- Created on 27 February 2013
Janet Jackson says she married Al Mana last year
NEW YORK — Janet Jackson knows how to keep a secret: The singer has been married since last year.
A representative for Jackson confirmed Monday that the musician and Wissam Al Mana wed last year.
This is Jackson's second secret marriage. She secretly married Rene Elizondo Jr. in 1991. They separated in 1999.
The 46-year-old Jackson first tied the knot when she was 18 to singer James DeBarge, which lasted three months in 1984.
In a joint statement to "Entertainment Tonight," Jackson and Al Mana said their wedding was a "quiet, private and beautiful ceremony."
The couple also said they would like privacy and "are allowed this time for celebration and joy."
- Created on 26 February 2013
JHud shows out at Oscars
Jennifer Hudson performs at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday Feb. 24, 2013, in Los Angeles. Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP
Chicago’s own Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson returned to the Oscars stage Sunday for a solo performance that brought the house down.
The performance-heavy Oscars also included a salute to the resurgence of movie musicals in the last decade with Academy Award winners Catherine Zeta-Jones singing "All That Jazz" from "Chicago" and Hudson doing "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from "Dreamgirls." Hudson won a best supporting actress Oscar in 2006 for her role in the movie-musical.
- Created on 22 February 2013
Meagan Good talks ‘Deception’ and primetime roles for African American women
Last year finally changed a long draught on the small screen where an African American woman was cast in a primetime leading role. Shonda Rimes’ breakout hit “Scandal” featuring Kerry Washington offered up Olivia Pope.
Continuing on that path to bring much needed diversity to television, NBC introduced a new midseason drama featuring another African American woman in a lead role with “Deception” starring Meagan Good.
The show premiered January 7 to over five million viewers. “Deception” is centered on the wealthy Bower family whose daughter Vivian, a famous socialite, is mysteriously murdered. Her estranged best friend Joanna Locasto, played by Good, is a police officer who goes undercover to investigate the Bower family and seek out her former friend’s murderer.
Also starring Victor Garber, Laz Alonso and Katherine LaNasa, the overall premise is similar to traditional soap operas but takes a slightly different approach revealing many secrets early on including Vivian’s killer, which surprisingly is not the driving force behind the show.
“People watching the show want to know who murdered Vivian and as the show goes on, you realize that is actually the backdrop for all these other things,” Good explained to the Defender. “There’s a chain reaction to her death so the rabbit hole goes deep. There is a lot to reveal and a lot of information that everyone has to get once it comes full circle.”
Known for her roles in the critically acclaimed “Think Like A Man” based on Steve Harvey’s bestselling book and 1997’s “Eve’s Bayou”, which earned her an NAACP Image Award, Good instantly gravitated towards Deception’s intricate plot and her character Joanna.
“I connected with her moral compass. She’s not a judgmental person and she has a strong sense of self and what she feels is the right thing and she always tries to do the right thing no matter what it could potential cost her,” she said.
Although she’s played numerous characters, Good was looking to shed the stereotypical vixen image she'd become known for and dive into more action packed roles and characters that allowed her to show her other creative sides.
“I’ve been dying to do something like this,” she exclaimed. “I’ve wanted to do action for a really long time but unfortunately, I hadn’t gotten the opportunity so that was one of the things that made me gravitate towards this role. I can show people and creatively expand as an actor and say I appreciate if anyone considers me attractive but there is so much more that I want to do and it’s not just standing there with a face full of makeup and cleavage.”
The recently married actress got help from her father with preparing for her new role. He worked for the Los Angeles Police Department for 27 years. That life experience allowed her to add even more depth to the character.
“I did talk to him about it but they also teach us on set and have someone that makes sure everything is authentic but a lot of it was the mindset. How is a human being’s mindset that it’s so in the fiber of their moral being to pursue justice that they are willing to die for the cause?” she said.
