July 22, 2026
Full details below via press release…
Film & Script Submissions Now Being Accepted for 13th Edition of the Hollywood Black Film Festival; New FILM DIASPORA Sidebar Added
The Hollywood Black Film Festival (HBFF) — recognized as one of the leading black film festivals in the world — is now accepting submissions for the 2013 festival, to be held October 2-6, 2013 in Hollywood, CA. Regular feature, short, student and documentary film submissions, Project Stargazer submissions, and scripts for the Storyteller Competition will be accepted through June 16. The late deadline is July 8.
HBFF welcomes narrative features, shorts, student and documentary films for its competitive program. Animation films and music videos submitted are accepted for the non-competitive program only. All films submitted must have been completed after September 1, 2012.
HBFF will introduce a new competitive sidebar this year, FILM DIASPORA, to showcase independent films and filmmakers from the African Diaspora. Feature, short and documentary films submitted to compete in FILM DIASPORA must have been produced by filmmakers residing outside the U.S. — in Africa, the Caribbean, Central or Latin America.
Syfy unveiled a high-profile new scripted series from Jamie Foxx and his Foxxhole Prods. The Oscar winner will executive produce, write and direct the five-episode horror anthology series, which will debut during Syfy’s annual 31 Days Of Halloween programming marathon this October. Foxx might also appear on the yet-untitled series, which is produced by Universal Cable Prods.
In the vein of horror classics like Tales From The Crypt and The Twilight Zone, the contemporary series tells creepy morality tales with themes such as envy, jealousy and superficiality. “This is a project that I’ve wanted to do for a long time and I’m so happy to see it come to life,” Foxx said. “Get ready to lose it when some special friends and I bring the scares this October, and who knows… maybe I’ll make a guest appearance or two along the way!” Added Syfy/UCP’s Mark Stern, “Jamie Foxx’s passion and unique perspective will transform these universal insights on the human condition into emotionally potent and truly scary cautionary tales.”
Announced via press release, HBO has acquired all U.S. broadcast and home video rights to Moms Mabley: I Got Somethin’ to Tell You from first-time director Whoopi Goldberg. The feature-length documentary about the iconic stand-up comedienne, will have its world premiere at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday, April 20.
Executive produced by Goldberg, Tom Leonardis and George Schlatter, the documentary will debut exclusively on HBO later this year. In the film, Goldberg explores Mabley’s legacy through recently unearthed photography, rediscovered performance footage and the words of numerous celebrated comedians, entertainers and historians, including Eddie Murphy,Joan Rivers, Sidney Poitier, Kathy Griffin, Harry Belafonte, Bill Cosby, Quincy Jones, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara.
Mabley tackled topics such as gender, sex and racism, making her one of the first triple X-rated comedians on the comedy circuit. Once billed as “The Funniest Woman in the World,” she performed on stage and in television and film up until her death in 1975.
“Moms Mabley has been a huge inspiration to me and so many others, but not a lot of folks outside of the comedy world know about her legacy,” said Goldberg in a statement. “There are a lot of us who wouldn’t be working today without pioneers like her. HBO gave me my first break on TV, so it’s only fitting that Moms has a home there now.
article by Tambay A. Obenson via indiewire.com
Deadline.com‘s Jen Yamato reports that Peeples writer/director Tina Gordon Chism recently sold her original script Inheritance to Sony Pictures. Inheritance is a thriller that follows a young female lawyer handling the case of a New Orleans coffee magnate whose passing sparks a deadly chain of events. This project reteams Chism with producer Stephanie Allain following the pair’s collaboration on Lionsgate’s Peeples for Tyler Perry Studios.
That film marks Chism’s directorial debut and hits theaters on May 10. Sony executive DeVon Franklin snapped up Inheritance for Sony; Alex Siskin is also producing with Todd Black and Jason Blumenthal for Escape Artists. The shoot is planned to take place on location in New Orleans. Chism got her start on The Cosby Show and made her screenwriting debut with Fox’s 2002 hit Drumline before scripting ATL for Warner Bros.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios announced the lease of 75,000 square feet of production space in Culver City, Calif. on Thursday, which the company plans to use for its 35th and 36th television series, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
These will be the studio’s third and fourth brand new scripted sitcoms in less than two years, and once again, Allen is going forward with the half-hour syndicated shows without pilots for either, THR reported.
