Latest news with #FightNight:TheMillionDollarHeist
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Saturday Night Live' Cast and Crew Describe the ‘Weird Dance' It Takes to Make Each Show Happen
As much excellence as we see onscreen on 'Saturday Night Live,' which just wrapped its historic 50th season, some of the best stories from the cast and crew, that illuminate how much work goes into making the weekly late night staple, are about the sketches or parts of sketches that got cut. Take the viral 'Maybelline' sketch for example, with a trio of performers including host Ariana Grande doing their best Jennifer Coolidge impression. During a USG University Panel featuring Hair Department Head Jodi Mancuso, Makeup Department Head Louie Zakarian, and cast member Chloe Fineman (who is in the sketch,) 'Saturday Night Live' director Liz Patrick revealed that there was supposed to be a fourth Jennifer Coolidge in the scene. 'Sarah [Sherman] was in there also,' she said, describing the first draft of 'Maybelline' she'd read. 'I was like, 'Oh my god. How are we gonna do four people?' But I was open and ready for the challenge.' More from IndieWire 'Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist' Features a Set of Sideburns That 'Saved the Day' Amy Poehler Admits 'I Misappropriated' with Certain 'SNL' Sketches: 'We All Played People' We Shouldn't Have The panelists all agree: Being 'open and ready for the challenge' is the kind of ethos always needed to get the job done for 'SNL,' even if they don't know exactly how yet at a particular moment. 'It's just flying by the seat of your [pants],' said Fineman. 'I was remembering last year I did JoJo Siwa on 'Weekend Update,' and that was so much crazy makeup that we created, and then had an immediate, quick change. So you're putting it on, and then you're fully washing your face, and then fully putting the new thing on. And then we did the same thing … You can't even think about it. You're just going, and it is like this weird dance that we all just do because everyone's so expert and truly at the top of their game. It's beautiful.' Building off of that example that Fineman laid out, makeup designer Zakarian explains, 'We can't use makeups that are going to stay on and take too long to take off. So everything has to be planned out for 'Ok, we need to be able to do it as fast as [it] possibly can be done, because we never know what's going to happen from dress to air.' He adds, 'You find out that, 'Oh, I had 10 minutes here, now I've only got five minutes to do that same thing that took us 10 minutes to get into' is a big, big challenge.' For hair and wig designer Mancuso, a memorable battle that she had against the clock working on Season 50 was when she got a call at 1:00am the day before the show that Mikey Day's character in the cold open had been replaced by Devon Walker playing country star Shaboozey, meaning they were now in need of an intricate wig to match the 'A Bar Song (Tipsy)' singer's unique dread pattern. 'I was like, 'Oh my god, man, this beautiful man's big dreads. How am I doing this?' And for the first time, I said to one of our writers, Bryan Tucker, 'I don't know if I can do this,'' she said. 'And he came to my room and he was like, 'Do I have to cut this?' And who wants to be that person? 'The wig department can't figure it out.' And we pulled it off, and it was so beautiful. And of course, it got cut, but we made it happen!' To hear Fineman, Patrick, Mancuso, and Zakarian talk more about the craft that went into making 'Saturday Night Live' Season 50, watch IndieWire's full interview with them above. 'Saturday Night Live' Season 50 is now streaming on partnered with Universal Studio Group for USG University, a series of virtual panels celebrating the best in television art from the 2024-2025 season across NBC Universal's portfolio of shows. USG University (a Universal Studio Group program) is presented in partnership with Roybal Film & TV Magnet and IndieWire's . Catch up on the Best of IndieWire 2023 Emmy Predictions: Who Will Win at the Primetime Emmy Awards? 2023 Emmy Predictions: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special 2023 Emmy Predictions: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Hacks,' ‘Umbrella Academy,' ‘Four Seasons,' and More Filmmakers Invite Viewers Into Their Storytelling Process
