Archive for July 21st, 2008
Fergie and Daniel Day Lewis to Star in Fellini-Inspired Movie Musical
I had to re-read this story about five times to grasp fully what I was reading: occasional Black Eyed Pea popstar Fergie is set to star with Academy Award winning actor, Daniel Day-Lewis (and a cast of other legitimately talente dactors) in a movie-musical inspired by Fellini’s legendary film “8 ½.”
I’m speechless.
Stacy Ann Ferguson, better known as pop star Fergie, is currently in negotiations to join the cast of the Rob Marshall-directed film of “Nine,” according to Variety.
Fergie, who appeared in the Weinstein Co.’s film “Grindhouse,” will play Saraghina in the film, a woman “who introduces Guido (Daniel Day-Lewis) to the world of sexuality,” according to the industry paper.
As previously reported, Day-Lewis will head the cast of the screen adaptation of the Maury Yeston-Arthur Kopit musical of the same name. The star of “There Will Be Blood” stepped into the role of Italian filmmaker Guido Contini that was vacated by an over-worked Javier Bardem.
Casting for the film also includes Penelope Cruz (Carla), Marion Cotillard (Luisa), Sophia Loren (Guido’s Mother), Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson and Judi Dench. The Weinstein Company produces the venture; Yeston and Kopit are on board as co-executive producers.
The 1982 Broadway musical Nine was inspired by Federico Fellini’s film “8 ½.” Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Michael Tolkin has penned the screenplay for the movie musical.
Tags: Culture | kate | broadway | musical | Film | movie | United States | cast | play | HUDSON | MARION | nicole | Sophia | cruz | kidman | fergie | Penelope | Javier | FERGUSON | LOREN | nine | stacy | Fellini | Judi | Dench | Day-Lewis | Bardem | Cotillard | 8 1/2
DMX Arrest-O-Meter
Inspired by the runaway success of the NowPublic Oil-O-Meter, I thought we might also benefit from turning our celebrified attention to the ever-crazy and arrest-prone world of the notorious Earl Simmons, aka rapper DMX.
Let’s run down the recent past, shall we? It’s a pretty impressive list, by any rapper’s standards.
WHEN: July 19, 2008
WHERE: Phoenix, Arizona
WHAT: Medical identity theft
Earl Simmons a.k.a. DMX — a rap artist who seems to run afoul of the law frequently — was arrested in a Phoenix mall on Saturday for identity theft.
Apparently, DMX used the name Troy Jones when seeking medical care for pneumonia, according to KNXV-TV in Phoenix. He also used a social security number that didn’t belong to him. Allegedly, DMX did this to get out of paying a $7500 bill.
WHEN: July 2, 2008
WHERE: Arizona
WHAT: Outstanding warrants
DMX was arrested in Arizona this morning, as he exited a flight from Fort Lauderdale. The rapper currently has two outstanding warrants in Phoenix. Three-peat!
WHEN: June 23, 2008
WHERE: Miami, Florida
WHAT: Invalid driver’s license
DMX is set to break the record for most arrested rapper following his arrest last Monday (June 23) in Miami on a warrant for not having a valid driver’s license.
The 37-year-old rapper, born Early Simmons, was arrested by Miami Dade County Police at around 1:30 p.m. and taken to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Institute.
WHEN: May 9, 2008
WHERE: Phoenix, Arizona
WHAT: Drug and animal-cruelty
DMX was arrested on drug and animal-cruelty charges following an overnight raid on the rapper’s house Friday, authorities said. [...]
The arrest and search warrants stemmed from indictments for felony drug possession and misdemeanor animal cruelty charges. He made an initial court appearance Friday where bail was sent at $7,500, said his local attorney, Cameron Morgan. Morgan said he expected bail to be posted quickly.
WHEN: May 7, 2008
WHERE: Arizona
WHAT: Speeding
Rapper DMX was arrested Tuesday by Arizona police on a laundry list of motor vehicle charges stemming from a January incident where cameras caught him driving 114 mph on a local highway.
DMX, whose real name is Earl Simmons, was charged with racing on a highway, reckless driving, two counts of endangerment and three counts of criminal speed and driving on a suspended license.
WHEN: June 25, 2004
WHERE: JFK Airport, New York
WHAT: Attempted robbery, criminal impersonation and criminal mischief
Hip hop star turned Hollywood actor DMX has been arrested on charges that he and another man tried to steal a car at JFK Airport in New York.
DMX, real name Earl Simmons, and Jackie Hudgins were arrested last night (June 24) after police interrupted a dispute between the two and another man whose car they allegedly tried to steal, authorities said.
The pair were arrested on charges of attempted robbery, criminal impersonation and criminal mischief.
Tags: Culture | Florida | Phoenix | Security | drugs | rapper | medical | theft | Identity | earl | Social | DMX | WARRANT | Simmons
‘Dark Knight’ Sets Opening Weekend Box Office Record
“The Dark Knight“, the latest film in the hugely successful Batman franchise has set a new record for the best-ever opening weekend box office draw, earning more than $155 million.
Having seen the film last Friday night, I was struck not only by the powerfully twisted performance of Heath Ledger, but also by the morbidly macabre allure of it containing his final recorded performance before his death.
Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” is a far cry from the 1995 comic-book ridiculousness of Val Kilmer’s Batman, Chris O’Donnell’s Robin, and Jim Carrey’s Riddler.
This film is a psychogical thriller that draws more from Alfred Hitchcock than from Bob Kane, Batman’s creator; it is claustrophic, unnerving, violent, and devastating.
