NEW YORK – Basketball and celebrity superstar Shaquille O’Neal and Peerless Clothing have partnered to create a new fashion menswear collection. O’Neal recently launched the line exclusively at Macy’s, offering a line that ranges in sizes from regular to, fittingly, big and tall.
The Shaquille O’Neal Collection, available at 100 Macy’s stores nationwide and online at www.macys.com, will include suit separates and sport coats and patterns will include traditional solids, stripes, and plaids as well as more modern and unexpected sharkskin in shades of black, navy, tan and gray. Retailing from $150 for pants to $400 for a jacket, The Shaquille O’Neal Collection will allow the 60XL guy to shop in the same store as his size 40R friend.
“Shaq is one of the biggest stars in sports with a huge fan base and following. A favorite celebrity and personality that is larger than life. Fans everywhere love Shaq for his athletic accomplishments, and his successful foray into music, movies, television shows and business. They love his style, passion and charisma,” said Ronny Wurtzburger, president of Peerless Clothing. “When it comes to fashion, Shaq is a trendsetter not only for big and tall and regular size men, but he also has strong consumer appeal among African- and Hispanic-Americans, moms who relate to Shaq’s dedication to providing quality products at affordable prices, and kids who see him as their ultimate role model.”
“My interest in developing a menswear collection was based on my frustration with the lack of fashion for big and tall customers and the higher prices for larger size suits,” O’Neal said. “I was frustrated that I had to go to a big and tall store rather than shop with my friends at the local department or specialty store. I originally wanted to develop a more fashion-forward menswear collection at an affordable price. Once Peerless and I developed the collection, the reaction from Macy’s was so positive that we decided to make the collection in all sizes.”
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Kevin Hart was named Entertainer of the Year while 12 Years a Slave racked up another four awards including for Outstanding Motion Picture at the NAACP Image Awards, which were held Saturday at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Hart said he was a “real mama’s boy” and dedicated his prize to his mother, who recently passed away.
Director Steve McQueen and writer John Ridley won kudos for “12 Years” during a non-televised portion of the show Friday, while Supporting Actress Lupita Nyong’o said she was honored to win for a film ”that has inspired discourse long overdue.”
Forest Whitaker and David Oyelowo were honored for their roles in Lee Daniels’ The Butler and Angela Bassett won the Lead Actress prize for Black Nativity. Whitaker was also honored with the NAACP Chairman’s Award. “I’m one of those with a funny accent and an African name,” Oyelowo referencing emcee Anthony Anderson’s earlier jokes about Brit actors with their accents and African names in his speech who cross the Pond to grab roles in Hollywood. Meanwhile, Whitaker quoted a song from Nat King Cole, “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is to love and be loved.”
On the television side, Hart and his BET show Real Husbands of Hollywood were honored for comedy, while Kerry Washington, Joe Morton and ABC’s Scandal picked up three awards for drama. Since showrunner Shonda Rhimes was unable to attend, Washington accepted the Scandal award. In her own acceptance speech, Washington said, “The historic nature of this role is due not to lack of talent, but lack of opportunity.”
The NAACP Image Awards were broadcast live on TV One and hosted by Anthony Anderson. Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) President Cheryl Boone Isaacs and Director’s Guild (DGA) president Paris Barclay were inducted into the Image Awards Hall of Fame. Both are the first African-American presidents of their respective organizations. Barclay referenced his upbringing saying, “I’m the first in a long line of factory workers.” Boone Isaacs said AMPAS invited more women and minority this year than it ever has. “We still have a lot of work to do. I look forward to it,” she said to applause.
Forest Whitaker and David Oyelowo were honored for their roles in Lee Daniels’ The Butler and Angela Bassett won the Lead Actress prize for Black Nativity. Whitaker was also honored with the NAACP Chairman’s Award. “I’m one of those with a funny accent and an African name,” Oyelowo referencing emcee Anthony Anderson’s earlier jokes about Brit actors with their accents and African names in his speech who cross the Pond to grab roles in Hollywood. Meanwhile, Whitaker quoted a song from Nat King Cole, “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is to love and be loved.”
On the television side, Hart and his BET show Real Husbands of Hollywood were honored for comedy, while Kerry Washington, Joe Morton and ABC’s Scandal picked up three awards for drama. Since showrunner Shonda Rhimes was unable to attend, Washington accepted the Scandal award. In her own acceptance speech, Washington said, “The historic nature of this role is due not to lack of talent, but lack of opportunity.”
