‘Hacks’ Star Jean Smart on What Deborah Vance Would Do If She Was Attacked During a Stand-Up Set: ‘Her Heels Would Come in Handy’

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorEugenio Derbez has been working on getting “The Valet” made for quite some time.“When we started writing this, Barack Obama was the president. Then Trump came in and we decided to change everything, because it was a different country,” the actor told me at the film’s premiere on Wednesday night at The Montalbán in Hollywood. “So it took us like, seven years to get the final draft.

Jean Smart rocks a red hot outfit for the season two premiere of Hacks held at DGA Theater Complex on Monday night (May 9) in Los Angeles.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorForget about Happy Meals — let’s talk about happy filmmakers.“Encanto” star Stephanie Beatriz has teamed up with McDonald’s for Spotlight Dorado, a short film contest for Latino talent.“McDonald’s has a long history of fostering community. Not only do they essentially feed the community, but they also are trying to sort of put a spotlight on and empower and amplify Latino voices,” Beatriz tells me. “Spotlight Dorado is going to be a multi-year platform that does that.

Hollywood on Thursday, just two days after the former was attacked on stage during his show at The Hollywood Bowl.The pair reportedly joked about the assault, comparing it to the slap Chris received from fellow actor Will Smith back in March on the Oscars stage. According to attendees, Dave, 48, and Chris, 57, discussed the shock assault on stage, much to the amusement of fans. Dave’s appearance at The Comedy Store was apparently a last-minute addition, with audience members having paid £130 each for a ticket to see the “secret show” with an unnamed famous comedian. Ten minutes into Dave’s comedy set, Chris came on stage to join him. At that point, Dave reportedly told Chris in front of the crowd: "At least you got smacked by someone of repute."I got smacked by a homeless guy with leaves in his hair."Rock is said to have laughed before referring to Smith as "soft".Dave apparently also told the audience that he had been calmed down after the attack took place by fellow star Jamie Foxx. He informed the crowd the sight of the comedian and actor wearing "a sheriff's hat" had made him feel more at ease. Dave said he was also embraced by his son after the attack. “A lot of people love me, it turns out,” he told the crowd, according to the Hollywood Reporter.On Tuesday, clips on social media showed Dave being tackled on stage during the Netflix Is A Joke Festival.While Dave was unharmed, the man responsible has since been arrested, charged with assault and taken to hospital for medical treatment.A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said: “The suspect pointed a replica handgun that contained a knife blade at Chappelle.”She stated: “A famous comedian was performing at the Hollywood Bowl and when he finished

Los Angeles last night (5 May), Dave Chappelle shared more details about his experience of being attacked on stage earlier this week. Chappelle, 48, was performing at the Hollywood Bowl on Tuesday night (3 May) as part of the Netflix is a Joke festival when a man rushed on to the stage and attacked him, carrying a replica handgun fitted with an ejecting knife blade. Immediately after the altercation, the attacker – since identified as 23-year-old Isaiah Lee – was detained by security and removed from the scene.

Dave Chappelle has opened up about his alleged Hollywood Bowl attacker during a performance Thursday night at the famed Comedy Store in West Hollywood, California.An eyewitness tells ET that the 48-year-old comedian performed for a star-studded crowd that included Kim Kardashian, Diddy, Jeff Ross and Chris Rock. According to the eyewitness, Chappelle told the audience he convinced the police to let him talk to the alleged attacker, identified by police as Isaiah Lee.The eyewitness said Chappelle spoke to Lee Tuesday night shortly after the alleged attack but just before he was hauled away by police.

Dave Chappelle has opened up about his alleged Hollywood Bowl attacker during a performance Thursday night at the famed Comedy Store in West Hollywood, California.An eyewitness tells ET that the 48-year-old comedian performed for a star-studded crowd that included Kim Kardashian, Diddy, Jeff Ross and Chris Rock. According to the eyewitness, Chappelle told the audience he convinced the police to let him talk to the alleged attacker, identified by police as Isaiah Lee.The eyewitness said Chappelle spoke to Lee Tuesday night shortly after the alleged attack but just before he was hauled away by police.

Jean Smart ran away with awards season last year for her performance in HBO Max’s breakout comedy “Hacks,” winning the triple crown of best actress in a comedy at the Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globe, and Emmys awards. With tough-as-brass Deborah Vance, a legendary stand-up comedian fighting to stay relevant and keep her Las Vegas residency, Smart and series co-creators Lucia Aniello, Paul W.

Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticIf you’re already a fan of “Hacks,” chances are you’re one of two kinds of viewers. Either you’re in it for the prickly dynamic between Gen Z writer Ava (Hannah Einbinder) and legendary stand-up comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart), or you try to ignore Ava and instead focus on TV veteran Smart, playing the woman writing Ava’s checks with perfectly acidic disdain.

Making light of a scary situation. After an audience member recently attacked Dave Chappelle on stage, the comedian claimed that a few of his celebrity friends broke the man’s arm — but the quip was just part of his routine.

