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03-07-08 EUR ALL ON ONE PAGE
YOLANDA ADAMS ASKED TO ‘OPEN UP HER FINANCIAL RECORDS:’ Gospel singer investigated by IRS.
*Houston based gospel queen and syndicated radio host Yolanda Adams, 46, is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The singer is being forced by a federal judge to turn over her financial records for 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2004, after failing to show up for an appointment last month to clarify her financial affairs. The agency is trying to sort out her tax liability and how to collect on the debt. According to filings in Houston federal court, two million-dollar mortgage loan applications precipitated the investigation.
The Chronicle reveals that a 2005 Ocwen application said Adams earned $40,000 a month and listed $8 million in assets, along with an $800,000 trust account, $4.9 million in other personal holdings and jewelry valued at $1.5 million. The document also states she claims ownership of a Lexus and a Hummer.
A subsequent Chase home loan application listed $3 million in assets, including a business worth $1.5 million, a Mercedes-Benz and a Range Rover. The singer also reportedly owns a home worth more than $2 million in Houston's Royal Oaks Country Club subdivision.
The agency also wants details about her endorsements and royalties as well as music companies and foundations with whom she is affiliated.
Adams’ lawyer, Houston entertainment lawyer Ricky Anderson, said Wednesday that he was unaware of the lawsuit and declined to comment until he could look at the IRS filings and reach Adams, who is headlining on a gospel cruise to the Bahamas this week.
JAMAL WOOLARD GETS HIS B.I.G. BREAK: Rapper to play Biggie in biopic; Derek Luke, Angela Bassett, Anthony Mackie round out cast.
*The months-long search for an actor to play the late Notorious B.I.G. in Fox Searchlight's upcoming biopic "Notorious" has ended with the casting of Brooklyn-based rapper Jamal "Gravy" Woolard.
Two years ago, the budding MC made headlines after he did a radio interview at New York hip-hop station Hot 97 moments after he was shot outside of the building. Like Biggie, Woolard sold drugs before he picked up the mic. He had released a number of albums on indie labels in the 1990s before being signed by Warner Bros.
“Finding BIG was a task in itself and I’m honored that so many young men came out to audition for the role,” said the rapper's mother, Voletta Wallace. “However, it was Jamal's charming personality, warm spirit, wonderful sense of humor and beautiful smile that won my heart. He is a talented and charismatic actor and I am excited that he will bring Christopher's character to the big screen.”
Rounding out the "Notorious" cast is Derek Luke ("Catch a Fire") as Sean "Diddy" Combs, who off-screen is an executive producer on the film; Anthony Mackie as his hip hop rival, Tupac Shakur; and Angela Bassett as Voletta Wallace.
I’m looking forward to working with award-winning actress Angela Bassett,” said director George Tillman Jr. ("Soul Food"). “I’ve been a huge fan of her work for such a long time. She and the entire cast bring such a wealth of talent, I am beyond thrilled.”
Due for release in January 2009, "Notorious" will focus more on the artist's troubled life away from music. Principal photography is scheduled to begin on March 24 in and around the five boroughs of New York.
KELLY ROWLAND GOES UP A CUP SIZE: Singer reveals she underwent breast lift surgery in October.
*Tired of being unable to fill out certain outfits, Kelly Rowland said she decided to book a date with a plastic surgeon last October and increase her bust size.
Revealing the procedure in the March 17 issue of People magazine, the former Destiny's Child member said she got a breast lift to go "from an A-cup to a B-cup."
"I didn't want to have double Ds and be a little bitty size 2 — that would look nuts!" Rowland said.
The 27-year-old said she spent a long time deciding whether or not to have the surgery.
"I was sick of not fitting into my tops," she says. "There was this one really hot House of Dereon top — I just wanted to fill that out!"
Rowland says that top — designed by Beyonce's mom, Tina Knowles — complements her new curves: "I put it on and I looked so good! I'm so happy.
I feel complete."
As for waiting five months to discuss the procedure, Rowland said: "It is a decision I made for myself. I like it, and that's all that counts. For young people: Think about it before you just jump off and do something (you may regret later)."
