Cool Black Media

Beyoncé at Jay-Z Carnegie Hall After Party

2012-02-08T15:43:00.000-05:00

Beyoncé rules at Jay-Z concert's after-party, staying out long after Blue Ivy Carter's bedtime

40/40 Club's bash after Carnegie Hall concert shows Jay and Nas have put feud behind them

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Published: Wednesday, February 8, 2012, 6:00 AM

Beyoncé Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Did baby worries cause Beyoncé to skip husband Jay-Z ’s Carnegie Hall concert?

An insider tells us the booty-licious mama skipped Hova’s historic show because their infant daughter, Blue Ivy Carter , wasn’t feeling well.

The baby must have made a quick recovery because Beyoncé kicked back at the after-party until about 4 a.m.

Shortly after the booty-licious mama arrived at her husband’s 40/40 Club for post-concert festivities Monday night, we asked her if she’d gone to the show.

“Yes,” she told us, calling her spouse’s concert “amazing.”

On Tuesday, however, the 40/40 club sent out an email stating, “Despite various reports, Beyoncé did not attend Jay-Z’s concert”

The couple’s reps did not respond to our questions seeking an explanation for Beyoncé’s absence from the show, but our source said it had to do with her concerns over Ivy.

“You know how first-time mothers are,” said the source.

The 40/40 club’s e-mail noted that the pop diva’s first public appearance since the birth of Blue Ivy Carter was at the club.

“She arrived with her mother, Tina Knowles ,” and her mother-in-law, Gloria Carter. After “sprinting through a side entrance” shortly before midnight, Beyoncé toured the club for the first time since its renovation,” the e-mail read.

Looking resplendent in a hip-hugging, cleavage-showcasing red dress and embroidered Christian Louboutin shoes, the platinum-selling performer stayed until the bitter end with Hova, rapper Nas , marketing guru Steve Stoute and a few other pals.

The group held court in a cordoned-off VIP area in the middle of the 40/40, and enjoyed flutes of Ace of Spades Champagne and executive chef Mike Shand ’s signature dishes. Later in the evening, Jay-Z and Nas tossed back shots.

Beyoncé mostly stuck to water, but around 3 a.m. we observed her sipping what appeared to be a glass of bubbly.

Although Jay and his wife socialized separately, they did share a hug when Beyoncé arrived in the VIP area.

At another point in the evening, Jay-Z reached for his wife’s hand to check on her, sweetly kissing it after she assured him everything was fine.

Security was tight around the power couple and and partygoers were strongly discouraged from snapping pics of Beyoncé.

Former rivals Jay-Z and Nas — who had a very public rap feud that ended in 2005 — looked like best buds at the party. On multiple occasions Jay-Z made Nas, who was a guest performer at Carnegie Hall, laugh so hard the Queens product was almost crying.

Jay-Z & Nas Tuesday, February 7, 2012

While the party crowd was less star-studded than the club’s grand reopening three weeks ago, it was definitely highbrow. Many in attendance wore formal attire and the club enforced a dress code at the door.

A source tells us Beyoncé was at Carnegie Hall on Tuesday night where she "never stopped dancing" to Jay-Z's performance and "cried when he sang 'Glory,' " his tribute to Ivy Blue.

Cool Black's Mad Commentary: If you think Beyoncé was faking her pregnancy take a look at these...I mean this.

CLICK the button to see all of
our blog posts about Beyoncé

CLICK the button to see all of
our blog posts about Jay-Z

Diddy Launching Music Cable Network

2012-01-23T14:08:00.000-05:00

EXCLUSIVE: Sean "Diddy" Combs Planning To Launch Music-Themed Cable Network

Aims to launch urban-skewed music and music news network by the end of 2012

By Michael Malone -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/23/2012 12:57:18 PM

Sean Combs, the entertainment impresario known as Diddy, is planning to launch a music-themed cable network, according to three sources with knowledge of his plans. The channel is called Revolt and is aiming to launch at the end of the year--12/12/12, to be specific.

Sources with knowledge of the Revolt playbook describe it as a music and music news channel with an urban skew. One described it as the old days of MTV, but for more of the African American audience. The venture is well funded, say the sources.

Former MTV programming chief Andy Schuon is involved with Revolt, according to sources. In 2006, Schuon headed up a music channel called International Music Feed (IMF), which was acquired by Ovation TV before being discontinued.

Comcast will provide distribution as part of its commitment to the FCC to help launch minority owned networks. In April, Comcast began soliciting proposals for "independent channels," according to its press materials. It plans to launch 10 over the next eight years, including eight Hispanic or African American owned channels, and began accepting proposals for the first three last spring.

Each of the 10 will be added to "select Comcast systems as part of the D1 digital tier," said Comcast; one source believed there would be around 10 million Comcast homes on board at Revolt's launch. Comcast announced its plans to launch an "American Latino"-operated channel by July 28, and an African American-owned one by January of 2013, which would fit Diddy's 12/12 timeframe.

A Comcast rep would not confirm Diddy's involvement, saying no announcements had been made on which among the "well over 100" proposals are getting the green light. The rep said discussions with the proposals' principals are ongoing, and that Comcast hoped to have an announcement soon.

A source said Time Warner Cable (TWC) will also be involved in Revolt distribution, which the source noted would mean around 18 million households, between Comcast and TWC.

A TWC spokesperson said the subscription TV operator has had "some discussions" regarding Revolt and Diddy, but did not have a comment at this time.

Diddy's Bad Boy Entertainment headquarters in New York did not respond to calls.

Diddy has had a variety of monikers throughout his successful career as a performer, producer and entrepreneur.

It's a banner time for networks targeting African Americans. The multicast network Bounce TV launched in September, while Kin TV and Soul of the South are aiming to debut in the spring.

B&C reported Jan. 19 that Charles Barkley is a co-founder at Kin TV.

James Brown, of CBS Sports, was recently named managing director at fledgling cable net Black Heritage Network.

The Other Movie about The Tuskegee Airmen

2012-01-23T10:19:00.000-05:00

In case you didn't know there was another movie about thefamous airmen appropriately titled—The Tuskegee Airmen.

The Tuskegee Airmen is a 1995 HBO television movie based onthe exploits of an actual groundbreaking unit, the first African Americancombat pilots in the United States Army Air Corps, that fought in World War II.The film was directed by Robert Markowitz and stars Laurence Fishburne, CubaGooding Jr., John Lithgow, and Malcolm Jamal Warner.-Wikipedia

The film is newly released on Blu-Ray (which I’m sure hasnothing to do with Red Tails. I’m sure.) with a TON of extras. Read about the Blu-Rayat USA Today by clicking their logo below

Related Links

My review on Red Tails here

The Wikipedia page on the 1995 HBO movie The Tuskegee Airmen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tuskegee_Airmen

CLICK the button to see all of
our blog posts about RED TAILS

So What's On Your Mind, Spike Lee?

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

Photo by Wesley Mann

by Stacey Wilson

Hollywood Reporter

9:00 AM EST 1/17/2012

After a long hiatus and on the eve of "Red Hook Summer's" festival debut, the director talks about "The Help," "Inside Man's (nonstarter) sequel and the state of blacks in Hollywood.

It's hard to imagine that Spike Lee, one of his generation's earliest embodiments of do-or-die indie filmmaking, has never debuted a film at Sundance as a feature director. That will change when his new drama, Red Hook Summer, in which a young man from Atlanta spends a summer with his preacher grandfather in Brooklyn, bows Jan. 22 at the festival. THR sat down with the New Yorker on his recent trip to L.A. (wearing, of course, his Knicks regalia) to talk about Red Hook, a chat that also had Lee, 54, sounding off about what he sees as a dearth of influence among African-Americans in Hollywood, how working with Eddie Murphy for the first time is "going to be a motherf--er" and why you can't "bitch and moan" when making independent films.

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: So this is your first trip to Sundance as a feature director but not your first time with a film in the festival?
Spike Lee: Yes. I came for the first time with the Broadway musical film Passing Strange in 2009. I had a really good conversation with Robert Redford that year. He was 100 percent cool.

THR: What was the genesis of Red Hook?
Lee: [Co-writer and novelist] James McBride and I are dear friends. We worked together on Miracle at St. Anna. And we had breakfast one morning at Viand, the best coffee shop in New York, at 61st and Madison, across from Barneys. We were talking about the state of cinema, the state of black cinema, how frustrated I was that I couldn't get the sequel to Inside Man made -- my biggest hit ever.

THR: Why couldn't you get the sequel made?
Lee: You'd have to speak to some other people about that. Anyway, I'd just bought this Sony camera, an F3, and I said, "We've got the means and ways and have to make do. We have to make it happen." We just started talking about stories we wanted to tell. He's from Brooklyn too -- Red Hook, in fact -- so we co-wrote the script.

THR: Is the film autobiographical for either of you?
Lee: A little. The church where we filmed is the one James' parents founded, the New Brown Memorial Baptist Church.

THR: Aside from Clarke Peters, who has appeared on The Wire and Treme, the cast is made up of mostly unknowns. How did you go about assembling the talent?
Lee: I got the best people I could find. I auditioned all over New York City. Also, there is a school in my old Fort Green neighborhood called Ronald Edmonds. I went there, same junior high, but the name has been changed. And there is an acting teacher there, Edward Robinson, a great teacher -- they always have great kids. I started hanging out in the class. That's where I first saw Jules Brown, who plays Flick, and Toni Lysaith, who plays Chaz.

THR: In terms of the budget, you're revealing only that it was "SAG Low Budget Agreement" (which per 2011 standards puts it between $625,000 and 937,500). What was the most difficult part of making the film?
Lee: I financed it myself, so we had to do it for a price. I just went to the bank, made some draws and wrote some checks! It was very hard, but we made the movie we wanted to make.

THR: Is the film, as many are saying, a return to your roots after more commercial projects like Inside Man and St. Anna?Lee: I am trying to stay away from this position of me "returning to my roots." As if my roots are that I'm only comfortable working on low-budget, small films. That's not the case at all. I think if people looked at my body of work, they'd see a great breadth of work. (Long pause.) But the fact remains that Hollywood does sequels and prequels. What was it, Mission: Impossible 5 just now?

THR: Four.
Lee: Right, four. So it was inconceivable to me that we couldn't get a sequel made to Inside Man. I don't blame Hollywood -- I was naive. Forgive me, I was naive. It was my biggest hit. And we couldn't get a sequel made? I was f--ing naive. It was like it didn't even happen.

THR: But who specifically made the decision not to move forward with a sequel?
Lee: Brian Grazer at Imagine? Donna Langley at Universal? You'd have to do some research. Look, I'm not crying over spilt milk or pointing fingers or playing the blame game. We are all grown-ups here. You asked me questions, and I can't speak for other people. [Editor's note: Calls placed to Grazer's office were referred to Universal, which did not immediately return a request for comment.]

THR: OK, on to another topic. There have been a few standout offerings from black filmmakers in the past year, Dee Rees' Pariah and Steve McQueen's Shame among them. Do you think opportunities for black directors have improved or worsened since you started making movies in the 1980s?
Lee: Shame is a great film; it's my favorite film of the year. And Dee was a student of mine at NYU graduate film school. I'm an executive producer of Pariah. Anyway, I think there have been some improvements and some steps taken back. But overall, the variety of films being offered to African-American audiences is not where it was 10, 15 years ago. It's very narrow.

THR: But doesn't Tyler Perry's huge commercial success suggest that at least a good portion of that audience is being served?
Lee: It's not the same. I just feel the audience doesn't have as many choices as it did back in the day.

THR: Do you think it's more that the content is not being written, or it's simply not being greenlighted, or both?
Lee: Look, take away the big stars -- Will Smith and Denzel -- and look at the people who have a greenlight vote. Where are the people of color? That's what it comes down to. How many people, when they have those meetings and vote on what movies get made, how many people of color are in those meetings? That's not to say that's the only way to get a film made, but you're talking about Hollywood specifically here. And if you want to get a Hollywood film made, it has to get greenlit. And I want someone to tell me: Who is a person of color who has a greenlight vote in this industry today? Some can argue, "Will Smith doesn't need the vote." Well, if Will wants to do the phone book, they still have to vote on it! He's not writing the check. Someone still has to write the check for what Will wants to do. I'm talking about the people sitting in the room who have read the script -- looking at the full package, who's in it, how much is it going to cost, how much is it going to make. The people who have that vote, there are no people of color who have that. And people are going to be in trouble. The U.S. Census has said white Americans are going to be a minority in this country by 2040. I just think it's good business sense to plan for that! The country is changing, and some people just don't want to understand that. I don't know how you can't take that into account. The smart people are going to take that number into account of how they do business.

THR: Hollywood has a tough time looking more than a few years out.
Lee: Yeah, it does. Look, I'm not using this interview to slam Hollywood. I'm just saying, I want to know: Who is a black person in Hollywood who has that vote? If you ask a studio, they aren't going to tell you.

THR: The only black executive I can think of offhand with definitive power in the film business is Vanessa Murchison at Fox Animation.
Lee: Let's leave animation out of it. (Laughs.) Let's stick to live action. Forgive me, I do know her, and she does have great power at Fox, though. But I'm talking about live-action features.

THR: George Lucas appeared Jan. 9 on The Daily Show to promote his Tuskegee Airmen action-drama Red Tails and said the studios he approached had no clue how to market a "black action movie." How do you feel about this?
Lee: Yeah, I was at the premiere. Here's the thing: One of the reasons the studios don't know how to market the film is that they have no black people in the marketing departments! At least any people with say-so. Again, this is bigger than just a marketing problem. What about the greenlight committee? That's the bigger issue. That's the heart of the matter. This is not a revelation; this is truth.

THR: Well, it was certainly novel that a white person in Hollywood, especially someone of Lucas' stature, would be so public on this particular topic.
Lee: Well, George Lucas got "f-- you" money. (Laughs.) They're not going to mess with him. In any case, I watch football, and the Red Tails commercials are hot. The commercials are definitely running on TV.

THR: Looking at the most successful movie of the year to feature black talent, The Help, why do you think the film was able to transcend racial boundaries and be both a commercial and critical hit?
Lee: OK, let me ask you a question: Why did Driving Miss Daisy win best picture in 1989? That's my answer.

THR: So you're saying they're both period films in which the black actors portray servants?
Lee: Stacey, Stacey, Stacey. That's my answer [above]. I don't need to elaborate.

THR: Besides Shame, are there other movies or TV shows you've seen recently that blew you away?
Lee: Yeah, I loved Attack the Block; it's a British indie film starring John Boyega, who is also the lead in this pilot I shot for HBO: The Brick, with Doug Ellin from Entourage.

THR: You're also slated to direct HBO's film about former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry with Eddie Murphy. How is it that you and Eddie have never worked together?
Lee: I know. Never! We've talked about it for many years. We were never able to come up with something we both could agree on. Hanging out together is going to be a motherf--er! (Laughs.)

THR: You've never shied away from politics in your films. How does the current landscape make you feel about being black in America?
Lee: Look, I support the president. In fact, my wife [attorney Tonya Lewis Lee] and I are having a fund-raising dinner [on Jan. 19] for Obama at our house on the Upper East Side. We got the call directly from the White House.

THR: Back to Red Hook Summer. How long was your shoot?
Lee: Nineteen days. Roughly three six-day weeks.

THR: That's fast. Was the schedule the toughest part of the production?
Lee: She's Gotta Have It was 12 days. (Laughs.) So, no.

THR: Do you prefer that guerrilla pace of filmmaking?
Lee: One of the great things about African-Americans is that we've always had this attitude: We make do with what we got. It comes from our ancestors being slaves. You can't bitch and moan about what you don't got. It's, "What can you do with what you got?" I've got a minimum amount of money; that dictates the shooting days. And James and I wrote the script. It takes place in Red Hook, and we shot everything within a 10-block radius. We gotta make do with what we got.

THR: Is it true that you reprise your role of Mookie from Do the Right Thing in Red Hook?
Lee: Yeah, but he's not the focus.

THR: So it's present-day Mookie as an older man?
Lee: Yes, much older. (Laughs.)

THR: How has your storytelling style changed since you made Do the Right Thing?
Lee: Hopefully I'm better.

THR: What do you think is your signature as a filmmaker?
Lee: Well, I have a signature shot. I like people to look like they're floating. But as a filmmaker? I think it's easy to look at Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, Jungle Fever and say, "Spike only deals with themes of race." And I think that's just from someone who's lazy, who hasn't seen the films or gone to IMDb to look at the body of work! It takes 10 seconds.

THR: On the subject of the Web, how much, if at all, do you use social media to promote yourself?
Lee: I'm on Twitter. It's fun.

THR: What have you learned about your fans from being on the site?
Lee: They're waiting for the next movie. I have 150,000 followers. I started tweeting on my birthday last year, March 20.

THR: Do you find you get criticized as much as praised?
Lee: Oh yeah. "Spike! The Knicks f--ing suck! Yankees suck! New York sucks! You suck the big one, Spike!" But I just block those people.

THR: You're now working on an English-language version of the Korean thriller Oldboy, starring Josh Brolin and Clive Owen. Is there another project you're hoping to tackle someday?
Lee: I'd love to do a musical with Prince, Stevie Wonder or Kanye [West]. That wouldn't all be one movie! They're my dream collaborators.

THR: Is there anything else you'd like to add about Red Hook Summer before Sundance?
Lee: We're looking forward to sharing something with the world. And if God is willing and the creek don't rise, we'll have a distributor and a summer release. As the great Jets linebacker Bart Scott has been quoted as saying, "Can't wait."

♦♦♦♦♦

FOUR MILESTONES IN A PROVOCATIVE 30-YEAR CAREER

Do the Right Thing (1989): His audacious day-in-the-life portrait of a melting-pot Brooklyn neighborhood affirmed Lee as his generation's Martin Scorsese, a fearless documentarian of NYC culture. The film earned Lee, also a co-star, an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay.

Malcolm X (1992): One of four collaborations with star Denzel Washington, Lee's searing portrayal of slain activist Malcolm X, based largely on Alex Haley's 1965 biography, earned its star an Oscar nomination for best actor and brought in more than $48 million at the domestic box office.

Inside Man (2006): Ron Howard originally was slated to direct this New York heist drama headlined by Washington, Jodie Foster and Clive Owen. The film earned rave reviews and became Lee's biggest commercial hit with its domestic box-office haul of more than $88 million.

