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Posts published in “TV”

Whoopi Goldberg to Star in Terry McMillan TV Movie for Lifetime

By goodblacknews on June 24, 2013
Whoopi Goldberg (PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES)
Whoopi Goldberg will star in and executive produce the film adaptation of Terry McMillan’s best-selling book, A Day Late and a Dollar Short. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the film is slated to begin shooting this summer and will air on Lifetime in 2014. Goldberg is no stranger to Lifetime—she was the executive producer for Strong Medicine from 2000 to 2006. 
The project also reunites McMillan with Goldberg, who co-starred with Angela Bassett in McMillan’s How Stella Got Her Groove Back. The Oscar winner and View co-host will play Viola Price, a woman who realizes that her next asthma attack could claim her life, so she sets out to fix her broken family.
“Terry McMillan is one of America’s most beloved writers and A Day Late and a Dollar Short combines her signature emotional storytelling with the complex characters viewers identify with and love,” said Lifetime General Manager, Rob Sharenow. “We are thrilled to be working again with Whoopi Goldberg, who will be emptying her enormous talents both in front of and behind the camera.”
article by Derrick Bryson Taylor via essence.com

Paris Barclay Elected President of the Directors Guild

By goodblacknews on June 23, 2013

New DGA President Paris Barclay
New Directors Guild President Paris Barclay

TV director Paris Barclay (Sons of Anarchy, Glee, House) has been elected president of the Directors Guild of America for a two-year term, succeeding Taylor Hackford (Ray, Officer and a Gentleman) . Barclay was selected at the DGA’s convention on Saturday at DGA headquarters in Los Angeles. He’s the first African-American to serve as DGA president.
“I got surprisingly emotional about it when I was giving my acceptance speech,” Barclay told Variety. Hackford announced earlier this year that he would not seek a third term in accordance with the DGA tradition of presidents only serving two terms. The well-liked Barclay has served eight years as  First VP and six years as Third VP.
Barclay also told Variety that other DGA members such as Steven Soderbergh and former president Michael Apted have been urging him in recent years to consider becoming president. “As time went on, I began hearing that from more and more people,” he added.
Apted made the nomination Saturday and Soderberg seconded it.
Barclay asserted that he will maintain the tradition of the DGA president being a working director — in his case as the executive producer of the sixth season of “Sons of Anarchy.” Once that season’s shooting is completed, he plans to continue directing episodes of other series that interest him along with a feature film.

FX Orders Martin Lawrence-Kelsey Grammer Sitcom

By goodblacknews on June 21, 2013

kelsey-grammer-martin-lawrenceFX has given a 10-episode series order to a comedy starring Martin Lawrence and Kelsey Grammer. The series is produced by Lionsgate TV under distributor Debmar-Mercury’s “10/90″ deal format that calls for accelerated production of 100 episodes if the initial 10-episode test run fares well.  The untitled comedy is about two lawyer friends brought together under unusual circumstances was created and is exec produced by sitcom veterans Bob Boyett (Family Matters, Full House, Perfect Strangers) and Robert Horn (Designing Women, Living Single).
Lawrence, Grammer, Brian Sher, Stella Bulochnikov, Michael Green and Sam Maydew also executive produce.
This deal brings Lawrence back to a regular sitcom gig for the first time since his eponymous Fox series ended after five seasons in 1997. Grammer is no stranger to sitcoms (Cheers, Frasier) but was most recently seen in the Starz drama Boss, which earned him a Golden Globe award.
article by Cynthia Littleton via variety.com

Naketha Mattocks to Oversee Disney Channel’s Original Movies Franchise

By goodblacknews on June 21, 2013

Naketha MattocksDisney Channels has tapped Naketha Mattocks as VP, Original Movies. 

Mattocks supervises creative development for the Disney Channel Original Movie franchise, which has produced TV’s top movie among tweens age 9-14 for the past 11 years. She will develop scripts, generate new projects, collaborate with writers and directors and oversee the creative storytelling throughout production.

