The Humor Mill April 2015 | Page 26

According to reports playwright David E. Talbert and Will Packer have sold a holiday-themed comedy script to Universal Pictures titled "A Meyers Thanksgiving," which Talbert will write and direct, with Packer producing. The story is about an estranged family brought together after the death of the family matriarch, for their first Thanksgiving, is being fasttracked, with production set for the fall, and a holiday 2016 release eyed. Will Packer David Talbert L-R: Kenya Barris, Good Times Cast It is being reported that Black-Ish creator Kenya Barris is riding high on his freshman sitcom about an upscale African-American family. Now, he has been set by Sony to write Good Times, the feature adaptation of the groundbreaking sitcom about an African-American family on the other side of the spectrum, struggling in the Chicago projects in the turbulent ’60s. Good Times, which aired on CBS from 1974-79, was among a number of socially aware Norman Lear-created sitcoms that became hits. The show was a spinoff of Maude, which itself was a spinoff of All In The Family. Good Times followed the struggles of working-class couple James and Florida Evans, who raised three kids through financial hardship as they tried to keep their kids away from trouble during a politically and socially turbulent time in a Chicago housing project. They are setting the movie in the 1960s. We hear that this year's Just for Laughs festival will bring veritable who's who of comedy A-listers to town. Montreal's annual comedy extravaganza announced its 2015 lineup and it includes big names like Kevin Hart, Dave Chappelle, Mike Myers, Neil Patrick Harris, new Daily Show host Trevor Noah, Glee's Jane Lynch, director Jason Reitman and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt's Ellie Kemper. Hart will host a first for the festival: a Gala at the Bell Centre. More than 10,000 tickets have already been sold and organizers expect the July 24 show to sell out. The king of musical parody, "Weird Al" Yankovic, is also performing a free outdoor show on July 21. Just for Laughs runs July 8 to 28. 26 Dave Chapelle Kevin Hart