MORE NEWS: Again with murder suspects... this time it's PuffPoppa

[AKA2D '91]

'Cookout' Heats Up with Queen Latifah
Fri Sep 12, 3:23 AM ET Add Movies - Reuters to My Yahoo!


By Chris Gardner

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Queen Latifah is grilling up "The Cookout."



Joining her in the Lance Rivera-directed Lions Gate Films project -- which Queen Latifah co-wrote with her Flavor Unit Films partner Shakim Compere -- is a roster including Quran Pender, Ja Rule, Eve, Jonathan Silverman, Jenifer Lewis, Meagan Good (news), Tim Meadows (news), Farrah Fawcett (news) and Danny Glover (news).


"Cookout," which is before the cameras in New Jersey, stars Pender as Todd Anderson, a basketball star who becomes the No. 1 NBA draft pick. To celebrate, he organizes a "cookout" in his new mansion with his crazy friends and relatives.


Queen Latifah plays a supporting role as a security guard, with Ja Rule starring as Todd's friend Bling Bling, Eve as Todd's old high school girlfriend, Silverman as the superslick sports agent of the new NBA star, Lewis as Todd's mother, Goode as Todd's current girlfriend, Meadows as his uncle, Fawcett as one of the neighbors and Glover as a judge and the husband of Fawcett's character.


Queen Latifah, who was nominated for an Oscar for her supporting role in last year's "Chicago," appeared earlier this year in "Bringing Down the House." Her upcoming big-screen projects include "Scary Movie 3" and "Barbershop 2."

[FeeFee]

AKA2D'91 - Tex was John's father.

[kiml122]

When I heard this morning that John Ritter had died, I was totally blown away. I loved his as Jack Tripper, and I liked the new show 8 Simple Rules as well.

As for Johnny Cash I was reading his bio in CNN and it stated that his parents actually named him J.R. Cash, but when he went into the Air Force the military didn't take initials for your name, so he chose the name John. I thought that was very interesting.

Both of them will be missed.

[CrimsonTide4]

Click here to read the RU REPORT with news about Heather Headley, Mary J. Blige, Janet Jackson, and Avant

Click here to read about Monica playing MARY WELLS

[CrimsonTide4]

Film Review: 'How to Get the Man's Foot ...'
Thu Sep 11, 8:44 PM ET

By Kirk Honeycutt

TORONTO (Hollywood Reporter) - In "How to Get the Man's Foot Outta Your Ass!" Mario Van Peebles (news) plays tribute to his dad, pioneer black filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles.








The movie dramatically recounts the saga of what his father went through more than 30 years ago when Melvin decided to go against every grain in American filmmaking to make his breakout hit, "Sweet Sweetback's Baad Asssss Song."


Mario gets inside his old man's skin as he plays the single-minded, obsessed filmmaker, who let nothing -- not demanding creditors or cops throwing his camera crew in jail -- stop him from making his indie film. Mario doesn't hesitate to show the cost of that single-mindedness not only to his dad's family and colleagues but to his dad's own health.


The movie is also, of course, a tribute to the spirit of indie filmmaking everywhere. As it is still a challenge to get audiences to support independent films, getting audiences to see an indie movie about the making of an indie movie is that much harder. Yet this is an entertaining film and certainly an eye-opener for young blacks, who may not realize what one black man had to go through to create one of the first indie films to show black people in ways that Hollywood never did. More festival exposure should pave the way for a theatrical release of this film in art houses, urban cinemas and perhaps even mainstream theaters.


Following the success of his directing debut, "The Watermelon Man," made for a Hollywood studio in 1970, Melvin decides against all conventional wisdom to make a movie about a black street hustler turned revolutionary running from racist cops. And the only way to do this is with independent financing. He doesn't stop there, though. Melvin insists on a multiethnic crew. To throw the then-white unions off the scent, he pretends he is making a porno.


Every step is an uphill battle: raising money, crewing up, losing financing, recasting when SAG won't sign off, running out of money, then refusing to submit the film to the all-white MPAA ratings board, meaning an automatic X rating. After sinking his heart, soul and family money into the project, Melvin discovers that only two theaters in the United States will play such a film.


Encouraging Melvin are his white co-producer Bill (Rainn Wilson), his long-suffering secretary Priscilla (Joy Bryant), Clyde (David Alan Grier (news)), a black porn producer anxious to break into films where people wear clothes, his Latino B camera crew operator Jose (Paul Rodriguez (news)) and his even longer-suffering girlfriend, Sandra (Nia Long (news)).


Melvin drives everybody hard and himself worst of all. Even losing sight in one eye doesn't slow him down. When he needs a young boy for a sex scene, he enlists his Afro-ed 13-year-old son Mario. Here the now-grown Mario takes a moment to make the subtle case that this may not have been his dad's greatest idea, but he forgives his father under the circumstances.