This summer, Disney Channel will air its latest original movie, “Teen Beach Movie,” on July 19.
“Disney Channel Original Movies are unmatched in delivering fresh and relevant storytelling that deeply connects with our audience of kids, tweens and families,” Adam Bonnett, executive VP, Original Programming, Disney Channels Worldwide, said. “With Naketha’s experience, passion, sharp instincts and strong relationships, we’re well positioned to build on our successful track record as a creative magnet and TV movie powerhouse.”
Before joining Disney Channel, Mattocks was an independent film and television producer who sold projects to an array of broadcast and cable television networks, including ABC Family, CBS Films, Hallmark Hall of Fame/ABC, Lifetime Television and VH1.  In 2012, she was a consultant for Lifetime Television where she served as an executive on projects that included “Betty and Coretta,” “A Killer Among Us,” “Twist of Faith” and “House of Versace.”

Sean Combs’ Revolt TV Signs Distribution Deal With Time Warner Cable

By goodblacknews on June 20, 2013

Sean CombsSean Combs’ Revolt TV network has signed a national carriage agreement with Time Warner Cable ahead of its fall launch. Revolt is one of four African-American-owned independent networks (and 10 overall) that Comcast pledged to would distribute, a condition for FCC approval of its merger with NBC Universal.
Revolt has been designed as a multimedia platform with an emphasis on music programming, live content and social media, and distribution in urban markets has been said to be key. “This is a landmark distribution deal that demonstrates Time Warner Cable’s commitment to bringing a platform for music artists and fans to their subscribers,” said Combs, Revolt’s founder and chairman. “It positions Revolt to come out of the gate strong, and we look forward to igniting the passion of initial audiences across the U.S.”
With Time Warner and Comcast, Revolt is currently projecting to launch in 25 million homes. Discussions with other major distributors are ongoing. MTV, Warner Bros. Records and Live Nation veteran Andy Schuon leads Revolt with Combs.
Related Stories:

article by Jon Wiseman via variety.com

OWN Offers Special Night of Programming this Sunday with 'Oprah's Next Chapter' and 'Dark Girls' Documentary

By goodblacknews on June 20, 2013

oprah and womenOprah Winfrey Network will present a night of compelling conversation on Sunday, June 23, beginning with Oprah’s Next Chapter (9-10 p.m. ET/PT) featuring Oprah’s in-depth conversation with some of Hollywood’s most powerful female African-American actresses including Alfre Woodard, Viola Davis, Phylicia Rashad and Gabrielle Union. In the discussion, the iconic actresses open up about the challenges, criticism and competition they face as African-American women in Hollywood. In the groundbreaking conversation, the women shed light on a topic that is not often discussed in the entertainment industry.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsESEoV7GoE&w=560&h=315]
Immediately following is the world television premiere of the groundbreaking documentary Dark Girls (10 p.m. – 12 a.m. ET/PT) from filmmakers Bill Duke and D. Channsin Berry. The film explores the prejudices that dark-skinned women face throughout the world. Women share their personal stories, touching on deeply ingrained beliefs and attitudes of society, while allowing generations to heal as they learn to love themselves for who they are. From filmmakers Bill Duke and D. Channsin Berry, Dark Girls made its world premiere at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. The DVD will be released September 24, 2013.
Sounds like must-see TV to us here at GBN. Be sure to tune in or set your DVRS!
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

John Legend Sells 4th Scripted Series To Showtime

By goodblacknews on June 20, 2013

Today it was announced that John Legend and his Get Lifted Film Company have teamed up with the Showtime network for a half-hour comedy. The untitled project will take place in the world of high-profile music managers and will be penned by Austin Winsberg (Gossip Girl, Jake in Progress), who will also executive produce alongside Legend and Get Lifted Film.
Since making an exclusive deal last summer with Universal Cable Productions to develop TV series for cable and broadcast networks, Legend and his company have been busy.  It sold its first project to Fox in October – a comedy project, which will center on a guy in his early 20s who becomes the guardian to his own siblings, while having to manage his fledgling career as well as a social life, and is said to be loosely based on John Legend’s years growing up.Earlier this year, Legend sold a second project, a crime drama, to the USA network. Titled The Edge, it was described as a crime drama about “an idealistic Harvard Business School graduate named Jeff Cross who joins a progressive financial firm called Edgeton Global (aka The Edge), where he discovers the company’s dark secrets while becoming entangled in a high-stakes FBI investigation.”

