American Idol’s Jennifer Hudson to portray Winnie Mandela in movie
(AP Photo/Evan Agostini)
Season three ”American Idol” contestant Jennifer Hudson has proven herself to be a talented actress. She has an Oscar trophy from her “Dreamgirls” role to prove it.
Now, the singer/actress is preparing for an even deeper role. According to Variety, Hudson will portray Winnie Mandela in an upcoming film titled “Winnie.”
Winnie Mandela is a controversial South African politician, and the former wife of Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa.
Shooting on the film will begin in late May.
Since placing seventh on “American Idol” in 2004, Hudson has four movies under her belt. They are “Dreamgirls,” “Sex and the City,” “Winged Creatures” and “The Secret Life of Bees.”
Top 10 Movies at the Box Office
Top 10 Movies at the Box Office (weekend ending (March 14)
1. Alice In Wonderland – $62 million
2. Green Zone – $14.5 million
3. She’s Out Of My League – $9.6 million
4. Remember Me – $8.3 million
5. Shutter Island – $8.1 million
6. Our Family Wedding – $7.6 million
7. Avatar – $6.6 million
8. Brooklyn’s Finest – $4.29 million
9. Cop Out – $4.23 million
10. The Crazies – $3.6 million
Twilight Eclipse preview
Billboard Top 10 Albums
Lady Antebellum (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Billboard Top 10 Albums (week of March 10)
1. Need You Now by Lady Antebellum – 126,000 copies
2. Soldier of Love by Sade – 79,000 copies
3. Hillbilly Bone by Blake Shelton – 71,000 copies
4. My Best Days by Danny Gokey – 65,000 copies
5. Almost Alice by Various Artists – 58,000 copies
6. Smoke and Mirrors by Lifehouse – 54,000 copies
7. The Fame by Lady Gaga – 49,000 copies
8. The E.N.D. by Black Eyed Peas – 46,000 copies
9. The Love and MasterPeace by Raheem DeVaughn – 45,000 copies
10. Jason Derulo by Jason Derulo – 42,000 copies
Poll: The Hurt Locker vs. Avatar at the Oscars
Top 10 Movies at the Box Office
Top 10 Movies at the Box Office (weekend ending March 8th)
1. Alice in Wonderland – $116.3 million
2. Brooklyn’s Finest – $13.5 million
3. Shutter Island – $13.3 million
4. Cop Out – $9.1 million
5. Avatar – $7.7 million
6. The Crazies – $7 million
7. Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief – $5.1 million
8. Valentine’s Day – $4.2 million
9. Crazy Heart – $3.3 million
10. Dear John - $2.8 million
Precious is big winner at Independent Spirit Awards
The film “Precious” dominated the Independent Spirit Awards last night (March 5). The awards show honors independent movies.
“Precious” won five awards including best director for Lee Daniels, best leading actress for Gabourey Sidibe and best supporting actress for Mo’Nique.
The non “Precious” winners included Jeff Bridges, Lone Scherfig, Sacha Gervasi and Woody Harrelson.
Several celebrities attended the ceremony including Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ben Stiller, Taraji P. Henson, Jodie Foster, Dave Grohl, Ethan Hawke, Matt Dillon and Laura Dern.
A photo gallery is posted below. Click on the Associated Press images to enlarge them.
New movie releases (March 5)
“Alice in Wonderland” starring Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover
“Brooklyn’s Finest” starring Don Cheadle, Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes, Vincent D’Onofrio
My Oscar favorites
Actresses from the film titled “Precious” are nominated in those categories.
“Precious” is about a high school girl named Precious who struggles after she was molested and impregnated by her father and abused by her mother.
The movie was created on a low budget, but the story line and the acting ability from the cast were powerful.
The woman who portrayed Precious is newcomer Gabourey Sidibe. She is nominated in the best leading actress category. She faces off against Sandra Bullock, Meryl Streep, Carey Mulligan, and Helen Mirren.
“Precious” is Sidibe’s first acting role. She shocked audiences after they saw how well she played that role. She performed like an acting veteran even though she had no prior experience.
I’m rooting for Sidibe to take home the Oscar. But if Bullock wins, I won’t be disappointed. She did an impressive job portraying Michael Oher’s mother in “The Blind Side.”
My favorite to win the award for best supporting actress is Mo’Nique. She portrayed Precious’ abusive mother in the film.
Mo’Nique is an established comedian and talk show host who is known for being funny.
But she left her funny hat at home and took a big risk by taking on such a dramatic character in the film. Her performance in the film was mind boggling. It makes you forget she is a comedian with very little movie experience.
Mo’Nique is up against Penelope Cruz, Vera Farmiga, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Anna Kendrick.
The Hurt Locker producer banned from Oscars
Jeremy Renner, left, and Anthony Mackie are shown in a scene from the film "The Hurt Locker." (AP Photo)
If the movie “The Hurt Locker” wins the Oscar for best picture Sunday during the Academy Awards, one of the films producers, Nicolas Chartier, will not be allowed to accept the award on stage.
In fact, he won’t even be allowed in the building. Academy Award executives are banning Chartier from the ceremony, they announced in a statement.
Chartier is accused of sending emails to academy members trying to persuade them to vote for “The Hurt Locker” instead of “Avatar.”
The L.A. Times published an email Chartier sent to academy members. It’s posted below.
“I hope all is well with you. I just wanted to write you and say I hope you liked Hurt Locker and if you did and want us to win, please tell (name deleted) and your friends who vote for the Oscars, tell actors, directors, crew members, art directors, special effects people, if everyone tells one or two of their friends, we will win and not a $500M film, we need independent movies to win like the movies you and I do, so if you believe The Hurt Locker is the best movie of 2010, help us! I’m sure you know plenty of people you’ve worked with who are academy members whether a publicist, a writer, a sound engineer, please take 5 minutes and contact them. Please call one or two persons, everything will help!”
