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A key NFL executive says moving from a 17-game schedule to an 18-game schedule is “probably inevitable.”

Dallas Cowboys Chief Operating Officer Stephen Jones made the remark to The Athletic’s Scoop City podcast. Jones, the son of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, believes the switch will happen eventually.

“I’m on the competition committee. We’ve talked about this, knowing that it’s probably inevitable,” Jones said. “I do know, at the end of the day, the players enjoy the compensation that’s coming their way, and they get, for the most part, half of every revenue dollar that comes through the door. So, certainly getting paid well.

“We all know when we go to 18 games, our revenue’s gonna jump, and certainly should only help in terms of the money available to pay players and get players the compensation.”

Jones said an additional bye week would be considered with a larger schedule.

The case could have major repercussions in the way the NFL distributes its games on TV and streaming.

Jury selection has begun in the antitrust lawsuit against the NFL over its practices with its out-of-market games service NFL Sunday Ticket. The lawsuit is a class-action case that represents more than 2 million individuals, as well as 48,000 commercial establishments, across the United States. A victory for the plaintiffs could lead to enormous changes in the way that NFL games are offered on TV going forward.

Key Details: Plaintiffs allege that NFL Sunday Ticket artificially inflates prices by not giving fans any alternative for watching out-of-market games. Damages in the case could reach as much as $21 billion. Teams could be free to sell their rights to any outlet they want if the lawsuit is successful.

The lawsuit against NFL Sunday Ticket first took shape in 2015, and was converted into a class-action case in...

At the second Netflix Upfront presentation, Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria discussed a variety of shows, movies, and live events coming to the streaming service.

Netflix announced new series, including witty comedies like Golf, starring Will Ferrell and executive produced by Ramy Youseff and Rian Johnson, Running Point, starring Kate Hudson and executive produced by Mindy Kaling, and Nobody Wants This, starring Kristen Bell and Adam Brody.

Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx in Back in Action

The scripted comedy Golf has received a 10-episode order. In his first TV comedy series, Ferrell stars as a fictional golf legend, and Youssef will also play a role. The series was created by Will Ferrell, Ramy Youssef, and Josh Rabinowitz. Youssef and Rabinowitz are showrunners and executive producers.

Will Ferrell, Jessica Elbaum, and Alix Taylor are executive producers for Gloria Sanchez Productions. Rian Johnson, Ram Bergman, and Nena Rodrigue are executive producers for T-Street.

Netflix is adding to its sports docuseries lineup with three new shows centered on the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics as well as Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

In partnership with the International Olympic Committee, Netflix is doing docuseries on gymnastics great Simone Biles, the U.S. men’s basketball team, and Olympic track athletes, the last of which was ordered last year and is now titled “Sprint.”

The Biles series is titled “Simone Biles: Rising,” and will debut its first part in July ahead of the Summer Games. The series consists of four 45-minute episodes. The official description states:

“Simone Biles has unfinished business. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she was one of the biggest stories leading into the Games. But in sport, as in life, competitions do not always go as planned. And for Simone, the world had a front row seat as her private struggle with mental health exploded on...

Netflix has joined America’s Team.

The streamer said during its upfront today that it is teaming with Skydance Sports, NFL Films and Stardust Frames Productions on the upcoming documentary series about the Dallas Cowboys.

Billed as a “defining” docuseries, the untitled project tells the story of team owner Jerry Jones and his unique journey in transforming the Cowboys franchise, leading a historic set of players and coaches to three NFL titles in the 1990s and searing his imprint into the global sports business landscape. Along the way, Jones has become one of the most innovative and influential leaders in sports, with his team being the most valuable sports franchise in the world.

No premiere date is set for the 10-episode series, which features never-before-seen footage and interviews with 35-year owner, president and general manager Jones along with players, coaches and rivals of the 1990s including Pro Football Hall of Famers Troy Aikman,...

Netflix is getting into the Olympic spirit with its newest batch of sports documentaries.

The streamer has partnered with the International Olympic Committee on three series following gymnastics superstar Simone Biles and athletes in men’s basketball and track and field. Filmmaking teams for the three shows will gain access to the athletes and venues at the summer games in Paris.

Separately, Netflix has ordered a series about the Dallas Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones, with a focus on the team’s dominant years in the early and mid-1990s. The company made the announcements as part of its first-ever upfront on Wednesday — where it also announced its biggest push into live sports so far with a deal to carry NFL games on Christmas for the next three years.