When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006): Lee's somber HBO eulogy to victims of Hurricane Katrina melded moving testimonials from the Lower 9th Ward with his open disdain for the government's handling of the disaster. The series earned three Emmys.

[Source: The Hollywood Reporter]

CLICK the button to see all of
our blog posts about SPIKE LEE

What Was it Like to Show 'Red Tails' at the White House

2012-01-19T15:50:00.002-05:00

Director Anthony Hemingway recalls the diplomatically seasoned snacks and lack of cup holders at the film's once-in-a-lifetime viewing party.

This story first appeared in the Jan. 27 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.

Red Tails: Film Review

'Star Wars' Creator George Lucas Fires Back at Fanboys, 'Red Tails' Snub

George Lucas' 'Red Tails' Trailer Debuts (Video)

On Jan. 13, Red Tails director Anthony Hemingway joined his cast, producers George Lucas and Rick McCallum and 15 surviving members of World War II's Tuskegee Airmen for a screening of the film with President Obama at the White House. Hemingway gives THR's Andy Lewis a detailed description of a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

There was an extensive background check. Once that was through, I received an official e-mail invitation from the White House: The screening would start at 5 p.m., but we could arrive at the White House around 3:30 for a private tour. We even got to peek into the Oval Office.

After the tour, the president and first lady greeted us in the East Room. He took a moment to thank us for what we had done for the story of the Tuskegee Airmen. Then we all posed for photos with the president. I gave him a soundtrack and a signed boxed set ofTreme, which I produce and direct — he said it's his new favorite show. For his daughters, I brought Red Tail pendants that I had made as gifts for the cast and crew.

There was a whole table of refreshments, including cookies shaped like Red Tail fighter planes. They also had popcorn and drinks laid out for us to take into the theater, but none of those little M&M boxes with the White House seal. I was looking for something like that to take as a souvenir.

When they escort you into the theater, you definitely feel like you're in a very comfy, intimate space. But it doesn't have cup holders, which made me nervous because I was afraid of spilling my drink. It was just us, a few Secret Service agents, the Tuskegee Airmen and a few staffers. The Obama girls weren't there because they were at a sporting event. I didn't see the president take any popcorn, which I jokingly called "political popcorn" because it had just the right amount of salt and butter. It was some of the best popcorn I've ever tasted.

Before the movie started, the president gave a little talk. He knows the story of the Tuskegee Airmen really well and was excited to champion the message of the movie. I actually got choked up when he paid homage to the Airmen. There was electricity in the room as we listened to the president make these heartfelt remarks. Then he took time to thank all of us by name. He said, "We are basically here to host you, so if you need more popcorn, just ask; or if you need a drink, let us know, and we'll get it for you." He made it really comfortable and friendly.

The president and first lady have special seats up front. The president stayed for the whole movie. I could see the staff checking their BlackBerrys, but the president watched the film uninterrupted.

The theater isn't set up that well. The sound could be better. The projector needs to be upgraded. It needs a Hollywood pro to go in there and redesign it.

When the movie was over, Obama thanked us again and said he was excited to show it to the rest of his family. I actually ran to the bathroom because I drank too much during the movie, and by the time I got back, the president had left for another engagement.

Red Tails was released by Fox on Jan. 20.

Inside Jay-Z's Boys’ Night Out, His First Appearance Since Blue Ivy’s Birth

2012-01-19T10:55:00.000-05:00

Jay-Z attends the grand re-opening of his 40/40 Club on January 18, 2012 in New York City.

Click the link below for the article

Inside Jay-Z's Boys’ Night Out, His First Appearance Since Blue Ivy’s Birth

CLICK the button to see all of
our blog posts about Jay-Z

Creator of 'The Boondocks' on Co-writing 'Red Tails'

2012-01-19T10:17:00.000-05:00

Aaron McGruder, 'Boondocks' Creator, on Writing 'Red Tails' and Working With George Lucas After Making Fun of Him

Eric Larnick-Moviefone
Posted Jan 19th 2012 04:32PM

George Lucas' "Red Tails," his action adventure about the Tuskegee Airmen, opens this weekend after twenty years in development. Featuring a cast and crew of black talent, one of the names on the project that has drawn the most eyebrows is co-writer Aaron McGruder, creator of the popular cartoon "The Boondocks."

Throughout the print and television installments of "The Boondocks," McGruder courted acclaim and controversy equally. His biting satires and blunt opinions on everything from Ronald Reagan to corporate media to Tyler Perry, propelled him to forefront of liberal politics and African-American culture. One of his favorite targets was none other than George Lucas and the "Star Wars" franchise, a property he repeatedly took to task for becoming soullessly corporate and racially insensitive. In spite of his critiques, McGruder grew up as a die-hard fan of the film series, so he jumped at the chance to work on a project as important as "Red Tails." His complicated relationship with Lucas made their creative team-up a unique pairing, especially because Lucas personally courted him.

Moviefone spoke with McGruder about the entire process of working with George Lucas, why the Tuskegee Airmen should be comic book heroes, and what he's learned from his years as a pop culture lightning rod.

I had no idea you were involved in "Red Tails" until your name came up in the credits and it took me by surprise, honestly.
A lot of people didn't know. I came on to the project kind of late so it really wasn't public knowledge until the trailer and posters started coming out.

It's interesting that it was actually George Lucas who personally reached out to you.
Yeah, this was after principal photography; [director] Anthony [Hemingway] was already done with all his duties, and I was brought in during 2010 to initially to do some minor tweaking and punch-ups, but I started working with George and I had some ideas, he liked those ideas, so we ended up doing more. It was very cool.

How crazy was that experience of working one-on-one with George Lucas?
It was a big deal. I followed this project, pretty much for the twenty years that it existed. I first heard of the Tuskegee Airmen when I was ten years old, and I was probably a teenager, when I first read that George was doing it. You never think you're going to work on it, you just think, "Oh, this will be cool." You look forward to seeing it, and be happy that somebody is going to tell the story on that scale. Then they called and a week later I was there at the ranch. What I did a lot of was listen to George in terms of what he wanted out of the movie, and I think the more he talked about it, it was not exactly the movie he had. The movie he had was a very serious historical drama, and I had always envisioned it more like "Star Wars" -- particularly the old "Star Wars," the first one. I think that's what George wanted to. It was a question of "How do you get there while still respecting the weight of the subject matter?"

You're a huge "Star Wars" fan, but you're also someone who parodied "Star Wars," calling Lucas out for the racial stereotyping of Jar Jar Binks. In the NY Times profile on George, they asked if Jar Jar ever came up and you said "no." But did you get any indication of his sense of humor regarding "Star Wars" parodies and criticisms?

No, I really didn't. It's obviously the elephant in the room, and I get why you're asking, but I went there with: "He's the boss, he's giving me this huge opportunity, and he's the studio." He's the actual studio. They didn't need me on this project; I was asked to show up and I genuinely wanted to do the best job I could for the movie. I really appreciated the opportunity. I was really happy that George and I clicked creatively, and I had that experience. He allowed more changes to be made than originally intended. I went there with the idea: "I am not going to deviate from the plan at all, not go into fanboy mode, I'm not going to go there." [Laughs]

The movie is bigger than George because it is about the Tuskegee Airmen who were heroes to me most of my life. This is going to be their movie, and I wanted to do the best job I could. Being a "Star Wars" fan -- I mean come on. I got plenty of "Star Wars" fans to talk to about "Star Wars."

Once I saw your name in the credits, I had a different ear to the movie, trying to hear your trademark voice.
[Laughs] I know that, yes I know; you can't find it. With most movies this scale, all of us only knew the part we did, until we saw the finished product. The opening scene is one that George and I came up with. I wanted to open with that segment.

It's definitely a hero's intro.
Exactly. I wanted it to be like, "Holy shit, these are the stakes of the war ...

. Kids are dying." When we cut to the next scene and it's our guys flying the border of Italy, that's how we see there are real stakes here. This is the tragedy of racism and segregation. They could be saving lives and they're back flying around shooting at trucks. It was those kinds of things -- turning it into a pure action adventure movie as opposed to a historical drama. I think it worked!

In the Times profile, you're quoted as saying the black audience hasn't had "the John Wayne treatment." And this movie very much feels like a John Wayne throwback. The challenge to me is how you can get a modern audience -- especially a young audience -- to buy that sincerity without rolling their eyes and laughing at it. Is America too cynical to accept clear heroism like that at the movies?
It is a very serious tonal choice that George had made. I was the cheerleader to that. "Yes, go in that direction, do that." Nobody's more cynical than me. About everything.

But my first memory in life was three years old: my dad took me to see "Star Wars" and it's not just the first movie I remember, it's my first memory. If you ever watch "Boondocks," a lot of times it does become more of an action comedy than just a pure comedy. I've always had a passion for that, and it was a big deal to get the call. In terms of the tone, coming from the comic book world, that's what I wanted to see. That part of me weighed over the cynical satirist. When it came to these guys, you had the opportunity to tell a clean story with over-the-top heroes and a simple "Star Wars" good vs. bad thing. The more comic book-y the better.

The big challenge with George knowing so much about the history and having a very ...personal relationship with these pilots for so long, was I think he just got overwhelmed trying to do right by these guys. I came in with fresh eyes and ears, as someone who still loves the first movies and I wanted to do anything I could to get George back into that place of capturing that charm. I feel there's a charm to "Red Tails" that I haven't experienced in a long time at the movies. I'm hoping that kids go to this movie without that grown-up cynicism. If you're my age, just enjoy the ride and have the experience that we had when we first saw "Star Wars" and "Empire Strikes Back" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark." That would be 100% the goal. I feel like the history is easy to put out there, there's already a familiarity with it, or at least the broad strokes of racism and segregation. Some people are going to like this tonal choice and some people are going to say, "Oh it should've been heavier and it should've been more dramatic." But there's a version of this that doesn't have to be "Saving Private Ryan." We can be "Star Wars," as crazy as it is.

Talking about the broader idea of geek culture: I feel like it's predominantly driven by white older males. It's marketed to them first, and then it trickles down to every other demographic. The white older male is the stereotype of geek culture. Do you see that evolving?
I don't think the word is "stereotype." I think you're more referring to a center of gravity. Just look at the epicenter of what that world is, between George Lucas and Marvel and DC comics, that whole world is predominantly white men. But the truth is, now, particularly because of the last decade where it became very profitable in Hollywood, geek culture is so all-encompassing. It has become this pervasive thing through American pop culture as a whole. Everyone has ...their different versions on it.

You go to Comic-Con and see a cross section of everybody. It used to be niche, and now it's so enormous that it's hard to categorize. But ultimately, the epicenter of who's creating this stuff still ends up being the comic book companies, the Hollywood movies or whatever. All of that is very much white male-centered. That's what it is. I don't look at it as a bad thing. Most of Hollywood is like that. I don't trip on it.

What makes "Red Tails" so remarkable is that it's an all-black movie. That's unique in this world. "Boondocks" is the same thing. It's our attempt at anime, but it's very, very black. [Laughs] I think it's a world that cultivates people's imagination, allows people to be themselves even if it falls outside of what can be sometimes a very narrow definition of what is hip and cool. It's a world that accepts people more for who they are. Whoever you are, at this point, you can find your thing.

In an interview you did with HardKnocksTV in the summer of '08, you were asked about the upcoming election and why you pulled away from critiquing the Bush administration. You said, "We're no longer at a point where people don't know what the problem is." In the last year, looking at the Wisconsin labor protests, Occupy Wall Street, the changing cultural discussion about class warfare with corporate control, how would Huey Freeman respond to these changes?
Well the only way for you to know would be through "The Boondocks." I decided a long time ago to stop engaging in the conversation. If I had anything worthwhile to say, I should say it in the work. I stopped running around and arguing on Bill Maher. I lost an appetite for it. I feel like my personal passions are elsewhere. What happens to ...this crazy world is going to happen.
But I think there's as much impact doing movies like "Red Tails" that are not controversial in any real sense, but can still have a real effect on the audience and affect people's perceptions of themselves. I try to imagine what it would be like if I was six going to see this movie, and I tried to keep that in mind as I was working on it. That's the really cool thing that "Boondocks" can't inspire. "The Boondocks" can be a rough education of satire, politics and social issues; it's hardcore and brutal. This is a sweet, charming movie. That also has it's place in society.

What would you like to see change in movies and television that are geared towards kids?
The process of getting anything made is very, very difficult. It never stops being the biggest obstacle. How do you get it made and how do you see your visions through to the end? And nobody can counter that. I don't know if I can stand back and say, "Oh I wish they made more black films" or, "I wish they would let me make more movies." As an artist, you have to believe in something enough to overcome these enormous obstacles and hope at the end of the day it's what you wanted it to be. But I don't know if there's a prescription I can write for Hollywood. Obviously integration and the massive amounts of corporate input makes studios very risk adverse. There's not a lot of people who want to take chances but it's a universal struggle. It's very, very tough now. But if it were easy, I guess everybody would do it.

Will "Boondocks" ever return to TV in some kind of format?
I'm just going to have to pass on that question. [Laughs]

Have you ever thought about ...

mounting -- directing and designing -- an animated feature? Making an American anime for American audiences?
All I can say, um [Laughs] All I can say is, I can't say anything.

Did I stumble on something?
What did you say: "interview's over"? Interview's over!

Scandal Premiere Date and more

2012-01-12T09:50:00.005-05:00

"Scandal" will debut Thursday, April 5, after "Grey's Anatomy."

Kerry Washington left and Judy Smith at ABC Press conference Jan. 10, 2012

Judy Smith assumes you can separate truth from fiction.

A former NBC spokeswoman and current crisis manager who has counted among her clients Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, Smith is both the executive producer of and the inspiration for Scandal, a new ABC series from Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes. The show revolves around Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington), who in the pilot represents the president in a sex scandal.

Is Smith, who has spent some time herself in the White House, worried that people will think Olivia is more closely based on Smith than she is?

She says she is not. "What they've done is done a terrific job in dramatizing that in a very dramatic setting," she says.

Related posts
Shonda Rhimes on why TV has so few African-American leads

See ALL of our posts about Scandal by clicking the show logo below

Shonda Rhimes Speaks on Diversity in Television

2012-01-11T13:53:00.000-05:00

Shonda Rhimes on why TV has so few African-American leads
Tim Molloy
Reuters
8:20 PM CST, January 10, 2012

Jan 10 (TheWrap.com) - Why does network television have so few African-American lead actors? The team behind ABC's "Scandal," the only current network series with an African-American lead, has a few ideas.

Kerry Washington

Creator Shonda Rhimes (pictured left), who cast Kerry Washington (pictured right) as a Washington, D.C., crisis PR expert, said the country has been ready for African-American leads for years. She referenced Diahann Carroll's lead turn on "Julia" more than four decades ago. The problem, she said, is that "people have failed to cast the actors that they should have been casting."

Rhimes and the cast spoke during a panel Tuesday at the Television Critics Association winter press tour.

After decades of African-Americans leading some of television's biggest shows -- including "The Cosby Show" -- series have increasingly featured African-American actors only in multi-racial casts that appeal to as many demographics as possible.

Laurence Fishburne was the key character on "CSI" before he departed at the end of last season, but even his show was an ensemble. NBC's "Undercovers," with two African-American leads, was quickly canceled last season.

Columbus Short

"Scandal" co-star Columbus Short (pictured left) said minorities have been marginalized on television, and that he hopes Washington's work on "Scandal" will encourage more colorblind casting.

"I think there's a way people want to perceive people of color," he said. "This is what they are, this is how they work, this is how we accept them. Which is a completely gross overassumption of people. And I think this show... tells the story of people. It has nothing to do with color."

ABC announced Tuesday that "Scandal" will debut Thursday, April 5, after the Rhimes-produced "Grey's Anatomy."

(Editing By Zorianna Kit)

CLICK the graphic below to see all of our blog posts about diversity at our parent blog the

'Nother Brother Entertainment blog

Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. - Cool Black Review

2012-01-09T15:51:00.003-05:00

Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G. by Cheo Hodari Coker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

While this book veers off into digressions on the history of crack and long details of ancillary stories like the founding of Death Row Records, it is still an excellent book for specifically the reasons the author stated at the beginning. No conspiracy theories just the REAL culminated from taped interviews with Biggie himself and the friends & family of Biggie.

The early chapters do indeed veer off too much into the history of Brooklyn and such, but do contain the info about Biggie’s childhood and everything before he became a rapper and thought he might have a career as a recording artist.

Each chapter from Chapter Four until the end of the book is great and only stumbles in the last chapter (Chapter 10: 'Who Shot Ya?') with all — and I mean ALL of the people suspected of the Biggie murder. The people named and their possible link to murder was extremely hard to follow.

Perhaps the BEST chapter was Chapter 5: ‘What's Beef?’ It really detailed the circumstances and environment in which, as I stated in my Status Update—
November 29, 1994. A Tuesday, a robbery, an event that would change hip hop forever...the night of the Quad Studios shooting of Tupac Shakur.
— Nov 12, 2011 03:57am

I also liked how each chapter was titled as a line from or name of a Biggie song. In order the chapters were:
Chapter 1: ‘Dolly My Baby’
Chapter 2: ‘Things Done Changed’
Chapter 3: ‘It Was All a Dream’
Chapter 4: ‘Gimmie the Loot (I'm a Bad Boy)’
Chapter 5: ‘What's Beef?’
Chapter 6: 'Mo Money, Mo Problems'
Chapter 7: ‘One More Chance (The Remix)’
Chapter 8: 'You're Nobody Till Somebody Kills You'
Chapter 9: 'The Long Kiss Goodnight'
Chapter 10: 'Who Shot Ya?'
Epilogue: 'Sky's the Limit'
"If You Don't Know...Now You Know" A Discography

As I stated at the beginning, a lot of interviews occurred with the people close to Biggie, but curiously, while Biggie’s mom Voletta Wallace is interviewed extensively as is his inner circle there are little to no interviews with “Biggie’s women”. There are interviews with his children’s moms, but none with his “dalliances” specifically Charli Baltimore and Lil Kim. Of course they are mentioned and referenced quotes from other interviews, but not anything specific for this book.