WHITNEY HOUSTON ALBUM HALFWAY DONE: Clive Davis gives update; project 'on track for holiday release.'
*Whitney Houston has four songs completed for her highly-anticipated, as-yet-untitled comeback album, and four more will be recorded later this month, according to her mentor, BMG Label Group chairman/CEO Clive Davis.
"We're on track for a holiday release," he said during Billboard's Music & Money Symposium yesterday morning. "We're not going to compromise who she is to fit into today's hip-hop radio market. The public wants Whitney material."
So far, tracks for Houston's first studio album since 2002 have been produced or written by will.i.am, Sean Garrett and Akon, who told Billboard.com last year, "The voice is there; I don't think anyone could ever take that from her. As long as we apply that voice to hit records, she'll be right back where she left off."
CHRIS ROCK ON WITNESS LIST IN WIRETAP TRIAL: Court docs say actor retained Anthony Pellicano in a paternity case.
*Chris Rock's name appeared on a list of potential witnesses released Wednesday in the federal wiretapping trial of Hollywood private investigator Anthony Pellicano and four co-defendants.
Opening statements were set to begin yesterday, with Pellicano acting as his own lawyer defending charges that he ran a criminal enterprise that wiretapped phones and bribed police and telephone workers. Prosecutors said he obtained confidential information that could be used to gain advantage in divorce, business and other cases.
According to court documents, reps for Chris Rock retained Pellicano in a paternity battle waged by then 33-year-old former model Monika Zsibrita. She claimed in April 2006 that Pellicano hired a former LAPD sergeant to snoop through her confidential records after she made a paternity claim against the comedian.
Sylvester Stallone and Garry Shandling, also among the potential witnesses announced Wednesday, were alleged victims of Pellicano's alleged wiretapping. Stallone told The Associated Press last month that he would testify if needed.
The witness list compiled by prosecutors included 127 people, but it was not clear how many would actually testify. Also named were Brad Grey, chairman and chief executive officer of Paramount Pictures; Ron Meyer, president and chief executive officer of Universal Studios; and former Walt Disney Co. president and powerful talent agent Michael Ovitz.
BEYONCE, ELBA PLAY MARRIED COUPLE IN THRILLER: Singer and dad/manager also exec produce project for Screen Gems.
*Beyonce Knowles and Idris Elba will play husband and wife in the upcoming motion picture "Obsessed," a thriller for Screen Gems that will begin shooting this summer.
Elba will play an asset manager who has a knockout wife (Knowles) and thriving career until a temp office worker played by Ali Larter (NBC's
"Heroes") begins stalking him. Screen Gems head Clint Culpepper is currently finalizing cast deals, according to Variety.
Knowles is also an executive producer on the project with her father/manager, Mathew Knowles. The pair also teamed to executive produce Sony BMG's "Cadillac Records," which co-stars Beyonce as R&B singer Etta James.
Beyonce is coming off of her starring role in "Dreamgirls," while Elba last appeared in "American Gangster" and will next be seen in "Prom Night," also for Screen Gems.
R. KELLY SUED BY ANOTHER PROMOTER: But case will be hard to prove without signed contract.
*Tour promoter Trevanna Entertainment is suing R. Kelly claiming the R&B singer owes $75,000 in unpaid fees. However, no contract was ever signed by either of the parties agreeing to the payment amount.
In papers filed in New York last week, Trevanna says it was hired by Kelly's national tour promoter to be the "tour director" for the singer's recent "Double Up" outing, according to TMZ.com. Trevanna, however, admitted in its lawsuit that "The parties did not sign such agreement."
In other Kelly legal drama, a concert promoter is seeking $120,000 in damages after Kelly skipped his scheduled gig for a court hearing. Also Ne-Yo's management is suing Kelly's promoter, Rowe Entertainment, for breach of contract for dropping him as the supporting act on Kelly's Double Up tour.
Also, the singer continues to face 14 counts of child pornography in a trial due to begin in May.