Biles’ return for her third Olympics will be chronicled in Simone Biles: Rising, which will run in two parts. The first...

Jason Reed has been appointed head of Skydance Sports, the sports-focused studio joint venture formed between David Ellison’s Skydance Media and the NFL.

In the new role, Reed will oversee all Skydance Sports operations and the development and production of the studio’s entire slate of sports-driven storytelling across scripted and unscripted content, documentaries, and events including and not limited to NFL content. He’ll report directly to the Skydance Sports Board of Directors, which includes Skydance Media’s president and COO, Jesse Sisgold, who now serves as Chairman.

“Jason is an outstanding executive with a proven track record of running complex organizations and producing top-quality films and series. His versatility, creative sensibility, and expertise launching some of the world’s most recognizable franchises is a boon to Skydance Sports, as we look to harness our early successes and scale the global footprint of the studio,” said Sisgold.

Reed...

Film executive Jason T. Reed has been named the head of Skydance Sports, the joint studio venture formed by Skydance Media and the NFL.

Reed most recently ran his own film and television production company and will now lead the development and production of Skydance Sports’ sport-driven scripted and unscripted content, documentaries, and events. He will report to the company board of directors, run by recently appointed chairman, Jesse Sisgold, Skydance Media’s president and chief operating officer.

At his self-titled production company, Reed produced Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and the live-action feature film adaptation of Mulan. Working in international production and franchise management at The Walt Disney Company, Reed also oversaw films such as the National Treasure franchise, Alice in Wonderland, Pearl Harbor, Armageddon and Enchanted. He has worked on sports features such as Prefontaine, The Waterboy and The Greatest Game Ever Played.

After Skydance Media...

Jason T. Reed, a veteran producer who spent 18 years as an exec at Disney overseeing a number of top franchises, has been named Head of Skydance Sports.

The division of David Ellison’s Skydance Media last year formally teamed with the NFL and NFL Films. In his newly created role, Reed will lead overall Skydance Sports operations and the development and production of the studio’s entire slate of sports-driven scripted and unscripted projects, along with documentaries and events.

Jon Weinbach, who has served as President of Skydance Sports since its 2021 formation, will now focus on overseeing the studio’s unscripted and documentary slate. That unit produced NFL Draft: The Pick Is In, a docuseries that became Roku’s most-watched original documentary title ever, earning a renewal for 2024. Another title shepherded by Weinbach was Kelce, a feature documentary on Prime Video about Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce.

As Reed takes on the head role,...

Exclusive: While quarterback Brock Purdy continues to kick ass with the San Francisco 49ers, Skydance is looking to the tell story of another player that shares Purdy’s nickname “Mr. Irrelevant,” the moniker given to the last pick in the NFL draft. Sources tell Deadline that the studio is developing a movie about John Tuggle, who was given the title after being the last pick of the last round of the 1983 NFL draft. Jonathan Levine is directing and Nick Santora is penning the script.

The pic will be produced by Skydance Sports, with Levine producing with Gillian Bohrer for Megamix along with Santora, who’ll produce through his banner Blackjack Films. The film will tell the inspiring, heartfelt and true story of Tuggle, drafted by the New York Giants, and his enduring impact on his team and teammates.

“Mr. Irrelevant” first started in 1976 with the drafting of USC receiver Paul Salata,...

The days are getting shorter and training camp has come to a close, which means NFL football is almost here. Before the regular season officially kicks off, there is plenty of time to revisit some of the elite football-focused movies and television shows that are out there. Whether you're a comedy buff or are looking for something more heartfelt or dramatic, there is a football movie or show that fits the bill.

Much of the best football content has come within the last 20 years as the American obsession with football has grown. That doesn't mean there aren't plenty of classics to look back upon, but from a sheer content volume standpoint football has dominated the American media landscape more recently, providing NFL fans will hours of entertainment.

Remember the Titans (2000)

One of the most beloved sports movies of all time, Remember the Titans is rewatchable for a number of reasons.

Hang in there, football fans! It might currently be the slowest time of year, when the only news coming from your favorite team is that a star player has sustained a freakish offseason injury, or gotten into some kind of trouble off the field, but in just a few more weeks, players begin to report to training camp, and Directv Stream users will be able to watch their favorite players arrive on NFL Network.