The NAACP Image Awards were broadcast live on TV One and hosted by Anthony Anderson. Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) President Cheryl Boone Isaacs and Director’s Guild (DGA) president Paris Barclay were inducted into the Image Awards Hall of Fame. Both are the first African-American presidents of their respective organizations. Barclay referenced his upbringing saying, “I’m the first in a long line of factory workers.” Boone Isaacs said AMPAS invited more women and minority this year than it ever has. “We still have a lot of work to do. I look forward to it,” she said to applause.
Barry Bonds is making a return to baseball, of sorts. The San Jose Mercury News reports the career home run leader has wanted to take on a more active role in the San Francisco Giants organization and will get his chance. It marks his return to baseball after retiring in 2007.
Bonds finished with 762 career home runs. He also holds the Major League Baseball record for homers in a season with 73. He finished with a .444 career on-base percentage and stole 514 bases.
“He’s part of what we’ll do here,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “He’s going to be part of the group of instructors like (Will) Clark, (J.T.) Snow or (Jeff) Kent. He’s going to be like the other guy sna help where he can. I don’t have any concerns.”
The Giants are not sure what to expect from Bonds, 49, but the paper reports the team believes he can make an immediate impact. He was originally scheduled to arrive in Scottsdale on March 9 and leave on March 17, but the newspaper reports the Giants are still waiting on exact dates.
article by Jason Boyd via sportingnews.com
Beyhive, pat yourselves on the back. Thanks to your unwavering support of Queen Bey, according to MTV News, at the end of the Mrs. Carter Tour Beyoncé will be highest paid Black musician of all time.
According to estimates, the Mrs. Carter tour is expected to make well over $200 million which would make it Beyonce’s most successful tour ever and lead to her being crowned the highest paid Black musician of all time. This is on top of the Mrs. Carter tour already taking the honor of the highest-grossing concert by a female artist in 2013.
As MTV news points out, this feat would be an especially big one for Bey considering she’s the director and executive producer of the tour, via her production company, Parkwood Entertainment. That same company is also responsible for creating her self-titled visual album and her 2013 HBO documentary Life Is But A Dream.
The Mrs. Carter tour wraps March 27 in Portugal — unless Bey decides to extend it again — so it won’t be long before we see if she makes her mark.
See more at: http://madamenoire.com/402663/beyonce-highest-paid-black-musician-time-end-mrs-carter-tour/#sthash.KjVKdH5U.dpuf
BALTIMORE —This month the Great Blacks in Wax Museum in east Baltimore is celebrating Black History Month as well as the 50th anniversary of equal rights for all. The folks at the museum said Black History Month is all about teaching others about black culture. “It’s about teaching, specifically our children, about the accomplishments of great individuals of African descent, so we hope to get a lot of school kids and other people, as well, coming into the museum,” said museum spokesman Jon Wilson.
The museum’s exhibits and life-like wax figures chronicle the history of black people in America. This year for Black History Month, it’s focusing on the Civil Rights movement because of the 50th anniversary of the Equal Rights Bill. “This legislation by Lyndon B. Johnson made the law that you had to do things more equally and give people their rights no matter what their ethnicity,” Wilson said. The museum is also offering “Civil Sights for Civil Rights” tours for groups that get visitors out and about in Baltimore to see historic venues.
“Baltimore has a very, very rich heritage as it related to Civil Rights, basically because of the Mitchell family and Thurgood Marshall being a Baltimorean. You can go to a lot of historical churches in this area. The Niagara Movement, which was the beginning of the NAACP — you can go to these different churches,” Wilson said.
Museum officials said they expect 8,000-10,000 people to come through the doors in February. They hope each visitor takes away understanding and an acceptance. “We want people to walk away with an understanding that, for us to work together, the community has to work together and have respect for different cultures,” Wilson said.
The museum is open every day in February, but it operates year-round.
Read more: http://www.wbaltv.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/museum-offers-civil-rights-tours-during-black-history-month/24540596#ixzz2tuxWTYFu
According to the Boston Globe, Rapper-actor LL Cool J has been named Harvard’s 2014 Artist of the Year, and will be honored at the annual Cultural Rhythms Festival on Feb. 22. In making the announcement Wednesday, Harvard Foundation director S. Allen Counter had this to say about Ladies Love Cool James (aka Todd Smith): “His pioneering contributions to a new genre of music and distinguished history of creativity have been lauded by young people around the world, and he is greatly admired for his excellent humanitarian efforts through the Jumpstart program,” an initiative that enhances early education programs in low-income neighborhoods. In recent years, the Harvard Foundation has honored Shakira, Quincy Jones, Queen Latifah, Sharon Stone, Andy Garcia, Will Smith, Matt Damon, Halle Berry, Jackie Chan, and Denzel Washington.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
According to Variety.com, Universal Studios has started pre-production on a sequel to its hit buddy comedy Ride Along, with Ice Cube and Kevin Hart on board to reprise their starring roles. Ride Along has topped $117 million in U.S. box office after five weekends, starting its run with three consecutive first-place finishes. The film was budgeted at a cost-effective $25 million.
