T.I. Free Again

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

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.

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Michael Jackson Tribute a Fraud?

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

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'

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.

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Sharlto Copley Cast in ‘Open Grave,’ Confirmed For Spike Lee’s ‘Oldboy’
By THE DEADLINE TEAM
Tuesday May 1, 2012

EXCLUSIVE: Sharlto Copley (pictured right) is heading to Hungary to begin shooting Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego’s Open Grave, and he has closed his deal to play the villain in Spike Lee’s Oldboy, a remake of the cult 2003 Korean revenge thriller from Park Chan-wook.

The actor, who made his mark with his starring role in the Oscar-nominated District 9 followed by The A-Team, will play the lead character in Lopez-Gallego’s follow-up to Apollo 18. Copley’s character wakes up in the pit full of rotting bodies with no idea how he got there, begins to have flashbacks of himself murdering people and stars to believe he’s the killer. Charles Roven’s Atlas Independent is producing.

Copley has also been confirmed to play the villain Adrian Pryce in Oldboy. Pryce is a mysterious billionaire trying to destroy the life of Joe Douchett (Josh Brolin). The new Oldboy begins shooting in late September from a script adapted by Mark Protosevich, who will co-produce. Roy Lee and Doug Davison produce via Vertigo Entertainment with Lee’s 40 Acres & A Mule. Mandate president Nathan Kahane executive produces.

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Elizabeth Olsen in Early Talks to Star Opposite Josh Brolin in 'Old Boy'
The actress has an offer to play a case worker who helps investigate a man imprisoned for 15 years and inexplicably released.
by Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter
February 28, 2012

Elizabeth Olsen (pictured above) is in talks to star opposite Josh Brolin in Oldboy, Mandate’s remake of the noted South Korean action thriller.

Olsen has the offer to play the part of the caseworker who helps investigate the past of the character being played by Brolin, a man kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years and inexplicably released.
Insiders indicate that a deal is likely.
Spike Lee is directing whle Roy Lee and Doug Davison are producing. Mandate President Nathan Kahane is executive producing. Mark Protosevich wrote the screenplay and will co-produce.

Elizabeth Olsen Confirms 'Oldboy' Conversations; Says She's A "Huge Fan" Of Spike Lee
Kevin Jagernauth, The Playlist
March 5, 2012

Rising actress Elizabeth Olsen is certainly doing her best to put a little bit of variety on her filmography. Of course, the actress broke out in the cult drama "Martha Marcy May Marlene" and since then, she's appeared in a few different films, ranging from this year's Sundance entries, the dramedy "Liberal Arts" and the thriller "Red Lights," and this weekend she'll star in the flat out horror vehicle "Silent House." But just last week, word cropped up of another possible project, with reports surfacing that Olsen had been offered the female lead in Spike Lee's "Oldboy" remake. And as Olsen tells, she's indeed eyeing the movie and would take it the role in a heartbeat.

Our own Jen Vineyard caught up with the actress during press rounds for "Silent House," and when asked if she would take the role if it was offered, Olsen said simply, "Absolutely." While she says nothing is a done deal just yet, she gushed about the opportunity to work on the film and with the director.

"The original is one of my favorite movies...and I'm a big fan of Spike Lee. Huge fan of Spike Lee, he's one of the best filmmakers around," Olsen said. "He's doing some tweaks to the original...What's really cool is the Korean movie is what people in the world of films would have seen, like people who like foreign films would have seen it, but a general American audience, I doubt they know the twists and turns of the original, so it'll surprise them. And I think its such a good movie, so that would be cool."

Olsen taking a role in the film would certainly enhance the remake which is already off to a great start with Josh Brolin in the lead role. Mark Protosevich has penned the script which is combining elements from both the original film and the manga. We're definitely curious to see where Lee and the filmmakers take this story, and fingers crossed Olsen gets to play along in this promising pic.

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Samuel Jackson, Bruce Hornsby join Spike Lee's 'Old Boy' remake
By Steven Zeitchik., Los Angeles Times
August 17, 2012

EXCLUSIVE: The English-language remake of Chan-wook Park's cult favorite "Oldboy"already had some big-time names, what with Spike Lee directing and Josh Brolin in the lead role.

Now the revenge drama is getting two more notables: Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Hornsby.

Jackson has come on board for a small but critical part in the new film, according to a person close to the production who was not authorized to talk about it publicly. The actor will play the man who is being tortured by the hero (Brolin) in a key revenge scene.

Fans of the original will remember the scene as perhaps the most visceral and disturbing of the film. Protagonist  Dae-su Oh exacts vengeance on a man who once guarded him by extracting his teeth one-by-one with the claw end of a hammer.

The new film, which begins shooting this fall in Louisiana and New York, won’t go with the tooth removal, instead inflicting a different kind of torture (we won’t spoil it here, but it’s plenty painful).

Jackson and Lee recently appeared together at the BET Awards in this spoof that quickly went viral. The actor of course also recently starred as Nick Fury in ""The Avengers" and will soon be seen in a movie about as anticipated as "Oldboy"--Quentin Tarantino"s"Django Unchained."

In a separate development, Hornsby has joined the new ”Oldboy” as the film's composer.  The piano virtuoso has a longstanding relationship with Lee; among other things, he composed the score for Lee’s basketball documentary "Kobe Doin' Work" and the auteur's new"Red Hook Summer,"giving the spiritually themed coming-of-age story a melancholy and wistful spin.

In an interview in his hometown of Williamsburg, Va.,  this week, Hornsby (more on him and his eclectic career shortly) told The Times that the musical ideas for "Oldboy" are beginning to percolate. "I'm working on a few things and I'll send them to Spike soon," he said. "The 'D' word has been spoken to me by him," the musician added, referring to a dark tone. "But I think the score will also run the gamut."

