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Buzz News Roundup, 7/31

BuzzSugar — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:30:55 -0700

Amy Poehler will anchor a couple of episodes of Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update Thursday to promote Parks and Recreation. - Entertainment Weekly
Matthew McConaughey and Eva Mendes are in talks to star in the drama Southbound. - ComingSoon
Russell Crowe will star in The Next Three Days, the adaptation of the 2008 French film Pour Elle, for Crash director Paul Haggis. - Variety
Jamie Foxx, Queen Latifah, and Carter Jenkins have joined the all-star cast of Garry Marshall's romantic comedy Valentine's Day. - The Hollywood Reporter
House executive producer David Shore is working on a remake of The Rockford Files for NBC. - Variety
Ridley Scott is reportedly confirmed to direct the Alien prequel. - Entertainment Weekly
Kimberly Peirce, the award-winning filmmaker behind Boys Don't Cry, is working with Judd Apatow on an "untitled romantic sex comedy." - ComingSoon
Christopher Gorham will join Piper Perabo in USA's Covert Affairs, while Donal Logue will star in FX's Terriers. - The Hollywood Reporter
Ron Howard is in talks to direct The Parsifal Mosaic, an adaptation of the espionage thriller by The Bourne Identity author Robert Ludlum. - Variety

Queen Latifah to Find Romance With Common

BuzzSugar — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:30:51 -0700

Queen Latifah is preparing to hate neither the player nor the game in her next project, Just Wright, a romance in which she'll star opposite Common. Latifah's character is "a sports trainer who finds herself falling in love with a professional basketball player while rehabilitating him from a career-threatening injury."

I'm interested to see Queen Latifah play one half of a lead couple in a romantic movie - more often than not, she plays a sassy supporting character. With the right (or "Wright" . . . oh, man, that's the Friday talking) material, she can be really engaging onscreen. I wonder what the dynamics will be like between Latifah and Common. Do you think they make a good movie couple?

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Buzz News Roundup, 3/27

BuzzSugar — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:30:08 -0700

Woody Allen has added Nicole Kidman into the cast of his as-yet-untitled next project which already included Antonio Banderas, Freida Pinto, Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin and Anthony Hopkins. - Reuters
Queen Latifah will star in the romantic comedy Just Wright, described as "a modern-day Cinderella tale." - Variety
Summit Entertainment has picked up feature-film rights to the book The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero, which insinuates that Harry Houdini acted as a spy for Britain. - ComingSoon
Summit is also in the process of picking up Marc Haimes' original screenplay Elevator Men, a dark thriller which "takes a less romanticized look at the human-vampire interactions." - The Hollywood Reporter
Amber Tamblyn and Orlando Bloom are in talks to star as a mysterious stranger and a policeman in the movie Main Street. - Zap2It
NBC has pulled The Chopping Block and replaced it with repeats of Law and Order: Criminal Intent.
Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook, Alpha Dog) has signed on to direct the conservation-themed drama Peaceable Kingdom. - ComingSoon
Fox's Summer schedule includes a medical show called Mental and more Hell's Kitchen. - Zap2it
Lionsgate has acquired the feature rights to the stage play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf. - Variety

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The Secret Life of Bees: Just Sweet Enough

BuzzSugar — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 05:30:43 -0700

When I left my screening of The Secret Life of Bees I felt comforted and content, and it took me a while to understand why: This movie calls back to older, Southern-set, empowering movies like Steel Magnolias and Fried Green Tomatoes. Those films celebrate womanhood and the importance (and potency) of female friendship, all against the unique backdrop of the American South. The stories are beautiful and sentimental, with tragedy and heartache going hand-in-hand with love and humor. This is what The Secret life of Bees is like, while also including the tension of race relations in South Carolina in 1964 and a coming-of-age story. I've sometimes wondered mournfully if movies like these were no longer relevant or could not be made well in this day and age, so it is with relief that I report to you: They can, and have.