MOM WATCHES 'IDOL' WHILE BABY NEARLY DROWNS: Three-year-old left in tub while mother is sidetracked during bath time.
*A 3-year-old in Indianapolis was hospitalized this week after nearly drowning in a bathtub when her mother went to another room to catch part of last Thursday's "American Idol" results show.
Sheila Brooks, a 25-year-old mother of five kids, was giving a bath to her two youngest – Sirius, 3, and Sereena, 1 – when she stepped out to get some clothes from the bedroom. Instead of returning immediately, she stopped for a few minutes to watch a bit of "Idol" with two of her other kids – Daesheana Twyman, 7, and Dasianaye Twyman, 5, according to the Indianapolis Star newspaper.
"Daesheana stated that they were … watching ‘American Idol’ on TV … and her mother suddenly stated that she forgot and left the two youngest children in the tub," Officer Gustavia Dodson wrote in the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department report. Brooks sent Daesheana to finish bathing her little sisters and get them out of the tub. According to police, Daesheana found Sirius submerged underwater and called for her mother, who then performed CPR while Brooks' brother, 38-year-old Darnell Wilson, called 911.
According to the paper, Brooks may be charged with two counts of neglect. Also, police allegedly found “about an ounce of marijuana, five burnt marijuana cigarettes and a scale," in Brooks' bedroom, where the 7- and 5-year-old were watching "Idol."
Sirius was in critical condition Friday at Methodist Hospital. Over the weekend she was responsive, according to police, but hospital spokesman Gene Ford said he is not releasing any further information at the family’s request.
Daesheana, Dasianaye, Sereena and a 4-year-old girl not named in the report were placed in protective custody, police said.
WHOOPI GOLDBERG GIVES PROPS TO PATRICK SWAYZE: Actress says her 'Ghost'
co-star is the reason she won the Oscar.
*Whoopi Goldberg took a moment on "The View" yesterday morning to send love to Patrick Swayze, her co-star in the 1990 film "Ghost" who was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Whoopi said she would've never won a supporting actress Oscar for playing psychic Oda Mae Brown if it weren't for Swayze bending over backwards to convince director Jerry Zucker that she was perfect for the role.
"When I won my Academy Award, the only person I really thanked was Patrick," she told viewers of the ABC show. According to Goldberg, Swayze said, "I'm not making this movie unless you put Whoopi Goldberg in there."
"Ghost" starred Swayze as slain businessman Sam Wheat, who used Oda Mae Brown to communicate with his grieving fiancee (Demi Moore) and solve the mystery of his murder. The 55-year-old actor has been undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer, his rep Annett Wolf said Wednesday.
Goldberg told "The View" audience that she hadn't spoken to Swayze about his health, but she looked into the camera and said: "We want you to feel better — we'll talk soon, I hope."
KANYE, BLIGE, SCOTT AMONG ESSENCE FEST LINEUP: Mag announces talent for annual three-day music celebration.
*Kanye West, Chris Rock, Chris Brown, Mary J. Blige, Jill Scott, Morris Day and The Time, and Maze featuring Frankie Beverly are the first crop of performers confirmed for the 2008 Essence Music Festival.
The annual event will be held this year at the Louisiana Superdome during the Fourth of July weekend.
Michelle Ebanks, President, Essence Communications Inc., states:
"This past year has been amazing for these talented performers and our audience will be thrilled to welcome them home for the ultimate Fourth of July weekend party."
As tradition mandates, R&B supergroup Maze featuring Frankie Beverly will close out the three-day festival on July 6, as they have done since the event began in 1995.
Tickets for the evening concerts are on sale immediately at ticketmaster.com or (800) 488-5252. For updates on performers, hotel accommodations, ticket prices and weekly promotions log on to www.essence.com.
ROBERT DOWNEY JR. PLAYS A BLACK MAN IN NEW FILM: Satire stars celeb as a white actor cast to play African American role.
