Let me say I’ve always been a fan of Kerry
Washington (pictured above). I’ve always thought she was a solid actor.
I really enjoyed her performance in the
independent film Night Catches Us which I saw at the 2010 Maryland Film
Festival (which I reviewed here), but one of my favorite performances by her though was in
the poorly received film I Think I Love My Wife (even though I liked it) where
she played the deliciously vampy Nikki.
I used the term vampy because she was off
the chain without being ghetto. She was just a wild girl and we don’t see that
in film with women of color without them being ghetto, loud and obnoxious. A
really fine performance.
Her performance in I Think I Love My Wife
was my favorite by her—until Scandal.
The level of nuanced performance she
gives in Scandal is in a word—OUTSTANDING. Most actors can’t play nuance.
They’re either WAY UP or WAY DOWN with their expressions and performance. Kerry
can play the perfect subtlety.
It’s sad that much like the Oscars that the
Emmys can be a “personality contest” and if this show does not become a hit and
get renewed she may never get a well deserved Emmy for her brilliant
performance in Scandal.
Below is what I said about Scandal when it was announced in February 2011
Cool Black's Mad Commentary: I'm a fan of Shonda Rhimes (Pictured left) DESPITE not watching any of her previous shows. Her “medical shows” just didn’t appeal to me. I’m a fan because of the moves she has made in Hollywood as a successful African American Executive Producer.
I’m also a fan of Kerry Washington having enjoyed her work in numerous films including the recent Night Catches Us (You can read what I had to say about that film here ) I also like the additions of Columbus Short and Henry Ian Cusick and YES unlike her other shows the concept of this show does appeal to me.
May 11, 2012 Scandal was renewed for Season 2! Read the news at The Huffington Posthere
See ALL of our posts about Scandal by clicking the show logo below
RELATED LINK Read about Kerry Washington at WIKIPEDIA
Whitney Houston death probe closed; 911 call released
By Alan Duke, CNN
Thu April 12, 2012
Los Angeles (CNN) -- The police investigation of Whitney Houston's death is "officially closed" with the conclusion that her death was an accidental drowning, the Beverly Hills Police Department said Wednesday.
With the case closed, police released the recording of the 911 emergency call in which a hotel security officer said the woman who called for help from Houston's room was "irate and pretty much out of it."
Investigators "found no evidence of foul play," a police statement said. "Based on the findings of our investigation and our review of the coroner's report, we have determined that this is not a criminal matter."
The Los Angeles County coroner released its autopsy report a week ago saying Houston's February 11 death was an accidental drowning with the "effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use" as contributing factors.
The Beverly Hilton security officer did not identify Houston in the 911 call.
"I need paramedics, apparently I've got a 46-year-old female, found in the bathroom," he told the 911 operator. "That's all I've got right now, but they're requesting paramedics." (Houston actually was 48).
The autopsy report said her assistant found Houston face down in a tub of "extremely hot water" about 12 inches deep.
"I'm not sure if she fell, or if she was in the bathroom with the water," the hotel security officer is heard saying in the 911 call.
And you don't know if she's conscious or breathing at all?" the dispatcher asked.
"Apparently she wasn't breathing," the hotel employee said.
When the dispatcher asked if she had started breathing, the security officer said "I don't know. The person that called me was irate and pretty much out of it."
"Can you get me into the room so I can try to give CPR instructions?" the 911 operator asked.
"No, because she kept hanging up on us," the hotel security officer said.
Houston was last seen alive by her personal assistant in her Beverly Hilton hotel room about 3 p.m. that Saturday, the autopsy report said. The assistant left to run errands after telling Houston to take a bath in preparation for a pre-Grammy Awards party at the hotel that night, it said.
When the assistant returned to the locked room at 3:35 p.m., she found Houston "lying face down in the bathtub filled with water, unresponsive."
"The assistant called for her bodyguard, and together they pulled the decedent out of the bathtub," the report said.
When paramedics arrived about 10 minutes later, they moved Houston to the living room floor. It was at 3:55 p.m., 20 minutes after she was found by the assistant, when paramedics concluded she was dead, the report said.
The coroner's report stopped short of detailing what happened to Houston, but HLN's Dr. Drew Pinsky, an addiction medicine specialist, examined the autopsy report for CNN and suggested that she might have suffered a seizure brought on by the use of cocaine, possibly combined with a withdrawal from alcohol and a prescription sedative.
