By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The sudden death of actress and vocalist Shonka Dukureh has left many in the Nashville entertainment community stunned and saddened. Dukureh was found unresponsive in her Nashville apartment last Thursday. At 44, she was getting widespread rave reviews for her performance as Big Mama Thornton in the current film “Elvis.” Dukureh was both a Fisk and Trevecca Nazarene University graduate, earning her bachelor’s degree in theater from Fisk and a master’s in education from Trevecca. The Thornton role was her first major one, and it seemed stardom awaited her. One of many who offered…
Author: Ron Wynn
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Despite some initial doubts from a few box office pundits, Jordan Peele’s new sci-fi thriller “Nope” opened big. It topped the box office with its $44 million debut. While that slightly missed the projections some made of $50 million, it’s right in the middle between Peele’s first two films, 2017’s “Get Out” (which opened to $33 million) and 2019’s “Us” (which opened to $71 million). “Nope” demonstrates the director’s popularity, and marks a strong start for an original, R-rated horror film. “Nope” ranks as the highest opening weekend tally for an original film since…
For much of this century, sprinting has been dominated by the nation of Jamaica, particularly on the men’s side. Usain Bolt dominated both the world championships and Olympics so thoroughly from 2008 through 2016, and in the process became the first man to gold medals in the 100 and 200 in three consecutive Olympics. Bolt ultimately won eight gold medals and 11 world championship titles, retiring in 2017 as the world record holder in both the 100 and 200. Since Bolt’s retirement, no one has emerged remotely as successful in both sprints. But last week at thus year’s World Championships,…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The Nashville Predators continued their retooling of the roster lat week with two free agent signings, one of them a potential backup to goalie Juuse Saros, who was among the leaders at his position in games played last season. The Predators signed goaltender Devin Cooley and forward Jimmy Huntington. Both signed one-year contracts. Neither was on an NHL roster last season, as they were members of the Predators’ AHL affiliate the Milwaukee Admirals. Cooley played in 23 games for the Admirals. His record was 9-10-4 and he had a goals against average of 3.06.…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Apple TV+ continues making inroads in both series television and sports broadcasts. Their latest move was made last week with one of their newest comedies. They renewed the com edy series “Loot” starring Maya Rudolph and Michaela Jaé Rodriguez for season two. So far, five episodes of the ten-episode first season have already aired. The workplace comedy is also executive produced by Rudolph and is from Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard. The announcement was mast just as Apple TV+ set a multi-year, first-look deal with Animal Pictures, the production company run from Maya…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The 2022 Emmy nominations were both historic and controversial. Several Black stars, including some notable women, received their first Emmy nominations. But there was also surprise that a long-running show which just finished its run was virtually shut out of award consideration. First time Black Emmy nominees included Quinta Brunson, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Sanaa Lathan, Chadwick Boseman, Jerrod Carmichael, Colman Domingo, Janelle James and Tyler James Williams. Brunson is nominated for multiple Emmys as both a star and the creator of “Abbott Elementary.” Ralph is also nominated as Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The Nashville Predators decisively answered the question Saturday of how they would resolve the Filip Forsberg contract dilemma. They locked up the left wing for the next eight years and also made contractural concessions that general manager David Poile acknowledged they neither usually made nor really wanted to. The new deal is for eight years and $64 million, giving Forsberg an $8.5 million per year contract. He could quite possibly have gotten more had the Predators allowed him to reach free agency, but that’s no longer a concern. The team also gave him both…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — A new show previously aired on the National Geographic channel and now showing on Disney + is providing a spotlight for a sector of society that seldom gets mentioned, let alone given extensive exposure. “Critter Fixers: County Vets” focuses on Black veterinarians, a small group within a highly specialized field. Only two percent of working veterinarians in America are Black. Dr. Vernard Hodges and Dr. Terrence Ferguson are both friends and part of that special group. Their friendship has extended across three decades, and they are featured throughout the program. They hope to both…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — A new person has joined ABC News’ “Good Morning America,” and she’ll be one of the co-anchors. It was announced last week that Janai Norman would be joining the show as a co-anchor along with Whit Johnson and Eva Pilgrim. She will anchor on Saturdays and Sundays and she began this past weekend. “Good Morning America” airs locally on WKRN-2. ABC News president Kim Godwin made the announcement to the staff last week regarding Norman’s addition to the program. She began her career at ABC News as an intern at News One in 2011.…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — The Nashville Predators made a big move Sunday, acquiring a veteran defenseman with extensive Stanley Cup success. They traded two players to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Ryan McDonagh. The Predators see him as being an ideal addition to a defenseman corps that already includes Captain and Norris Trophy finalist Roman Josi and Mattias Ekholm. They sent to Tampa Bay defenseman Philippe Myers and forward Grant Mismash, neither of whom figured to be big parts of the Predators’ offensive or defensive schemes. MdDonagh had 99 points (20 goals, 79 assists), 529 blocks and a…