Chelsea Handler Inks Mega-Deal for Netflix Late Night Show

As part of the multi-tiered deal, the outgoing E! host will also front a stand-up special in October and four docu-comedy specials in 2015.

Chelsea Handler is taking her late-night brand to Netflix.

Associated Press Chelsea Handler

Upon wrapping her long-running Chelsea Lately series on E! in late August, the outspoken comic will kick off a multi-tiered deal that includes a stand-up special, docu-comedy specials and the streaming service’s first-ever talk show. The latter, mere speculation until this point, is set to begin in early 2016, and will debut simultaneously in all Netflix territories.

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“If I was going to continue working in this industry, I knew I had to do something outside the box to keep myself interested. I wanted to sit with the cool kids at lunch so I approached Netflix to make sure they were as cool as I thought they were, and when I confirmed my suspicions, like with any other future lover, I made my move,” said Handler in a statement announcing the news Thursday, adding: “I’m more excited than I’ve been in awhile, and the team at Netflix is the most forward thinking, alert group I’ve sat down with in ages. No offense to the Shahs Of Sunset.”

The pact begins with an hour-long stand-up special on Oct. 16, which will be based on her sold-out tour, Uganda Be Kidding Me Live. She’ll be taping the special in Chicago June 20 at the Harris Theater. Handler will continue the following year with four new docu-comedy specials, which will feature her efforts to gain a better understanding on a variety of subjects including NASCAR, politics, Silicon Valley and the NBA draft. While the 2016 talk show’s format will be updated, a Handler entry will still include her often unfiltered opinions on topical entertainment and cultural issues, as well as guest interviews.

“The Internet has disrupted many of the conventions of traditional television and together with Chelsea Handler, Netflix is looking forward to reimagining the late night talk show for the on-demand generation, starting with the late night part,” said Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos. “Chelsea has built a huge following on tour, on nightly TV and through her best-selling books, and we can’t wait to introduce her breathtakingly honest and irreverent voice to our global membership.”

The news comes three months after The Hollywood Reporter first reported that Handler was looking to part ways with her cable home of nearly a decade. At that time, her manager Irving Azoff noted that Handler, who spoke openly about his disdain for the reality fare that lines E!, had multiple suitors. At that time, he suggested Handler's post-E! act could includes either a radio presence or a series at another network or digital service.
 
Though her terms of her Netflix deal were not disclosed, the company is known to pay top dollar and it will allow Handler to do a series without the pressure of ratings. (Her E! series, part of a pact that paid her about $9 million a year, garnered about 572,000 viewers a night.) Handler will produce each of the Netflix projects with her Borderline Amazing production company partners, Tom Brunelle and Brad Wollack.  

For Netflix, this represents a continued pushing into original programming for its growing global subscriber-base of more than 48 million. In a recent interview with THR, original content VP Cindy Holland was asked about the possibility of late night, to which she noted she wouldn't shut the door on any kind of experimentation and that her colleagues have no preconceived notions about what will and won't work on the service.

D'Angelo's Album Will Be Out in 2014

Touring in October, Manager Insists

It's been so long, with so many false alarms, you start to lose track. 

 

D'Angelo's long-awaited follow-up to his classic 2000 album "Voodoo" was supposed to come out in 2007. Then 2009. Then 2010. Then he started touring, for the first time in 10 years, in 2011 and into 2012, airing four solid new songs: "Ain't That Easy," "The Charade," "In Another Life," and "Sugar Daddy."

Last year, he played some shows as a duo with longtime friend and collaborator ?uestlove as "Brothers in Arms." He performed the electrifying encore at Michael Dorf's "Music of Prince" tribute at Carnegie Hall, along with ?uestlove and members of the Roots and the Revolution, around the same time. He turned up at Bonnaroo last weekend, playing covers. He even gave an underwhelming 75-minute-long talk, moderated by veteran journalist (and Billboard alum) Nelson George, last month at the Brooklyn Museum as part of the Red Bull Music Academy, which provided some entertaining anecdotes but not much in the way of actual news. The album was clearly a taboo topic: ?uestlove, called onstage to join in the talk a couple of times, was the only one who dared to bring it up, and the chat ended immediately afterward.