An empty bottle of the anti-anxiety drug Xanax was found in her room, but the level of the sedative found in her blood was low, he said. Empty beer bottles were also found, but alcohol was not detected in her body, he said.
"To me, a sudden drop-off in the Xanax level, a drop-off in your alcohol consumption, add cocaine, that's a recipe for a seizure," Pinsky said. "Somebody who's now upside down in a bathtub could easily seize and drown."
However, Henry Spiller, a toxicologist and director of the Kentucky Regional Poison Control Center, said the level of Xanax found in Houston's blood was not low enough to trigger a seizure. Those who abuse Xanax can take up to 20 pills a day, he said, and the level found in Houston's body would indicate she took four to six pills several hours before she died.
Since the drug was found in her blood, a seizure brought on by withdrawal is unlikely, he said.
The coroner's report notes that Houston suffered several small scald burns on her face at the time of her death. A 60% narrowing of her arteries found in the autopsy is "very mild heart disease," Pinsky said, which should not have caused a problem.
Spiller said that based on his experience with cocaine abusers, two things may have happened: Either Houston had a seizure and fell into the tub, or she had a cardiac arrhythmia. An arrhythmia occurs when the heart stops beating properly and fails to pump, depriving the brain of oxygen and causing a loss of consciousness. It can be fatal.
"If you look at cocaine deaths, more deaths are from arrhythmias than seizures," Spiller said. "Based on what is in the report, it seems more likely that she had a vasospasm (which shuts off blood flow to the heart) or a fatal arrhythmia."
Toxicology testing measured 0.58 micrograms of cocaine per milliliter of blood drawn from a vein in her leg during the autopsy, which Pinsky called a moderate level.
Spiller said for that level of cocaine to be in Houston's body, "we're talking about approximately half a gram of cocaine having been possibly ingested within 30 minutes to 90 minutes before her death. For someone who has been abusing cocaine, this may be their routine amount, but (for) someone who doesn't regularly use cocaine and therefore doesn't have a tolerance for the drug, this would be a high level."
Houston's cocaine use appeared to have occurred "in the time period just immediately prior to her collapse in the bathtub at the hotel," Chief Coroner Craig Harvey told reporters when he released the preliminary report last month.
Investigators found "a small spoon with a white crystal like substance in it and a rolled up piece of white paper" in the bathroom where Houston drowned, coroner's investigator Kristy McCracken wrote.
"Remnants of a white powdery substance" were found on a bathroom counter, McCracken wrote.
"I also collected remnants of a white powdery substance from out of a drawer and from the bottom of a mirror in the same drawer in the bathroom counter," she wrote.
Detectives found a "plethora of medications bottles" in the hotel room, although the coroner concluded the prescription drugs "did not contribute to the death."
Along with cocaine and Xanax, the toxicology tests found other drugs in her body, including marijuana, the muscle relaxant Flexeril and the allergy medicine Benadryl, the report said.
Houston won six Grammys and sold 170 million albums, singles and videos over her career.
In recent years, the singer's accomplishments were overtaken by her struggles with drug addiction.
CNN's Jack Hannah and Kareen Wynter contributed to this report.
Today marks Beyonce and Jay-Z's 4th wedding anniversary!
We expect the glamorous couple to celebrate this particular anniversary in big way, considering their well-documented love for the number "4" (it's the fourth month of the year, on the fourth day and each have the roman numeral of the all-important number tattooed on their left ring fingers).
Although the traditional wedding anniversary gift for four years is something silk or linen (boring), we're thinking the superstars will go with something a lot more flashy. Maybe a 4-carat diamond ring for Bey and four blinged out Rolexes for Jay?
But, whatever the couple decide to get one another we're sure it will be amazing.
But, nothing will top the ultimate gift the twosome received this year...their darling daughter, Blue Ivy (another clever "4" reference). Definitely another reason to raise a glass extra high tonight.
And while marriage and parenthood can change a lot of things--sleepless nights, changing dirty diapers during concert intermissions or perhaps even cleaning spit-up off of Chanel couture-- the First Family of hip-hop has handled it with grace and plenty of swagger.
Bey and Jay have proved that not much has changed since entering into holy matrimony on April 4, 2008--they are still selling out stadiums, popping bottles with billionaires and pretty much working towards world domination.
