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Lee Daniels and More to Direct WGN America’s "10 Commandments"

lee-daniels
Director Lee Daniels (Foc Kan/WireImage)

According to Variety.com, Lee Daniels, the director of Precious and Lee Daniels’ The Butler, has signed on to direct an episode of the Bible-based limited-series project, 10 Commandments.  Each hour of the 10-episode scripted series will tell a different tale of drawn from the Biblical rule book, with a different filmmaker attached to each commandment episode. Creatives attached to the project as directors so far include: Daniels, Gus Van Sant, Jim Sheridan, Wes Craven and Michael Cera.

Bruce Cohen and Bob Weinstein are producing  the series. Details on Commandments were unveiled by WGN America head Matt Cherniss Sunday during the cabler’s Television Critics Assn. press tour in Pasadena. “Each of these directors is acclaimed for their own unique brand of style and genre, so it’s clear that we can expect ten wildly different episodes from this series,” said Weinstein, who is co-chairman of TWC.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

"12 Years A Slave" and "Lee Daniels' The Butler" Lead NAACP Image Award Nominations

Lee Daniels' The Butler
The nominees for the 45th NAACP Image Awards were announced on Jan. 9, and 12 Years A Slave and Lee Daniels’ The Butler lead the pack with seven nominations each, including nods in the coveted Best Actor, Best Director and Best Picture categories.  Other multiple nominees include the Kerry Washington-starrer Scandal and Kevin Hart‘s BET comedy Real Husbands of Hollywood, each coming in with five nods in the television drama and comedy categories.
In addition to being nominated for her role as Olivia Pope on Scandal, Washington also received a nomination in the Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture category for her role in the film Tyler Perry Presents Peeples.  Angela Bassett went one better and landed three acting nominations, for her film performance in Black Nativity, and her outstanding television work in Betty and Coretta and American Horror Story: Coven Terrence Howard was the most-nominated male actor, grabbing dual nods for his performances in Lee Daniels’ The Butler and The Best Man Holiday.
In music, Robin Thicke garnered four nominations for Blurred Lines, including Outstanding Male Artist and Outstanding Album, while Janelle Monae was the most-nominated female artist, gaining honors in the Outstanding Female Artist, Outstanding Album and Outstanding Music Video categories.
The Image Awards are presented annually by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the group’s members select the winners. The 45th annual NAACP Image Awards is set to air on Feb. 22 on the TV One channel at 9 p.m. CT.
Check out the full list of nominations below:
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Outstanding Comedy Series
“House of Lies”
“Modern Family”
“Real Husbands of Hollywood”
“The Game”
“The Soul Man”
Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series
Andre Braugher – “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”
Cedric The Entertainer – “The Soul Man”
Don Cheadle – “House of Lies”
DuleHill – “Psych”
Kevin Hart – “Real Husbands of Hollywood”
Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
Aisha Tyler – “Archer”
Mindy Kaling – “The Mindy Project”
Niecy Nash – “The Soul Man”
Tasha Smith – “Tyler Perry’s For Better or Worse”
Wendy Raquel Robinson – “The Game”
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Boris Kodjoe – “Real Husbands of Hollywood”
Jerry “J B Smoove” Brooks – “Real Husbands of Hollywood”
Morris Chestnut – “Nurse Jackie”
Nick Cannon – “Real Husbands of Hollywood”
Tracy Morgan – “30 Rock”
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Anna Deavere Smith – “Nurse Jackie”
Brandy Norwood – “The Game”
Nia Long – “House of Lies”
Rashida Jones – “Parks and Recreation”
Sofia Vergara – “Modern Family”
Outstanding Drama Series
“Boardwalk Empire”
“Grey’s Anatomy”
“Scandal”
“The Good Wife”
“Treme”
Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
James Pickens, Jr. – “Grey’s Anatomy”
LL Cool J – “NCIS: Los Angeles”
Michael Ealy – “Almost Human”
Shemar Moore – “Criminal Minds”
Wendell Pierce – “Treme”
Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
Chandra Wilson – “Grey’s Anatomy”
Kerry Washington – “Scandal”
Khandi Alexander – “Treme”
Nicole Beharie – “Sleepy Hollow”
Regina King – “SouthLAnd”
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Columbus Short – “Scandal”
Guillermo Diaz – “Scandal”
Jeffrey Wright – “Boardwalk Empire”
Joe Morton – “Scandal”
Michael Kenneth Williams – “Boardwalk Empire”
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Archie Panjabi – “The Good Wife”
Debbie Allen – “Grey’s Anatomy”
Diahann Carroll – “White Collar”
Taraji P. Henson – “Person of Interest”
Vanessa L. Williams – “666 Park Avenue”

