Los Angeles Premiere for “Arcades & Love Songs: The Ballad of Walter Day” Follow-Up to Iconic Indie “The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters”

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Director: Ed Cunningham 
Producers: Jonathan Perkins, Seth Gordon and Mike J. Nichols
Writers: Ed Cunningham, Mike J. Nichols, and Paul Leach
Genre: Documentary
Run time: 1 hour 34 minutes
Executive producers: Ed Cunningham, Byron Ashley, Scott Jackson, Harrison Kordestani Kerry, Cathy Loveland and Paul Campoamor
Editor: Mike J. Nichols.

Arcades & Love Songs: The Ballad of Walter Day is a musical documentary following 74-year-old Walter Day - the father of esports and star of The King of Kong - as he battles a lawsuit threatening his legacy while fulfilling his dream of recording and performing the rock-opera style love songs he has been hearing in his head since having his heart broken at the height of the arcade era.

Director Ed Cunningham’s Statement: The King of Kong premiered at Slamdance 2007 to a packed house of just the right type of audience. As the filmmakers, we could not have selected a better group of people to be the first to see something we had lived with for three years. The gamers, tech-types and doc lovers were all into it from frame one. “Is this real?” “Get a load of that guy.” The whispers, laughs and touching moments were all hitting. Then the projector overheated and shutdown. As the director sprinted up the aisle to help, I just listened. The break in tension allowed everyone to check in with each other. We knew the film could be seen as mocking people we had grown to love, doubt and admire and had worked tirelessly to present them truthfully and empathetically. And this audience got it. From that night forward, the original documentary has changed many people’s lives – for better and worse – so when Billy Mitchell called to tell me Walter Day was being sued based on things that happened in our movie, I began helping make sure he was properly defended. In a lawsuit strategy meeting I learned that some King of Kong fans were funding Walter to produce and perform the songs he had been hearing in his head since having his heart broken in the ‘80s, a story he shared in the original film. I felt a responsibility to document the conclusion to Walter’s journey and it was also a great opportunity because I love his music and want to help get out in the world.

‘The Accountant 2′ Starring Ben Affleck in Theaters April 25, 2025

Release date: April 25, 2025 (United States)
Director: Gavin O'Connor
Writer: Bill Dubuque
Based on Characters by Bill Dubuque
Starring: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Daniella Pineda, J. K. Simmons
Genre: Action, thriller
Ratings: R
Run time: 2 hours 12 minutes
Country: United States
Language: English

Director Gavin O’Connor’s The Accountant 2 is the sequel to the 2016 film The Accountant that tells the story of Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck), The Accountant an accountant who launders money for some of the most dangerous criminals in the world; Braxton (Jon Bernthal), Christian's brother; Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), a young Treasury agent; Anaïs (Daniella Pineda); Justine (Allison Robertson); Raymond King (J. K. Simmons), the Director of the Treasury Department's FinCEN, Burke (Robert Morgan), Cobb (Grant Harvey) and  Batu (Andrew Howard)

Production companies: Artists Equity, 51 Entertainment, Zero Gravity Management, Filmtribe
Distributors: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (through Amazon MGM Studios; United States)
Warner Bros. Pictures (International)
Producers: Ben Affleck, Lynette Howell Taylor, Mark Williams
Cinematographer: Seamus McGarvey
Editor: Richard Pearson
Music: Bryce Dessner

PARAMOUNT+ ACCLAIMED ORIGINAL COMEDY SERIES COLIN FROM ACCOUNTS TO RETURN FOR A THIRD SEASON

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Seasons One and Two Are Currently Available to Stream Exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S.

The Australian Comedy Series Is Produced by Easy Tiger Productions and CBS Studios and Commissioned by the Foxtel Group

April 8, 2025 – Paramount+ today announced that it picked up a third season of the acclaimed original comedy series COLIN FROM ACCOUNTS, exclusively for Paramount+ in the U.S. Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer return to write, executive produce and star in the new season. Seasons one and two were met with critical acclaim and each continue to hold a 100% Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

“We’re VERY excited to bring you season three of our show,” said Brammall and Dyer. “To be honest, with the way we ended season two it would have been weird not to make a third, so here we are. We promise we won’t leave you hanging like that again. Probably.”

