People in the News
Former NFL player behind new CW football drama
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Former NFL player Spencer Paysinger is drawing on his high school days living between two worlds for his first major Hollywood project.
Paysinger grew up in economically depressed South Los Angeles, but he attended Beverly Hills High, where he captained the football team in the wealthy enclave. The culture shock he experienced is the basis for “All American,” debuting Oct. 10 on the CW.
Paysinger serves as a consulting producer. He’s not the only one with pro sports ties. One of the writers is Jon Alston, who played five years in the NFL. Retired Major League Soccer player Robbie Rogers is a producer.
The series shoots in some of Paysinger’s old haunts in South L.A., like a local park and the barbershop he has patronized since he was a kid.
Rapper Kamaiyah’s court date postponed in airport spat
ENFIELD, Conn. (AP) — Rapper Kamaiyah’s court proceeding in a Connecticut airport disturbance case has been postponed.
The 26-year-old artist from Oakland, California, was scheduled to appear Monday in Enfield Superior Court. Her lawyer, Salvatore Bonanno, says there was a scheduling conflict and the case was continued to Sept. 10. Kamaiyah wasn’t in court.
She had been arrested at Bradley Airport near Hartford in May. Police say she refused to remove a head cover after setting off an alarm and yelled profanities at security officers. She has yet to enter pleas to misdemeanor charges of breach of peace and interfering with police.
Kamaiyah Johnson hit the scene with her 2016 debut mixtape “A Good Night in the Ghetto” and appeared in a Sprite commercial this year with basketball star LeBron James.
No price hike, but new caps on MoviePass discount
NEW YORK (AP) — MoviePass, a discount service for movie tickets at theaters, is walking back a planned 50 percent price increase following a subscriber backlash. But the cash-starved company will soon impose a cap of three movies per month, instead of one every day.
The company says the new plan will include “many major studio first-run films,” though there will be exceptions the company didn’t specify. In doing so, MoviePass is rescinding a recent cost-cutting move of barring viewings of most major releases during the first two weeks.
MoviePass has shown that many moviegoers will make time to hit theaters when movies are affordable, despite more convenient options such as Netflix and video on demand.
Pink in Sydney hospital,
cancels 3rd show
SYDNEY (AP) — Pop superstar Pink remained in a hospital on Tuesday with a stomach virus, forcing her to postpone a third Sydney show, her promoter said.
The singer’s “Beautiful Trauma” world tour’s first concert in Sydney was scheduled for last Friday, but she canceled that show on doctor’s orders.
The 38-year-old battled through a Saturday night show.
Promoter Live Nation tweeted that Pink was admitted to a hospital on Sunday suffering from dehydration and was discharged. But she was readmitted and diagnosed with a gastric virus hours before her Monday concert.