Although African-Americans weren’t prominent in Forbes’ annual list of the richest Americans, they are definitely well-represented among Hollywood power couples. The finance magazine has released its list of the highest earning celebrity couples and perhaps to the surprise of no one rapper Jay Z and his wife, pop icon Beyoncé, top the list. The chart topping duo earned $95 million last year through their concerts, album sales and endorsements, putting them ahead of couples like Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen, as well as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, who just welcomed their first child, a daughter named North, into the world, came in 5th overall, earning $30 million. Still none of these couples’ earning power combined reaches the height of say Oprah Winfrey, who, bolstered by rising OWN ratings, has made close to $3 billion in the last year.
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People Magazine revealed Friday that Kerry Washington topped their new list of the world’s best-dressed women. “I like to find balance in an outfit where it doesn’t feel too much of any one thing,” she told the magazine about her red carpet style. “It’s not dressing like a nun and it’s also not dressing like I’m in a swimsuit competition. It’s finding the middle ground.”With her new marriage and the success of “Scandal,” Washington definitely had a standout year, and we are sure her Emmy nomination is just icing on the cake. The Hollywood actress shared that she and her stylist of two years, Erin Walsh ,have been working to find the perfect dress for Sunday’s ceremony. “Erin and I really work hand in hand,” she said. “We’re always sending each other ideas and pictures.”
She added, “For me the goal is to feel comfortable, event-appropriate and to be an elevated, more special version of myself or to feel like the best version of myself in that context and just be in the moment.”
Other fashion titles for 2013 went to Solange Knowles for Best Risk-Taking Style, Jennifer Lawrence for Best High Fashion Style, Jessica Chastain for Best Red Carpet Style and Jenna Dewan-Tatum for Best Pregnancy Style.
Past stars who’ve won the “Best Dressed” title include Gwyneth Paltrow, Blake Lively and Zoë Saldana.
article by Myeisha Essex via blackamericaweb.com
Queen Latifah’s return to daytime TV kicked off with a bang on Monday. According to reports, the premiere episode of “The Queen Latifah Show” delivered the biggest debut of the season with a 1.7 rating among households. “‘Latifah’ pulled at 0.9/5 in the key daytime demo of women 25-54, which marked an 80% spike over its time period averages in that demo last year,” Variety reports, making it “the highest-rated daytime syndie talker premiere since “Dr. Oz” in 2009.”
“It’s incredibly exciting to see such a positive response to the show we’ve been crafting for the past year,” executive producer Corin Nelson said in a press release. “And it’s just the beginning of how we plan to showcase all of Latifah’s talents and the quality of guests and entertainment this show will give viewers every day.” During a previous interview with the Associated Press, Queen Latifah said she’s more concerned about her show’s content than its ratings.
“I’m not trying to throw myself out there to get ratings,” she said. “I’m really more interested in building something that’s entertaining to people.” “I learned I really have to be true to myself,” she added. “I want to go out there and do something that feels like me every day and is something I’m comfortable with and excited about.”
The season premiere of ”The Queen Latifah Show” featured an appearance by John Travolta and performance by Willow Smith. Jamie Foxx, Sharon Stone, Will Smith and Jake Gyllenhaal are scheduled to appear on upcoming episodes.
article by Myeisha Essex via hellobeautiful.com
“It’s incredibly exciting to see such a positive response to the show we’ve been crafting for the past year,” executive producer Corin Nelson said in a press release. “And it’s just the beginning of how we plan to showcase all of Latifah’s talents and the quality of guests and entertainment this show will give viewers every day.” During a previous interview with the Associated Press, Queen Latifah said she’s more concerned about her show’s content than its ratings.
“I’m not trying to throw myself out there to get ratings,” she said. “I’m really more interested in building something that’s entertaining to people.” “I learned I really have to be true to myself,” she added. “I want to go out there and do something that feels like me every day and is something I’m comfortable with and excited about.”
The season premiere of ”The Queen Latifah Show” featured an appearance by John Travolta and performance by Willow Smith. Jamie Foxx, Sharon Stone, Will Smith and Jake Gyllenhaal are scheduled to appear on upcoming episodes.
article by Myeisha Essex via hellobeautiful.com
NEW YORK — Kendrick Lamar is the top nominee for the Soul Train Awards. The rapper is up for six awards, including album of the year for “good kid, m.A.A.d city” and song and video of the year for “Poetic Justice.” R&B singers Justin Timberlake, Miguel, Robin Thicke, Chris Brown and Tamar Braxton follow with five nominations each. See a full list of nominees here.
