By Bill Vaughan
Entertainment Writer
Anderson .Paak is sitting on top of the world with the announcement that his writing and directorial movie debut has been named as an official selection of the renowned Toronto International Film Festival to be held in the metropolitan Canadian city Sept. 5–15.
“K-Pops!,” described as “a dramatic comedy that takes inspiration from the eight-time Grammy Award winner’s own life, bridging family lineages and cultures,” is set in Seoul, Korea and features .Paak, Yvette Nicole Brown (“Act Your Age”), Jee Young Han (“Unprisoned”), Jonnie Park (“The Hate U Give”) and Jimmy Walker Jr. (“Black Dynamite”).
It joins an initial round including Ron Howard’s survival thriller “Eden,” starring Jude Law, Ana de Armas and Sydney Sweeney; “We Live in Time,” a love story with Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield; and “Superboys of Malegaon,” a film based on the life of Nasir Shaikh, an amateur filmmaker from the town of Malegaon, India.
Also on .Paak’s slate is the 13-city Malibu Tour, launched from the fervor shown about his Sept. 27 show at the Hollywood Bowl in which he and the Free Nationals will perform his landmark 2016 “Malibu” album in its entirety. Visit andersonpaak.com for more information.
CLIPPETTES: Missy Elliott – Out of This World – The Experience with Ciara, Busta Rhymes and Timbaland continues July 12 at Crypto.com Arena while acapella group Straight No Chaser is at City National Grove, comic Chico Bean at The Venetian, vocalist Lynne Fiddmont at The World Stage, contemporary jazzman David Garfield at Vibrato Grill, Alejandro Escovedo at The Venice West (before moving the next night to the Lodge Room), and the “Maestro of the Movies” John Williams returns with the L.A. Philharmonic for three nights …
In what could be a casting coup, Oscar winner Halle Berry and Glenn Close have joined the cast of Ryan Murphy’s upcoming Hulu legal drama “All’s Fair,” starring Kim Kardashian as part of an all-woman L.A. law firm …
Rolling Stones’ Hackney Diamonds ’24 tour is at SoFi Stadium on July 13 …
Trumpeter Greg Adams & East Bay Soul play Vibrato Grill on July 14, as singer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Didda is at The Hotel Café …
Fresh off of having her memoir “Finding Me” atop the bestseller list, Viola Davis will team with James Patterson (“Along Came A Spider,” “Kiss The Girls”) to co-write a novel set in the modern-day rural south …
Ramy Youssef brings his comedy to The Peppermint Club on July 15, while Myles Maxwell performs at The Hotel Café …
Hootie & The Blowfish only want to be with you July 16 at the Honda Center …
The Hollywood Improv presents “Quitting Comedy” with Craig Robinson, Dulce Sloan, Bobby Lee, Avery Pearson and more on July 17 as the Hollywood Bowl hosts Big Band Night with the Count Basie Orchestra, and Chaunte Wayans and LouLou Gonzalez bring the laughs to The Nitecap …
Also that evening, The Grammy Museum hosts a screening of “Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story” about the Black trans soul singer who mysteriously vanished from public view for almost 40 years. The documentary, executive produced by Elliot Page, will be followed by an interview with director Michael Mabbott discussing the creative process behind the film and a special tribute performance of one of Shane’s Grammy Award-nominated songs …
Dilla Jazz, a tribute show hosted by LeRoy Downs, with performances by DJ Battlecat, J. Rocc, Bilal, The Pocket Queen, Daru Jones, Cameron Graves, Medusa The Gangsta Goddess, Cocoa Sarai, and DJ Wyldeflower goes down at The Ford on July 18 while Slick Rick comes to The Venice West, Pete Escovedo’s Latin Jazz Orchestra plays Vibrato Grill and Ziggy Marley’s Circle of Peace Tour with Lettuce comes to Costa Mesa’s Pacific Amphitheatre.
TASTY QUIP: “I’m against separatism. This world is made up of a whole bunch of different races of people. But everybody is so f—ing separate and divided. No matter what race we come from, no matter what part of the world that we come from, no matter what religion we study, no matter what language we speak, at the end of the day, we’re all brothers and sisters, man. So my goal is to try to combine all the races of the world together as one and build a wall of unity.” – FLAVOR FLAV to Rolling Stone
TC ON TV: July 12 – “A Song From The Dark” (Prime): The supernatural horror movie from Ogo Okpue that screened at the Pan African and American Black Film Festivals makes its streaming debut. “Chain Food: All-Star Dishes” (Roku): John Legend and wife Chrissy Tiegen are among the celebs chowing down in this new series where chain food favorites get gastronomic makeovers by award-winning chefs. “Deb’s House” (WE/AllBlk): Ms. Deb brings celebrity guest Tracy Morgan into the studio to motivate the final rappers in the competition. “Friday Night Vibes” (TBS): It is Will Smith night with the double feature of “I, Robot” and “Enemy of the State.”