As an African American actress, having the opportunity to play a non-traditional role came right on time for Good. With the increase in reality shows that often depict African American women in a negative light and very few positive images or opportunities for actresses of color to play multi-faceted characters, successful shows like “Scandal” and “Deception” are abolishing the notion that viewers aren’t ready to support African American women in leading roles.
“I’m starting to see a shift in general,” Good explained. “It’s really a blessing because I’ve been in this business since I was a little girl but leading roles are really far and few and I think that Kerry really pioneered it and I'm coming right behind her so we are on the front line of a movement. If her show continues to do well and, God-willing, my show, we will be able to prove that we are capable. It’s important because everything you do here in the arts in L.A. is distributed to the rest of the world and we determine the images they see, the music they hear, and the role models they have.”
Good is also basking in the positive responses and support she’s received about the show.
“The feedback has been really positive and I think it’s important. I am proud to be a Black woman and proud to be the second Black woman on NBC in over 35 years. I wanted to have pride, I want us to be proud, and I want us to be exactly who we are,” she said.
- Created on 22 February 2013
'50 Shades of Grey' movie due out next summer
The adult romance novel 50 Shades of Grey is following a trend in Hollywood and will in fact be made into a film that could be in theaters as soon as the summer of 2014. Adam Fogelson, chairman of Universal Pictures has confirmed that production is moving quickly, but methodically.
"I don't believe that [EL James] had any interest in going to a studio where rushing it into production was the vision," Fogelson told The Hollywood Reporter. "I don't believe that the second or third film would have benefited from that strategy. Universal Pictures acquired the rights to the trilogy in March of 2012 and Kelly Marcel, writer of Saving Mr. Banks was announced as the screenwriter for the trilogy in October. The novel exploded on the literary scene in 2011 and has sustained a steady stream of interest and intrigue since its release. The runaay hit has also spawned two successive books. What began as Twilight fan fiction, has grown to be the UK’s bestselling series according to Random House UK, and has sold over 20 million copies in the U.S.
To be clear, the 50 Shades trilogy, is not a great work of fiction, but is good for a light read when you need to take a quick break from the day-to-day grind. The characters are one-dimensional and the plot drifts towards being a soap opera with every turn of the page. What it lacks in fiction, should translate better on film. The clumsy aloofness of Ana Steele (heroine) and the steely demeanor of Christian Grey can work well in the adaptation, provided that the actor playing Christian is steamy enough, and the actors have a genuine chemistry. Otherwise it’ll be just another mediocre movie to pass the time.
Follow Amber L. Bogins on Twitter @AmberLaShaii
- Created on 21 February 2013
Mike Tyson sues Live Nation over alleged embezzlement
LOS ANGELES — Mike Tyson sued a financial services firm owned by Live Nation Entertainment on Wednesday, claiming one of its advisers embezzled more than $300,000 from the former heavyweight champ and cost him millions more in lost earnings.
The lawsuit claims that Live Nation and its company SFX Financial Advisory Management Enterprises haven't given the boxer and his wife, Lakiha, a full accounting of their losses. The company returned some of the embezzled money but wanted the Tysons to sign a nondisclosure agreement, which they refused, the suit states.
The lawsuit seeks more than $5 million in damages for breach of fiduciary duty, negligent hiring, unjust enrichment and other claims.
A spokeswoman for Live Nation Entertainment Inc. said the company had not been served with the lawsuit and could not comment on it.
The lawsuit claims the embezzlement prevented the Tysons from emerging from bankruptcy, and forced them to hire new advisers and turn down lucrative contracts. The couple trusted Brian Ourand, their adviser at SFX, so much that he attended their wedding, the case states.
Ourand, who could not be reached for comment, has since left SFX, according to the lawsuit. The filings claim his conduct has not been reported to regulators.
"Defendants did not secure, protect, safeguard and appropriately apply the Tysons' finances for their intended purposes," the case states, "but instead misappropriated said funds for the benefit and enrichment of SFX/Live Nation.
The former boxer has broadened his career in recent years. He appeared in "The Hangover" and is leading a one-man autobiographical show, "Undisputed Truth."
