Entertainment

ABOVE PHOTO:  Mahalia Jackson By Tambay A. Obenson Shadow and Act Director Bill Duke confirmed that he is attached to direct and executive produce a feature film on the life of Mahalia Jackson,  therefore will be based on Laurraine Goreau’s  biography “Just Mahalia, Baby,” which chronicles the life of the woman who rose from poverty…

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Some old tweets brought new scrutiny ABOVE PHOTO:  New Daily Show host Trevor Noah and current host Jon Stewart. By Frazier Moore associated press NEW YORK — Trevor Noah, a 31-year-old comedian from South Africa who has contributed to “The Daily Show” a handful of times in recent months, will become Jon Stewart’s replacement as…

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By Tambay A. Obenson Shadow and Act UPDATE 3/29/15: Former Bond actor Roger Moore claims that comments he made in a French magazine about the potential for Idris Elba to play James Bond, were taken out of context by the magazine. Moore: “An interview I gave to Paris Match implies I said something racist about…

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By Mesfin Fekadu associated press NEW YORK — Madonna, Rihanna, Beyonce and Jay Z are among the A-List musicians who are co-owners of Tidal, a streaming service being billed as the first artist-owned platform for music and video. The membership-based service – similar to subscription service Spotify – will provide music and video content that…

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ABOVE PHOTO:  Common associated press UNION, N.J. –New Jersey’s Kean University has cancelled hip-hop artist Common as commencement speaker after police voiced concerns over a song about a woman convicted of killing a police officer who fled to Cuba. The school announced the Academy Award winner’s selection on Monday, but said on its social media…

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Independent Lens documentary ‘Little White Lie’ premieres March 23 on PBS. By Craig Phillips As a girl, Lacey Schwartz grew up wondering why she had darker skin, which became a source of embarrassment for her and eventually led her to question everything. “Little White Lie” is the filmmaker’s personal journey through a lifelong legacy of…

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ABOVE PHOTO:  Mural of Ray Charles  (AP Photo/CTK, Rene Volfik) By Malaika Jabali for harriet.com “It’s frustrating that the movies I want to make I haven’t been able to make… Orlando Bloom was given 15 opportunities after Lord of the Rings. Black men are given no opportunities… They say there’s not an audience for black…

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By Tambay A. Obenson Shadow and Act It’s not called Hollywood of the South for nothing, as more and more filmmakers I know continue to move to the state – specifically, Atlanta. Last week, the Georgia Studio & Infrastructure Alliance (GSIA) announced the members of a new film and television studio and infrastructure association for…

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associated press LOS ANGELES– Fox has asked a federal judge to issue an order allowing the network to continue to use “Empire” as the title of its newest hit show after a record label demanded millions of dollars over use of the word. Twentieth Century Fox Television filed the lawsuit Monday in Los Angeles seeking…

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By Tambay A. Obenson Shadow and Act With the current season near its end, executives at the major TV networks are looking to build their summer, fall and winter 2016 lineups. And if you think that the 2014-2015 TV season showed that networks finally understand that people of all colors are looking for quality programming,…

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