The $500 million film Chartier was referring to was “Avatar.” The emails were in violation of the academy’s rules against being negative toward rival nominees.
If “The Hurt Locker” wins the Oscar trophy during Sunday’s ceremony, Chartier will receive it at a later date.
Chartier probably panicked as it got closer to the Academy Awards ceremony because he knows its going to be tough to beat the $500 million machine called “Avatar.”
Poll: Who should win the Oscar for supporting actor/actress?
New movie releases (Feb. 26)
“Cop Out” starring Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan, Seann William Scott, Juan Carlos Hernandez.
“The Crazies” starring Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Danielle Panabaker, Christie Lynn Smith
New movie releases (Feb. 19)
“Shutter Island” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams
Top 10 movies at the box office
Top 10 movies at the box office (weekend ending Feb. 14)
1. Valentine’s Day – $52,4 million
2. Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief – $31.1 million
3. The Wolfman – $30.6 million
4. Avatar – $22 million
5. Dear John – $15.3 million
6. Tooth Fairy – $5.6 million
7. From Paris With Love – $4.7 million
8. Edge of Darkness – $4.5 million
9. Crazy Heart – $4 million
10. When In Rome – $3.4 million
New movie releases (Feb. 12)
“Valentines Day” starring Julia Roberts, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Kathy Bates, Eric Dane, Patrick Dempsey, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Latifah, Taylor Lautner, George Lopez, Taylor Swift, Shirley MacLaine, Hector Elizondo.
“Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief” starring Logan Lerman, Uma Thurman, Pierce Brosnan, Rosario Dawson
“The Wolfman” starring Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, Simon Merells
New movie releases (Feb. 5)
“Dear John” starring Amanda Seyfried, Channing Tatum, Richard Jenkins, Henry Thomas, D.J. Cotrona
“From Paris With Love” starring John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Kasia Smutniak, Richard Durden
Top 10 Movies at the Box Office
Top 10 Movies at the Box Office (weekend ending Jan. 31)
1. Avatar – $30 million
2. Edge of Darkness – $17.1 million
3. When in Rome – $12 million
4. The Tooth Fairy – $10 million
5. The Book of Eli – $8.7 million
6. Legion – $6.8 million
7. The Lovely Bones – $4.7 million
8. Sherlock Holmes – $4.5 million
9. Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel – $4 million
10. It’s Complicated – $3.7 million
New Movie Releases (Jan. 29)
“Edge of Darkness” starring Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston and Shawn Roberts
“When In Rome” starring Kristen Bell, Josh Duhamel, Anjelica Huston and Will Arnett
Top 10 Movies at the Box Office
Top 10 movies at the box office (weekend ending Jan. 24)
1. Avatar – $36 million
2. Legion – $18.2 million
3. The Book of Eli – $17 million
4. The Tooth Fairy – $14.5 million
5. The Lovely Bones – $8.8 million
6. Sherlock Holmes – $7.1 million
7. Extraordinary Measures – $7 million
8. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel – $6.5 million
9. It’s Complicated $6.19 million
10. The Spy Next Door – $4.75 million
New movie releases (Jan. 22)
“Extraordinary Measures” starring Harrison Ford, Brendan Fraser, Keri Russell, Meredith Droeger, Diego Velazquez
“Legion” starring Dennis Quaid, Paul Bettany, Tyrese Gibson, Charles S. Dutton, Kate Walsh, Dennis Quaid
“Tooth Fairy” starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Julie Andrews, Ashley Judd, Stephen Merchant
Top 10 movies at the box office
Top 10 movies at the box office (weekend ending Jan. 17)
1. Avatar – $41.3 million
2. The Book of Eli – $31.6 million
3. The Lovely Bones – $17 million
4. Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel – $11.5 million
5. Sherlock Holmes – $9.8 million
6. The Spy Next Door – $9.7 million
7. It’s Complicated – $7.6 million
8. Leap Year – $5.8 million
9. The Blind Side – $5.5 million
10. Up In The Air – $5.4 million
New movie releases (Jan. 15)
“The Book of Eli” starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Jennifer Beals
“The Spy Next Door” starring Jackie Chan, George Lopez, Billy Ray Cyrus, Amber Valletta
“The Lovely Bones” starring March Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci
Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” coming to DVD
Michael Jackson's dancers wrote on a "This Is It" movie poster. ((AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” film will be available on DVD and Blu-ray Jan. 26. Fans can pre-order the movie at Amazon.com.
The film features behind-the-scenes footage of Jackson’s concerts he was preparing for before he died last summer. I usually don’t give movies free promotion, but this film was excellent when I saw it in theaters.
I recommend everyone watch the movie even if you never were an MJ fan. The film shows his series of concerts were going to be the greatest concerts ever performed on Earth. If you don’t believe me, then watch the movie.
Click here to pre-order a copy.
Top 10 movies at the box office
Top 10 Movies at the Box Office (weekend ending Jan. 10)
1. Avatar – $48.5 million
2. Sherlock Holmes – $16.6 million
3. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel – $16.3 million
4. Daybreakers – $15 million
5. It’s Complicated – $11 million
6. Leap Year – $9.1 million
7. The Blind Side – $7.7 million
8. Up In The Air – $7.1 million
9. Youth In Revolt – $7 million
10. The Princess and the Frog – $4.7 million
New movie releases (Jan. 8)
“Daybreakers” starring Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill
“Leap Year” starring Amy Adams, Matthew Goode, John Lithgow
“Youth In Revolt” starring Michael Cera, Portia Doubleday, Jean Smart, Ray Liotta, Justin Long