Lionsgate’s Codeblack Films Picks Up Charles Murray's Romantic Drama ‘Things Never Said’

By goodblacknews on June 20, 2013


According to Deadline.com, two weeks before its stand-up pic Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain opens in theaters, Lionsgate’s Codeblack Films  has acquired U.S. rights to the romantic drama Things Never Said.

Writer/Director Charles Murray
Writer/Director Charles Murray

The film is written and directed by Charles Murray, who is making his feature debut after a decade in television (Criminal Minds, Castle, V, Third Watch). Shanola Hampton stars as an aspiring poet in a dangerous marriage who dreams of taking her work to New York. A surprise new love (Omari Hardwick) helps her find her artistic voice. Brian “Skinny B” Lewis produced the film, which is executive produced by Nicole Elliot, Steven LaBroi and Geofrey Hildrew. Codeblack Films, the Lionsgate unit that recently acquired Sundance drama The Inevitable Defeat Of Mister And Pete, will release Things Never Said this year.
article via Deadline.com with additions by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

Tracee Ellis Ross Launches 'Hair Love' Campaign In Response To Funny Hair Envy Meme (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on June 18, 2013

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mf0eOhNCjg&w=560&h=315]
Hair envy is a serious matter. The intense emotion has made droves of women fry, dye and cut their hair to replicate fabulously coifed notables (see: FLOTUS and Kate Middleton) or that woman (or man) in your office who looks like they just stepped off the set of a hair commercial. We’ve even contemplated going green (and we’re not talking about recycling).
tracee ellis rossAnd with the natural hair movement well underway, many ladies are coveting curl patterns that aren’t their own. Isn’t that the opposite of embracing your natural hair? Actress and curly girl, Tracee Ellis Ross, is addressing this unfortunate trend by launching the “Hair Love” Campaign–a call to action for women to start loving their hair, as-is.
Prompted by an Instagram meme from AroundTheWayCurls showing a little girl crying with a caption reading, “That moment you realize you don’t have Tracee Ellis Ross’s hair,” the 40-year-old star created a video response to express her gratitude–but to also explain her views on the matter.
“I don’t want you to want my hair. The reason I don’t want you to want my hair is I’m of the school of love what you got. For me, the reason my hair was such a battle was because I was trying to make it something it wasn’t. I wanted the hair that somebody else had,” Tracee says in the video.
She goes on to say: “I love that you love my hair but I only love that you love my hair if it’s an inspiration for you to love your hair.”
What a fabulous sentiment. We love that Tracee’s speaking out about this and hope it encourages others to really start embracing their own hair.
article by Julee Wilson via huffingtonpost.com

Soledad O’Brien Joining HBO’s ‘Real Sports’

By goodblacknews on June 14, 2013
Broadcast journalist Soledad O'Brien attends Chaka Khan's Birthday Party on March 26, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
Broadcast journalist Soledad O’Brien attends Chaka Khan’s Birthday Party on March 26, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

NEW YORK (AP) — Soledad O’Brien is joining her former “Today” show colleague Bryant Gumbel at HBO’s “Real Sports.” HBO said Wednesday that O’Brien will be a reporter on the monthly magazine show. Her first story, due later this month, is about war veterans who use martial arts to help them cope with post-traumatic stress disorder.

O’Brien most recently was a morning show host on CNN, but the news network has given the program an overhaul that will debut next week. HBO also agreed to a deal with O’Brien’s production company, Starfish Media Group. O’Brien played college rugby, but her experience covering sports is limited.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press

article via thegrio.com