Although “The Dark Knight” is being heralded for its film noir aesthetic, its excellent cast, and the riveting madness of Ledger’s Joker, I was amazed to see just how dark the series has become.
If film is, in part, able to offer an artistic commentary on our current cultural norms, politics, and values, “The Dark Knight” begs an interesting question about what parts of us this disturbing portrayal of psychotic supervillains and frenetic anti-heroes reflects. And I, for one, founds its reflected images deeply disturbing. How dark have we become?
YOUR TAKE: Have you seen the film? What did you think? Is “The Dark Knight” the best superhero movie ever made?
A Warner Bros. executive says the Batman sequel “The Dark Knight” has taken in $155.34 million to top “Spider-Man 3″ for best opening weekend ever at the box office.
The figures released Sunday show “The Dark Knight” more than $4 million ahead of the $151.1 million first weekend for “Spider-Man 3″ in May 2007.
Studio distribution chief Dan Fellman says “The Dark Knight” also broke the “Spider-Man 3″ record for best debut in IMAX large-screen theaters with $6.2 million. “Spider-Man 3″ opened with $4.7 million in IMAX cinemas.
Stoked by fan fever over the manic performance of the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, “The Dark Knight” also set a one-day box office record with $66.4 million on opening day, Fellman said Saturday.
The movie’s Friday haul surpassed the previous record of $59.8 million set last year by “Spider-Man 3.” iReport.com: Did you see ‘Dark Knight’?
“The Dark Knight” began with a record $18.5 million from midnight screenings, topping the previous high of $16.9 million for “Star Wars: Episode III — The Revenge of the Sith.”
The opening day grosses for “The Dark Knight” far exceeded the full weekend haul of its predecessor, “Batman Begins,” which took in $48.7 million in its first three days in 2005.
Reviews were excellent for director Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins,” but they were stellar for his “Dark Knight.”
“We’ve really never seen anything like this,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. “The death of a fine actor taken in his prime, a legendary performance and a movie that lives up to all the hype. That all combined to create these record-breaking numbers.”
Tags: New York | Culture | Los Angeles | Batman | office | Theatres | Film | movie | weekend | United States | box | Series | cinema | Spiderman | dark | CHRISTIAN | star | LEDGER | WARS | WARNER | joker | revenge | Bros | Knight | Heath | episode | culturite | Bale | sith | christopher nolan
Mugabe and Tsvangirai Sign Deal to Open Zimbabwe Talks
Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai have made “a first tentative step” toward resolving the political and social crisis that has consumed Zimbabwe since the chaos of the country’s recent election, by signing a preliminary agreement that lays out terms for negotiations that will seek to bring peace to the nation. South African President Thabo Mbeki continues to act as a moderator in the negotiations, despite being widely criticized for his failure to take a stance against the repressive and violent tactics of Mugabe and his followers.
Although this is a move toward resolving the current conflict, peace still seems a distant prospect.
Zimbabwe’s feuding political leaders appeared jointly for the first time in years Monday to sign a preliminary agreement laying out terms for negotiations to wrest their land out of political chaos.
The ceremony brought together Robert Mugabe, the president, and Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. News reports said the two men had not met for a decade, when Tsvangirai was a labor leader before he emerged as the head of the main opposition group in 1999.
While the memorandum of understanding was a modest step, the sight of Mugabe in the same room as Tsvangirai seemed a dramatic departure from Zimbabwe’s chaos and collapse, with its usual images of political bloodletting, electoral rigging and economic ruin.
The ceremony in a Harare hotel was overseen by Thabo Mbeki, the president of South Africa, who had labored for months as a mediator, defying critics who said his efforts merely gave Mugabe time to outwit his opponents. Mbeki sat between the two men as they signed, Reuters reported.
The agreement “commits the negotiating parties to an intense program of work to try and finalize negotiations as quickly as possible,” Mbeki said, without giving details.
Tsvangirai said the accord was “the first tentative step towards searching for a solution for a country that is in crisis.”
Tags: Politics | Election | Mugabe | Zimbabwe | peace | corruption | World | Robert | HARARE | MORGAN | mdc | Talks | negotiation | Mbeki | tsvangirai | Thabo | culturite
First All-People-of-Colour Presidential Ticket in US History
No, Barack hasn’t made an official annoucement about a running mate, yet.
This historical first all-women-of-colour presidential ticket comes courtesy of the Green Party who, last week, confirmed the Presidential nomination of Cynthia McKinney alongside hip-hop activist Rosa Clemente for November’s American Presidential election.
The Green Party made history last week when it nominated the first all-women-of-color presidential ticket in US history. Former Democratic Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who was the first African American woman elected to Congress in Georgia, won the Green Party’s nomination last Monday. She named longtime community organizer, journalist and former director of the Hip Hop Caucus, Rosa Clemente, as her running mate earlier this month.
Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney was nominated by the Green Party to be its presidential candidate at the party’s convention in Chicago on Saturday. McKinney represented Dekalb County, Georgia’s 4th district, for six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat.
Journalist, activist and community organizer Rosa Clemente will be McKinney’s running mate. Clemente has remarked that “Cynthia McKinney is a hero to me and many others across this country and around the world for her courage in standing up to George Bush while the Democratic Party establishment caved.” McKinney is known for initiating legislation to impeach Bush during her last days in Congress.
Tags: Running | Georgia | McKinney | Election | Congress | president | hip-hop | history | women | Woman | Green | Nomination | United States | World | nominee | party | Color | American | African | colour | presidential | rosa | Ticket | Cynthia | mate | culturite | clemente