*Ben Stiller's upcoming film "Tropic Thunder" was previously known as the project that Owen Wilson had to leave due to his reported suicide attempt. On Thursday, the movie became known as the flick that features Robert Downey Jr. as a black man.
Co-written, directed and produced by Stiller, the film is described as a satire of the entire acting profession. Downey Jr. stars as Kirk Lazarus, a character crafted by Stiller to poke fun at Hollywood's overly-committed actors. As seen in a photo from the production released yesterday, Lazarus, a white man, is cast in the role of a black soldier.
Stiller told Entertainment Weekly he was "trying to push it as far as you can within reality," with the intent of satirizing over-the-top actors, not African-Americans. "I had no idea how people would respond to it." But at a recent screening, black viewers liked the film, he said.
"If it's done right, it could be the type of role you called Peter Sellers to do 35 years ago," Downey said. "If you don't do it right, we're going to hell."
The studio plans to debut the trailer online March 17. In one scene, Lazarus tries to bond with a real African-American cast mate by quoting the theme song from "The Jeffersons."
Downey told EW that he is confident he never crossed the line.
"At the end of the day, it's always about how well you commit to the character," he says. "I dove in with both feet. If I didn't feel it was morally sound, or that it would be easily misinterpreted that I'm just C.
Thomas Howell in [Soul Man], I would've stayed home."
SNOOP, LEGEND, RAVEN SET FOR WRESTLEMANIA: Artists join Floyd Mayweather Jr.
for annual event in Orlando.
*Snoop Dogg, John Legend, and actress Raven-Symone will take part in World Wrestling Entertainment's annual WrestleMania XXIV event, to be held on March 30 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla.
As previously reported, boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. will switch sports and step into the ring against 7-foot, 399-pound wrestler Big Show during the extravaganza, which will be broadcast live on pay-per-view.
According to Reuters, Legend will kick off the event by singing "America the Beautiful," while Snoop will serve as celebrity ring announcer for a "BunnyMania" match featuring female wrestlers who have appeared in Playboy.
Raven-Symone, who stars in the upcoming comedy "College Road Trip,"
will host a wish-granting event as well as a "Bacon, Bagels and Biceps"
brunch during WrestleMania weekend.
LIONEL RICHIE LOVED ROCK VERSION OF 'HELLO': Plus, singer/songwriter gushes over grandchild and prepares for ASCAP honor.
*New grandpa Lionel Richie said he was "blown away" by Tuesday night's rock rendition of his hit single "Hello" by "American Idol"
contestant David Cook.
"I'm putting that song out there tomorrow myself with David on it,"
Richie told "Idol" host Ryan Seacrest Thursday morning on his KIIS-FM radio show in Los Angeles. "That is a smash record that David did the other night.
I couldn't believe it...David just played it as if it was his song from the beginning as if there was no Lionel Richie involved...he just killed it."
During the interview, conversation naturally turned toward Richie's nearly two-month-old grandchild Harlow Winter Kate Madden.
He gushed: "Let me just say something. That baby is the sweetest, most beautiful baby. You know how it is. You get prejudiced about your kid.
Well, Nicole's kid is amazing, I have to tell you. And she has turned into a full-fledged mom."
Meanwhile, the former Commodores front man will receive a lifetime achievement honor at music industry group ASCAP's annual awards ceremony on April 9 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.
Richie and fellow honoree Steve Miller will receive Golden Note Awards, which go to songwriters, composers, and artists who have achieved "extraordinary career milestones," ASCAP said in a statement Wednesday.
LOUIS GOSSETT JR. HANDLES 'UNTOLD TRUTH': Actor behind documentary on Negro Baseball Leagues.
*Academy Award-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr. is realizing a lifelong dream to produce and narrate the documentary film "The Untold Truth
- The True Stories of the Negro Baseball Leagues."
The project will focus on the history of “black baseball” - from slavery to Jackie Robinson’s breaking of the color barrier - and celebrate the contributions African-Americans made to United States history through the game.
Gossett said: “'Roots' showcased African-American history from slave trade to emancipation. 'The Untold Truth' picks up the story from there and takes us on a journey that chronicles the accomplishments of African-Americans from the late 1800s to the mid-1900s.”
