close To Home.

A number of Tyler’s fans are calling him a sell out for the new series, and first scripted series for TLC. Many feel he has lost sight of his original goals for transitioning to television like bringing his work to a wider audience and creating more opportunities for actors and actresses of color. Too Close To Home only has a Black actress as apart of the series and no, she is not the star. Check out the trailer for the series below.

We watched the series premiere on Monday and think it is pretty good. Honestly only the casting is what sets it apart from many of his other shows. TLC just might have a hit on its hands if the series sticks to its own path and does not try to become a Scandal clone!

Tyler definitely believes in his work and said this to TMZ:

We are totally on board with Tyler for sticking to his guns! Racism, even reversed, is intolerable. This man has a history of casting people of color that spans decades. Then you have to think of TLC’s primary audience, they wisely should not deviate from that. What do you guys think of Too Close To Home and Tyler’s decision to cast a mostly White cast? Sound off below!

Marvel Director, James Gunn (@JamesGunn), Speaks Out on Racial Controversy Surrounding Zendaya’s (@Zendaya) “Mary Jane” Casting

We are not surprised at the level of controversy and prejudice aimed at Marvel for its decision to cast Zendaya in the role of “Mary Jane Watson” in next year’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. Marvel’s latest attempt in diversifying in its cinematic universe is just the latest a trend the company is proudly boasting. Black Panther is coming in 2018, Captain Marvel is getting her own standalone film, and Wasp is joining Ant-Man in his sequel.

Marvel director, James Gunn, however, defends the casting decision. Explaining Mary Jane is far more than the color of her skin.

via NYD:

“All hell broke out” on the internet over the casting choice, Gunn said.even though most social media users were on Zendaya’s side.

While several hot-takers did question the character’s change of race — and the 19-year-old Disney star’s acting skills — it seems that all but a few social media users had Zendaya’s back.

“Since Mary Jane is being played by a Black woman, can MLK be played by a White man in a next movie about him?” one Twitter user wrote.

“People saying some are racist because they don’t want Zendaya as MJ, nah she’s just a bad actress, nothing to do w/ skin color or ethnicity,” another user added.

Gunn did not confirm Zendaya’s appearance in the role — still just speculation spurred by a report from The Wrap. But the director did want to clarify that people with race-based gripes “have lives that are too good.”

“People get upset when something they consider intrinsic to a comic book character changes when adapted for a film. I get this…,” he wrote.

“That said, I do not believe a character is the color of his or her skin,” Gunn continued.

It is “shallow,” he added, if a character’s main attribute is the color of his or her hair or skin.

“Whatever the case, if we’re going to continue to make movies based on the almost all white heroes and supporting characters from the comics of the last century, we’re going to have to get used to them being more reflective of our diverse present world,” he said.

Kudos to James Gunn and Marvel! We will be front row and center to see Spider-Man: Homecoming!

[VIDEO] “Batman: The Killing Joke” Praised For Source Material, Criticized for Batman & Batgirl Sex Scene

Batman: The Killing Joke is undoubtedly one of the greatest stories in comic book history. In it, we once again saw The Joker terrorize not only the citizens of Gotham City, but The Bat Family itself! Joker not only kidnaps Commissioner Gordon, he also shoots Barbara Gordon in the spine, paralyzing her for years to come and leaving her with PTSD. Then there is the unconfirmed, yet implied belief The Clown Prince of Crime also raped her!

An Act Of Inclusion? The Oscars Add People Of Color To Its Voting Body

This year’s Oscars were highly controversial, and not just because of Chris Rock. As you recall, the organization received major backlash for its lack of racial diversity in choosing nominees for its awards. For the second year in a row almost everyone was overwhelmingly white and male. The Oscars has promised to fix its issues of diversity, and it looks like they are now actively making their first steps towards inclusion.

Just yesterday the Oscars released information that they have added 683 members to their voting body; and nearly half of them are minorities. 46% of the new group are female and 41% of the new group consists of people of color. This means combined with the existing members that is merely  a 2-3% uptick in minority representation.

via TMZ:

Notable names on the list include Idris Elba, Vivica A. Fox, Morris Chestnut, Michael B. Jordan, Nia Long, Gabrielle Union, and Marlon and Damon Wayans. ‘Star Wars’ newcomer John Boyega is the youngest at 24 added to the list. O’Shea Jackson also made the cut … interesting since the “Straight Outta Compton” snub ignited the controversy.

The Academy says the new class reps “the best in our global film community.” It also added this: “We encourage the larger creative community to open its doors wider, and create opportunities for anyone interested in working in this incredible and storied industry.”

We can lightly applaud the Oscars efforts, but we wonder will it really change anything about how the organization operates, or if actors and films of color will receive the same chances as their Caucasian counterparts. Time will tell.