Police say they are searching for Eric Holder, 29, in connection with the shooting death of rapper Nipsey Hussle. (Los Angeles Police Department)
Authorities on Monday released the name of the suspect who shot and killed rapper Nipsey Hussle and injured several others in a shooting at a strip mall in South Los Angeles on Sunday.
The suspected gunman has been identified as Eric Holder, a 29-year-old Los Angeles resident with gang ties, according to a news release by the Los Angeles Police Department.
He remained at large and is wanted for homicide, the release said.
The suspect walked up to three adult males – including Hussle -- who were standing in front of a business in a strip mall in South Los Angeles around 3:20 p.m. Sunday and opened fire, the release said.
The Los Angeles Times cited law enforcement sources who said Holder was an acquaintance of Hussle and they had gotten into a dispute before the shooting.
The suspect then fled the scene in a white 2016 Chevy Cruz that was driven by an unidentified female accomplice, according to the release. The vehicle’s California license plate was reported to be 7RJD742.
Two of the victims were transported to local hospitals for their injuries, the release said. Hussle, whose real name was Ermias Asghedom, died at the scene.
A vigil for Hussle erupted into chaos on Monday after an unknown violent incident had provoked a stampede of people and multiple injuries. Early reports blamed the eruption on shots being fired but LAPD later said those reports were not accurate.
Investigators have appealed to the public for help. Anyone with information is urged to contact South Bureau Homicide Detectives at 323-786-5100 or the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
The first two episodes of The Twilight Zone are available to stream on CBS All Access now.
It’s no small task, rebooting The Twilight Zone. Yes, it’s been attempted before -- to varying degrees of success. But unlike many other pop-culture classics that have been retooled over the years with new actors, new writers, new characters, and all the rest, efforts to relaunch The Twilight Zone have always lacked one key ingredient: the original show’s creator and host, Rod Serling.
So intrinsically tied to the show was Serling that other programs bearing the Twilight Zone name have never quite felt authentic, even when they were good productions in their own right. Without Serling’s presence -- he died back in 1975 at the too young age of 50 -- the question became one of what makes a project The Twilight Zone rather than just another anthology genre series?
So does CBS All Access’ new Twilight Zone work? The answer -- so far at least based on the first two episodes -- is yes, somehow it does.
Jordan Peele has stepped in for Serling as an executive producer and the new host of this Twilight Zone, and there’s something about his presence, a certain knowing twinkle in his eye that goes perfectly with his well-pressed suit and quickly growing resume of big-screen horror street cred. Add to that some talented and recognizable faces in front of the camera and a pair of tales that feel appropriately Serling-esque -- but with a 21st-century spin -- and this new Twilight Zone is off to a good start.
The first episode is called “The Comedian,” which perhaps not coincidentally was also the name of one of Serling’s Emmy-winning teleplays, pre-Twilight Zone. Kumail Nanjiani stars as the comic of the title, whose jokes about the Second Amendment are getting him nowhere fast… until he meets Tracy Morgan’s famous if mysterious comedian, who gives him some advice. In order to succeed, he has to truly put himself out there on stage -- his humor needs to be personal to him, whether it’s about his dog, his coworkers, his girlfriend, or some other aspect of his life.
Taking up this suggestion, Nanjiani’s character not surprisingly starts to get the laughs he so desires. But, of course, there’s a price, as he realizes that reality is reshaping itself around him with each successive comedy set that he performs. Soon enough, that classic Twilight Zone feeling kicks in as the comedian -- and the viewer -- ponders just how far he might go in order to become a sensation. Who doesn’t want to go viral, after all? But what price a blue checkmark?!
Exit Theatre Mode
The second segment dropping as part of the premiere is “Nightmare at 30,000 Feet,” a story ported over from one of the most famous original episodes. Adam Scott stars as a passenger boarding a flight with a ton of baggage -- of the emotional kind. He’s a journalist who has, for lack of a better term, seen some s#!t. Not unlike William Shatner’s character in the original episode, “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” this is a troubled guy who is about to be put to the ultimate test.