COLIN FROM ACCOUNTS is a romantic comedy about flawed, funny people choosing each other and embracing the all-too-relatable chaos of modern life. In addition to Dyer and Brammall, the season two cast features Emma Harvie, Genevieve Hegney, Michael Logo, Helen Thomson, Darren Gilshenan, Annie Maynard, Tai Hara and Glenn Hazeldine, along with Celeste Barber, Virginia Gay, Justin Rosniak, John Howard, Lynne Porteus and Broden Kelly.

COLIN FROM ACCOUNTS is commissioned by the Foxtel Group and produced by Easy Tiger Productions and CBS Studios. Patrick Brammall, Harriet Dyer, Alison Hurbert-Burns, Lana Greenhalgh, Trent O’Donnell, Rob Gibson and Ian Collie served as season two executive producers and Kevin Greene produced. Season two was financed with the assistance of Screen NSW, through the Made in NSW Fund. COLIN FROM ACCOUNTS is distributed outside of Australia and New Zealand by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

The first two seasons are currently available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S. and internationally on BINGE and Foxtel in Australia, BBC iPlayer in the UK, Citytv+ in Canada, Cosmote TV in Greece, YES in Israel, SVT in Sweden, NRK in Norway, DRTV/DR1 in Denmark, YLE Areena/YLE TV2 in Finland, MNET 101 in Pan Africa, Universal+ in Latin America and RTE2 in Ireland. In addition to Paramount+ in the U.S., season three will be coming to BINGE and Foxtel in Australia, BBC iPlayer and channels in the United Kingdom, Citytv+ in Canada, RTE2 in Ireland, Cosmote TV in Greece, Universal+ in Latin America, SVT in Sweden, MNET 101 in Pan Africa and others.

COLIN FROM ACCOUNTS has garnered renowned international recognition and acclaim, including a recent BAFTA TV Award nomination for Best International Series, alongside winning two Gotham TV Awards (Breakthrough Comedy Series and Outstanding Performance in a Comedy Series) and three Australian Logie Awards (for Outstanding Comedy Program, Outstanding Actor and Outstanding Actress). In addition, it was the most nominated comedy series at the 2024 and 2025 AACTA Awards with 19 total nominations, including Best Narrative Comedy Series and Best Acting in Comedy for Brammall and Dyer.

About Paramount+

Paramount+, part of Paramount’s (Nasdaq: PARA, PARAA) global portfolio of multimedia entertainment and news brands, is a direct-to-consumer digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service, combining live sports, breaking news and A Mountain of Entertainment™. The streaming service features an expansive library of original series, hit shows and popular movies across every genre from world-renowned brands and production studios, including BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and the Smithsonian Channel. Paramount+ with SHOWTIME, the service's cornerstone plan, is also home to SHOWTIME® content, including scripted hits and critically acclaimed nonfiction projects and films. This premium plan includes unmatched events and sports programming through the local live CBS stream, including golf, basketball and more. All Paramount+ subscribers have streaming access to CBS News Network for 24/7 news and CBS Sports HQ for sports news and analysis.

For more information about Paramount+, please visit www.paramountplus.com, and follow @ParamountPlus on social media.

About CBS Studios

CBS Studios is one of the world’s leading producers of entertainment programming, with dozens of globally popular series for broadcast and streaming.  The Studio’s expansive portfolio includes a diverse slate of commercially successful and critically acclaimed programming which includes genre-defining franchises such as NCIS and the STAR TREK universe, fan-favorite comedies such as THE NEIGHBORHOOD and GHOSTS, the newly reimagined MATLOCK, and buzzy international co-productions such as COLIN FROM ACCOUNTS and upcoming KING & CONQUEROR.

#ColinFromAccounts

THE NAKED GUN: View New Trailer

Paramount Pictures Presents In Association with Domain Entertainment, A Fuzzy Door Production  “THE NAKED GUN”

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Director: Akiva Schaffer
Writers: Dan Gregor & Doug Mand & Akiva Schaffer
Cast: Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, CCH Pounder, Kevin Durand, Cody Rhodes, Liza Koshy, Eddie Yu, with Danny Huston
Executive Producers: Daniel M. Stillman, Akiva Schaffer, Pete Chiappetta, Anthony Tittanegro, Andrew Lary
Producers: Seth MacFarlane, Erica Huggins, p.g.a.

