Jennifer Hudson is set to star in Winnie, a film exploring the former wife of South Africa’s first black president, Nelson Mandela (played by Morgan Freeman), Variety reports.
The American Idol star, who won an Oscar for her role in the 2006 box office hit Dreamgirls, will play the South African personality in the movie, which will begin shooting in South Africa in May next year, .
Winnie — directed by veteran South African filmmaker Darrell J. Roodt — will be shot on location in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Robben Island – where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years before becoming the country’s president.
Actress Gabourey Sidibe appeared on The TODAY Show Monday, where she chatted about her rise to fame and her role in the critically-acclaimed drama, Precious — in theaters everywhere Friday.
Screen Gems has acquired the rights Sheneneh and Wanda, a new comedy for Jamie Foxx and Martin Lawrence. The duo will play female characters they developed during their stand-up comedy days in the 1990s, Variety reports. You’ll likely remember Sheneneh Jenkins from Martin and Wanda from In Living Color.
The project originated from a parody movie trailer for a film called Skank Robbers, which Foxx and Lawrence made for the 2008 BET Awards. In the skit, the actors cross-dressed to portray two women who make a living robbing banks. The reception was so strong, the duo decided to turn the concept into a real film.
Jamie will write Sheneneh And Wanda and produce alongside Martin. It will be the first time the comic, who have known each other since they started out as stand-up acts, have worked together on a movie.
Precious: Based On The Novel ‘Push’ By Sapphire was a hit at the box office this weekend.
The inner-city drama — about a sexually-abused, obese girl battling teen pregnancy and physical abuse in 1987 Harlem — earned $1.8 million at 18 theaters in its first weekend of limited release, according to Variety.
The film, executive produced by Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry, scored an average of $100,000 per theater — a record for films in limited release.
Eminem is set to star in a 3D hip-hop horror movie, according to Hollywood trade paper Screen International.
The acclaimed rapper will also produce Shady Talez, a horror anthology cross between Creep Show and The Twilight Zone, that will feature three stories offering a hip-hop spin to classic horror films. The frightfest will be Eminem’s first big-screen appearance since his role in the 2002 box office hit 8 Mile.
The film will be accompanied by a four-issue Shady Talez comic book series, due out in 2010.
Hot off the presses: Entertainment Tonight has unveiled our first look at Malik Yoba, Janet Jackson, and the rest of the cast of Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too?, the sequel to the 2007 box office hit Why Did I Get Married?.
When 50 Cent’s long-delayed fourth solo album Before I Self Destruct arrives in stores November 23rd, it will include a bonus DVD featuring the rapper’s directorial debut.
Here’s the trailer for Before I Self-Destruct: The Movie….
Chris Rock’s stance on dog-fighting has come back to bite him in the — well, you get the picture. The comedian and documentarian behind the critically-acclaimed side-splitter Good Hair has been dumped from a upcoming biopic based on the life of late comedy icon Richard Pryor after defending convicted dog killer Michael Vick during an appearance on The Jay Leno Show earlier this month, The National Enquirer reports. “What the hell did Michael Vick do, man? A dog, a pit bull ain’t even a real dog. A pit bull, that’s the white stuff. Dogs are white man’s best friend – dogs have never been good to black people,” Chris quipped
Marlon Wayans — primarily known for his comedic roles in Wayans Bros.’ movies such as Dance Flick and White Chicks — is in advanced discussions to play iconic comedian Richard Pryor in the upcoming biopic Richard Pryor: Is it Something I Said, Entertainment Weekly has learned. Eddie Murphy was originally attached to star in the project –produced by Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Prods. and Sony Pictures — but he dropped out over conflicts with Paramount Pictures.
