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'Dancing with the Stars' season 29 recap: Nev Schulman earns a perfect score while Monica Aldama sent home

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ABC/Kelsey McNeal(LOS ANGELES) — With fangs bared and red eyes flashing, Dancing with the Stars paid homage to Hollywood’s most terrifying antagonists for “Villain’s Night.”  Despite the constant thrills and chills brought on by this season’s top 10 competitors, the Halloween special ended with Cheer coach Monica Aldama being sent home by the judges.

The Netflix star found herself in the bottom two alongside The Real host Jeannie Mai, which turned out to be a nightmare of a situation for judges Derek Hough, Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba.  All three struggled to decide who deserved to stay in the competition, which ended with Judge Carrie Ann casting the tie breaking vote in favor of Mai.

The shocking elimination wasn’t the only twist during Monday’s terrifying episode.  The leaderboard also witnessed a major shakeup.

Since the start of the season, Catfish host Nev Schulman consistently brewed in second place.  The streak was broken Monday when he gave all three judges and host Tyra Banks “swan bumps” following his Swan Lake-inspired Paso Doble.  His sharp, powerful and overall chilling performance delighted Inaba, Tonioli and Hough, who excitedly awarded him the season’s first perfect score.

Meanwhile, the pressure was on for Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir, who was almost sent home last week.  The athlete triumphed on the ballroom floor, delivering a fluid and graceful Viennese Waltz to Radiohead’s “Creep” that hypnotized the judges and earned him the second highest score of the night, a 27 out of 30.

Also making a comeback Monday night was Disney Channel star Skai Jackson, this season’s youngest competitor.  The 18-year-old actress, who earned the lowest score last week, shined with her sharp and precise Argentine tango to Billie Eilish’s “Everything I Wanted.”  The Jessie alum secured a second-place finish alongside Weir and rapper Nelly with a final score of 27 out of 30.

Speaking of Nelly, the Grammy Award-winning rapper finally achieved his breakout moment Monday night, performing a creepy yet powerful Argentine tango to The Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face.” All three judges praised the “Country Grammar” artist for breaking out of his shell.

The most notable dance of the night didn’t come from a celebrity dancer, however, but from dance pro Cheryl Burke.

Despite suffering a seemingly serious head injury the previous day during practice, Burke powered through the pain to perform a tense and thrilling Tango alongside partner A.J. McLean that honored the horror movie Psycho.  The Backstreet Boy spoke about the panic he felt when Burke fell during rehearsals, saying he was “completely mortified” by the accident.  

She’s family now. I got to protect her, just like she does for me,” McLean expressed.

As for Burke, the pro dancer assured the audience that she is completely fine and cracked to Tyra Banks, “I’m hard-headed, thank god, right?”

Dancing with the Stars will be full of double trouble next week, promising two eliminations and the added challenge of competitors mastering two dances for the first time this season.  The episode airs next Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Here are the current standings:

First Place:
Nev Schulman, host of Catfish, with Jenna Johnson — 30/30

Johnny Weir, Olympic figure skater, with Britt Stewart — 27/30
Nelly, Grammy Award-winning rapper, with Daniella Karagach — 27/30
Skai Jackson, Disney Channel star, with Alan Bersten — 27/30
Justina Machado, One Day at a Time star, with Sasha Farber — 26/30
A.J. McLean, member of Backstreet Boys, with Cheryl Burke — 26/30
Chrishell Stause, Netflix’s Selling Sunset star, with Gleb Savchenko — 26/30
Jeannie Mai, host of The Real, with Brandon Armstrong  — 25/30

Lowest score:
Kaitlyn Bristowe, former star of The Bachelorette, with Artem Chigvintsev — 24/20

By Megan Stone
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Kenya Barris to make his directorial debut with Richard Pryor biopic

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ABC/Image Group LA(LOS ANGELES) — black-ish creator Kenya Barris has signed on to write, produce and direct an upcoming biopic about legendary comedian Richard Pryor.

According to Deadline, Barris will make his directorial feature debut with a yet-to-be-titled project on Pryor that will center on his life, career, and how he become one of the most influential comedians in American history.