Only one man has the particular set of skills... to lead Police Squad and save the world! Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson) follows in his father's footsteps in THE NAKED GUN,

#NakedGun

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Keeping it Real, Telling it Like it is, Jamie Fox, Angela Bassett and Other Black Leading Men and Women in Hollywood do that and More in ‘Number One on The Call Sheet’

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Release Date: March 28, 2025 Apple TV+
Directors: Reginald Hudlin Shola Lynch
Country: United States
Language: English

Directors Reginald Hudlin and Shola Lynch brings the raw truths of leading black men and women in Hollywood to the screen in ‘Number One on The Call’ as they give their accounts of the struggles and triumphs as the they have risen and continue to rise on the call sheet.

You hear from the biggest names in Hollywood. The likes of Eddie Murphy, Dwayne “Rock” Johnson, Lawrence Fishburn, Taraji P. Henson, Whoopi Goldberg, and more, as they move on up.

The two-part documentary is produced by Jamie Fox and Kevin Hart and executive producers are Reginald Hudlin, Bryan Smiley, Halle Berry, Viola Davis, Whoopi Goldberg, Angela Bassett.

Production companies are Foxx Hole Production, Story Syndicate and Hartbeat Productions.

Must see on Friday, March 28, 2025

‘NOVOCAINE’: When a Man Loves A Woman

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Directors: Dan Berk, Robert Olsen
Writer: Lars Jacobson
Starring: Jack Quaid, Amber Midthunder, Ray Nicholson, Jacob Batalon, Betty Gabriel, Matt Walsh
Run time:1 hour 51 minutes
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Crime-romance-thriller
Rating: R
Country United States
Language: English

Directors Dan Berk and Robert Olsen’s action thriller tells the story of Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid) a bank executive with a congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP), who puts his inability to feel  to good use  in order to rescue his girlfriend Sherry (Amber Midthunder) who is taken hostage by bank robbers. The film also stars Ray Nicholson, Jacob Batalon, Betty Gabriel, and Matt Walsh.

Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Directors: Dan Berk, Robert Olsen
Writer: Lars Jacobson
Producers: Joby Harold, Tory Tunnell, Drew Simon
Production companies: Infrared Pictures, Safehouse Pictures, Circle of Confusion
Starring: Jack Quaid, Amber Midthunder, Ray Nicholson, Jacob Batalon, Betty Gabriel, Matt Walsh
Cinematographer: Jacques Jouffret
Editor: Christian Wagner
Music: Lorne Balfe, Andrew Kawczynski

Through the Lens: An Evening with Black Women Directors Presented by Beverly Hills/Hollywood NAACP/EMCC and the Alliance of Women Directors

Photo: Yevette Renee

 

A Black History Month event celebrating black women directors in Hollywood. The event took place at The Mark Theater, formerly WACO, in North Hollywood.

The discussion was opened by the Beverly Hills/Hollywood Ron Hassan and was moderated by Tanika Ray, multi-talented entertainment reporter and actress, the guest panelist included: Christine Swanson, a writer and director of film and television; Emmy-nominated Marta Cunningham, a former ballet dancer, executive producer, writer and director;Nicki  Micheaux, actress, writer and director; and Princes Monique Filmz, writer and director.

‘Emilia Perez’

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Release dates: Cannes May 18, 2024, France August 21, 2024
Director and Writer:  Jacques Audiard
Based on Emilia Pérez by Jacques Audiard and Écoute
by Boris Razon
Starring: Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, Mark Ivanir, Édgar Ramírez
Genre: Musical, Crime
Rating: R
Run time: 2 hours 12 minutes
Country: France
Languages:  Spanish and English

Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Perez is the journey of a Mexican cartel leader Juan "Manitas" Del Monte/ Emilia Pérez (Karla Sofía Gascón) who enlists a lawyer Rita Mora Castro, (Zoe Saldaña) to help the cartel leader obtain surgery to become a woman. The story involves Jessi Del Monte, Manitas’ US-raised wife and mother of their children (Selena Gomez); Epifanía Flores (Adriana Paz), Emilia’s romantic partner; Gustavo Brun, Jessi’s romantic partner (Édgar Ramírez); Dr. Wasserman (Mark Ivanir) the doctor who performs gender reassignment surgery on Manitas.

Distributor: Pathé Distribution
Production companies: Why Not Productions, Page 114, Pathé, France 2 Cinéma, Saint Laurent Productions
Producers: Jacques Audiard, Pascal Caucheteux, Valérie Schermann, Anthony Vaccarello
Cinematographer: Paul Guilhaume
Editor: Juliette Welfling
Music: Clément Ducol score and Camille songs

‘The Substance’ Starring Oscar Nominee Demi Moore

The Substance poster

The Substance tells the story of celebrity, Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) who is slowly disappearing from stardom and after being fired by her producer (Dennis Quaid) due to her aging, uses a black market drug that creates a younger version of herself (Margaret Qualley) with unexpected side effects.

