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Posts tagged as “television”

Jamie Foxx To Write, Direct & Produce Syfy Horror Anthology Series For October Debut

By goodblacknews on April 20, 2013

Jamie Foxx Syfy SeriesSyfy unveiled a high-profile new scripted series from Jamie Foxx and his Foxxhole Prods. The Oscar winner will executive produce, write and direct the five-episode horror anthology series, which will debut during Syfy’s annual 31 Days Of Halloween programming marathon this October. Foxx might also appear on the yet-untitled series, which is produced by Universal Cable Prods.

In the vein of horror classics like Tales From The Crypt and The Twilight Zone, the contemporary series tells creepy morality tales with themes such as envy, jealousy and superficiality. “This is a project that I’ve wanted to do for a long time and I’m so happy to see it come to life,” Foxx said. “Get ready to lose it when some special friends and I bring the scares this October, and who knows… maybe I’ll make a guest appearance or two along the way!” Added Syfy/UCP’s Mark Stern, “Jamie Foxx’s passion and unique perspective will transform these universal insights on the human condition into emotionally potent and truly scary cautionary tales.”
Troy Miller (Flight Of The Conchords) will executive produce the series through his production company Dakota Pictures, along with Foxx, writer Jeff Stilson, Jaime King and Julie Yorn. Writers on the project also include Mike Ferris (Terminator: Salvation) and John Pogue (Army Wives, Everwood).
article by Nellie Andreeva via Deadline.com
 

HBO Acquires Whoopi Goldberg's Directorial Debut, 'Moms Mabley: I Got Somethin' to Tell You'

By goodblacknews on April 19, 2013

Announced via press release, HBO has acquired all U.S. broadcast and home video rights to Moms Mabley: I Got Somethin’ to Tell You from first-time director Whoopi Goldberg.  The feature-length documentary about the iconic stand-up comedienne, will have its world premiere at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday, April 20. 
Executive produced by Goldberg, Tom Leonardis and George Schlatter, the documentary will debut exclusively on HBO later this year.  In the film, Goldberg explores Mabley’s legacy through recently unearthed photography, rediscovered performance footage and the words of numerous celebrated comedians, entertainers and historians, including Eddie Murphy,Joan Rivers, Sidney Poitier, Kathy Griffin, Harry Belafonte, Bill Cosby, Quincy Jones, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara.
Mabley tackled topics such as gender, sex and racism, making her one of the first triple X-rated comedians on the comedy circuit. Once billed as “The Funniest Woman in the World,” she performed on stage and in television and film up until her death in 1975.
“Moms Mabley has been a huge inspiration to me and so many others, but not a lot of folks outside of the comedy world know about her legacy,” said Goldberg in a statement. “There are a lot of us who wouldn’t be working today without pioneers like her. HBO gave me my first break on TV, so it’s only fitting that Moms has a home there now.
article by Tambay A. Obenson via indiewire.com

Amber Holcomb Jazzes Up 'Idol' Stage With Stellar Performance

By goodblacknews on April 18, 2013

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gofe3zBKhf0&w=560&h=315]
Amber Holcomb, one of the Top 5 left in the “American Idol” competition, and often called a “young Whitney Houston” by the judges, has been in the bottom two several times this season. Amber-Holcomb-of-American-Idol-interview_gallery_primaryBut after weeks of pop-tinged performances, last night she showed off her jazz chops again (the first time was in the Las Vegas sudden death rounds where she sang “My Funny Valentine“) and did an amazing vocal on the Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman standard “What Are You Doing For The Rest of Your Life?”  Hopefully her talent will be rewarded and she will be one of the Top 4 after tonight’s elimination episode on FOX.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

Candice Glover ‘Idol’ Performance Deemed ‘best ever’ by Randy Jackson

By goodblacknews on April 11, 2013

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7acuT6Sydc4&w=560&h=315]
American Idol contestant Candice Glover took to the stage Wednesday night and floored the judges, audience members and millions of TV viewers with her unforgettable performance.  The six-remaining contestants filled the two-hour long show with performances that prompted mixed reviews from Idol judges — but Glover’s closing act scored a standing ovation from the panel.
Glover chose to sing “Lovesong” by The Cure and Randy Jackson proclaimed it “one of the greatest performances in the 12 years of American Idol.”  He later clarified his statement and said it was the best performance in any singing competition show ever.

