December 29, 2006

Spike Lee already has a full plate with his movie about the LA Riots and his sequel to Inside Man. Now, he’s also signed on to direct the biopic of the late great James Brown. This will be an authorized biography and the film had James Brown’s blessing prior to his death. Lee will rewrite thr current draft of the script and production could begin as early as fall of 2007.

Julia Roberts is expecting her third child. She has 2-year-old twins, Phinneaus and Hazel with her husband, cameraman Danny Moder. She’s due some time in the summer. Fans of Roberts can hear her as the voice of Charlotte the Spider, in the remake of Charlotte's Web.

Both Michael Michele and Blair Underwood will be guest-starring on an episode of Law & Order: SVU. The episode, focuses on a messy custody battle between Michele and Underwood that has unfortunate consequences. The episode also marks the first time that actor/director Eriq LaSalle will direct an episode of the show. La Salle, best known for his role on ER, directed and starred in the independent film, Crazy as Hell. He also directed the HBO movie Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault. He also directed several episodes of Soul Food. He was excited about the opportunity to assume the director’s chair on SVU. He said, “Directing the show was a great opportunity to tell a compelling story with edgy performances, which is right up my alley.”

Alpha Dog isn’t coming out until next month and the movie has already courted its fair share of controversy. Based on the life of Jesse James Hollywood a teen-aged drug dealer and accused murderer who has the dubious distinction of being on of the youngest men ever wanted by the FBI. Also taking a critical hit is the performance of Justin Timberlake. Timberlake, whose debut film Edison Force (with LL Cool J) went straight to video, eschewed acting lessons for this role. He said, "I took classes when I was really young. I just use that as much as possible. For me it seems more natural to not do as much of that." We can all see for ourselves if his non-method acting worked on January 12.

December 26, 2006

We want to acknowledge the passing of The Godfather of Soul. James Brown, 73, died of heart failure in Atlanta on Christmas Day after being admitted to the hospital a day earlier for pneumonia. A true musical innovator, he placed his unique stamp on R&B, funk, soul, rock’n’roll and rap. His influence was felt in the movies as well. He scored two films: Black Ceasar and Slaughter's Big Rip-Off. His songs appears in over 100 films. He also appeared as himself in Rocky IV (he also sang the film's theme song, Living in America). He will be missed.

OK, I had to be a rumor killer but here goes. There is no CD in the works from Halle Berry. It’s another elaborate Internet hoax. She did not discuss an upcoming self-titled CD in the December issue of Ebony. It ain’t gonna happen, people! She will however appear in several films in 2007. First she’ll co-star with Bruce Willis in the thriller Perfect Strangers (and n,o it's not a remake of the TV s how that starred Bronson Pinchot as Belki) and then with Benicio Del Toro in the drama Things We Lost in the Fire.

Dreamgirls looks like it had a Merry Christmas. The movie opened nationwide in limited release on Christmas Day in just 852 theatres. Studios estimated that the musical would make around $4 million on that day alone but early estimates say it may have made closer to $6 million. According to LA Weekly, “The target audience had been African-Americans, gays and upscale whites. But now the movie is playing bigger than expected with white audiences in general. Anecdotes are starting to come in of audiences cheering and clapping and crying."

December 20, 2006

Not even in wide release yet and Dreamgirls is already breaking records. The movie musical has been nominated for 10 Black Reel Awards. Sponsored by the Foundation for the Advancement of African-Americans in Film, Beyonce was nominated for best actress; Jennifer Hudson for Best Supporting Actress; Jamie Foxx for Best Actor; Eddie Murphy for Best Supporting Actor. The film was also nominated for Best Film, Soundtrack and for songs Listen and And, I Am Telling You. Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor is competing against himself in the Best Supporting Actor category for his roles in Kinky Boots and Children of Men.

Well, there’s about 100 pounds less of American Idol’s ‘Velvet Teddy Bear’ to love. Season Two American Idol winner Reuben Studdard has lost just that much! Now, he wants others in his native Alabama to join him. He is spearheading the Scale Back Alabama program asking the 1 in 4 Alabamians who are overweight to join him in an eight-week program with a goal of losing 10 pounds during that time frame. The program officially starts on January 4. To lose the weight Studdard went to the Duke Diet & Fitness Center for a month where he learned how to change his eating habits and began exercising. Studdard says, “I'm not where I want to be, but I'm on the right track, and I'm excited about encouraging other Alabamians to begin their own weight-loss journey."

