By Bill Vaughan
Entertainment Writer
With a cast so impressive the stars themselves admit they were in awe to be in the same room, Peacock’s “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist,” based on the acclaimed iHeart true-crime podcast premieres Sept. 5.
Kevin Hart is an executive producer (along with Will Packer, Kenny Burns and everyone’s favorite director, Craig Brewer) of the miniseries account of how an armed robbery on the night of Muhammad Ali‘s historic 1970 comeback fight changed not only one man’s life but ultimately transformed Atlanta into the “Black Mecca.”
With Hart, Don Cheadle, Samuel L. Jackson, Taraji P. Henson, Terrence Howard, Chloe Bailey, Marsha Stephanie Blake and Sinqua Walls in tow, massive eyeballs and a social media explosion are expectations for the streamer this week.
Dexter Darden, the “Saved By The Bell” reboot actor who is engaged to singer JoJo, nabbed the possible career-defining role as Ali.
“I had an out-of-body experience … looking over at the extras like, ‘I remember when I did all of that extra work,’” Henson told Vanity Fair. “It was just like a full-circle moment. I was like, ‘This is everything you dream about. This is everything you saw yourself doing.’”
THE WALK: Director Tim Burton (“Edward Scissorhands”, “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Batman” and the new sequel “BeetleJuice, BeetleJuice”) gets his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, 6600 Hollywood Blvd., near Whitley), Sept. 3 at 11:30 a.m.
TICKET WATCH: Janet Jackson announced a new residency at Resorts World Las Vegas launching New Year’s week. Tickets for the shows running Dec. 30, 31, 2024, with 2025 dates including Jan. 3, 4, Feb. 5, 7, 8, 12, 14, 15, are on sale to the public at JanetJackson.com.
TASTY QUIP: “There are very few films left for me to make that I’m interested in, and I have to be inspired by the filmmaker, and I was tremendously inspired by Ridley [Scott]. We had a great go-round the first go-round [on “American Gangster”], and here we are.” – DENZEL WASHINGTON on reuniting to make the upcoming “Gladiator 2” to Empire
CLIPPETTES: “Memnon,” Will Power and Carl Cofield’s telling of the epic overlooked tale of a powerful Ethiopian king who journeys to the city of Troy to engage in battle during the Trojans’ darkest hour, opens Aug. 29 through Sept. 28 at The Getty from The Classical Theatre of Harlem …
The Grammy Museum hosts Big Sean chopping it up on his latest album, “Better Me Than You,” his creative process, and more Aug. 30 as Durand Jones & the Indications play The Regent Theater …
Also, the Grammy and Tony Award-winning star of “Dreamgirls,” Jennifer Holliday kicks off a three-night stand at Catalina Bar and Grill, Marvel Studios’ Infinity Saga Concert Experience is spending two nights at the Hollywood Bowl, The Biltmore holds candlelight classical tributes to Whitney Houston and Bad Bunny, and Norm Nixon & The Homies (James Davis, Craig Smith, Kanisha Buss, Joncea Dixon) yuk it up at The Bourbon Room …
The anticipated Fool in Love Festival comes to SoFi Stadium Aug. 31 with Lionel Richie, Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Al Green, Gladys Knight, Santana, Charlie Wilson, Chaka Khan, Nile Rodgers & Chic, Tower of Power, War, Dionne Warwick, The Commodores, George Clinton & P-Funk, Kool & The Gang, The Pointer Sisters, El DeBarge and so many acts DJ Cassidy would be hard pressed to pass the mic …
Meanwhile, the Leimert Park Jazz Festival is back for its fifth year at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza with the Stanley Jordan Trio, Billy Childs Trio, Justo Almario’s Afro-Colombian Ensemble, Gilbert Castellanos Quintet, Chris Powe Quartet, and the Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center Jazz Band, performing the music of Freddie Hubbard with special guests Nolan Shaheed on trumpet and George Bohanon on trombone. General admission is free for the fest from 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., hosted by the legendary Jose Rizo of KJAZZ’ “Jazz on the Latin Side” and the Emmy-winning comedian, actor and producer, Ron G …
Also, Future & Metro Boomin are at Intuit Dome, and DJ Drama spins at TAO Nightclub …
Comedy is king Sept. 1 as The Hollywood Black Comedy Festival commences at YouTube Theater hosted by Deon Cole with a line-up including Corey Holcomb, Nate Jackson, Dominique, Ryan Davis and Henry Coleman. Additionally, Avery Brooks hosts Dang! A Stand-Up Comedy Show feat. Ray Lau, Chelse’ Greaux, Chance Nichols, Liz Zagone, and Joey Braggat at The Stowaway …
