De Niro appears as Robert Mueller in ‘SNL’ cold open

BET cancels ‘Hit the Floor’

LOS ANGELES, Dec 9, (RTRS): Robert De Niro made a surprise appearance as special counsel Robert Mueller in “Saturday Night Live’s” cold open.

De Niro popped out of a closet in a sketch that skewered President Donald Trump and the mounting legal pressure Mueller’s investigation has put on many of Trump’s associates. Alex Moffatt played Eric Trump in a bedtimestory setting, with Mikey Day as Donald Trump Jr delivering a reading to his brother of “Twas the Night Before Christmas”.

De Niro’s Mueller showed up, as “the boogeyman in the closet”, to pressure Eric Trump into participating with his investigation into the 2016 presidential campaign and allegations of collusion with Russia among members of Trump’s campaign staff.

“It’s just me, Robert Mueller, your dad’s friend from work,” De Niro’s Mueller told Moffatt’s Eric Trump.

Jason Momoa, star of Warner Bros’ upcoming DC Comics adaptation “Aquaman”, hosts tonight’s episode, which features musical guest Mumford and Sons.

Momoa’s monologue wrapped with a sketch featuring Leslie Jones and Kenan Thompson taking the actor through a rendition of the 1970s Parliament hit “Aqua Boogie.”

The Trump family was also the focus of a sketch for a TV show “Them Trumps” – from the producers of ‘Empire’ – that asked the question “What if Donald Trump was black?”

“Weekend Update” also opened with a segment about Trump and the Mueller investigation. “This week Robert Mueller released the teaser trailer for ‘Trump: End Game’,” co-anchor Colin Jost said.

With the Marvel fandom’s anticipation leading up to “Avengers: Endgame”, it’s no surprise that the trailer drop set a new record for most views in its first 24 hours.

The “Avengers: Endgame” trailer was viewed 289 million times in its first 24 hours, after it was released around 5 am PT Friday, according to Marvel Studios. That blasted past the previous record of 230 million views, set a little over a year ago by the studio’s “Avengers: Infinity War”. Behind that was Disney’s “The Lion King” teaser, which racked up 224.6 million views.

Platforms

The views for the “Avengers: Endgame” trailer were tabulated across multiple platforms, including YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

“Avengers: Endgame”, the fourth Avengers movie and the sequel to “Infinity War”, is set to hit theaters April 26, 2019.

Marvel announced the record on social media Saturday, extending thanks to “the greatest fans in the world”:

“To the greatest fans in the world, thank you for being there from the beginning til the endgame and making Marvel Studios’ #AvengersEndgame the most viewed trailer in history with 289m views in 24 hours!” the studio said.

The trailer also set a record for Twitter conversation for a movie trailer in the first 24 hours – with 549,000 mentions – soaring past previous record holder “Avengers: Infinity War” (389,000) and “Black Panther” (349,000).

The upcoming “Avengers: Endgame” picks up where “Infinity War” left off: Thanos has just wiped out half of all life in the universe. Seemingly facing certain doom, Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) joins forces with Captain America (Chris Evans) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) – and other members of the superhero crew – to rise up and fight Thanos.

Eros Now, the video streaming arm of Indian film production and distribution giant Eros International, has begun production of an original web TV series. Its human trafficking drama “Flesh” will air in early 2019.

“Flesh” stars Swara Bhaskar (“Raanjhanaa”, “Veera Di Wedding”) as a belligerent female cop who takes matters into her own hands in pursuit of those trading in human beings. Akshay Oberoi, Vidya Malvade, Kavin Dave and Yudhishtir Urs also star.

The screenplay is by Pooja Ladha Surti, best known for her work on acclaimed films including “Andhadhun”, “Badlapur”, “Phobia” and “Ek Hasina Thi”. The drama is co-produced by Siddharth Anand and directed by Danish Aslam (“Break ke Baad”).

“We want the consumers’ digital experience to be defined by creating strong, extraordinary and unforgettable content,” said Ridhima Lulla, chief content officer at Eros. “‘Flesh’ is a flagship Eros Now show that promises to have the all the gripping elements to hook audiences.”

Originals

Eros Now COO Ali Hussein last week told Variety that the company is planning 100 originals and that it will invest $50-70 million in the original content slate over the next 18 months. The company recently launched digital shows “Side Hero” and “Smoke” and a made-for-digital feature “Meri Nimmo”, directed by Bollywood hitmaker Aanand L. Rai. Eros Now has 13 million paid subscribers and 128 million registered users.

BET has canceled “Hit the Floor” after four seasons.

“At this time, BET Networks will not be moving forward with a fifth season of ‘Hit The Floor’,” a network spokesperson said in a statement. “We are grateful to the most passionate fans ever who helped to bring one more season of the #DevilsNation to the screen, and the incredible cast and dancers. We would especially like to thank and recognize the acclaimed Executive Producer and Creator of the series James LaRosa for his passion and vision. We look forward to finding ways to continue in partnership.”

Season 4 of the the show debuted back in July. It explored the world of professional basketball as seen through the eyes of the the dance team for the fictional LA Devils, known as the Devil Girls. It starred Brent Antonello, Katherine Bailess, Kyndall Ferguson, McKinley Freeman, Tiffany Hines, Jonathan “Lil J” McDaniel, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, Cort King, Kristian Kordula, and Teyana Taylor. In addition to LaRosa, BET is also currently working on a series adaptation of “Boomerang” as well as “American Soul”, based on the life of “Soul Train” creator Don Cornelius, among several other scripted offerings.