[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQpUkH37Gek&w=560&h=315]
The story of how Venus and Serena Williams grew to become two of the world’s most notable tennis stars is quite fascinating. The sisters, who are only 15 months apart, are finally telling their story from the beginning with the release of the documentary, Venus and Serena. Watch the super-trailer above to see the sisters give a never-before-seen glimpse into their lives as not only world-renowned champions, but sisters and best friends, too. The film will be released on iTunes April 4 and in theatres May 10.
article by Nicole Maria Melton via essence.com
Posts published in “Movies”
Due out in July, comedian Kevin Hart’s “Let Me Explain” movie-length exploration of his life on the road and on stage will be released by Summit Entertainment/Lionsgate. Find out more about Hart and his projects at kevinhartnation.com.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
Bryant Gumbel on the set of “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel”
Robin Roberts’ ABC special about her bone marrow transplant and “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” were among the 39 winners of this year’s Peabody Awards honoring the best in electronic media in 2012. The honorees were announced at a ceremony on the University of Georgia campus, but the awards won’t be handed out until a luncheon event in New York City on May 20.
Also awarded, Comedy Central’s “D.L. Hughley: The Endangered List,” an hourlong special on whether black men should be on the endangered species list; and the Smithsonian Channel’s “MLK: The Assassination Tapes,” which used rare footage collected at the University of Memphis in 1968, to relive the events leading up to the murder of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and its aftermath.
The long-gestating Richard Pryor biopic is starting over from scratch with Forest Whitaker now in charge.
Fresh from producing the Sundance Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award winner “Fruitvale,” Whitaker has taken over the nearly two-decade effort to bring the legendary comic’s life of the big screen, reports Deadline.com.
Whitaker is teaming with the late comic’s widow, Jennifer Pryor, to produce the film through his Significant Productions shingle. Whitaker will develop a new script with input from Jennifer Pryor, and Significant Productions’ Nina Yang-Bongiovi, will also produce.
The Pryor biopic has been attempted numerous times, and the most recent version had Bill Condon poised to direct Marlon Wayans in the starring role for Sony Pictures, where Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison had set the project. Condon was certainly passionate about Pryor, but everything took a back seat when he signed on to helm the final two “Twilight Saga” installments. The project languished.
The first Pryor project was a Martin Scorsese-directed drama to star Damon Wayans, this well before Pryor died in 2005. Later, there was a Showtime pic that was to star Eddie Griffin and another attempt at a feature that was to star Mike Epps with Kasi Lemmons directing.
Condon’s first flirtation had Eddie Murphy briefly interested, and then Chris Rock was briefly in the conversation.
The question now is, who will be Whitaker’s Richard Pryor? Deadline.com’s Mike Fleming Jr. thinks he should look no further than his “Fruitvale” star, Michael B. Jordan, “who by all accounts crushed it in that film.”
Fleming writes: “Jordan, who grew up playing roles in ‘The Wire’ and ‘Friday Night Lights’ before starring in ‘Chronicle,’ certainly has the charisma and should be established enough as the lead on a modestly budgeted film after The Weinstein Company releases ‘Fruitvale’ later this year.”
article via eurweb.com
LOS ANGELES (AP) — When your film franchise has gotten tired — the Fast aren’t quite as Furious, the Mummy needs a reason to Return — Dwayne Johnson is the guy to call.
The 40-year-old actor has become a savior of stale film series, injecting new life into “Fast Five,” ”The Mummy Returns,” ”Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” and now “G.I. Joe: Retaliation.” The former professional wrestler rocks established franchises by joining them on the second or subsequent installment and boosting the property’s box office.
“Fast & Furious 6″ and “Journey 3″ are on the way, and Johnson’s ”Mummy” character got his own spinoff film, “The Scorpion King.” “We call him franchise Viagra,” said “Retaliation” director Jon M. Chu. “He comes in and he elevates everything, not just physically, but energy-wise… He was the only one in our minds that could reinvent G.I. Joe and carry the franchise forward.”
Actor Idris Elba arrives for a State Dinner in honor of British Prime Minister David Cameron at the White House on March 14, 2012 in Washington, DC. Cameron is on a three day official visit to Washington. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)
“Not in terms of performance,” he clarifies. “But my film’s about his entire life. Anyone wanting to understand who Mandela was should go and watch my film.” Although the British-born actor is aware that his movie won’t be the first to portray Mandela’s story on the big screen, he does believe that it will capture a more complete portrayal of the South African leader’s experiences.
Angela Bassett at Sardi’s restaurant in New York. Bassett co-stars in the action flick, “Olympus Has Fallen.” (AP Photo/Carlo Allegri, file)
That all changed once they started working together on a set outside Shreveport, La., where they recreated parts of Washington, D.C., including the White House. “He was nothing but professional and kind and warm and fun, and you know, a treat,” Bassett recalled.
The actress plays Secret Service Director Lynn Jacobs alongside Freeman’s Speaker of the House Trumbull, who assumes presidential power when the president and vice president are incapacitated after a terrorist attack on the White House. “He’s been in so many great roles and he works all the time, you know? Who am I going to be in a world with him? His right hand! And he was at my left. So it was great,” Bassett said.
Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson in a scene from “42.” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City was announced Wednesday as the host site for the only advance public screenings of a film chronicling the rise of Jackie Robinson, a nod to the city where the baseball great made his professional debut two years before breaking the major league color barrier. Harrison Ford stars as former Brooklyn Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey in the film, “42,” which details Robinson’s Rookie of the Year season in 1947 while combating unabashed racism on and off the diamond.
Ford and fellow cast member Andre Holland planned to attend the screenings on April 11 at a movie theater on the city’s north side. Proceeds will benefit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, museum president Bob Kendrick said. Although the story of Robinson in Brooklyn is well known, Kendrick said Kansas City also played a prominent role in his early career. Robinson played for the Kansas City Monarchs, a member of the Negro Leagues, in 1945, batting .387 while hitting five home runs and stole 13 bases in 47 games. After a year in the minor leagues, he joined the Dodgers in 1947 and won the inaugural Rookie of the Year award.
Halle Berry arrives at the premiere of Tri Star Pictures’ ‘The Call’ at the Arclight Theatre on March 5, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
After a string of box-office disappointments like last year’s “Cloud Atlas” and this year’s “Movie 43,” Oscar winner Halle Berry entered this weekend in need of a hit. It appears her new thriller “The Call” brought just what the doctor ordered.
According to box office estimates, the movie opened with $17.1 million, making it her third largest non-X-Men debut. Entertainment Weekly reports that, “Sony/TriStar, which acquired the $15 million R-rated film from Troika Pictures, effectively marketed “The Call” to women, and according to the studio, the opening-weekend audience was 61 percent female and 47 percent below the age of 30 — and it also played very well with African-American moviegoers. “The Call” earned a ‘B+’ CinemaScore grade.”