JAMIE FOXX, KEYSHIA COLE IN ADOPTION TV SPECIAL December 23, 2008

 

Jamie Foxx, Keyshia Cole and Faith Hill will share their personal experiences with adoption on the CBS special “A Home for the Holidays,” which airs tonight from 8 to 9 p.m.      

       Speaking to the Associated Press backstage last month after filming their appearances, the artists explained how they coped with being adopted and why they performed for the special, which offers a mix of musical entertainment and information about child adoption.      

       “I was lucky,” said the Oscar-winning Foxx (“Ray”). “I was adopted at 7 months, but the lady who adopted me also adopted my mother, so I had a relationship with my biological parents, also.”

 

       R&B star Keyshia Cole said, “My personal story was my mother was on drugs all my life and she didn’t get a little bit better until I became ‘Keyshia Cole the Celebrity.’ Maybe it was a good way for her to see herself — that your daughter has become so much and she’s become so big.”      

       The special is the brainchild of Dave Thomas, the Wendy’s restaurant founder. Thomas, who was adopted, created the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption in 1992.      

       The show will feature musical performances by Hill’s husband Tim McGraw, as well as Kristin Chenoweth, Gavin Rossdale and Melissa Etheridge.

JAMIE FOXX PREPARES TO DROP ‘INTUITION’ December 10, 2008

 

Jamie Foxx says his upcoming album “Intuition,” due Dec. 16 via J, was crafted as a departure from his chart-topping, double-platinum 2005 release “Unpredictable.”      

       “‘Unpredictable’ was more, like, slow, bedroom things, which was great but when I went on the road we had all these ballads, so sometimes I had to work a little harder to keep people’s attention,” the singer tells Billboard.com. “With (‘Intuition’), we’ve got all these legitimate club, international hits and the tempo is up. People hear this record and go absolutely nuts for it.”      

       Guests and producers on the project include T.I. (on the first single, “Just Like Me”), Kanye West, the-Dream and Tricky Stewart, Ne-Yo, Fabolous, Timbaland and Floetry’s Marsha Ambrosius.       

       “Number One,” with Lil Wayne, is currently being “floated” into the clubs, while “Blame It,” with T-Pain, is slated to be worked in mid-January.       

       “I think people are slowly wanting to work with me more as far as music is concerned,” notes Foxx, who studied piano on a scholarship to United States International University. “I do run into a lot of roadblocks. I’ve been trying to break down those sort of preconceived thoughts that this is just a hobby to me or … ‘He’s already got enough.’ People want to work with you, but sometimes they don’t take it seriously until they hear the records and see the direction I’m going with. I think it’ll be even easier to get people to feature with me for the next record.”      

       Foxx says he will promote “Intuition” with a spring tour, after he finishes a 10-week shoot for “Law Abiding Citizen,” a drama with Jerry Butler. His next film, “The Soloist” — the true-life story of homeless cello virtuoso Nathaniel Ayers — is due in theaters this March.       

       “I just see something really high-energy,” Foxx says of the shows. “I see myself probably with Ne-Yo, out on the road, a little different demographic than what ‘Unpredictable’ was. A high-energy, great show — just hit ‘em and quit ‘em.”

Obama’s tux; Howard’s Globes; Blount’s blunts; Foxx pushes pit for First Dog; Snipes’ appeal; ‘Black & Sexy’ opens; Urban League tour December 8, 2008

 

Breaking news… Barack Obama has chosen his inauguration tuxedo. WWD reports that the President-elect is going with Hart Schaffner Marx, a Chicago-based men’s suit company that has been in existence since 1883 and is one of the first American companies to have unionized workers. Obama has been wearing Hart Schaffner Marx suits throughout his campaign.

 

      *Terrence Howard will join Elizabeth Banks and Rainn Wilson on Thursday (Dec. 11) to announce nominations for the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards. The ceremony will take place Jan. 11 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, with a live NBC telecast airing at 8 p.m. (EST). Nominations will be announced in 25 categories and are part of the initial kick-off to the Hollywood awards season.

 

       *Former NBA player Corie Blount was charged in Ohio Thursday with picking up a package containing eleven pounds of marijuana. Police say they followed him from the pickup location to his home, where they found and confiscated approximately an additional 18 pounds of marijuana, $29,500 in cash and three guns, reports TMZ.com. The 11-year NBA veteran was charged with felony drug possession and has since been released on bond.