Other moments in the screenplay by Mario Van Peebles and Dennis Haggerty get a little preachy. Audiences will understand what a ground-breaker his father was and how institutional racism worked against making the film without the need to hammer these themes home constantly in the dialogue.


The film's depiction of the world of guerilla filmmaking and the political, sexual and social revolutions sweeping the country in the 1970s is well drawn thanks to designer Alan Muraoka, cinematographer Robert Primes and costumer Kara Saun. Peebles captures his dad's indomitable spirit, but playing one's own father cannot help being a self-conscious affair, perhaps more caricature than character study. The other actors deliver witty, vigorous performances that nicely reflect an era when American filmmakers seized their own destiny and made personal films, even when their own sons say: "Who's going to want to see that?"


How to Get the Man's Foot Outta Your Ass! (Biopic, color, no MPAA rating, 1:48)


MVP Filmz presentsa BAD AAAS Cinema/Showtime production


Credits:


Director: Mario Van Peebles


Screenwriters: Mario Van Peebles, Dennis Haggerty


Based on the book by: Melvin Van Peebles


Producers: Bruce Wayne Gillies, Mario Van Peebles





Executive producer: Michael Mann (news)

Director of photography: Robert Primes

Production designer: Alan E. Muraoka

Music: Tyler Bates

Costume designer: Kara Saun

Editors: Anthony Miller, Nneka Goforth

Cast:

Melvin Van Peebles: Mario Van Peebles

Bill: Rainn Wilson

Clyde: David Alan Grier

Sandra: Nia Long

Jose: Paul Rodriguez

Priscilla: Joy Bryant

Agent: Saul Rubinek

Big T: Terry Crews

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

[abaici]

Originally posted by kiml122
As for Johnny Cash I was reading his bio in CNN and it stated that his parents actually named him J.R. Cash, but when he went into the Air Force the military didn't take initials for your name, so he chose the name John. I thought that was very interesting.

Interesting, and true. My cousin's first name is JD, that's it. He was named after his father. When he entered the army, he had to select a name to represent the initials.

[DELTABRAT]

Originally posted by kiml122
When I heard this morning that John Ritter had died, I was totally blown away. I loved his as Jack Tripper, and I liked the new show 8 Simple Rules as well.

As for Johnny Cash I was reading his bio in CNN and it stated that his parents actually named him J.R. Cash, but when he went into the Air Force the military didn't take initials for your name, so he chose the name John. I thought that was very interesting.

Both of them will be missed.

John Ritter DIED?!?!? Where have I been? I can;t take this year in terms of people dying...prayers are in order.

[treblk]

Sep 14, 10:56 AM (ET)


HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) - To his fans, Snoop Dogg is a pioneering rap artist, to some authorities who have tangled with him he's an ex-felon. But to the players and parents in the Orange County Junior All America Football League, he's just coach Dogg.

"Teaching kids is something fun," said Snoop Dogg as he prowled the sidelines Saturday night while his son's Rowland Heights Raiders were defeating the Huntington Beach Dolphins 18-0.

"I give them a lot of strength and vision," added the rapper, a former football player who attended a clinic to become certified as a coach.

"I am falling in love with these kids," he added.


Not that he can entirely leave his rap image behind. Snoop, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, gained fame rapping about street violence, gangs, sex and marijuana. In 1990 he was convicted of felony possession of cocaine for sale.

Earlier this year someone took a shot at a convoy of six cars he was traveling in, so perhaps it was no surprise he arrived at Saturday's game with six bodyguards.

But parents and players alike said they were impressed with Snoop's dedication to his 8- to 10-year-old charges.

"The first time I met him, I was shocked and had butterflies in my stomach," said David Betancourt, a Raiders linebacker. "But when you see him every day, he's just a regular guy."

Dolphins team mother Jennifer Gutierrez doesn't let her son listen to Snoop's music but is happy to see him at the games.

"I think it's great that he does this for his kid," she said.

Chip Chapella of Garden Grove agreed.

"A lot of people slam him for what he does, but they are not out here on the field," he said.

[Gina1201]

COMPTON, Calif. (Sept. 14) - An older sister of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams was shot to death Sunday following a dispute in suburban Los Angeles, authorities said.

Yetunde Price, 31, was with a man in a sport utility vehicle shortly after midnight and ''somehow they had become involved in a confrontation with the local residents,'' said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Richard Pena.

Sheriff's deputies searching for three people believed to be involved in the shooting surrounded a house in Compton at about 6 a.m., but it turned out to be empty.

No arrests had been made by midday.

