AMC TO AIR SAMUEL L. JACKSON TRIBUTE December 4, 2008

 

For the seventh time, AMC will broadcast the 23rd annual American Cinematheque Awards, which this year honored the film career of Samuel L. Jackson.

 

      The special will premiere Tuesday (Dec. 9) at 10 p.m. ET as ” Hollywood Celebrates Samuel L. Jackson: An American Cinematheque Tribute.”

 

       Many of Jackson’s colleagues and past co-stars were in attendance to help celebrate his cinematic accomplishments, including Denzel Washington, Justin Timberlake, George Lopez, Andy Garcia and Sharon Stone.      

      One running theme of the evening was guessing what the “L” in “Samuel L. Jackson” stands for. Timberlake, who acted in “Black Snake Moan” with Jackson and who started off the evening, said it stood for “Love. Man love.” Lopez said it was definitely not for “Latino.”

 

       Stone put her hands on her hips and purred words such as “Luscious,” “L’amour,” “Ladies love Samuel L. Jackson” — and told a story about seeing Jackson “nekkid” in a movie and then trying to talk to him at a premiere. She eventually got serious, talking about the moral compass he brings to his characters, and saying that the “L” stood for “Legend.”

 

       Denzel Washington said Jackson plays men who can be considered “the righteous who believe they are sinners and the sinners who believe they are righteous.” Vin Diesel called Jackson “a poor man’s acting coach,” and Kerry Washington noted that the actor brings truth to his roles, making his “heroes so imperfect and (his) villains so lovable.”

 

       Also making speeches were Earvin “Magic” Johnson, who used basketball terms to describe Jackson as being as unstoppable as Kobe Bryant, as versatile as Larry Bird and as smooth as Michael Jordan; John Singleton, who told anecdotes from the set of “Shaft”; and Jackson’s wife, LaTanya, who talked of the movies Jackson made with Spike Lee.       

       After finally accepting the award from his “Star Wars” director George Lucas, Jackson talked about how much the experience of going to the movies meant to him, when he would catch Saturday double features in a segregated theater in his hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and how important he thinks the Cinematheque’s work is in promoting the social side of filmmaking.      

       “I felt a bond with everyone in that theater,” Jackson said, according to the AP. “(It was) a kinship that opened up a whole new world.”

EX-PORN STAR VAMPS IN ‘SOUL MEN’ November 18, 2008

 

Old school adult film legend Vanessa Del Rio put a hurting on Bernie Mac while filming their hilarious sex scene for the wild, grown-up comedy Soul Men. 

 

      Fit and fierce at age 56, Del Rio retains all the fire that made her an X-rated superstar back in the pre-video, Boogie Nights era of porn (when dudes still watched “skin flicks” in movie theaters). 

 

      Soul Men co-star Samuel L. Jackson remembers Bernie pulling him aside on the set. 

 

      “He was like, ‘Man, she ’bout to kill me!’  I said, ‘What?’  ‘She’s jumping up and down and she’s just like buck wild over there!’” 

 

      Del Rio bursts out laughing when she’s told that story.  If she frightened Mac with her unbridled freakiness she didn’t realize it.  What she remembers most about her day on the Soul Men set is that Bernie Mac was a kind and considerate gentleman who spoke lovingly about his family and kept her laughing continuously. 

 

      “He was talking about his kids and about his dog and he just came across as such a wonderful, warm person,” Del Rio remembers. “We laughed a lot (and) I think laughter is very sexy!”

 

      Her playful attitude toward sex defined Vanessa Del Rio’s onscreen persona back in the 1970s and early ’80s.  She was renowned for having zero inhibitions on camera and for really enjoying her work.  Samuel L. Jackson dug Del Rio’s movies when he was in college because “she was the first porn star who acted like she really enjoyed sex!” Del Rio takes that as a huge compliment. 

 

      “We were truly having a good time because we were expressing ourselves,” she says. “It was the ’70s sexual revolution.  There was a lot of freedom then, a lot of free thinking .Back then (pornography) was something you did to have fun and to rebel.”

 

      Del Rio retired from hardcore work in 1986 but she never fully abandoned the adult entertainment industry.  Today she thrives on the Internet, personally managing a web site (www.vanessadelrio.com) where she performs naughty cam shows and hawks sexy merchandise including her memoir, a racy coffee table book with the deliberately ironic title, 50 Years of Slightly Slutty Behavior. 

 

      “That title is me being sort of tongue in cheek and coy … But by today’s standards I was just slightly slutty!” the pioneer pornista laughs.

 

      Three decades after storming the adult movie scene, Vanessa Del Rio is in Energizer bunny mode and she isn’t even thinking about slowing down — ever. 

 

      “I always said that when it’s my turn to go into a retirement home just give me my drugs, put me in a wheelchair and point me towards the men!” Del Rio declares with a saucy laugh.

