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Posts tagged as “entertainment”

Jennifer Beals Reteams with ‘L Word’ Director for ABC’s ‘Venice’

By goodblacknews on February 16, 2013

jennifer beals

Actress Jennifer Beals attends the 5th Annual ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hotel on February 23, 2012 in Beverly Hills

ABC will see an “L Word” reunion on its new Romeo & Juliet-esque drama pilot “Venice.” The Showtime series’ star Jennifer Beals has signed on for a lead, while creator/executive producer Ilene Chaiken has come on board as executive producer/showrunner, according to Deadline.
“Venice” is a soap about the haves and the have-nots of California’s most seductive city, Venice. It focuses on two rival families and a forbidden and dangerous romance emerging between them as they battle for control of Venice.  Beals will play Lisa Carver, the elegant bohemian matriarch of the Carver family, one of the two feuding clans. McG is directing the pilot.
article via eurweb.com

Prince to Headline 47th Montreux Jazz Festival

By goodblacknews on February 16, 2013
Prince will play three headline shows at the Montreux Jazz Festival this July, for what will be the famous fest’s first edition since its founder Claude Nobs passed away.  The master musician will perform over the three nights of July 13, 14 and 15, organizers of the Swiss music event have announced. Montreux is familiar turf for Prince. He first played at the fest in 2007 and returned in 2009, when he delivered two shows in the same evening.
Prince recently returned to the spotlight with the new track “Screwdriver,” and he was on hand at the Grammy Awards to present Gotye and Kimbra with the Record of the Year trophy. On May 19, Prince will receive the Icon Award and perform at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards.
Prince Returns with ‘Screwdriver’ Song: Listen
The Montreux Jazz Festival is entering a new era without its founder and former GM Claude Nobs, who died in January after sustaining injuries from a fall while cross-country skiing on Christmas Eve. Just months earlier, he’d stepped away from the event he created back in 1967.  The 47th Montreux Jazz Festival runs from July 5-20. The full line-up will be unveiled April 18.
article by Lars Brandle via billboard.com

Marvin Gaye-Inspired Stage Play to Hit Theaters Tonight

By goodblacknews on February 15, 2013
Marvin Gaye performing on stage (Photo by David Redfern/Redferns)

Marvin Gaye performing on stage (Photo by David Redfern/Redferns)

The story of the late, legendary Motown artist Marvin Gaye will be coming to a stage near you, thanks to the efforts of his sister Zeola “Sweetsie” Gaye.  My Brother Marvin is said to provide behind-the-scenes insights in the life of the “Let’s Get It On” singer.  “Through the years, I became taken aback and disappointed with everything that had been written, said and published about my family, especially my brother Marvin that wasn’t accurate,” Zeola Gaye said in a press release.  The cast for the show includes Lynn Whitfield in the role of Gaye’s mother and Keith Washington as the singer himself.
“In the play, I simply wanted to set the record straight. I wanted to leave a true account about Marvin the man and our family. People need to know what really happened and Marvin would want his fans to really know what happened. We are finally bringing the truth the world needs and must know,” Zeola added in her press release.  The show will be on tour throughout several major American cities including Houston, Baltimore and Motown’s birthplace of Detroit starting today (February 15) and concludes in the spring.  Click here to buy tickets.
article via thegrio.com

Black Teen's Awesomely Smart "Jeopardy" Answer

By goodblacknews on February 13, 2013

A Teen Jeopardy contestant by the name of Leonard wasn’t sure of the answer to the game’s final question, but he knew one thing: He was a winner. He got a chuckle out of the host and a bunch of fans on Twitter when he revealed this response:  “Who is … some guy in Normandy. But I just won $75,000!” Nice. We like the confidence.  Uproxx explains why Leonard was so confident that he would come out ahead.
Watch the video here:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvU_uJkOHH0&w=560&h=315]
article by Jenée Desmond-Harris via theroot.com

Young Filmmaker Samantha Knowles asks 'Why Do You Have Black Dolls?' in her Debut Documentary

By goodblacknews on February 9, 2013

Samantha Knowles, 22, surrounded by the subject of her new 25-minute movie.
Sometimes, a doll is not just a doll. It’s a reminder of a child’s beauty and potential.  No one understands that better than 22-year-old director Samantha Knowles, whose experience growing up as an African-American in a predominantly white community was the inspiration for her new documentary, “Why Do You Have Black Dolls?”
The 25-minute debut film about the significance of black dolls has been accepted at five film festivals and a trailer for “Why Do You Have Black Dolls” can be seen on Youtube.com.
“When I was 8, a white friend came over and innocently asked, ‘Why do you have black dolls?” remembers Knowles, who was raised in Warwick, N.Y., and now lives in Prospect Heights. “At the time, I obviously couldn’t really answer the question.”  Fourteen years later, she can.  Knowles, who initially made the film as her honors thesis at Dartmouth College, spent $6,000 and interviewed more than 20 dollmakers and historians, mostly in New York and Philadelphia.