 

       *Jamie Foxx is weighing in on the national obsession with America’s soon-to-be First Dog.  “(I’m) trying to pick out Barack Obama’s Christmas puppy right now, so we’re working hard on that,” he told the AP at the annual Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting in New York last week. “I think I’m going to get him a pitbull, we just got to keep it street.” Foxx is also promoting the release of his third CD, “Intuition,” in stores Dec. 16. “I got the best of Timbaland, the best of Kanye (West), The-Dream, the best of Lil Wayne (and) the best of T.I.,” he said, naming the album’s top collaborators.

 

       *TMZ.com is reporting that lawyers for Wesley Snipes are making a last ditch effort to void his three-year prison sentence on tax charges by stating how he “quietly and without any attempt to garner publicity” helped martial arts experts train flight crews post 9/11, training which “helped thwart the notorious ’shoe bomb’ attack by terrorist Richard Reid.” The actor’s legal team is also claiming improper jury instruction and lack of pretrial hearing as grounds to throw out the sentence.

 

       *An official selection at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and the AFI Film Festival, “A Good Day to be Black and Sexy” is a between-the-sheets peek at black sexuality depicted through interconnected stories unfolding over a single day in Los Angeles.  Each themed story is irreverent and unconventional, with sensual chapters entitled: “Reciprocity,” “Reprise,” “American Boyfriend,” “Her Man,” and “Tonight.” Directed by Dennis Dortch, the film is currently in theaters.

 

       *The National Urban League Economic Empowerment Tour: The Path to Empowerment will stop tomorrow (Dec 9) at the Marriott Marquis in Atlanta.  NUL President and CEO Marc H. Morial along with business and civic leaders throughout Atlanta are inviting the community to attend the career and resource fair and town hall meeting.  As the country battles tough economic conditions on both Main Street and Wall Street, come get valuable information on what you can do to survive this down turn on your street.

DIDDY STILL TRYING TO BE FIRST BLACK 007 December 1, 2008

 

Sean “Diddy” Combs is using the promo for his new I Am King fragrance as an audition tape for producers of the James Bond franchise, hoping that the footage will sway filmmakers to consider casting him as the first black 007.

 

       “This is my audition tape for the next James Bond,” he says of the I Am King mini-movie in his video blog. “There is a black president, and it’s time for there to be a black Bond.” [Scroll down to view film.]      

       The rap titan reportedly spent $750,000 making the King promo/Bond audition tape, which he filmed in the South of France near the location of recent Bond film “Casino Royale.”

 

       The rapper is seen in the clip wearing a tuxedo, flying in a helicopter, riding a jet ski and surrounded by women.      

       According to Britain’s Daily Mirror, Diddy is facing competition from R&B hitmaker Akon and Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx in the push to become the first black actor to play the legendary secret agent.      

Diddy Blog #35…I Am King – Mini-Movie/James Bond Audition Tape

JAMIE FOXX’S ‘SOLOIST’ NOW DUE IN APRIL November 20, 2008

 

Paramount and DreamWorks have agreed to release the Jamie Foxx-Robert Downey Jr. drama “The Soloist” on April 24 instead of March 13, reports Variety, marking the second time the project has been pushed back.

 

       DreamWorks was caught off guard last month when Paramount announced at the 11th hour it was moving the film’s release date from this year to March 13. The Joe Wright-directed movie had an original release date of Nov. 21.       

       In the April 24 slot, “Soloist” will open one week before the official start of the summer box office, which is primetime for movie-going.       

       Based on a series of articles by Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez, the film tells follows the dream of a homeless schizophrenic (Foxx) to play at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

FOXX’S ‘SOLOIST’ MOVED OUT OF OSCAR WINDOW October 20, 2008

 

      “We decided it’s a commercial movie that will play well in the spring, and we’ll give it an aggressive wide release then,” Paramount vice chairman Rob Moore told Variety.

 

       According to the trade, DreamWorks producers had high hopes for its film starring Foxx as a homeless schizophrenic musician who dreams of playing at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The film is based on a series of L.A. Times columns by Steve Lopez, played in the film by Robert Downey Jr.

      DreamWorks wouldn’t comment, but insiders tell Variety that bosses are very disappointed by Paramount’s decision, while conceding that it might benefit the film’s box office prospects due to the competitive field of year-end films.

 

       U.K.’s Working Title, also a producer on “Soloist,” and director Joe Wright were also reportedly taken off guard. Paramount risks tainting the movie’s profile with this move, which the industry and media will read as a vote of no-confidence. It had built positive buzz during long-lead screenings.

