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Posts published in “TV”

Halle Berry To Star in CBS Drama Series ‘Extant’

By goodblacknews on October 4, 2013
Halle Berry CBS Show
Halle Berry will take her first major TV series role in “Extant,” the serialized drama from Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television and CBS Television Studios that CBS greenlit in August.  In addition, Berry and producing partner Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, have entered into a two-year, first look production deal with CBS Television Studios.
In “Extant,” Berry will play an astronaut returning from a year-long solo space mission who tries to reconnect with her husband and son in their everyday life. Her experiences in space and home lead to events that ultimately change the course of human history.
“I’m always on the lookout for amazing roles, and when you see material that contains this strong of auspices, nuance and complexity, it compels me to run toward it no matter the medium,” Berry said. “For five months a year, I’ll get to live with and play this incredibly intelligent and vulnerable woman, and for the remainder of the year I’ll continue to look for other roles that move me as deeply as this one.”

Geraldine Moriba Named Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion for CNN Worldwide

By goodblacknews on October 4, 2013

gmoriba
CNN recently named Geraldine Moriba the Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion.  In her new role, Moriba will offer strategic guidance on issues of diversity to the CNN Management team and chair the network’s diversity council.
Of her new position, CNN President Jeff Zucker said: “Geraldine is the ideal candidate to take on this very important role within the organization at a critical time for us,” said Zucker. “I had the pleasure of working with her prior to my time at CNN, and always found her to have a terrific sensibility and understanding of some of the complex issues we face when it comes to diversity and inclusion. As we look to reimagine what CNN will be in the years to come, this role on my team will be invaluable in shaping the kind of organization we want and need to have.”
Moriba, an award-winning producer who led CNN’s “In America” documentary team, is passionate about diverse content making it on air: “Some of the smartest journalists in the business work at CNN and I know that the prevailing sentiment in our newsrooms is that it is crucial for our content and workforce to reflect the audience we serve,” she said. “These are goals accomplished by working as a team. This isn’t only about pursuing a noble purpose, it’s about continuing to share news from across our increasingly diverse and interconnected world, in even more effective ways.”
Moriba’s experience includes 16 years at NBC News and a number of prestigious awards including Emmy Awards, an Alfred I. DuPont Award and two Peabody Awards.
article via clutchmagonline.com

Celebrities Show Their Support For Obamacare With #GetCovered

By goodblacknews on October 3, 2013

Kerri Washington #Get CoveredCelebrities are taking to social media outlets to show their support for the new “Obamacare” law in a big way. Using the #Get Covered hashtag, they are trying to help educate the public on how they can begin to sign up for health care.  
Many of the newly eligible citizens that will be signing up will in fact be getting health care insurance for the very first time so this is really cool to see.  Singer John Legend tweeted:

“F the shutdown. The Health Insurance Marketplace is now open in every state. Don’t wait another day to #GetCovered!”

Pearl Jam tweeted:

“If you want to make sense of the whole healthcare thing, or just want to #GetCovered, check out http://www.healthcare.gov #KnowYourOptions,”

Some celebrities are taking photos of themselves with the #Get Covered hashtag and posting them like the ones below (actress Kerry Washington is pictured above). 
Get Covered Collage
Funny or Die created a “Scandal” spoof called Scandalous with Jennifer Hudson to get people information about the new ACA (Obamacare) program and how to sign up for it. Click here to see that video.)
According to Huffington Post, comedian John Hodgman and actress Martha Plimpton used their Twitter streams as Obamacare forums. Plimpton spent time retweeting messages from her followers saying what they like about the law, while Hodgman’s stream included young adults tweeting about health problems they had encountered.
Tweeted Hodgman:

“Young people: sign up for healthcare. Take it from me–YOU ARE NOT IMMORTAL,”

 It’s great to know that some people embrace their platforms and try to do good things with them. Let us not forget celebrities are members of society too! They do care about the world they live in just the same as anyone else does. They do have a voice.
article by Skyyhook via theurbandaily.com