Will Packer, Ice Cube, Matt Alvarez and Larry Brezner will again produce. Tim Story is attached to direct again from a script by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. Universal signed the writers to script the sequel last year. The decision to greenlight Ride Along 2 comes on the heels of the healthy opening of another Hart comedy, Sony’s About Last Night, which took in $27.8 million over the four-day weekend.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
Will Packer, Ice Cube, Matt Alvarez and Larry Brezner will again produce. Tim Story is attached to direct again from a script by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. Universal signed the writers to script the sequel last year. The decision to greenlight Ride Along 2 comes on the heels of the healthy opening of another Hart comedy, Sony’s About Last Night, which took in $27.8 million over the four-day weekend.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
Fox’s Batman prequel has found another villain: Jada Pinkett Smith has been tapped to play Gotham’s Fish Mooney, a sadistic gangster with street smarts and a short temper. Based on the DC Comics characters and written by The Mentalist’s Bruno Heller, the one-hour drama series from Warner Bros. TV focuses on a younger version of Batman ally James Gordon (Ben McKenzie). Other cast members include Donal Logue as Detective Harvey Bullock, Zabryna Guevara as Captain Essen, Erin Richards as Barbara Kean, Sean Pertwee as Alfred Pennyworth and Robin Lord Taylor as Oswald Cobblepot (better known as the Penguin). Heller is executive producing with director Danny Cannon (CSI). Smith, who starred in TNT’s HawthoRNe and executive produces The Queen Latifah Show, is represented by Paradigm, Overbrook Entertainment and Tencer & Associates PR.
article by Whitney Friedlander via Variety.com
Jimmy Fallon loves the ’90s. Like, really, really loves the ’90s. After famously reuniting the casts of Saved by the Bell and Full House on Late Night, the 39-year-old comedian gave a nod The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air during his first-ever time hosting The Tonight Show Monday. Of course, he couldn’t have done it without a little help from his first guest, Will Smith.
Dressed in overalls and printed tees, the duo performed the “Evolution of Hip-Hop Dancing,” showing off moves ranging from the “Cabbage Patch” and the “Running Man” to the “Robot” and the “Pop and Lock.” Other signatures included “Crank That (Soulja Boy),” “Kid ‘N Play,” “MC Hammer” and “The Carlton.” Unfortunately, Smith’s Fresh Prince of Bel-Air costar Alfonso Ribeiro didn’t make a cameo.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTpn30Pms8I&w=560&h=315]
And while they both attempted to do the “Leg Thing No One Can Do,” it was the “Spank That” move that tripped Smith up. Fallon transitioned into “Dirt Off Your Shoulder,” but Smith was still spanking it. The funnymen recovered and decided to “Make It Rain” before “Picking Up the Money Because That’s all You Had.” When Fallon began to demonstrate the “Twerk,” 45-year-old Smith bowed out and walked offstage.
The recurring bit is a fan favorite. During his tenure on Late Night, Fallon performed “The History of Rap” with Justin Timberlake; the singer later helped Fallon with his “Evolution of End Zone Dancing” tutorial. Fallon also once demonstrated “The Evolution of Mom Dancing” with First Lady Michelle Obama.
article by Zach Johnson via eonline.com
Lamar Odom is no longer a free agent. Seven months after the Los Angeles Clippers released the athlete, Odom signed a two-month contract with Spanish club team Laboral Kutxa for the rest of the 2013–14 season, with the option to play for one more year. Laboral Kutxa is ninth in the 18-team Spanish league and last in its Euroleague group.
“We’re very happy to have signed a very important player who has had a long and fruitful career in the NBA,” Josean Querejeta, president of Laboral Kutxa, says in a statement. “We’ve worked very hard over the last couple of days to make this happen. We felt we needed a boost and had to break the collective cloud that has been hanging over us over the last while so we could get back to winning.”
Odom, 34, could make his debut as early as Saturday when Laboral Kutxa plays Valladolid. The native New Yorker previously played for the Miami Heat, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks.
In August, Odom was arrested and charged with driving under the influence. In December, he pleaded no contest and was sentenced to three years’ probation and three months of alcohol abuse treatment. That same month, Khloé Kardashian filed for divorce from Odom after four years of marriage.
article by Zach Johnson via eonline.com