What’s happening everyone? Here we are as we welcome the end of another five days. From the beach house fire that killed seven college students in North Carolina to Dog the Bounty Hunter’s use of the N-word in reference to his son’s girlfriend during a heated argument to rumored talks of bringing Kobe Bryant to the Chicago Bulls, it was a week of highs and lows. Congratulations go out to Mekhi Phifer and his fiancée Oni Souratha, who welcomed their first child on Tuesday (Oct. 30), and Jennifer Lopez, who is expecting her own bundle of joy, as confirmed by clothing designer Roberto Cavalli. And let’s not forget the sounding boards for making sure I do what I do best. Next up…The Last Word for the week ending Nov. 2, 2007. 1. Amy Winehouse Makes Maxim’s Unsexiest Stars List Despite her reported battles with drugs, Amy Winehouse has had a good 2007 thanks to her critically acclaimed album Back to Black. But the troubled singer may not want to be included on the newest list from Maxim magazine. The publication has included Winehouse on its list of the world’s unsexiest women. The list, which is featured in the latest issue of Maxim, includes women from the world of movies, music, and television. Winehouse ranked number two on the list behind Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker. The rest of the top five consisted of Sandra Oh of Grey’s Anatomy, Madonna and Britney Spears. So what did it take for Winehouse to make the cut? According to Maxim, it was her “her openly hemorrhaging translucent skin, rat´s nest mane and lashes that look more like surgically attached bats.” I’ll hold my tongue with this and say that beauty has always been in the eye of the beholder. No matter how sexy or unsexy that particular beauty may be, it is what it is. 2. The Temptations Take Name Battle to Court Members of Motown’s legendary Temptations are bringing a dispute over the group’s name to court. TMZ.com reports that Otis Williams, the only surviving member of the original Temptations, is suing former band members Glenn Leonard, Ali Woodson and Barrington Henderson for using the name “Temptations.” Williams claims the men don’t have the right to use the name. In a lawsuit filed on Oct. 26, Williams alleges that he is the only person with rights to the name “The Temptations.” Leonard, Woodson and Henderson have been performing under the name “Legendary Lead Singers of the Temptations” and/or “The Temptations Reunion Show” since 2004. In addition to his former bandmates, Williams is suing managers who worked with the “Legendary Lead Singers of the Temptations,” as well as venues which promoted them. According to court documents, he claims that advertising used to promote the band was deceiving and hurt his ability to work as the Temptations. Williams is seeking the maximum amount of damages under the law, as well as interest on all damages awarded, legal fees, and any properties and assets obtained by the profits of the defendants’ infringing activity. 3. Kelis Parts Ways with Jive Looks like Kelis is without a recording home. Billboard.com reports that the singer was dropped from her contract with Jive Records. During her time at the label, Kelis released two albums, 2003’s Tasty and 2006’s Kelis Was Here. According Nielson Soundscan, Tasty sold 533,000 copies in the United States, while Kelis Was Here moved 157,000 copies to date. Although the Jive release is a setback, don’t expect Kelis to stay on the inactive list. The singer’s manger revealed to Entertainment Weekly that she is working on an independent dance album with Gnarls Barkley/Goodie Mob member Cee-Lo Green, as well as auditioning for various film and TV roles and engaging in talks to host a Project Runway-esque show for VH1. And if that wasn’t enough, Kelis is shopping a pop album around that is helmed by songwriter Guy Chambers. With all that hustling, it’s only a matter of time before all the boys come back to the yard to visit Kelis. Stay tuned. 4. Heidi Klum Is Not Ashamed About Seal’s Package Seal may be a little crazy, which suits his wife Heidi Klum just fine. But it wasn’t the singer’s mind that got her attention. “I met him in a hotel lobby in New York City and he came in just from the gym and I was sitting there and I was, like, wow,” said Klum, who told talk show host Oprah Winfrey during a recent episode of her show that Seal was wearing a very tight pair of biker shorts. “And I pretty much saw everything. The whole package.” So was a it a case of too much information on Klum’s part? Apparently not, according to the supermodel and Project Runway host. “It is very strange, you trust her so much that you talk sometimes without realizing what you are saying,” Klum told People magazine about Oprah. “She has a spell in her eyeballs that when she looks at you, you are like, ‘Yes,'” “I know a lot of people talk about Seal’s bicycle shorts, but it is the truth,” continued Klum, who believes that honesty is the best policy. “That is what he was wearing the first time I met him and I was overwhelmed.” I guess now we actually know how Seal “sealed” the deal with the love of his life. Who says size isn’t