This new iteration of the story deviates sharply from the original beyond that set-up, however, with Scott’s character stumbling upon a Serial-like podcast that seems to be retracing the final hours and minutes of Flight 1015… which is the very flight that he’s on.
And while rubber-masked gremlin fans might be disappointed by the episode’s divergence from the source material, “30,000 Feet” hits many of the same beats as the Shatner story, as Scott’s character finds that pretty much no one will believe his claims that they’re all in grave danger. Growing increasingly desperate and eventually becoming completely alienated by those around him, he races to beat the podcast’s pre-determined course no matter the cost.
Exit Theatre Mode
Alas, as Flight 1015 careens towards its inevitable fate, the episode crashes and burns with a head-scratching final scene that really just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. It’s as if the episode just felt like it had to insert some kind of twist in the end… and that’s a dangerous way to go about approaching The Twilight Zone.
One more note: The episodes reviewed here dip into foul language and some adult topics at time… which is fine. And yet, for fear of sounding prudish, couldn’t the show achieve the same effect that it’s going for while also toning these elements down a bit? Sure, not being on a network gives the makers of The Twilight Zone more leeway in this regard, but how are they going to freak the kids of 2019 out if said kids aren’t allowed to watch their show?
The Verdict
The overall impression these two episodes gives is that the show is off to a good start. The fact is, the original Zone didn’t always stick the landing either. But Jordan Peele and his team have, so far, found that Serling groove that has so often eluded reboots of the show in the past. This new Twilight Zone knows how to be creepy, funny, and socially relevant. And it’s also nabbed the perfect host.
Last night, on the Season 16 premiere of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Kanye West gave his *gasp* first on-camera interview.
And, lemme tell you, it was nothing short of #OnBrand. So, buckle up, kiddos, 'cause we're going on a JOURNEY!
The interview opened with Kanye admitting that he was new to this:
E!
Not the BEST way to start, but go off, I guess.
He then went on to explain why he decided to finally step in front of the camera...
...but he got a little sidetracked along the way.
E!
HAHAHAHAHA. I am truly at a loss for words.
However, he found his way back, which thank goodness, 'cause his reasoning was TOP NOTCH:
Like, he's not wrong.
But me AND Kim K were shocked that THAT was his reasoning.
But, when he got down to it, it actually was oddly poetic and kinda sweet.
E!
The flying part. Not the big butt part.
So yeah. Not sure if this was Kanye's only interview or if he's going to be dropping gems like this throughout the rest of the season. But looks like I'm gonna have to religiously watch for more of this Kanye content!
The sixteenth season of Keeping Up with the Kardashians began last night. The premiere episode focused heavily on Kim Kardashian as well as her husband, rapper and Yeezy fashion designer, Kanye West. Keep reading to learn why Kardashian won’t “babysit” West any longer.
Why West decided to be interviewed
West, who doesn’t normally do interviews on the show, said the animated movie, The Incredibles, inspired him to participate because the film opens with interviews.
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian | Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Yeezy Season 4
He joked about his family’s similarities to the Incredibles family. “The wife got a big butt, and I just see our life becoming more and more like The Incredibles,” West said.
While being interviewed, West and Kardashian talked about having baby no. 4, a boy — Kardashian’s “freaking out” — and the recent drama with one of West’s friends.
Why Kardashian won’t ‘babysit’ her husband
Kardashian and West traveled to Chicago, Ill., West’s hometown, with their oldest child, their daughter North West. They intended to show North where her dad grew up.
First, North and Kardashian visited West at his Chicago office. Then they took a tour of the Avalon Regal Theater, a historic venue where West performed as a teen. West is helping to restore the theater to its former glory.
Here’s where the drama began. They needed the key to enter West’s childhood home. And the person who had the key, rapper and longtime friend of West, Che Smith aka Rhymefest, previously threw shade at West on Twitter. Kardashian subsequently called him out on it.
Back in March 2018, Rhymefest claimed West abandoned his charitable foundation, Doria’s House — named for West’s mother — and his childhood home.