NBC Orders Comedy Pilot From Rashida Jones

Rashida JonesAccording to Variety.com, NBC is back in the Rashida Jones business.  The former Parks & Recreation star is returning to her single-camera roots with A to Z, a half-hour comedy set in the world of an online dating company that details the “A to Zs” of a relationship. The ensemble cast will navigate the complicated world of modern dating.
Ben Queen is writing and executive producing A to Z alongside Will McCormack and Jones, who is also an EP on the project.  Warner Bros. TV and Le Train Train are producing the project.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

Zoe Saldana to Star in NBC Miniseries "Rosemary’s Baby"

zoe saldanaAccording to Variety.com, Zoe Saldana has been hired to star in NBC’s four-hour miniseries remake of the classic 1968 horror film, Rosemary’s Baby. Saldana will play Rosemary, the iconic young wife and would-be mother who, with her husband, moves into a Paris apartment building that has a dark, storied past. After finally getting pregnant, she becomes increasingly suspicious that both her husband and their mysterious neighbors have ulterior motives about the future of her child.
NBC announced the Rosemary’s Baby miniseries in December, with Lionsgate TV attached to produce.  Joshua Maurer, Alix Witlin and David Stern are executive producing with Saldana, Cisely Saldana and Mariel Saldana.  “Zoe has proven that she is one of our most gifted actresses and we think she has the perfect combination of spirit and gravitas to take on the title role from Ira Levin’s infamous novel,” said Quinn Taylor, Executive Vice President, Movies, Miniseries and International Co-Productions, NBC Entertainment. “With Zoe leading the cast under the direction of Agnieszka Holland, this reimagined event mini-series is off to a great start.”
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

African-American Female Writers Leslie Jones and LaKendra Tookes Join Writing Staff of "Saturday Night Live"

Leslie Jones
Leslie Jones

LaKendra Tookes

According to Variety.com, NBC sketch-comedy show Saturday Night Live added Leslie Jones and LaKendra Tookes, two comedians who recently auditioned for the program, as writers for the late-night series. Earlier this week, the show announced Sasheer Zamata, a veteran of improv troupe Upright Citizens Brigade, would begin as a featured player as of its January 18 broadcast.
The two new writers took part in auditions recently held in different parts of the U.S. with the express purpose of finding a female African-American to join the show’s cast of “Not Ready For Prime Time Players.”
While the current cast of Saturday Night Live includes two African-American men – Kenan Thompson and Jay Pharoah – it has not had an African-American woman in the cast since Maya Rudolph, a comic actress of mixed heritage, was in the cast between 2000 and 2007.
The show has not featured many women of color during its history.  Yvonne Hudson, an African-American woman, was a featured player during the program’s 1980-1981 season.  Danitra Vance, SNL‘s first African-American female full cast member, joined the show for its 1985-1986 season, part of show creator Lorne Michaels’ return to the program after an absence of several years. Ellen Cleghorne joined the cast from 1991-1995.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

NBC Orders Craig Robinson Comedy to Series

Craig Robertson
Craig Robinson (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

NBC has handed a series order to a half-hour comedy from The Office co-star Craig Robinson.  Mr. Robinson centers on a journeyman musician who gets a job as a music teacher at a middle school. While teaching the kids everything from rock to the blues, he simultaneously learns how to put the school’s rules to the test. NBC has given the project a six-episode order.
Robinson will star in the comedy, which was initially ordered to pilot in early 2013. The Office showrunner Greg Daniels was attached to the laffer last year but has since departed Mr. Robinson.  Universal TV and 3 Arts Entertainment will produce Mr. Robinson, with Mark Cullen, Rob Cullen, Howard Klein and Mark Schulman executive producing.