The latest albums from Lamar, Timberlake and Miguel will battle efforts from Jay-Z, Rihanna and Fantasia for album of the year. Lamar’s other nominations include best new artist, hip-hop song of the year and collaboration.
The Soul Train Awards will be presented Nov. 8 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The awards will air Dec. 1 on BET and Centric.
Actor-comedian Anthony Anderson will host the show.
article via huffingtonpost.com
The latest albums from Lamar, Timberlake and Miguel will battle efforts from Jay-Z, Rihanna and Fantasia for album of the year. Lamar’s other nominations include best new artist, hip-hop song of the year and collaboration.
The Soul Train Awards will be presented Nov. 8 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The awards will air Dec. 1 on BET and Centric.
Actor-comedian Anthony Anderson will host the show.
article via huffingtonpost.com
Lifetime has greenlit a biopic on the life of two-time Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas, tentatively titled The Gabby Douglas Story. The movie will follow Douglas from childhood, when she began formal gymnastics as a 6-year-old, to the present; and so 2 actresses will play her – Sydney Mikayla will be Gabby Douglas as a child, and Imani Hakim will be Gabby Douglas in her teens, eventually becoming a member of the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics team at the 2012 Summer Olympics, where she won gold medals in both the individual and team all-around competitions.
Regina King will play her mother, and S. Epatha Merkerson will be her grandmother. Douglas will also appear in the film herself, which is produced by Sony Pictures TV.
From the press release description:
A prodigy from a very young age, Gabby Douglas originally made her mark on the world of competitive gymnastics at age eight. She won numerous state championship titles in her age group throughout her early competitive career. While her star was fast rising in the arena, Gabby and her family faced economic challenges at home and she made the difficult decision to leave her mother Natalie (King), three siblings and grandmother (Merkerson) in Virginia Beach and move to Des Moines, Iowa, to train with renowned coach Liang Chow (Brian Tee, The Wolvernine) to pursue her dream of Olympic glory. Buoyed by her early success, dedication and unyielding love from her family, Gabby made it onto the 2012 U.S. Women’s Gymnastics team, with whom she faced intense competition in the London Games. Her sacrifice and perseverance were triumphantly rewarded with Team Competition and Individual All-round gold medals, placing Gabby and her teammates – known as “The Fierce Five” — among the world’s all-time greats in gymnastics.
The telepic will be directed by Gregg Champion (Lifetime’s Amish Grace) from a script written by Maria Nation(Lifetime’s The Two Mr. Kissels). Zev Braun and Philip Krupp (also Lifetime project alums) will serve as executive producers, with David Rosemont producing. The Gabby Douglas Story will film in Manitoba, Canada, and debut in 2014.
article by Tambay A. Obenson via ShadowAndAct
Although it’s been in theaters for more than a month, Lee Daniels’ The Butler continued its strong box-office performance with a fourth-place finish that saw North American ticket sales cross the $100 million mark. With a production budget of approximately $30 million, in limited release internationally and awards season still ahead, The Butler is in strong contention for becoming one of the most profitable movies of 2013.
The top movie this weekend was horror film Insidious: Chapter 2, which debuted in first place with $41 million, more than tripling the opening take of the 2010 original. Another newcomer, Relativity Media’s Robert De Niro-Michelle Pfeiffer crime caper The Family, opened in second place with $14.5 million. That bumped last week’s champ, the Vin Diesel starrer Riddick, to third. Jennifer Aniston vehicle We’re The Millers rounded out the top five.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
WASHINGTON – Phylicia Rashad is best known for starring roles on stage and television, but as a director she decided to commemorate a historic moment that helped spur the civil rights movement.
The Tony Award-winning actress directed a reading of the play “Four Little Girls: Birmingham 1963” at the Kennedy Center Sunday to mark the 50th anniversary of the bombing at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Four girls were killed in the explosion, which was set by white supremacists and helped spur passage of landmark civil rights legislation.
Rashad, who is recognized for her portrayal as the matriarch on “The Cosby Show” TV series and Broadway’s “A Raisin in the Sun,” said she wanted the reading to emphasize the “sanctity of joy, human existence and the value of all life.”
The play, written by Christina Ham, starred students from Howard University and the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C.
Rashad, an alumna of Howard University, said acting and directing are both challenging and rewarding. In her role as director, Rashad said she works to keep the creative energy in line with the writer’s vision, “while leaving room for people to add to the vision in a collaborative effort.”
article by Stacy A. Anderson, AP via ca.yahoo.news.com
Canelo Alvarez proved nothing more than easy money for Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. Mayweather turned one of the richest fights ever into just another $41.5 million payday Saturday night, dominating Alvarez from the opening bell and winning a majority decision in a masterful performance that left no doubt who the best fighter of his era is.
