The fickle world of
entertainment can be a circus sometimes. Today the New York Times threw a few
jabs at media mogul Oprah Winfrey, citing a drop in ratings and noting some criticism
she’s receiving on recent decisions, including her political endorsement of
Barack Obama.
Should we be
worried? Probably not. Oprah never did like Hip-Hop much, and she’s still one
of the most influential women in the world. Just goes to show that building a solid
foundation gives you room to make up your own mind – whether others agree or
not!
Speaking of solid,
the new Indiana Jones movie had the
second biggest box office opening in history at $143 million. Sure it beat out Iron Man’s first weekend numbers, but it
is the fourth movie in a very successful series (Raiders of the Lost Ark was released 27
years ago!). Can’t mess with that!
This week in the
Hollywood Shuffle we have three vets making some new moves, and an up-and-comer
on his way to building that foundation!
Jada Pinkett Smith
takes the drivers seat on new flick, The
Wire’s
Tristan Wilds gives 90210 a new look, Spike Lee has some interesting production plans and Samuel Jackson does theunthinkable!
Jada Pinkett Smith Debuts at Film Festival
Where there’s a Will
there’s a Jada. That seems to be the mantra for how the Smith family keep the
films coming like clockwise. Jada Pinkett Smith recently made her directorial
debut at the Cannes Film Festival with a film she wrote and stars in titled The Human Contract.
Like the actress-turned-director
herself, the sexy film also starring Jason Clarke of Brotherhood, Paz Vega, Ted Danson and Idris Elba centers around a
mega-successful businessman named Julian whose life is ripped apart by a secret
he keeps from the rest of the world. The film already has some heavyweights
behind it, including Pinkett’s husband Will Smith as Executive Producer, along
with James Lassiter, Ken Stovitz, David Grasso and David
Dinenberg.
Jada is also coming out
in theatres this Fall on September 12 alongside Meg Ryan, Eva Mendes and
Annette Bening in The Women.
Spike Lee Producing Michael Jordan Film
After debuting his new
G-Shock watches in New York this month, Director/producer Spike Lee jetted out
to the Cannes Film Festival, and announced his plans to make a new movie based
on the life of Michael Jordan.
The movie will be
funded by the NBA, and will include exclusive footage taken by their cameras –
unlike Spike’s other documentary, announced last month, which will be filmed
exclusively with Nokia cell phones
. No word on an official release date yet oneither movie.
Samuel L. Jackson Stars in Unthinkable
Don’t go trying to blow
up the spot with Samuel L. Jackson around, or he just might do the unthinkable.
In fact, Marco Weber, President of Senator Entertainment, and the film’s
producer Caldecot Chubb are banking on Jackson doing just that in the suspense thriller Unthinkable, penned by Peter Woodward.
When a major threat is
posed to the U.S. and the locations of three nuclear devices are kept in
secrecy by a single terrorist, a Black-ops interrogator played by Jackson and a
female FBI agent have to decide how far they will go to find the weapons, with
only two days before they are deployed.
The production is set to begin filming in September in
Michigan.
Tristan Wilds Takes On 90210
Looks like Tristan
Wilds, a.k.a. Michael Lee of HBO’s The Wire fame, isn’t just changing America’s
perception of life on the tough streets of Baltimore. In his new
role on CW’s revamped Beverly Hills, 90210,
Wilds, the first ever permanent Black cast member, will play Dixon, the adopted
son of a Caucasian family.
Dixon’s adoptive
family consists of drunken grandmother Tabitha Mills (Jessica Walter), her daughter-in-law
Celia (Lori Loughlin) and granddaughter Annie (Shenae Grimes). The family has
moved to Beverly Hills
because of Tabitha’s alcoholism.
I’m still trying to figure this one out. It’s
like a crackhead moving to the streets of B’More to
escape drug and crime, huh? I don’t know, but let’s
hope the new zip code is a good move for this very talented up-and-coming young
actor.
