Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts tagged as “Lifetime”

Laurence Fishburne to Star as Alex Haley in "Roots" Remake for A&E Networks

By goodblacknews on July 1, 2015
Laurence Fishburne The Signial
Laurence Fishburne at NAACP Awards (photo via Variety.com)

Laurence Fishburne has been cast as Alex Haley in A+E Networks’ “Roots” remake, the History Channel announced Wednesday.
Haley is the author of the novel “Roots: The Saga of an American Family,” an American family origin story based around the life of Kunta Kinte. The “Roots” remake will be an original, contemporary production, incorporating material from Haley’s novel, as well as carefully researched new scholarship of the time.
“Roots” will be simulcast on A&E, History and Lifetime in 2016.
The Emmy-winning actor currently appears on NBC’s drama “Hannibal” and ABC’s half-hour comedy “Black-ish,” on which he also serves as executive producer. On the big screen, Fishburne will next be seen in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.”
“Roots” is described as a historical portrait of American slavery recounting the journey of one family’s will to survive, endure and ultimately carry on their legacy despite enormous hardship and inhumanity. Spanning multiple generations, the lineage begins with young Kunta Kinte who is captured in his homeland in Gambia and transported in brutal conditions to colonial America where he’s sold into slavery. Throughout the series, the family continues to face adversity while bearing witness and contributing to notable events in U.S. history — including the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, slave uprisings and eventual emancipation.
Will Packer, Marc Toberoff, Marc Wolper, Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal serve as executive producers. LeVar Burton and Korin Huggins are co-executive producers. Konner, Rosenthal, Alison McDonald, and Charles Murray are writing.
article by Laura Prudom via Variety.com

LeVar Burton, Will Packer Produce "Roots" Remake to Air on History, A&E and Lifetime Next Year

By goodblacknews on April 30, 2015

rootscover“Roots” is returning to TV next year as a big-ticket event series production to air across History, A&E Network and Lifetime next year.
Producer Will Packer and LeVar Burton, an original “Roots” cast member, are shepherding the project with Mark Wolper, son of the original producer of the 1977 ABC miniseries, David L. Wolper.
Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal, Alison McDonald and Charles Murray are on board to write the new rendition of the saga of Kunta Kinte, which follows his capture in Africa as a young man through his enslavement in colonial America. “Roots” is based on Alex Haley’s landmark novel of the same name.

Actor/Producer LeVar Burton
Actor/Producer LeVar Burton

“My career began with ‘Roots’ and I am proud to be a part of this new adaptation,” said Burton. “There is a huge audience of contemporary young Americans who do not know the story of ‘Roots’ or its importance. I believe now is the right time to tell this story so that we can all be reminded of its impact on our culture and identity.”
The original eight-part miniseries was a sleeper megahit for ABC that aired over consecutive nights in January 1977. There’s no word yet on how many hours the new “Roots” will run.
A&E Networks execs said producers will work closely with historians and other experts to incorporate new information about the historical period uncovered since the original book and mini were released.
“Kunta Kinte began telling his story over 200 years ago and that story went through his family lineage, to Alex Haley, to my father, and now the mantle rests with me,” said Wolper. “Like Kunta Kinte fought to tell his story over and over again, so must we.”
Said Packer: “The opportunity to present one of America’s most powerful stories to a generation that hasn’t seen it is tremendously exciting. Contemporary society needs this story and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
article by Cynthia Littleton via Variety.com

Jill Scott, Regina Hall & Eve To Star In Lifetime Comedy "With This Ring"

By goodblacknews on July 16, 2014

With This Ring
Jill Scott, Regina Hall and Eve will be on a race to the alter for their upcoming Lifetime movie.
The network announced this week that it will be producing a romantic comedy aimed at black women titled With This Ring, Shadow And Act reports. The story centers on three girlfriends that make a pact to get married within a year after another one of their friends ties the knot!
With all of the biopics that Lifetime will be rolling out, we’re shocked they still know how to make anything else. There’s no word on who will play the bride just yet, but we’re interested to see who takes on the role.
Gabrielle Union has been attached to the project, but she probably won’t be appearing on screen. She’s signed on as an executive producer for With This Ring alongside Tracey Edmonds and Sheila Ducksworth.
Production for With This Ring, which is being directed by Nzingha Stewart, is slated to begin next month.
article by Sonya Eskridge via hellobeautiful.com

