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John Legend to Star in NBC’s ‘Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert’

By goodblacknews on December 19, 2017
John Legend
CREDIT: OWEN KOLASINSKI/BFA/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

by Cynthia Littleton via Variety.com

John Legend will star in the title role in NBC’s live staging of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” set for Easter Sunday.
“We’re all overjoyed to have world-class musical artist and producer John Legend starring as Jesus,” said Robert Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment. “This score demands a singer with an amazing range and an actor with great depth, and there isn’t anyone better to bring this story to a new audience. His casting is also groundbreaking as the traditional image of Christ will be seen in a new way.”
Legend is a multi-hyphenate musician, songwriter, actor and producer who has become active in television as a thesp and producer. He’s a 10-time Grammy winner and an Oscar winner for his work on the song “Glory” from the 2014 drama “Selma.” He won a Tony Award earlier this year as a producer of “Jitney,” the August Wilson revival.

Oprah Winfrey to Receive 2018 Cecil B. DeMille Award at 75th Annual Golden Globes

By goodblacknews on December 13, 2017
Oprah Winfrey (CREDIT: VARIETY)

by  via Variety.com

Oprah Winfrey will be honored with the 2018 Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 75th Annual Golden Globes.
Each year the recipient of the prestigious award is selected by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) board of directors and must be someone who has made “an incredible impact on the world of entertainment.” HFPA president Meher Tatna said Winfrey embodies this qualification for the generations she has “celebrated strong female characters on and off screen, and has been a role model for women and young girls for decades.”
“As a global media leader, philanthropist, producer and actress, she has created an unparalleled connection with people around the world, making her one of the most respected and admired figures today,” Tatna said in a statement. “Holding titles such as Chairman, CEO and Founder, Oprah is one of the most influential women of our time, and this honor is well deserved especially in this 75th anniversary year of the Golden Globe Awards.”
Chairman and CEO of her own cable network — OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network — Winfrey is currently an executive producer on series such as “Greenleaf,” “Queen Sugar” and “Oprah’s Master Class.” In 2017 she executive produced and starred in the Emmy nominated HBO original movie “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” and in 2018 she will appear in “A Wrinkle in Time” from Ava DuVernay. She is also the founder of O, The Oprah Magazine, and oversees Harpo Films.

Perhaps best known as the host of her multi-award-winning talk show, “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” which came to an end in 2011, Winfrey is also the founder of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa, which provides education for “academically gifted” girls from disadvantaged backgrounds and is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and celebrating the school’s seventh graduating class.
Winfrey has been celebrated by the HFPA before, with a Golden Globe Award nomination for her role in “The Color Purple” in 1986.
Morgan Freeman, who received the same award in 2012, announced Winfrey’s honoree status during the airing of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s (HFPA) “Golden Globe 75th Anniversary Special,” which aired on NBC.
In addition to Freeman, recent honorees include Audrey Hepburn, Barbra Streisand, Denzel Washington, George Clooney, Harrison Ford, Jodie Foster, Lucille Ball, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Sidney Poitier, Sophia Loren and Steven Spielberg.
The 75th Annual Golden Globes will be hosted by Seth Meyers and air live coast-to-coast on Jan. 7, 2018 starting at 8pm ET/5pm PT on NBC.
Watch Freeman announce Winfrey as the 2018 Cecil B. DeMille Award recipient below:

Source: http://variety.com/2017/tv/awards/2018-cecil-b-demille-award-recipient-oprah-winfrey-1202640271/

"Insecure" Actor Jay Ellis to Serve as 2018 American Black Film Festival Celebrity Ambassador; Submissions Open Until February

By goodblacknews on December 13, 2017

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)
The 22nd American Black Film Festival (ABFF) will include an exciting lineup of film screenings, events and innovative programming, and will return to Miami from June 13-17, 2018.  The week will include several new experiences, including Smartphone movie screenings, a master class on film financing, music-focused sessions and new networking opportunities for festival attendees.  ABFF continues to be dedicated to introducing emerging content creators of African descent to the industry at large and is recognized as one of the leading film festivals in the world.
Actor Jay Ellis will serve as the 2018 ABFF Celebrity Ambassador. Annually, the festival showcases dynamic content by and about people of African descent from around the world and consists of five competitive categories: Narrative Features, Documentaries, Short Films, Web Series and Smartphone Originals. Submissions are now open and below is a list of film submission deadlines, Awards and direct submission links:
*Narrative Features:
Regular Submissions Deadline: February 15, 2018
Early Submissions Deadline: December 31, 2017

