Amazon Studios is reportedly buying the “Coming to America” sequel — straightforwardly entitled “Coming 2 America” — from Paramount for $125 million, according to Variety.
The long-awaited sequel of the 1988 classic comedy was shot in metro Atlanta last year and features returning stars Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall and James Earl Jones. It was tentatively scheduled to be released in movie theaters on Christmas Day.
This move is setting the stage for the movie to be released on Amazon Prime instead of movie theaters, who have been socked with a succession of big-budget films either get pushed back to 2021 or are released online.
Amazon has been aggressive in picking up new films such as the upcoming “Borat” sequel Oct. 23. Others include the Tom Clancy adaptation “Without Remorse” starring Michael B. Jordan and Regina King’s One Night in Miami."
In the "Coming to America" sequel, Prince Akeem (Murphy) is set to become king of the fictional country of Zamunda when he discovers he has a son he never knew about in America — a street-savvy Queens native named Lavelle. To honor the dying wish of the former king (Jones) to groom his grandson as the crown prince, Akeem and Semmi (Hall) set off to America. Akeem’s son is played by Jermaine Fowler, and the supporting cast includes Tracy Morgan, Leslie Jones, and Wesley Snipes.
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Another film shot in metro Atlanta originally meant for theaters is also going to video on demand: “Greenland” starring Gerard Butler.
The disaster film, shot last summer, will first be available VOD Dec. 18 at a cost of $19.99 for 48-hour rentals. In 2021, it will eventually land on HBO Max’s streaming service.
STX Films had originally scheduled the film to hit theaters June 12 and pushed the date back multiple times due to the pandemic before making this call. In fact, the movie has already been released in countries where the pandemic hasn’t been as severe and has collected $45 million in box office grosses, so far.
The movie’s plotline: scientists discover that fragments of a comet are on a path to collide with Earth and estimate that the destruction will lead to the extinction of humanity. The only people who have a chance are surviving are those that are able to make it to a group of bunkers in Greenland, and the story follows Butler’s John Garrity and his family as they make their way there.
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Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Jesse Kage, a former Rock 100.5 afternoon jock, has decided to call it quits with radio.
On his Facebook page, he wrote, “It is with much excitement, nervousness and optimism that I am leaving the only career that I’ve known since I was in high school. I loved radio and was honored and humbled to be a part of so many people’s lives for so long.”
Kate spent 20-plus years in radio before coming to Atlanta in 2017, mostly in Florida building his “Kage Kult” fan base. He hosted afternoons at Rock 100.5 and was starting to create a following locally. But last year, the station decided to change direction and brought back Axel Lowe of 99X fame to run the station and host afternoons. Kage was out.
Since then, Kage returned to St. Petersburg, Florida, pondered his future options and decided it was time to get out and try something else.
In an interview Wednesday with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he said he can’t say yet what he’s going to do next but will have news soon.
“I’m 43,” he said. “If I’m going to start over, this is the time to do it.”
Radio, he said, “has been a fun run. It’s been a perfect storm. Obviously, COVID has changed our business even more than it had already started to change. I feel like I’ve done everything I can on radio. I’ve been on stage bringing on Metallica in front of 27,000 people, and I’ve done plenty of remotes with three people. That’s radio!"
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