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*Queen Latifah has signed on to star in HBO Films' "Life Support," a telefilm that centers on the HIV crisis in the black community. Latifah will also executive produce the HBO project along with Jamie Foxx, Jaime King, Marcus King, Shakim Compere and Shelby Stone (HBO's "Lackawanna Blues")."Support," based on the life of writer-director Nelson George's sister and their family, is a depiction of the black community's HIV crisis as told through the true story of one survivor – a mother, former crack addict and current AIDS activist (Latifah). George will direct the film from his own script. Shooting begins next month in New York.
*Spike Lee is set to rewrite and possibly direct "Selling Time," a supernatural thriller for 20th Century Fox. The story is about a man who sells chunks of his life in an attempt to relive and change the worst day of his life. The project had been collecting dust in several previous incarnations, with Forest Whitaker and Will Smith each attached to star at various points along its journey
*Now that the networks have secured and announced their fall programming, many are going about making changes to the casts of their shows. On the new CW series “The Game,” a “Girlfriends” spinoff about the women in the lives of professional football players, the role of one of the wives, Kelly Parker, will be recast. Jennifer Baxter played the role in the show's pilot, which aired as a "Girlfriends" episode this past season. Meanwhile, CBS’ “Ghost Whisperer” is looking for an actress to replace Aisha Tyler, whose character died in the season finale; and Fox’s “Prison Break” is searching for a nemesis to star opposite Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller).
*The first-ever Beastie Boys concert music film, “Awesome; I F*ckin' Shot That!” will arrive on DVD July 25 from THINKFilm. Directed by band member Adam Yauch, the groundbreaking project is a feature-length film shot entirely by fans in the audience. On October 9, 2004, in New York’s Madison Square Garden, The Beastie Boys handed out 50 cameras to audience members at their sold-out performance to capture different perspectives. "The DVD has given us a great opportunity to present the footage that didn't make it into the final cut of the film," said Yauch. "It's been interesting to build grids of outtake footage, and watch the way the different perspectives play out simultaneously."
*MTV revs up a new season of “Pimp My Ride” on June 15 at 10 p.m. Host Xzibit will return with car customization specialist Mad Mike and new detailing company GAS (Galpin Auto Sports) to tackle a whole new crop of broken-down hoopties. During the season, viewers will watch a 1988 Cadillac limo hooked up with a 50" plasma screen movie theater, a 1995 Mitsubishi Galant with its own white fur chaise lounge, and a 1976 ice cream truck that is destined to go out of business remodeled with some 2006 technology. Full episodes will be available on MTV On Demand starting July 7.
*Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has introduced the Voices of Color (VOC) Film Series on Tour, an expansion of the retailer's sponsorship of TV programming and events that celebrate African-American life in film. As a part of the venture, Wal-Mart will sponsor and participate in the American Black Film Festival (ABFF), which will be held in Miami July 19th-23rd; the Urbanworld Vibe Film Festival, to be held in New York City June 21st -25th; and the African-American Women in Cinema International Film Festival (AAWIC), which will take place October 26th-28th in New York. The VOC documentary film, “The Will to Survive - The Story of the Gullah/Geechee Nation,” was underwritten by Wal-Mart earlier this year. The film explores the past, present, and future of the Gullah/Geechee Nation and allows viewers a rare glimpse into the soul of Sapelo Island and the proud and mysterious Gullah/Geechee people.