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The movie Precious was the big winner at the recent Toronto Film Festival.
Precious is the latest project from Filmmaker Lee Daniels. Precious is based
on the novel Push by Sapphire. Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry produced the
movie, which is about the abuse and the redemption of a teenage girl played
by Gabourey “Gabby” Sidibe. Mo’Nique stars along with Gabby as her mother.
Also featured are a very non-glamorous Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Sherri
Shepherd and Paula Patton. Last year, Slum Dog Millionaire was the big
winner of the festival and wound up winning the Academy Awards for best
picture. Will the same happen for Precious? Lee Daniels is a previous Oscar
winner for Monsters Ball. Precious opens in theatres November 6th.
Jennifer Hudson says she loves being a mom. Hudson was mum about her status
during her pregnancy, but now she is opening up about motherhood. Hudson
gave birth to a baby boy, David, Jr., a few weeks ago, and she says being a
mother is natural for her. Hudson tied the knot with fiancé David Otunga
shortly before she gave birth. The family is growing. It was just announced
that Jen’s sister Julia is expecting. The tragic anniversary of their family
members’ murders will be marked next month. It was almost a year ago that
Hudson’s mother, nephew and brother died in a violent killing.
The Michael Jackson documentary, This Is It, is going to be accompanied by a
greatest hits CD. The documentary hits theatres October 28th and features
footage from his London rehearsals. The CD will come out at the same time.
In other Jackson news, brother Jermaine has been ordered to lie low after
his failed attempts at putting together a tribute concert for his brother
brought a lot of embarrassment to the family. At this point, they feel
Jermaine is out for himself and not for the family. Mom Katherine has been
allowed by a judge to contest the will and not be penalized for it. Mom
Katherine is challenging the estate because she wants more say on what
happens to Michael’s finances.
Everybody is buzzing about the new book on President Obama and First Lady
Michelle Obama. Barack and Michelle: Portrait Of An American Marriage goes
into detail about life before Obama became the president. One of the
problems on the campaign trail was overly aggressive women who felt they
could grab onto the future president. The books details silent treatments
and how difficult it was for the couple.
Rapper/Actor LL Cool J is on the list of possible nominees to be inducted in
the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame next year. In addition to LL, Donna Summer,
The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Darlene Love and Genesis are also on the list.
The official nominees will be revealed in December, and the Hall Of Fame
ceremony takes place next March.
Is the life story of Whitney Houston headed to the big screen? Houston has
quite a story to tell, but the big questions remains: who would play
Whitney?
Whitney’s ex, Bobby Brown, says he’s too fat and he wants to lose weight.
Next year, he will be joining the cast of VH1’s Celebrity Fit Club. Other
weight losers include Shar Jackson and her baby daddy Kevin Federline.
Alicia Keys is back with a new song. Doesn’t Mean Anything is the first
single from her forthcoming album.
Get ready for the new triple threat. Kelly Price, Tamia and Deborah Cox are
joining forces for a new album.
Producers for The Tyra Banks Show are shooting down reports that actors have
been hired to portray outrageous guests on her talk show to pump up ratings.
Banks is now seen on the CW network, and her ratings have taken a slide
since moving to the afternoons.
Jill Scott is coming to the Lifetime network. Scott has signed on to star in
the movie Sins Of The Mother, which will air next year. Scott’s last
project, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, is now available on DVD.
Actress Jasmine Guy is legally divorced, but she’s also in debt. Guy is best
known for her role as “Whitley Gilbert” on the 80’s TV show A Different
World. She has just gone through a nasty divorce. Guy got custody of her
11-year old daughter. She also kept the jewelry, furniture and artwork, but
the divorce left her finances in shambles. She had to file for bankruptcy.
The Sam Cooke Story is coming to the big screen. Cooke found fame as a
gospel artist, but when he crossed over to the pop world, he became a
superstar. Cooke was handsome, suave and a smart businessman. He owned the
rights to his hit songs A Change Is Gonna Come, You Send Me and Cupid, just
to name a few. Cooke died tragically at the age of 33 when he was gunned
down in Los Angeles.
The Young And Restless is bringing back a major character, but not the actor
who made the role famous. The character “Malcolm Winters” is coming back,
but not Actor Shemar Moore. Moore is busy with his nighttime show, CBS’s
Criminal Minds. The role of “Malcolm Winters” is being recast with someone
new.
The Real Housewives Of Atlanta is a ratings hit for the Bravo network, so
look for the ladies to turn up the drama to guarantee a return season.
Halle Berry says is she eating too many burgers. In a recent interview, she
disputed claims that she is pregnant again. She says it would be nice, but
she is not pregnant.
