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INSIDE HO L LY W OOD with Chez’Ney There She Goes Again
Anika Noni Rose Joins Cast of “Power”
Wendy Raquel Robinson doesn’t let any moss grow under her feet. After nine seasons, the final episode of the hit BET series, “The Game”, taped on August 5 in Atlanta and Wendy Raquel Robinson returned to L.A. But as it turns out, not for long. Robinson is present back in Atlanta shooting the new TV Obe series, “Here We Go Again”, with twotime GRAMMY® Award winner Letoya Luckett as her daughter. The half-hour series follows Maddy (Luckett), a single mother who is convinced there is a "Walker Women's Curse," after being born to her mother, Loretta (Robinson), at age 16, and having a child herself at age 16. Maddy refuses to let her daughter, Shante (Ferguson), now approaching her dreaded 16th birthday, become the next in line. The show is set to premiere on February 9.
Just days after a record-breaking season two, Starz announced that they would be renewing their New York based hit show, “Power”, for a third season and who better to add to the cast than the voice of Tierra, Disney’s first black princess. Anika Noni Rose is set to play the role of LaVerne Thomas, a street-smart cop from Tommy and Ghost’s old neighborhood. The Tony Award winner is set to heat up multiple episodes of the nail-biting series that is expected to air next summer.
My Friend 50 Business mogul Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson already has “Power”, a hit Show on Starz, as well as the Sundance TV reality series “Dream School” and now he is planning to executive produce and star in FOX sitcom “My Friend 50”. The sitcom is a joint production by Will Packer’s Will Packer Productions, 50's G-Unit Film & Television, and Universal Television. Written by Ava Tramer, the show follows Amanda Kramer, an unstable twenty-something who believes that joining 50 Cent’s entourage is the answer to all her problems. Her unlikely journey with 50 Cent’s crew takes the form of a bizarre documentary commissioned by the most unreliable narrator in history. Stay tuned for airdate.
Lee Daniels Teams With Queen Latifah On New TV Show It was just a matter of time, but with the super success of Empire, Lee Daniel’s is creating another FOX pilot starring Queen Latifah as Carlotta, an Atlanta beauty salon owner with musical talents of her own who becomes somewhat of a surrogate mother to three young women who have formed a girl group. The show follows the trio’s journey as they try to make it big in the music industry.
T.I. Cast In “Roots” Remake A&E is remaking the classic 1977 miniseries roots and has cast self proclaimed “King Of The South” rapper Tip “T.I.” Harris,to play Cyrus, a headstrong slave who fights for the Union Army against Confederate forces. Also starring in the four-night miniseries event is Mekhi Phifer whose character is a mute slave working on the Murray plantation who is not quit what he appears to be. Oscar winner Forest Whitaker is also playing a slave who befriends Kunta Kinte and assists him in his escape attempts. Production is already under way in New Orleans and is set to premiere on History, A&E and Lifetime this year.
13 Hours
Ride Along 2
Fifty Shades of Black
An attack takes place on the U.S.Special Mission Compound and a nearby CIA Annex in Benghazi on the eleventh anniversary of 9/11. Four Americans are killed in the attack,including U.S. Ambassador, J Christopher Stevens and Foreign Service Information Officer, Sean Smith. Jan 15th
As his wedding day approaches,Benjamin Barber,(Kevin Hart) must deal with his wife's tough cop brother James Payton, (Ice Cube) as they work together to bring down drug dealer, Pope (Benjamin Bratt). Jan 15th.
Get ready for an erotic spoof comedy as Fifty Shades of Black takes you through a maze of hard, rough, and pre-mature encounters from inside of Mr. Christian Black's playroom. The filmbis a parody of the 2015 erotic romantic drama film Fifty Shades of Grey. Jan 29th.
Sherlock: The Abominable Bride Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman reprise their roles as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson in a one-off episode set in Victorian London 1895. The series also features Amanda Abbington,Rupert Graves and Una Stubbs. Jan 5th.
AND THE NOMINEES ARE... Michael B. Jordan will face off against Will Smith for outstanding actor in a motion picture at the 47th annual NAACP Image Awards next month. Both are heavy favorites in a category that also includes Chiwetel Ejofor, Michael Ealy, and Abraham Attah. Favored to win in the outstanding actress category is the phenomenal Viola Davis who is up against KeKe Palmer, Sanaa Lathan, Teyonah Parris and Zoe Saldana. In the running for Outstanding Motion Picture award are Creed, Dope, Concussion, Beasts of No Nation, and the year’s top grossing black film, Straight Outta Compton. Leading the pack in the music category is Janet Jackson with six nominations, including female artist, music video, outstanding song for both “Unbreakable” and “No Sleep”; and outstanding duo for “No Sleep” featuring J. Cole. Expected to win big in the TV category is “Empire”, which scored a leading 12 nominations, including outstanding actor (Terrence Howard) and actress (Taraji Henson). For the “outstanding actress” win, Henson will have to beat out Kerry Washington, Viola Davis, Gabrielle Union and Nichole Beharie. Meanwhile, “Entertainer of the Year” nominees include Misty Copeland, Shonda Rhimes, Viola Davis, Pharrell Williams and Michael B. Jordan. The 47th Annual NAACP Image Awards airs live February 5th with the Anthony Anderson back to host.
Q&A IdrisElba
He has five films in the works including The Jungle Book, Star Trek Beyond and Zootopia, but the biggest buzz surrounding Idris Elba is Oscar buzz for his role as the Commandant in feature film, "Beasts of No Nation." The role has already earned Golden Globe, SAG and NAACP Image Award nominations for the 43-year-old British actor and star of the BBC series, Luther. Q: What was the general feeling going onto the set of “Beast of No Nation” every day? A: The movie was shot in Ghana—where my mom is from—and we had a very tight unit of actors with not many resources. But there was a huge effort; everyone from the supporting actors to the rest of the crew gave the same level of energy, even when some of the actors fell sick… In order for me to kind of command a presence needed for the role I was playing we basically stayed in character a lot. It was tough work, but there was great energy from all the actors on set. Q: What is more important, playing a hero like Nelson Mandela or a thug? A: You know playing Nelson Mandela is almost like playing this God-like character. As an actor, and after playing such an important role, you ask yourself where do you go from here; whom else can you play that’s like him? Not very many people. But on the other end of the spectrum, playing a commander of child soldiers in the Beast is, though a despicable role, it is also an important story. The perspective of this little boy and what he goes through as a child soldier; coupled with the role I played, as his commandant is an extremely important story to bring to audiences. Q: You're a movie star with Oscar buzz. What brought you back to "Luther"? A: Going back to "Luther" actually feels like a good step forward for me. It's such a great character, one that I feel is still in its infantile state. It's different from the films "Beasts of No Nation," "Star Trek" and the lot. This is a character that I've got a builtin audience for, they expect something from me, and it feels quite nice to be able to deliver that. The audience is still engaged after a two-year break. Q: Were your parents supportive of you becoming an actor? A: My Dad, who pasted away two years ago, said to me (puts on a thick African accent) ‘You know, boy, actors don’t make money.’ I was like, ‘Okay Dad; I still want to become an actor. I don’t really care about the money… But looking back, they were really supportive. Especially my Mom, she was very supportive.