Sheesh! I finally get a moment to catch a quick breather…before I get to cover my third festival of the year (AFI FEST 2020 starting Oct. 15). Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining by any means…but sis is tired (hence why there wasn’t a #FilmFriday post last week)! And I just did my first virtual press junket yesterday…so stay tuned for that interview to come! But I’m a big girl on her grind so I’m going to suck it up and keep on trucking. So this week will include some stuff that happened last week too.

What’s the Word on the Street?!

• Shoutout to Issa Rae (“Insecure”) for launching a new production company, Hoorae, for film, TV & digital. Hoorae consolidates all of her entertainment ventures, including Issa Rae Productions, ColorCreative and Raedio. I’m just trying to like Issa when I grow up!!!
• If you’re a Letterboxd user, you can get 90 days of Mubi for free. I’ve been meaning to check out this streaming service for a while now because of their foreign film selection. So once the festivals die down, I can’t wait to dive into their collection.
• Nigerian producer Mo Abudu has struck a deal with Netflix — the first multi-title African deal. The first title from her deal, “Oloture” will stream on Oct. 2. She is a big deal in Nigeria and now its time for the rest of the world to get familiar!

• Tessa Thompson in the much talked about “Sylvia’s Love” is coming to Amazon Prime Video on Christmas Day.
• Actress Hayley Marie Norman is suing ABC, Tracee Ellis Ross, Kenya Barris and others claiming they appropriated her show that she had previously pitched (Showtime, Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Amazon & Starz all turned it down in 2018) and turned it into the “Black-ish” spinoff “Mixed-ish.” She alleges that the premise, portrayal, setting and tone are all identical and everyone involved in “Mixed-ish” had access to (indirectly or directly) Norman’s production. She is claiming breaching of contract, breach of confidence, intentional misrepresentation and intention interference with contract and is seeking compensatory and punitive damages along with restitution. We’ll see how this plays out…
• Amazon already has “The Boys” spinoff in development…they didn’t waste any time…
• Those who know me personally, know that I love me some “Family Guy” and “Bob’s Burgers” — and they have both scored renewals over at Fox. #WINNING
• Disney has pushed back the release dates for “West Side Story,” “Black Widow” and “The Eternals”…guess “Mulan” didn’t play out as well as they had hoped…
• LeBron James and his SpringHill Entertainment has signed a first look deal with Universal

What We’re Looking Forward to Seeing…

“Fishbowl” — Theatres & VOD October 27, 2020

“Minari” — (already getting Oscar buzz)

I’m telling y’all now…don’t sleep on Steven Yeun…he is highly underrated (did y’all see “Burning?”). But I think that’ll be changing soon!

“Vampires vs the Bronx” –

“Helstrum” — October 13, 2020 on Hulu

“Books of Blood” — October 7th on Hulu

“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” — December 18th on Netflix

“White Riot” —

“Bad Hair” — October 13th on Hulu

I caught a sneak peek of this during Urbanworld and I can’t wait to see this! I’m a fan of Justin Simien and his work!

What’s in the Spotlight This Week???

Marlon Riggs. Experimental filmmaker who shined a spotlight on Black sexuality…very influential filmmaker who has not gotten the shine his work deserved. So let’s correct that! As of late, Riggs works are been rediscovered. Seven of his films are streaming on OVID.tv and starting Oct. 18, Criterion Channel will stream a retrospective of his work so be sure to check it out.

Samuel L. Jackson‘s docu-series “Enslaved” on EPIX.

So did I miss anything this week? Let me know in the comments!