While an interesting life, Biggie WAS only 24 when he was murdered, TWENTY FOUR! There isn’t a lot of life story there to tell, but the essence of what lead to his success and eventual death are the most potent parts of the book. If you are a fan of hip hop in general, the book intricately details what is was like on one side of the East Coast/West Coast feud. The book is so thoroughly detailed (and sourced) it could be used for a college course on hip hop.

View all my BOOK reviews
___________________________________________________________

ADDENDUM

Promotion poster

The author of this book CheoHodari Coker co-wrote the screenplay (with

Reggie Rock Bythewood) for the 2009 film Notorious, thebiopic of the Notorious B.I.G. (poster pictured left)

As a filmmaker I understand the portions of thefilm that were changed from not exactly how they occurred in real life (asrecounted through interviews in the book of course). I also think the director GeorgeTillman, Jr. did a good job at conveying some major stories in the book tofilm. From the real locations of the street in New York, to the real Quad Studios etc. Ieven watched the Quad Studios scene in the movie again RIGHT AFTER I read aboutit in the book and it was pretty much spot on. Major props to him for that.

You can read my review of the film Notorious here

Cool Black's Mad Commentary: Personally Idon’t think this feud was really hyped all that much by the media. To me thisseemed personal on a street tip. You know “word on the street” type stuff.Frankly these street types don’t really read or watch the news so I don’t seethe relevancy in that argument.

Cool Black's Mad Updates:

Since I like to use the also use the Goodreads website to keep track/notes on what I’m reading electronically, I also updated this book more than any other I’ve read thus far. Below is a copy of ALL my updates in chronological order.

Page 9 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

Just finished the FOREWORD by Biggie friend Bönz Malone and the INTRODUCTION by author Cheo Hodari Coker, who explains in true Biggie style about what you will & WON'T find in this book. No conspiracy theories just the REAL culminated from taped interviews with Biggie himself and the friends & family of Biggie in truth Christopher Latore Wallace, ALL listed & credited at the end of the book. Mad props 2 him 4 that.

— Oct 29, 2011 02:54am

Page 25 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

Just finished Chapter 1 "Dolly My Baby". In it the author recounts Biggie's mom Ms. Wallace flight from Jamaica and even the setting environ of Brooklyn back in the same time period I was born there (cool! Biggie was born 8 months after I was). He goes on to recount Biggie's early childhood and his desire to escape the harsh control his mother placed on him to keep him safe from the streets.

— Nov 01, 2011 01:16pm

Page 71 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

Just finished Chapter 3 "It Was All a Dream" and the book is not what I thought it would be, at least thus far. More on that later. (in the NEXT update)

— Nov 03, 2011 02:06am

Page 73 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

About to start Chapter 4 "Gimmie The Loot (I'm a Bad Boy), but so far the book digresses widely what is supposed to be the subject Notorious B.I.G. Through well researched data, the author recounts the history of Brooklyn, the history of hip hop, the history of crack, the history of Def Jam Records, the history of Uptown Records & the history of Sean "Puffy" Combs w/ some Biggie sprinkled in there. It's supplemental, but too much details away from what is supposed to be the main subject.

—Nov 03, 2011 05:34am

Page 95 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

In the middle of Chapter 4 "Gimmie the Loot: (I'm a Bad Boy)" which starts off STRONG w/ Biggie's start w/ Puffy when he was w/ Uptown Records and everything that happened after that into the formation of Bad Boy Records. Now it has veered off again into the formation of Death Row Records. To tell this story you need background, but the author spends an inordinate amount of time on the ancillary background stories.

— Nov 05, 2011 09:36am

Actually still pg 95 & this section in Chapter 4 "Gimmie the Loot (I'm a Bad Boy)" starts off "The Chronic hit the rap world like a 10-megaton bomb on December 15, 1992."

— Nov 06, 2011 01:25am

Page 98 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

WHOA, WHOA, WHOAH! BOTH rappers on 'Gimmie the Loot' was Biggie doing a separate voice? Gotta put this book down RIGHT NOW and listen to the song. "Right now gee?" Motherf...

— Nov 06, 2011 01:39am

Page 109 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

"Just the mention of her name made Wallace smile sheepishly" THIS is the page where the author explains how Biggie met Faith Evans.

— Nov 06, 2011 01:48am

Page 117 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

Finally finished the BEST chapter in the book thus far- Chapter 4: Gimmie the Loot (I'm a Bad Boy). The chapter chronicled Puffy's rise & fall @ Uptown Records, the start of Bad Boy Records, the recording of 'Ready to Die', the meeting & marriage with Faith Evans, the success of 'Ready to Die, the hovering of Suge Knight and @ the end hanging with someone he was tight with for over a year - Tupac Shakur.

— Nov 06, 2011 02:21am

Page 126 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

WOW, as indicated Chapter 5: "What's Beef?" starts of STRONG with how Biggie met 2Pac, how their friendship formed and dovetailed into details of the sexual assault 2Pac was accused of. I've heard about it, but only peripherally, never read the details. WOW.

Page 138 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

Just finished another great chapter & here is what I learned in Chapter 5: "What's Beef?" Most paramount: Be careful who you associate yourself with. Tupac was paranoid as hell after he was arrested on a rape charge, buying a "spy microphone" to record conversations with women (sexual consent with groupies) and any other conversation he deemed worthy. (CONT)

— Nov 12, 2011 03:44am

Page 139 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

More of I learned in Chapter 5: "What's Beef?" (CONTD 2 of 3) Tupac was also BROKE while on trial for rape (November 1994). He couldn't get film work because no one would insure him. He couldn't get TV work because no network would sanction it. He was taking "chump change" to appear on other people's records (the reason he was @ Quad studios that fateful night) (CONT)

— Nov 12, 2011 03:55am

Page 140 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

More of I learned in Chapter 5: "What's Beef?" (CONTD 3 of 3) November 29, 1994. A Tuesday, a robbery, an event that would change hip hop forever...the night of the Quad Studios shooting of Tupac Shakur.

— Nov 12, 2011 03:57am

Page 142 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

Chapter 6: 'Mo Money, Mo Problems' Starting off great recounting the success of 'Ready to Die'. Biggie wanted 'Machine Gun Funk' to be his lead single, but Puffy wanted radio friendly singles like 'Juicy' (which eventually was the 1st single) More on that later.

— Nov 13, 2011 05:14am

Page 150 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

Chapter 6: 'Mo Money, Mo Problems' You wanna know how 2 friends could go to being bitter rivals? 1 is having career highs flossing in videos with fancy clothes, beautiful women. At the same exact time, the other is in jail on a rape charge, can't afford the $1.4 million dollar bail because all of his money is going to lawyers, having rectal searches before AND after meetings with said lawyer stewing on bitterness.

— Nov 13, 2011 06:03am

Page 183 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

Chapter 6: 'Mo Money, Mo Problems' " 'Hit 'Em Up' was perhaps the most scathing battle rhyme ever committed to tape" (Summer of '96) I couldn't agree more! In my "Afros talk": If'n there is I ain't be heard none. ("I ain't be got no weapon" Hollywood Shuffle) THIS is the page where the author describes Biggie's reaction.

— Nov 20, 2011 03:19am

Page 192 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

Chapter 6: 'Mo Money, Mo Problems' these pages starting with 190 describing the night of Tupac's shooting and ending with "Tupac Amaru Shakur drifted into permanent sleep on Friday, September 13, 1996, just after 4 P.M. He was 25 years old."

— Nov 20, 2011 04:17am

Page 197 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

Jus finished, finally finished Chapter 6: 'Mo Money, Mo Problems' & WOW! It details "the intricate plot" of the East Coast/West Coast beef w/ the "major & minor figures" involved, ending with the crazy car crash that injured Biggie's leg. Another GREAT chapter.

— Nov 20, 2011 04:55am

Page 213 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

Started Chapter 7: One More Chance (The Remix). It details Biggie's stint in rehab, for his crushed leg, and the beginning of the recording of 'Life After Death'.

— Nov 25, 2011 04:36am

Page 217 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

Just finished Chapter 7: One More Chance (The Remix). It finished telling the story of the recording sessions of 'Life After Death' with interviews with the producers involved and ends on the talk of the heavy promotion coming up. The chapter ends with these 2 sentences. "But in order to make the plan work certain things had to happen. First of all, Wallace had to go back to Cali."

— Nov 26, 2011 10:24pm

Page 220 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

Starting Chapter 8: 'You're Nobody Till Somebody Kills You'. Biggie is in California & while he's there he's doing major promotion & the 1st video for 'Life After Death'.

— Nov 27, 2011 03:12am

Page 226 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

As stated on this page of Chapter 8: 'You're Nobody Till Somebody Kills You' : "With Tupac dead and Suge Knight off the streets, Bad Boy was making its presence known—in Los Angeles recording studios, in the clubs on Sunset Boulevard, and on local radio stations. The message being sent wasn't subtle—while our enemies fall, we stand tall."

— Nov 27, 2011 03:25am

Page 232 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

Chapter 8: 'You're Nobody Till Somebody Kills You'. At this point in the chapter, they JUST finished shooting the 'Hypnotize' video and the ridiculousness you witnessed on screen doesn't compare to the behind the scenes ridiculousness.

— Nov 27, 2011 03:45am

Page 239 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

Chapter 8: 'You're Nobody Till Somebody Kills You'.

The chapter just stated how the last things Biggie recorded were the guest verses on 'Victory' and 'All About The Benjamins' IMO some the illest rhymes he EVER spit. THIS page starts recounting that fateful night @ the Petersen Automotive Museum.

— Nov 27, 2011 04:15am

Page 245 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

WOW! Just finished Chapter 8: 'You're Nobody Till Somebody Kills You'. The last pages of the chapter details much of Biggie's last hours and ends on the phone call to Biggie's mother Voletta Wallace, to try to state what was just stated on the previous page: "Christopher George Letore Wallace was dead. It was 1:15 A.M. He was 24 years old."

— Nov 27, 2011 04:35am

Page 253 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

Given how the the last chapter ended, Chapter 9:'The Long Kiss Goodnight' starts off GANGBUSTERS! Reactions coast to coast from fans, the hip hop artists who were there, Biggie's inner circle, Puffy and the "morgue of moms". The gathering of Biggie's mom Voletta and the moms of his children, Jan and Faith gathered to identify his body in the morgue.

— Nov 27, 2011 09:09am

Page 258 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

This section of Chapter 9:'The Long Kiss Goodnight' details Biggie's funeral and final procession through Brooklyn in great detail down to "Lying in a velvet-lined coffin made of beautifully polished mahogany, Wallace was dressed in a white suit with a matching derby—an outfit worthy of his status as a man of respect."

— Nov 27, 2011 02:08pm

Page 265 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

Just finished Chapter 9:'The Long Kiss Goodnight' and the rest of the the chapter details the recording of 'I'll Be Missing You', the song and video, the release and chart success of 'Life After Death' (10 Million copies by 2000), the 1997 MTV Awards performance with Sting and ends with the somber filming of the video for 'Mo' Money, Mo' Problems' with Biggie's Mom & daughter on the set.

— Nov 27, 2011 02:37pm

Page 285 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

WOW Just finished the last official chapter in the book Chapter 10: 'Who Shot Ya?' and what lies wherein is a dizzying array of suspects and informants. The story presented is worthy of Oliver Stone's 'JFK'. The written account is rather confusing and in bad need of a power point or something to connect all the dots. Interesting and intriguing information, just confusing as hell.

— Nov 27, 2011 09:07pm

Page 299 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

Just finished the Epilogue: 'Sky's The Limit'. It basically had newer interviews with Biggie's mom as she was with Biggie's kids as they were swimming in the pool @ the house Biggie started building for her before he died. Plus interviews with DJ Première & Lil Cease. The chapter ends with some nice thoughts from long time Biggie friend Hubert Sams. "It wasn't his time, man," Sams says. "It just wasn't his time."

— Dec 01, 2011 02:45pm

Page 302 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

Starting "If You Don't Know...Now You Know" An extensive, and I mean EXTENSIVE, Biggie Discography by Chairman Mao. It starts with his 1991 demo "Blind Alley Freestyle"; "Guaranteed Raw"; "Don't Love No Ho". The demo that got him in 'The Source's' "Unsigned Hype" column.

— Dec 02, 2011 11:02am

Page 308 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

THIS is the page where Chairman Mao starts to talk about READY TO DIE. Before this he talked about AND listed all, and I MEAN ALL, the singles, promo and otherwise, Biggie appeared on.
— Dec 03, 2011 03:03am

Page 318 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

On this page of "If You Don't Know...Now You Know" Discography by Chairman Mao. Mao starts talking about LIFE AFTER DEATH the 1997 double album. Haven't started reading what he said yet, but thus far Mao is taking NO shorts when describing the various tracks calling out any other weak/wack MCs on callabo tracks and such. LOL

— Dec 03, 2011 03:27am

Page 324 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

On this page of "If You Don't Know...Now You Know" Discography by Chairman Mao. Mao states about the 1997 album BORN AGAIN: "The premise of this posthumous album—collecting unheard or old but forgotten Biggie vocals, and retooling them alongside new tracks and guests—was flawed from the jump." I couldn't agree more. I'll probably say such (more) later. — Dec 03, 2011 03:43am

-Ok here are my comments on BORN AGAIN. Like Chairman Mao stated, it was just a bad idea. It seemed like an obvious attempt to cash in on Biggie’s posthumous legacy. I was never going to buy that album and only downloaded that single with Eminem ‘Dead Wrong’. Unfortunately the posthumous scavenging didn’t stop with 1999’s BORN AGAIN. There was 2005’s ‘DUETS: THE FINAL CHAPTER’. I can’t be mad at Puffy because the executor of his estate, his mom Voletta, co-signed everything. So if she’s happy with it, who am I to say anything. — Dec 05, 2011 09:52 AM

Page 331 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

WOW, Chairman Mao went ALL IN in "If You Don't Know...Now You Know" Discography. Mao called out all the ridiculous posthumous Biggie releases & gave props to some of the, actually the very few, gems in the bunch. He states: "Nearly seven years after his death, the very rhymes that introduced Biggie Smalls to much of the world are still being tapped for inspiration. If that's not being ahead of your time, what is?" — Dec 03, 2011 04:06am

Page 334 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

Trying to finish this book so starting 'Brooklyn's Finest' Videography by Ralph Daniels where he talks about then lists all the videos Biggie appeared in. — Dec 03, 2011 04:15am

Page 339 of 368 of Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.

Even though there's ACKNOWLEDGENTS (pp. 346) from the publisher Editorial Director Rob Kenner, Vibe books, page 339 is the actual end of the book ending with the AUTHOR'S NOTE and the obligatory ABOUT THE AUTHOR—CHEO HODARI COKER. The rest of the book is ALL the credits for the many, many sources. Major props to him for including that. — Dec 03, 2011 04:40am

Beyoncé & Jay-Z's Baby Finally Arrives

2012-01-09T11:29:00.001-05:00

Beyonce and Jay-Z's baby, Blue Ivy, gets welcomed by celebs on Twitter
By Camille Mann

(CBS) After much anticipation and a slew of rumors, Beyonce and Jay-Z (pictured left) welcomed their baby girl, Blue Ivy Carter, over the weekend in New York City, according to reports.

The Grammy-winning singer checked into Lenox Hill Hopsital, on Manhattan's Upper East Side, on Saturday night under the name "Ingrid Jackson," but it didn't take friends and fans too long to catch on sending the Twittersphere into a frenzy.

Even celebrities joined in, welcoming the music power couple's first child.

"Welcome to the world princess Carter!" Rihanna, who is under Jay-Z record label, tweeted. "Love Aunty Rih."

"Welcome to the world Blue! We love you already," actress and good friend of the couple, Gwyneth Paltrow, wrote.

Fellow rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs also joined in, tweeting, "Congrats to Jay and B! And many more!"

Music mogul Russell Simmons added, "Congrats to my good friends Beyonce and Jay-Z."

The singer's sister, musician Solange Knowles, also took to Twitter to welcome her baby niece.

"The most beautiful girl in the world," she tweeted.

Beyonce and Jay-Z have not spoken out about their daughter, but there has been some speculation that the couple derived the name from the roman numeral for four, "IV," because of the significance of the number four in their lives, reports People magazine (posted below)

Beyonce's birthday is Sept. 4, Jay-Z's is Dec. 4, and the two married on April 4 in 2008.

Baby Blue Ivy: What's In a Name?
BY JESSICA HERNDON
People magazine

Monday January 09, 2012 07:45 AM EST

Beyoncé and Jay-Z's baby girl Blue Ivy Carter arrived Saturday, and while little girls are customarily pretty in pink, this baby is also being surrounded by touches of blue.

This was the case over the holidays, when, in anticipation of the baby's birth, the parents-to-be sent pals blue Christmas gifts, a source tells PEOPLE.

Sources and fans suggest the couple chose the name "Ivy" because of the number 4 or Roman numeral IV, which is significant in Beyoncé and Jay-Z's relationship.

Beyoncé's birthday is Sept. 4, while Jay-Z's is Dec. 4; the two married on April 4 in 2008; they reportedly have matching "IV" tattoos on their wedding fingers; and Beyoncé named her latest album 4.

And the significance of the baby's first name, Blue? Well, Jay-Z has three albums with the word "blueprint" in their titles: The Blueprint was released in 2001; The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse, in 2002; and The Blueprint 3, in 2009.

In lyrics, Jay-Z has rarely been coy about proclaiming himself the best rapper ever. "I'm the Blueprint, I'm like the map for 'em," he said in "A Star Is Born," from The Blueprint 3.

Fans have also chimed in on the name. "Blueprint was the hottest album ever sold by Jay-Z! their child's name makes a lot of sense!" Tweeted @kisssmyDIAMONDS

And Tweeted @omgitsralph: "There's a meaning in Ivy Blue. IVy = a roman numeral for 4 which is Beyoncé's favorite number and BLUE for Jay-Z's Blueprint albums. Wow."

Perhaps at some point the parents will make clear why they chose the name.

Until then, there's one thing the family is clear about, as proud aunt Solange declared on Twitter on Sunday. Blue Ivy, she said, is "the most beautiful girl in the world."

CLICK the button to see all of
our blog posts about Beyoncé

CLICK the button to see all of
our blog posts about Jay-Z

Watch the Throne - The Cool Black Review

2011-12-22T09:15:00.001-05:00

Watch the Throne album cover

Let me say that it took me a while to even check out this album by rap superstars Jay-Z & Kanye West I WAS NOT crazy (cray?) about the first two released tracks.

