GreekChat.com Forums - Fall News: The Late Edition

Patty Jackson's 411 for the week of November 27th, 2006

Actress/Singer Jennifer Hudson has landed a record deal. The former American Idol contestant is now signed to J Records, the recording home of Idol Alum Fantasia and Rueben Studdard. Hudson stars in the upcoming Dreamgirls movie as “Effie White.” This is the role that was made famous by Jennifer Holliday on Broadway. Hudson sings the signature song And I’m Telling You. I saw the movie a couple of weeks ago. I loved it. Let me tell you Jennifer steals the show along with Eddie Murphy. 2007 is going to be a big year for Hudson. Look for her to be nominated at a lot of award shows.

It was 25 years ago that Dreamgirls first took the country by storm. The Broadway musical starred Sheryl Lee Ralph, Jennifer Holliday and Loretta Devine. The movie version of the Broadway smash is due out Christmas. The Broadway version made Jennifer Holliday a star, and she went on to win a Tony Award and two Grammy’s. A lot of people are wondering what happened to her. With the arrival of the movie, Holliday is starting to speak out. She is not happy with the movie version. Holliday says she’s disappointed that the producers of the movie didn’t involve her in the production. She says she wasn’t even offered a cameo role in the movie. Holliday says it’s unfair because she created the role of “Effie White,” and made it come alive. Holliday still travels around the country touring, but she admits it has been rough. She says her career never took off because at the time of her success, she didn’t have the right look. At one point, Holliday weighed over 340 pounds. She has since lost weight, but over the years she has battled depression and contemplated suicide.

If you like movies about girl groups, get ready for the re-release of the 1976 classic Sparkle. The movie, which stars Lonette McKee, Irene Cara & Philip Michael Thomas and features a soundtrack by Curtis Mayfield, is coming out on DVD January 9th.

Is Babyface dating former American Idol Contestant Katherine McPhee? Sources say he is just helping her with her latest project, but they have been spotted looking very cozy. Since his divorce from Entertainment Producer Tracey Edmonds, there has been a lot of interest about who Babyface is dating. Tracey Edmonds has also moved on, and now she is dating Eddie Murphy.

Now that she has fired her stylist, will the truth come out about Nicole Richie? Stylist Rachel Zoe has been with Richie for years, and sources say she could spill the beans about Nicole’s drastic weight loss and lifestyle. Friends of Nicole say she fired her stylist because she wants to surround herself with positive people and influences. After a short stay at a treatment center for health and weight issues, Nicole appears to be gaining weight. She has long been criticized for being too thin.

How will NBC deal with Actor/Comedian Tracy Morgan? For the second time this year, the star of the show 30 Rock has been arrested for drunk driving. Cops spotted Morgan driving erratically through New York in his Cadillac Escalade in the middle of the night. He is due in court on January 4th to answer these charges. He faces up to a year in jail. It is very clear Morgan has a problem. Will he get help?

Wesley Snipes says it’s unfair that the I.R.S. is going after him, and they are only doing it because he is black. He says he is not running, and he is not a fugitive. Snipes owes the I.R.S. over $12 million in back taxes. Once he returns from Africa, where he is filming a movie, he will have to deal with his tax issues.

Queen Latifah will be hosting the 33rd Annual People’s Choice Awards. The show is set to air January 9th on CBS.

The life story of Soul Legend James Brown is coming to the big screen, but Usher won’t be starring in the movie. Rumor had it that Usher would play The Godfather of Soul in the movie because execs were impressed with his singing and dancing in the musical Chicago on Broadway. Reps for Usher say he will not be starring in a movie based on Brown’s life.

Jamie Foxx is going on a music tour. He’s due in Philly to do a show on January 25th at the Wachovia Center.