Singer Ashanti is joining Milla Jovovich and Mike Epps in Resident Evil: Extinction. She’ll be playing a gun-totting Nurse named Betty.

If you were one of the people watching the Taye Diggs drama Daybreak, fear not. Although the show has been canceled, it continues to live on via the web. The new episodes will be released on Wednesdays at 9:00 PM when the shows would have aired if televised.

December 18, 2006

Mike Epps told VH-1 that, for a moment, the eagerly anticipated biopic on Richard Pryor had hit a snag. Disagreements between Pryor’s ex-wives seemed to have put the project on hold. Now that those issues have been resolved, the original script is being rewritten and will include information from Rain Pryor’s memoirs, Jokes My Father Never Taught Me: Life, Love, and Loss With Richard Pryor. Epps says he’s glad that her perspective will be included. “Whenever you want to do a story about someone and don't want to involve their kids, that ain't right. I don't care how good the script was, how true to [life] it was, if you gonna do a movie about someone and the kids were there, you got to make mention of them and let them participate. 'Cause if you don't, that's going too much against the grain." Kasi Lemmons has signed on to direct. Lemmons and Epps are currently working with Don Cheadle on Talk to Me. The movie tells the story of Ralph ‘Petey’ Greene, an ex-con who became a popular DJ in Washington DC in the 60’s. Epps gets to play it straight in this dramatic role.

Isaiah Washington isn’t a doctor but he plays one on TV. The Grey's Anatomy star played a similar role last week in Washington, DC. The actor was at the White House supporting President Bush’s billion-dollar plan to combat malaria in Africa. Malaria kills one African child every 30 seconds. Washington spent time in Sierra Leone and told ABC News about how the natives had to use blades of grass to swat away swarms of mosquitoes. He said, “And that's all they have [blades of grass] to combat [the mosquitoes]. No spray, you know, or bug killer or defogger or anything like that, you know. That's what they have to defend themselves off from that one, two or three or four mosquitoes that may be carrying this deadly disease.”

Star Jones-Reynolds is on the comeback trail, and thankfully, that doesn’t mean that she’ll be featured in some VH-1 ‘celebreality’ show. Hers is a comeback built on class and substance. Today, she began a stint as the guest host on Michael Eric Dyson’s radio show. She’ll also be hosting on Wednesday and Friday. She’s also coming back to television. Her Year in Review show will premiere on TVOne the day after Christmas. Unlike most year-end shows, hers promises to focus on issues important to the Black community. “We are the race of people who gave birth to Clarence Thomas and Thurgood Marshall, so clearly we are not a monolith.” The show will review the year educationally, internationally and in terms of healthcare. Star is excited about the possibilities. “Let’s talk a little bit about family, our struggles, and keep it in the context of what’s specific about our culture.”

Rosie O’Donnell, a racist? Apparently, she offended Chinese Americans. On December 5, she was discussing how Danny DeVito’s recent drunken appearance on The View had become international news. She said, “You know, you can imagine in China it's like `ching chong, ching chong chong, Danny DeVito, ching chong chong chong, drunk, The View, ching chong,'" When told that the phrase was offensive, she issued this apology, “To say 'ching chong' to someone is very offensive, and some Asian people have told me it's as bad as the n-word. Which I was like, 'Really? I didn't know that.' I'm sorry for those people who felt hurt or were teased on the playground. But I'm also gonna give you a fair warning that there's a good chance I'll do something like that again, probably in the next week, not on purpose. Only 'cause it's how my brain works." Her ‘mea culpa’ was not good enough for Unity – Journalists of Color. They say it didn’t sound like a real apology and want The View to take further action.

Oprah Winfrey and ABC are working on two reality shows. The first, The Big Give, gives ten people the money and means to help others. The show rates contestants on their creativity and their passion. The winner gets to fulfill his or her wildest dream. The second show, Your Money or Your Life, according the press release, “features families who are confronted by a crisis and must change or risk being consumed by disaster.” Eight episodes of The Big Give are in the can but no air dates have been announced. Your Money or Your Life is still in development. In other Oprah news, Naomi Campbell is planning to visit Oprah to show the world she’s not the assistant-abusing rage-aholic the press says she is.