The documentary will feature today’s icons from sports, music, and entertainment discussing this period in American history and introduce a new generation to the era. The original soundtrack will include some of today’s platinum artists from hip hop, R&B, jazz, and pop.
Gossett is partnering with Los Angeles-based Wrapped Productions and its principals John Rittenour, Gregg Champion, and Gary Ballen, who secured exclusive rights from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum to tell the story.
COS TAKES MESSAGE TO SUBURBAN CLEVELAND: Entertainer continues speaking out against teen pregnancy, crime and school dropout rates.
*Comedian Bill Cosby visited a community college and a predominantly black church in suburban Cleveland Wednesday to continue spreading his message of responsibility within the African American community.
According to the Associated Press, the entertainer stressed the importance of addressing head-on problems such as teen pregnancy, crime and school dropout rates among blacks – calling the issues dirty laundry that need to be washed, not ignored.
The Rev. Marvin McMickle said people who attended Cosby's lecture only to see a celebrity were missing the point. He called Cosby a celebrity who challenges people to look at themselves.
RICK ROSS BRAGS ABOUT TOKING WITH CELEBS: Miami rapper says he's smoked with Bruce Willis, Snoop and Too Short.
*During an interview Monday on Boston's Jam'n 94.5, hosts of The Ramiro and Pebbles Morning Show asked rapper Rick Ross to name the most
famous celebrity he has ever smoked weed with.
The Miami rap star laughed and said, "Bruce Willis," adding, "He doesn't talk too much when he's high - he'll just look at you, you know, 'I'm really smoking with this dude.' You know, I had to introduce him to that African thing, I got him some African."
In a recent interview, Ross copped to being "a weed fanatic,"
stating, "I've smoked blunts with some of the biggest people in the world.
To me, that's my hobby. To be able to say I smoked blunts with Snoop Dogg, I've smoked blunts with Bruce Willis, I've smoked a blunt with Too Short.
I'm what you call a Cannabis Cup Champion."
PARLIAMENT, JOHN LEGEND, FERGIE BOOKED FOR SUNFEST: Annual event kicks off next month in West Palm Beach, Fla.
*John Legend, Fergie, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Steel Pulse, Stephen Marley and Morris Day & the Time are scheduled to perform next month at SunFest, Florida's largest music, art and waterfront festival.
The event till take place from April 30 to May 4 along one of the most scenic sections of Flagler Drive in downtown West Palm Beach.
SunFest is a kick-off to the summer festival and touring season,"
said Paul Jamieson, the event's Executive Director. "We're excited about our line-up and believe it is one of the best in years."
Other entertainment scheduled to perform include Sheryl Crow, The Black Crowes, Natasha Bedingfield, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Hellogoodbye, The Academy Is, Little Feat, Hot Tuna, The Rippingtons, Classic Albums Live, Little River Band and Mindi Abair.
Tickets for SunFest 2008 are on sale now online at www.sunfest.com, at the SunFest store located at 525 Clematis Street in downtown West Palm Beach, and by calling 1-800-SUNFEST or (561) 659-5980.
BLACK ENTERPRISE'S TOP 25 HOLLYWOOD PLAYERS: Oprah, Shonda, Denzel, Will and Halle top the list.
*Black Enterprise's March cover feature, "The Top 25 Moneymakers in Hollywood," touts itself as the "most comprehensive and qualitative measurement of black clout in entertainment."
Oprah Winfrey tops the list after a year that saw her "Oprah Winfrey Show" continue to score the highest ratings of any talk show. She also signed a deal with Discovery Communications to launch OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network, in 2009.
In developing its Bankability Index, the publication evaluated box office revenues, television ads, estimated salaries, name recognition, and major award wins and nominations. The result, reports BE Editorial Director Alan Hughes, "demonstrates that money is the key determinant when it comes to who gets to make plays and who's forced to sit on the sidelines in Tinseltown."