NFL Network will officially become available on Directv Stream starting on July 17. The channel will be available in the channel lineup for customers on the Choice, Ultimate, and Premier plans, and it will be included in the Sports Pack add-on so that Entertainment Plan subscribers can add it to their service as well. The Sports Pack costs $14.99 per month and includes access to more than 40 additional sports-themed channels. Depending on your location, the Sports Pack will...

America’s Team and the world’s largest streaming service seem like a match made in heaven. Now they’re a match made on Earth as well, as Puck News reports Netflix has won the bidding for rights to a new docuseries featuring the Dallas Cowboys and their billionaire owner and general manager Jerry Jones.

Netflix had to beat out sports giant ESPN to secure the rights, and will pay $50 million to stream the series. It will feature never-before-seen footage, as well as interviews from Cowboys legends like Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin. Those who have screened the series already have given it favorable comparisons to “The Last Dance,” the docuseries featuring Michael Jordan’s run with the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls.

Sign Up $6.99+ / month netflix.com

It’s hard not to see a pattern forming at Netflix when it comes to sports content. The company has never streamed a live sporting event before,...

“Velma” has been renewed for Season 2 at Max.

The announcement was made at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival by Suzanna Makkos, the executive vice president of original comedy and adult animation for Max and Adult Swim, during her “Share With” session.

“Velma” debuted its first season on what was then HBO Max in January. The adult animated comedy series tells the origin story of Velma Dinkley and the Mystery Inc. gang from “Scooby Doo.” Mindy Kaling voices Velma with the cast also including Glenn Howerton, Sam Richardson, Constance Wu, Jane Lynch, Ming-Na Wen, Wanda Sykes, and more. Charlie Grandy developed the series for television and serves as executive producer and showrunner. Kaling also executive produces along with Howard Klein and Sam Register.

“The series that we create at Max are art and voice driven, with character and comedy coming before anything else,” said Makkos. “We’re always looking for...

The new Chief Innovation Officer at GameSquare is one of the most popular streamers on the internet. The esports organization affiliated with the Dallas Cowboys has tapped Tyler Blevins — known by the moniker Ninja — for a C-level role that will be centered around an incubator called Ninja Labs.

In his new position, Blevins will harness his gaming know-how to “build the next big thing in gaming.” In a statement, the 31-year-old gamer described Ninja Labs as a “world-class platform” that will “inspire the next generation of streamers and leave a lasting impact on the industry.”

That’s a bold claim, but Blevins certainly commands enough influence to launch an impactful incubator. With his record-breaking Fortnite streams, he rose to prominence on Twitch and the defunct platform Mixer. He has since expanded his reach to “everywhere,” but not before he pretended to quit the internet for good.

Details about specific Ninja...

Not retiring after all seems to suit Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady quite well.

Demolishing the Dallas Cowboys in their home stadium 19-3 on the season opener of Sunday Night Football, the 45-year Brady and the Bucs even pulled off a few jaw droppers along the way.

While openly lacking the family in-fighting of the latest episode of House of the Dragon over on HBO last night, the total collapse of the Jerry Jones-owned Cowboys’ offense was one thing. However, the one-handed touchdown catch by the Bucs’ Mike Evan from a perfect pass by his Qb is surely one for the highlights reel for at least a week to come. On the other hand, no pun intended, an near last-minute injury for Cowboys Qb Dak Prescott could see the vital player off for up to eight weeks due to his damaged thumb.

Back for the inaugural week of the NFL’s 103rd season,...

HBO and NFL Films are turning to an old reliable for the next installment of Hard Knocks, the insider look at pro football training camps. The Dallas Cowboys will return to the series this year for the third time in what promises to be a drama-filled 2021 season.

Expected to be a major contender in 2020, head coach Mike McCarthy’s first season leading the team collapsed into a 6-10 record, with the Cowboys missing the playoffs for the second consecutive year while suffering its first losing season since 2015. That has put the former Green Bay coach on the hot seat, as Dallas struggled on both sides of the ball last year.

The team’s offense suffered largely because of a major injury to quarterback Dak Prescott. The versatile passer was knocked out of the season in October when he suffered a compound right ankle facture that required surgery. He has now recovered,...

The National Football League’s Week 2 of its schedule again saw teams staying off the field when the national anthem was played, continuing the pattern seen in last week’s openers. However, several teams appeared to be surprised and caught on the field when the song unexpectedly started playing.

The New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins all were out of sight during the Star-Spangled Banner. The San Francisco 49ers, Tennessee Titans, Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions were present during the song, with some players taking a knee or raising a fist.