Watch the Throne was originally envisioned as a five track ep and then Kanye announced in October 2010 that this was going to be a full album. After I heard those first two singles I thought this album may be a “cash grab” to capitalize on their superstar status and or some sort of vanity project.

Following Kanye's announcement via his Twitter account, "H•A•M" was officially released as a digital download on January 11, 2011. On July 20, 2011 "OTIS" was premiered on Funkmaster Flex's Hot 97 radio show and subsequently leaked to the Internet.

As I stated, I wasn’t feeling EITHER of those tracks."H•A•M" was just "W•A•M" and the “W” stands for “Wack”. The only good thing about the song was the hook.

I thought their next single “OTIS” was gotdamn ridiculous when I first heard it. I could not hear what the heck Jay-Z & Kanye were saying over the overpowering Otis Redding vocals. The Otis Redding vocals are still overpowering, but I've gotten used to them & can now decipher what they are rapping about.

Ok that was the first tracks released, but when I finally listened to the album my first impressions were to quote a friend of mine, "not to be funny" this is more of a Kanye West album featuring Jay-Z. Whether by intent or design, Kanye seems to outshine Jay on every song. Maybe Jay-Z is at the point in his career where he CAN just step back. Let’s also be clear that Kanye’s rap skills have finally arrived. I think what made My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy such a masterpiece (yeah I thought it was masterpiece) was that his rap skills have vastly improved. Dude is like a real MC now.

There are great songs like "No Church in the Wild" (featuring Frank Ocean), That's My Bitch and Made it in America (again featuring Frank Ocean), but my favorite tracks on the album are the back to back tracks "Lift Off" (featuring Beyoncé) produced by Kanye West, Jeff Bhasker, Mike Dean, with additional production by Q-Tip, Pharrell and Don Jazzy and the track "Niggas in Paris" produced by Hit-Boy, Kanye West, Mike Dean and Anthony Kilhoffer.

Those two songs work seamless together and alone. Perfect for an album. The Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks while may be Deluxe...were no Bonus, including the aforementioned "H•A•M" which still didn't grow on me, but has become tolerable. As for the rest of the album even the tracks that don’t work by themselves work in the complete album.

Having said that, this whole album is HOT! Even though I deplore it, I can admit when I’m wrong. I mean it happens so rarely that it takes me by surprise. LOL.

Below is which of the individual tracks I thought were HOT

1. "No Church in the Wild" (featuring Frank Ocean) HOT
2. "Lift Off" (featuring Beyoncé) HOT
3. "Niggas in Paris" HOT
4. "Otis" (featuring Otis Redding) HOT
5. "Gotta Have It" warm
6. "New Day"
7. "That’s My Bitch" HOT
8. "Welcome to the Jungle"
9. "Who Gon Stop Me"
10. "Murder to Excellence" HOT
11. "Made in America" (featuring Frank Ocean) HOT
12. "Why I Love You" (featuring Mr Hudson) warm

Deluxe Edition Bonus tracks

13. "Illest Motherfucker Alive"
14. "H•A•M"
15. "Primetime"
16. "The Joy" (featuring Curtis Mayfield)

WATCH THE MULTIMEDIA

Below is a look at some of the inner workings captured during the Watch the Throne recording sessions of Jay-Z and Kanye West.

Watch the Throne Session Photos

Check out the first video from Watch the Throne, OTIS , a video that more than likely got me to like the song more and video that looks like a whole bunch of fun

Check out an excellent short film based on "No Church in the Wild" (featuring Frank Ocean) at our parent blog ‘Nother Brother Entertainment blog here

Read about the video for Niggas in Paris on the ‘Nother Brother Entertainment Facebook page here

Related posts-

For ALL of our posts about Watch the Throne click here

Read Jay-Z and Kanye-A Timeline of Partnership here

For ALL blog posts about Jay-Z click here

For ALL blog posts about Kanye West click here

Reel Talk: Allow It: The 2012 Black Reel Awards Nominations

2011-12-21T09:33:00.000-05:00

Reel Talk: Allow It: The 2012 Black Reel Awards Nominations: The 2012 Black Reel Awards looks to be the answer to the mainstream awards snubbing many of the wonderful black movies and performances fro...

Jay-Z Holding New Fundraisers at Carnegie Hall

2011-12-09T09:22:00.001-05:00

Jay-Z to raise money, perform at Carnegie Hall

By Mesfin Fekadu -Associated Press / December 9, 2011

NEW YORK—Jay-Z (pictured left) didn't graduate from high school, but he's encouraging others to value their education.

The rapper announced Thursday that he will perform two shows at New York's Carnegie Hall in February to benefit the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation and the United Way of New York City.

"Education is super important," Jay-Z said. "I don't have a high school diploma or a college diploma, but still for me to articulate, I had to have some form of schooling to articulate my thoughts."

The concerts will take place on Feb. 6 and Feb. 7. Tickets in the private sale will range from $500 to $2500.

The press conference announced Jay-Z as the first solo hip-hop artist to play at the famed venue, though Wylcef Jean performed there in 2001 with Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton and Whitney Houston.

"I feel like they bent the rules so that it could make sense for me right now, but I'll take it," Jay-Z said with a laugh.

Jay-Z says performing at Carnegie Hall is a big deal for hip-hop, and he's happy to bring the genre to greater heights.

"Any time that I get a chance to expand and broaden the reach of hip-hop is a great thing for me on a personal level," he said.

The Brooklyn-born performer said he's excited to influence his community in ways outside of music. He says going back to the Marcy Projects complex where he grew up remains a moving experience.

He says he got the same feeling when he recently went to Kanye West's old home in the South Side of Chicago.

"The inspiration and how happy the people were, it just makes you feel really good," he said.

--------

Online:

http://rocnation.com/jayz/

CLICK the button to see all of
our blog posts about Jay-Z

808s & Heartbreak - A quick review

2011-12-05T08:23:00.001-05:00

Three years later I finally listened to 808s & Heartbreak. I already bought two singles from the album, but not the whole.

808s & Heartbreak is the fourth studio album by American hip hop artist Kanye West, released November 24, 2008 on Roc-A-Fella Records in the United States. Recording sessions for the album took place at Glenwood Studios in Burbank, California and Avex Recording Studio in Honolulu, Hawaii during September to October 2008. It was primarily produced by West, No I.D., and Jeff Bhasker. Conceived in the wake of multiple events that affected and distressed him during the previous year, 808s & Heartbreak marked a major musical departure for Kanye West from his previous work, lyrically, vocally, and production-wise.

Classified by West as a pop album, 808s & Heartbreak incorporates elements of synthpop, electronica, R&B, and electropop, while its tracks are primarily sung rather than rapped by West and contain lyrical themes such as love, loneliness, and heartache. The album also contains extensive use of the Auto-Tune voice processor and the Roland TR-808 drum machine, which was utilized and manipulated by West to produce a distorted, electronic sound. Approaching the album's production in a minimalist fashion, West intended to contravene the typical sound of hip hop beat and instead evoke a presence of tribal drums.
- Wikipedia

My thoughts on '808s' in an Internet post. December 3, 2011

#np Finally played #Kanye's '808 & HEARTBREAK' all the way through and while I like a lot of things about it, I can see where a lot has to "grow on you".

The main thing I walked away with from this album was that IT IS way experimental and will make GREAT fodder for DJ remixes and media FILM & TV scores.

Kanye was and always be a genius producer and this album is no different!

CLICK the button to see all of
our blog posts about KANYE WEST

NEW interview with Mary J. Blige

2011-11-22T06:14:00.001-05:00

Actually since her album My Life II: The Journey Continues (pictured above) drops today, she has been doing a lot of interviews, but her interview with the Los Angeles Times a nice one. Click their logo below to read it.

J. Edgar - The Cool Black Review

2011-11-16T07:25:00.001-05:00

J. Edgar

Directed by Clint Eastwood

Produced by Clint Eastwood, Brian Grazer, Robert Lorenz

Cinematography by Tom Stern

Released: November 11, 2011 (USA)

Starring:
Leonardo DiCaprio as J. Edgar Hoover
Armie Hammer as Clyde Tolson
Naomi Watts as Helen Gandy
Judi Dench as Anna Marie, Hoover's mother.
Ed Westwick as Agent Smith, Hoover's biographer.

Summary: A biographical drama that focuses on the career of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover from the Palmer Raids onwards, including an examination of his private life as an alleged closeted (and chaste) homosexual.

Review: Far from a perfect picture given the personnel involved (Eastwood, DiCaprio), but still a good picture on many levels. Not told in straight chronological order, the film jumped back and forth in time showing Hoover as a young man and then as an old man telling his story to biographer Agent Smith.

The story jumped back and forth through time too much for my tastes, but I could see where Eastwood didn’t want it to seem like a lot of the many bio pics that have been told. Yet even the old telling the story to a biographer, confidant or reporter has been used time and time again.

While the film shows how Hoover was appointed to start the FBI and everything he did instituting a number of modern innovations to police technology, such as a centralized fingerprint file and forensic laboratories, it also of course details Hoover’s determination to collect information on everyone and I mean EVERYONE from the presidents to their wives. The film also doesn’t shy away from his personal life focusing a lot on his “private life as an alleged closeted (and chaste) homosexual.” and his Oedipus-like relationship with his mother Anna Marie. Given all that it was trying to show in a somewhat short time frame (2 hrs 17minutes) I guess that’s why the film kind of glossed over a particular interest of mine, his starting of COINTELPRO (more on that in the commentary following the review).

Leonardo DiCaprio was good as always, but of particular excellence was Armie Hammer as Clyde Tolson and Judi Dench as Anna Marie, Hoover's mother. Both gave stellar performances in their roles.

In the end, while I recommend J. Edgar is does have its flaws and could have been given more clarity without all the jumps back and forth in time. I felt about this like I felt about the Ray Charles biopic Ray (2004). When you cover someone’s life and work for a span of some 50 plus years a film can be too long...and too short.

Cool Black’s Mad Commentary…& info: As I said above I wanted to see more about COINTELPRO.

COINTELPRO (an acronym for Counter Intelligence Program) was a series of covert, and often illegal, projects conducted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting domestic political organizations started by Hoover in 1956.-Wikipedia

I found that the TV show American Gangster did a good job at describing and depicting COINTELPRO.

American Gangster is a documentary television series, which aired on BET. The show featured some of black America's most infamous and powerful gangsters, narrated by Ving Rhames.

In April 2009, A&E Networks purchased the rights to air seasons 1–3 on their networks. They can be seen primarily on the Bio Channel and the flagship A&E Channel. They can also be seen on A&E's Crime and Investigation Network. - Wikipedia

While "the show featured some of black America's most infamous and powerful gangsters." It took a somewhat slight departure and had the Season Three, Episode 5 titled "J. Edgar Hoover & COINTELPRO" (airdate November 20, 2008) where it detailed J. Edgar Hoover's staunch and illegal determination to thwart ANYONE he thought as subversive.

Season Three is NOT available on DVD, but it is available on various VOD (Video On Demand) platforms like Amazon and iTunes.

You can read a review of the "J. Edgar Hoover & COINTELPRO" episode here

Cool Black's Final Say: Well YOU might say, what is this review doing on a blog devoted to "African Americans in the Media" well because I wanted to and I also wanted to point out what the film DID NOT cover especically the inexorable pursuit and disruption of the many black groups during that era. Yes he pursued other factions, but the black factions are the ones I was interested in.

I could have just written a blog featuring the Cool Black’s Mad Commentary…& info portion, but I'm a filmmaker so I wanted to review the film as well and that is my Final Say© LOL

____________________________________________________________

Read ALL of the reviews here at the blog by CLICKING the logo below

Jay-Z: Beyonce Wanted To Beat Tabloids To The Punch On Pregnancy Story

2011-11-15T10:56:00.001-05:00

First Posted: 11/14/11 03:19 PM ET Updated: 11/14/11 05:09 PM ET - HuffPost Black Voices

Jay-Z said Beyonce decided to announce that she was pregnant on the MTV Video Music Awards to pre-empt a tabloid news show that wanted to break the news.

The rap superstar mused about the decision in an interview in GQ's Man Of The Year issue. (linked below) "It was actually Bey who wanted to [announce] it," Jay-Z said in the interview. "You want to be in control of your life."

Jay-Z, who is usually coy about his personal life, said that he wanted to be an active parent — he plans to change diapers — in part because his own father left the family when Jay-Z, born Shawn Carter, was 11 years old. Kelly Rowland, Beyonce's Destinys Child bandmate, accidentally confirmed two weeks ago that the duo is having a daughter.

"Providing—that's not love," he told GQ. "Being there—that's more important. I mean, we see that. We see that with all these rich socialites. They're crying out for attention; they're hurting for love. I'm not being judgmental—I'm just making an observation. They're crying out for the love that maybe they didn't get at home, and they got everything. All the material things that they need and want. So we know that's not the key."

Jay-Z grew up in the Marcy Projects in the Bed-Stuy section of Brooklyn, at a time when the neighborhood was one of New York's most dangerous areas. His father, Adnis Reeves, withdrew from the family after his brother was killed, and began abusing alcohol. The two would not speak again until 2003. Not long after, his father died from what Jay-Z said were alcohol-related causes.

“My dad swore revenge and became obsessed with hunting down Uncle Ray’s killer,” Jay-Z wrote in Decoded, his 2010 memoir. “The tragedy – compounded by the injustice – drove him crazy, sent him to the bottle, and ultimately became a factor in the unraveling of my parents’ marriage."

External link
CLICK the picture below to read in the Jay-Z profile in GQ's Man Of The Year issue

CLICK the button to see all of
our blog posts about Jay-Z

Oprah wins her Oscar

2011-11-14T15:00:00.000-05:00

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award recipient Oprah Winfrey raises her Oscar statuette next to Stedman Graham at the conclusion of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences 2011 Governors Awards in Hollywood, November 12, 2011.

Oprah Winfrey receives "unimaginable" Oscar

By Bob Tourtellotte
LOS ANGELES

Mon Nov 14, 2011 2:55pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oprah Winfrey received an honorary Oscar for her charitable work on Saturday in what she called an unimaginable moment for a black woman who grew up poor in Mississippi and rose to the top of Hollywood stardom.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences annually bestows its Governors Awards on people who have made an impact in the industry. This year, the honorary Oscars went to Winfrey, actor James Earl Jones and makeup artist Dick Simon at a black-tie affair that brought out stars such as John Travolta, Glenn Close and Alec Baldwin.

Talk show host and film actress Winfrey, who was nominated for a supporting-actress Academy Award in 1985's "The Color Purple," was given a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award by a young woman who was sent through high school on a financial grant she earned from Winfrey's foundation.

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award recipient Oprah Winfrey speaks after accepting her Oscar statuette at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences 2011 Governors Awards in Hollywood, November 12, 2011.

Winfrey teared up when accepting her honorary Oscar and described the moment as "unimaginable" given her humble roots growing up in Mississippi.

"All of us can make a difference through the life we lead," Winfrey said. "We're all here to help each other."

She talked of her career as a TV chat show host and her movie work, and said it was "The Color Purple" that paved the way to stardom which, ultimately, led to philanthropy.

That movie "door opened to me through the magic and majesty of film," she said.

James Earl Jones was given his honorary Oscar for a body of acting work that ranges from his Academy Award-nominated performance as a boxer in "The Great White Hope" to voicing the role of the villainous Darth Vader in the "Star Wars" movies.

Jones was not on hand because he is in working in London, but he spoke to the Los Angeles audience in a speech that was taped earlier on Saturday.

He said he was "deeply honored, mighty grateful and just plain gobsmacked," using British slang for being astounded.

Finally, the "Godfather of makeup" Dick Simon was given an honorary Oscar for his behind-the-scenes work using makeup and prosthetics to make actors look old, young, sick, dying and dead in films ranging from "The Exorcist" to "The Godfather."

Simon gave a tearful and heartfelt acceptance speech in which he said he has loved every minute of his work in the movie business. "This kind of puts the crowning cap on all that," Simon said.

The Oscars, or Academy Awards, for the films of 2011 will be given out in a ceremony in Los Angeles on February 26.

Related Posts-

Lack of Diversity at the Oscars 2011

African Americans at the Academy Awards

Cool Black's Oscar Recap Past & Present

Cool Black's Entertainment Review 2010-Best Movie

Best Picture Race 2011

Short Film featuring Jay-Z & Kanye West music

2011-11-14T10:23:00.000-05:00

At our parent blog

Check out and read about the thought provoking short film (pictured below)

featuring the song No Church in the Wild from their joint album Watch the Throne here

The Rise and Fall and Rise Again of Black TV

2011-11-01T11:06:00.000-04:00

The blog Diversity Ink has reposted the article

Scan courtesy of Diversity Ink

"The Rise and Fall and Rise Again of Black TV" from the May 20, 2011 issue of Entertainment Weekly Read it here

CLICK the graphic below to see all of our blog posts about diversity at our parent blog the

'Nother Brother Entertainment blog

Fox may bring back Showtime's 'Soul Food' TV series

2011-10-25T10:39:00.004-04:00

by Britni Danielle
Clutch Magazine

Word on the street is Fox is looking to revive the popular Showtime series Soul Food, based on the hit 1997 film.

The original Soul Food series ran on Showtime from 2000 to 2004 and was a hit with viewers. It followed the lives of a black family in Chicago, struggling with life's ups and down (marriage, divorce, owning a business, etc.). According to the industry blog Fishbowl LA, Twentieth Century Fox is looking to capitalize on the African-American demographic who is hungry for shows.

Fishbowl LA reports:

Now, Fox is looking to revamp the series for a new generation. The project is still in the very early stages of development, but executives at the company are said to be keen on it. It isn't yet clear whether the new Soul Food would be for the Fox broadcast network, or whether the company would try and sell it to other channels.

Although many networks have been slow to create shows that target African-Americans, the audience is out there. Cable networks such as TBS, VH1, and BET have scored hits with original programming targeting African-Americans, and the web is exploding with quality shows each day. So it would be wise for Fox, or any other network, to create well-written and well-acted shows that target black viewers.