Author Bebe Moore Campbell has died. Campbell was 56. For the past year, she has been battling brain cancer. Campbell, a Philadelphia native, had been diagnosed in February. She is best known for the books 72 Hold, Brothers and Sisters, What You Owe Me, and Your Blues Ain’t Like Mine. Campbell has also been a feature writer for the Washington Post, New York Times, Essence Magazine, Ebony and Black Enterprise. She is a past winner of the NAACP Image Award for Literature. She loved her family and career. She leaves behind her husband, her mother and two children a son, Ellis Gordon III, and a daughter, Actress Maia Campbell. She also had two grandchildren.

Singer/Songwriter Tony Sylvester of the Main Ingredient has also died. Sylvester wrote many of the group’s hits (Spinning Around, You’ve Been My Inspiration). He was 64-years old and died from complications due to bone cancer.

Actor Darius McCrary is setting the record straight about his life. Back in the day, he played “Eddie Winslow” on the ABC show Family Matters. McCray says stories about him being HIV positive are false. In a recent interview, he claims he was the victim of a lover scorned. McCrary is getting his personal life back on track. Last December, he married a Las Vegas showgirl, but the marriage only lasted five weeks. At the moment, he is preparing to become a dad. McCrary says he is very excited.

The most hated man in entertainment, Kevin Federline, is still loved by his first baby momma Shar Jackson. Jackson was famously dumped by Federline when she was 7 months pregnant. That’s when he met and married Pop Star Britney Spears. Well, after two kids and months of hell, Spears is divorcing Federline. Jackson felt this was her opportunity to get back with her children’s dad. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, she invited him over for dinner. Jackson thought they could enjoy some family time. So imagine her surprise when Federline arrived with his new girlfriend, a Britney Spears look a like.

WDAS-FM is gearing up for the release of another Classic Soul album. Volume 11 is due out in stores next week, and it features such hard to find classics as I’d Rather Be By Myself by Ebo, the live version of the classic song Devotion by Earth Wind & Fire, and I Can Tell By The Look In Your Eyes by Frankie Beverly & Maze. Also featured are Jesus Is Love by The Commodores, Moments In Love by The Art of Noise and You’re All That Matters To Me by Deniece Williams, just to name a few. Butterball, the legendary programmer of WDAS, says he still enjoys putting together these albums, and people really appreciate having hard to find songs. He feels this is the best album yet.

Upcoming movies: The Pursuit of Happyness with Will Smith and his son Jaden Smith opens December 15th. In the movie, Smith plays a former medical supplies salesman in the 80’s who became homeless with his young son before his life straightened out and he became a millionaire. The movie is based on a true life story. Will and his wife Jada are also working on some new TV projects. One is a deal with the CW network for a TV show about a group of divorced mothers who live in an apartment complex. The other deal is with ABC about an interracial couple (he’s upper middle class, she’s lower middle class), their children and in-laws.

WHAT’S THE UNDERGROUND BUZZ?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some people are realizing there is money to be made in the form of civil rights issues. Just because there is a camera in their face and they have a platform doesn’t mean they are doing good for the community. A certain Comedian is getting a nice payday for helping a comedic Actor who embarrassed himself when he let his true racist feelings spill out. This Comedian needs financial help so he has been escorting the comedic Actor around as he begs for forgiveness.

A lot of people have a hard time dealing with success. Once the money starts rolling in, their egos get out of control and they begin to feel they are larger than life. Execs at a top media outlet had to check a top media personality. His out of control ego almost got him fired from his gig. When the personality realized they were not willing to deal with his ego, he had to straighten up. Even though he complains a lot, he needs his radio gig to survive. (Mike Baisden was off the radio for a few weeks.....hmmmm????)

Reality TV made this loud mouth woman a star. Her outrageous antics made her a fan favorite, and now she is getting her own show. She says she wants to find true love with a man, but I hear she really likes women. (New York is in the Mother F**'in House?)

The Ivy Legacy Foundation of the Rho Theta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Presents Philly’s Men Are Cooking. The 15th Anniversary Fundraiser takes place Saturday, December 2nd at The National Constitution Center, 6th and Arch Streets. For more info call 215-848-4735.