Venus and Serena's agent, Carlos Fleming, said the family was en route to California. Serena has been in Toronto to film a guest role in the Showtime drama series ''Street Time.''

''This is sad and very tragic news,'' WTA Tour chief executive Larry Scott said in a statement. ''The thoughts and prayers of everyone at the WTA Tour are with the entire Williams family at this difficult time.''

Price was shot in the upper torso. Deputies on patrol heard the gunshots and found Price, who was later pronounced dead at a hospital. The man who had been with her in the SUV wasn't injured and was being interviewed by authorities, Pena said.

Neighbor Robert Miller, 49, said he heard about a dozen gunshots.

Price was one of five Williams sisters who spent their early years in Compton, a crime-and poverty-ridden community where gang fighting has claimed many lives. Serena began playing tennis at age 5 1/2 on the neighborhood courts in Compton, coached by her father Richard.

The family later moved to Florida, where Venus and Serena live in Palm Beach Gardens. Richard and their mother Oracene are divorced, and Price used her mother's maiden name.

Price lived in Corona and worked as a personal assistant to her famous sisters. She was identified as a registered nurse and a business management major in the 2003 media guide for the WTA Tour.

Serena, 21, and Venus, 23, both missed the U.S. Open earlier this month because of injuries. Neither has said when they will play next, although the season-ending WTA Tour championships in Los Angeles in November is a possibility.

Serena, ranked No. 3 in the world, and sixth-ranked Venus have combined to win nine of the past 14 Grand Slam titles. They met in the final at five of the last six Slams, not including this year's U.S. Open. Serena won each of those times, and one or the other won every U.S. Open since 1999 until this year.

The other Williams sisters are Lyndrea, an actress and singer; and Isha, a lawyer and singer.

AP-NY-09-14-03 1758EDT

Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

[kiml122]

Originally posted by Gina1201
COMPTON, Calif. (Sept. 14) - An older sister of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams was shot to death Sunday following a dispute in suburban Los Angeles, authorities said.

I saw this last night of the news....this world is crazy.

[CrimsonTide4]

AKA and DST converse. . . these are the ones I received today in an e-mail.

[abaici]

Originally posted by CrimsonTide4
AKA and DST converse. . . these are the ones I received today in an e-mail.

Ok, that's pretty cute. It does not look like the first pic I saw. Wouldn't wear it ever day. But, I would rock those during sorority-related casual events.

[CrimsonTide4]

I agree. I was like oh those look a lot better than I originally thought. I could do like you, abaici, and rock it on the occasion not every single day.

[CrimsonTide4]

John Ritter Remembered in Private Service
3 minutes ago Add Entertainment - AP to My Yahoo!



LOS ANGELES - Actor John Ritter (news) was remembered by his family and close friends at a private service Monday, four days after his sudden death.


AFP
Slideshow: Actor John Ritter Dies at 54




Ritter's publicist, Lisa Kasteler, did not release details of the service. She said a public memorial was being planned and Ritter's friends and colleagues will pay tribute to him in an ABC News special.


"A Life of Laughter: Remembering John Ritter," an hour-long program anchored by Diane Sawyer, will air at 8 p.m. EDT Tuesday. I will tape it so I can watch it later.


Those scheduled to be part of the special include Suzanne Somers (news) and Joyce DeWitt (news), who costarred with Ritter in the 1977-84 sitcom "Three's Company," and Katey Sagal (news), his co-star on the ABC sitcom "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter."


Ritter, 54, died last Thursday after suffering a tear in his aorta. He was stricken while on the set of "8 Simple Rules."


ABC was weighing the future of the show, which was to start its second season Sept. 23 and was seen as a key part of the network's effort to rebound in the ratings.

[AKA2D '91]

Cigar maker sues P. Diddy over video
51 minutes ago


MIAMI - Hip-hop rapper and producer Sean "P. Diddy" Combs' love of cigars has put him in a cloud of legal trouble.




A boutique cigar maker claims a videographer trespassed at its Miami factory, filmed its "secret process" in June, and the footage wound up in Combs' music video for "Bad Boys II."


The lawsuit filed by Moore & Bode Cigars earlier this month in Miami-Dade Circuit Court seeks at least $15,000 in damages from Combs, Bad Boys Entertainment Inc. and the unknown camera operator.


The office of the company's attorney said Monday that he was out of the office until late this week.


Dan Klores, a spokesman for Combs, said, "We'll investigate and gather all the accurate information before we make any comment publicly."


The lawsuit claims the company's "unique method of rolling the cigars" was taped for the "Shake Your Tailfeather" video while the owners were out, after the videographer was told to leave and without company permission.


A spectacular car stunt was shot in Miami for the movie starring Will Smith (news) and Martin Lawrence (news) as Miami detectives.