Tag: HBO Max

‘The Witches’ in the Hot Seat for Limb Impairment Implications

To the delight of many fantasy fans and classic children's book lovers, the trailer for the newest film adaptation of Road Dahls, The Witches, was released on October 22nd, 2020. However, Warner Bros portrayal of the defining characteristics of witches (detailed in the original book by Luke's grandmother as having claw-like fingers and square feet) has garnered backlash and criticism.

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Tony Award Winning Actress Laura Benanti Joins Gossip Girl Reboot

A new star has joined the cast of the Gossip Girl reboot! Laura Benanti is known for her Tony award winning performance in the 2008 Broadway musical, Gypsy. As of right now, her character doesn’t have any description, but she will be apart of the ensemble cast. The rest of the stars include, Emily Alyn Lind, Johnathon Fernandez, Thomas Doherty, Zion Moreno, Adam Chanler-Beret, Evan Mock, Savannah Smith, Jason Gotay, and rounding out the cast, Jordan Alexander.
Image via Playbill
This reboot is a new take on the previous television show, Gossip Girl that premiered on the CW from 2007-2012. The series will show how much social media and New York has changed since the original series. There will be ten episodes and it is being produced by Fake Empire from Alloy Entertainment.
The show will stream on HBO Max, which will continue Benanti relationship with the service, due to her upcoming scripted musical. Homeschool: Class of 2020, that will feature students from all over the United States. During the pandemic she asked students to send her songs that they would have performed in their spring productions. She then shared the videos on her social media platform and now she’s putting it into her new show. It will premiere this coming winter on HBO Max.
Image via Insider
Benanti has appeared in several other shows, including Younger, The Good Wife, Nurse Jackie, and several other television shows. She’s also appeared in other broadway shows, but her most notable performance is her award winning performance in Gypsy. Now she can add the new Gossip Girl reboot to her resume.
Featured Image via USAToday

‘Americanah’ Not Moving Forward After Lupita Nyong’o’s Departure

The limited series Americanah, based on the novel of the same name by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, will no longer be going forward due to Lupita Nyong’o leaving the project.

 

 

Although this was a longtime project of Nyong’o’s, the oscar winner had to drop out due to scheduling issues.

The adaptation was slated for a ten-episode, straight-to series order on HBO Max last year. It had already been fully cast, but the outbreak of Coronavirus shut production down in March. These delays had jumbled the schedules of the stars involved, eventually leading to Nyong’o dropping out. Nyong’o was also going to produce while Black Panther co-star, Danai Gurira.

 

                                                                                                                                Image courtesy of deadline.com

 

Americanah tells the story of Ifemelu (who Lupita Nyong’o was set to star as), a confident and beautiful young woman from Nigeria who falls in love with a classmate named Obinze. To escape their military ruled country, they each turn to the west. Ifemelu goes to study in America and, while academically successful, grapples with race and identity for the first time. Obinze wants to reunite with her but, post 9/11, the United States are closed off to him. Instead, he is forced to pursue an undocumented life in London. Fifteen years later, Nigeria is now democratically led and the two return. When they finally reunite, their passion is rekindled.

Uzo Aduba, Corey Hawkins, Zackary Momoh, and Tireni Oyenusi were also set to star in the adaptation.

 Featured Image courtesy of deadline.com via hbo