A wide range of filmmakers gathered on the Universal lot on May 22 for IndieWire and USG University's 'Consider This' panel, an FYC event designed to showcase the art of storytelling on television from a variety of perspectives. 'A Man on the Inside' editor Sue Federman, 'Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist' showrunner and writer/executive producer Shaye Ogbonna, and 'Hacks' makeup department head Debra Schrey and hair department head Aubrey Marie joined 'The Umbrella Academy' visual effects supervisor Everett Burrell and 'The Four Seasons' art director Mailara Santana on stage to take a deep dive into their process. They spoke in front of an audience comprised of TV Academy and guild members as well as film students from Roybal Film and Television Magnet. More from IndieWire 'Hacks' Renewed for Season 5 at HBO Max 'The Americas' Creative Team Didn't Just Capture Some of the Best Sperm Whale Footage Ever, They Made a Landmark Discovery After beginning the conversation with a discussion of how they got their start in the business, the panel quickly moved to the topic of their role as cinematic storytellers. Ogbonna, who created 'Fight Night,' said that the key to getting the most out of his collaborators was recognizing them as artists and utilizing their specific talents. 'I was trained at AFI and [learned] from day one that everybody's a storyteller,' Ogbonna said. ' Some of the best ideas you might get from an editor, you might get from a DP, you might get from a prop master.' When it came time for Ogbonna to take charge of his first series as showrunner, he took that sensibility with him. 'When it was time to hire all those people, I always saw them as partners in the story,' he said. 'It's, look, here's what's on the page, here are the parameters, but let's have fun.' Ogbonna wanted to give his wardrobe, makeup, and hair departments the freedom and inspiration to recreate the early 1970s era in which the show takes place. 'We're talking about very specific cultural touchstones in a certain time. It was important that we got it right.' On 'The Four Seasons,' it was imperative that the art direction reveal something about character and give the actors tools to work with. In creating the rundown Puerto Rican resort where the vacationing middle-aged friends (played by the likes of Tina Fey and Will Forte) at the center of the series stay, Santana zeroed in on aspects that would make them uncomfortable. 'The characters were not into going down and dirty,' Santana said. 'They wanted to go to a nice hotel as usual. [Showrunner] Tina Fey was very explicit about not wanting it to be pristine.' To that end, Santana worked on making the resort seem old and uncomfortable while contrasting it with a nicer resort close by that most of the characters wish they were staying at. 'We had to do a lot of aging,' she said. 'Once the actors got there, it was exactly what they were hoping for, because it helped them get in tune with their characters. It helps them feel like, 'I don't have to force it. I see it. It's just my environment. This is not necessarily where I want to be.'' Like 'The Four Seasons,' 'Hacks' is a character-driven comedy in which filmmaking craft goes a long way toward letting the audience know who these people are and what stage they're at in their lives. ' I need to think about, 'Does this person know how to do their hair?'' Marie said. 'Do they spend any time on it? If you look at somebody and their hair is perfectly blown out, that tells you something different than if their hair is just air dried or dirty or in a ponytail.' In the case of Ava, the young writer whose career has taken a big jump in the most recent season, Marie wanted to give a sense of the character's elevated position. 'She's gotten this new job, she has new responsibility, new money, and she's trying to put herself together,' Marie said. In previous seasons, Ava straightened her hair, but the back wouldn't be done because she couldn't see it; now she's more polished, but as Marie noted, 'She's still a little misguided.' That misguided quality extends to a hilarious episode in which Ava tries to give herself a makeover to impress an old flame who is coming on her show. She doesn't quite pull it off. 'That was really fun,' Schrey said. 'Tragic and awkward and fun. She never wears makeup, so this was a big deal, and we got to have fun with her. We called it the Sephora look.' Like 'Hacks,' 'A Man on the Inside' is a comedy series that goes to rather dramatic places; while the tone is generally quite sprightly as widower Ted Danson finds a new lease on life by becoming an undercover detective, there are also moments of genuine poignancy depicting his overwhelming sense of loss. 