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Will Smith, Martin Lawrence Reteaming for ‘Bad Boys’ Sequel

Co-stars Will Smith, left, and Martin Lawrence appear at a photo call for their film "Bad Boys for Life", in Paris on Jan. 6, 2020. (AP)
Co-stars Will Smith, left, and Martin Lawrence appear at a photo call for their film "Bad Boys for Life", in Paris on Jan. 6, 2020. (AP)
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Will Smith, Martin Lawrence Reteaming for ‘Bad Boys’ Sequel

Co-stars Will Smith, left, and Martin Lawrence appear at a photo call for their film "Bad Boys for Life", in Paris on Jan. 6, 2020. (AP)
Co-stars Will Smith, left, and Martin Lawrence appear at a photo call for their film "Bad Boys for Life", in Paris on Jan. 6, 2020. (AP)

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are reteaming for a fourth “Bad Boys” movie, in one of Smith’s most high-profile new projects since the slap.

Sony Pictures announced Tuesday that the untitled “Bad Boys” sequel is in early pre-production. In a video posted on Instagram, Smith filmed himself driving to Lawrence’s house. Embracing at the door, Smith exclaims, “It’s about that time!”

Development on the “Bad Boys” sequel, which follows 2020′s “Bad Boys for Life,” was reportedly put on hold after Smith hit Chris Rock at last March’s Academy Awards. But last May, Sony Pictures chief Tom Rothman disputed those reports.

“There weren’t any brakes to pump because the car wasn’t moving,” said Rothman. “That was a very unfortunate thing that happened, and I don’t think it’s really my place to comment, except to say that I’ve known Will Smith for many years, and I know him to be a good person. That was an example of a very good person having a very bad moment, in front of the world. I believe his apology and regret is genuine, and I believe in forgiveness and redemption.”

Shortly before the pandemic shuttered theaters, “Bad Boys for Life” was a box-office hit, grossing $426 million worldwide. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer is returning for the fourth film, as are “Bad Boys for Life” directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah.

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UK Blues Legend John Mayall Dead at 90 

English blues singer John Mayall performs with his band The Bluesbreakers, on the stage of the Miles Davis hall during the 42nd Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland, late Monday, July 7, 2008. (AP)
English blues singer John Mayall performs with his band The Bluesbreakers, on the stage of the Miles Davis hall during the 42nd Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland, late Monday, July 7, 2008. (AP)
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UK Blues Legend John Mayall Dead at 90 

English blues singer John Mayall performs with his band The Bluesbreakers, on the stage of the Miles Davis hall during the 42nd Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland, late Monday, July 7, 2008. (AP)
English blues singer John Mayall performs with his band The Bluesbreakers, on the stage of the Miles Davis hall during the 42nd Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland, late Monday, July 7, 2008. (AP)

John Mayall, the British blues pioneer whose 1960s music collective the Bluesbreakers helped usher in a fertile period of rock and brought guitarists like Eric Clapton to prominence, has died at 90, his family said Tuesday.

Mayall, a singer and multi-instrumentalist who was dubbed "the godfather of British blues," and whose open-door arrangement saw some of the greats in the genre hone their craft with him and his band, "passed away peacefully in his California home" on Monday, according to a statement posted on his Facebook page.

It did not state a cause of death.

"Health issues that forced John to end his epic touring career have finally led to peace for one of this world's greatest road warriors," it said. "John Mayall gave us 90 years of tireless efforts to educate, inspire and entertain."

Mayall's influence on 1960s rock and beyond is enormous. Members of the Bluesbreakers eventually went on to join or form groups including Cream, Fleetwood Mac, the Rolling Stones and many more.

At age 30, Mayall moved to London from northern England in 1963. Sensing revolution in the air, he gave up his profession as a graphic designer to embrace a career in blues, the musical style born in Black America.

He teamed up with a series of young guitarists including Clapton, Peter Green, later of Fleetwood Mac, and Mick Taylor who helped form the Rolling Stones.

In the Bluesbreakers' debut album in 1966, "Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton," John Mayall enthralled music aficionados with a melding of soulful rock and gutsy, guitar-driven American blues featuring covers of tunes by Robert Johnson, Otis Rush and Ray Charles.

The blues music he was playing in British venues was "a novelty for white England," he told AFP in 1997.

That album was a hit, catapulting Clapton to stardom and bringing a wave of popularity to a more raw and personal blues music.

Mayall moved to California in 1968 and toured America extensively in 1972.

He recorded a number of landmark albums in the 1960s including "Crusade," "A Hard Road," and "Blues From Laurel Canyon." Dozens more followed in the 1970s and up to his latest, "The Sun Is Shining Down," in 2022.

Mayall was awarded an OBE, an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, in 2005.