Audience Award–Best Narrative Feature (Prize TBD)
http://www.abff.com/submissions/narrative-features/

*Documentaries:
Early Submissions Deadline: December 31, 2017
Regular Submissions Deadline: February 15, 2018
Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary (Prize TBD)
http://www.abff.com/submissions/documentaries/

John Legend to Produce Jason Reynolds' Best-Selling Novel ‘Long Way Down’ for Universal Pictures

By goodblacknews on December 12, 2017

Author Jason Reynolds (top); Producer John Legend (bottom) [Images via Kia Chennelle/Simon and Schuster; Owen Kolasinski/BFA/Rex/Shutterstock]
by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)
According to Variety.com, Universal Pictures has optioned the rights to Jason Reynolds‘ best-selling young adult novel “Long Way Down,” which was also a National Book Award finalist. John Legend‘s Get Lifted Film Co. and Michael De Luca‘s Michael De Luca Productions have signed on to produce the film.
Reynolds’ book has an unusual premise – the whole story takes place in 60 seconds, as a young man struggles to decide whether or not he’s going to murder the person who killed his brother.  Additionally, the book is written in free verse and is set in an elevator.
Although Legend is best known for his work as a singer and songwriter, but he has also racked up some major film credits, appearing in the likes of “La La Land” and “Soul Men,” and has produced the television series “Underground.” Legend also shared an Academy Award with rapper Common for best original song in 2015 for writing “Glory” from the film “Selma.”
Reynolds’ novels include “All American Boy” and “As Brave as You.” De Luca is the former president of New Line Cinema as well as an Oscar-nominated producer whose credits include the “Fifty Shades” trilogy, “The Social Network,” and “Moneyball.”

‘Twilight Zone’ Reboot Executive Produced by Jordan Peele Gets Greenlight at CBS

By goodblacknews on December 6, 2017
Jordan Peele (COURTESY: CBS)

by Joe Ottterson via Variety.com

“The Twilight Zone” reboot at CBS All Access has officially been ordered to series, the streaming service announced Wednesday.
Jordan Peele, Simon Kinberg and Marco Ramirez will serve as executive producers and collaborate on the premiere episode. Win Rosenfeld and Audrey Chon will also serve as executive producers. The new series will be produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions and Kinberg’s Genre Films. “Too many times this year it’s felt we were living in a twilight zone, and I can’t think of a better moment to reintroduce it to modern audiences,” said Peele.
The original “Twilight Zone,” created by Rod Serling, was an anthology series that delved into science fiction, fantasy, and horror in every episode. It aired on CBS from 1959-1964. CBS Corp. CEO Leslie Moonves first announced plans for a new version of the series back in November. The series has been revived twice before. The first reboot premiered in 1986 on CBS and ran for 110 episodes. The second, featuring Forest Whitaker in Serling’s on-air role, premiered in 2002 on UPN and lasted 43 episodes. A 1983 feature-film version, “The Twilight Zone: The Movie,” included vignettes directed by John Landis, Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante and George Miller.
The news also comes after Peele made a splash in the horror genre with his box office smash hit film “Get Out” earlier this year. He is also attached as an executive producer on the anthology horror series “Lovecraft Country” currently in development at HBO.
To read full article, go to: http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/twilight-zone-reboot-cbs-all-access-jordan-peele-simon-kinberg-marco-ramirez-1202632108/