With one of the highest-rated shows on television, "Grey's Anatomy"
creator Shonda Rhimes owns the No. 2 spot on on BE's Top Moneymakers list.
The buzz and the advertising dollars "Anatomy" has generated for ABC Network and its parent company, Walt Disney Co., powered her to the upper echelons of the ranking.
Earning a reported $20 million, plus a percentage of the box office gross for each big-budget film he appears in, Will Smith secures the No. 3 spot. To date, his films have generated $4.9 billion worldwide, placing him at the top of Hollywood's elite.
Denzel Washington continued his box office reign in 2007 with two highly acclaimed films, "American Gangster" and "The Great Debaters,"
earning him the No. 4 slot. "Gangster" generated some $223 million worldwide.
Although Halle Berry reportedly is not making the $14 million salary she earned during her "Catwoman" days, she still receives about $10 million per flick, putting her at No. 5.
Rounding out the list's top 10 are Jamie Foxx (No. 6); The Wayans Family (No. 7); Martin Lawrence (No. 8); Dana "Queen Latifah" Owens (No. 9); and Laurence Fishburne (No. 10).
The entire Top 25 Moneymakers in Hollywood list is available in the March issue of Black Enterprise, on newsstands now.
GRANDMA OBAMA UPSET WITH CAMPAIGN ATTACKS: Sarah Obama comments on recent hits against her grandson.
*Sarah Obama, the 86-year-old Kenyan grandmother of Sen. Barack Obama, is not pleased with the recent dirty tricks leveled against her grandson as he seeks the Democratic nomination for president.
Asked Wednesday about the various tactics used by conservative radio hosts, political bloggers and the campaign of his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton to slow Obama's momentum, Sarah Obama said she is disgusted.
Among the schemes used in recent weeks are the spreading of rumors that he is secretly a Muslim and the repeated use of his middle name — Hussein — by a radio host at a rally for presumptive Republican nominee John McCain.
"Untruths are told that don't have anything to do with what Barack is about," Sarah Obama told the Associated Press in the local Luo language.
"I am very against it."
Obama's half-sister, Auma Obama, said the family gathered inside of their grandmother's house Tuesday night to watch the results come in on a television donated by a family friend.
"Barack's done extremely well and we're very proud of him," Auma Obama said when asked for a reaction to Tuesday's primary losses in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island. "This is like a football match. The game continues."
In recent weeks, two Clinton volunteers in Iowa resigned after forwarding false e-mails falsely saying he was a Muslim and a threat to national security. Matt Drudge, said on his Web site, The Drudge Report, that he was e-mailed a picture of Obama in a turban and robe by the Clinton campaign. But Hillary Clinton said her campaign did not condone any such dirty tricks.
"Bringing such pictures that are trying to imply that not only is he a foreigner, he is a Muslim, is wrong, because that is not what he is,"
scolded Sarah Obama.
The photo was taken when Barack Obama was presented with the outfit while on a visit to his late father's native Kenya. Obama's grandfather had converted to Islam from Roman Catholicism and taken the name Hussein, Sarah Obama said, but his children had inherited only the name, not the religion.
Each person should be able to choose how they worshipped, she said.
"In the world of today, children have different religions from their parents," she said. She, too, is a Christian.
ITTY BITTY BITS: Snoop offended by Oprah; M-Rod in 'Furious 4'; 'Without the King' film about Swaziland woes.
*Snoop Dogg says he used to like Oprah Winfrey – that is, until she reportedly singled him out as a rapper that disparages women through his lyrics. His beef is that he was never invited on her show to defend his actions. "I don't like her no more. I really was offended, because I kind of like her," he told WENN. "I'm very articulate, very intellectual. She didn't even get a chance to even know me." He says his songs these days are "for the women" to make up for his past attitude. He adds, "(I want to) give the ladies something, because I've been so mean and so rude."