You are reminded of Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond, a silent film star in the 1950 film ‘Sunset Boulevard’ but without the drugs.

Distributors: Mubi in the United Kingdom and United States and Filmexport in France
Producers: Coralie Fargeat, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner
Production Companies: Working Title Films, Blacksmith
Cinematographer: Benjamin Kračun
Editors: Coralie Fargeat, Jérôme Eltabet, Valentin Feron
Music: Raffertie

AMBER RUFFIN TO HOST THE 16TH ANNUAL AAFCA AWARDS PRESENTED BY THE AFRICAN AMERICAN FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION

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The 16th Annual AAFCA Awards ceremony will be held on February 19th at the Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel

Amber Ruffin Host 16th Annual AFFCA Awards
Amber Ruffin Host 16th Annual AFFCA Awards

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 14, 2025 – The African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) is thrilled to announce that Emmy and Tony Award-nominated writer, comedian, host, performer, and best-selling author Amber Ruffin will host the 16th Annual AAFCA Awards on February 19, 2025 at the Regent Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel. The ceremony will celebrate outstanding achievements in film and television with a special focus on artistic achievement from the African diaspora. It won’t just be Hollywood enjoying the show this year as AAFCA is proudly including first responders as special guests at this year’s ceremony in honor of their heroic efforts during the recent LA wildfires.

Ruffin brings a wealth of comedic talent and sharp social commentary to the AAFCA stage. Known for her innovative and versatile voice, she has made a significant impact on the entertainment landscape. She currently serves as a writer and on-air personality for Late Night with Seth Meyers and will return for the second season of CNN’s acclaimed comedy-news weekly talks series, Have I Got News For You, which she leads opposite Michael Ian Black and Roy Wood Jr., who hosted last year’s AAFCA Awards ceremony. It was recently announced that Ruffin will host the White House Correspondent’s Dinner on April 26.

Her television writing credits also include HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show, Comedy Central’s Detroiters, and major awards telecasts including the Emmys, Tonys, and Golden Globes. As a celebrated theater writer, Ruffin wrote a new book for the smash-hit Broadway revival of the iconic musical The Wiz and was nominated for a Tony Award for co-writing the acclaimed musical adaptation of Some Like It Hot. She is currently developing an original musical comedy, Bigfoot.

Ruffin’s previous hosting experience includes the critically acclaimed The Amber Ruffin Show, which ran from 2020-2023 on Peacock and garnered Emmy, Critics Choice, TCA, NAACP Image, and GLAAD Media Award nominations. Her fresh perspective and engaging style have solidified her as a leading voice in comedy.

"This year’s AAFCA Awards are sure to be unforgettable with Amber Ruffin at the helm," said AAFCA co-founder and president Gil Robertson. "We are looking forward to her trademark wit and brilliance gracing the AAFCA Awards stage."

As previously announced, AAFCA’s Top 10 Films list and the winners of the 16th Annual AAFCA Awards are:

AAFCA’S TOP 10 FILMS OF THE YEAR

  1. Nickel Boys
  2. Sing Sing
  3. The Piano Lesson
  4. Gladiator II
  5. Wicked
  6. Emilia Pérez
  7. Albany Road
  8. The Fire Inside
  9. Exhibiting Forgiveness
  10. Dahomey

WINNERS | 16TH ANNUAL AAFCA AWARDS

Best Actor: Colman Domingo (Sing Sing)

Best Actress: Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard Truths)

Best Supporting Actor: Clarence Maclin (Sing Sing)

Best Supporting Actress: Danielle Deadwyler (The Piano Lesson)

Best Ensemble: The Piano Lesson

Best Original Score: The Wild Robot (Kris Bowers)

Best Original Song: Bricks, Exhibiting Forgiveness (Andra Day, Cassandra Batie & Jherek Bischoff)

Best Screenplay: Sing Sing (Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar)

Best Director: RaMell Ross (Nickel Boys)

Best Documentary: *TIE* Daughters (Netflix), Dahomey (Mubi)

Best Animated Feature: The Wild Robot

Best International Film: Emilia Pérez

Best Independent Feature: She Taught Love

Best Picture: Nickel Boys