So in celebration of Mr. and Mrs. Carter's 4th anniversary, here's a look at our favorite moments of the duo canoodling courtside, working the red carpet and just being super cute. (At the bottom of the page here)
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
Of the nine pictures
nominated for "Best Picture" I have seen six of them and they are The
Descendants, The Artist, Midnight in Paris, Hugo, Moneyball and The Help (All posters
from those pictures in the graphic above). My picks for the Oscars will be from
those pictures. (I will also bold in red the correlating nominations.)
My pick will be under “Cool
Black’s Oscar Pick:” These are NOT who I think WILL win; it’s who I think SHOULD
win based on my opinion and those who know me, know I am quite discerning.
As a screenwriter two of my
favorite categories are the two screenwriting ones.
For the record:
The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the
Academy Award for the best script not based upon previously published material
and the Academy Award for Best Adapted
Screenplay is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay
adapted from another source (usually a novel, play, or short story but also
sometimes another film). All sequels are automatically considered adaptations
by this standard (since the sequel must be based on the original story).
Writing
(Original Screenplay)
The Artist
Written by Michel Hazanavicius
Bridesmaids
Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
Margin Call
Written by J.C. Chandor
Midnight in Paris
Written by Woody Allen
A Separation
Written by Asghar
Farhadi
Cool Black’s Oscar Pick: Woody Allen forMidnight in Paris. While a lot of people joke that the screenplay for The Artist is about 45 pages because it has no dialogue (average
screenplay about 120 pages) it DOES have a lot of stuff going on and is totally
deserving as is the hilarious Bridesmaids
a really great screenplay with humor and heart, but Woody Allen wrote a truly
wonderful screenplay blending fantasy, humor and real life literary
legends.
Writing
(Adapted Screenplay)
The Descendants
Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon &
Jim Rash
Hugo
Screenplay by John Logan
The Ides of March
Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and
Beau Willimon
Moneyball
Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin
Story by Stan Chervin
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Screenplay by Bridget
O’Connor & Peter Straughan
Cool Black’s Oscar Pick: Steven Zaillian and Aaron
Sorkin for Moneyball. Of the films I saw Moneyball and The Descendents
were the only two worthy of even being considered winning an Oscar. The
screenplay for The Descendents was
great, but the equally great Moneyball made me care about baseball statistics
and baseball trading. Both things I had no interest in.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Artist
Guillaume Schiffman
The Girl with the Dragon
Tattoo
Jeff Cronenweth
Hugo
Robert Richardson
The Tree of Life
Emmanuel Lubezki
War Horse
Janusz Kaminski
Cool Black’s Oscar Pick: Robert Richardsonfor Hugo. Not a real hard choice. Of the
three I’ve seen from the category Hugo’s cinematography clearly stands out.
FILM EDITING
The Artist
Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants
Kevin Tent
The Girl with the Dragon
Tattoo
Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
Hugo
Thelma Schoonmaker
Moneyball
Christopher Tellefsen
Cool Black’s Oscar Pick: Thelma Schoonmaker for Hugo. This was a really hard choice for me as I have seen all five
nominated films and while all good films no editing REALLY stood out above the
others, but if I had to pick it would be Schoonmaker.
Actor in a Supporting
Role
Kenneth Branagh
My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill
Moneyball
Nick Nolte
Warrior
Christopher Plummer
Beginners
Max von Sydow
Extremely Loud &
Incredibly Close
Cool Black’s Oscar Pick: Nick Nolte for Warrior. Having seen only
two of these five performances it clearly goes to Nolte. I really like Jonah
Hill’s performance in Moneyball, but
it wasn’t Oscar worthy. Nolte as usual does an excellent job in the underrated Warrior.
Actress in a Supporting
Role
Bérénice Bejo
The Artist
Jessica Chastain
The Help
Melissa McCarthy
Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer
Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer
The Help
Cool Black’s Oscar Pick: Octavia Spencer for The Help. I REALLY
liked the four performances I saw and all well deserved. Melissa McCarthy’s
performance was hilarious in Bridesmaids. She had me laughing out loud from her
FIRST lines. Jessica
Chastain was really great in The Help and Bérénice
Bejo wonderful
and charming in The Artist, but Octavia
Spencer really surprised me in The
Help HERS was my favorite performance in the film.
