BILL VAUGHAN’S TASTY CLIPS: Smith, Lawrence prove they are ‘Bad Boys for Life’
The boys are back in town! Bad Boys that is.
Seventeen years after Will Smith and Martin Lawrence teamed to make the second film of their hit franchise, they are returning in the highly anticipated “Bad Boys For Life” for one last ride.
Welcome them live at the world premiere of the movie on Jan. 14 at TCL Chinese Theatre, 6925 Hollywood Blvd., 5:30 p.m., in advance of its nationwide opening on Jan. 17.
Smith and Lawrence will be walking the red carpet with their families along with Joe Pantoliano, who was in all three films as Capt. Howard.
New to the trilogy stars Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig and DJ Khaled are also expected among the Hollywood royalty sure to show up.
TICKET WATCH: With the new year comes announcements of festival lineups with tickets ready to roll if you can plan that far in advance.
The Playboy Jazz Festival will be held June 6 and 7 at the Hollywood Bowl with The Isley Brothers, Incognito, Jose James, Terri Lyne Carrington, Femi Kuti & The Positive Force and St. Paul and The Broken Bones among the early additions.
The 2020 Bottlerock Festival is set for Memorial Day Weekend at the Napa Valley Expo with Khalid, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Anderson.Paak, Dave Matthews, Stevie Nicks, Miley Cyrus and others, not to mention the acclaimed culinary component.
The arts community is excited about 2020’s Spoleto Festival USA, which will feature the world premiere of “Omar,” a compelling new American opera by Grammy Award-winner Rhiannon Giddens on May 22.
The piece is based on the 1831 autobiography of Muslim African man Omar Ibn Said, a 37-year-old scholar living in West Africa who was captured in 1807 and forced to board a ship bound for Charleston, South Carolina — the site of his enslavement and sale — and this venerable event.
Also participating this year are Jason Moran, The War and Treaty, Don Byron, The Cookers, Preservation Hall Jazz Band and many more. Visit: SpoletoUSA.org for details.
SHAKE YOUR BODY: “MJ The Musical” has announced a multi-city search for actors of all ages, including young performers to play Michael Jackson at age 10. The auditions come on the heels of the recently announced star casting of Tony Award nominee Ephraim Sykes as the iconic superstar.
Actors are being sought for Broadway stage roles as well as to understudy and must possess the singing and dancing chops for the role of Michael Jackson at various stages of his life in the upcoming Broadway production beginning July 6, with opening night scheduled for Aug. 13.
As previously announced, MJ will feature a book by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and a score made up of some of the best-loved, top-selling, and most iconic songs in recording history. Tony Award winner Christopher Wheeldon will direct and choreograph.
Auditions will take place across the country beginning Jan. 11 in Washington, D.C. and Chicago; with additional stops in Detroit and Philadelphia (Jan. 12); Atlanta and New York (Jan. 25); concluding in L.A. on Feb. 1 at Screenland Studios. Visit www.mjthemusical.com for more.
CLIPPETTES: Chris Tucker brings his stand-up comedy to the Long Beach Convention Entertainment Center on Jan. 10; as The Temptations perform at the Cerritos Center; Brian McKnight croons at Anaheim’s City National Grove; and two-time Grammy winner Diane Schuur sings at the Irvine Barclay Theatre …
Dennis Haysbert, the deep-voiced actor who played Senator turned President David Palmer on the “24” series is stepping up to portray God in the fifth and final season of Netflix’s “Lucifer.” Meanwhile, he will continue as a TV spokesperson for Allstate …
YBN Cordae, the Maryland-raised and L.A.-based MC who popped up last week as one of Masta Ace’s Faves, is at the Fonda Theatre Jan. 13-14 in support of his Atlantic Records full-length debut, “The Lost Boy” …
After last week’s airing of Lifetime’s “Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning,” which featured RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline Number (800) 656-4673), the number experienced a 40% increase in calls …
Seventeen-time Grammy Award-winner Sting will star as shipyard foreman Jackie White, and will perform the role at every performance of his semi-biographical musical, “The Last Ship,” arriving from its hit Broadway run for an engagement at the Ahmanson Theatre (Jan. 15–Feb. 16) …
Also on the 15th, St. Paul Peterson, who as a teen performed keys with The Time in “Purple Rain” before signing to Prince’s Paisley Park label as lead singer of The Family (“Nothing Compares 2 U”), is heading the Minneapolis Funk Jam Before NAMM with The Minneapolis Funk All Stars at Vibrato Grill & Jazz …
Shout out to producer Effie T. Brown (“Dear White People,” “Star,”) on being named as CEO of Gamechanger,” the first film financing fund by and for women …
Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, the jam band considered one of the best live acts on the concert scene, are at the Lodge Room on Jan. 15 with a show entitled “Election Year Winter Edition 2020.”