Some of the team plans seemed more haphazard than Week One’s careful coordination. The Tennessee Titans were in the middle of pre-game warmups when the song started, causing the team to rush to the sidelines.

Titans linebacker Rashaan Evans, safety Kenny Vaccaro, and defensive lineman Jadeveon Clowney took a knee,...

What promises to be the most socially conscious season in National Football League history kicked off Thursday night in Missouri, with the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs matching up against the Houston Texans at Arrowhead Stadium.

A league that once discouraged its players from kneeling during the national anthem has now fully embraced social activism on the field. Even formerly adamant owners like Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys have bowed to the tenor of the times, backing the players’ right to express their beliefs.

NBC’s pre-game show was heavy on promoting the sea change, with on-field player matchup talk balanced with an equal dose of talk about the social meaning of it all. The NFL is obviously nervous about its situation, as some players have openly talked about skipping a game to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake and the death of George Floyd.

The Chiefs allowed...

Updated with comment from Rams coach: After months of speculation, the decision is in: SoFi Stadium, the new home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers, will open its inaugural season next month without fans in the stands amid the coronavirus pandemic.

According to a joint statement from the teams and the stadium (read it below), “Rams and Chargers games will be held without fans in attendance until further notice.”

California Coronavirus Update: Governor Gavin Newsom Announces 5 Counties Have Come Off State Monitoring List; Is L.A. Next?

“It’s a bummer,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said at a news conference today. “But, obviously, these are kind of the times that we’re living in. … We’ll hopefully be able to get fans in there sooner than later, but it’s all for the right reasons and being safe and being smart. That’s part...

When Old 97’s singer Rhett Miller was a kid in the Seventies, he worshipped Roger Staubach, the quick-on-his-feet quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. Staubach was so much of a figure in Miller’s life that he even haunted his subconscious.

He remembers vividly a surreal dream he had one humid day as a nine-year-old while on a family vacation in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Hearing him describe it, it sounds like something out of a Fellini film.

“I can remember to this day what it looked like,” he tells Rolling Stone.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says the NFL team will welcome fans into AT&T Stadium when the regular season begins next month.

“The Dallas Cowboys plan on playing all our football games, and we plan on playing ’em in front of our fans,” he said at a press conference Wednesday marking the opening of training camp. In terms of the stadium setup, “We’ve got some adjustments to make. We’re going to make ’em with enthusiasm and we’re going to make ’em with ‘can-do.'”

With 3 million square feet and a capacity to host more than 100,000 fans, AT&T Stadium is one of the largest sports venues in the world. The state of Texas has seen a surge in Covid-19 infection rates, reaching 523,013 total cases and 9,307 deaths. It is operating under restrictions imposed by government officials, including a cap on public venues at 50% of their usual capacity.

Jason Garrett has a new job, and Jerry Jones probably isn’t the happiest camper. Garrett is staying in the Nfc East – which means he will face his former team at least two times each season. That should be interesting, to say the least! The New York Post, via ESPN’s Ed Werder, is reporting that Garrett has agreed to become the New York Giants’ new offensive coordinator. It was initially reported on Wednesday that Garrett had interviewed for the position but no mention of him getting the job came through until Friday night. Garrett led the Cowboys to three Nfc East division titles during his […]...

Exclusive: The Craig Brewer-directed Dolemite Is My Name stars Eddie Murphy as Rudy Ray Moore, the unsung filmmaking hero who would eventually help define the Blaxploitation era of cinema.

Written by Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski, Dolemite is essentially a story about the American Dream and a sense of community for those in the margins in Hollywood. Moore was a comedian who had more failures than successes until he assumed the persona of Dolemite. Many saw the alter ego as crude, and his blatantly explicit album covers and songs were too racy for radio, so they began selling bootlegs of his albums.

Wanting to elevate and expand the character, Moore went to socially minded playwright Jerry Jones (played in the film by Keegan-Michael Key) to make a film, helped by his new comedic partner in crime Lady Reed (Da’Vine Joy Randolph...

It’s a small thing, but by the time Michael Gallup’s shoe came off on the field it was clear last night’s Thursday Night Football was going south for the Dallas Cowboys.

Taken down 31-24 by the Chicago Bears in the Windy City, last night’s loss was the third in a row for the Jerry Jones-owned team. Still first in the Nfc East, the playoffs prospects for the self-described America’s Team aren’t entirely dimmed at this point in the season, but clearly things are not stars and stripes on the still Jason Garrett coached squad.