Standing behind him. After Dave Chappelle was attacked by an audience member while performing on stage at the Hollywood Bowl, many of his fellow comedians have shared their thoughts about what the incident means for performers moving forward.

the comedian was attacked on stage.Chappelle, 48, was performing at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on Tuesday night as part of the Netflix Is A Joke festival when he was ‘tackled’ and sent ‘flying in the air’, according to a witness.Isaiah Lee, 23, has been charged on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and taken into custody.Billionaire Musk appeared stony-faced as he was photographed exiting the venue, having been sat in the front row of the gig alongside the likes of P Diddy.The Tesla CEO, who was dressed in a t-shirt, was pictured behind security as he made his way out of the site.The shocking incident happened as Chappelle was closing the show and thanking the comedians who had performed before him, including Chris Rock, Leslie Jones, and Jon Stewart.A spokeswoman for the Hollywood Bowl said an investigation had been launched into the incident.Chappelle is refusing to allow an attack on him to overshadow ‘the magic of the historic moment’ after setting record-breaking sales for a comedian at the venue, a spokesperson said.‘Dave Chappelle celebrated four nights of comedy and music, setting record-breaking sales for a comedian at the Hollywood Bowl,’ his rep said.‘This run ties Chappelle with Monty Python for the most headlined shows by any comedian at the Hollywood Bowl, reaching 70,000 fans of diverse backgrounds during the first Netflix Is A Joke: The Festival, and he refuses to allow last night’s incident to overshadow the magic of this historic moment.’An LAPD spokeswoman revealed that the suspect had brandished a replica handgun and pointed it at Chappelle.‘He was taken into custody and was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon,’ they said.The fracas came after Chris Rock was slapped by Will Smith

Déjà vu. As if the slap wasn’t enough, Chris Rock witnessed Dave Chappelle being tackled at the Netflix Is A Joke festival in Los Angeles on May 2, 2022. The Everybody Hates Chris creator quipped back with a response that recounted his own experiences at the Oscars. 

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorCategory is…children’s books!“RuPaul’s Drag Race” star Nina West is set to release her first book for kids, “The You Kind of Kind.”“It is a dream come true to be able to release my very first children’s book and share a message that is so needed right now,” West tells me. “’The Kind You Kind of Kind’ celebrates loving yourself for who you are and giving the gift of kindness to the world! I am so excited for kids of all ages to be inspired by acts of kindness- to not only be better to themselves, but inspire the entire world to act in kindness.”West’s friend Dolly Parton even provided a statement to Variety about the book. “Well, to quote some lines in a song I wrote, I always say: whatever you are, be that.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorWelcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.”Searchlight Pictures’ “Fire Island” doesn’t come out until June, but Matt Rogers, who plays Luke in the queer rom- com, has high hopes that it launches a big gay franchise.Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang star as friends who head to the iconic LGBTQ vacation locale ready to have the best summer of their lives. “‘Provincetown’ should be the sequel,” Rogers told me at the premiere of his Showtime show “I Love That for You.” “Let’s do ‘Palm Springs.’ Let’s do ‘Puerto Vallarta.’ This is going to be the ‘Fast & Furious for queers!”Then Rogers, who co-hosts the “Las Culturistas” podcast with Yang, cracks, “I’m the Michelle Rodriguez of the bunch, baby.” As I was the first to report, “Fire Island” will world premiere on June 2 at NewFest Pride in NYC.

A Dave Chappelle gig in Hollywood last night was briefly interrupted when a person took to the stage and tackled the comedian to the ground. The incident, which was caught on camera by audience members at the Netflix is a Joke show at the Hollywood Bowl, ended when members of Chappelle's security chased and caught the man.

Chris Rock just delivered the ultimate punchline. On Wednesday night at Los Angeles' Hollywood Bowl arena, Dave Chappelle was attacked onstage as he performed as part of the Netflix Is A Joke Festival. Los Angeles police confirmed to ET that a suspect jumped on  stage, attacked an unnamed famous comedian and allegedly pointed a handgun replica at him. Citing Los Angeles police, NBC Los Angeles reported that the attacker -- a member of the audience — was taken to the hospital with «superficial injuries» while Chappelle and officers were not injured.

tackled Dave Chappelle on stage while armed with a blade-firing fake gun was identified Wednesday as he was booked for felony assault with a deadly weapon.Isaiah Lee, 23, of Los Angeles, was charged with the shocking caught-on-camera attack of the 48-year-old comedian at Tuesday night’s show at the Hollywood Bowl, the LAPD said.He had been carrying a replica handgun that had a blade inside, LAPD spokesperson Lizeth Lomeli also confirmed.He was also hospitalized after security pounced on him, with video showing his arm twisted and apparently snapped.Footage also showed Chappelle joking about how he “stomped a n—a backstage” after the attack.Lee is accused of racing on stage at the “Netflix Is A Joke” festival just after Chappelle had brought up how he needed to beef up security over his controversial comments about the trans community, reporters at the show said.

another man’s joke — that slaps.Chris Rock turned the shocking Dave Chappelle on-stage attack into a dunk on Will Smith’s Oscars 2022 fiasco, joking that the unknown male assailant was the slap-happy actor.“Was that Will Smith?” 57-year-old Rock quipped on stage, while checking to see if his pal Chappelle, 48, was unharmed. The comedians were smiling and laughing while embracing after the frightening incident.Video of Rock’s one-liner made its way to TikTok, which was viewed nearly 40,000 times overnight.Several attendees also tweeted about the incident to corroborate.“Dave Chappelle got tackled to the ground on stage! Then a Chris Rock came out and said, ‘was it Will Smith!’ The wildest s–t, I have ever seen,” one wrote.that guy just speared Dave Chappelle on stage…WTF ❗️#davechappelle #chrisrock #netflixisajoke #davechapelleshow #hollywoodbowl #comedy #willsmithslap“Seeing Dave Chappelle get attacked by somebody from the audience then seeing the dude get jumped by Dave Chappelle and his crew gotta be the wildest live show i’ve ever seen.

COMEDIAN Dave Chappelle has been attacked on stage by a man armed with a gun at the Netflix is A Joke Festival. Funnyman Chris Rock then cracked a joke asking if the attacker was Will Smith following the incident at LA's Hollywood Bowl on Tuesday night.

Dave Chappelle was attacked on stage Tuesday night.