Posted on Wednesday, April 5, 2023

From Executive Producers Bishop T.D. Jakes, Derrick Williams & Shaun Robinson, Lifetime Presents ‘Pride,’ the Next Title in Its ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ Movie Anthology THIS SATURDAY, April 8!

Hello World,

Following the immensely popular Seven Deadly Sins movies —Lust, Envy, Wrath and Greed—Lifetime continues the anthology with a new sin and new movie, Pride: A Seven Deadly Sins Story. Executive produced by Bishop T.D. Jakes, Derrick Williams and Shaun Robinson, and inspired by actual events, the movie centers on the story of a famous bakery owner and reality TV star Birdie Moore (Grammy-Award winner, Stephanie Mills) whose past secrets threaten the enormous success she has achieved. Joining Mills are costars Thomas “Nephew Tommy” Miles as Birdie’s son, Gabe Moore; Keeya King as her granddaughter, Ella Boudreaux; and Grammy-Award winner Erica Campbell as Pastor Trey. Pride: A Seven Deadly Sins Story premieres on Saturday, April 8 at 8/7c. The prior Seven Deadly Sins Lifetime original movies – Lust, Envy, Wrath and Greed – attracted close to 7 million total viewers in 2022!

Pride: A Seven Deadly Sins Story tells the story of reality TV star Birdie Moore (Stephanie Mills), whose carefully constructed world starts to crumble — like the baked goods that catapulted her to fame — when her family secrets are brought to light. To salvage her legacy, Birdie must let go of the pride that estranged her from her daughter. Birdie’s pride also prevents her from seeing that her son Gabe Moore (Thomas Miles) is actually a thieving opportunist and that her granddaughter Ella Boudreaux (Keeya King) is just a lost twenty-something trying to build up her life after some missteps. While pride helped drive Birdie’s success, it also made her blind to what was happening around her. Will Birdie finally be able to see and admit the truth, or face the consequences of her pride?

See the official trailer below!

Pride: A Seven Deadly Sins Story is produced by Neshama Entertainment, T.D. Jakes Enterprises, DNA Media Group and RobinHood Productions in association with MarVista Entertainment. Bishop T.D. Jakes, Derrick Williams, and Shaun Robinson serve as executive producers along with Larry Grimaldi, Hannah Pillemer and Fernando Szew for MarVista Entertainment, and Arnie Zipursky and Suzanne Berger for Neshama. Pride is directed by Troy Scott from a script written by Felicia Brooker. Award-winning composer and music director, Ray Chew, is the movie’s composer.

Below are a few photos from Shaun’s Facebook page:

Shaun and Stephanie

Shaun, Keeya & Victoria

Shaun and Nephew Tommy

In addition to Stephanie Mills, Thomas Miles and Keeya King, the movie also stars Lucia Walters (Virgin River) as Shanice; and Jaime M. Callica (Ruthless) as Khalil.

The Seven Deadly Sins movie anthology is inspired by novels from author Victoria Christopher Murray, who is a consulting producer on Pride. Additionally, Pride, the novel, was released yesterday!

Any thoughts?

Posted on Wednesday, January 11, 2023

Judy Blume’s Novel ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.’ is Coming to Movie Theaters!

Rachel McAdams as Barbara Dimon and Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Photo Credit: Dana Hawley

Hello World,

I’M SOOO EXCITED! One of my FAVORITE novels as a child is now being made into a film! See below…

For over fifty years, Judy Blume’s classic and groundbreaking novel Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. has impacted generations with its timeless coming of age story, insightful humor, and candid exploration of life’s biggest questions. In Lionsgate’s big-screen adaptation, 11-year-old Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson) is uprooted from her life in New York City for the suburbs of New Jersey, going through the messy and tumultuous throes of puberty with new friends in a new school. She relies on her mother, Barbara (Rachel McAdams), who is also struggling to adjust to life outside the big city, and her adoring grandmother, Sylvia (Kathy Bates), who isn’t happy they moved away and likes to remind them every chance she gets.

Kathy Bates as Sylvia Simon and Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Photo Credit: Dana Hawley

The film also stars Benny Safdie (Licorice Pizza, Good Time) and is written for the screen and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig (The Edge of Seventeen), based on the book by Judy Blume, and produced by Gracie Films’ Academy Award^® winner James L. Brooks (Best Picture, 1983 – Terms of Endearment), alongside Julie Ansell, Richard Sakai, Kelly Fremon Craig, Judy Blume, Amy Lorraine Brooks, Aldric La’auli Porter, and executive produced by Jonathan McCoy. Lionsgate presents, a Gracie Films production. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is slated to be in movie theaters only on April 28!

This is my favorite line from the book:

I haven’t been inside of a movie theater since the pandemic, but this movie (and I love Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates) is worth going back to the theater! Have you been back yet?

Any thoughts?

Posted on Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Social Media Star KevOnStage & Wife Mrs. KevOnStage to Release Book ‘Marriage Be Hard: 12 Conversations to Keep You Laughing, Loving, and Learning with Your Partner”

Hello World,

Christian comedian KevOnStage has had me laughing for years on social media. And within the last few years or so, he has featured his wife Mrs. KevOnStage more and more so I’m not surprised that the two of them have written a book entitled Marriage Be Hard: 12 Conversations to Keep You Laughing, Loving, and Learning with Your Partner. The Fredericks’ new book is slated to be released on September 13!

See the official book description from Penguin Random House below:

Growing up, Kevin and Melissa Fredericks were taught endless rules around dating, sex, and marriage, but not a lot about what actually makes a relationship work. When they first got married, they felt alone—like every other couple had perfect chemistry while the two of them struggled. There were conversations that they didn’t know they needed to have, fears that affected how they related to each other, and seasons of change that put their marriage to the test. Part of their story reads like a Christian fairytale: high school sweethearts, married in college, never sowed any wild oats, with two sons and a thriving marriage. But there’s another side of their story: the night Melissa kicked Kevin out of her car after years of communication problems, the time early in their marriage when Kevin bordered on an emotional affair, the way they’ve used social media and podcasts to conduct a no-holds-barred conversation about forbidden topics like jealousy, divorce, and how to be Christian and sex positive. (Because, as Kevin writes, “Your hormones don’t care about your religious beliefs. Your hormones want you to subscribe to OnlyFans.”)

In Marriage Be Hard, the authors provide a hilarious and fresh master class on what it takes to build and maintain a lasting relationship. Drawing on interviews with experts and nearly two decades of marriage, they argue that

Compatibility is overrated.
•Communication is about way more than simply talking.
• Seeing divorce as an option can actually help your marriage.
• There’s such a thing as healthy jealousy.

Real marriage is not automatic. It ain’t no Tesla on the open road. Sometimes it’s a stick shift on a hill in the rain with no windshield wipers. But if you get comfortable visiting—and revisiting—the topics that matter, it can transform your bond with your partner and the life you’re building together. Written for those tired of unrealistic relationship books—and for anyone wondering if they’re the only ones breaking all the rules—Marriage Be Hard is a breath of fresh air and the manual you wish existed after you said “I do.”