July 13 – “Mary Makes It Easy” (Food/MAX): The fourth season opens with the incredible food hacker Mary Berg “Veggin’ Out On The Grill.” “Naked and Afraid: Last One Standing” (Disc): The TV franchise once again presents its toughest competition with a $100,000 prize. “Sister Wife Murder” (Lifetime): Dia Nash (daughter of Niecy Nash) stars in this fact-based thriller about a young woman who falls for a charismatic pastor with a dark side.
July 14 – “Alex Vs. America” (Food/MAX): Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli is challenged by her peers in this season opener hosted by Eric Adjepong. “The Food That Built America” (History): “The Colonel” explores the creation of Kentucky Fried Chicken. “Uncensored” (TV1): Letoya Luckett “Emperor of Ocean Park” (MGM+): Forest Whitaker, Henry Simmons and Keith Powers are featured in this series from John Wells (“The West Wing,” “ER”) and writer Sherman Payne (“Shameless”) set in the worlds of politics, elite academia and the beaches of Martha’s Vineyard. “Raising Fame” (TV1): Chance The Rapper
July 15 – “All American” (CW): The season ender is directed by Michael Schultz (“Car Wash,” “Cooley High”). “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC): Anthony Anderson guest hosts this week while Jimmy is on vacation. “Late Night” (NBC): Colman Domingo “After Midnight” (CBS): Kel Mitchell
July 16 – “Homicide” (Netflix): Detectives and prosecutors revisit their most challenging homicide cases in this chilling true-crime docuseries this season set in Los Angeles from the creator of “Law & Order.” “Mafia Spies” (Paramount+): A new six-part docuseries that unravels a hidden conspiracy between the CIA and the Chicago mob to assassinate Fidel Castro at a critical time in the Cold War. “Celebrity Family Feud” (ABC): The series made history last week announcing Executive Producer Miyesha Mizuno as the first Black woman to run a primetime game show. To be followed by her other production “Judge Steve Harvey.” “Star Wars: The Acolyte” (Disney+): The season ends tonight and if you haven’t been watching, go back to see the best light saber fight in the franchise’s history.
July 17 – “UnPrisoned” (Hulu): In season two, the Alexander family is still a mess. Paige (Kerry Washington) is having problems with her therapy practice and daddy Edwin (Delroy Lindo) is still figuring out how to get his life together outside of prison. “Simone Biles Rising” (Netflix): Follows the comeback of the greatest gymnast ever. “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” (ABC): In the hot seat tonight are “Bookie” co-stars Sebastian Maniscalco and Omar J. Dorsey. “Big Brother” (CBS/Paramount+): Season 26 of the Julie Chen-hosted reality competition begins.
July 18 – “My Spy: The Eternal City” (Prime): A sequel to the Dave Bautista action-comedy film with Ken Jeong, and Craig Robinson. “Uninterrupted: Top Class Tennis” (Prime/Freevee): LeBron James, Maverick Carter and Sloane Stephens are executive producers of this four-episode docuseries which follows junior tennis players. “Cobra Kai” (Netflix): The Emmy-nominated series based on the “The Karate Kid” movie franchise releases the first five episodes of its final season. “Those About To Die” (Peacock): Anthony Hopkins stars in this epic drama set in the corrupt world of the spectacle-driven gladiatorial competition, exploring a side of ancient Rome never before told. “Lucky 13” (ABC): Shaquille O’Neal and Gina Rodriguez are co-hosts of this high-stakes primetime series billed as “the only game where you can win (a cool million) … by being wrong.” “The West Coast Hustle” (MTV): A new docuseries starring, and executive produced by recording artist and TV personality Chanel West Coast.
END QUOTE: “Let me tell you what’s important to me, and I want you to hear me clearly when I say this. What is important to me is that America remains a democracy that is free from anyone that is trying to change that or is trying to have the power of a dictator or a king. So I’m supporting anyone who stands against that.” – TYLER PERRY to The Hollywood Reporter
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. Bill Vaughan may be reached at tastyclips@yahoo.com, via Twitter @tastyclips, or Instagram @tasty_clips.