They will be funded by his own company, with an initial guaranteed order of 104 episodes of each, or 208 episodes in total. Allen won’t reveal numbers, but THR puts the cost of production for the shows at roughly $350,000 to $400,000 each, which by major network standards is a bargain these days. That is a minimum investment of $72.8 million for the 208 episodes.
Regarding his cost-effective productions, Allen boasts he has never canceled a show. “The way I see it we’re the Walmart of television,” says Allen. “We make it very efficiently but we don’t cut costs on writers or actors.”
Allen, a stand-up comic who has built (and still wholly owns) a company with over $100 million in annual revenues, has already found financial success with his first two scripted shows, “The First Family” and “Mr. Box Office.” They joined the corporate line-up of 30 unscripted shows that Entertainment Studios has created and sold since 1993.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6eY7WpOmoE&w=420&h=315]
The Soul of the South Network, targeting African-American viewers, announced Thursday it will launch in 30 markets on May 27 after closing an initial round of funding for $10 million raised from the state of Arkansas and private investors, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The new network will be distributed initially by over-the-air stations and on digital channels on the broadcast spectrum but also plans to air on cable and expects its stations to qualify under FCC must-carry rules (which mandate nearby cable systems must carry it) because it is local and offers unique news programming.
“Our distribution footprint covers at least 70 percent of all African-American households in the south and in Chicago and Philadelphia, which we call sister regions,” says Doug McHenry, the Hollywood-based producer of films including “New Jack City” and “House Party” and TV shows including “Malcolm & Eddie,” who is the new network’s president of entertainment.
By the end of this summer, Soul of the South expects to be in 50-60 markets with a high concentration of African-Americans, reaching 30-40 million households.
At launch over Memorial Day weekend, the network will not have any original programming outside of an active news presence in its local markets. McHenry says execs are in active negotiations with three Hollywood studios about licensing appropriate programming, including past situation comedies, dramas, documentaries and movies.
Power couple Jay-Z and Beyoncé have recently been making lots of headlines lately, and now the rapper is gracing the cover of Time. Both he and wife Beyoncé have been named by the magazine as two of the world’s most influential people.
The annual feature lists 100 of the world’s most prominent figures, in no particular order, who have made the biggest global impact over the past year. The issue, which includes Jay-Z on one of seven covers, also provides brief profiles that capture the essence of each qualifier.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gofe3zBKhf0&w=560&h=315]
Amber Holcomb, one of the Top 5 left in the “American Idol” competition, and often called a “young Whitney Houston” by the judges, has been in the bottom two several times this season. 
But after weeks of pop-tinged performances, last night she showed off her jazz chops again (the first time was in the Las Vegas sudden death rounds where she sang “My Funny Valentine“) and did an amazing vocal on the Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman standard “What Are You Doing For The Rest of Your Life?” Hopefully her talent will be rewarded and she will be one of the Top 4 after tonight’s elimination episode on FOX.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
The greatest hip-hop album ever was made 25 years ago this month. Its title alone speaks volumes: It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back. At the time, it was a metaphor for African-American people, a nod to the systemic racism plaguing America, but for others, it also represented the uphill battle Public Enemy faced.
The album was crafted at a time, 1988, when hip-hop had no boundaries and every landmark album was groundbreaking. But Public Enemy broke ground that went clear through to the other side of the world when they made It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back. The album is what we call a Magnum Opus (Latin for ‘great work’).
PE’s second album, It Takes A Nation boasts one of the slickest intros, but it forecasted what was to come — world domination. It Takes A Nation kicks off from a recording in London, while the Long-Island-born group toured the world on the 1987 Def Jam tour. They were informing America that they had already been approved by the world and now it was America’s turn.
Of course, hardcore hip-hop heads had already embraced their first album, Yo! Bum Rush The Show, but this was special.
Read the full article here: Public Enemy’s ‘It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back’ still powerful 25 years later | theGrio.