December 15, 2006

50 Cent is using his real name, Curtis Jackson, to promote his latest film Home of the Brave. Jackson co-stars with Samuel L. Jackson in the film about soldiers home from Iraq and the difficulties they face readjusting to civilian life. The man also known as Fiddy had this to say, “I think when people hear 50 Cent they directly associate it with the music and the aggressive content in the music. I think they might be disappointed when they see my character and he doesn't have the same aggressive edge that they're familiar with from 50 Cent, the music. So I told them to use my real name but put 50 Cent in the middle."

J Lo says she’s not converting to Scientology. Sure, she and hubby Marc Anthony have been paling around with TomKat (Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes) but she says that Scientology has nothing to do with their new-found couples’ friendship.

Rosario Dawson is set to star in Descent. She's play a woman who, after a vicious college date rape, will seek revenge on her rapist. According to Cinematical, the movie promises to be more than your average revenge thriller and that it plans to be 'shocking, controversial and graphic.'

December 14, 2006

The Super Freak is coming to a movie theater near you. According to Variety, Sheldon Turner, who wrote the script for The Longest Yard, will write the script for a movie based on the life of Rick James. Producer Jennifer Klein obtains the rights to an unpublished manuscript the singer wrote about his own life. They’ve also secured rights to his music. Don’t expect the inspirational ‘Ray’ treatment for Rick James though. This movie will focus on the more scandalous and salacious sides of Mr. Cold Blooded.

Golden Globe nominations have been released. Forest Whittaker for The Last King of Scotland and Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness) are competing for Best Actor (Drama). Dreamgirls was nominated for Best Comedy/Musical. Eddie Murphy, Beyonce and Jennifer Hudson were nominated for Best Actor, Actress and Supporting Actress (Comedy/Musical) respectively. For best song, Beyonce’s showstopper Listen received a nomination as did Seal for A Father’s Way from The Pursuit of Happyness. For a complete list of nominees, click here.

Jennifer Holliday, who originated the role of Effie in the original Broadway musical Dreamgirls, is salty over being ‘snubbed’ by the producers of Dreamgirls, the movie. She emoted to the Associated Press, “Why is it necessary for them to wipe out my existence in order for them to have their success? It's scary that they can be so cruel. I know it's business, but why do they have to go to this extreme? I'm a human being." She felt as if she should have had more of a role in the film's publicity campaign and was insulted when she saw Jennifer Hudson being interviewed on TV, with her signature song, "And I’m Telling You” played in the background.

Jennifer Husdon received the Hollywood Breakthrough award for her role in Dreamgirls. The Breakthrough Awards showcase up-and-coming performers. Anne Hathaway, of The Devil Wears Prada, won for Star of the Year and The Illusionist’s Jessica Biel also received an award.

British police have dropped assault charges against Naomi Campbell. The supermodel was accused to attacking her drug counselor but police could not substantiate the charge. Camnbell told British TV network Sky News, "What's awful about it is it's dropped - none of it was concrete evidence to be held. It was so hurtful, almost to the point of depressing, and that's what's awful about it. I have to be very careful who I'm around, what I say ... I prefer not to be round someone on my own any more because I just don't know the agendas that people have."

Angelina Jolie told Good Morning America that she and Brad Pitt plan to adopt more children to add some balance to their mixed race family. She said, "When you have a mixed-race family, do you balance the races so there's another African person in the house for Z? So there's another Asian person in the house for Mad? Shiloh has Brad and I she can look at.”

December 13, 2006

Jada Pinkett Smith has donated $1 million to her high school, The Baltimore School of the Arts. The money will be used for renovation and expansion. Pinkett Smith had wanted the new theater to be named in honor of fellow School of the Arts alumni and friend, Tupac Shakur. However, the school has decided to name the theater after Jada instead. Donald Hicken, who heads the school’s theater department and was Pinkett’s drama teacher, was happy about the donation. 'It means a lot when you're a teacher and your most famous alumnus comes back to give a donation. It really says a lot to the community that the school matters in people's lives.”

