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Laverne Cox’s Madame Tussauds Wax Figure Will Be the 1st Transgender Figure in the Museum’s History

By goodblacknews on June 8, 2015
LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 20: Actress Laverne Cox attends Netflix's "Orange Is The New Black" For Your Consideration screening and Q&A at Directors Guild Of America on May 20, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)
Actress Laverne Cox (Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)

Madame Tussauds San Francisco announced Monday that it will debut a wax figure of Laverne Cox, star of Orange Is the New Black and a transgender rights activist, on June 26 during Pride Weekend festivities in the Bay Area. It is the first-ever transgender figure in the museum’s history.

June 2015 is already shaping up to be a banner Pride Month for the transgender community since a Vanity Fair cover introduced Caitlyn Jenner (formerly known as Bruce Jenner) on June 1.
article by Olivia B. Waxman via time.com

Shonda Rhimes' "Year Of Yes" Memoir to Be Published by Simon & Schuster this November

By goodblacknews on June 2, 2015

TV Powerhouse Shonda Rhimes
TV Powerhouse Shonda Rhimes

Grey’s Anatomy/Scandal/How To Get Away With Murder executive producer Shonda Rhimes will publish her first book with Simon & Schuster in November, according to an announcement today by VP/editor-in-chief Marysue Rucci. That sets up a date after the original rights deal was signed in November 2013.

In December of that year, Rhimes accepted a challenge to say “Yes” to the unexpected invitations that come her way for one year. In Year Of Yes she chronicles the powerful impact saying “Yes” had on every aspect of her life.
“It’s mind-boggling that the mega-talented Shonda Rhimes, one of the most admired and accomplished women in Hollywood, would feel the need to challenge her status quo,” Rucci said in the announcement. “But by saying yes for a year, she truly transformed her life for the better in every way. Year Of Yes is surprising, hilarious, poignant, and accessible. It’s easy to imagine this book inspiring a movement and we couldn’t be more excited to publish it at Simon & Schuster.”
article by Jeremy Gerard via deadline.com

"Vampire Diaries" Actress Kat Graham To Star in Tammi Terrell Biopic

By goodblacknews on May 31, 2015
Kat Graham Tammi Terrell 2-shot
(Getty Images/Motown Records)

 The woman who teamed with Marvin Gaye on a string of 1960s Motown hits before dying of a brain tumor at age 24 is getting her own biopic. Tammi Terrell will be played by The Vampire Diaries star Kat Graham, who also is working her debut album with producer Babyface. Maryam Myika Day wrote the untitled project, which marks Graham’s feature debut and is being produced by Robert Teitel, Rose Ganguzza and Hilary Shor. Shooting is set for next year.

The film follows the brief but memorable career of Terrell, who started out as a backup singer in the James Brown Revue before scoring a few minor pop hits as a solo act. But she struck gold after being paired with hit-making singer Gaye in early 1967, a teaming that produced such Motown classics as “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “Your Precious Love” and “Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing.” In October 1967, Terrell collapsed onstage while performing with Gaye, and doctors diagnosed her with a brain tumor. She continued to record with Gaye and scored a few more solo hits before dying in 1970.

“I immediately connected to Tammi and her story in many ways and have felt the incredible need to tell it,” Graham said. “Tammi Terrell defined passion and soul itself. … Getting lost in the music enabled her to override life’s punishments — for when she sang, she could use the hurt to create greatness and give the world hope that maybe they could overcome their pain as well.”
article by Erik Pedersen via deadline.com

Keke Palmer Joins Cast of "Grease: Live" on Fox

By goodblacknews on May 30, 2015

Keke Palmer (photo via thatgrapejuice.net)
Keke Palmer (photo via thatgrapejuice.net)

Keke Palmer has landed a role in Grease: Live, Fox’s upcoming live production of the popular musical, set to air on January 31, 2016. She’ll play Pink Lady “Marty Maraschino”, alongside Julianne Hough and Vanessa Hudgens. Broadway writers Robert Cary (Anything but Love, Ira & Abby) and Jonathan Tolins (Buyer & Cellar, The Last Sunday In June) will pen the adaptation.
Palmer will next be seen in Fox’s comedy horror series Scream Queens, set to debut this fall. Her breakout role came in feature Akeelah And The Bee. She went on to star as the title character in the hit cable series True Jackson, VP, and most recently made Broadway history as the first African-American and youngest actress to star in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1957 musical, Cinderella. Other film credits include Ice Age: Continental Drift, Joyful Noise, Brotherly Love and Imperial Dreams. Her TV work includes A Trip to Bountiful, cable miniseries Full Circle, CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story,  and a six-episode arc on the second season of Masters Of Sex.
Marc Platt will executive-produce Grease: Live. Thomas Kail is the director overseeing the stage direction and Alex Rudzinski will serve as the live television director. It is a Paramount Television production.
article by Denise Petski via deadline.com

R.I.P. Comedian and Actor Reynaldo Rey

By goodblacknews on May 30, 2015

Reynaldo Rey Friday 2-shotReynaldo Rey, an actor and comedian whose dozens of credits include big-screen comedies Friday and White Men Can’t Jump and a recurring role on TV’s 227, died Thursday in Los Angeles of complications from a stroke last year. He was 75. His manager Vanzil Burke confirmed the news.