 

       With “The Soloist” moved to March, Paramount is clearly throwing its Oscar campaign money at Sam Mendes’ “Revolutionary Road” starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, and David Fincher’s “The Curious Life of Benjamin Button,” starring Brad Pitt as a man who ages backward.

F. GARY GRAY TO DIRECT JAMIE FOXX October 20, 2008

Director F. Gary Gray has taken over for Frank Darabont at the helm of legal thriller “Law Abiding Citizen,” according to the Hollywood Reporter.

 

      As previously reported, the film will star Jamie Foxx as a man who seeks vigilante justice against a district attorney, played by Gerard Butler, whose plea deal set free the killer of his family.

 

       Darabont, who co-wrote the script, recently left the project over creative differences with the producers, according to the trade magazine.

EAZY E’S SON HELPS BANGERS REGISTER TO VOTE October 14, 2008

The son of late rapper Eric “Eazy E” Wright and a number of celebrities helped get out the vote in Compton over the weekend by joining voter registration campaign “My Hood Votes,” founded by journalist Jasmyne Cannick.

      The campaign registered gang-bangers from the Crips and Bloods, as well as non-traditional potential voters throughout the city.

 

      “My Hood Votes is us representing us. It’s us going out and talking to each other the way that only we can about the importance of having some involvement in the political process,” Lil Eazy E told AllHipHop.com, adding that Nov. 4 will be his first time voting in an election. “My pops loved Compton. I love Compton. This was the perfect opportunity to get it crackin’ in my hometown with my family and take it into the streets.”

      Cannick said her decision to launch “My Hood Votes” came out of frustration with both presidential candidates and their running mates.

 

       “Over the course of the presidential and vice-presidential candidate’s debates, it’s become crystal clear that both Democrats and Republicans are focused on one segment of the American population, the middle class,” Cannick said. “Hence, the absence of any mention of the word poverty, even though it is a way of life for more than 37 million people in this country. So while the candidates continue to be focused on the wealthy and middle class, in L.A., I’ve been focused on the hood.”  

Lil Easy E., Jasmyne Cannick & Jamie Foxx

       The campaign received support from 93.5 The Beat FM as well as entertainers and community activists that included comedian/Radio Free 102.3 KJLH radio personality Guy Black, actress Terra Menyone from The Shield, The Foxx Hole w/Jamie Foxx co-host Felicia “The Poetess” Morris, Nation of Islam Minister and activist Tony Muhammad.

      For details on the My Hood Votes campaign, visit http://www.MyHoodVotes.com.

JAMIE FOXX TO BECOME ‘LAW ABIDING’ October 13, 2008

Jamie Foxx is in final negotiations to join the Frank Darabont-directed film “Law Abiding Citizen,” the Hollywood Reporter confirms.

 

      The Oscar winner will star opposite Gerard Butler in the psychological thriller about a successful assistant D.A. (Butler) who finds himself at the center of a vigilante plot hatched by a traumatized victim of the legal system (Foxx).

 

       Foxx’s character is devastated to learn that, because of a plea bargain, one of his wife and daughter’s murderers will be set free. So he unleashes revenge on the killers and those who made the deal.

 

      The actor next stars opposite Robert Downey Jr. in “The Soloist,” directed by Joe Wright (“Atonement”).

JAMIE FOXX LIKES THE BLONDES September 18, 2008

As the New York Daily News puts it, “Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx got his blond fix in Las Vegas last weekend.”      

       According to the newspaper’s Rush & Malloy column, the actor started off Friday night at the preview of Noah Tepperberg’s Lavo Nightclub flirting with “Dancing With the Stars” alum Stacy Keibler.      

       “Jamie couldn’t stop rubbing her,” noted a spy. Keibler reportedly wandered off, leaving Foxx alone.              

       The next day, he hit the Tao Beach pool, where he reportedly attempted to woo “Jericho” actress Ashley Scott.       

       According to Rush & Malloy: “She, too, seemed resistant to his charms. So, that night it was back to Lavo, where we watched Foxx pull up to the bumper of another blond. His advance on her rear was briefly interrupted when he smelled a fellow patron’s cigarette.       

       “‘Yo, man,’ a member of Foxx’s entourage told the guy. ‘Jamie is allergic to smoke. Put that out.’ When the reveler ignored the comment, the sunglasses-wearing Foxx wrapped his scarf around his face. Looking like a sheik, he returned to grinding the blond. They disappeared into the night shortly afterward.”