'That's the fun for me, to try to embrace the comedy but also the grief,' Federman said, noting that the opening of the series, in which the slow pace of Danson's life is clearly established, was one of the biggest challenges. 'That was very tricky and it was a big swing, because if you start slow, the network is very scared,' Federman said. 'They don't want anybody turning it off in the first five minutes. But [creator] Mike [Schur] was just adamant, 'This is this guy's character,' and we have to set it up because if you're invested in this, then everything else will follow. It started much longer. My first cut of the first episode was 43 minutes, and we ended up at 27 minutes.' Like Federman, Burrell feels that he's responsible for helping to maintain a show's tone through his work. ' There are a lot of in-depth talks about how to serve the story from a variety of angles,' Burrell said. 'One of them is color, which is a really big deal on 'The Umbrella Academy.' We had a lot of discussions about palettes and tone. Part of my job is helping the new directors who come on board understand the tone from other seasons.' Burrell said that the key to getting everyone on the same page is being a part of the process from beginning to end. 'Being involved early on during prep and getting scripts early is a big deal,' he said. 'If you don't get the script, you don't understand what the story is.' IndieWire partnered with Universal Studio Group for USG University, a series of virtual panels celebrating the best in television art from the 2024-2025 TV season across NBC Universal's portfolio of shows. USG University (a Universal Studio Group program) is presented in partnership with Roybal Film & TV Magnet and IndieWire's Future of Filmmaking. Catch up on the latest USG University videos here. Best of IndieWire 2023 Emmy Predictions: Who Will Win at the Primetime Emmy Awards? 2023 Emmy Predictions: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special 2023 Emmy Predictions: Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Universal Studio Group and IndieWire Present USG University: Consider This, a Celebration of TV Craft in Los Angeles on May 22
Emmy season is ramping up, and now's the time to dive deeper into the creation of some of your favorite shows. Join Universal Studio Group and IndieWire for 'USG University: Consider This, an evening celebrating the art of TV storytelling through craft on May 22. IndieWire will also be partnering with USG for its tentpole FYC campaign, USG University, which encompasses a slate of virtual panels with producers, actors, and artisans from shows such as 'The Four Seasons,' 'The Americas,' 'Saturday Night Live,' 'Hacks,' 'Happy's Place,' and more. The first virtual panel will launch on IndieWire on May 19, with two a week rolling out in the weeks after that. More from IndieWire Newport Beach TV Fest to Honor 'Landman' with Outstanding Drama Series Award Bingeing, Weekly, or Batches? Is There a Right Way to Roll Out a Series on Streaming? (Open to TV Academy and guild members.) This partnership aligns perfectly with IndieWire's in-depth, sharp awards coverage as well as Future of Filmmaking, our new content vertical and newsletter designed to help anyone in the film and TV industry to navigate a entertainment career. The May 22 event, moderated by IndieWire's Jim Hemphill, will take place in person in Los Angeles and gather talent from 'Hacks,' 'A Man on the Inside,' 'The Four Seasons,' 'Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist,' and 'The Umbrella Academy,' all NBC Universal-produced shows. A reception will immediately follow the panel event. USG University (a Universal Studio Group program) is presented in partnership with Roybal Film & TV Magnet and IndieWire's Future of Filmmaking. USG University is a vehicle to support Roybal, one of the finest High schools for preparing students for a career in below-the-line roles in film and TV, with immersive opportunities to learn about TV craft with an aim for helping students to picture themselves working as a TV artisan. The specific talent on hand for the May 22 event is Everett Burrell, visual effects supervisor of 'The Umbrella Academy'; Sue Federman, editor of 'A Man on the Inside'; Shaye