Dakota Fanning plays Lily, a 14-year-old girl in South Carolina whose mother died when she was young, leaving her in the care of an abusive father (Paul Bettany) and a kind housekeeper named Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson). Lily decides to run away from her father and her small town, and she takes Rosaleen with her. Included in her mother's belongings, Lily has a piece of wood with an image of a black Mary holding a black infant Jesus and the name of a town written on the back. So, Lilly and Rosaleen head off for this town and discover that the image of Mary matches the labels on some locally-made honey. Further investigation brings them to a bright pink house where the honey is made. It's more than just a brightly-colored house, though, so read more.

The pink house is home to the Boatwright sisters: May (the magnificently endearing Sophie Okonedo), June (Alicia Keys) and August (Queen Latifah). The sisters take in Lily and Rosaleen, though the suspicious June doesn't think it's a good idea. In the peaceful Boatwright home, Lily learns the secrets to making honey - and secrets to her past. Lily also discovers the story behind the Boatwright sisters' attachment to the black Mary, and watches as the women pray to Mary and worship her. Of course, no place is a utopia (even a bright pink house), and trouble seems to follow Lilly wherever she goes. But in the end it's a sweet and soulful little movie with a strong message of hope.

From time to time the movie veers into some Hallmark-y schmaltz, but the issues of the times - discrimination, violence at the dawn of great change - temper any silliness. The setup (three black women with a successful business taking in a little white girl and her caretaker) is also bizarre enough within this time period to somehow negate the possible cheesiness.

Having read the book I had my own vision of this world and the movie is not far off from what I imagined. I was worried that the idea of a religion that worships Mary would come across as silly in the film, as opposed to powerful and comforting. To my relief, it all works fine onscreen. The beauty of this tradition and these women's beliefs is easily conveyed, and it rings as true as any sisterhood (thankfully without any screaming of "ya-ya!"). This truthfulness and comfort stayed with me long after the credits rolled.

Photos courtesy of Fox Searchlight

Movie Preview: The Secret Life of Bees

BuzzSugar — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:44:49 -0700

It's not every day that the film adaptation of a well-loved book appears to capture the same atmosphere and sentiments that the book does, but in my opinion, the trailer for The Secret Life of Bees looks like it might do just that. I loved the novel by Sue Monk Kidd; it was one of those books that left me feeling sad at the end because I had to part with characters I'd come to care about deeply.

The story follows 14-year-old Lily (Dakota Fanning) whose mother died, leaving Lily with an abusive father. Together with her caregiver Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson), Lily runs away from her father, and the two wind up at a pink house and under the protection of four smart, strong, beekeeping sisters.

The trailer does seem to veer into sappiness a few times, but is just grounded enough to avoid looking like a Lifetime TV movie. Queen Latifah has a solid, maternal way about her in this role, which is refreshing, and it's really great to see Dakota Fanning playing an older character. Alicia Keys has a good presence onscreen, and I may be most excited to see Sophie Okonedo (who was nominated for an Oscar for her role in Hotel Rwanda), whom I find absolutely mesmerizing every time I see her in another movie.

The Secret Life of Bees opens October 17. To see what I'm talking about, read more.

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A Different Sort of People's Choice Awards Will Air Tonight

BuzzSugar — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 11:30:27 -0800

The People's Choice Awards don't have the glamour (or the legitimacy) of the Golden Globes, but it's still the first of this season's award ceremonies to be dramatically scaled back. CBS canceled the ceremony, which was originally scheduled for tonight, and has spent the past few weeks tossing together a different kind of broadcast.

Instead of a star-studded party in the Shrine Auditorium with a red carpet and all the trimmings, tonight's broadcast will instead feature 25 pre-taped acceptance speeches from winners in several of the awards' many categories. (There are more than 25 categories, so I suppose some of the winners must not have taped speeches.) What hasn't changed: Queen Latifah is still the host, and the show is still live on the East Coast starting at 9 p.m.