Although a staple on the African-American comedy scene for years, the Oklahoma native got a late start to his screen acting career, earning his first credit at 41 for the Sanford & Son spinoff Sanford, starring Redd Foxx. He appeared in the 1982’s Young Doctors In Love and the Eddie Murphy-Richard Pryor gangster flick Harlem Nights before landing a recurring role as Ray on the popular NBC sitcom 227.  He appeared in nearly 20 episodes during its four-year run and also wrote a pair of episodes.

Born Harold Reynolds, the actor went on to appear in several film comedies during the 1990s including White Men Can’t Jump with Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson, The Breaks, House Party 3. He perhaps is best known for playing Red’s father in 1995’s Friday.
Rey also did episodes of such TV comedies as The Wayans Bros, The Parent ‘Hood and later The Bernie Mac Show and Everybody Hates Chris. He continued to appear in small films throughout the 2000s. His final project was “Hollywood P.O.”, a play he wrote, directed and financed.
article by Erik Pedersen via deadline.com

Tracy Morgan Says Wal-Mart “Did Right” in Fatal Crash Settlement

By goodblacknews on May 28, 2015
tracy morgan 2014
Tracy Morgan (Photo via deadline.com)

 Almost a year after the New Jersey turnpike crash that left the actor in the hospital and killed his friend and fellow comedian James McNair, the legal battle between Wal-Mart and Tracy Morgan is over. With no details made public, attorneys for the parties have come to a proposed confidential settlement, a filing federal court in the Garden State today revealed. “Wal-Mart did right by me and my family, and for my associates and their families,” said Morgan in a statement Wednesday. “I am grateful that the case was resolved amicably.”

A motion put before the court on Wednesday to seal certain documents referred to “confidential settlement negotiations and the confidential final settlement amounts” between Morgan’s camp and Wal-Mart.
“Our thoughts continue to go out to everyone that was involved in the accident,” said Wal-Mart U.S. CEO walmart logoGreg Foran in a statement of his own today on the June 8, 2014 crash. The tragic incident saw the limo carrying the 30 Rock alum, McNair and two others struck by a Wal-Mart truck on the highway. McNair was killed almost instantly while Morgan suffered a head injury as well as a broken leg and various broken ribs.
On July 11 last year, Morgan sued the retail giant claiming that they were aware that tractor-trailer driver Kevin Roper had been up for over 24 hours straight when he smashed into their limo after falling asleep at the wheel of his vehicle. Wal-Mart reached a settlement with McNair’s children earlier this year. “While we know there is nothing that can change what happened, Wal-Mart has been committed to doing what’s right to help ensure the well-being of all of those who were impacted by the accident,” added Foran today.
Roper still faces criminal charges from the matter, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
article by Dominic Patten via deadline.com

Grandmaster Flash Joins Upcoming Netflix 1970s Rap Series "The Get Down" as Associate Producer/Adviser

By goodblacknews on May 21, 2015
Grandmaster Flash and Mamoudou Athie
Grandmaster Flash and actor Mamoudou Athie (Photo: Netflix)

 Hip-hop icon Grandmaster Flash is set as an associate producer and adviser on The Get Down, Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming Netflix series about the 1970 NYC music scene and the birth of rap. “I can’t tell you just how much joy and great spirit we are getting from working with some of the founding fathers of the form,” Luhrmann said in a statement. “Not only in music, dance and graffiti but the culture of the time in general. The whole team is absolutely thrilled to have Grandmaster Flash on board.” Netflix also said today that newcomer Mamoudou Athie will play the DJ legend on the show (see photo above). Best known to mainstream audiences for the 1982’s “The Message,” Grandmaster Flash emerged from the ’70s Bronx scene along with fellow DJs Kool Herc and Afrika Bambaataa as a pioneer of the fledgling genre. “Flash developed a host of specific techniques that allowed DJs to move seamlessly from one break beat to another,” said author-journalist Nelson George, part of The Get Down writing team. “Flash’s innovations, developed in his Bronx apartment bedroom, are the bedrock of club spinning, even in the age of (vinyl emulation program) Serato.”

Related: DJ Premier Signs On As Music Producer For VH1 Rap Drama ‘The Breaks’

Flash’s involvement with Get Down follows VH1’s announcement last month of The Breaks, an original movie and potential backdoor pilot about the 1990s NYC hip-hop scene. Gang Starr’s DJ Premier will serve as music producer for that project, becoming the latest music great to oversee soundtracks for TV series including Timbaland on Fox’s Empire and T Bone Burnett on ABC’s Nashville.
article via Erik Pedersen via Deadline.com

Cicely Tyson, Oprah Winfrey Recognize African American Achievements In TV During Paley Center Tribute