Ogbonna, executive producer and writer of 'Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist'; Mailara Santana, art director of 'The Four Seasons'; and from 'Hacks,' makeup department head Debra Schrey and hair department head Aubrey Marie. Upon confirmation of your attendance, details will be provided to you about where the event is taking place. Doors will open at 4:15pm PT on the 22nd, with the panel discussion start at 5:00 and the reception following immediately of IndieWire Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Movies: 56 Films the Director Wants You to See 'Song of the South': 14 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial Movie The 55 Best LGBTQ Movies and TV Shows Streaming on Netflix Right Now
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Terrence Howard Rejected Marvin Gaye Biopic Because He Didn't Want to Kiss a Man
Terrence Howard admitted that he passed on playing Marvin Gaye because if he had to kiss a male costar he would 'cut my lips off.' During a recent appearance on the Club Random podcast, Howard told host Bill Maher about the 'biggest mistake' he ever made in his career. The actor recounted how he was invited to dinner by Smokey Robinson because 'he wanted me to play his life' in a movie. Unfortunately Howard had to turn Robinson down because he was in a conversation with Lee Daniels about playing Marvin Gaye in another biopic. More from Rolling Stone Bruce Springsteen Jams With John Fogerty, Tom Morello, Smokey Robinson at American Music Honors Bill Maher Slams Larry David's Satirical Hitler Essay: Insults 'Six Million Dead Jews' Library of Congress Defends National Recording Registry After Bill Maher's 'New Rules' Jab Maher responded, 'You would've been perfect as Marvin Gaye, and that is a story that needs to be told.' However, Howard confirmed he ended up in neither project. He ended up turning down the role of Gaye once he learned how the singer's sexuality would be explored in the film. 'I was over at Quincy Jones' house and I'm asking Quincy, 'I'm hearing rumors that Marvin was gay' and I'm like, 'Was he gay?,'' Howard recalled. 'And Quincy's like, 'Yes.'' Ultimately, Howard decided he 'could not' play the singer. 'They would've wanted to do that, and I wouldn't have been able to do that,' Howard told Maher of portraying a gay relationship. He explained that he couldn't kiss a man onscreen because 'I don't fake it.' He continued, 'That would fuck me. I would cut my lips off. If I kissed some man, I would cut my lips off.' Howard explained that 'it does not make me homophobic to not want to kiss a man.' He added that it's about being able to represent something accurately onscreen. 'I can't play that character 100 percent,' Howard said. 'I can't surrender myself to a place that I don't understand.' Howard most recently appeared in Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist, a Peacock miniseries that aired last year. He is best known for portraying Lucious Lyon on Empire, which was co-created by Daniels, and for his Oscar-nominated role in Hustle & Flow. The actor shared similar sentiments on the PBD Podcast, saying he had turned down gay roles because he didn't want to lose his 'man card.' 'I've lost businesses because I don't bend over in that way,' he said. 'I don't compromise. I don't play gay roles. I don't kiss a man. I don't do that shit because the man card means everything.' Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Best 'Saturday Night Live' Characters of All Time Denzel Washington's Movies Ranked, From Worst to Best 70 Greatest Comedies of the 21st Century
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NAACP Image Awards: Ayo Edebiri, Keke Palmer, Jamie Foxx Among Early Winners
Ayo Edebiri, Keke Palmer and Jamie Foxx's stand-up special Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was were among the winners on the first night of the 56th NAACP Image Awards. The awards, which honor the year's best in Black achievement and excellence, will be handed out in two pre-show nights continuing Thursday, and a Creative Arts ceremony Friday ahead of Saturday's main ceremony at the Pasadena Civic Center, airing live on BET and CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT. More from Deadline Kamala Harris To Receive This Year's Chairman's Award At NAACP Image Awards Wayans Family To Be Inducted Into NAACP Image Awards' Hall Of Fame Dave Chappelle To Receive NAACP