Candice Glover
The same awestruck emotions were echoed by his colleagues. Country star Keith Urban bowed down to Glover’s feet and Mariah Carey walked to the stage to shower the contestant with glitter. 
Boosting support from past contestants 
Twitter also provided rave reviews of Glover’s performance including supportive tweets from former Idolcontestants Jordin Sparks and Jennifer Hudson.  The Oscar-winning actress responded to a retweet, which included a video of Glover’s act, and said: “This girl is a beast! They not ready.”

Chris Rock Joins Season Two of BET's "Real Husbands of Hollywood"

By goodblacknews on April 8, 2013

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stIAeKvHnHc&w=560&h=315]
 

Bryant Gumbel, Robin Roberts and D.L. Hughley Win Peabody Awards

By goodblacknews on March 29, 2013

bryant gumbel

Bryant Gumbel on the set of “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel”

Robin Roberts’ ABC special about her bone marrow transplant and “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” were among the 39 winners of this year’s Peabody Awards honoring the best in electronic media in 2012.  The honorees were announced at a ceremony on the University of Georgia campus, but the awards won’t be handed out until a luncheon event in New York City on May 20.
Also awarded, Comedy Central’s “D.L. Hughley: The Endangered List,” an hourlong special on whether black men should be on the endangered species list; and the Smithsonian Channel’s “MLK: The Assassination Tapes,” which used rare footage collected at the University of Memphis in 1968, to relive the events leading up to the murder of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and its aftermath.

ESPN To Give Robin Roberts ‘Espy’ Award For Courage

By goodblacknews on March 27, 2013
robin roberts espy award
NEW YORK — ESPN is staying in the family in giving its Arthur Ashe Courage Award to Robin Roberts at its annual ESPY awards this summer.  The “Good Morning America” anchor is being saluted for how she kept viewers involved in her treatments for two serious illnesses. She had breast cancer in 2007 and last year had to undergo a bone marrow transplant to treat a rare blood disorder. Roberts returned to “Good Morning America” last month.
Roberts came to sister company ABC from ESPN, where she was the network’s first black female sportscaster.  Most past awards recipients have sports connections, like former Tennessee women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt last year. But the ESPYs have also honored Nelson Mandela and the four men who tried to stop one of the Sept. 11 hijackings.
article by Associated Press via newsone.com

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.

Oprah Winfrey Tops Forbes List of "Most Influential Celebrities"

By goodblacknews on March 18, 2013

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey’s list of career accomplishments keeps growing.  For the second year in a row, the iconic television host and philanthropist is number one on the Forbes’ list of most influential celebrities.
Snagging the 2013 No 1. Spot with 48 percent of people rating her as “influential,” Winfrey tops the list which includes several of  Hollywood’s elite like Steven Spielberg (No. 2), Barbara Walters (No. 8) and Clint Eastwood (No. 10).
Winfrey’s reign over the media world has lasted for decades. After she ended her 25-year-run on  The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2011, the mogul started her TV empire O.W.N., the Oprah Winfrey Network.

How Chi McBride Changed the Direction of CBS’ ‘Golden Boy’

By goodblacknews on March 12, 2013

goldenboy
Three episodes into the new CBS drama “Golden Boy” and it’s already apparent that the show’s main storyline – a young NYPD officer’s road to becoming the city’s youngest police commissioner – are at times upstaged by the relationship between the cop (Theo James) and his partner, played by Chi McBride.
Their partnership was never supposed to be a major part of the series, according to CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler. In fact, McBride was not even supposed to share top billing.
“When we bought the show last year, it was really designed and developed as a single-star vehicle, telling the story of a young man’s meteoric rise from a beat cop to the Police Commissioner of New York,” Tassler explained to journalists in January. “When we watched the pilot shoot, there was a palpable chemistry between Theo James and Chi McBride. So it was during shooting of the pilot, watching the shooting of the first episode, that you could see that this show was evolving into a different kind of show. A mentor/mentee relationship.
“You’ll see, it’s turned into a two-hander between these two actors. It’s extraordinary.”