Yet D'Angelo's manager, Kevin Liles of KWL Management and a longtime label and branding exec, told Billboard last week that the wait for the world's most long-awaited album apart from Dr. Dre's "Detox" is almost over. Now, that's nothing we haven't heard before: ?uestlove said in December of 2011 that the album was "pretty much 97 percent done," and in January of 2013, he told Billboard that it was "99 percent done." 
In March of 2013, Liles told Billboard, "We're trying to finish the album. Right now we have 13 songs done, trying to think about the sequence of the album, mastering and mixing within the next two weeks, and release the thing. Ain't no question it's coming."

Judging by that tectonic pace, the album actually should be just about approximately almost 100 percent done right about now. Here's what Liles said:

"Here's the thing: with D'Angelo it was a process. He didn't perform for 10 years and he's been working on an album for the past 12 years. I actually got him to go out and do 30 shows [in 2011-2012], and then we did some 'Brothers in Arms' shows. I said, 'We have to get motivated around what people want to hear from you, and what does it mean to come back to that space?' He very bluntly put it, 'Kev, the studio and the stage: that's my lifeblood. Now that I've touched it again, now that I see it again, I wanna be sure that the baby I'm about to have -- the album -- that I take it to the point where it's all it can be.'
  
"There'll be an album this year: there's 14 records so far, we might have a couple of bonus records, but all the recording is basically done and we're mixing and mastering now. Definitely, he'll be back.

"We'll probably start an international tour in October, we'll come back [to the States]. We're doing a James Brown tribute in August [at the Hollywood Bowl] and some one-off things. But the touring will probably start in October and 2015."

Billboard: What's the album like?

Liles: "To limit it to soul is not the case, because there is a rock influence. But at the same time, it's very melodic and there's an influence of all the things he loves: there's James Brown, there's Prince, and everything people grew up loving D'Angelo for, from 'Brown Sugar' to 'Voodoo.' It's a mixture and an evolution of where he is right now. And you have to think that when you have the opportunity to work 10 years on an album, that album's truly gonna be what you want it to be. Is it limited to the kind of sound that he did with the earlier records? No, it's not."

BB: Does it have a name yet?

KL: "There is a potential name, but I don't wanna give you a potential name and then change it."

BB: And it's definitely coming in 2014?

KL: "Yep. Sooner than later!"

Madonna Dating 26-Year-Old Choreographer Boyfriend Timor Steffens

26-Year-Old Choreographer Boyfriend Timor Steffens, "Just a Fling"

by Bruna Nessif 

 
It didn't take too long for Madonna to find a new guy after her breakup with Brahim Zaibat.
Yes, the iconic singer and her younger beau split nearly six months ago, but it turns out the star has been romantically linked to someone else for quite some time.

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Madonna was spotted stepping out with 26-year-old dancer and choreographer Timor Steffens after seeing a Broadway play in New York City, and E! News has learned that the couple have been dating for months now. A source tells us that they've been seen together numerous times since January, including the Grammys in Los Angeles.

So how did this all come about?

The source tells E! News that the duo met this past winter in Switzerland. Madonna often goes to stay with Valentino at his chateau, and that's where the two were introduced. However, the source also tells us that their relationship is "not serious," adding that their romance is "just a fling."

Regardless, this is kind of a win/win.

Steffen is an accomplished dancer—his résumé includes dancing for Beyoncé's 2010 Grammy performance, Michael Jackson's This Is It and a lot of Chris Brown music videos—and hello, look at those abs! And then who doesn't want to date Madonna?
Exactly.

O’Shea Jackson Jr., Marcus Callender, Jason Mitchell Join NWA Movie Cast

In April, F. Gary Grey, director of the upcoming N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton, staged an open casting call to find actors to play the principal roles. 