IMDB is reporting that Angelina Jolie never intended on breaking up Brad Pitt’s marriage to Jennifer Aniston. The two got closer while working on Mr. and Mrs. Smith and things just escalated. Now, a year and a half later, Pitt and Jolie have two adopted children, Maddox and Zahara and a baby girl of their own, Shiloh. Jolie says the couple has no plans to marry. "We've both been married before, so it's not marriage that necessarily kept some people together. We are legally bound to our children, not to each other, and I think that's the most important thing."

December 11, 2006

Andre Benjamin is in negotiations to star in Semi-Pro. He’ll star along side Will Ferrell and Woody Harrelson in this comedy set in the world of semi-professional basketball. Benjamin and Harrelson will star as players on a fictional ABA team. Ferrell will play the coach.

Apocalypto didn’t make a lot of money over the weekend; but with $14.2 million it made enough to secure the top spot. The Mel Gibson directed Mayan epic knocked Happy Feet out of first place, where it’s been for three weeks. The Holiday, the chick-flick starring Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet had the number two spot with 13.5 million. Happy Feet and Casino Royale came in third and fourth place respectively. The box office for Blood Diamond was disappointing. Opening this weekend with Apocalypto and The Holiday, it only managed to make $8.5 million and fifth place.

The American Film Institute has released its list of the Top Ten Films of 2006. In alphabetical order, they are: Babel, Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan, The Devil Wears Prada, Dreamgirls , Half Nelson, Happy Feet, Inside Man, Letters From Iwo Jima, Little Miss Sunshine, United 93. They also listed their ten favorite television shows. Those are: Battlestar Galactica, Dexter, Elizabeth I, Friday Night Lights, Heroes, The Office, South Park, 24, The West Wing, The Wire.

December 9 , 2006

Wesley Snipes is out of jail after paying a one million dollar bond and pleading not guilty to federal charges of tax fraud. The Internal Revenue Service claims they have been investigating Snipes for several years now. The actor claims he's the victim and has been targeted by the IRS because of his celebrity. As he was leaving the court he said, "I look forward to clearing my name and resolving this issue posthaste"

Dreamgirl Jennifer Hudson is denying that she has made anti-gay comments. A newspaper in Dallas claims the actress referred to homosexuality as a 'sin.' Hudson responded to the allegations via her MySpace page. She said, "It should be a happy day because I heard that the National Board Of Review picked me as one of the BreakThru Actresses Of The Year... but it turned into a sad day and I can't understand why or how this happened. When you are up, people try to tear you down. Some paper is saying that I have a problem with gay people. It's just mean and wrong. My feelings are so hurt and I can't sleep. Anybody that knows me, knows that just ain't true. It makes me so mad that people can twist your words and say anything they want. And there's nothing I can do about it, except to say, please don't believe everything you read."

Okay, the Michael Richards racist rant was definitely not funny. So why comedian Andy Dick thought running up on stage at the Improv in Los Angeles and yelling 'nigger' in an attempt to parody the Kramer fiasco was, I'll never know. He told the LA Times, "I chose to make a joke about a subject that is not funny. In an attempt to make light of a serious subject, I have offended a lot of people, and I am sorry for my insensitivity. I wish to apologize to Ian, to the club and its patrons and to anyone who was hurt or offended by my remark."

Samuel L Jackson is starting to promote Home of the Brave, out next month. The film follows a group of soliders returning from Iraq as they struggle to readjust to life on the homefront. ""All of a sudden they were going somewhere for a couple of weeks or a couple of months and, before you knew it, they'd been there for two years ... and they come home and the job they were supposed to have ... is gone because they couldn't hold it that long," Jackson says. "The person that loved them when they left has fallen in love with someone else and moved on, or the children that were being born when you left home don't know you, don't understand who you are and why you're in the house."

Eddie Murphy might want to schedule an appointment with Maury Povich so he can make sure he’s the daddy of Melanie Brown’s baby. While out promoting Dreamgirls, he got a little miffed when a Dutch TV interviewer asked him about Mel and the baby-to-be. He said, “Now you're being presumptuous because we're not together anymore. And I don't know whose child that is until it comes out and has a blood test. You shouldn't jump to conclusions, sir.” For her part, the woman formerly known as Scary Spice doesn’t know what hit her. In fact, she didn’t even know they’d broken up! "There's no question that Eddie is the father of my baby. I haven't been with anyone else since I met Eddie. I'm shell-shocked by the whole thing. As far as I was concerned we hadn't really broken up- we'd just had a bit of a row." Meanwhile, Mr. Murphy has been spotted out on the town with Tracey Edmonds, Babyface’s ex.

