Coogler mulled leaving Hollywood
“Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler considered “walking away” from Hollywood following the death of actor Chadwick Boseman, he shared in a new interview.
Boseman died in August 2020 at age 43 following a private, four-year battle with colon cancer.
“I was at a point when I was like, ‘I’m walking away from this business,’ ” Coogler told Entertainment Weekly.
“I didn’t know if I could make another movie period, (let alone) another ‘Black Panther’ movie, because it hurt a lot. I was like, ‘Man, how could I open myself up to feeling like this again?’ ”
Boseman starred in 2018’s “Black Panther” as T’Challa, king of the fictional African nation Wakanda who suits up as the superhero Black Panther to protect his people.
The director did ultimately return for a sequel, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” which arrives in theaters Nov. 11. The movie’s makers didn’t recast the role of T’Challa for the new film.
Isaac, Brosnahan to headline Hansberry play: Two stars will align for the first major New York revival of a Lorraine Hansberry play next year. Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan have been announced to headline the playwright’s “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window,” with performances set to begin Feb. 4.
Directed by Obie Award winner Anne Kauffman, the drama was Hansberry’s final play produced on Broadway before her death at age 34. The Chicago native was the first Black woman to have a play produced on Broadway with 1959’s landmark “A Raisin in the Sun.”
“The Sign in Sidney
Brustein’s Window” featured white actors in the primary roles, for a story about a disillusioned Jewish writer living in Greenwich Village among other bohemians. The three-act 1964 play involves interracial romance, bigotry, homosexuality, politics and prostitution.
Sciutto taking leave of absence from CNN:
Jim Sciutto, a CNN daytime anchor and chief national security correspondent, has taken a personal leave of absence following an internal investigation into an incident while traveling for the network earlier this year.
CNN staffers were told of the leave on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss it publicly. A CNN representative declined comment.
Sciutto, who joined CNN
in 2013 and co-anchors the mid-morning hours for the network, has been off since Monday. Another person briefed on the situation said Sciutto is expected to return in several weeks.
Sciutto, 52, reportedly suffered a fall during an overseas stopover trip on the way back from Ukraine, where he was reporting earlier this year. The matter, first reported by The Daily Beast, was investigated by CNN, and the company mandated that he take time off.
Oct. 8 birthdays: Actor Paul Hogan is 83. Comedian Chevy Chase is 79. Actor Sigourney Weaver is 73. Singer Robert “Kool” Bell is 72. Comedian Darrell Hammond is 67. Singer CeCe Winans is
58. Actor Emily Procter is
54. Actor Dylan Neal is 53. Actor Matt Damon is 52. Actor Nick Cannon is 42. Actor J.R. Ramirez is 42. Singer Bruno Mars is 37.