SAMUEL L. JACKSON REUNITES WITH TARANTINO November 4, 2008

 

Samuel L. Jackson will reteam with his “Pulp Fiction” and “Jackie Brown” director Quentin Tarantino for the forthcoming WWII film “Inglorious Basterds” (Yes, ‘Basterds’ with an ‘e’), according to film blog The Playlist.

 

       The movie is a remake of the 1977 Italian movie about a group of American soldiers who are attacked by Germans while being escorted to military prison. The story follows five of the prisoners who managed to escape.       

       Jackson will reportedly serve as a narrator for the updated version, which is due in theaters next year. The blog site reports of Jackson being “present only in a few spots (beginning page 24), but [he] mostly pops up at random times in the script to add some context and background info.”      

      Jackson’s latest film is “Soul Men,” starring opposite the late Bernie Mac. The two play estranged members of a one-time R&B group that reunites to honor another bandmate who recently died.

SAMUEL L. JACKSON IN ‘LAST DRAGON’ REMAKE November 1, 2008

 

Samuel L. Jackson will suit up as the infamous Sho’Nuff, the Shogun of Harlem in Columbia Pictures’ remake of the 1985 cult classic “The Last Dragon.”

 

      “I’m a huge fan of the original and look forward to bringing Sho’Nuff into the 21st century,” Jackson told the Hollywood Reporter.

 

       Columbia’s updated version will be along the same lines of the original, centering on young martial arts student Leroy Green in his quest through the streets of New York to achieve the highest level of martial arts accomplishment, known as the Last Dragon. Those who achieve the high ranking possess the Glow, making them the greatest fighter alive.      

       The original, which also starred Taimak and then-Prince protégé Vanity, was released in March 1985 by TriStar Pictures. Julius Carey III, who portrayed Sho’Nuff in the original film, died in August of complications from pancreatic cancer.

SAMUEL L. JACKSON JOINS CALI’S PROP 8 BATTLE October 29, 2008

 

Samuel L. Jackson is among numerous celebrities who are urging California voters to oppose Prop. 8, a ballot initiative that seeks to overturn California’s legalization of same-sex unions.      

       According to E! Online, the “Soul Men” star recorded a radio spot Monday pleading with voters to oppose the proposition.       

       Jackson joins other stars who have taken a stand against Prop. 8, including Brad Pitt, Steven Spielberg, Ellen DeGeneres, Barbra Streisand, Molly Ringwald and Fran Drescher, as well as Pete Wentz and his Fall Out Boy bandmates.

Oprah’s Tina Turner dinner; ‘Big Momma’s House 3′; Mowry twin considers ‘Dancing’; Tyler Perry on ‘TV One on One October 22, 2008

Oprah Winfrey hosted a dinner for Tina Turner following her concert last week in Chicago. Tom Cruise showed up for the soiree at the Peninsula Hotel with his son Connor, according to the New York Post. Winfrey was reportedly excited that Turner introduced her to the concert crowd as “my best girlfriend.”

 

       *While conducting interviews for the new Bernie Mac/Samuel L. Jackson comedy “Soul Men,” producer David Friendly announced that he’s currently working on a third film in the “Big Momma’s House” franchise. Friendly said FOX is fast-tracking the project and hopes to have it in theatres for 2009. The first two films starred Martin Lawrence as a cop who goes undercover as an overweight grandmother.

 

       *E! Online spoke with former “Sister, Sister” costar Tamera Mowry about chances she would ever do a reality show. “I’ve been asked to do ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ and I’ve thought about the possibility, but I’m so afraid,” Mowry said. “It’s so terrifying to go out there and learn all those dances. My boyfriend, my boyfriend’s dad and my sister all tell me to go after it, but there’s no way you’re going to see me on there anytime soon, because it just scares me. I’ve heard it’s really hard on the body, and I think I would just cry all the time. Maybe in two or three years I would be willing to give it a try.”

 

       *TV One viewers can get a behind-the-scenes tour of Tyler Perry’s new studio as well as learn more about his childhood, his creative successes and his road to forgiveness when he talks with Cathy Hughes on “TV One on One,” Sunday, Oct. 26 at 10 p.m., repeating at 1 a.m. (all times ET).

SAMUEL L. GETS COMPANY IN ‘UNTHINKABLE’ October 7, 2008

Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Sheen are confirmed to star in the upcoming film “Unthinkable,” which has just added Brandon Routh, Gil Bellows, Martin Donovan and Carrie-Anne Moss to the cast.       

       The suspense thriller – produced, financed and distributed by Senator U.S. – will feature Routh and Bellows as members of an FBI anti-terrorism team run by Agent Brody (Moss).       

       With the help of a black-ops agent (Jackson), they’re assigned by an FBI director (Donovan) to interrogate an American Muslim man (Sheen) claiming to have nuclear bombs planted in three U.S. cities.       

       Gregor Jordan’s “Unthinkable” will be one of the first high-profile projects from the new distributor run by Marco. Principal photography is set to begin Oct. 20 in Los Angeles.