More Info on the Tupac Shakur Biopic

2011-10-21T09:50:00.000-04:00

John Singleton May Direct the Tupac Shakur Biopic

Claude Brodesser-Akner - New York Magazine's Vulture
10/12/11 at 10:00 AM

Almost twenty years after directing Tupac Shakur in Poetic Justice, John Singleton is in negotiations to direct a biopic about the slain rapper for Morgan Creek and Universal Pictures. The project had been set up with Training Day director Antoine Fuqua, but we’re told he had difficulty casting the role of Shakur; even a nationwide talent search failed to yield candidates of which Fuqua approved. As such, Fuqua has moved on and is looking at other projects, most notably attaching himself to direct Relativity Media’s Hunter Killer, a thriller about an American submariner and a Navy SEAL team who must work together to rescue the Russian president during a military coup d'état. (Vulture also hears exclusively that Relativity is in talks with Sam Worthington to star in that production.)

Singleton, meanwhile, had also been rumored to be in the running to direct the rapidly coalescing N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton at New Line Cinema, but insiders tell us that he’s instead taking the Tupac gig after the studio said it wanted to see how rival Compton candidate Craig Brewer fares with his update of Footloose, which opens this weekend. (Our prediction: Not well. The latest NRG tracking numbers shared with Vulture show that 80 percent of moviegoers surveyed said that they were aware of Footloose, but only a little more than one in four — just 28 percent — expressed "definite interest" in seeing it. Only 6 percent of moviegoers said it would be their "first choice" at the box office.) Plus, there’s the old “bird in the hand” theory; after Singleton’s Abduction flopped, we can’t imagine too many other studio offers were forthcoming.

The Tupac script comes from Oscar-nominated screenwriters Stephen J. Rivele and Chris Wilkinson (Ali, Nixon), though we’re told the most recent draft is by Brian Tucker; his neo-noir script Broken City starts shooting next month with Allen Hughes directing, and Russell Crowe, Mark Wahlberg, and Catherine Zeta-Jones starring. That project was acquired for distribution by the Fox-based New Regency only last week.

Shakur and Singleton became quite friendly during the filming of 1993’s Justice, which is readily apparent in their easy camaraderie in this brief BET Rap City clip dating from June 1994 (in which — spoiler alert! — Tupac leaves Singleton in the dust in a sidewalk sprint-off). As such, it will be intriguing to see whom Singleton plans to cast in the title role of his former friend and colleague.

______________________________________________________________________

Details revealed of Tupac Shakur biopic
Jeff Weiss-Pop & Hiss, The L.A. Times music blog
August 27, 2010 - 1:06 pm

Unlike the title of his George Clinton collaboration, you apparently will be able to see Tupac Shakur on the silver screen, with New York Magazine's Vulture blog reporting that screenwriters have been drafted to pen a long-gestating biopic on the legendary rapper.

Indeed, the Oscar-nominated team of Stephen J. Rivele and Chris Wilkinson ("Ali," "Nixon") will team up with Antoine Fuqua ("Training Day"), with production reportedly to begin as soon as mid-November. According to to Wilkinson's interview with Vulture, the script will not be in "any way biopic-y," a stark contrast to a previous draft that took a more verite approach. Wilkinson's interview also reveals that the script will pivot on the final day of 2Pac's life in Las Vegas, with a series of flashbacks depicting his previous four years. As for casting, no one has yet been chosen to play the mercurial MC, with reports claiming that the producers and director are searching for an unknown.

Rivele informed Vulture that "he knew nothing about [Shakur]" before diving into research, but upon immersing himself in just about everything ever written about the rapper, "it became clear that he was essentially a 19th century Romantic poet who found himself in the 21st century ... an artist whose character is at odds with his medium ... a really sensitive, very romantic, talented young poet who also could sing, dance, and act. But the realities [of the hip-hop record business] were that he had to create this persona of the gangster."

Of course, it's pure subjectivity as to whether you accept that interpretation. Anyone well-versed in the intricacies of mid-'90s hip-hop is aware that Shakur was a protean individual who shifted between several well-defined personas. Suffice to say, one of his first rap names was MC New York, but he died repping the West Coast. And though Shakur's career dovetailed with the peak of gangsta rap, to define him as being beholden to hip-hop convention seems to underestimate the power of his personality and willful defiance.

Had he the desire, Shakur could've inevitably bucked the prevailing trends to indulge his most starry-eyed visions. By the time he was murdered, his acting career was on stable enough footing that he could have turned his back on the recording industry to write poems a la Jim Morrison in Paris. But there was a dark and glamorous appeal to the thug life and any biopic of Shakur would be well served to focus on his internal contradictions rather than external conflicts.

The interview with Rivele goes onto indicate that he believed that Shakur was in the process of breaking free from his past associations and images, an act which may have led to his downfall. Of course, it's all mere speculation. Although if you're really into over-reaching, perhaps "Tintern Abbey" and "To Live and Die in LA" aren't all that far apart.

CLICK Tupac's pic below to see all of our posts about the Tupac Biopic

______________________________________________________________

CLICK the button to see ALL of
our blog posts about TUPAC SHAKUR

'The Avengers' First Trailer - Shot for Shot

2011-10-20T08:21:00.000-04:00

Below is the first trailer

Below is the first trailer shot for shot

Cool Black's Acronym Commentary: LMFAO!

February 5, 2012

Avengers" - Extended Super Bowl Spot (HD)-

John Boyega Talks Spike Lee’s HBO project Da Brick

2011-10-18T09:59:00.000-04:00

By Wilson Morales-BlackFilm.com

October 10, 2011

One of the hottest new actors to emerge in 2011 is John Boyega (Pictured left), who captivated audiences with his role as Moses in the alien invasion dramedy ‘Attack the Block.’

For the 19-year old British native, his performance attracted the attention of many producers and directors who wanted to cast him in their next project and the guy who got him first is director Spike Lee, who made Boyega the lead character of his upcoming drama series on HBO.

‘Da Brick’ is loosely based on former heavyweight boxing champion and recent Hall of Fame inductee Mike Tyson’s early life in the ring. Boyega will play Donnie, who, after his release from juvenile detention on his 18th birthday begins an exploration of what it means to be a man for himself and those around him. Also featured in the series are Julito McCullum and Kamahl Naiqui.

Blackfilm.com caught up with Boyega recently as he spoke about his new project and ‘Attack the Block,’ which comes out on DVD on Oct.25.

How were you approached for the HBO project?

John Boyega: I auditioned for it. While I was doing a tour for ‘Attack the Block,’ I went back to LA and auditioned for ‘Da Brick.’ I had two auditions and a test and I just got the part.

Is this based on Mike Tyson’s early life?

JB: It’s loosely based on his life so you will see stuff that he’s spoken about in his world renowned documentary. So, a lot of things are taken from that and the struggles of being a black male in that area. There’s that political side but you will also the growth of a young boy to a champion. It’s a cool story and
very inspirational.

Had you see all of Spike’s films?

JB: Yes, I’ve seen all his movies. Recently, I saw ‘Inside Man.’ I think it’s going to be fun. Spike’s cool. I can’t wait to do it. I’m getting in shape now and working on my jump rope and throwing some punches so I can be a beast in the ring.

Will there be any deleted scenes on the ‘Attack the Block‘ DVD?

JB: I don’t know about deleted scenes, but you may see a lot of outtakes, and behind the scenes stuff to see how we were getting in character.

Do you think a sequel can be made?

JB: Yes. I have some ideas for it.

Related Links
Read all of our posts about Da Brick here

George Lucas African American Fighter Pilots Film

2011-10-17T10:55:00.000-04:00

'Star Wars' Creator George Lucas Self-Finances Movie About First African-American Fighter Pilots
5:32 AM PDT 10/17/2011 by Georg Szalai - The Hollywood Reporter

The filmmaker put $58 million of his own money into making "Red Tails" and is spending $35 million more on its distribution.

NEW YORK - George Lucas is self-financing a film inspired by the first organized group of African-American fighter pilots in the U.S. armed forces, known as the Tuskegee Airmen, the Wall Street Journal reported. The airmen, whose story will be featured in Red Tails, fought in World War II.

The film stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, Ne-Yo, David Oyelowo and Nate Parker, according to the Journal. The Star Wars creator put $58 million of his own money into the movie and is spending $35 million more for its distribution, the Journal said. It will be released by Lucas' production firm Lucasfilm Ltd. on Jan. 20, with News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox distributing it. Lucas told the newspaper through a representative that he has worked on the project for 23 years. He wanted to make an inspirational film for young people featuring role models, the paper added. "They are really the knights of the contemporary age," Lucas said in a statement.

Red Tails was directed by Anthony Hemingway (pictured left) and written by John Ridley and Aaron McGruder.

Cool Black's Mad Commentary: I found out about this film a while ago and saw the AWESOME trailer. Somehow I never posted it. Below you can see the trailer for yourself.

NOVEMBER 7, 2011

NEW POSTER

'Malcolm X' Coming to Blu-Ray

2011-10-14T08:02:00.000-04:00

Spike Lee’s “Malcolm X” Finally On Blu-ray In January

Sergio-Shadow & Act
October 13, 2011

The motto being “if at first you don’t succeed try again”... As you may recall, Spike Lee’s Malcolm X was scheduled to come out earlier this year in January 2011 on blu-ray DVD, but was suddenly pulled out from the its announced release date because of a music rights clearance problem.

Now, finally it looks as if those issues have been dealt with now that it has been announced the film will make its belated blu-ray DVD release on Jan 31, 2012 on Warner Home Video. Extras on the BD disc will include audio commentary by Lee, cinematographer Ernest Dickerson, editor Barry Alexander Brown and costume designer Ruth Carter.

Other extras will include deleted scenes with an introduction by Lee, the By Any Means Necessary: The Making of Malcolm X featurette and the trailer. The 2 DVD set will also include a bonus disc containing the 1972 feature-length documentary Malcolm X.

Cool Black's Mad Commentary: I’ll probably get the Blu-Ray eventually, but I already own the Malcolm X (Two-Disc Special Edition, pictured right) and these extras sound like what I already have on that edition. :(

Related Post

Another Spike Lee Joint joins the National Film Registry

CLICK the button to see all of
our blog posts about SPIKE LEE

Lil Wayne -Tha Carter IV Review

2011-10-12T11:16:00.000-04:00

Tha Carter IV was going to be released in late May, but was pushed back to June. Mack Maine confirmed that the album's release was postponed because they still needed time to make it perfect. On June 2, 2011, the album was pushed back further, and the album is due for release on August 29, 2011.-MTV News

I thought too that Lil Wayne AKA Weezy was pushing back his album release date to fine tune and make it great. If this is the best they could come up with they should have pushed it back to 2012.

This is not a bad album, but it doesn’t bode well when interludes featuring other artists are among the best tracks on the album. As you should expect most of the best tracks were already released as singles.

The first three singles 6 Foot 7 Foot (featuring Cory Gunz), John (featuring Rick Ross) and How to Love respectively are all HOT.

It took me a LONG time to get 6 Foot 7 Foot because of the mad corny hook (Interpolations of "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" by Harry Belafonte. Yeah. Ok.) and the production by Bangladesh (responsible for ‘A Milli’ from Tha Carter III) left much to be desired as well. It was only after a YouTube video with the lyrics (embedded at the bottom of the review) that I could see what pure FIRE the lyrics were. That goes to show you boys and girls, unless you have a good production, people will dismiss your song.

John (featuring Rick Ross) is a hot all around song as well, but perhaps my favorite off of the album is How to Love. Produced by Noel "Detail" Fisher with LaMar and LaNelle Seymour, How to Love is more ballad than rap, more pop than hip hop, but still a great song. We all knew Weezy could sing from his star vocals on "Duffle Bag Boy" by Playaz Circle (In truth the best thing about the song aside from the production by M16) so it came as no surprise to me that he could deliver a heartfelt ballad.

As I stated at the beginning, most of the tracks on this album don’t work. Besides the occasional hot lyrics in some, most songs as wholes are only ok. Some have to grow on you like How to Hate (featuring T-Pain). When I first heard the opening salvos of T-Pain’s autotune I thought “For real dog? Autotune? Really?!” But after listening to it a couple of times I have to admit it’s a good track. If the lyrics of How to Love was exactly that, the lyrics of How to Hate is…exactly that.

There are songs like Nightmares of the Bottom that have good rhymes, but there is nothing special about the beat.

Songs featuring good hooks So Special (feat. John Legend. Produced by Cool & Dre), She Will (featuring Drake) and Mirror (featuring Bruno Mars) also work to a certain degree. Mirror being about the best. (The sixth single off the album is "Mirror" featuring Bruno Mars, was released to urban radio on September 13, 2011.) The iTunes Store Bonus Track Up Up and Away produced by Timbaland is also good.

When you follow-up a classic album like Tha Carter III, it was probably impossible to top it, but I expected something more from Tha Carter IV.

Below are the tracks I thought were HOT.

1. Intro
2. Blunt Blowin HOT
3. Megaman
4. 6 Foot 7 Foot (featuring Cory Gunz) HOT
5. Nightmares of the Bottom
6. She Will (featuring Drake) warm
7. How to Hate (featuring T-Pain) HOT
8. Interlude (performed by Tech N9ne) HOT
9. John (featuring Rick Ross) HOT
10. Abortion
11. So Special feat. John Legend
12. How to Love HOT
13. President Carter
14. It's Good (featuring Jadakiss and Drake)
15. Outro (performed by Bun B, Nas, Shyne and Busta Rhymes) HOT

Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks

16. I Like the View
17. Mirror (featuring Bruno Mars) warm
18. Two Shots

iTunes Store Bonus Track

19. Up Up and Away HOT

Here is the lyrics video I spoke of above. It goes without saying that this video contains EXPLICIT LYRICS.

'The Best Man 2' is a Go!

2011-10-11T06:26:00.000-04:00

Movie poster for the 1999 film

Universal Pictures has set Malcolm D. Lee to write, direct and produce Best Man 2, a sequel to the 1999 film. The films revolves around the wedding of a football player (Morris Chestnut) and his best man (Taye Diggs) who has written an autobiographical novel with major implications on the pending nuptials. The film also starred Terrence Howard, Harold Perrineau, Nia Long and Sanaa Lathan.

Made on a relatively small budget of nine million dollars, the film went on to make over $34,000,000, nearly four times as much as it cost to produce the picture, by the end of its theatrical run. Mike Fleming of Deadline reports that "the whole idea came out of a reunion dinner he held with most of the cast members, and they sparked to the idea of a re-team and so did the studio." See a pic from the reunion and a link to more info here

Info from Deadline and Wikipedia

Cool Black's Mad Commentary: While the whole primary cast is steadily working, no one has become a breakout star to the point where it would be "too expensive" for them to return.

Feature article with Taraji P. Henson

2011-10-10T09:44:00.003-04:00

Taraji P. Henson

The Washington Post magazine has a good feature article with Taraji P. Henson titled The real Taraji Henson. You can read the article here

You can read all our posts here at the Cool Black Media blog about Taraji by the button below

CLICK the button to see all of
our blog posts about TARAJI P. HENSON

The Tupac Sex Tape PHOTOS

2011-10-06T06:10:00.000-04:00

TMZ-10/5/2011 1:00 AM PDT

For all the non-believers ... Here is photographic evidence there IS a Tupac sex tape.

TMZ broke the story ... Tupac received oral sex from a mystery woman back in 1991 ... and it was all caught on tape. The 5-minute video shows Tupac in a living room, holding a cocktail in one hand and a blunt in another.

An unreleased Tupac song is playing in the background, as the rapper sings along, wiggling his hips -- all the while getting serviced by the woman.

At one point, Money B from Digital Underground walks into frame, and Tupac puts his cocktail arm around him as the two gab away.

2Pac's Family: We Will Sue ANYONE Who Tries to Sell the Sex Tape
TMZ-10/6/2011 12:50 AM PDT

2Pac's 1991 sex tape will NEVER see the light of day ... according to the rapper's family, which has now threatened to SUE anyone who attempts to distribute the footage.

TMZ spoke with a spokesperson for Pac's estate, who was VERY clear, "We will sue anyone who tries to sell a Tupac tape."

The rep insists ... only the estate has the power to authorize the use of Tupac's image for commercial use ... and there's NO WAY the sex tape will ever get the proper approval.

We're told Tupac's mother, Afeni Shakur, is aware of the tape -- and has told her spokesperson, "Get the legal team ready because [we] will not allow someone to put it out."

The rep tells us ... the estate is trying to figure out who is marketing the tape by attempting to identify the individuals who appear on film, including the leading lady, believing one of them might be the culprit.

READ MORE about the sex tape here

CLICK the button to see all of
our blog posts about TUPAC SHAKUR

2011 The Root 100 List of influential African Americans

2011-10-05T10:00:00.000-04:00

has published their annual list of influential African Americans.

Their methodology-

For 2011 The Root set out to identify the most influential African Americans between 25 and 45 years of age. We defined influence broadly to include anyone who is shaping our daily conversations with work that matters. To identify and rank The Root 100, we developed a formula that defines influence as the marriage of reach and substance.

To calculate the substance score, our editorial team reviewed what each person had accomplished in the last year. Was he or she leading transformative change, championing big ideas, creating breakthrough art, advancing civic engagement or innovating in business and beyond? If yes, then on a 0-10 scale, that person would get a bigger number.

We checked news, blogs, critical reviews, awards and our own sharp editorial instincts to nail down the substance score.

You can read more about their measurements here

Check out the FULL LIST by checking clicking the graphic below

Jay-Z Bringing the Nets to Brooklyn

2011-09-27T10:43:00.001-04:00

Jay-Z will design jersey for new-look Brooklyn Nets

By RICH CALDER-New York Post

Last Updated: 8:49 AM, September 27, 2011
Posted: 1:14 AM, September 27, 2011

He’s not only part-owner of the soon-to-be Brooklyn Nets — he’s helping design their uniforms, too.

Rap mogul Jay-Z — co-founder of the hip clothing line Rocawear — is working with Nets brass and Adidas to design uniforms for the team when it moves into the under-construction Barclays Center in Brooklyn next year, Nets officials told the Post yesterday.

Jay-Z and team officials had gathered near the arena construction site (pictured left) to announce that the New Jersey Nets team would be renamed the “Brooklyn Nets.”

Jay-Z is also set to open the 18,000-seat arena in September 2012 with up to three concerts.