By goodblacknews on May 17, 2015
OPRAH WINFREY CICELY TYSON
Oprah Winfrey and Cicely Tyson at A Tribute To African-American Achievements In Television hosted by The Paley Center For Media at Cipriani Wall Street on May 13, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
The Paley Center for Media hosted a star-studded event Thursday evening celebrating the 35th anniversary of BET’s launch, as well as the groundbreaking achievements of African-Americans in television over the years.
The guest list was basically a who’s who of black America. Everyone from Oprah Winfrey, Cicely Tyson, Larry Wilmore, Tracee Ellis Ross, Lee Daniels, Kerry Washington, Michael Strahan and Phylicia Rashad. Winfrey kicked off the night with an opening monologue, during which she expressed her gratitude for the evolution of African-Americans contributing to some of today’s most successful shows on television.
“When I was growing up there were so few people of color on television, but when there was one of us we would end up missing it because we would be calling everybody else saying, ‘it’s coming on right now. Turn on ‘Ed Sullivan.’ It’s coming on,’” she said. “So part of the power of tonight’s event will be to appreciate and to honor our history as we continue to be an interval part of the entertainment industry.”
One of the evening’s many heartfelt moments occurred during Cicely Tyson’s speech in recognition of her illustrious career. The iconic actress went on to recall the time where she received backlash for her 1963 role as secretary Jane Foster on the CBS drama series “East Side/West Side.” The breakthrough role — which featured Tyson wearing a natural hair style — marked a first for a black actress and sparked a nationwide hair movement.
“This has been a wonderful evening and an emotional evening for me watching the positive strides we’ve taken over the years. We’re not there yet, but we’re going to get there,” Tyson declared. “I have been especially moved by the moments that were a flashback for me… when I first appeared on the air with a natural and received barrels of negative letters that had to do with the fact that I was disgracing the role of the image of black women when I was in a position to glorify it.”
“Well, finally at last I am ecstatic to say that we as a race of people have come to recognize and accept the fact that our pride and glory is our hair… that doesn’t mean you can’t wear your hair the way you want to.”
article by Brennan Williams via huffingtonpost.com

Stephanie Mills Returning to "The Wiz" for NBC’s Live Broadcast this December

By goodblacknews on May 11, 2015

Stephanie Mills
Stephanie Mills will ease on down to NBC’s upcoming musical adaptation of “The Wiz,” itself an African American musical adaptation of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”
Mills played Dorothy in Broadway’s “The Wiz” in 1975 and in a 1984 revival, but will portray Aunti Em in NBC’s live broadcast of the play. The network is looking to find a newcomer to play Dorothy.
Stephanie Mills in The Wiz on Broadway
NBC announced in March that “The Wiz” would follow NBC’s previous live musical productions “The Sound of Music” and “Peter Pan.” But “The Wiz” will be the first to be co-produced by Cirque du Soleil’s new stage theatrical division, which will also help adapt the show for the Broadway stage.
The announcement was reportedly made at the Peacock network’s New York upfronts, and was later shared on Twitter by executive producer Craig Zadan.
The production will air on Dec. 3, with plans to bring it to the Broadway in the 2016-17 season.
article via eurweb.com

NBC Orders Wesley Snipes Thriller "The Player" & Larenz Tate Drama "Game of Silence" to Series

By goodblacknews on May 9, 2015
The Player -- "Pilot" -- Pictured: (l-r) Philip Winchester as Alex King, Wesley Snipes as Johnson -- (Photo by: Gregory Peters/NBC)
Wesley Snipes in “The Player” (Photo: NBC)

According to Variety.com, NBC has ordered two new hour-long dramas to series, “The Player,” starring Wesley Snipes, and “Game of Silence”, featuring Larenz Tate.  “The Player” marks the first time Snipes will star in a primetime television show.

“The Player,” a Las Vegas-set action thriller which stars Snipes, comes from the team behind NBC hit “The Blacklist.”  The series follows a former military operative-turned-security expert who is drawn into a high-stakes game where an organization of wealthy individuals gamble on his ability to stop some of the biggest crimes imaginable from playing out. His goal is to take them down to get revenge for the death of his wife. Charity Wakefield and Damon Gupton star alongside Snipes on the Sony Pictures TV, Davis Entertainment and Kung Fu Monkey production. Writer John Rogers, producers John Davis, John Fox and director Bharat Nalluri are all executive producers.

“Game of Silence”, though considered to be “too dark” for broadcast — was ordered by NBC because the pilot episode turned out so great.

GAME OF SILENCE -- Pilot -- Pictured: (l-r) David Lyons as Jackson Brooks, Michael Raymond-James as Gil Harris, Larenz Tate as Shawn Polk -- (Photo by: Bob Mahoney/NBC)

The drama follows a successful Atlanta attorney (played by David Lyons) whose long-lost childhood friends unexpectedly reappear after 25 years. When a dark secret they thought they had buried resurfaces, the brotherhood bands together to right the wrongs of their shared past, a journey that will push the limits of their loyalty and quench their thirst for revenge. Larenz Tate, Michael Raymond-James, Bre Blair, Conor O’Farrell, Deidrie Henry, Demetrius Grosse and Claire Van Der Boom round out the cast.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)