MORE 2019 FAVES: Ilfenesh Hadera, the radiant and riveting actress who portrays Mayme Johnson on EPIX’s “Godfather of Harlem” dropped some of her 2019 FAVES on TASTY CLIPS this week. Since the series based on the life of gangster Bumpy Johnson (brought vividly to life by Forest Whittaker) made our list, it is a pleasure to share hers.
RESTAURANT: Contramar, Mexico City. The freshest, most incredibly flavorful, straightforward food in a beautiful energetic room. Perfect meal, three days in a row! BOOK: “Caucasia” by Danzy Senna PLACE: Dream Away Lodge in the Berkshires for an outdoor fireside drink at sunset or indoors where the rooms are decorated with the most quirky colorful old art and furniture. There’s a lounge chair shaped rock by the fire that soaks up the summer sun all day, perfect place to watch the owners’ animals chase chipmunks gleefully while you have your margarita. The restaurant is also full of history, a favorite hangout of Joan Baez and Bob Dylan among others. ALBUM: Ok so “Victory Lap” was released in 2018 but the death of Nipsey Hussle was such a devastating loss to the music world and the community at large that it really was my soundtrack for the last half of 2019. Nipsey was from L.A. but you couldn’t drive around Harlem this summer and not hear his music playing from every car and open apartment window. TV SHOW: “Godfather of Harlem!” I’d say this even if I wasn’t on it.
TC ON TV: Jan 10 – “AJ and The Queen” (Netflix): RuPaul stars in this series as a down-on-her-luck drag queen traveling across America in a van with a tough-talking 11-year-old stowaway. “Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For The Bone Collector” (NBC): Debut of a new series with Russell Hornsby (“Grimm,” “Lincoln Heights”) as the crippled former NYPD detective/forensic genius from the best-selling novel previously portrayed by Denzel Washington in a 1999 movie. “Hopelessly in Love” (Lifetime): “Biggie and Faith Evans” are up though the latter and Biggie’s mom are said to be furious about this special. “Laff Mobb’s Laff Tracks” (TRU): Chaunte Wayans “The Tonight Show” (NBC): Martin Lawrence
Jan. 11 – “Austin City Limits” (PBS): Black Pumas, the hot psychedelic soul band led by Grammy Award-winning guitarist/producer Adrian Quesada and 27-year-old singer/songwriter Eric Burton, is featured along with The Raconteurs.
Jan. 12 – “Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter” (Sundance): Lupita Nyong’o, Jennifer Lopez, Scarlett Johansson, Renée Zellweger and others discuss the craft of acting. “25th Annual Critics Choice Awards” (CW): Taye Diggs returns to host the annual edition broadcast live from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. “Real Housewives of Atlanta” (Bravo): The faceoff between Nene Leakes and Kenya Moore is here with the undercard of Porsha vs. newcomer Yovanna.
Jan. 13 – “Frontline” (PBS): “America’s Great Divide: From Obama To Trump” explores the nation in three parts.
Jan. 14 – “Leslie Jones: Time Machine” (Netflix): From trying to seduce Prince to battling sleep apnea, the former “Saturday Night Live” writer/performer traces her evolution as an adult in a joyfully raw and outrageous stand-up special co-directed by “Game of Thrones” showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. “Finding Your Roots” (PBS): “This Land Is My Land” digs deep with Queen Latifah and Jeffrey Wright.
Jan. 15 – “Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez” (Netflix): Three-part documentary series examining what led to the fall and shocking death of the former NFL superstar who became a household name for the most infamous murder case involving an American athlete since O.J. Simpson.
Jan. 16 – “Grown-Ish” (Freeform): The gang enters their junior year in the third season premiere by throwing an HBCU-themed Homecoming party to kick off the semester at their new off-campus house. “Deputy” (Fox): Karruche Tran (“Claws”) guest-stars in this episode of the network’s latest hit led by Stephen Dorff as fictional good old boy L.A. County Sheriff Bill Hollister. “The Last Days of Richard Pryor” (ABC): Any new revelations? Tune in to this two-hour special for the answers. “Ridiculousness” (MTV): Miles Brown
TASTY QUIP: “I hope to keep demonstrating that the higher in years a woman gets, the more experienced she is. And so, whatever she’s doing is going to be interesting. Some of us get the opportunity to do that, but we have to push more for grown women [to get to be] who they really are [in society] on screen. I’m not going to babysit. I’m not going to rock anybody’s baby. I’m not going to make anybody any soup.” – ALFRE WOODARD (currently on the big screen in “Clemency” and on Apple TV+’s “See”) to Daily Beast.
As featured in the Los Angeles Wave and Independent, Tasty Clips is one of the leading entertainment columns in the nation, serving nearly one million weekly readers. To reach Bill Vaughan: [email protected], Twitter @tastyclips or tasty_clips at Instagram.