According to New York Post’s Page Six, wedding bells are in the air for Beyonce and Jay-Z this weekend. They claim the rappers 4-day birthday bash on a yacht by Saint Bart’s is just a cover for the real reason for the celebration – the wedding. On the other hand, Jay-Z’s new song, Lost One, is rumored to be about his breakup with the Dreamgirl.

While working on the sequel to his most commercially successful film, Inside Man, Spike Lee is also taking on another project, The L.A. Riots. Cinematical says Lee plans to direct a film about the aftermath of the 1992 Rodney King verdict. John Ridley (who penned the Undercover Brother script) will write it. Spike isn’t looking to glamorize the riots, which cost $1 billion in damages and 55 lives. He says, "This isn't about some cavalcade of stars, but rather a truthful and realistic examination of what happened, what the ramifications were and where we are now, in hopes that something like this doesn't happen again."

The story of Ernie Davis, the first black player to win the Heisman Trophy is coming to the big screen. Dennis Quaid has just signed on to play Davis’s mentor but no word as of yet on who will play Davis. Tragically, Ernie Davis died of leukemia before he had a chance to go pro.

December 4, 2006

When it comes to the Pursuit of Happyness, Will Smith thinks he’s on the right track. His film opens on December 15th. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, he defined happiness as “being completely in with your own perception of goodness.” He says, right now, he’s pretty happy. “I've been happier than I've ever been based on Jada and I finding a new stride and new connection in our relationship. I haven't been unhappy ever in my marriage, but everybody has the ups and downs, and I would say we are at the highest peak we've ever been now, which adds to my happiness because I feel like I am the best husband I've ever been.”

Gospel singer Kirk Franklin will be producing and starring in Church Boy, an autobiographical film about his life. He is working with Lionsgate (the home of Tyler Perry) on the feature film. Of course, he’s also composing the soundtrack. Shooting begins in the spring with a proposed release date in 2008.

With Dreamgirls, Beyonce is taking her acting career to another level. Her film fee is now up to around $12.5 million and she stands to make up to $24 million from the Dreamgirls CD – a CD which critics say could be the biggest selling soundtrack since Saturday Night Fever.

Prison Break star Lane Garrison (who played Tweener, the youngest escapee on the show) was involved in a serious car accident over the weekend which resulted in the death of a 17-year old boy. The actor and two 15-year old girls, who were driving with the victim, received minor injuries. Garrison’s car crashed into a tree and police are still investigating the cause of the accident.

December 1 , 2006

Will Smith will be seen in The Pursuit of Happyness in several weeks (with his son Jaden). His upcoming projects include the action flick I am Legend and the superhero-romance, Tonight, He Comes. Now, according to Variety, he might be making a return to comedy. Columbia Pictures has picked up a pitch for My Wife Hates Your Wife. The story revolves around two married couples who hang out together. When the wives have a big blowout, the husband's try to maintain their friendship in secret. The script is being written with Smith in mind.

In other Smith news, Will and wife Jada, were guest in the wedding of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. Smith admits that Cruise has talked to him about becoming a Scientologist but Smith declined. He said, "'I've talked to Tom about it - there's lots of incredible, wonderful concepts but Jada and I don't necessarily believe in organized religion. I was raised in a Baptist household and my grandmother would get up out of her casket (if I became a Scientologist)."

One of Black Hollywood's most celebrated couples, Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance, are promoting a book about their romance. Friends: A Love Story, chronicles the 14 years they spent as friends and acquaintances before finally getting together. The chapters alternate between his recollections and hers and contain a phto section that includes pictures of their twins (born earlier this year). For the last chapter, the two come together and discuss what they feel it takes to keep love alive.

I doubt Desperate Housewife, Eva Longoria will be either desperate or a housewife, but she just got engaged to boyfriend Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs. This will be Longoria's second marriage. She was married to Tyler Christopher (who plays Nikolas Cassadine on General Hospital) for two years. This will be Parker's first marriage.