 

Asked what he was looking for, the director said, "It's just a certain thing that a person from the hood has. 

When you watch American Idol and they have that 'It Factor' – there's a 'Hood Factor.' You get the authenticity when you're in an environment likes this, and you have an open call, and I've been seeing that, and I'm pretty happy with it."

 
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Gray has filled two of these roles, casting a pair of unknown actors to play N.W.A members Dr. Dre and Eazy-E. Classically trained actor Marcus Callender (Dre) and Jason Mitchell (Eazy-E) will join Ice Cube's son O'Shea Jackson Jr., who will play the role of his father.

Despite Dre's request to have Michael B. Jordan play him, Callender, a veteran of New York's Shakespeare Lab at the Public Theater, won the role. As THR notes, Callender has had small roles on HBO's Criminal Justice and CBS's Blue Bloods and Elementary. Mitchell, who's had minor roles in Broken City and Contraband, reportedly snagged the role of the deceased rapper after an impressive screen test. Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Eazy-E's widow Tomica Wright have all approved the actors.

The long-in-the-works biopic was first announced in 2009, with Grey saying recently that he wanted to place the controversial and groundbreaking group in the proper cultural context. "It's not unlike Social Network or American Graffiti where you take a place and time in America, especially as it relates to popular culture, and you see the shift, and they were right there and created part of the pivot that America took in entertainment," he said. "We went from Madonna, Michael Jackson and Prince to hip-hop, and this is the time that marks that shift and that era."

Playing Dr. Dre is relatively unknown actor Marcus Callender, an alum of New York’s Shakespeare Lab at the Public Theater.  Michael B. Jordan was initially requested, before Jordan signed on for Fox’s Fantastic Four.  Callender can be seen in the pilot for Criminal Justice on HBO, as well as bit parts in the CBS series Blue Bloods and Elementary. 

With the main roles cast and approved, principal photography on the film is set to begin within two months.
 

Source: http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/n-w-a-biopic-casts-dr-dre-eazy-e-for-straight-outta-compton-20140616#ixzz34wh7ge8c

Look Who’s Paying For It’s Workers To Go To College!

By BMS Staff . 

By BMS Staff . 

Starbucks workers who don’t want to be baristas forever will be able to get a college education courtesy of the coffee chain.
The company says it’s offering all 135,000 of its U.S. employees who work at least 20 hours a week the opportunity to be reimbursed for two full years of classes in Arizona State University’s online studies program. Starbucks says people taking the program will be free to study whatever they want—and to leave the company whenever they want. It’s not clear how much the tuition reimbursement will cost the company, but execs say the benefits will add up to around $30,000 for every worker taking part.

Even if many workers do end up leaving with their newly earned degrees, their experience “would be accreted to our brand, our reputation and our business,” Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz tells the New York Times. “I believe it will lower attrition, it’ll increase performance, it’ll attract and retain better people.” The terms of the tuition reimbursement program are complicated and will vary from worker to worker, the AP finds, but the company says it will cover full tuition for those workers who have already completed two years of higher education and will cover part of the cost for others.
- See more at: http://www.blackmediascoop.com/starbucks-offering-free-college-education-to-workers/#sthash.2wHMVM50.dpuf

Starbucks workers who don’t want to be baristas forever will be able to get a college education courtesy of the coffee chain.
The company says it’s offering all 135,000 of its U.S. employees who work at least 20 hours a week the opportunity to be reimbursed for two full years of classes in Arizona State University’s online studies program. Starbucks says people taking the program will be free to study whatever they want—and to leave the company whenever they want. It’s not clear how much the tuition reimbursement will cost the company, but execs say the benefits will add up to around $30,000 for every worker taking part.