*ComingSoon.net is reporting that Michelle Rodriguez will reprise her role of Letty in the upcoming film "The Fast and the Furious 4" for Universal. As previously reported, original actors Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Jordana Brewster have also signed on for the film, in which Brian
(Walker) and Dominic (Diesel) team up to help the feds stop a heroin importer known as Braga. Brian – and ultimately Dominic – wins a place on the criminal's team, where he and his flashy Nissan plan to catch the man red-handed.
*"Without the King," a film that explores Swaziland’s Royal Family, their lavish lifestyle and its effect on the people, opens April 25 at The Quad Cinema in New York City. The film points out that the king has palaces for each of his 14 wives, a fleet of expensive cars, designer wardrobes, and pays for school abroad for his 22 children, while the majority of people in Swaziland suffer in poverty. The disparity is highlighted by a group of “freedom fighters” who seek to remove the King from power and form a constitutional democracy. Their growing anger is chronicled in protest rallies, violent clashes with the police and glimpses into the severe living conditions prevalent in the country.
FBI TO PROBE CIVIL RIGHTS-ERA COLD CASES: Bureau investigating 26 unsolved crimes.
*The FBI is investigating 26 unsolved civil-rights era cases out of nearly 100 referred to the bureau over the last year, according to Director Robert Mueller.
In a statement on Tuesday, Muelller offered the first details about the FBI's efforts to reopen decades-old civil-rights cases since the successful prosecution last summer of a Ku Klux Klansman for his role in the
1964 abduction and killing of two black teenagers.
Of the more than 100 unsolved cases referred to the FBI early last year, Mueller said 95 of them were sent to investigators in 17 field offices around the country. Ultimately, 52 cases were opened and 26 of those were being reviewed by the Justice Department "to determine if additional investigation is necessary," he said.
"For those cases in which we can move forward, we will," he added.
EUR DVD REVIEW: Into the Wild
Ill-Fated Back to Nature Tale Released on DVD
DVD Review by Kam Williams
*When he graduated from Emory University in 1992, Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch) was a gifted student-athlete with a promising future.
However, he had by then become so enamored of back-to-nature enthusiast Jack London and of anarchist Henry David Thoreau that he decided to head into the wilderness alone to pursue a non-material path of contemplation.
So, thumbing his nose at the suburban comforts he was accustomed to, this amateur outdoorsman gave away all of his earthly possessions donated his entire $24,000 in savings to charity before hitchhiking to Alaska to live off the land.
Unfortunately, he forgot to prepare properly for his ill-advised adventure, foolishly failing to take sufficient basic provisions along. As a result, he died of starvation less four months later, and his body was discovered within walking distance of rescue.
At the time of his passing, he was ridiculed by locals fed up with this familiar city slicker phenomenon, because if Chris had simply brought a map or a compass or enough food with him, he could easily have found his way back to civilization. For the closest road was nearby and there were even rescue cabins in the area stocked with rations and emergency supplies.
Thus, it's no surprise that the newspaper reported that "Many Alaskans reacted with rage to his stupidity. You'd have to be a complete idiot to die of starvation [here] in summer." Nonetheless, the late Mr. McCandless' ordeal would become the subject of a sympathetic best-seller by Jon Krakauer.
And by the time it was adapted into a movie by Sean Penn, Chris had been transformed into a full-blown, folk hero. Instead of serving up a cautionary tale, Penn has opted for a hyper-romanticized adventure which bears little resemblance to what really transpired. The upshot is thoroughly entertaining Hollywood fare which holds up a dope as a person deserving of admiration.
Delusional hippie heaven, dude!
Excellent (4 stars)
Rated R for profanity and nudity.
In English and Danish with subtitles.
Running time: 148 minutes
Studi Paramount Home Video
2-Disc DVD Extras: Theatrical trailer and a couple of featurettes.
OPENING THIS WEEK: Kam's Kapsules: Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun
For movies opening March 7, 2008
by Kam Williams
BIG BUDGET FILMS
10,000 B.C. (PG-13 for action violence) Peripatetic prehistoric adventure about a brave young warrior (Steven Strait) who leads a tight-knit band of brothers on an epic journey to the ends of the Earth to rescue the love of his life (Camilla Belle) from the clutches of the warlike tribe who kidnapped her during a raid of their village.
