Page 16 - Florida Sentinel 8-14-18

Entertainment
'The Meg' Comes In First At $44.5M;
Aretha Franklin 'Gravely
Ill' As Family Gather
'BlacKkKlansman' Is Spike Lee's
Around Queen Of Soul
Third Best Opener Ever
Shock and concern have spread around the music world overnight following reports that soul singing great Aretha Franklin is "gravely ill".
Franklin, 76, is reportedly surrounded by her family and close friends in Detroit. The family is asking for prayers and privacy.
A source who has known Franklin since the start of her career told The Telegraph that Franklin's absence from the spotlight since the end of last year was "uncharacteristic".
The news was broken by Roger Friedman, a friend of Franklin's, on the entertain- ment website Showbiz411.
"Something's been happen- ing with her health," a source told The Telegraph. "She's missed several high profile public engagements in recent months, including the funeral of Dennis Edwards, who was one of her lovers. It's un- characteristic of her."
Edwards, who was a mem- ber of The Temptations, in- spired Franklin's song Day Dreaming. In February, re- ports said she was unable to attend the memorial due to ill- ness, but sent her condolences to be read to the family.
She then cancelled a show in March, scheduled on her 76th birthday, another in April and a festival perform- ance in June on doctor's or- ders. A statement on Franklin's website said she "has been ordered not to per- form in the coming months."
ARETHA FRANKLIN
album with Stevie Wonder, and had a project on the go with Lionel Richie," the source says. "By virtue of her not performing publicly since last year, she's been unwell since then."
Franklin's most recent performance was last Novem- ber, for the Elton John AIDS Foundation in New York, and she gave her last public per- formance a year ago in Philadelphia. A review de- scribed her: "Regardless of ad- vancing years and medical setbacks, Franklin seemed largely undiminished in voice or spirit, even if her exclama- tions sometimes soared past the limits of her breath.”
Her performance in No- vember came before rumours that Franklin was on her deathbed, sparked in part by drastic weight loss. The singer responded with an in- terview in Us Weekly, saying: "I’m doing well generally, all tests have come back good. I’ve lost a lot of weight due to side effects of medicine, it affects your weight."
LOS ANGELES — Warner Bros.’ over-the-top sci-fi thriller “The Meg” took an un- expectedly massive chomp out of the North American box of- fice over the weekend with $44.5 million in ticket sales, according to figures from measurement firm ComScore.
The PG-13 film, about a giant prehistoric shark that terrorizes beachgoers, more than doubled analysts’ projec- tions of $18 million to $22 mil- lion and is the biggest August opening since “Suicide Squad” two years ago. Released simul- taneously in the U. S. and China, it earned $96.8 million internationally (including $50.3 million in China) for a global cumulative of $141.3 million.
Starring action vet Jason Statham as a deep-sea rescue driver who is the only man ca- pable of defeating the 70-foot carnivore, “The Meg” cost at least $130 million to produce, according to estimates, and is based on an obscure 1997 pulp novel. It earned a B-plus rating on CinemaScore and a 49 per- cent “rotten” rating on review aggregation site Rotten Toma-
THE MEG AND THE BLACKKKLANSMAN
"Aretha was working on an
Brad Pitt Has Given Angelina
Under the pact, Smith, who had served as co-execu- tive producer on the show’s third season, will be co- showrunner/executive pro- ducer alongside Jonathan Groff. In addition, under his new deal, Smith will develop new projects for both ABC Studios and ABC Signature Studios.
Smith recently returned to black-ish to become co- showrunner in the wake of series creator Kenya Bar- ris’ exit from his ABC Stu- dios overall deal. Barris, who has a rich overall deal pending at Netflix, had co- run black-ish with Groff for the the last three-and-a-half seasons.
toes.
In second place, Para-
mount’s “Mission: Impossible Fallout,” now in its third week- end, added $20 million for a cumulative $162 million.
Disney’s “Christoper Robin” came in third, adding an additional $12.4 million in its second weekend for a cu- mulative $50 million.
Sony Screen Gems’ horror movie “Slender Man” debuted at No. 4 with $11.3 million. The film earned a rare D-minus score on CinemaScore and a 15 percent “rotten” rating on Rot-
ten Tomatoes.
Rounding out the top five,
Focus Features’ drama “BlacK- kKlansman” opened with $10.8 million, director Spike Lee’s third best debut.
Based on true events, “BlacKkKlansman” tells the story of an undercover black detective who manages to infil- trate the Ku Klux Klan. It earned positive reviews from audiences and critics with an A-minus rating on Cinema- Score and a 97 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
New ‘Black-Ish’ Co-Showrunner Kenny Smith Inks Overall Deal With ABC
Jolie Millions Since Split
Angelina Jolie is continu- ing her campaign to smear Brad Pitt by alleging he stiffed her on child support, so claim sources who say Pitt has coughed up millions of dollars for the kids since the couple split.
Sources familiar with the sit- uation tell a source, he and Angelina did have an infor- mal agreement, as she claimed in the documents she filed Tuesday, but he has given her "way, way more" than the amount he agreed to pay we're told the total is in the millions of dollars.
Angelina claims in her legal docs, since their split nearly 2 years ago, Pitt has not paid "meaningful child sup- port." Our sources call that "a joke," and the proof will sur-
KENNY SMITH
Tyra Banks Inks First-Look Deal With Universal TV
Tyra Banks has signed a first-look deal with Universal Television and Universal Tel- evision Alternative Studio. Under the pact, the producer, supermodel, actress and en- trepreneur will develop and produce scripted and un- scripted programming via her Bankable Productions ban- ner. The deal does not affect her participation as host of NBC’s America’s Got Talent.
Banks’ producing credits include America’s Next Top
Model, The Tyra Banks Show
and Freeform’s holiday movie
development.”
BRAD AND ANGELINA
face.
Angelina's lawyer, Laura
Wasser, is quitting the case because Angelina has be- come so vengeful it's been im- possible to represent her. Two new lawyers have joined the case ... presumably so Wasser can make an easy exit.
TYRA BANKS
Top Model has been on the air for 24 seasons, proving Tyra’s standing and commitment as one of television’s top pro- ducers,” said Meredith Ahr, President, Universal Televi- sion Alternative Studio. “We are thrilled to infuse her cre- ative vision, expertise and dedication into our studio’s
sequel Life Size 2. “America’s Next
PAGE 16 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2018