Having said that, once again last night’s ratings proved America loves to watch the Cowboys, even if they lose.

Scoring just over 14 million viewers, last night’s Tnf is the best that Fox’s NFL flagship show has performed all season so far. Now those fast affiliate numbers...

Update, 1:25 Pm: Almost nobody loves statistics like NFL fans, and the league and NBC have one for you today straight outta Sunday Night Football.

The final numbers are in for last night’s white knuckler between the ultimately victorious Minnesota Vikings and the Dallas Cowboys – and they look good indeed when it comes to the math. Scoring an average of 23 million viewers on the Comcast-owned net, last night’s Snf is the 100th time over the past 10 years that NBC’s flagship NFL series has topped an audience of 20 million. To give a sense of how much of a dominance that is, the second show to get up past the 20 million mark over the past decade was American Idol during those halcyon days when it was on Fox. Idol got to 20 million viewers or more 69 times over 10 years as compared to 100 for Snf.

The most watched Week 10 in NBC Snf history,...

Michael Smith knows exactly why he and Jemele Hill’s ill-fated run as the anchors of the 6 p.m. edition of “SportsCenter” lasted only 13 months: “a bad fit.”

“Just a bad fit, and I think worse than a bad fit, we moved too quickly,” the ex-ESPN employee said in a lengthy interview with The Athletic. Smith and Hill debuted their edition of “SportsCenter,” called “SC6” (or “The Six”), on Feb. 6, 2017, and it would last just 13 months.

Hill and Smith, who spent years co-hosting the daytime program “His and Hers,” were set to be the faces of a “new era” for “SportsCenter,” ESPN’s legacy news show, which was bleeding viewership at the same time the network was losing subscribers. The brass at ESPN, at the time led by former president John Skipper, wanted to build “SportsCenter” more around personalities, rather than being the network’s version of the Nightly News.

Like the aroma of any home-cooked favorite wafting from a kitchen long unused, watching Eddie Murphy’s beautifully funny and exuberant performance in “Dolemite Is My Name” playing bootleg-to-blaxploitation entertainer Rudy Ray Moore — the reclusive megastar’s first worthy comedy lead in ages — amounts to a longing well and truly satisfied.

Murphy’s resplendent turn anchors a true if predictably told story of showbiz aspirations and can-do spirit, but in the great whoosh of majestically profane, beaming energy he provides from beginning to end, it’s clear that his brand of electrifying, in-the-moment comedy has sorely been missed.

The fit of This Legend playing That Legend (one comedy giant cosplaying his forebear) is so perfect that it lifts director Craig Brewer’s rudimentary handling of Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski’s affectionately raucous if predictable script into a joyful realm. (It’s a reminder of how great comedy stars always plugged...

Here’s the latest flick in the multiplex’s recent love affair with show biz of the last century. Well, really the last third of it. Sure there are lots of flicks set in the present day, but maybe filmmakers are more than a tad nostalgic for what they believe was a simpler time. At least the execs want to go back to those pre-internet days when they didn’t have to sweat about the newest releases “beaming’ into homes just as they hit the theatres. And that gives this new flick an ironic twist since it comes from the online streaming giant Netflix. Plus it fits right into the slot between two big movies of the past four months. Tarantino’s Tinseltown fantasy Once Upon A Time …In Hollywood was set in 1969, and the recent hit Joker takes place in 1981(established toward its big finale). So here comes the...

Ellen DeGeneres‘ famous friends are divided on the star’s friendship with former president George W. Bush.

The controversy started on Sunday when DeGeneres was spotted sitting next to Bush, 73, and his wife Laura Bush, 72, at a Dallas Cowboys football game. DeGeneres, who was joined by her wife Portia de Rossi, was shown chatting and laughing with Bush during the game’s broadcast.

After DeGeneres, 61, defended her friendship with the conservative politician on her talk show, some of her famous friends like Reese Witherspoon and Kristen Bell praised her for preaching kindness to others.

“Thank you for this important reminder,...

Comedian-host Ellen DeGeneres has defended her friendship with George W. Bush, after facing backlash for a photograph with the former Us president.

The comedian came under fire for sitting next to former president at the Dallas Cowboys football game on Sunday.

Also Read:?Cardi B enjoys money that comes with acting

She addressed the online criticism that came her way during the taping of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show", which will go on air on Tuesday, reports dailymail.co.uk.