Che Smith aka Rhymefest | Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Vanity Fair
“He was using your mom to s—t-talk you and that’s where I draw the line,” Kardashian told West as they drove around Chicago.
West then explained the cause of the feud to Kardashian who was clearly upset.
“I had an assistant who was rude to Rhymefest. […] We were connecting and bonding, then this person who worked with me was extremely rude to him,” West said.
Kim questioned West’s rationale to which her husband responded, “I’m not rational, I’m spiritual. Spirit is love. […] I’m all about forgiveness.”
Kardashian talked to her mom, Kris Jenner, about the situation. “I can’t, like, babysit him and figure out who’s f**king him over today and who he’s gonna forgive,” Kardashian said.
“It is so frustrating to me to see him not, like, care and see people walk all over him,” she added.
The episode ended with Kardashian, West, and Rhymefest having a face-to-face conversation to clear the air at Kardashian’s office.
Rhymefest told the couple his anger and reaction on Twitter “wasn’t about money.” “Kanye is from a village and the village was feeling like our dear brother […] turned his back on the village,” he added.
West replied that he was “going through some s***.” The conversation ended with Rhymefest giving Kardashian a crystal, almost like a peace offering.
Kumail Nanjiani is in The Twilight ZonePhoto: Robert Falconer (CBS)
Though we still use its title as shorthand for the bizarre, dystopian times in which we live, a reboot of The Twilight Zone is a dicey proposition. Rod Serling’s classic genre-spanning anthology series has long been a standard-bearer for suspenseful storytelling suffused with social commentary—so long, in fact, that it’s already been reimagined on three previous occasions, including two TV revivals two decades apart and a 1983 feature film from Steven Spielberg, George Miller, John Landis, and Joe Dante. Try as they might, none of those iterations ever recaptured the unnerving magic of the original, not even when CBS, home to Serling’s series, took another stab at it in the ’80s. Black Mirroris a worthy enough successor, though its focus is a bit more narrow (mostly techno-nightmares) and its outlook far bleaker. Despite practically being embedded in the public consciousness, for TV creators and filmmakers, The Twilight Zone has proven to be an elusive destination to reach again.
Advertisement
For its latest foray into the “dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity,” CBS has enlisted comedian-turned-director-and-Oscar-winning-screenwriter Jordan Peele as a guide. And talk about putting your best foot forward—if anyone can navigate “the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge,” it’s Peele, who’s indelibly established himself as a brilliant filmmaker and astute observer of the human condition. In 2017’s Get Out, he mined a relationship milestone for all kinds of tension, ultimately unmasking the new face of white supremacy with flair and humor. His second feature film, Us, which the director placed squarely in the horror genre, has set off a kaleidoscope of interpretations, ones that have undoubtedly been influenced by close readings of “Mirror Image,” the 1960 Twilight Zone episode that served as partial inspiration.
As the host and co-executive producer of the CBS All Access reboot, Peele has come full circle with The Twilight Zone. He slips readily into Serling’s former post on screen, evincing both world weariness and compassion for the subjects of the tales that are about to unfold. But one of several changes the reboot makes is to always place Peele in the settings for the episodes. At either end of an episode, he remains cool and wry, but also alert; just because one man’s run-in with a monkey’s paw has ended doesn’t mean the game is over. And like Serling, Peele’s host persona doesn’t seem invested in any one particular outcome; there’s a distance afforded by a multidimensional view of existence.
Adam ScottPhoto: Robert Falconer (CBS)
Advertisement
The debonair, seemingly omniscient narrator isn’t the only element to carry through from the original series, it just happens to be the most consistent (along with an empathetic core). The Twilight Zone has had its ups and downs, both in its first five seasons and its previous TV revivals; though it often managed to seamlessly weave in its social critiques, the show could also be heavy-handed in laying out its themes. And though even some of the 25-minute entries could feel a little light on plot, the fifth season of the show’s first run doubled down on the meandering with 50-minute episodes. These same issues—overlong episodes and decreased nuance—also flare up in the reboot, with one installment encompassing them both. That would be “The Comedian,” one of two episodes that will make up the show’s first impression on April 1. Starring Kumail Nanjiani, “The Comedian” is the story of a flailing stand-up who strikes a Faustian bargain with an established performer (Tracy Morgan) as if he’d never heard of Faustian bargains, which is presumably why he’s taken aback by the high price he pays for his end of the deal. The moral is highlighted early on, and then telegraphed at regular intervals over the hour-long runtime. Like Nanjiani’s comic, it loses its power with each retelling, yet former Key & Peele writer Alex Rubens’ script offers little else.