Tracee Ellis Ross Guest Hosts "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", Schools Men On Sexual Harassment With Children’s Book, 'The Handsy Man' (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on December 6, 2017


by Nicole Hyatt, eurweb.com via blackamericaweb.com
While taking over hosting duties for “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Tuesday, Tracee Ellis Ross used the platform to speak out about the current wave of sexual harassment allegations surrounding Hollywood.
“I wrote a book,” she said, introducing a bit about “The Handsy Man,” her new children’s book that breaks down the issue of sexual harassment so that grown men can understand.
“It’s kind of like a children’s book for men that is going to make it really simple and bring it back to the basics,” she said before opening the cover and reading a passage.
“There is a guy, with 10 long fingers/ creepy glares and hugs that linger./ If you’re a woman, you’re not a fan./ I speak, of course, of The Handsy Man,” she read.
Ross went on to read all the things that “Handsy Man” may not do. “You may not compliment my butt. You may not call me ‘ho’ or ‘slut.’ And even if you’re stoned or drunk, do not expose me to your junk,” Ross read, showing a drawing of “Handsy Man” exposing himself to a woman.
Other passages included instructions to not “grab my boobs while I’m asleep,” an apparent reference to the photograph of Sen. Al Franken groping a sleeping Leeann Tweeden’s breasts, and one final message: “I’ll say it clearly, nice and slow. If she doesn’t consent — the answer is NO.”
Watch the video below:

Source: https://blackamericaweb.com/2017/12/06/tracee-ellis-ross-schools-men-on-sexual-harassment-with-childrens-book/

Courtney B. Vance Drama Series ‘Heist 88’ in the Works at FX

By goodblacknews on December 2, 2017
Courtney B. Vance The Mummy
Courtney B. Vance (CREDIT: CHELSEA LAUREN/VARIETY/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK)

via Variety.com

FX is developing “Heist 88,” a crime drama from executive producers Courtney B. Vance and Dwayne Johnson-Cochran. Under the script development deal between FX and the producers, Emmy-winner Vance is set to star in the project should it be picked up to series.
Set in 1988, “Heist 88” tells the true story of arch-criminal and master manipulator Armand Moore, who persuaded four young, African-American employees of First National Bank of Chicago to steal $70 million via a sophisticated take down of the banking wire system. Vance would star as Moore.
Johnson-Cochran, who co-created the NBC series “Minor Adjustments” and directed the HBO film “Love and Action in Chicago,” will write and serve as exec producer. Also executive producing alongside Vance and Johnson-Cochran are Pam Veasey and Hemingway Taylor Productions’ Anthony Hemingway and Mark Taylor.
Vance won the 2016 Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding lead actor in a limited series for his performance as attorney Johnnie Cochran in FX’s “American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson.” His most recent acting credits include the feature films “Office Christmas Party” and “The Mummy” and the HBO film “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.”
To read full article, go to: http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/courtney-b-vances-heist-88-1202623626/

In Honor of Rosa Parks Day, TV One Premieres "Behind The Movement" Trailer; Movie Slated to Air in February 2018

By goodblacknews on December 1, 2017


by Fisher Jack via eurweb.com
Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her bus seat 62 years ago was only the beginning.
Premiering on TV One in February, Behind the Movement offers a closer look at how the history-making Montgomery Bus Boycott was planned in just three days and ultimately led to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
A new trailer released today, provides a glimpse into Mrs. Parks’ thoughts as she sat on the bus that December evening.
“It was reported that I was tired and that wasn’t true,” states Meta Golding as Rosa Parks in the trailer. “I was tired of all the injustice, all the fear and indignity that they were putting us through. That’s the truth.”

meta golding as rosa parks
Meta Golding stars as Rosa Parks in TV One’s ‘Behind The Movement’ (photo via TV One)

Starring Meta Golding (“The Hunger Games”) as Rosa Parks, Isaiah Washington (“The 100”) as E.D. Nixon, Loretta Devine (“Waiting to Exhale”) as Jo Ann Robinson, Roger Guenveur Smith (“American Gangster”) as Raymond Parks and Shaun Clay as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Behind the Movement reveals the untold story of how a group of everyday people decided this incident was the right time to take a stand for their civil rights and demand equal treatment.
Premiering during Black History Month, this original made-for-television movie honors the contributions of many unsung heroes of this watershed moment in the Civil Rights struggle. The film recounts the inner workings and behind the scenes preparation that took place during three intense days between the fateful evening when Parks refused to give up her seat through the launch of this significant protest. While Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a prominent leader of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, there was a chorus of lesser-known heroes, including Rosa Parks, who galvanized the most successful boycott of its time.