"Yes, that was me at the Cowboys game with George W. Bush over the weekend. Here's the whole story. Here's the thing: I'm friends with George Bush. In fact, I'm friends with a lot of people who don't share the same beliefs that I have," DeGeneres said.

"We're all different and I think that we've forgotten that that's okay that we're all different... but just because I don't agree with someone...

Ellen DeGeneres has responded to online criticism after a photo of the daytime talk-show host seated next to former president George W. Bush at a Dallas Cowboys game Sunday received wide circulation.

During her monologue on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” Monday, DeGeneres explained that Charlotte Jones, daughter of Dallas Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones, invited her and wife Portia De Rossi to the game. “When we were invited, I was aware that I was going to be surrounded with people from very different views and beliefs,” she said. “And I’m not talking about politics. I was rooting for the Packers. And get this, everybody in the Cowboys suite was rooting for the Cowboys.”

DeGeneres continued, “People were upset. They thought, ‘Why is a gay Hollywood liberal sitting next to a conservative Republican present?’ Didn’t even notice I was holding a brand new iPhone 11. But a lot of people were mad,...

Following an uproar on social media, Ellen DeGeneres wants to clear the air about the time she spent with President George W. Bush at a recent NFL game.

On Oct. 6, DeGeneres and the former Potus were photographed at a Dallas Cowboys-Green Bay Packers match-up, having been invited to watch the game from Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ suite. The photo immediately drew criticism, which DeGeneres addressed on Tuesday’s episode of her talk show.

More from TVLineEllen DeGeneres Teams With HBO Max for First Dates Hotel U.S. Adaptation, Kiddie Cartoon Little Ellen and More14 Moving Lgbtq Moments and...

Ellen DeGeneres is practicing what she preaches.  The famed host always signs off of her daily show asking viewers to be kind to one another. On Monday's show, the star reminded her fans of the message after facing backlash over sitting next to former president George W. Bush at a football game in Texas on Sunday.  As DeGeneres explained, she and wife Portia de Rossi were invited to the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers game by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' daughter, Charlotte Jones, where they were seated in a suite. "He's got fancy friends and I don't mean fancy like Real Housewife fancy. I mean like fancy," she quipped.   Among those...

When the magnetic profanity and jolting energy effortlessly diffuse onto the big screen, it becomes clear that Eddie Murphy’s church of comedy was sorely missed. Fortunately, its reunion takes the form of Dolemite Is My Name, Craig Brewer’s glistening and hilarious odyssey of artistic determination, Black creativity, and pop culture on the brink of representative transformation. Telling the outrageously true story of one of the most successful blaxploitation films of the 1970s – Rudy Ray Moore’s madcap, wonky yet wildly adored action caper, Dolemite – Murphy projects the cult classic creator with every comedic tactic he’s got. And though the film as a whole sometimes feels generic, we let the red carpet roll for Murphy’s raw, untamed talent.

Of course, movies celebrating the clunky conception of outsider cinema have become a subgenre in their own right, often featuring a robust lead to orbit around. Most recently joining...

If NBC didn’t already have a lot of love for the Dallas Cowboys, the Comcast-owned net should be sending America’s Team chocolates and roses today.

Thanks to a record-breaking Sunday Night Football viewership on September 29, NBC has broken CBS’ decade long hold on scoring the largest audience for the Fall season premiere week.

Aided in no small part by the 24.1 million sets of eyeballs tuning in for the New Orleans Saints to end the Cowboys’ unbeaten run this season, the Peacock has averaged 7.5 million viewers during the opening days of the new small screen season.

Having last lost premiere week to ABC back in that long-ago era of 2008 and without any primetime NFL games for the second year in a row, CBS drew 6.9 million viewers for the week ending on the second to last day of September. The live sports leaning Fox, which had a good opening...

Michael Irvin tells TMZ Sports if Jerry Jones doesn't break out his checkbook and pay Dak Prescott ... the rest of the Cowboys roster will riot!!! "They're going to say, 'Why the hell should I give all my effort if you didn't take care of the top guy?!'" Of course, Dak is entering the final year of his 4-year rookie deal ... and Dallas is reportedly at a standstill in negotiations for his next contract. But,...

Jemele Hill, the outspoken sports journalist and commentator who sparked a massive controversy for the Walt Disney-owned cable network when she called President Donald Trump a “white supremacist” on social media last year, confirmed she will leave the network to pursue other ventures.

“Over the last several weeks, there have been a lot of rumors about my job status,” Hill said on Twitter Friday. “Today is my last day at ESPN.” Hill’s departure has been expected since late August.