Even if many workers do end up leaving with their newly earned degrees, their experience “would be accreted to our brand, our reputation and our business,” Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz tells the New York Times. “I believe it will lower attrition, it’ll increase performance, it’ll attract and retain better people.” The terms of the tuition reimbursement program are complicated and will vary from worker to worker, the AP finds, but the company says it will cover full tuition for those workers who have already completed two years of higher education and will cover part of the cost for others.
- See more at: http://www.blackmediascoop.com/starbucks-offering-free-college-education-to-workers/#sthash.2wHMVM50.dpuf

Starbucks workers who don’t want to be baristas forever will be able to get a college education courtesy of the coffee chain.
The company says it’s offering all 135,000 of its U.S. employees who work at least 20 hours a week the opportunity to be reimbursed for two full years of classes in Arizona State University’s online studies program. Starbucks says people taking the program will be free to study whatever they want—and to leave the company whenever they want. It’s not clear how much the tuition reimbursement will cost the company, but execs say the benefits will add up to around $30,000 for every worker taking part.

Even if many workers do end up leaving with their newly earned degrees, their experience “would be accreted to our brand, our reputation and our business,” Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz tells the New York Times. “I believe it will lower attrition, it’ll increase performance, it’ll attract and retain better people.” The terms of the tuition reimbursement program are complicated and will vary from worker to worker, the AP finds, but the company says it will cover full tuition for those workers who have already completed two years of higher education and will cover part of the cost for others.
- See more at: http://www.blackmediascoop.com/starbucks-offering-free-college-education-to-workers/#sthash.2wHMVM50.dpuf

(PMG NEWS) – Starbucks workers who don't want to be baristas forever will be able to get a college education courtesy of the coffee chain. The company says it is offering all 135,000 of its US employees who work at least 20 hours a week the opportunity to be reimbursed for two full years of classes in Arizona State University's online studies program, CNN reports. 

Starbucks says people taking the program will be free to study whatever they want—and to leave the company whenever they want. It's not clear how much the tuition reimbursement will cost the company, but execs say the benefits will add up to around $30,000 for every worker taking part. 

Even if many workers do end up leaving with their newly earned degrees, their experience "would be accreted to our brand, our reputation and our business," Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz tells the New York Times. "I believe it will lower attrition, it’ll increase performance, it'll attract and retain better people." The terms of the tuition reimbursement program are complicated and will vary from worker to worker, the AP finds, but the company says it will cover full tuition for those workers who have already completed two years of higher education and will cover part of the cost for others.

SOURCE: http://www.newser.com/story/188493/starbucks-to-workers-well-pay-for-college.html

Lorde North America tour begins on September 5th!

Photo Source: Twitter/LordeMusic

Lorde will come back to North America this fall for a tour that begins on September 5th in Philadelphia!

Lorde last toured North America earlier this year, making stops at Coachella and at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony after winning Song of the Year at the Grammys in January.

• Check out the newly confirmed Lorde tour dates below:
• 
  August 1 - Chicago, IL - Lollapalooza
  August 3 - Montreal, QC - Osheaga Music Festival
  September 5 - Philadelphia, PA - Mann Center
  September 7 - Boston, MA - Boston Calling
  September 11 - Ottawa, ON - Ottawa Folk Fest
  September 12 - Toronto, ON - TD Echo Beach
  September 14 - New York, NY - Pier 91
  September 15 - New York, NY - United Palace Theater
  September 16 - New York, NY - United Palace Theater
  September 19 - Raleigh, NC - Red Hat Amphitheater
  September 22 - Nashville, TN - Grand Ole Opry House
  September 23 - Columbus, OH - LC Pavilion
  September 24 - Cleveland, OH - Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica
  September 26 - Milwaukee, WI - BMO Harris Pavilion
  September 27 - Councils Bluff, IA - Stir Cove
  September 28 - Broomfield, CO - 1st Bank Center
  September 30 - Las Vegas, NV - The Joint
  October 2 - Berkeley, CA - The Greek
  October 6 - Berkeley, CA - The Greek
  October 9 - Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl
  October 10 - San Diego, CA - Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
  October 12 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits

How To Solve the Mariah Carey Problem...