meta golding as rosa parks1
In a scene from TV One’s ‘Behind the Movement,’ Rosa (Golding) is finally allowed to make her one phone call to let her husband know she’s in jail (photo via TV One)

Behind the Movement is written by Katrina M. O’Gilvie and directed by Aric Avelino.  For TV One, Karen Peterkin is Director of Scripted Original Programming and shares Executive in charge of production duties with Tia A. Smith, Sr. Director of Original Programming & Production. Donyell McCullough is Senior Director of Talent & Casting; Robyn Greene-Arrington is VP of Original Programming, and D’Angela Proctor is Head of Original Programming and Production.
To read more, go to: http://www.eurweb.com/2017/12/in-honor-of-rosa-parks-day-tv-one-premieres-behind-the-movement-trailer-watch/

Michael B. Jordan to Star as Equal Justice Lawyer Bryan Stevenson in Drama ‘Just Mercy’ at Warner Bros.

By goodblacknews on November 30, 2017
Michael B. Jordan Just Mercy
Michael B. Jordan (CREDIT: COURTESY OF LANCE GROSS)
by Justin Kroll via Variety.com
Michael B. Jordan has set legal drama “Just Mercy” as the next feature he will shoot, as Warner Bros. picks up the rights for the story.
The film was originally set up at Broad Green Pictures, but after the studio shuttered earlier this year, producers began looking for a new home, and Warner Bros. was eager to work with Jordan.
Sources say that Jordan would shoot “Just Mercy” at the beginning of 2018, and would follow that up with “Creed 2,” where he would reprise his role as Adonis Creed. “Creed 2” is slated to bow on Nov. 21, 2018. It’s currently unknown if it will stick to that date, but as of now, there’s no plan to move the release.
“Short Term 12” director Destin Cretton is helming and co-wrote the script with Andrew Lanham. Jordan will produce with Gil Netter. Niija Kuykendall will oversee for the studio.
Based on the book “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption,” it follows the true story of Bryan Stevenson, a gifted young lawyer’s defense of the most vulnerable in our country and his fight for equal justice in a flawed legal system.
Along with “Just Mercy,” Jordan also recently set up his directing debut with “Stars Beneath Our Feet.” The actor is also gaining traction as a producer, as he is on board to produce a reboot of “The Thomas Crown Affair,” “Raising Dion,” and and untitled project with Tarell Alvin McCraney for OWN.
To read more, go to: http://variety.com/2017/film/news/michael-b-jordan-just-mercy-warner-bros-1202627412/

Jay Z Leads 2017 Grammy Nominations with Eight, Kendrick Lamar Earns Seven

By goodblacknews on November 28, 2017
Jay Z
Multiple Grammy nominee Jay Z (CREDIT: MEDIAPUNCH/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK)

via Variety.com

Jay Z led the nominations for the 60th Grammy Awards, annouced on Tuesday morning, with eight. He’s followed by Kendrick Lamar, whose “DAMN.” album scored seven; Bruno Mars with six; and Childish Gambino (aka actor Donald Glover), newcomers SZA and Khalid, and producer No I.D. (who worked on “4:44”) with five each.

The rap icon was the only artist to score nods in the top three categories (record, album, and song of the year) for his 13th studio album, “4:44,” while Mars’ “24K Magic,” and Gambino’s “‘Awaken, My Love!’” each landed two noms in the general field.
Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Andra Day announced the nominees in the four general field categories: best new artist, record of the year, song of the year, and album of the year on “CBS This Morning” at 8:30 a.m. ET/5:30 a.m. PT.
The 60th Grammy Awards will air live from New York’s Madison Square Garden Jan. 28 on CBS.
Here is the full list of nominees for the 60th Grammy Awards:
GENERAL FIELD
Record Of The Year:
“Redbone” — Childish Gambino
“Despacito” — Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber
“The Story Of O.J.” — Jay-Z
“HUMBLE.” — Kendrick Lamar
“24K Magic” — Bruno Mars