Jay Z, Adidas and the Nets are currently ironing out a logo for the Brooklyn Nets and deciding what colors their uniforms should be.

No matter what, the logo will feature Brooklyn prominently because the club wants to tap into the borough’s world-popular brand name, officials said.

The Nets’ current logo (pictured below) features the word “Nets” hovering over a basketball.

Nets logo

“Brooklyn will be involved in whatever we do,” said Fred Mangione, chief marketing officer for the Nets and Barclays Center.

The team’s colors — currently red, silver, white and navy blue — will likely be changed, officials said.

“We will always tinker with things along the way,” Mangione said.

Team officials confided that they briefly considered renaming the team the “Brooklyn Dodgers” — in honor of the borough’s beloved baseball team that fled to Los Angeles in 1957 — but eventually nixed the idea.

Developer Bruce Ratner, who is building the arena and is another part-owner in the Nets, said team officials stayed with the Nets name out of respect to its “loyal fan base.”

He said the Nets, despite being perennial losers in recent years, have a "legacy" that includes two championships in the old American Basketball Association and two appearances in the NBA Finals.

Borough President Marty Markowitz said he was pleased with the team’s renaming, although he did not get his full wish — that the team be dubbed the “Brooklyn Bridges” or “Brooklyn Tudes” — as in “Attitudes.”

“My main issue was that the team had to have ‘Brooklyn’ in its name, so I’m happy,” he said.

The Nets started off in 1967 as the New Jersey Americans in the former ABA before moving to Long Island a year later and being renamed the New York Nets.

The club entered the NBA in the 1976-77 season and a year later, moved to New Jersey.

While reflecting on his 2004 decision to become part-owner of the Nets, Jay-Z said the arena project is especially important to him because he grew up nearby at the Marcy Houses in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Referring to how many concerts he plans to hold for what is expected to be part of a gala, three-week, arena opening in September 2012, Jay-Z said “Maybe one, maybe two, maybe three."

“I sound like LeBron [James] now,” the “Empire State of Mind” rapper then joked, referring to the Miami Heat star’s infamous proclamation that he, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade would win multiple NBA championships.

See video from the press conference below

CLICK the button to see all of
our blog posts about Jay-Z

Don Cheadle's New Show on Showtime

2011-09-26T06:05:00.000-04:00

First Promo for Showtime’s HOUSE OF LIES
Starring Don Cheadle, Kristin Bell, and Ben Schwartz
by Brendan Bettinger -Collider.com
Posted: September 24th, 2011 at 8:06 am

Showtime has released the first promo for their new comedy House of Lies. It doesn’t tell you anything about the show, which centers on “a team of cutthroat management consultants who will do anything in their pursuit of money.” In fact, it’s just stars Don Cheadle, Kristin Bell, Ben Schwartz, Josh Lawson, and Dawn Oliveri in one of those bare, grayish sets designed for promo shoots. But the clip (and Cheadle especially) are so infectiously silly, I got a big laugh out of it. The cast drew me in, but now I definitely want to see more.

Official synopsis: HOUSE OF LIES is a half-hour comedy created, written and executive produced by Matthew Carnahan from the hit tell-all book House of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch and Tell You the Time by Martin Kihn. The new comedy is a scathing look at a self-loathing management consultant from a top-tier firm. Cheadle stars as Marty, a highly-successful and cutthroat consultant who is never above using any means (or anyone) necessary to get his way with and for his clients. Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars) will play Jeannie Van Der Hooven, a razor-sharp, Ivy-League graduate who works at Marty’s firm. Co-stars include noted comedian Ben Schwartz (Undercovers) and Josh Lawson (Romantically Challenged) as Marty’s corporate team members; Dawn Oliveri (Heroes) as Marty’s acerbic ex-wife; the legendary Glynn Turman (In Treatment) as his psychoanalyst father; and Donis Leonard Jr. (The Fresh Beat Band) as Marty’s young son. Jessika Borsiczky (Flash Forward) will serve as executive producer, and Emmy winner Stephen Hopkins (Californication, 24) directs and executive produces.

Watch the promo below

Cool Black's Mad Commentary: First found out about this series from the great site Shadow & Act. Having been a fan of Don Cheadle since his excellent work on Picket Fences, I will probably see anything he's in that looks interesting and this concept ESPECIALLY on uncensored cable sounds good ;-)

Why Taraji Crams To Understand: Black Marketing In Hollywood

2011-09-22T07:00:00.000-04:00

Blog Post #7

From the great site Shadow & Act:

"WOW!!!! TV Guide is NOT including me on the cover with my cast memebers….....I am the female lead of a 3 member cast and I’m not included on the cover!!!!!! Do you see the shit I have to deal with in this business…..I cram to understand!!!!"

Words from Ms Taraji P. Henson posted on her Facebook fanpage yesterday. [9-20-11] She’s talking about the upcoming new CBS drama series Person Of Interest, created by wunderkind producer/director J.J. Abrams, starring James Caviezel, Michael Emerson’s, and of course Taraji.

It's important to note that while it was up yesterday morning (9-21-11) that quote was removed from her Facebook page.

I feel Taraji’s pain. Black people are well underrepresented in mainstream media. We don’t grace mainstream magazine covers and we don’t headline TV shows unless it’s a sitcom. It just doesn’t happen and it doesn’t seem to be the interest of those who are doing the marketing either.

Having studied advertising in college, you have to understand that advertising is a science. NOT ONE ad is placed or aired unless they know EXACTLY who they are marketing to by age, race, and gender. Not one. Was it right for Taraji to lament on social media? In a word Yes.

As Shadow & Act also reported “She’s got almost 700,000 followers on Twitter, and over 3 million fans on Facebook! So, there’s a fanbase there.” THAT IS a huge fan base and social networks DO matter as indicated at how it rescued a dead show after two years, The Game. (You can read more about that here ). Also indicated in the comment section on S&A, many people didn’t even know she was on the show, so her ire was warranted.

It also brings interest to what could be a pivotal point in her career. CBS does have huge faith in this show being a hit.

"According to CBS, Person of Interest received the highest test ratings of any drama pilot in 15 years, what one CBS executive called "crazy broad appeal you don't usually see." The ratings prompted CBS to move CSI, which had occupied that slot for over 10 years, to Wednesday 10/9c to make room for Person of Interest."-Washington Post

Thursday is considered PRIME TV real estate. It is considered the last day of the week as far as ratings. Friday is considered the weekend where most people are going out NOT staying home watching television.

Being on a hit show not only gives you a steady pay check, but huge exposure. Who ever heard of Mariska Hargitay before Law & Order: SVU. I mean really?

As a huge fan of Lost and a fan of Michael Emerson since he played that creepy bastard “William Hinks”on another favorite show of mine The Practice, I probably would have watched the show regardless for at least a couple of episodes, but Taraji being on the show just increased this person’s interest (couldn’t resist) 1000%.

You can read more as well as more comments including my own (under my real name Dankwa Brooks) on Shadow & Act here

UPDATE: September 23, 2011: Shadow & Act has posted the TV Guide response to Taraji.

According Debra Birmbaum, the editor in chief of TV Guide:

“I made an editorial decision to do a story about the relationship between the two male characters on ‘Person of Interest’ and that’s who I was going to put on the cover. That has been my decision all along, ever since I saw the pilot. We’re certainly fans of Taraji Henson and her storyline on the show was never intended to be the focus of our cover story. I don’t know where there was a misunderstanding about this, but it’s been clear to everyone from the start. I don’t make decisions on who is put and not put on the cover based on race or gender… This week’s cover September 26 issue features the three stars of ‘Charlie’s Angels’ — Minka Kelly, Annie Illonzeh and Rachael Taylor. We are not pursuing a cover of ‘Person of Interest’ at this time.”

Shadow & Act has a TON of comments on the issue in the new post. You can read them here

See ALL of our posts about Person of Interest by clicking Taraji P. Henson’s picture from the show below

Taraji P. Henson in Person of Interest. Photo courtesy of CBS Official Website

_____________________________________________________________

CLICK the graphic below to see more of our blog posts about diversity in Hollywood at our parent blog 'Nother Brother Entertainment Blog

Ray-J versus Fabolous

2011-09-20T10:30:00.000-04:00

From left to right: Ray J and Fabolous

This story is all over the Internet and while this is a blog devoted to African Americans in the media, this story is WAY TOO ignorant to post here, but they reported it all at Mass Appeal News with Ray-J's explicit interview with Power 105 here

Listen to Fabolous' response here Update: September 22, 2011: As much as it pains me, YES I'm still reporting on this nonsense. 50 Cent is being kind of vague about the whole incident and kind of conflicts what both Ray-J and Fabolous said. Oh well listen to it below.

Spike Lee's 'Red Hook Summer' Coming in 2012

2011-09-19T06:54:00.000-04:00

Spike Lee Plans A 2012 Release Date For Red Hook Summer

Spike Lee via Twitter September 16, 2011

Sean O'Connell-CinemaBlend
9-16-11

Spike Lee has announced via his Twitter feed that his next film, a “joint” titled Red Hook Summer, will reach theaters in summer 2012. And then, to put to rest any doubts, the director stood in front of a giant sign with the moniker and the tagline “Burning Up Da Summer 2012.” So, what do we know about Red Hook? Lee directs from his own screenplay about an Atlanta resident who spends a memorable summer in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Red Hook. The filmmaker also plans to revive his character of Mookie from his seminal, Oscar-nominated work Do the Right Thing, which came out in 1989.

Lee will be joined in the cast by Clarke Peters (pictured left) of HBO’s The Wire, Samantha Ivers, and Limary Agosto, playing a character named Lourdes. It sounds like Red Hook could mark Lee’s welcome return to the Brooklyn-drenched storytelling that defined the first act of his prolific directing career. Lately, he has drifted to other territories in search of inspiration, heading overseas for a war picture (Miracle at St. Anna), spending several months in Louisiana documenting the impact of Hurricane Katrina, and filming a recent pilot for a Mike Tyson-inspired cable pilot called Da Brick. (Read all of our posts about Da Brick here )

It’s also believed that Lee will move from Red Hook right into the anticipated remake of Chan-wook Park’s 2003 masterpiece, Oldboy, with Josh Brolin in the lead role of a man trying to figure out who imprisoned him for 15 years. (Read all of our posts about OldBoy here )

From left to right: Nate Parker, Samantha Ivers, Limary Agosto and Heather Simms

According to BlackFilm.com the cast will also include Nate Parker, Turron Kofi Alleyne, Samantha Ivers, Limary Agosto, Heather Simms, and Kalon Jackson.

From left to right: Turron Kofi Alleyne and Kalon Jackson

Cool Black's Mad Commentary: I must say that since Spike is being super secretive about this film that all of these details are subject to change.

External Link-
You can check out the Red HookSummer IMDb page here

CLICK the button to see all of
our blog posts about SPIKE LEE

Tyler Perry is Highest Paid Man in Hollywood

2011-09-15T09:12:00.000-04:00

Tyler Perry Tops List of Highest Paid Men in Entertainment

Tyler Perry

by Paul Bond - Hollywood Reporter
9/12/2011 3:23 PM PDT

The movie and TV mogul behind Madea and other hit properties earned $130 million in a year, besting Jerry Bruckheimer and Steven Spielberg.

Playing an argumentative, plus-sized woman has been a lucrative endeavor for Tyler Perry, who Forbes magazine on Monday named “entertainment’s highest paid man.”

Perry raked in $130 million in 12 months starting May 1, 2010, according to Forbes, not only from royalties associated with his Madea movie franchise but also through TV shows Meet the Browns and House of Payne and various other projects.

Second to Perry on the Forbes list of 10 is Jerry Bruckheimer, who earned $113 million as the fourth installment of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise topped $1 billion at the box office worldwide.

Forbes said it spoke to agents, lawyers, producers and a host of other insiders to determine pretax gross incomes for Hollywood's heavyweights and it did not deduct management, agent or legal fees.

It’s list of entertainment’s highest paid women is forthcoming.

Among men, Steven Spielberg ranks third with $107 million and Elton John and Simon Cowell round out the Top 5, having earned $100 million and $90 million, respectively.

Author James Patterson is No. 6 with $84 million. Perry, in fact, will star as Alex Cross, one of Patterson’s popular protagonists, in a Summit Entertainment film due next year.

Leonardo Di Caprio is the lone actor on the list and Tiger Woods the only athlete.

The full list is here

'Attack The Block' Coming to Blu-ray/DVD On Oct. 25th

2011-09-15T07:22:00.000-04:00

Attack the Block Announced for DVD and Blu-ray
The cult hit is coming home, bruv. Believe it.

by Cindy White - IGN.com
September 12, 2011 September 13, 2011

One of the best-reviewed movies of the summer happens to be one of the least hyped, but now that Attack the Block is coming to home video, it just may have a chance to fulfill its cult potential. HitFix has the news that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is bringing the British alien invasion movie to DVD and Blu-ray on Oct. 25, 2011.

The film marks the promising feature debut of writer-director Joe Cornish and was produced by Edgar Wright (director of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead). It centers on a group of London hoodlums who rise to the challenge of protecting their neighborhood when vicious, jet-black creatures begin falling from the sky and attacking the residents of a South London housing project.

Among the bonus material will be no less than three audio commentaries. The "Junior Commentary" features Cornish with the film's younger stars – John Boyega, Alex Esmail, Franz Drameh, Simon Howard and Leeon Jones. The "Senior Commentary" has Cornish with the older cast members, including Jodie Whittaker, Luke Treadaway and Nick Frost. Finally, the "Executive Producer Commentary" has Cornish and Wright.

There are also these five featurettes:

--Behind the Block

--Creature Feature

--Meet the Gang

--Unfilmed Action

--That's a Rap

And here's packaging:

Cool Black's Mad Commentary: I totally agree with this quote:

Let me be the first one to say that Sony Pictures/Screen Gems did NOT do right by Attack The Block, a film I still firmly hold as one of the best films I’ve seen this year. (and perhaps the best film of the summer). Despite great reviews and great audience response, the film never got the kind of solid and wide spread theatrical release it so rightly deserved. - Sergio, Shadow & Act

I also agree with this-

I’m not sure what the thinking or strategy was on Sony’s part. ... It hasn’t even grossed $1 million yet (domestic) which I was flabbergasted by when I saw its numbers last week. I figured it would have done far better. Its widest release was just 66 theaters simultaneously. I now have to wonder what the point of all those free preview screenings were the held before its release. I figured they were prepping for a nationwide roll-out. Guess not. Maybe they’re shooting for home video profits. -Tambay, Shadow & Act

You can check out the (sad) Box Office Totals I posted in Attack the Block Updates

You can read more comments about the DVD release at Shadow & Act by CLICKING their logo below.

Read my review of Attack the Block
here

Why There Hasn't Been a Definitive 9/11 Movie Yet

2011-09-12T10:25:00.001-04:00

Blog Post #6

has a realy comprehensive blog article about why there hasn't been a definitive movie about 9/11.

Blog graphic featuring the movie posters for United 93 (left) and World Trade Center (right)

Personally I think the two films pictured above, Paul Greengrass's United 93 and Oliver Stone's World Trade Center both released in 2006, did a very good job at depicting several factors of the events. World Trade Center was very good and United 93 was excellent!

Like the blog article also states “The National Geographic Channel's Inside 9/11 is a clinical, documentary-style breakdown of the events leading up to that day, the day itself and the aftermath. It's as comprehensive as you could want.” And I completely agree. I only saw Part 1 of Inside 9/11, but WOW was it detailed and excellent.

Like the blog article states extensively, ten years later this is still a touchy subject and you must make something that will make money. As the article also states “It's called "show business" after all -- if there's no business, there's no show.”

Read the blog on Moviefone here

Kevin Hart's Stand-Up Movie Opens Big

2011-09-12T09:33:00.002-04:00

Kevin Hart's limited-release 'Laugh at My Pain' scores $2 million

Kevin Hart

Amy Kaufman
L.A. Times Blog
September 11, 2011 | 12:51 pm

Stand-up comedy specials often earn strong ratings on television and sell briskly on DVD, but rarely do they make it to the big screen. That's what makes the success of "Kevin Hart: Laugh at My Pain" at the box office this weekend all the more implausible. The film, comprised primarily of footage shot during one of the comedian's shows at the Nokia Theater last February, opened this weekend in 99 theaters and collected $2 million. That amounts to a solid per-theater average of $20,000 for the movie, which played in 25 markets this weekend including Los Angeles, Dallas and Atlanta. The film was produced for only $750,000 by Jeff Clanagan, chief executive of the independent production company Codeblack Entertainment, which distributed the movie domestically in AMC Theaters.

"We all bet on the back-end to manage the cost," Clanagan said via telephone Sunday morning. "Laugh at My Pain," he added, is not merely made up of material from Hart's stand-up concert. The comedian is also shown visiting his Philadelphia hometown in a brief documentary-style segment, and later acts in a short action clip spoofing the movie "Resevoir Dogs." Clanagan said he did not spend a lot of money promoting the movie through traditional marketing channels. He purchased one national advertising spot on "Basketball Wives," VH1's highest-rated program, as well as a few others on MTV2 and BET.

Hart hosted the BET Awards in June and appeared in a number of vignettes during MTV's Video Music Awards last month. The majority of the word-of-mouth about the movie spread on social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter, where Hart has more than 2 million followers. "It's a lot easier to reach your target audience these days," Clanagan said. "On Facebook we just asked our fans, 'Hey, we're gonna expand the movie, what market are you in?' And we had 6,000 responses in an hour that showed me, for instance, that we need to go to places like Boston next. We asked fans what key art we should use, and they had a different opinion than what we'd initially chosen -- so we changed the art based on that feedback."

In recent years the few comedy special-based films that have made it to theaters have a mixed track record. The Original Kings of Comedy with Cedric the Entertainer made a respectable $38.2 million in 2000, and Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat grossed $19.2 million two years later. But just a few years ago, Vince Vaughn's "Wild West Comedy Show" flopped with a weak $603,984 in 2008. Meanwhile, "Laugh at My Pain" will expand domestically to 58 additional theaters next weekend." The film is also being released in East Africa and West Africa through a partnership with Silverbird Cinemas, the sole theater chain servicing countries in that region.