The Whispers are gearing up for another milestone. The legendary group will
be releasing a gospel CD on October 20th. I recently had a chance to
interview the guys Walter, Scotty, Leaveil, and Nicholas. They guys say this
is a project that they have always wanted to do, and their fans will be
pleasantly surprised.
Shaq’s wife Shaunie O’Neal is ready to do more TV. Shaunie is putting
together a proposal for an NBA wives reality show.
Mary J. Blige is the cover girl for the new issue of Essence magazine. In
the issue, she talks about her foundation helping abused women.
The stars came out for Lionel Richie and a taping of UNCF’s Evening Of
Stars. The show airs in January and will feature Stevie Wonder, Brian
McKnight and Natalie Cole.
Idris Elba, Michael Ealy and Rapper T.I. will be starring in the new movie
Takers, which opens in theatres Feb. 19th, 2010.
It’s the 50th Anniversary of Tina Turner and she celebrates with Tina Live,
a concert DVD. Tina Live comes out October 20th.
Get ready for the return of Toni Braxton. Braxton’s new CD, Pulse, comes out
in February.
Comedian/Actor Mike Epps will be hosting The BET Hip Hop Awards, which will
air October 27th on the network.
Get ready for The Mo’Nique Show. Mo’Nique’s new late night talk show,
Mo’Nique, debuts Monday, October 5th at 11pm on BET. The show will feature
celebrity guests and musical performances. Big Jim & The Penthouse Players
house band will be on tap every night. Mo’Nique will also be showing off a
new look. She has been losing weight, and so far she has lost 50 pounds.
The Sixth Annual Hip Hop Honors airs on VH1 October 13th. The show will
honor the 25th anniversary of Def Jam Records. Tracy Morgan is hosting with
performances by Ne-Yo, Public Enemy, The Roots and Mary J. Blige.
Get ready for the Soul Train movie. The movie will take place in the 80’s.
From 1971 to 2006, The Soul Train TV show was the hippest trip in America.
Now, you can get the DVD set and check out the re-runs on BET’s new Centric
channel, which debuts next month.
Bill Cosby is getting honored in October. The 72-year old comic legend is
getting the nation’s top humor prize, The Mark Twain Award, during
ceremonies in Washington, D.C. Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, and Cosby Show
Co-stars Phylicia Rashad and Malcolm-Jamal Warner will take part in the
ceremony airing November 4th on PBS. Speaking of Rashad, the woman known to
millions as “Claire Huxtable” is showing off her new look. Over the past 8
months, the 61-year old actress has lost 35 pounds via Jenny Craig.
Brian McKnight’s new CD Evolution Of A Man comes out October 27th.
Anthony Beverly, the son of music legend Frankie Beverly, has produced a
tribute CD for his dad. Silky Soul Music: An All-Star Tribute To Maze
Featuring Frankie Beverly features performances Mary J. Blige, Musiq
Soulchild, The Clark Sisters, Joe, Avant, Ledisi, Mint Condition and Kevon.
The CD comes out September 29th.
The LeBron James documentary movie, More Than A Game, opens in theatres
October 2nd. The movie shows James’ life before he entered the NBA,
including his high school coach and his teammates. It’s a seven year journey
of the life of James and his teammates. James has also signed on for the
movie Fantasy Basketball Camp.
Mariah Carey’s new fragrance, Forever, is coming out next month. Carey is
gearing up for a busy fall. Her new Lee Daniels movie, Precious, comes out
in November. And, we are weeks away from the release of her latest CD,
Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel. I hear she does a remake of the Foreigner
classic I Want To Know What Love Is.
WDAS Morning Man and Comedian Steve Harvey has joined Good Morning America
as a correspondent. Harvey will be dealing with relationships, family and
interacting with the audience.
At the movies, the Chris Rock documentary Good Hair coming to theaters
October 9th.
Law Abiding Citizen with Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler opens in theatres
October 16th.
Get ready for the new animated series The Cleveland Show. The show debuts
Sept. 27th on FOX, and will feature the voices of Sanaa Lathan and Reagan
Gomez-Preston.
BeBe and CeCe Winans are back together. Their new single is called Close To
You. The new album comes out in October.
Actress Kim Coles is coming back to TV. Coles is best known for her role as
“Sinclair” on the TV show Living Single. Coles will be starring on the new
BET game show Pay It Off. She’ll be helping people get out of debt. Now
speaking of game shows, Wayne Brady will be the host of the new version of
Let’s Make A Deal. The show debuts in October on CBS.
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