Connor Schell, the ESPN executive vice president who oversees all ESPN content, said in a statement that Hill was “an exceptionally talented writer, storyteller host and commentator whose unique voice has made ESPN’s many platforms better over the last 12 years. As she moves forward into the next phase of her career, with the desire to produce content outside of sports, we wish her the best and thank her for her work.

Jemele Hill and ESPN are parting ways as of Sept. 1, nearly a year after the commentator got swept up in a two-pronged social-media imbroglio that resulted in her brief suspension.

As first reported by “Origins” podcaster James Andrew Miller, the “amicable” split involves a buyout of Hill’s remaining contract, and came on the heels of a meeting she requested with Jimmy Pitaro, ESPN’s president of five months.

Perhaps of note, Pitaro last week told reporters, “I have been very, very clear with employees here that it is not our jobs to cover politics, purely.” He also made clear...

Controversial sportscaster Jemele Hill is out at ESPN, months after her departure as a co-anchor from the network’s SportsCenter.

News surfaced late last night that Hill has been bought out of the remainder of her contract and will reportedly depart by Friday. She is the second prominent female at ESPN to move in the last few days. Earlier this week, Michelle Beadle was removed from the faltering Get Up! morning show and will focus on National Basketball Assn. coverage.

Hill has been fairly low-profile at ESPN since departing earlier this year as co-anchor of the 6 Pm hour of ESPN’s SportsCenter. She was listed on the staff of ESPN vertical The Undefeated as chief correspondent and senior columnist.

Hill is scheduled to appear on Highly Quetsionable with Dan Le Batard this week and on TheUndefeated.com with content related to the Us Open.

The fall from grace by Hill...

Jemele Hill, the outspoken sports journalist and commentator who drew ESPN into a hot controversy last year when she took to social media to call President Donald Trump a “white supremacist,” will leave the network at the start of September, according to a person familiar with the matter.

ESPN declined to make executives available for comment. Hill, contacted via text message, referred an inquiry to her manager, Evan Dick, who could not be reached for immediate comment. Her coming departure was previously reported by author and journalist James Andrew Miller, on Twitter. Hill is believed to have met recently with new ESPN President James Pitaro to discuss her exit from the Walt Disney-controlled sports-media outlet.

Her departure comes after Pitaro has emphasized ESPN’s role as an apolitical chronicler of the sports world. At a meeting with reporters earlier this month, the executive emphasized that ESPN’s role is...

Key & Peele star Keegan Michael Key has joined the cast of Dolemite Is My Name!, starring Eddie Murphy. This comedy movie will be a true story about the famous 1970s comedian Rudy Ray Moore, otherwise known as Dolemite.

News about Dolemite Is My Name! started to kick off last month, with the initial announcement that the movie would star Eddie Murphy as Rudy Ray Moore himself. This was huge news, considering that Eddie Murphy has not been in a movie since 2016. His on screen appearances are scarce, so Dolemite Is My Name! will not be a movie that Eddie Murphy fans will want to miss.

The announcement that Keegan-Michael Key is joining the cast is exciting news. Also among the cast of Dolemite Is My Name is Wesley Snipes, Tituss Burgess, Mike Epps, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, and Craig Robinson. All in all, the movie is looking to have a decent...

Keegan-Michael Key has joined the cast of Netflix’s upcoming blaxploitation biopic “Dolemite Is My Name!”, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap. The film is currently in production under the direction of Craig Brewer.

“Dolemite Is My Name!” stars Eddie Murphy as Rudy Ray Moore, who was known as the Godfather of Rap for his raunchy comedic rap albums. In the albums, Moore adopted the alter ego Dolemite, a garishly dressed pimp who would brag about his women and sexual exploits with racy lyrics.

In 1975, Moore used the profits from his albums to star and produce “Dolemite,” a blaxploitation film about the titular pimp who takes on a corrupt nightclub owner with the help of his kung fu prostitutes. The film is regarded as one of the biggest successes of the genre.

Colin Kaepernick just arrived at NFL headquarters in NYC flanked by his high-powered legal team ready to grill Roger Goodell like a cheeseburger ... and he had a message for his supporters.  "I'm doing great," Colin said on his way in with attorneys Mark Geragos and Ben Meiselas. "I love y'all and we gonna keep going!" he added. Our NFL sources tell us ... Colin and the team are at HQ to depose Goodell as part of...

