LeBron James reveals official title of the ‘Space Jam’ sequel

It’s long been known that NBA superstar LeBron James will be the face of a forthcoming
Space Jam sequel, but little else has been revealed.

Until now.

The Los Angeles Lakers star took to Instagram Thursday to unveil the official name of the film: Space Jam: A New Legacy.

James made a boomerang post of himself wearing a cap embroidered with the title.

View this post on Instagram

2021. 🐰🥕 🎥 🍿👑

A post shared by LeBron James (@kingjames) on Apr 30, 2020 at 1:23pm PDT

It was then re-posted by the film’s official Twitter page later on that day.

Repost from #LeBronJames: 2021. 🐰🥕 🎥 🍿👑 pic.twitter.com/G499sIvXL6

— Space Jam A New Legacy (@spacejammovie) April 30, 2020

READ MORE: LeBron James to honor 2020 class with ‘Graduate Together’ TV Special

The year 2021 was written in the caption, but an official release date has yet to be confirmed for the basketball movie that straddles fiction and reality.

Space Jam: A New Legacy will mark James’ time as the lead actor in a major motion picture. It’s the follow-up to the 1996 film Space Jam starring Michael Jordan, who teamed up with animated Looney Tunes characters to take on the Monstars, a team of aliens who harvested basketball talents from other NBA stars, in a game of basketball.

The original, which grossed $230 million at the box office, also featured Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird, former Philadelphia 76er Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing, who played most of his professional career with the New York Knicks. It is assumed that current NBA stars will also join James for the sequel, however, no one has been announced as of yet.

READ MORE: Michael Jordan once turned down $100M deal because he’d have to appear at a two-hour event

 

James made his first appearance on the big screen as himself in the 2015 rom-com Train Wreck, which starred with Amy Schumer and Bill Hader.

James, who is the face of the NBA, has also been busy behind the scenes in video production. He is the executive producer of two shows on Showtime, including celebrity interview series The Shop and documentary ‘Shut Up & Dribble,’ which speaks to the link between sports and political activism.

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Chicago Mayor Tells Black Teens on Playground to Go Home, Gets Roasted in Response on Camera

Black youth in Chicago were already a little wary of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the first mayor for the city who is a black woman and member of the LGBTQ community. During her historic mayoral campaign young activists frequently took Lightfoot to task on how she would ensure more accountability in the Chicago Police…

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Detroit chefs unite to make 20,000 meals for the city’s homeless shelters in efforts to combat COVID-19

The coronavirus pandemic has forced scores of restaurants to close across the country.

Given the health crisis, several chefs in Detroit are using their gifts to feed the city’s homeless.

Celebrity chef Maxcel Hardy, who idled his COOP Caribbean Fusion restaurant in Detroit’s Midtown area, continues to cook for his fellow Detroiters. He took his talents to the Horatio Williams Foundation kitchen to feed families living in shelters, as reported by WDIV-TV.

And Hardy is not alone. The Detroit native teamed up with other award-winning chefs in the city to pay it forward during a tragic period for the Motor City.

READ MORE: In Detroit, grief runs deep as city grapples with COVID-19

“We’re just trying to do what we can to make sure that we take care of most vulnerable folks here in Detroit, that being our homeless population,” said Hardy, a lifelong resident.

Hardy said in an Instagram post last week the efforts have produced more than 20,000 meals in 33 days.

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And that is a wrap 20,221 meals, 33 days much love to everyone that helped make this happen!! It was truly a blessing to be able to a blessing to so many and I could have not done it without the following @chefmattschellig @barrywinfree @thehoratiowilliamsfoundation @dericsonpr @considermedressed @sahara_monet @oakland_ave_urban_farm @aquaholicdrinks @stephbyrd.blk @syscodetroit @gordonfoodservice @scottrutterbush @delbeneproduce @mpurvis_charityceo @floodsdetroit @theblockdetroit @b96streetfood @kuzzoschickenandwaffles @mgmgranddetroit @forgottenharvest @bernardkanjoma @chefphiljones @chef_works @karenchefworks @detroit_shipping!! #love, #86hunger, #toomanycooksinthekitchen, #foodisalifestyle

A post shared by chefmaxhardy (@chefmaxhardy) on Apr 29, 2020 at 2:17pm PDT

Metro Detroit is one of the hardest-hit areas by the coronavirus crisis. out of 43,200 COVID-19 diagnoses in the state of Michigan, a majority of cases were found in the three counties surrounding Detroit. More than 8,500 residents in the majority Black city have tested positive of the deadly disease.

Detroit is beset by persistently high poverty rates. Hardy and his confidants recognized that the city’s homeless population is even more vulnerable to catching the virus.

“If you’re malnourished and you’re not eating right, you’re not going to have a fighting chance against COVID-19,” Hardy said.

READ MORE: Armed protestors storm Michigan Capitol over stay-at-home-orders

The Horatio Williams Foundation kitchen has fed more than 9,000 people so far, averaging around 400 per day. The kitchen operates on weekdays.