Related Posts-
Read all of our posts about OldBoy here

Yes, Beyoncé is pregnant!

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 

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

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

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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."
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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."
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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"
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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."
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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.”

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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

Dexter - The First Five





Season One promo image

 

I have FINALLY seen Dexter Season Five thus, I have now watched all five seasons of Dexter thus far. Season Six debuts October 2, 2011. When people ask me what the show is about, I say in a nutshell,  the show is about a serial killer--who kills serial killers.

For the record-

Dexter is an American television drama series that centers on Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), a bloodstain pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer.

Dexter structures his killing around "Harry's code", a body of ethics and procedures devised by his adoptive father Harry Morgan (who was a Miami cop) to make sure Dexter never gets caught and to ensure that Dexter kills only morally wrong people.

The show debuted on October 1, 2006, on Showtime.-Wikipedia

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Dexter's main enemy in Season One is "The Ice Truck Killer", a serial killer of prostitutes who eludes the Miami Metro Police Department. The killer leaves items at the crime scene that have personal relevance to Dexter.

Image from the Season One storyline

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In Season Two, the bodies of Dexter's victims are uncovered and an investigation is launched in Dexter's own department to find the killer, dubbed the "Bay Harbor Butcher". Keith Carradine appears as Special Agent Frank Lundy (pictured below), an FBI agent who heads the "Bay Harbor Butcher" investigation.

Keith Carradine as Agent Lundy

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In Season Three, Dexter kills a man in self defense and initiates a friendship with the man's brother, Assistant District Attorney Miguel Prado (Jimmy Smits, pictutred below) that deters into an unsuspecting friendship.



Jimmy Smits and Michael C. Hall in a Season Three episode



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In Season Four, Dexter went on to become a family man, and has moved to the suburbs, where he struggles to reconcile his new life with his killing urges. Special Agent Frank Lundy returns (Keith Carradine reprising his role from Season Two) to hunt down the "Trinity Killer" (John Lithgow, pictured below) who he believes always murders three people in a very specific sequence: a young woman in a bathtub, an older mother of two falling to her death, and a father of two bludgeoned to death.

John Lithgow in a Season Four episode

Season Four promo image

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In Season Five, the season focuses on how Dexter deals with his recent loss, coming to terms with it. After Dexter kills his next targeted serial killer & discovers, the killer's next victim Lumen Pierce (played by Julia Stiles, pictured below), whom he has in captivity.

Julia Stiles and Michael C. Hall in a Season Five episode

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Season Six Guest Stars will be Colin Hanks and Mos Def and Edward James Olmos

Edward James Olmos

Edward James Olmos will play a brilliant, charismatic professor of religious studies.

Colin Hanks and Mos Def

Colin Hanks will play Travis, Dexter’s main nemesis and a highly intelligent ancient artifacts expert who is linked to a series of grisly murders in Miami.

Mos Def will play a hardened ex-con who claims to have found religion yet seems to continually find himself surrounded by violence. You can see an image  from Season Six premiering October 2, 2011 below.

Michael C. Hall and Mos Def in a Season Six episode

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Below is the Cool Black Mad Killer Commentary on each season where I will try to explain how I felt about each season without giving too much away. Thus my commentary might seem brief. At the end I will provide the Cool Black Killer Countdown of what was the best seasons.

Dexter's main enemy in Season One is "The Ice Truck Killer", a serial killer of prostitutes who eludes the Miami Metro Police Department. The killer leaves items at the crime scene that have personal relevance to Dexter.

Cool Black's Killer Commentary: This season is not only great because it introduced the series, but it contains a great adversary for Dexter. It is also when Dexter is at his most inhuman and detached. He kind of "grows" throughout the rest of the series.

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In Season Two, the bodies of Dexter's victims are uncovered and an investigation is launched in Dexter's own department to find the killer, dubbed the "Bay Harbor Butcher". Keith Carradine appears as Special Agent Frank Lundy , an FBI agent who heads the "Bay Harbor Butcher" investigation.

Cool Black's Killer Commentary: While Special Agent Lundy was Dexter's adversary as he  heads the "Bay Harbor Butcher" investigation, the real worthy adversay for Dexter was HIMSELF when "the bodies of Dexter's victims are uncovered and an investigation is launched in Dexter's own department to find the killer".



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In Season Three, Dexter kills a man in self defense and initiates a friendship with the man's brother, Assistant District Attorney Miguel Prado (Jimmy Smits) that deters into an unsuspecting friendship.

Cool Black's Killer Commentary: While Jimmy Smits was superb, after two fantastic seasons this season was a let down. Overall its worth watching, mostly because of Smits, but nothing to write home about.



 

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In Season Four, Dexter went on to become a family man, and has moved to the suburbs, where he struggles to reconcile his new life with his killing urges. Special Agent Frank Lundy returns (Keith Carradine reprising his role from Season Two) to hunt down the "Trinity Killer" (John Lithgow).

Cool Black's Killer Commentary: After a sub par Season 3, Season 4 really rocked! John Lithgow was super creepy and outstanding.

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In Season Five, the season focuses on how Dexter deals with his recent loss, coming to terms with it. After Dexter kills his next targeted serial killer & discovers, the killer's next victim Lumen Pierce (played by Julia Stiles), whom he has in captivity.

Cool Black's Killer Commentary: Because of the aforementioned loss, Dexter this season had to be different and accomplished that with the introduction of the Lumen character also superbly played by Julia Stiles. A really good season.

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Here are what I thought was the best seasons of Dexter's first five seasons worst to best.

5. Season Three

4. Season Five

3. Season Four

2. Season Two

1. Season One

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