Stars: Rudy Ray Moore, D’Urville Martin, Lady Reed, John Kerry, Hy Pyke, Vainus Rackstraw, West Gale | Written by Jerry Jones | Directed by D’Urville Martin

Dolemite (Rudy Ray Moore, The Human Tornado) has spent a couple of years behind bars after being set up by rival pimp Willie Green ( D’Urville Martin, Black Caeser). His luck changes when his madam Queen Bee (Lady Reed, Disco Godfather) pays the prison warden a visit providing evidence of Dolemite’s innocence. With the warden now rightfully suspecting that Green and a few crooked cops including the hot-headed Mitchell (John Kerry, Black Dynamite) are behind Dolemite’s imprisonment, he organises an early release so that Dolemite can clear his name. Unfortunately however, it’s not all good news as Green is also responsible for killing Dolemite’s young nephew. With revenge well and truly on his mind, Dolemite instantly (well, after some back seat limo action at least.

In the immediate aftermath of Rudy Ray Moore's Dolemite and its surprise success, it was decided that the team needed to keep the momentum going and a sequel was green lit almost immediately. Jerry Jones, who wrote the screenplay for Dolemite, was brought back to write this new film, The Human Tornado, but one gentleman who wasn't brought back was director D'Urville Martin. After a lackluster directing job on the first film, Moore and his team decided to bring in some new blood, and a young theater director named Cliff Roquemore. It was Cliff Roquemore who shaped Rudy Ray Moore's screen legacy perhaps more than anyone outside of Moore himself. Roquemore was determined to make The Human Tornado something completely out of this world, and with...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Dolemite

• Release Date: Available Now on Blu-ray/DVD combo pack

• Written By: Jerry Jones, Rudy Ray Moore

• Directed By: D’Urville Martin

• Starring: Rudy Ray Moore, D’Urville Martin, Jerry Jones, Lady Reed

Dolemite is a flick stacked to the rafters with “shouldn’t”s. A man of Rudy Ray Moore’s build shouldn’t be able to pull down the insane amounts of trim he does. A man that knows so very precious little about martial arts (R.R. Moore again) shouldn’t be attempting those high kicking moves. These people that are about as far away from being actual actors (with a few exceptions) as my house is from Venus shouldn’t be reading reams of dialogue. Actually, this whole production shouldn’t be entertaining or even watchable, but holy hell is it ever!!

The long and short of the tale is this: (maybe) pimp and club owner...

Cinema Retro welcomes our latest columnist, Ernie Magnotta, who will turn his attention to under-rated cinematic gems and guilty pleasures!

By Ernie Magnotta

“If a movie makes you happy, for whatever reason, then it’s a good movie.”

—Big E

There are good movies and there are bad movies. There are also movies that some people say are so bad that they're good. I hear that all the time. I've heard it since I was a kid. I think what they actually mean is that they're not good in the way most people might normally watch and judge a film; Excellent writing, incredible acting, masterful direction, etc.

The way I see it, there's more than one way to enjoy a film. Every movie doesn't have to be a five-star masterpiece like Gone with the Wind. You do not have to judge a film the way you would judge a mainstream...

Dallas’ iconic theme song will sound a little different tonight as the TNT series says goodbye to J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) with a memorial and funeral. Watch the revised opening credits below, and make sure you have a tissue handy. Exec producers Cynthia Cidre and Michael R. Robin spoke to EW.com about honoring Hagman, the wonderful last image of him captured on film, and how they orchestrated J.R.’s final act.

Entertainment Weekly: Everyone I’ve talked to who’s seen these opening credits has teared up. Whose idea was it to change them for this episode?...

There is a fine line between stereo-typing and the honest portrayal of criminals in cinema. Films such as Public Enemy (1931), Goodfellas, and both versions of Scarface (1932 and 1983) are examples of films both under attack and praised for its portrayal of criminals. Brian De Palma’s version of Scarface especially divides audiences and critics as to whether the character of Cuban import Tony Montana is a racial caricature or an honest look at greed and corruption. Blaxploitation cinema’s portrayal of criminals is no different drawing criticism from the African-American community, especially Rev. Jesse Jackson and the NAACP. The pimps and drug pushers in Blaxploitation cinema are considered just the same, walking the line of stereo-type and being socially conscious.

#5 The Candy Tangerine Man (1975)

Written by Mikel Angel

Directed by Matt Cimber

“Your cash ain’t nothin’ but trash.”

The Baron is a Sunset Blvd pimp that pushes his women to...