Actor in a Leading Role
Demián Bichir
A Better Life
George Clooney
The Descendants
Jean Dujardin
The Artist
Gary Oldman
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt
Moneyball
Cool Black’s Oscar Pick: Jean Dujardin for The Artist. This was another hard choice for me. Of the three I saw they were
all great! I joke on Twitter that I’m #TeamClooney because I’m a huge George
Clooney fan for I think he is one of Hollywood’s
true Leading Men meaning screen presence AND acting ability. I also really
liked Brad Pitt in Moneyball. His performance MADE that picture the great film
it was. While I thought Clooney was FANTASTIC and did give the performance of
his career Jean Dujardin was
simply BRILLIANT in The Artist. His performance without dialogue was nothing
short of remarkable.
Actress in a
Leading Role
Glenn Close
Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis
The Help
Rooney Mara
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep
The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams
My Week with Marilyn
Cool Black’s Oscar Pick: Viola Davis for The
Help. Not
a hard choice since I’ve only seen two of these performances and while I
thought her performance was ok, there was nothing Oscar worthy about Rooney Mara inThe Girl with the Dragon
Tattoo. To be clear Viola Davis does not get my pick by default, she did a
truly great job.
DIRECTING
The Artist
Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants
Alexander Payne
Hugo
Martin Scorsese
Midnight in Paris
Woody Allen
The Tree of Life
Terrence Malick
Cool Black’s Oscar Pick: Truly
hard choice having seen four of these directors work. Martin Scorsese’s
direction was one of the ONLY things I liked about Hugo, the direction in The
Descendents by Alexander Payne was really good as was the direction
by Michel
Hazanavicius in The Artist, but my PICK has to go to Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris, a truly wonderful film.
BEST PICTURE
The Artist
Thomas Langmann, Producer
The Descendants
Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and
Jim Taylor,
Producers
Extremely Loud
& Incredibly Close
Scott Rudin, Producer
The Help
Brunson Green, Chris Columbus
and
Michael Barnathan, Producers
Hugo
Graham King and Martin
Scorsese, Producers
Midnight in Paris
Letty Aronson and Stephen
Tenenbaum, Producers
Moneyball
Michael De Luca, Rachael
Horovitz and Brad Pitt,
Producers
The Tree of Life
Nominees to be determined
War Horse
Steven Spielberg and Kathleen
Kennedy,
Producers
Cool Black’s Oscar Pick: Again
a hard choice among the six of nine I’ve seen. Of those six at least five deserving of the Best Picture nomination. Since I’m sure you’re wondering which
of those seven DID NOT deserve the nomination for Best Picture it is Hugo. Great cinematography and
direction, but the film just was not good to me. The main character had nothing
remarkable about him and the film was long and meandering.
The Help
was a wonderful film. While I understand the underlying reserve about the film (from the black community I should add) THE FILM is great and deserves all of its acclaim (You can read my review here )
Moneyballwas a really great film as I said above
elevated by the great performance of Brad Pitt. I’m not a fan of “sports movies”
or baseball like that, but this film made a great picture out of both.
Midnight in Paris
is As I stated above is a truly wonderful film. I loved the writing, the acting
and the direction. Major kudos to Woody Allen for creating a classic.
The Descendents
again a wonderful film. As I stated above George Clooney was FANTASTIC and gave the performance of his career. Not
recognized by the Academy was the EXCELLENT Shailene Woodley as Clooney’s
oldest daughter in the film. The film was indeed great and deserving of all the
acclaim.
I DID NOT want to see this film. What did I want to
see some black & white silent film for? Really?! But a lot of my film
friends I made on the @NotherBrother Twitter raved about the film and as I like
to see ANY film I said let me see what all this talk is about and as one of
those friends Rebecca (@FilmFatale_NYC) of Cinema In Noir
stated something to the effect of “I was
the biggest cynic walking in, but afterwards I just can’t’ stop smiling” I
totally agree with that. The Artist was charming, dashing, heart tugging,
funny, EXCELLENT!
My PICK
for BEST PICTUREhas
to go to The Artist.
So that’s it, my picks this
year from all the major categories. If it's one travesty this year and I always seem to have one is that Shailene Woodley was not nominated for her role in The Descendants.
To see my picks from last year CLICK the graphic below
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
Cool Black's Mad Commentary: I'm a fan of Shonda Rhimes (Pictured left) DESPITE not watching any of her previous shows. Her “medical shows” just didn’t appeal to me. I’m a fan because of the moves she has made in Hollywood as a successful African American Executive Producer. 
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