Sam Jackson honored; Warren Sapp a diva?; T-Pain’s hearse September 27, 2008

The American Cinematheque has selected Samuel L. Jackson to receive its annual honor, to be presented at the organization’s Dec. 1 gala at the Beverly Hilton, according to the Hollywood Reporter. AMC will air the event Dec. 9.  Jackson has five films in production this year, including Neil LaBute’s “Lakeview Terrace,” “Soul Men” and the Christmas release of the Frank Miller action drama “The Spirit.”

 

       *Word has it that the biggest diva on the new season of “Dancing With the Stars” is retired NFL star Warren Sapp. TMZ.com is reporting that the former player “talks down to everybody (especially the guy dancers and production assistants), yells at people and consistently walks out of rehearsals with partner Kym Johnson.”

 

      *The latest addition to T-Pain’s 22-car collection is a hearse, according to People.com. “My hearse has just been painted orange. I just got a blue top put on it and I’ve got a matching blue fiberglass coffin in the back,” he tells People. A coffin inside holds “speakers and TVs,” says the singer, whose hearse was part of a recent photo shoot for his upcoming album “Thr33 Ringz,” out Nov. 11. The lingering scent of the car’s past use was an early problem for the artist. “We had to Febreeze the hell out of the car,” he says. “Everyone is afraid of it. But I don’t think of it in that way. It’s a car.”

“Soul Men” Drama September 24, 2008

The comedy “Soul Men,” co-starring Samuel L. Jackson and the late Bernie Mac, doesn’t premiere at the Apollo Theater for another month but already the legendary Sam Moore is complaining because of the parallels the movie draws to his life.

Sam and Bernie play an estranged R&B duo known as the Real Deal. In real life, Sam and Dave Prater, who died in  an auto accident in 1988, were considered the greatest of all soul duos. They performed together beginning in 1961 but split up several times. One of their biggest hits was the single “Soul Man.”

Although Sam, who makes his first appearance in 40 years at The Apollo on Monday, hasn’t seen the movie, that didn’t stop him from popping off to Rush & Molloy:

“In the movie, they have a reunion concert. Dave and I had a reunion in 1982 after not talking with each other for years.

“Sam Jackson and Bernie Mac sing ‘Hold On, I’m Coming.’ That’s also our song.”

In fact, Moore, who hasn’t seen the movie, says he has been told that Jackson and Mac listened to Sam and Dave’s original to get pumped up for the scene.

Moore says that Bob Weinstein’s Dimension Films “tried to buy me out” by offering him $1,000 for a walk-on role.

“A thousand dollars!” he exclaims. “Whoa. You know, slavery times have ended.”

Moore, 72, is vexed, too, by the free use of the N-word in the film. “Even when Dave and I were fighting and cursing, we never used that word,” he says. “It’s an insult to every one of us who fought in the civil rights movement.

“I don’t understand how this can happen,” says Moore, who’s going to consult lawyers. “It’s not right.”

“Soul Men” producer David Friendly insists, “Everything in the movie is completely made up. The characters are backup singers, unlike Sam and Dave, who were headliners. [Bob Weinstein’s brother] Harvey Weinstein suggested at a party that Sam might be in the movie. But Sam declined the offer. No money was ever discussed. Just because they sing one Sam and Dave song doesn’t make it a movie about them. I think it’s unfair of [Moore] to criticize a movie he hasn’t seen.”

Correspondent Scary Spice; Jackson’s ‘Lakeview’ No. 1; Miss USA stumbles again September 22, 2008

Melanie “Mel B.” Brown will return as a “Dancing With the Stars” guest correspondent for “Access Hollywood” when the ABC reality show premieres tonight. Brown, who was a finalist in season five of the competition, will deliver reports from the set, interview the cast after the live shows on Monday and Tuesday nights and will document backstage moments. “I’m ecstatic to continue working with my Access Hollywood family,” Brown said in a statement. “I am looking forward to the new season of Dancing with the Stars.”

 

      *Samuel L. Jackson’s movie “Lakeview Terrace” sold $15.6 million to earn the top spot at the box office, according to estimates issued on Sunday. It barely surpassed the $14 million opening for Jackson’s 2006 bomb “Snakes on a Plane.” In the Neil LaBute-directed “Lakeview Terrace,” Jackson plays a vindictive cop who makes life hell for his new neighbors.

 

      *The New York Post is reporting that Miss USA, Crystle Stewart – the woman who famously tripped and fell during the Miss Universe competition in Thailand over the summer – nearly hit the deck again at the recent party for NBC’s “Lipstick Jungle” in New York. The beauty showed up to Studio 450 in “incredibly high heels,” a witness told Page Six. Stewart made her way to the outside balcony and proceeded to “lose her balance on the rubber floor and started to fall.” A public relations man came to her rescue and escorted her to solid ground. Later, Stewart declined a shot of 1942 Don Julio tequila, saying, “I’m not allowed to drink, or I will get yelled at.”