Angela Bassett to Direct Whitney Houston Movie for Lifetime

By goodblacknews on May 22, 2014

Angela Bassett, Whitney Houston
Angela Bassett will make her directorial debut with a Lifetime Original Movie based on the life of Whitney Houston, Lifetime announced Thursday.
Scheduled for a 2015 world premiere under the working title of “Whitney Houston,” the film chronicles the headline-making relationship between the iconic singer, actress, producer and model, and singer-songwriter Bobby Brown — from the time they first met at the very height of their celebrity, to their courtship and tumultuous marriage.
“I have such regard for both Whitney’s and Bobby’s amazing talents and accomplishments; and I feel a responsibility in the telling of their story,” said Bassett in a statement. “Their humanity and bond fascinates us all. I’m beyond excited to have this opportunity to go behind the camera and into their world.”
Produced by The Sanitsky Company, “Whitney Houston” will be executive produced by Larry Sanitsky. Shem Bitterman wrote the film’s script.
Bassett and Lifetime previously collaborated on last year’s original movie “Betty & Coretta.” Starring Bassett and Mary J. Blige, the Humanitas Prize finalist told the dual real-life stories of Coretta Scott King (Bassett) and Dr. Betty Shabazz (Blige), wives of Dr. Martin Luther King (Malik Yoba) and Malcolm X (Lindsay Owen Pierre), who formed an unbreakable life-long bond after their husbands’ tragic assassinations.
article by Laura Prudom via Variety.com

Watch Trailer for Terry McMillan's "A Day Late and a Dollar Short" Starring Whoopi Goldberg (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on March 17, 2014

Day late Dollar Short
Just in time for Easter, the Lifetime Channel will air the small screen adaptation of Terry McMillan‘s bestseller A Day Late and a Dollar Short. The film stars Whoopi Goldberg (who also executive produced) and Ving Rhames as an estranged couple, with Anika Noni Rose, Kimberly Elise, Tichina Arnold, and Mekhi Phifer playing their adult children.

The synopsis:

In A Day Late and a Dollar Short, when irascible matriarch Viola Price (Goldberg) learns that her next asthma attack will likely kill her, she is determined to fix her fractured family before she leaves this world, from her relationship with her husband (Rhames), to the lives of her four children and grandchildren. While on this quest, she must contend with sibling rivalry, teen pregnancy and prescription drug addiction – and that is only one child. Additionally, her jailbird son (Phifer) needs to learn how to be a better father, her granddaughter is in bigger trouble than her daughter is willing to admit and her estranged husband needs saving from his scheming younger girlfriend. It’s the kind of meddling that the Price family hasn’t experienced from Viola in decades, and she won’t have an easy time bending her loved ones to her will.

The film was adapted for television from McMillan’s novel by Shernold Edwards and directed by Stephen Tolkin.  It will premiere on April 19 at 8/7C.
Watch a clip from the movie below:
http://youtu.be/jjCKQuR4FxM
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
 

Lifetime’s “The Gabby Douglas Story” Earns 3.8 Million Viewers

By goodblacknews on February 3, 2014

the gabby douglas story
Imani Hakim as Gabby Douglas in Lifetime’s “The Gabby Douglas Story” (Source: Lifetime)

This past Saturday, Lifetime aired The Gabby Douglas Story. And apparently many were anxious to see it. The cable network movie pulled in 3.8 million viewers according to Nielsen Research. And immediately after her Lifetime movie debuted, the network broadcast a documentary called Beyond the Headlines: The Gabby Douglas Story, which averaged 3 million viewers.
In addition to views, according to Nielsen SocialGuide, the cable movie premiere was also the most-tweeted program of the night across all of television, excluding sporting events. The Gabby Douglas Story stars Regina King as Gabrielle’s mother, S. Epatha Merkerson as her grandmother and Imani Hakim (Tonya from Everybody Hates Chris) as the teenaged Douglas.
article by Veronica Wells via madamenoire.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

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

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.”

Jennifer Hudson, Octavia Spencer To Star In New Lifetime 'Five Film'

By goodblacknews on March 22, 2013

Jennifer Hudson, Octavia Spencer

Jennifer Hudson and Octavia Spencer (“The Help”) have been tapped to star in the soon to premiere Lifetime movie event “Call Me Crazy: A Five Film.”  Following the success of the first “Five’ feature (Alicia Keys), “Call Me Crazy” brings together an all-star ensemble cast with five interwoven stories about how everlasting bonds of love and family can overcome life’s most challenging hurdles.
Jennifer Hudson will star in the short “Maggie,” which focuses on a female veteran (Hudson) that returns home from war to her son and father (Ernie Hudson), only to have her life shattered by the onset of posttraumatic stress disorder, through which her lawyer, “Lucy,” helps her.
“Through the five shorts named after each title character — Lucy, Eddie, Allison, Grace and Maggie – powerful relationships built on hope and triumph raise a new understanding of what happens when a loved one struggles with mental illness,” reports Lifetime.