The Horatio Williams Foundation stocks it kitchen by receiving food donations and recovery efforts from restaurants, warehouses and distributors. Culinary students are also volunteering at the center.

Hardy and his fellow chefs attribute the city’s fighting spirit as the inspiration for this selfless act of kindness.

“It goes to who we are as Detroiters, because we know if nobody else will do it and look out for us, we look out for ourselves,” he said.

View this post on Instagram

“Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen for Good” getting some love from WDIV’s Sandra Ali

A post shared by David Rudolph (@dericsonpr) on Apr 29, 2020 at 7:24pm PDT

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Issa Rae is ‘grateful’ after HBO orders fifth season of ‘Insecure’

As the newest episodes of Insecure play out, HBO has picked up the comedy series for another season.

HBO approved Insecure for a fifth season, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The news comes as fans await the fourth episode of season four to air Sunday night on the premium network.

Rae, renowned for “rooting for everybody Black,” tweeted Saturday that she is “Grateful to officially come back for Season 5.”

Grateful to officially come back for Season 5! #InsecureHBO pic.twitter.com/Kf8hozqm2X

— Issa Rae (@IssaRae) May 1, 2020

Insecure follows star and co-creator Issa Rae as she navigates life, friendship and romance in Los Angeles. The scripted series returned to airwaves on April 12 after nearly a two-year hiatus.

READ MORE: Issa Rae touts ‘clture,’ data-driven streaming site for Black creatives

HBO Programming executive vice president Amy Gravitt is pleased the story will continue for the network and its viewers.

“We’re thrilled that Issa, Prentice [Penny], and the whole Insecure team will be getting back together for a fifth season,” Gravitt said. “As we laugh and cringe with recognition, their stories make us all feel a little less alone in the world.”

Although the show, which airs Sunday nights at 10 p.m., averages 500,000 viewers per episode during first runs, much of its viewership comes through delayed viewing via the HBO Go streaming service and reruns, THR said.

While Rae adventured out as a film actress in movies like Little, The Photograph and The Love Birds, her ties with HBO are stronger than ever.

READ MORE: Issa Rae on managing success: ‘I try to under hype as much as possible’

In addition to Insecure, she also executive produces HBO’s Black Lady Sketch Show and The Dolls, a forthcoming limited series on the Cabbage Patch doll riots of the 1980s.

Rae is also working with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson to develop Tre Cnt, a half-hour series about pro wrestling.

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New York mother dies of childbirth complications days after complaining of ‘dealing with incompetent doctors’

The coronavirus pandemic has dominated the national attention so much, it’s easy to overlook other health disparities that have plagued this country and communities for generations.

Such was the case for New Yorker Amber Rose Isaac, who died last month at the age of 26 after giving birth as a result of neglect and malpractice, The Guardian reports.

Isaac, a Bronx resident of Black and Purto Rican descent, received rude and unprofessional treatment from the staff of the Bronx’s Montefiore Medical Center, according to her partner Bruce McIntyre III.

“All of this was 100% preventable. All of it,” McIntyre said. “I feel like she would have got more attentive care if she was a white mother, to be completely honest with you.”

Just days prior to her death, Isaac tweeted she should consider writing a story about “dealing with incompetent doctors” at the Bronx hospital.

Can’t wait to write a tell all about my experience during my last two trimesters dealing with incompetent doctors at Montefiore

— ✨ (@Radieux_Rose) April 17, 2020

READ MORE: Distraught father sues Cedars-Sinai Hospital after his wife dies in childbirth

Isaac felt her platelet levels were down in February, but was ignored by her medical team, who she was in contact with over phone and Zoom video conference. Low platelet levels make it harder for the body to form blood clots.

She didn’t get updated blood work until she hired a midwife in response to Montefiore’s mistreatment. However, hopes of having a home birth were nixed when she was deemed too high risk and needed surgery, McIntyre said.

Isaac is another victim of the United States’ ongoing problem with Black maternity mortality. African-American women are eight times more likely to die during childbirth than white women in New York City alone. Latinas, particularly Puerto Ricans, are also more vulnerable.

“Unfortunately, what I see when I look at Amber Rose’s case is a beautiful young woman who fell through our big, gaping hole of a health-care system,” Dr. Joia Crear-Perry, founder and president of the National Birth Equity Collaborative, said.

READ MORE: Time To Deliver: Putting an end to Black women dying in childbirth is easier than you think

Now baby Elias will have to grow up with her mother.

In March, Isaac was admitted to the hospital by herself, as the COVID-19 pandemic kept both McIntyre and her mother, a 25-year Montefiore staff member no less, from being present. She developed a blood and liver pregnancy complication called HELLP, which usually isn’t fatal when treated.

Isaac was induced and rushed into an emergency C-section, and the surgeon she was assigned was not present. She died about a month later on April 21, The Guardian said.

“We know she did all that she was supposed to do, right,” Crear-Perry stated. “And she’s not the only one. That’s the story of the black maternal mortality issue across the United States.”

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