Fighting off his shortest layoff in years, Mayweather was sharp, efficient and sometimes brutal in dismantling an unbeaten fighter who was bigger and was supposed to punch harder. He frustrated Alvarez early, pounded him with big right hands in the middle rounds, and made him look just like he said he would — like any other opponent.
Mayweather was favored 117-111 and 116-112 on two ringside scorecards while a third inexplicably had the fight 114-114. The Associated Press scored it 119-109 for Mayweather. “I just listened to my corner, listened to my dad,” Mayweather said. “My dad had a brilliant game plan, and I went out there and got the job done.”
Mayweather was favored 117-111 and 116-112 on two ringside scorecards while a third inexplicably had the fight 114-114. The Associated Press scored it 119-109 for Mayweather. “I just listened to my corner, listened to my dad,” Mayweather said. “My dad had a brilliant game plan, and I went out there and got the job done.”
THINGS NEVER SAID Cast: Shanola Hampton (Kalindra Stephney), Omari Hardwick (Curtis Jackson), Elimu Nelson (Ronnie), Tamala Jones (Daphne), Michael Beach (Will Jackson), Dorian Missick (Steve), Charlayne Woodard (Charlotte), Tom Wright (Daniel) Written & Directed by: Charles Murray Rated: R Ohio Street Pictures
I might as well get out the disclosure right up front: I have known Things Never Said writer/director Charles Murray for well over fifteen years, and at every turn of his career (executive at Magic Johnson’s production company, television writer on Third Watch and Criminal Minds, independent filmmaker) I have rooted for him. Charles is smart, funny and more than a bit of an unapologetic iconoclast, which could only mean two things for him – career suicide or artistic success. After seeing Things Never Said, I am thrilled to report he is a creative force only beginning to mine the gifts he has to share with this world.
The story of Things Never Said is deceptively simple: Kalindra (Shanola Hampton), a young woman haunted by a miscarriage and stuck in a bad marriage to former basketball star Ronnie (Elimu Nelson), seeks an outlet through spoken-word poetry. Kal succumbs to an affair with Curtis (Omari Hardwick), a fellow poet who seems to see into her soul, but has his own heavy baggage Kal may not want to take on. While that might sound prosaic and maybe even a little pretentious (note: the poetry is extremely well-performed and relatable, so if you weren’t a poetry fan before, you will be after this), what’s special about this movie is the nuanced, complex and unpredictable ways Murray has his characters grapple with their conflicts.
At first, you don’t want Kal to cheat on her husband – she is too intelligent and creative a woman to fall for the game the sexy-but-mysterious Curtis spits at her. But then again, you also wonder why Kal is staying with the sullen, unsupportive Ronnie, who seems to be going nowhere in his life and holding her back from hers. As the layers start to unfold, you learn not only has Ronnie gone through the hardship of losing his future, but also that Kal was brought up by her mother Charlotte (Charlayne Woodard) to believe that sticking with one’s husband no matter what is what defines a woman as a good person and wife. So when Kal finally does give in to her attraction to Curtis, they have so much chemistry and tenderness and understanding between them you want her to get away with the affair… until you realize Curtis may have even less to offer Kal than Ronnie when it’s revealed he’s an ex-con and why he landed in jail in the first place.
Actress Shanola Hampton carries the organic twists and turns of this movie so beautifully it’s surprising she’s never had a major role in a film before. She has an equally able partner in Omari Hardwick, who makes you root for Curtis despite the palpable possibility he may be more trouble than he’s worth. Which, I think, is Murray’s point – no matter how much you connect to another person and no matter how they make you feel about yourself or even challenge you to become your better self – the real romance and discovery lies within knowing and healing oneself. This is the thing not said about love – it alone does not conquer all. This is the thing not said about art or creative outlets – they alone do not solve deep issues. Kalindra is not “saved” by Curtis or her poetry, but rather, they both shed light on her path to saving and healing herself from all of the preconceived notions she’s grown up on, from all the ways she’s limited herself, and from all of the abuse she’s accepted – external and internal.
Things Never Said is an important addition to African-American independent cinema and humanistic storytelling that should not be missed. Its Los Angeles run has been extended through September 19 and the film opens in Atlanta, Boston, Washington DC, and Gary, Indiana on September 13 – TODAY! Please get out and support the movie — you can get updates on other showings around the country from thingsneversaid.com or on the Things Never Said Facebook Page. Also, check out the trailer below:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1BFiyFqXfQ&w=560&h=315]