Damon Wayans Jr. Sells Comedy Pilot to Fox Network

By goodblacknews on September 27, 2013
Damon Wayans Jr
Damon Wayans Jr. (Tommaso Boddi/WireImage)

Fox has landed “Man/Child,” a project from Damon Wayans Jr. with a pilot production commitment.  Comedy centers on two single dads who move in together and struggle to find the balance between being responsible parents and debaucherous bachelor.  “Wilfred” showrunners Reed Agnew and Eli Jorne will pen and executive produce “Man/Child,” with Wayans Jr. also executive producing.  “Modern Family” director Jason Winer will direct “Man/Child” and also receive an executive producer credit.  20th Century Fox TV and Small Dog Picture Company will produce the pilot.
“Man/Child” marks one of Wayans Jr.’s first forays behind the camera. The thesp, who hails from the comedic powerhouse Wayans family, appeared in Fox’s “New Girl” pilot before ankling the show and taking on a lead character on ABC’s “Happy Endings.” “Happy Endings” was cancelled after three seasons by ABC earlier this year.
article by AJ Marechal via Variety.com

Obama Names ‘Scandal’ Creator Shonda Rhimes To Kennedy Center Board

By goodblacknews on September 26, 2013

The Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts is about to get a taste of some Olivia Pope – kind of.  On the day of the Season 10 debut of Grey’s Anatomy, President Barack Obama today used some of his patronage power and appointed Shonda Rhimes, the creator/EP of the medical drama and Scandal, to the Center’s Board of Trustees. Obama also appointed the Carlyle Group’s CEO David Rubenstein Empire Global Ventures’ CEO Alexandra Stanton, Chicago art gallery owner Amalia Pera Mahoney, FI Investment Group CEO Frank Islam and Entravision Communications’ CEO Walter Ulloa to the Board Thursday as well. “I am grateful that these impressive individuals have chosen to dedicate their talents to serving the American people at this important time for our country.  I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead,” said Obama in a statement when making the announcements.
Rhimes was a big supporter of Obama’s campaigns for President as both a donor and even worked in a phone bank with Private Practice actress Kate Walsh for the candidate. Season 10 of Grey’s Anatomy premieres tonight on ABC with Season 3 of the D.C. political drama Scandal set to launch on October 3rd.
article by Dominic Patten via deadline.com

Kerry Washington Named People Magazine's Best Dressed Woman Of 2013

By goodblacknews on September 21, 2013
hbz-best-dressed-kerry-washington-lgnPeople 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

Mayweather-Canelo Fight Sets Pay-Per-View Record

By goodblacknews on September 19, 2013
Mayweather-Canelo Fight Sets Pay-Per-View Record

 
Floyd Mayweather wasn’t the only one raking in the dough Saturday night. The Mayweather-Canelo boxing match, broadcast on Showtime Pay-Per-View, snagged nearly $150 million, making it the highest-grossing pay-per-view of all time. The fight’s PPV gross topped 2007′s Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather bout, which drew $136 million. Preliminary reports show the Mayweather-Canelo fight — titled “The One” — at roughly 2.2 million PPV buys.
The existing records for PPV buys is 2.48 million for the De La Hoya-Mayweather match, though Showtime notes that Saturday night’s fight may break that record, as well.“The One,” held at the Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena, sold out within 24 hours of going on sale and broke a live gate revenue with $20 million.  Mayweather Promotions and Goldenboy Promotions promoted the boxing event.
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article by AJ Marechal via Variety.com

Queen Latifah’s Talk Show Scores Highest Daytime TV Premiere Of The Year

By goodblacknews on September 18, 2013
queen-latifah
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

Lifetime Greenlights Gabby Douglas Biopic, Regina King, S. Epatha Merkerson to Star

By goodblacknews on September 16, 2013


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

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Dominates Canelo Alvarez in Championship Win

By goodblacknews on September 15, 2013
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. celebrates his majority decision victory against Canelo Alvarez in their WBC/WBA 154-pound title fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 14, 2013, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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.”