Shoring up the reboot’s first impression is “Nightmare At 30,000 Feet,” which updates one of the best-known episodes from the original Twilight Zone. Written by The X-Files’ Glen Morgan and Daredevil’sMarco Ramirez, this new “Nightmare” stars Adam Scott as Justin Sanderson, an investigative journalist who’s still recuperating from a mental breakdown. Like the previous incarnations played by William Shatner and John Lithgow, Justin desperately clings to his sanity as the flight crew and his fellow passengers move around blithely despite seemingly impending danger. But instead of being bedeviled by a grotesque vision on a plane wing, Justin wrestles with his Cassandra complex, which he’s fed by delving into contemporary ills, including the purported loss of civility in the political discourse. Directed by Greg Yaitanes (Lost, Heroes), “Nightmare At 30,000 Feet” is appropriately disorienting—the design of the plane suggests the 1960s, but Justin is alerted to his doom by a true-crime podcast, which would place the episode squarely in the present. The twist likely won’t earn more than a nod of acknowledgment, but at roughly 28 minutes, “Nightmare” keeps the anxiety running high.
Sanaa Lathan and Damson IdrisPhoto: Robert Falconer (CBS)
Advertisement
The reboot does justify the longer runtimes as the season goes on. The wrenching and timely “Replay,” from director Gerard McMurray and writer Selwyn Seyfu Hinds, runs for over 45 minutes, but spans a few centuries of oppression for its central characters. Sanaa Lathan is riveting as a middle-class mother who endeavors to deliver her son (Damson Idris, reliably charismatic) safely to the historically black college he’s enrolled in, only to be pulled over, threatened, thwarted, and assaulted by a white police officer, who, when it comes to ensuring racial inequities, has all the tenacity (and remorse) of the T-1000. What pulls “Replay” out of the realm of a pointed drama is the camcorder Lathan’s character totes around; it has the ability to rewind time and give the family another chance to evade their pursuer. But as “Replay” observes, starting over again and again isn’t progress, certainly not when the jump-off point is much further back for black people. And even when progress is achieved, say, through class transition, it proves illusory.
The Ana Lily Amirpour-directed “The Traveler” also traffics in inequality, xenophobia, and assimilation, with some reignited Cold War tensions thrown in for good measure. Morgan crafts what could’ve been a solid episode of The X-Files, but Amirpour makes “The Traveler” her own through cultural pastiche—Inuit and white American, animism and Christianity—and cinematography that turns every hallway and room in this remote Alaskan police station into a cell. Like Peele in Get Out, the A Girl Walks Home Alone At Nightdirector treats tolerance as an outfit, a disguise, one that’s easily shed when it becomes too burdensome. The diverse cast includes Steven Yeun in the latest of his “this charming, diabolical man” roles, and Greg Kinnear as an avuncular bigot. “The Traveler” isn’t exactly innovative in its storytelling, recalling Stephen King just as readily as the case files of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, but it is smart and moody. And, like every episode of the reboot so far, it boasts several great performances.
Steven YeunPhoto: Robert Falconer (CBS)
Advertisement
That The Twilight Zone is a mixed bag, despite being under the auspices of one of the new masters of horror and suspense, isn’t that surprising—even if it were to retrace the exact path of the original, it would still suffer several missteps. The very nature of the anthology series allows for reinvention, and the reboot quickly regains ground after an uneven introduction. What’s most important is that the show’s ethos, one that was optimistic even as it shed light on another one of our foibles, remains intact. Disturbing and insightful, The Twilight Zone strips us of most of our bearings even as it offers a grounded center.