a factor in the game of love? 5. Naomi Campbell Gets Political with Hugo Chavez Anger and Naomi Campbell may go together like peanut butter and jelly, but the supermodel found a new focus for her aggression by visiting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez this week. According to the Associated Press, Campbell traveled abroad to attend a political rally promoting state programs for single mothers and visit government-funded housing projects on Wednesday (Oct. 31). Upon her arrival at the rally, Chavez warmly greeted Campbell while planting a kiss on her hand. Although he showed his soft side when he called Campbell “a very special woman,” Chavez snapped back to normal as he criticized President Bush for maintaining Washington’s 46-year trade embargo against Cuba. Politics wasn’t the only thing on the model’s mind as she ended up praising Chavez’s health and education programs after a four-hour meeting Tuesday (Oct. 30) at the presidential palace. It was there that Campbell switched in to reporter mode when she interviewed Chavez for an unspecified publication. Campbell joins a string of celebrities who have recently visited Venezuela, including Danny Glover, Harry Belafonte, Kevin Spacey and Sean Penn. 6. American Gangster Makes Blackbusters DebutAs 98 percent of the Black female population heads to the local movie house to catch Denzel Washington in American Gangster, it seems that Blackbusters (or they as they’re properly known, bootleggers) may make it a little cheaper on the guys to catch the feature. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, high quality bootlegged DVD copies of American Gangster have already hit the street. The paper states that the film has been available since at least Wednesday at various file-sharing web sites on the Internet. American Gangster DVDs were being sold for $5 in Los Angeles. Officials at Universal say they aren’t sure how a copy of the movie leaked. American Gangster is the latest film that has fallen victim to the bootlegging craze, despite extensive security precautions studios have taken at pre-release screenings in theaters and watermark stamps on other copies of films to help identify pirates. Still the bootlegging of Washington’s latest flick has become an issue in light of the excellent quality of bootleg version. So fellas, what would you rather do? Pay $40 to see your lady swoon over Denzel earning another Oscar nod while she’s sitting next you in the theater? Or $15 (the price of the bootleg and snacks) to see it all from the comfort of your own home? Who would you rather visit, Blackbusters or the movie theater chain in your neck of the woods? Between you and me, I’d rather visit Blackbusters. Now that’s “gangsta.” 7. Ving Rhames Takes a Few Punches for Sonny Liston Close to 10 years after playing boxing promoter Don King, Ving Rhames is stepping into the squared circle as fighter. The Hollywood Reporter states the actor has signed on to play world heavyweight boxing champion Sonny Liston in the biopic The Phantom Punch. The Robert Townsend-directed feature, which began production Monday (Oct. 29) in Toronto, will chronicle Liston’s rise in the boxing ranks as well as the single “phantom punch” he took from Cassius Clay (aka Muhammad Ali) which many believe was the beginning of the end for his career. Born to an Arkansas sharecropper, Liston was a trouble-prone kid who served time in prison for robbing a gas station and later for beating up a police officer. He found boxing as a way to gain respect and became world heavyweight champion in 1962. Despite his achievements in the ring, Liston is best remembered for the “phantom punch” that occurred two minutes into his 1965 fight against Ali Liston – who had seldom been knocked to his feet – went down from what was argued to be a felonious punch. Having Rhames star as Liston is nothing short of a perfect fit, according to Townsend. “The thing is that certain people are born to play certain roles and Ving has always gravitated toward Sonny Liston’s story,” the filmmaker told the Hollywood Reporter. “This is his baby and he’s giving birth to it. He’s already playing the character at so many levels.” 8. Keith Sweat Begs for the Holidays The holidays are always a time for family bonding, good food and gifts for all. And let’s not forget a hint of romance as you and your significant other can cuddle up to sounds of Keith Sweat. That’s right, the singer is gearing up to spread some holiday cheer this season with his first CD holiday tunes, tilted A Christmas of Love. The nine track album will include the yuletide standard as “The Christmas Song,” as well as tracks such as “Under The Tree,” “Once A Year” and “It’s Christmas Again” – all co-written by Sweat. As you can see. Keith is always looking for ways to take the begging game to that next level. So if you feel romantic or experience some holiday relationship drama, just put a little bit of Sweat in your CD player and make it last forever. After all, there’s a right and a wrong to love under the mistletoe. Look for A Christmas of Love to hit stores on Nov. 20 and online at www.rhino.com.