Empire State of Mind

2011-09-12T09:05:00.000-04:00

For the 10th anniversary of 9/11, State Farm insurance company hired Spike Lee to direct a tribute.The wonderful ad featured the song Empire State of Mind (Part II) the Alicia Keys version of the collaboration between her and Jay-Z featuring only her vocals.

You can read all about the song at Wikipedia here

You can see the video for the Jay-Z version feat. Alicia Keys below.

Related posts-

See the State Farm ad directed by Spike Lee at our parent blog right here

See what I think are the best Jay-Z videos at Jay-Z - Cool Black's Favorite Videos .

CLICK the button to see all of
our blog posts about Jay-Z

PHOTO - Pregnant Beyoncé and Jay-Z Take a NYC Stroll

2011-09-12T07:59:00.002-04:00

Beyoncé and Jay-Z September 11, 2011

September 11, 2011 07:30 PM EDT by Audrey Egan - Gather.com

A visibly pregnant Beyoncé and Jay-Z were spotted in New York City this weekend as they enjoyed the beautiful fall weather and each other's company. On this 10th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, it's wonderful to see people loving the city that was so affected. Jay-Z famously sang "Empire State of Mind" which became an anthem to his hometown of New York.

Just Jared reports that "The 30-year-old pregnant entertainer was all smiles and walked hand in hand with Jay - an onlooker also spotted Bey touching her baby bump as she and Jay headed home after eating a late lunch at Locanda Verde." Beyonce and Jay-Z were spotted in Tribeca, a neighborhood in lower Manhattan.

The couple is continuing to go about their life like normal, even though the news of Beyoncé's pregnancy has turned them into two of the most photographed celebrities all of a sudden. This one celebrity couple that is certainly setting a wonderful example of family. Ever since news that Beyoncé is pregnant, the two have seemed inseparable, with Jay-Z always by his wife's side.

Cool Black's Mad Commentary: I kind of deplore posting paparazzi pictures unless they are related to an article, but people who read this blog (currently @ 52, 800 views :) might want to see the pic and I did post an article about her pregnancy revelation here so I guess this photo is warranted. *shrug*

Related Post-
Jay-Z Tops Best Sellers and Gets $2M gift from wife

CLICK the button to see all of
our blog posts about Beyoncé

CLICK the button to see all of
our blog posts about Jay-Z

My OTHER Reviews

2011-09-10T03:00:00.000-04:00

Blog Post #5

I usually post movie (and other media) reviews here at Cool Black Media. Sometimes when I think that an independent film worthy of singular distinction I usually post it at the blog for my company ‘Nother Brother Entertainment Blog. As you should know this blog Cool Black Media is devoted to African Americans in the media and other media musings I might have like this blog post the “Mad Meditation”. Below you can check out links to my other reviews by CLICKING the graphic for that media.

FILM

I reviewed Freedom Riders earlier together with another good film Night Catches Us at graphic below

There are also other reviews EXCLUSIVELY at the Facebook page for my company

'Nother Brother Entertainment

BOOKS

Yeah they’re about film too.

Of course you can always check out all of the Reviews here at Cool Black Media by clicking the graphic below

New Michael Jackson Documentary Endorsed by his Family

2011-09-08T07:53:00.000-04:00

Photo courtesy of Shadow & Act

Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon, which is set for release on DVD and Blu-ray on Nov. 1 in the U.S. (Oct. 31 in the U.K.), features interviews with the late pop star's mother, Katherine; brother Tito; sister Rebbie; fellow recording artists including Smokey Jackson, Dionne Warwick and Whitney Houston; and concert promoter David Gest, who produced.

Eddie Murphy will Host Next Oscar Ceremony

2011-09-07T06:42:00.001-04:00

Eddie Murphy named host of 84th Academy Awards

September 6, 2011
12:23 pm

The rumors became a reality Tuesday: Eddie Murphy (pictured left) will host the 84th Academy Awards, which will be telecast Feb. 26 on ABC, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced.

Buzz started circulating over Labor Day weekend that the 50-year-old comedian-actor was being considered for the host job. In some ways, it's no surprise, since Murphy is starring in the upcoming film "Tower Heist," which was directed by Brett Ratner -- who is also producing the Academy Awards show with Don Mischer. "Tower Heist" is set to open in November.

By selecting Murphy, the academy is returning to its comedic host roots. The academy attempted to court younger viewers, hiring James Franco and Anne Hathaway to host the 83rd Academy Awards in February. Franco, who in addition to hosting was nominated for a lead actor Oscar for "127 Hours," was roundly trounced by critics for his lackluster performance; reviews were kinder toward Hathaway.

Over the years, comics including Bob Burns, Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis, Johnny Carson, Chevy Chase, Billy Crystal, David Letterman, Chris Rock, Steve Martin, Whoopi Goldberg and Jon Stewart have hosted the awards. Crystal even admitted recently that he was available to host if the academy wanted him.

"Eddie is a comedic genius, one of the greatest and most influential live performers ever," Ratner said in a statement Tuesday. "With his love of movies, history of crafting unforgettable characters and his iconic performances -- especially onstage -- I know he will bring an excitement, spontaneity and tremendous heart to the show Don and I want to produce in February."

Murphy, who earned a supporting actor Oscar nomination for his dramatic turn in 2006's "Dreamgirls," hasn't been seen on the screen since the 2009 flop "Imagine That," which made just $16.1 million domestically. In fact, another Murphy film, "A Thousand Words," which is now set to open in January, has been on the shelf for more than three years.

However, Murphy has been heard as the wisecracking Donkey in the popular animated "Shrek" franchise.

First coming to fame as a stand-up comedian, he joined NBC's "Saturday Night Live" in 1980 while still a teenager, performing such characters as Buckwheat and Gumby. Murphy made his film debut opposite Nick Nolte in Walter Hill's 1982 buddy action comedy, "48 Hrs.," followed by such hits as 1983's "Trading Places," 1984's "Beverly Hills Cop" and 1988's "Coming to America. " He made his film debut as a director with 1989's "Harlem Nights."

Murphy was named best actor by the National Socitey of Film Critics for his multiple roles in 1996's "The Nutty Professor." Other hits in the 1990s included 1998's "Doctor Dolittle" and 1999's "Life" and "Bowfinger." Save for "Dreamgirls," most of the films he's made recently haven been critically lambasted, including 2003's "The Haunted Mansion," 2007's "Norbit" and 2008's "Meet Dave," which made only $11.9 million.

Check out the trailer for Tower Heist below

UPDATE
Wednesday, November 9, 2011

VIDEO: Eddie Murphy pulls out of Oscars (0:57)

Friday, November 11, 2011
After eight years Billy Crystal will return as the host of the Oscars. The announcement follows days of drama at the Academy after producer Brett Ratner resigned after using a gay slur. One day later, Eddie Murphy, who had been lured by Ratner to host the telecast, canceled his hosting duties. The academy responded by hiring Hollywood veteran Brian Grazer, who chose Crystal as host. Crystal has MCd the show eight times, last hosting in 2004.

The Oscars will air live from Hollywood, California on February 26. Alicia Powell, Reuters.

Chris Tucker in Talks for Upcoming Movies

2011-09-07T06:32:00.004-04:00

'Rush Hour' star in talks for Two Upcoming Films

By Jeff Sneider -Variety
Posted: Tue., Sep. 6, 2011, 1:16pm PT

Chris Tucker's (pictured left) latest hiatus appears to be coming to an end.

The motor-mouthed comic, who last appeared on the big screen in 2007's "Rush Hour 3," is in talks to join David O. Russell's "The Silver Linings Playbook" at the same time he's circling a key role in 20th Century Fox's comedy "Neighborhood Watch."

Prone to long stretches of inactivity, Tucker has made only three movies since 1998, all in the "Rush Hour" franchise. The last of these came after a break that dragged on for six years, in part because Tucker was in no hurry to make the film.

Late last year, Tucker was attached to Warner Bros. heist pic "The Rabbit," a project the studio is still developing; and earlier this year he was considered for a lead role in Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained," but the part went to Jamie Foxx.

"The Silver Linings Playbook" stars Bradley Cooper as a former high school teacher who's institutionalized for depression and then released into the care of his mother. He tries to win back his ex-wife but becomes involved with an eccentric neighbor with problems of her own. Jennifer Lawrence is set to play the neighbor, while Robert De Niro will play Cooper's father.

Tucker will play Cooper's spirited friend who lives in a mental hospital. He escapes on several occasions to visit the troubled protag, as the duo have a special understanding of each other.

The Weinstein Co. is behind Russell's adaptation of Matthew Quick's novel, and Harvey Weinstein will produce. TWC had no comment on Tucker's casting.

As for "Neighborhood Watch," Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill are set to star in the Akiva Schaffer-directed laffer, which follows a group of suburban neighbors whose Neighborhood Watch is really a front for them to escape their families -- until they discover a plot to destroy the world. Tucker is being eyed for the role of Jamarcus, who is recently divorced.

Shawn Levy is producing through his 21 Laps banner. Jared Stern wrote the original script, which Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg subsequently rewrote.

Tucker broke out playing Smokey alongside Russell's "Three Kings" star Ice Cube in the 1995 New Line comedy "Friday." He stayed in demand through the mid-to-late '90s, working with a diverse group of helmers including Quentin Tarantino ("Jackie Brown"), Luc Besson ("The Fifth Element"), Brett Ratner ("Money Talks") and the Hughes brothers ("Dead Presidents"). It wasn't until Ratner cast Tucker opposite Jackie Chan in 1998's "Rush Hour" that the actor hit the bigtime, however, landing $20 million and $25 million paychecks for the pic's two sequels. Overall, the "Rush Hour" trilogy grossed more than $850 million worldwide.

This year, Tucker has been on a standup tour that started in July and runs through November. At a stop in Mountain View, Calif., last month, Tucker told the New York Times that his time off the bigscreen has more to do with the roles offered him and that he doesn't feel like he's been on a hiatus "until people say, 'Hey, where you been?' I'll be like: 'I've been here. I've been living.'"

Related post-
Read the August 18, 2011

article Chris Tucker Back Again, Whether or Not He Was Away here

The Cast is Revealed in HBO Spike Lee, Mike Tyson Boxing Drama

2011-09-01T05:47:00.000-04:00

"Attack the Block's" John Boyega and "The Wire's" Julito McCullum join the HBO project from Lee and John Ridley.
5:43 PM PDT 8/31/2011 by (Lacey Rose), (Lesley Goldberg) Hollywood Reporter

Fresh off its pilot pick up, HBO has cast the lead and three supporting players in its Spike Lee boxing drama Da Brick.

The premium network has cast Attack the Block star John Boyega (pictured left) to play the project's titular character. (Read my enthusiastic review of Attack the Block here)

Boyega will play Donnie, who, after his release from juvenile detention on his 18th birthday begins an exploration of what it means to be a man for himself and those around him.

Milauna Jemai (NCIS, pictured left) will play Lynette, Donnie's mother, with him he reconnects with following a 14-month separation.

Julito McCullum (The Wire, pictured below right) will play Kevin, Donnie's best friend and the one person he can't leave behind, no matter how much he may want to.

Kamahl Naiqui Palmer (Gossip Girl) is set as Malik, the moral center of Donnie's tight group of friends who is looking for direction between his middle-class upbringing and the harder realities of his environment.

Da Brick is described as a contemporary exploration of what it means to be a young, black man in a supposedly post-racial America.

The project hails from Lee and L.A. Riots' John Ridley.

Former boxing heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, Entourage creator Doug Ellin and his producing partner Jim Lefkowitz are attached as nonwriting executive producers, along with Tyson's wife, Lakiha Tyson. Azim Spicer is attached as a nonwriting co-executive producer.

Lee is set to direct with Ridley on board to write and serve as showrunner.

It will be set in Newark, N.J., which is often dubbed "Brick City."

Much as Entourage was inspired by producer Mark Wahlberg's life, Da Brick will reflect aspects of Tyson's upbringing. It marks the latest in a string of Hollywood projects for Tyson, who has turned up in the Hangover franchise as well as Animal Planet's Taking on Tyson. Last season, he added a cameo on Entourage to his resume.

Cool Black's Mad Commentary: It must be said that this is JUST a pilot (first episode) order. HBO orders it, puts up the money to film it and THEN decides if they want to pay for the whole season. It's a good bet though that HBO will order a series from the pilot given the creative personnel involved.

Related Links
Read all of our posts about Da Brick here

CLICK the button to see all of
our blog posts about SPIKE LEE

T.I. Free Again

2011-08-31T17:00:00.000-04:00

T.I. arrives at halfway house with entourage

By GREG BLUESTEIN, Associated Press – August 31, 2011

ATLANTA (AP) — Grammy-winning rapper T.I. stepped off a luxury motor coach bus (pictured above)Wednesday evening to start serving the rest of his time in a halfway house for a probation violation with a new book deal and TV reality show waiting for him.

The artist, whose real name is Clifford Harris, earlier left the Forrest City low-security prison in Arkansas and was driven the 375 or so miles in the bus with dark-colored windows, followed by four other cars.

Dressed in a red and blue striped polo shirt and white shorts, T.I. (pictured below) stepped off the bus with his entourage to check into the halfway house.

T.I. August 31, 2011 after release

"The storm is over & da sun back out. IT'S OUR TIME TO SHINE SHAWTY!!!!!" the rapper posted on Twitter shortly after his release. "Welcome to the beginning of our Happy Ending!!!!"

T.I. had initially served about seven months at the prison in 2009 after he was arrested for trying to buy unregistered guns and silencers from undercover federal agents. He was on probation after he was released and ordered not to commit another crime or to illegally possess any controlled substances.

He was arrested again in September 2010 in Los Angeles on drug charges after authorities said he was found with four ecstasy pills. He was sentenced in October to 11 months in prison for that violation, and had been set for release at the end of September.

It appears a flock of cameras will follow T.I. regardless of where he goes next. VH1 said Wednesday that the network will film T.I.'s journey home from jail and debut the show in December. MTV aired a similar reality show on the rapper in 2009 called "T.I.'s Road to Redemption: 45 Days to Go," which chronicled his attempts to help others avoid his mistakes.

T.I. has also finalized a book deal. A representative from HarperCollins told The Associated Press that T.I. has written a book called "Power & Beauty" that's set to be released in October. The novel, which was co-written with David Ritz, is a fictional tale about two childhood friends torn apart by dangerous dealings on the streets of Atlanta.

The arrest on weapons charges came after Harris' best friend was killed following a post-performance party in Cincinnati in 2006. The rapper has said the bullets that killed his friend were meant for him.

When he was released from that sentence, he was required to perform 1,000 hours of community service, which he spent mostly talking with schoolchildren about the dangers of drugs, gangs and violence.

But a federal judge said that "experiment" failed when Los Angeles deputies found four ecstasy pills on the rapper.

Associated Press writers Nomaan Merchant in Little Rock, Arkansas, Mesfin Fekadu in New York and Jonathan Landrum Jr. in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

UPDATE: September 2, 2011

T.I. back in prison after luxury-bus ride to halfway house

September 2, 2011 - L.A. Times blog
10:46 am

T.I. was back in federal custody Friday in Atlanta, having gone back behind bars less than a day after his Wednesday release from federal prison in Arkansas.

Seems the Federal Bureau of Prisons had a problem with the luxury bus used by T.I., born Clifford Harris Jr., to get to the Atlanta halfway house where he was supposed to spend the final month of his 11-month probation-violation sentence.

"We are awaiting the opportunity to quickly resolve whatever the issue may be that the Federal Bureau of Prisons has with T.I.'s method of transportation -- bus -- from Arkansas to Atlanta, so that T.I. can return to the halfway house to complete the remaining days of his sentence," attorney Steve Sadow said in an email to Reuters. Tip's sentence is slated to end Sept. 29.

On Friday, the rapper was still being held in the medium-security U.S. penitentiary in Atlanta, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons' inmate locator. He went in Wednesday night.

Prisoners moving from a low-security facility to a halfway house are allowed to travel via private transportation, unescorted, according to TMZ. Team T.I. reportedly told authorities he'd be riding in a van of some sort, sources told the website, leaving out the minor details that it would be a high-end rap-star tour bus, which he boarded under the watchful lenses of VH1 cameras.

Sadow pointed out that prison officials watched his client board the bus, telling CNN there was no intent to mislead anyone about the ride. No drugs or alcohol were involved, he said. T.I.'s wife, Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, told TMZ that authorities "walked him over, took pics and told him good luck in life," and should have told them at the time to use a van instead, if the bus was a problem.

HBO Picks Up Spike Lee, Mike Tyson Boxing Drama

2011-08-31T10:40:00.001-04:00

HBO Pick Ups Boxing Drama ‘Da Brick’ To Pilot; Doug Ellin, Spike Lee, Mike Tyson And John Ridley Executive Produce

By NELLIE ANDREEVA, Deadline.com
Tuesday August 30, 2011 @ 6:52pm PDT

EXCLUSIVE: It looks like Da Brick is a go at HBO. I hear the pay cable network has handed out a pilot order to the drama project about a young boxer from Entourage creator Doug Ellin, filmmaker Spike Lee, former boxing champion Mike Tyson (pictured left) and writer John Ridley. Ridley wrote the script for the pilot, which will be directed by Lee. Set in current-day Newark, NJ, nicknamed “brick city,” Da Brick is described as a contemporary exploration of what it means to be a young, black man in supposedly post-racial America and is loosely inspired by aspects of Tyson’s youth. Search is under way for an young black actor to play the lead.

John Ridley and Spike Lee

Da Brick stems from Tyson’s 2010 guest appearance on Ellin’s HBO comedy Entourage, a series inspired by executive producer Mark Wahlberg’s early years in Hollywood. “That’s when Mike asked me, why don’t we do with my life what we did with Mark’s life,” Ellin told me back in June when Da Brick was still in development. “The initial idea was ‘Entourage meets The Wire,‘ an edgy story about an up-and-coming boxer and his crew that is much more dramatic than Entourage.” While it was not a series Ellin felt he would write, he and his producing partner Jim Lefkowitz decided to develop and produce it through their company.

Lefkowitz brought in writer Ridley who, in turn, brought in Lee, with whom he had been developing a movie about the L.A. riots. Ellin, Lefkowitz, Ridley, Lee and Tyson are executive producing Da Brick, with Tyson’s wife Lakiha Tyson and Azim Spicer, CEO of Las Vegas’ SpiceReel Prods., co-executive producing.