article by AJ Marechal via Variety.com

‘SNL’ Adds Sasheer Zamata, First Black Female Cast Member in Years

sasheer zamata
According to Variety.comSasheer Zamata will be the latest young comedian to join NBC’s Saturday Night Live,  Zamata will make her debut as an SNL featured player on Jan. 18, the late-night program’s first live show of this new year. Zamata is a University of Virginia alumna and trained at the Upright Citizens Brigade.
Zamata will be SNL’s first black female cast member since the departure of Maya Rudolph in 2007. SNL and its producer Lorne Michaels came under fire in late 2013 over the cast’s lack of diversity, and the series poked fun at its own controversy during its opening segment when Kerry Washington hosted SNL in November 2013.  News broke at the end of the year that SNL was holding auditions specifically to find black female cast members to join the program in 2014.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

South Carolina Native Sergio Hudson wins Rihanna's "Styled To Rock" Design Competition

Sergio

After ten weeks of cutting, sewing and styling, South Carolina native Sergio Hudson came out on top as the winner of Rihanna’s Styled To Rock design competition.  The pop star, along with judges/mentors Mel Ottenberg, Erin Wasson, and Pharrell Williams, chose the father of three over runner up Laura Petrielli-Pulice from Chicago, for his envelope-pushing aesthetic and strong structuring skills. Hudson walks away with a $100,000 cash prize, a fashion feature in Glamour magazine and a spot on Rihanna’s official design team.

Airing on Bravo, the music-meets-fashion competition series followed 12 up-and-coming coming designers, hand-picked by the pop-star, to create unique fashion pieces for some of the biggest names in entertainment. With celebrity guests such as Miley Cyrus and Kelly Osbourne, the designers experienced demanding real-life challenges, made to push their creative boundaries. Each week, with only a limited time frame, they were asked to create an innovative outfit and complete look based on the celebrities’ detailed brief.  In the final challenge, the final two designers had to create two editorial looks specifically for Rihanna. Sergio’s denim ball gown and high-cut denim shorts were the stand out pieces.

R.I.P. "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" Star James Avery

James Avery
As reported in Variety.com, James Avery, the imposing actor who laid down the law as the Honorable Philip Banks – aka Will Smith’s “Uncle Phil” – inThe Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, has died. Avery’s publicist, Cynthia Snyder, told the Associated Press that Avery died Tuesday. The Associated Press reported that he was 65, while TMZ, which said he died in a Glendale, Calif. hospital after heart surgery, said he was 68.

Alfonso Ribeiro who played his son on Fresh Prince, remembered him on Twitter.

I’m deeply saddened to say that James Avery has passed away. He was a second father to me. I will miss him greatly. @alfonso_ribeiro

Avery’s movie credits included The Blues BrothersFletch, The Brady Bunch Movie and Doctor Dolittle 2. He appeared on dozens of TV shows including Hill St. Blues, L.A. Law, The Division, Soul Food, That ’70s Show, All of Us, Grey’s Anatomy and The Closer.  Born in Atlantic City, N.J., he served in Vietnam and began writing TV scripts and poetry for PBS. He graduated with a drama degree from U.C. San Diego. In addition to extensive work as a voiceover actor on productions such as The Wild Thornberrys and Prince of Egypt, he hosted the PBS travel show Going Places.  To learn more about his life and career, click here.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

First Lady Supports Robin Roberts Coming Out As Gay

Robin Roberts and Michelle Obama
LOS ANGELES — Michelle Obama (pictured) is leading an outpouring of support for Robin Roberts, after the “Good Morning America” news anchor gave her first public acknowledgement of her 10-year, same-sex relationship with massage therapist Amber Laign.
The First Lady wrote Monday on Twitter:

I am so happy for you and Amber! You continue to make us all proud.

In a Facebook post Sunday, Roberts thanked her “longtime girlfriend” for providing encouragement during Roberts’ battle with myelodysplastic syndrome, a rare blood and bone marrow disease.  Many celebs also took to Twitter to send Roberts messages, including Ellen DeGeneres, who tweeted, “Good morning, America! Congratulations.”
Comedian Wanda Sykes wrote, “Go on with your bad self!”
Country singer Chely Wright, who came out in 2010, also expressed support through the social media site.
article via newsone.com