“The way Pryor did what he did — with truth and specificity that was somehow self-aware and self-deprecating, and said with an unmatched level of vulnerability — that was the power and impact of his work,” said Barris in a statement. “Pryor had a voice that was distinctly his and, in many ways, comedy since then has been derivative of what he created. To me, this is a film about that voice, the journey that shaped it, and what it took for it to come to be.”

Barris will co-produce the project with Richard Pryor’s widow, Jennifer Lee Pryor.

During his illustrious career, Pryor appeared in over 50 films, had his own TV series — The Richard Pryor Show and Pryor’s Place — and won an Emmy and five Grammys, including a Lifetime Achievement Grammy.  In 1998, he became the first-ever recipient of the annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

Pryor, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1986, died in 2005 at age 65 of a heart attack.

This is the latest project for Barris, who not only created his ABC hit series, black-ish, but also its spinoffs, Freeform’s grown-ish and ABC’s mixed-ish. Barris is also the writer behind HBO Max’s Witchesand the Coming to America sequel, Coming 2 America: The Quest.

By Candice Williams
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Crystal Kung Minkoff joins 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills'

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Bravo Media(LOS ANGELES) — Crystal Kung Minkoff is joining The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, marking the first time an Asian-American has starred in the franchise. 

Variety confirms Kung Minkoff’s addition to the cast that also features Kyle Richards, Erika Girardi, Lisa Rinna, Garcelle Beauvais and Dorit Kemsley in its upcoming 11th season. 

Kung Minkoff is the founder of Real Coco, a brand that specializes in organic coconut products. She’s married to Rob Minkoff, who directed Disney’s The Lion King, The Haunted Mansion, Stuart Little and more. 

The entrepreneur’s participation in the show follows in the footsteps of Beauvais, who became the first Black cast member in the Beverly Hills franchise last season.  

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 11 is expected to premiere on Bravo next year.

By Cillea Houghton 
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

'Black Panther' comic signed by late Chadwick Boseman up for auction

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Jeff Spicer/FilmMagic(LOS ANGELES) — Fans can now bid on a rare Black Panther comic signed by Chadwick Boseman. 

Nate D. Sanders Auctions is presenting a Black Panther comic #1 signed by the blockbuster film’s late star. Alongside his signature, Boseman also writes 42, in reference to the2013 film of the same name in which he starred as Jackie Robinson, whose famous jersey number was 42. 

Black Panther director Ryan Coogler and the late Stan Lee, co-creator of the Black Panther character, also signed the comic. The bidding for the coveted item starts at $8,000. 

Marvel’s Black Panther, released in 2018, grossed $1.3 billion dollars worldwide and over $700 million North American, making it the fourth highest-grossing film of all time domestically.

Boseman passed away from colon cancer in August. He was diagnosed in 2016 and kept his battle with the disease largely out of the public eye. He was laid to rest near his hometown of Anderson, South Carolina in September.

By Cillea Houghton 
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

'Concrete Cowboy,' starring Idris Elba and Caleb McLaughin, lands at Netflix

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Emma McIntyre/Getty ImagesNetflix has picked up the rights to the Idris Elba-led film, Concrete Cowboy, which is set to be released in 2021.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the father-son drama, which also stars Stranger Things actor Caleb McLaughlin, generated a lot of buzz after debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

Adapted from the novel Ghetto Cowboy by G. Neri and directed by Ricky Straub, Concrete Cowboycenters on McLaughlin’s character: a troubled teen who spends the summer in North Philadelphia learning about the urban cowboy subculture from his estranged father, played by Elba.

THR described the film as a “moving, well-acted drama about a fractured family coming together in unexpected ways.” 

Concrete Cowboy’s production team includes Elba, Philly native Lee Daniels, the film’s writer Dan Walser, Den of Thieves producer Tucker Tooley, and John Wick 3 producers Jeff G Waxman andJennifer Madeloff.

Idris Elba is also set to star another Netflix cowboy film, The Harder They Fall, alongside Lakeith Stanfield, Regina King, Zazie Beetz, Delroy Lindo and Lovecraft Country‘s Jonathan Majors.

By Rachel George
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.