CLICK the button to see all of
our blog posts about SPIKE LEE

Michael Jackson Tribute a Fraud?

2011-08-31T08:50:00.000-04:00

A Tribute to Jackson Riles Fans and Family

By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.
August 30, 2011

It seems that nothing involving Michael Jackson or his fractious family is ever free of controversy, even two years after his death.

The most recent flashpoint is a tribute concert to be staged in Wales in October. The plans have divided the Jackson family, pitting Janet Jackson and two brothers against their mother and four other siblings. The Jackson estate has refused to give its blessing and has raised questions about the promoter’s charitable intentions. Fan groups are up in arms over high ticket prices and what they see as sloppy planning; their ire reached a peak when it was announced that a rock singer who had openly accused Mr. Jackson of molesting children was on the bill.

“This is the one and only time we can do this, and they are not doing it right,” said Gary Taylor, the president of the Michael Jackson Community, a fan organization in Britain with 80,000 registered members. “This is totally against what Michael would do.”

Feelings about the concert have gotten so raw that the promoters are holding a conference call with the leaders of fan organizations on Wednesday.

Chris Hunt, the British film producer who is the driving force behind the concert, said his company had been the victim of “disinformation that is being spread around.” He promised that the event, at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, the Welsh capital, on Oct. 8, would be an extravagant show worthy of Mr. Jackson. He disputed the charge coming from fan organizations that he and a few members of the Jackson family were seeking to profit from Mr. Jackson’s celebrity.

“No Jackson is going to get rich off this event,” he said. “This is not a money grab.”

Mr. Hunt said a portion of the profits from the concert would go to at least two charities that Jackson supported: AIDS Project Los Angeles and the Prince’s Trust. He said the charities would receive a fixed sum and a percentage of the proceeds. The organizers say they are also setting up a $100,000 trust fund for Jackson’s children.

He declined to say precisely how much of the proceeds would go to charity, nor would he say who are the investors in his production company, Global Live Events, which he formed in the spring, or how much they expected to make. “It’s not automatic the concert will make much of anything,” he said. “We are not announcing numbers at this point.”

The lack of a concrete commitment to the charities has troubled some fans. Ticket buyers were asked when they registered online to give an amount to charity above the ticket price, which ranges from $90 to $300, leading some fan organizations to wonder if the event was a for-profit concert in disguise.

Mr. Jackson’s estate raised similar concerns in an Aug. 15 letter to the promoters, demanding to know who will share in the profits. A lawyer for the estate, Howard Weitzman, wrote in the letter that “we are concerned that the concert is piggybacking on Michael’s good name and charity.”

The promoters never contacted the executors of Mr. Jackson’s estate about their plans, lawyers for the estate said. Mr. Jackson’s family has little control over his estate, because he cut his siblings out of his will and set up a trust solely for his young children and his mother, Katherine Jackson. A judge has appointed John Branca, who was Jackson’s lawyer, and John McClain, a music industry executive, to manage the estate’s assets and debts; they do not need Katherine Jackson’s approval for business decisions.

LaTotya Jackson, Tito Jackson and Katherine Jackson

Mr. Hunt, who became close to the Jackson family while filming a television documentary about Michael Jackson in 2006, said the idea for the concert was born at a meeting last September with La Toya Jackson, who is firmly behind the event. He later decided to take on the project himself, then approached Jackson’s mother and won her approval. Mr. Hunt said he didn’t contact the executors because he thought he had the family’s approval.

The executors have made it clear through their lawyers that Mr. Hunt and his company cannot use any of Jackson’s intellectual property, including his name, his photographic image or his music videos. (The concert is called “Michael Forever: The Tribute Concert,” and ads for the event have no photos.) The musicians performing at the concert — including Christina Aguilera, Ne-Yo, Smokey Robinson and Cee Lo Green — may sing Mr. Jackson’s songs, as long as it is a one-time tribute, lawyers for the estate say. All are being paid for their performances.

But Mr. Hunt takes the position that intellectual-property laws in the United States do not extend to Britain, so he argues that he can use images of Mr. Jackson as long as they are not broadcast in the United States. He also intends to make a documentary film of the concert, he said.

The fact that the promoters never tried to enter a partnership with the Jackson estate has angered many fan organizations, and 35 of them sent an open letter to the promoters last week saying the concert was “doomed to fail.”

“We reckon without Michael Jackson’s estate at the helm, this tribute is nothing more than a money grab for the investors,” said Nathalie Smythe, a founder of Fans United for Michael Jackson’s Legacy. “They wanted to avoid sharing the profits.”

The timing of the concert has also been a point of contention. Jermaine Jackson, a sibling who tried unsuccessfully to organize his own tribute concert in 2009, has objected to staging the concert in Wales during the involuntary-manslaughter trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, the cardiologist who was with Jackson when he died in June 2009. He has been joined by Randy Jackson and Janet Jackson in boycotting the event.

Janet Jackson and Jermaine Jackson

“Because of the trial, the timing of this tribute to our brother would be too difficult for me,” Janet Jackson said in a statement on Monday, which would have been her brother’s 53rd birthday.

Mr. Hunt said he had initially chosen the October date because the trial had been scheduled earlier, but when it was delayed until the fall, he could not change the date without incurring a financial loss. He noted that the concert would be held on a Saturday when the trial was not in session.

Mr. Hunt has hired Paul Ring, an executive in La Toya Jackson’s Ja-Tail Enterprises LLC, to help organize the show. Mr. Hunt says neither La Toya Jackson nor the other siblings supporting the event — Tito, Marlon and Jackie — have a financial stake in his Global Live Events.

Beyond questions about money, Mr. Hunt also lost the confidence of many fan organizations when he announced that the rock band Kiss would perform at the concert. For diehard fans it was a huge faux pas because the frontman for the group, Gene Simmons, has said that he believed Mr. Jackson had molested children despite his acquittal on child-abuse charges in 2005.

Mr. Hunt has since announced that Mr. Simmons will not perform. But the damage to the concert’s standing with fan organizations was already done.

“It’s clear they have not done any homework,” Mr. Taylor said. “They had no clue about the person they are doing the tribute for.”

Katt Williams Still Wild N Out

2011-08-31T08:09:00.002-04:00

Katt Williams dissolves into anti-Mexican diatribe at Phoenix show

By Mikey O'Connell-Zap2It
August 30, 2011 10:32 AM ET

August has not been a good month to be comedian Katt Williams. After getting kicked out of his own stand-up performance in California earlier in the month (below), his Aug. 27 Phoenix show included a heated, racial exchange with a heckler.

The "Friday After Next" actor started engaging with a vocal audience member, when Williams concluded the man was of Mexican descent.

"You think I'm dissing Mexico and I'm defending America," Williams says in one of the more printable moments. "Are you Mexican? Do you know where Mexico is? No, this ain't Mexico, it used to be Mexico, motherf***er, and now it's Phoenix, godd***it. USA! USA!"

More profanities, attempted security interruptions and even an impromptu rendition of the National Anthem ensue. You can watch the whole NSFW rant at YouTube here

Katt Williams in trouble again: Comedian kicked out of his own show
By Carina Adly MacKenzie-Zap2It

August 11, 2011 5:39 AM ET

Rapper/actor/comedian Katt Williams just can't seem to keep his cool. Best known as Money Mike from "Friday After Next" and for his participation in "Wild 'n Out," MTV's improv show helmed by Nick Cannon, Williams has had his fair share of run-ins with the law.

In April, four cop cars swarmed Williams in Beverly Hills after he had a heated argument with another man. He wasn't arrested that night, but he was in June, after a man driving a tractor on his property was stoned by three women. Yes, as in, they threw rocks at him. Williams was arrested under suspicion of intimidating a witness after he refused to let the man leave his property.

Now, it seems there's yet another controversy. TMZ reports that Williams was booted out of his own standup show after becoming "belligerent" with the audience at his 8:00 show at the Improv in Ontario, CA. His 9:30 show was canceled.

Realted post-
From Novemeber 2009
Katt Williams Jailed Over Burglary

Josh Brolin will Star in Spike Lee's 'OldBoy'

2011-08-29T08:06:00.000-04:00

August 29, 2011-Deadline

Deadline has learned that Academy Award-nominee Josh Brolin (pictured left) has signed on to headline Oldboy, which was finally rescued from development limbo when Spike Lee signed on earlier this summer. Brolin will soon be working on Ruben Flesicher’s Gangster Squad; Oldboy looks to be the next project on his to-do list.

Here is a preliminary plot synopsis for Lee’s Oldboy (via Coming Soon):

Brolin, who next appears on the big screen in Men in Black III, will play the part of Joe (Dae-su Oh in the original), a man who, on the day his daughter is born, is captured and imprisoned in a hotel room for over two decades (15 years in the original) with no understanding as to why. When he is suddenly released, he’s told that he has just four days to determine the reason for his imprisonment and, if he cannot, his daughter will be killed.

Related Posts-
Read all of our posts about OldBoy here

Yes, Beyoncé is pregnant!

2011-08-29T05:44:00.006-04:00

Beyonce Reveals Pregnancy On VMA Stage

After her performance, B reveals she and Jay-Z are expecting.

By Kelley L. Carter
Aug 28 2011 10:44 PM EDT - MTV News

After performing at the 2011 VMAs, Beyoncé Knowles unbuttoned her sparkly jacket and rubbed her belly -- announcing her pregnancy to the world. The camera then cut to Jay-Z and Kanye West in the audience and their over-the-top jubilant reaction.

Married to Jay for three years, the star has said time and time again that she planned on having a baby by the time she was 30; well, B turns 30 early next month.

The power couple tied the knot back in 2008 in a private ceremony at Jay-Z's New York apartment, and since then, there have been years of pregnancy rumors that they've shot down.

In June, the singer told CNN interviewer Piers Morgan that she wanted to get pregnant.

"I feel like a woman. I feel like I'm very aware of who I am. I feel great and I feel like 30 is the ideal age [to start a family], because you're mature enough to know who you are and to have your boundaries and your standards, and not be afraid, too polite -- but you're young enough to be a young woman," she said. "I'm so looking forward to it."

The singer added, "I always said I'd have a baby at 30. But I also said I'm going to retire at 30. ... Only God knows."

In that same interview, Beyoncé talked about her husband.

"Jay and I have kind of made a decision that we want to be known for our music and not our relationships or scandals. But he is amazing," she said. "I definitely had a very natural friendship and connection with him. We've been together for a very long time and I'm very happy. Love is the foundation of everything, everything I do. My music is inspired by love -- from my family, my husband, my sister."

No word on when the baby is due.

Beyonce, Jay Z Celebrate VMA Baby News Backstage
B gathers with well-wishers -- including her Destiny's Child girls and Kanye -- declaring 'I'm free!' after onstage pregnancy reveal.

Aug 29 2011 2:11 AM EDT - MTV News

Another year, another unbelievably action-packed Video Music Awards. As expected, viewers were treated to mind-blowing performances and several jaw-dropping surprises. The most unexpected moment came courtesy of Beyoncé Knowles, who not so subtly announced to the world that she and husband Jay-Z are expecting their first child.

When B unbuttoned her sparkly jacket and rubbed her belly with a knowing smile, (pictured above) after which the camera panned to a visibly elated Jay-Z and Kanye West cheering from the audience, (pictured below) the Nokia Theatre was bursting with warm and fuzzy well-wishes for the soon-to-be parents. And that very public moment of celebration was just the beginning.

When Beyoncé returned backstage to her dressing room, she was greeted by a team of people who enveloped the visibly happy star with hugs, cheers and congratulations.

"I'm free!" she said to one of the well-wishers, indicating that she and Jay are thrilled to not have to keep such a big secret any longer. "We're all free!" she said to the group.

A few minutes after her arrival backstage, she was joined by her husband, a very excited West (whose first words upon entering the dressing-room area were "Where is Beyoncé?" as if he could not wait to give B a huge hug) and her former Destiny's Child ladies, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Even with the doors to their dressing rooms closed, the applause and whoops of joy could be heard everywhere backstage.

"That was an eventful night, to say the least," Jay, still smiling, said to some of the revelers in the hallway, who continued to shower him with congratulations and hugs.

WATCH the Beyoncé 2011 VMA performance below

Get More: 2011 VMA, Music, Beyoncé

The 28th annual MTV Video Music Awards have wrapped, but the real action is just getting started! Stick with MTV News for winners, fashion pics, video and behind-the-scenes stories about everything that went down.

Visit VMA.MTV.com for the latest by CLICKING their logo below

Mad Speculation Sunday, August 28, 2011:
EXCLUSIVE: I’ve learned that Warner Bros was hoping to start production on Clint Eastwood’s musical remake of A Star Is Born as early as February 2012. But now insiders tell me it “could push” because Beyoncé announced her pregnancy tonight at MTV’s VMAs.-By NIKKI FINKE | Sunday August 28, 2011 @ 9:40pm PDT, Deadline.com

Cool Black's Mad Commentary: As I posted here Clint Eastwood is indeed reportedly signed to direct this picture and Beyoncé is reportedly still supposed to star. I keep saying reportedly because these things are subject to change especially in Hollywood. Directors and stars leave pictures all the time and until Principal Photography (when the film actually starts shooting) has begun or even wrapped (some stars leave a project days or even weeks into shooting). As Deadline.com also reported “The project, which has been at WB [Warner Brothers] for several years, has generated talk of pairing Beyoncé with Will Smith and with Christian Bale and with lots of other leading men.” I won’t put any concrete merit until at least the helming studio (WB) have a official Press Release.

Beyonce's pregnant belly, Jay-Z's grin set Twitter record on VMA night

By Mikey O'Connell-Zap2It
August 30, 2011 8:57 AM ET

If you were excited to see Beyonce acknowledge her undercover bun in the oven at the end of her performance at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, you weren't alone. Twitter confirms the moment prompted the site's most ever tweets-per-second.

Twitter confirms the barrage, which came as Beyonce opened her tuxedo top to rub her belly as a proud husband Jay-Z was congratulated by Kanye West, topped out at 8,868 Tweets per second.

That number topped previous Twitter records set by Women's World Cup soccer, the royal wedding and the death of Osama bin Laden.

The tweets didn't stop there, either. In a release (via Lost Remote), MTV claims more than 3 million VMA-related tweets went out during the broadcast.

Related Post-
Jay-Z Tops Best Sellers and Gets $2M gift from wife

CLICK the button to see all of
our blog posts about Beyoncé

CLICK the button to see all of
our blog posts about Jay-Z

Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith go on defensive after rumors of split

2011-08-25T07:32:00.007-04:00

Will & Jada August 24, 2011

It appears Will and Jada Pinkett Smith have launched a campaign to quash those “troubled marriage” stories.

"Although we are reluctant to respond to these types of press reports, the rumors circulating about our relationship are completely false," the couple said in a joint statement Tuesday.

"We are still together, and our marriage is intact."

Look for more photos popping up like the one that first appeared on TMZ — showing the couple in Malibu on Tuesday, laughing and looking like the two happiest people in the world, with Will calling the splitsville rumors “ridiculous.”

While the Smiths stress their marriage is “intact,” there are tales that it’s Will who wants to change the physical nature of the couple’s relationship — wanting a more traditional marriage (in the bedroom) than Jada.

A Smith pal questioned that rumor, saying, “I’d love to know who came up with that. I can’t imagine Will discussing his sex life with anyone — at least anyone who would blab about it.”

Info from Chicago Sun-Times, BILL ZWECKER August 24, 2011 7:14PM and People.com

_____________________________________________________

History of the rumor and the couple

Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith Split? Couple Separating: Report UPDATE: Couple Denies Report

Huffington Post

First Posted: 8/23/11 10:31 AM ET Updated: 8/24/11 03:19 AM ET

UPDATE IV: Smith and Pinkett have put out a statement denying the rumors, saying, "Although we are reluctant to respond to these types of press reports, the rumors circulating about our relationship are completely false. We are still together, and our marriage is intact."
_____

UPDATE III: Pinkett's representative issued a statement through Entertainment Tonight, saying, "Everything about the Marc Anthony story is completely false, but we are not commenting on whether they are separating or not."
_____

UPDATE II: Will's son Trey denied the story via Twitter earlier in the day, saying: "Will and Jada getting a DIVORCE ..NOT TRUE AT ALL !! RETWEET"
_____

UPDATE: When contacted about the story by TMZ, Pinkett's rep said, "What? In Touch said that? I know nothing about this... Lord. I'm going back to bed."

Radar Online quotes a family member, who asked not to be identified, as saying, “No way are they splitting up. They are totally together and are not separating."
_____

PREVIOUSLY:

In Touch Weekly is reporting that Will Smith and Jada Pinkett are separating. Their reps have not confirmed the story.

The pair, who met when Pinkett auditioned for "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air," married on December 31st, 1997. They have two children together, budding pop stars Jaden and Willow, and Pinkett is the step mother of Smith's older son from a previous marriage, Trey.

Speaking to YourTango in 2007, Pinkett described how they first got together.

"After we had known each other for many years, we went out for dinner one night with mutual friends and I saw that he had grown from this lanky kid to this really responsible man," she said. "We started courting each other and our friendship turned into romance."

In 2008, Smith spoke with Ellen Degeneres about their marriage, which he implied would last forever.

"What I found is divorce just can't be an option," he said. "It's really that simple. And I think that's the problem with L.A. – there are so many options. So a huge part of the success for [Jada] and I is that we just removed the other options."

Whether it was cause or effect is uncertain, but that dedication certainly coincided with an active sex life, including a romp on the way to the Oscars in 2010.

Speaking to Uptown Magazine in June, Pinkett said, "People think that Will and I don’t spend a lot of time together. Too much time, actually, if you ask me. It’s always nice to have a little time apart. Sometimes you need that.”

___________________________________________

Will & Jada-The Couple That Smiles Together

8/24/2011 12:40 PM PDT BY TMZ STAFF

Moments after their romantic Malibu brunch this morning, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett hit up the nearby Malibu Colony Company for some houseware shopping ... both grinning ear to ear.

It's an all out PR blitz to prove their marriage is still "intact" -- but the question is ...

Buying It?

No 63%

Yes 37%

Total Votes: 94,684

TMZ Poll - 5:03 AM 8/25/2011

See some TMZ video of the shopping trip here

CLICK the button to see all of
our blog posts about Will Smith