Names and faces
∎ Colin Jost, the co-anchor of Weekend Update on “Saturday Night Live,” will get a chance in April to roast leading political and media figures as the featured entertainer at the annual dinner of the White House Correspondents’ Association. “His smart brand of comedy and keen observation will turn up the heat on the national news media and across the political spectrum,” said Kelly O’Donnell, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association and NBC News senior White House correspondent, in a statement. A writer and comedic performer, Jost has written for the long-running NBC late night comedy franchise since 2005. He began co-anchoring the show’s news parody in 2014 with Michael Che. His film credits include “Coming 2 America” and “Tom & Jerry.” He is the author of the memoir “A Very Punchable Face.” Jost, 41, grew up in the New York City borough of Staten Island and graduated from Harvard University, where he was dormmates with now Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Jost is married to actress Scarlett Johansson. The U.S. president and first lady traditionally attend the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, as do senior government officials and members of the press corps with the proceeds from the night helping to fund scholarships for journalism students.
∎ Nearly 20 years after their last collaboration, Spike Lee and Denzel Washington are reuniting for an adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s “High and Low.” Apple Original Films announced Thursday that it is co-financing the film, which A24 will release theatrically before it streams on Apple TV+. It marks Lee and Washington’s first film together since 2006’s “Inside Man.” Their previous films include “Mo’ Better Blues,” “Malcolm X” and “He Got Game.” Kurosawa’s “High and Low,” released in 1963 and starring Toshiro Mifune, was adapted from the Ed McBain novel “King’s Ransom.” The film, a potent thriller rich in class commentary, follows a wealthy industrialist targeted by kidnappers. Filming starts in March.