5 Years Ago
JUNE 17, 1994
Panavision New York, a newly formed dealer unit of Panavision International, the investor group headquartered in Tarzana, Calif., has acquired the photographic and lighting rental business and assets of New York-based General Camera Corp….Dennis Hayes & Associates, New York, has opened an office in Atlanta. The new operation will be headed up by staff editor Michael Schwartz….Bicoastal Industrial Artists, a commercial production/music video company, has expanded its multimedia division by opening a studio in New York, and naming Susan Lynton executive producer of the unit….Cindy Akins has been named West Coast executive producer of bicoastal Atherton & Associates….
10 Years Ago
JUNE 16, 1989
Jim Signorelli, best known for directing commercial parodies on Saturday Night Live, has signed with New York-based pfeifer/lopes to direct real ads….Editors Jeff Wishengrad and Mike Miller have left Ace & Edie2, Hollywood, and have opened Miller/Wishengrad, which will also be based in Hollywood…. National Video Center, New York, has opened offline editing division West End Editorial. The new unit will be headed up by Don Levy…. Director Rich Hoover has exited New York-based Triplevision to sign with the commercial division of Dream Quest Images, Simi Valley, Calif….
Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. Explore Generations, Old School vs. New School, In “Poppa’s House”
Boundaries between work and family don't just blur in the new CBS sitcom "Poppa's House" starring father-and-son comedy duo Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. They shatter.
"It's wonderful to come to work every day and see him and some of his kids and my sister and my brother and nieces and nephews. They all work on this show. They all contribute," says the senior Wayans. "I don't think there are words to express how joyful I am."
Wayans plays the titular Poppa, a curmudgeonly radio DJ who's more than comfortable doing it his way, while Wayans Jr. plays his son, Damon, a budding filmmaker who's stuck in a job he hates.
"My character, Pop, is just an old school guy who's kind of stuck in his ways," says Wayans, who starred in "In Living Color" and "My Wife and Kids."
Pop yearns for the days when a handshake was a binding contract and Michael Jordan didn't complain if he got fouled on the court. Pop laughs at the younger generation's participation trophies.
"It's old school versus new school and them teaching each other lessons from both sides," says Wayans Jr., who played Coach in the Fox sitcom "New Girl."
"They (the characters) bring the best out in each other and they're resistant initially. But then throughout the episode they have revelations and these revelations help them become better people," he adds.
The two have worked together before — dad made an appearance on son's "Happy Endings" and "Happy Together," while son was a writer and guest star on dad's "My Wife and Kids." But this is the first time they have headlined a series together.
The half-hour comedy — premiering Monday and co-starring Essence Atkins and Tetona Jackson — smartly leaves places in the script where father and son can let... Read More