Hubert Boesl/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images

By Roy Trakin 

Mariah Carey's latest album, Me. I Am Mariah… the Elusive Chanteuse, entered the Billboard 200 chart at No. 3 with 58,000 sold, her lowest total for a non-holiday album since 1991's Emotions entered at No. 4 with 156,000, when SoundScan first started tracking sales.

Not even in her darkest days, being hospitalized for emotional exhaustion and erratic behavior in 2001 after signing a $100 million, five-album deal with EMI's Virgin Records, and starring in the universally panned Glitter, has an album done so poorly. 

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Even the soundtrack to that disaster sold more, debuting at No. 7 with 116,000 copies.

Island Def Jam's Antonio "L.A." Reid famously came to Carey's rescue in 2005, guiding Mariah to her comeback with the multiplatinum The Emancipation of Mimi, which returned her to the top of the charts, proving it's still possible she can regain her commercial footing.

Still, these days it's a lot tougher to get traction in the marketplace. So we turned to a trio of veteran, one-time record label executives to ask what they'd do to jump-start the Elusive Chanteuse's career, and came away with some constructive suggestions.

Ed Eckstine, son of the legendary crooner Billy Eckstine and a former President of Mercury Records, where he guided Vanessa Williams to a successful singing career, approached the dilemma as a music man. He is currently producing a documentary on his father, My Dad was a Singer.

"As Mariah Carey enters her mid-40s, she must adjust to 'ever-shrinking' radio opportunities," he says. "She has to downsize her commercial expectations, but that could allow her to take some chances artistically."
Eckstine says Mariah should explore taking the Celine Dion route of a Las Vegas or Atlantic City residency, "a big show with bells and whistles, an over-the-top diva-ready extravaganza" might be the answer, where she can perform her hits and not worry about new material.

The veteran record man also suggests Carey might tone down the "va-va-voom" imagery, record an EDM-dance-Europop album or reunite with Clive Davis to provide her with some quality material.
"Dial up Pharrell and tell him to bring Nile Rodgers with him," he concludes.

Tom Vickers, a former A&R and music publishing executive at A&M, Capitol, Mercury and Almo Irving, thinks the 44-year-old Mariah has a disconnect with what was once her core audience: 14 to 18-year-old girls. "The biggest issue is she's a mother with two children of her own trying to appeal to teenagers."
His recommendation? Collaborate with hit songwriter-producers like Dr. Luke, Max Martin or "this year's model."

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"Don't compete with women 20 years younger, but come with more mature versions of what they're doing that could hit a slightly older demographic," he says.  "Unfortunately, Mariah is no longer perceived as a role model by females nor a sex object by men. She's caught in between, which undercuts her relevance."

He also counsels Mariah to seek out duet partners that could broaden her audience, such as John Mayer or even an international star like Pitbull, create an "event" record based on a theme (a period songbook, an unplugged album, etc.) or set her sights on international territories where she has shown strength in the past. "It was not a smart career move getting into bitchy cat fights with Nicki Minaj on American Idol," says Vickers. "She's bound to suffer in comparison."

Publicity guru Bob Merlis, who spent most of his career at Warner Bros. Records, where he applied his magic touch to everyone from Madonna to Morrissey, quipped, "She should do a country record and a Howard Stern interview, where she has the time to explain herself that she doesn't get in those tabloid sound bites."

What he failed to mention was how a sit down with the King of All Media in the late '90s surfaced again during her 2001 breakdown. She went on a rant against Stern during an in-store appearance at Tower Records, saying his form of humor greatly upset her, during her period of "erratic behavior," which included an infamous drop-in on MTV's TRL, where she handed out ice cream bars and began a modified striptease to the astonishment of host Carson Daly.

Nearly 13 years later, Carey is seemingly content in her personal life, the mother of two and the by all accounts contented wife of the ubiquitous Nick Cannon. Her professional happiness is another story. Perhaps nothing short of a reunion with ex-husband Tommy Mottola can help Mariah regain her career mojo.  She's seemingly tried everything else.