Image Awards' President's Award The Emmy-winning Edebiri won tonight for Outstanding Breakthrough Creative (Television) for her role in The Bear, while Palmer won for Outstanding Host in a Reality/Reality Competition for NBC's game show Password. They and Foxx were joined on winners list by Samuel L. Jackson and Taraji P. Henson among others across TV, short film and book categories. Here's the Night 1 winners list: Outstanding Children's Program 'Gracie's Corner' – YouTube TV Outstanding Performance by a Youth (Series, Special, Television Movie or Limited Series) Leah Sava Jeffries – 'Percy Jackson and the Olympics' (Disney+) Outstanding Animated Series 'Gracie's Corner' – YouTube TV Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance (Television) Cree Summer – 'Rugrats' (Nickelodeon) Outstanding Variety (Series or Special) 'Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was' (Netflix) Outstanding Guest Performance Marlon Wayans – 'Bel-Air' (Peacock) Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series Crystal Jenkins – 'No Good Deed – Letters of Intent' Netflix) Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series Ben Watkins – Cross 'Hero Complex' (Prime Video) Outstanding Writing in a Television Movie or Special Juel Taylor, Tony Rettenmaier, Thembi L. Banks – 'Young. Wild. Free.' (BET+) Outstanding Breakthrough Creative (Television) Ayo Edebiri – 'The Bear' (FX/Hulu) Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Television (Series, Special, Movie) Taraji P. Henson – 'Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist' (Peacock) Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Television (Series, Special, Movie) Samuel L. Jackson – 'Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist' (Peacock) Outstanding Directing in a Television Movie or Special Tina Mabry – 'The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat' (Hulu) Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series Tiffany Johnson – 'How to Die Alone – 'Trust No One'' (Hulu) Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series Rapman – 'Supacell – 'Supacell'' (Netflix) Outstanding News/Information (Series or Special) 'The Reidout' – MSNBC Outstanding Host in a Reality/Reality Competition, Game Show or Variety (Series or Special) – Individual or Ensemble Keke Palmer – 'Password' (NBC) Outstanding Reality Program, Reality Competition Services/Game Show 'Celebrity Family Feud' (ABC) Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction 'One of Us Knows: A Thriller' – Alyssa Cole (William Morrow – HarperCollins Publishers) Outstanding Literary Work – Non-Fiction 'Love & Whiskey: The Remarkable True Story of Jack Daniel, His Master Distiller Nearest Green, and the Improbable Rise of Uncle Nearest' – Fawn Weaver (Melcher Media Inc.) Outstanding Literary Work – Debut Author Sarai Johnson – 'Grown Women' (Harper – HarperCollins Publishers) Outstanding Literary Work – Biography/Autobiography 'Medgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America' – Joy-Ann Reid (Mariner Books – HarperCollins Publishers) Outstanding Literary Work – Instructional 'Wash Day: Passing on the Legacy, Rituals, and Love of Natural Hair' – Tomesha Faxio (Clarkson Potter – Crown Publishing Group) Outstanding Literary Work – Poetry 'This Is the Honey: An Anthology of Contemporary Black Poets' – Kwame Alexander (Little, Brown and Company – Hachette Book Group) Outstanding Literary Work – Children 'You Can Be a Good Friend (No Matter What!): A Lil TJ Book' – Taraji P. Henson, Paul Kellam (Zonderkidz – HarperCollins Publishers) Outstanding Literary Work – Youth/Teens 'Brushed Between Cultures: A YA Coming of Age Novel Set in Brooklyn, New York' – Samarra St. Hilaire (Self-Published) Outstanding Literary Work – Graphic Novel 'Punk Rock Karaoke' – Bianca Xunise Outstanding ShortForm Series or Special – Reality/Nonfiction/Documentary 'The Prince of Death Row Records' (YouTube TV) Outstanding Short Form Documentary (Film) 'How to Sue the Klan' Outstanding Short Form (Live Action) 'Superman Doesn't Steal' Outstanding Short Form (Animated) 'Peanut Headz: Black History Toonz 'Jackie Robinson' (Exhibit Treal Studios Best of Deadline 2025 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Oscars, Spirits, Tonys, Guilds & More How To Watch Sunday's 'SNL50: The Anniversary Special' Online & On TV Everything We Know About Christopher Nolan's Next Film – 'The Odyssey': Release Date, Cast And More