Whitney Houston Wax Figures Unveiled at Madame Tussauds

By goodblacknews on February 7, 2013

whitney-houston-wax figures
Madame Tussauds has turned its attention to Whitney Houston, remembering the legendary singer who died last year with not one, but four separate wax figures.  “We were extremely honored when Madame Tussauds approached us about doing four figures of Whitney from different points in her 30-year career,” Houston’s manager and sister-in-law Pat Houston said in a statement on behalf of the family. “This is something we are excited to do for the fans.”
The unveiling marks the first time in 200 years that the museum has simultaneously created so many different figures of the same subject. While each took shape at the Tussauds studio in London, they will be displayed in separate cities.

Happy 47th Birthday, Comedian, Writer and Actor Chris Rock

By goodblacknews on February 7, 2013

Chris RockBrooklyn, NY native Christopher Julius “Chris Rock” III was born on February 7, 1965 and began to build his stand-up career by working at New York City’s Catch a Rising Star in the 1980s, earning small parts in movies like Beverly Hills Cop II and I’m Gonna Git You Sucka and landing a featured role on NBC’s late-night comedy juggernaut Saturday Night Live in 1990.  Rock went on to write and star in rap mockmentary CB4 before re-inventing himself through a series of HBO comedy specials starting with 1996’s Emmy Award-winning Bring the Pain.  Rock later went on to produce the television show Everybody Hates Chris for UPN/CW and star in feature films such as Death at a Funeral, Down to Earth, The Longest Yard and I Think I Love My Wife.  To learn more about his life and career, click here.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

Happy 55th Birthday, Actor and Director Robert Townsend

By goodblacknews on February 6, 2013

Robert TownsendBorn February 6, 1955 in Chicago, Illinois, Robert Townsend first became famous for writing, producing, and directing the 1987 independent feature film Hollywood Shuffle, a satire based on the hardships and obstacles that black actors undergo in movie industry, which he famously funded with credit cards. His next feature, The Five Heartbeats (1991), was a nostalgic look back at male R&B groups of the 1960s.  Townsend also had success in television with his award-winning Partners In Crime variety shows for HBO as well as his 1995-1999 WB sitcom The Parent ‘Hood. To learn more about Townsend’s life and career, click here, and enjoy The Five Heartbeats trailer below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZFdQmmDS5c
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

Bruno Mars, Rihanna and Sting to Perform Together at Grammys

By goodblacknews on February 4, 2013
From left, Bruno Mars, Rihanna and Sting will perform together at the Grammy Awards on Sunday.From left, Evan Agostini/Invision, via Associated Press; Jon Furniss/Invision, via Associated Press; Hussein Malla/Associated PressFrom left, Bruno Mars, Rihanna and Sting will perform together at the Grammy Awards on Sunday.

To the ever-growing list of artists already scheduled to perform at the Grammy Awards on Sunday, add this unlikely combination: Bruno Mars, Rihanna and Sting. The trio will perform together during the show, the Recording Academy announced Monday, as will Kelly Clarkson. All but Sting also are nominees for awards this year.
In another unusual pairing, the show will also have Sir Elton John and the 21-year-old British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran performing together in a live setting for the first time. The Black Keys, Fun., the Lumineers and Frank Ocean will also be making their debuts as Grammy performers on the Sunday night broadcast on CBS.
The ranks of Grammy presenters is also swelling, with Prince, Beyoncé, Jennifer Hudson and Jennifer Lopez now confirmed in that role. They join a list that also includes Carly Rae Jepsen and Katy Perry from the pop world; the country music stars Faith Hill, Tim McGraw and Keith Urban; and two stars of hit television series, Kaley Cuoco and Neil Patrick Harris.
article by Larry Rohter via nytimes.com
 

"Betty & Coretta" Premieres on Lifetime Tonight

By goodblacknews on February 2, 2013

bettycoretta_575se
“Betty & Coretta,” the Lifetime original movie focussing on the unlikely friendship between Malcolm X’s wife Betty Shabazz and  Coretta Scott King, the wife of Martin Luther King Jr., premieres tonight at 8pmEST/7pmCST.  The movie stars Academy-Award nominee Angela Bassett as Mrs. King and Grammy-Award winner Mary J. Blige as Mrs. Shabazz. Check out the movie’s official site here for more information, trailers and interviews, or watch tonight and share your thoughts below.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson