By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Fan anticipation for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” tops that of any upcoming 2022 film, even the next “Spider-Man,” according to surveys reported by Entertainment Weekly and taken by Fandango. More than 6,000 Fandango December ticket buyers chose the “Black Panther” sequel as the film they most wanted to see in the New Year. “Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse” finished second, followed by the latest version of “The Batman” and another Marvel entity, “Thor Love And Thunder.” It’s also good news for theaters that fans who were surveyed said they planned to view films in theaters…
Author: Ron Wynn
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Actor, poet and sculptor Max Julien, whose performance in “The Mack” was one of the ‘70s most memorable, passed Saturday at 88. No official cause of death was immediately issued. Julien began working as a actor in Off-Broadway productions as well as various Shakespeare in the Park presentations in both his hometown of Washington D.C. and also in New York. His earliest film roles were in “Psych-Out” and “Getting Straight.” But his career exploded with “The Mack” in 1973. Julien co-starred with Richard Pryor in an epic tale about an ex-convict on a mission…
When Jackson State head coach and NFL Hall-of-Famer Deion Sanders persuaded the nation’s top recruit Travis Hunter to switch from Florida State to his school, many thought this was just an aberration, that because Hunter played the same position (defensive back) as Sanders that he’d made a decision which many other top players wouldn’t. HBCUs in the post-integration era have seldom gotten the top Black players, as they usually choose Power 5 schools for a variety of reasons. These range from the prime time television exposure given those schools to the feeling that they better prepare college players for the…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — As the Titans prepare for their final regular season home game against the Miami Dolphins Sunday, they can decide most of the questions regarding how they fare this year themselves. If they win out against the Dolphins and then on the road against Houston, they will win the AFC South and host a first-round game. Even if they only win one of two and the Colts take both their final contests, the Titans own the tie-breaker and would take the title. The Titans even have a remote chance to be the top seed in…
By Ron Wynn ABC (locally WRKN-2) will debut next week a new show that spotlights vital and important Black women, some well known and others that haven’t gotten their just due. “Women Of The Movement” debuts Jan. 6, and the first subject is a woman whose tragic and horrible loss provided a national boost to the Civil Rights Movement. Mamie Till Mobley’s son Emmett was brutally murdered and tortured in Mississippi for allegedly whistling at a white woman. Till Mobley decided to have her son’s casket remain open at his funeral, allowing the world to see first hand the viciousness…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Joe Simon was one of Southern soul’s smoothest and most convincing stylists. Yet he also was not enamored of fame or status, and he walked away from popular music in 1983 to become an ordained minister. Simon died Dec, 13 at 85 in his hometown near Chicago. But his music remains beloved, particularly his biggest hits “The Chokin’ Kind,” a soul cover of a Harlan Howard country tune, in 1969, “Drowning In The Sea Of Love” with Gamble and Huff in 1971, and “Power of Love” in 1972. Simon grew up in Louisiana, but…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — Though it has been both a critical and commercial success when it’s aired, Donald Glover’s landmark show “Atlanta” hasn’t had new episodes air since the second season concluded May 10, 2018. But that’s now about to change. FX announced this week that “Atlanta” was getting a third season starting March 24. “We are thrilled to have “Atlanta” back with a new season on March 24,” FX Entertainment president Eric Schrier told the Hollywood Reporter. “Once again, Donald Glover, the producers and stellar cast have delivered another signature season synonymous with the excellence that makes…
Nearly a week later, the decision of the nation’s number one high school football player Travis Hunter to sign with HBCU institution Jackson State continues to be the talk of the college football world. Head coach and Hall of Famer Deion Sanders was already basking in the glow of a 10-1 season and HBCU Coach of the Year honors. But his landing Hunter has topped all that, especially since one of the schools Hunter spurned is Sanders’ alma mater Florida State. The others were SEC stalwarts Georgia and Auburn. Hunter, a gradate of Collins High School in Suwanee,Georgia, represents the…
NASHVILLE, TN — As the Titans prepare for their second game in a short week, they know that offensive production has become a major problem. The inability to score more points, coupled with major turnover problems, have resulted in disappointing losses. The most recent was Sunday’s 19-13 road loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. It dropped their record to 9-5 and reduced their division lead to 1/2 game over the Colts, although they own the tiebreaker if the two teams finish deadlocked for the division title. Still, this loss was especially troubling, as the Titans were outscored 16-0 in the second…
By Ron Wynn NASHVILLE, TN — NBC has high hopes for “Bel-Air,” a new series that’s a dramatic reboot of a previously successful comedy, “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” This version will get the highly coveted post-Super Bowl premiere slot on its network, the NBCUniversal streaming service Peacock. The debut episode premieres on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 13th 2022, with new episodes premiering weekly. The series is out of Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith’s Westbrook Studios and Universal Television. It is based on the viral concept trailer from Morgan Cooper released in 2019. Peacock won a bidding war for…