Musically, Toto is at the Hollywood Bowl with Christopher Cross, and country star Lainey Wilson is at The Greek (with a Grammy Museum sit down set for Sept. 5) …
Kid Cudi’s Insano: Engage The Rage World Tour with support from Pusha T & Jaden comes to Crypto.com Arena Sept. 3 …
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue with Big Boi and Danielle Ponder begin a two-night- stand at the Hollywood Bowl on Sept. 4, while Black Uhuru plays The Venice West, Thievery Corporation is at The Greek Theatre, and global Latin music superstar Carin Leon performs at Toyota Arena on the heels of his new single “La Chancleta” with Colombian star Carlos Vives and Dominican rapper Chimbala …
In addition, two-time National Book Award Winner Jesmyn Ward discusses her novel “Let Us Descend” with Traci Thomas of the literary podcast “The Stacks” at the L.A. Central Library. The New York Times bestseller and Oprah Winfrey Book Club selection, journeys from the rice fields of the Carolinas to the slave markets of New Orleans and into the fearsome heart of a Louisiana sugar plantation. Free RSVP at lfla.org.
THEN WHY GO THERE? “My sister came down with cancer. She was in the cancer scene with Glenn [Close]. I put her in the chemo scene. She plays the girl making fun of Glenn. I put her in all my movies and literally like two days later she was diagnosed with lung cancer. My dog died. Then there was something that flew in Andra [Day]’s face, in her eye in the middle of shooting. It was a little scary. That’s why we prayed. I called the Apostle in on Day One, but even with that, we’re conjuring up spirits when we’re dealing with the truth and that’s a dangerous playground.” – Writer/Director LEE DANIELS to Bossip on his Netflix horror film “The Deliverance” debuting Aug. 30
TC ON TV: Aug. 30 – “The Fall Guy” (Peacock): The entertaining Ryan Gosling-led reboot comes to streaming with an extended cut. “Friday Night Vibes” (TBS): “Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins” & “Blue Streak” “Inside The NFL” (CW): The 2024 season preview hosted by Emmy-winner Ryan Clark with Chad Johnson, Chris Long and Bill Belichick. “Wiggin’ Out with Tokyo Stylez” (WE): Flo Milli & Baby Tate
Aug. 31 – “Parallel” (Paramount+): Danielle Deadwyler and brothers Aldis Hodge and Edwin Hodge star in Kourosh Ahari‘s drama with sci-fi overtones. “Hollywood Black” (MGM+): “Dear Black People” closes the series looking at how after the election of President Barack Obama, Hollywood offers Black filmmakers more opportunities than ever. From “Selma” to “Get Out” to “Black Panther,” Black filmmakers embrace new genres to critical and commercial success. “Raising Fame” (TV1): Usher
Sept. 2 – “Global Soul Kitchen” (FYI): Best-selling author and Atlanta chef Deborah VanTrece introduces viewers to “global soul food,” a style of cooking that combines traditional Southern soul food with different international influences to create something both familiar and new. Her dishes run the worldwide gamut from smothered chicken meatballs over herb truffled spaetzle to paella macaroni. Tonight, we get “Southern BLT Dutch Baby” and “Soul Eggs in Purgatory.” “Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef” (Netflix): Hot dog-eating champion Joey Chestnut faces off against rival Takeru Kobayashi in the ultimate wiener-takes-all competition with a twist: veggie dogs! “Great Escapes with Morgan Freeman” (History): “Alton City Escape” “Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ‘N Out” (VH1): Nle Choppa
Sept. 3 – “Chopped: Legends” (Food): Profiles series judge and chef Maneet Chauhan. “The Surreal Life” (MTV): All is revealed in the end of a season spotlighting Macy Gray and cool guy Chet Hanks.
END QUOTE: “You and you alone are the only person that can live the life that writes the story that you were meant to tell. And the world needs your story because the world needs your voice. Every single one of you. And because as your story unfolds, you will inspire others to find their stories, and so on. And those are the stories that I can’t wait to watch. In fact, don’t be surprised if you get a call from me wanting to option the really good ones into movies because I’m so Hollywood now.” – KERRY WASHINGTON to the George Washington University Class of 2013
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.