Since winners can't accept their trophies on stage, crews fanned out around the world to bring the People's Choice statuettes to them instead. According to CBS, "Celebrities were met on their sets, at home, on tour, outside, with our troops and in a variety of other settings." To fill out the two-hour broadcast, CBS will show a series of "Choice Moments" from the previous 33 years of the People's Choice Awards.

So far, more than 10 million votes have been cast for the awards, and though most categories are closed by now, voting for the favorite new TV comedy and drama and the favorite user-generated video of the year will remain open until 10 p.m. EST. Do you think you'll tune in for the People's Choice Awards in this new format?

Photo courtesy of CBS

Movie Preview: The Perfect Holiday

BuzzSugar — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 08:30:00 -0800

I have to say, I love Gabrielle Union, even if she doesn't always get the coolest film projects. So, while her upcoming holiday flick The Perfect Holiday looks slightly cheesy, I still hold out hope for it. If nothing else, the story about Christmastime romance does seem heartwarming and sweet.

Union plays single mom Nancy who just wants a decent guy. Then she and her kids go to see the mall Santa, and meet the single, dashingly handsome - if a little underemployed - Benjamin (Morris Chestnut). Queen Latifah narrates while Terrence Howard and Faizon Love costar. It's a little silly, but there are some genuinely funny lines, so to check out the trailer before The Perfect Holiday hits theaters Wednesday December 21, read more

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Movie Preview: Mad Money

BuzzSugar — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 10:33:51 -0700

Opening January 18, 2008 Mad Money finds three ladies forming an unlikely team to rob their employer. Apparently, it's based on a true story. It appears that there's the sassy lady played by Queen Latifah, Diane Keaton plays the clever older lady and Katie Holmes has the role of the quirky free spirit who dances her way, um, everywhere. Also, ~~Arthur Frobisher~~ Ted Danson is in the film. To check out the trailer for Mad Money which looks neither bad nor awesome, read more

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Buzz News Roundup, 10/8

BuzzSugar — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 13:30:34 -0700

According to Zap2It, Queen Latifah will have "a mysterious cameo" in the Ashton Kutcher-Cameron Diaz romantic comedy What Happens in Vegas.
The folks behind Half Nelson are prepping to make a romantic drama titled Blue Valentine, Variety reports.
The New York Times writes that advertisers are finally flocking to "Kid Nation" - just in time for viewers to flee.
Bruce Springsteen's latest album Magic made it to No. 1 on the charts, writes Billboard.
TV Guide reports that Joss Whedon is directing another episode of "The Office."
Oscar winner Forest Whitaker will produce and direct a pilot for FX focusing on arms dealers, Zap2it reports.
Dana Carvey taped comic riffs on films for the online show "Down in Front With Dana Carvey," which will play on Netflix this Friday and Saturday, the AP reports.
"Law & Order: Criminal Intent" did pretty well - by cable standards - in its first outing on USA, writes the Hollywood Reporter.

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Buzz News Roundup, 9/28

BuzzSugar — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 15:37:54 -0700

Things are looking up for Sara on "CSI" after last night's premiere - but actress Jorja Fox will likely leave the show in November, TV Guide reports.
Queen Latifah has some strong feelings about rap lyrics that she deems misogynist, violent and vulgar, and says action should have been taken with this issue long ago, writes Reuters.
The script for Francis Ford Coppola's upcoming film, "Tetro," was stolen by armed robbers in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, writes the Hollywood Reporter.
The Futon Critic has the details on Comedy Central's pickup of picked up the Canadian comedy "Kenny vs. Spenny," which will be produced by Trey Parker and Matt Stone of "South Park."
According to Billboard, Duran Duran will celebrate their new album by performing nine shows at the Barrymore Theater on Broadway in New York.
Bonnie Hunt is getting her own syndicated talk show, Entertainment Weekly reports.
Variety has news that the Transformers sequel will open June 26, 2009.
Joseph Fiennes, Blythe Danner and Robert Wagner will star in an FX project about a man who realizes he's a transsexual, ComingSoon reports.

Photo courtesy of CBS