The Bank Job (R for profanity, sexuality, nudity and violence) Jason Statham stars in this action thriller about a struggling car dealer duped by a fetching femme fatale (Saffron Burrows) with a hidden agenda into hatching a plan to burglarize a London bank's safe deposit boxes containing not only millions in cash and jewelry but a treasure trove of dirty secrets.
College Road Trip (G) Coming-of-age comedy about a high school student (Raven Symone') whose plans for a girls-only trip visiting prospective colleges are ruined when her overbearing, police chief father (Martin
Lawrence) insists on accompanying her instead.
INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS
Blindsight (PG for mature themes and mild epithets) Himalayan panoramas serve as the breathtaking backdrop for this mile-high documentary chronicling the daring assault of Mount Everest by a team of blind Tibetan students led by a blind American climber who had previously reached the peak.
CJ7 (PG for mature themes, rude humor, mild epithets and brief smoking) Sci-fi fantasy, set in China, about a cash-strapped widower (Stephen Chow) who gives his son (Xu Jiao) a toy found in a garbage dump, unaware that the mysterious orb is actually an alien with magical powers. (In Mandarin with
subtitles)
Fighting for Life (Unrated) Medical miracles are the subject of this documentary presenting the Iraq War from the perspective of American doctors and nurses toiling tirelessly to save the lives of soldiers wounded on the frontlines.
Frownland (Unrated) Edgy comedy, set in NYC, about a stuttering, door-to-door coupon salesman (Dore Mann) going everywhere in a dead end job.
Girls Rock! (PG for mature themes and mild epithets) Female empowerment documentary devoted to the mega-decibel din at the Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls in Portland, Oregon where pint-sized icons of tomorrow practice, practice, practice power chords on the path to superstardom.
Married Life (Unrated) Romantic triangle thriller, set in the Forties, revolving around a middle-aged adulterer (Chris Cooper) impatient to enjoy his 30 years-younger mistress (Rachel McAdams) who opts to murder rather than divorce his wife (Patricia Clarkson). With Pierce Brosnan as the pal with possibly less than honorable intentions.
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (PG-13 for sexual innuendo and partial
nudity) Frances McDormand stars in the title role of this romantic comedy, adapted from Winifred Watson's 1938 novel of the same name, about an unfairly-fired British nanny who tries a new line of work as the social secretary of an American ollywood sHstarlet (Amy Adams).
Paranoid Park (R for sexuality, profanity and disturbing images) Psychological crime saga, set in Portland, Oregon, about a teenage skateboarder (Gabe Nevins) who compounds his problems by choosing to cover-up the truth about his involvement in the death of the security guard (John Michael Burrowes) he killed accidentally.
Snow Angels (R for profanity, violence, drug use and brief sexuality) Bifurcated bittersweet drama revolving around a small town's loss of innocence in the wake of some deadly shotgun blasts. Ensemble cast includes Kate Beckinsale, Amy Sedaris, Griffin Dunne, Sam Rockwell and Nicky Katt.
EUR MOTIVATIONAL NOTE
Our subconscious minds have no sense of humor, play no jokes and cannot tell the difference between reality and an imagined thought or image.
What we continually think about eventually will manifest in our lives." — Robert Collier: late inspirational author
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
March 7: Guitarist Ernie Isley of the Isley Brothers is 56. Comedian Wanda Sykes is 44. Singer Taylor Dayne is 43.
March 8: Singer Kameelah Williams of 702 is 30.
March 9: Singer Jeffrey Osborne is 60. Rapper C-Miller (formerly
C-Murder) is 37. Actor Emmanuel Lewis ("Webster") is 37. Rapper Chingy is 26. Rapper Bow Wow is 21.
WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
The Queens Book Fair is one of the largest book fairs in NYC and is held annually in Queens (http://www.queensbookfair.com).
Submit your favorite Web site to us along with a 15-20 word (or less) description to info@eurweb.com.
BLACK HISTORY
Mar. 7, 1942: First cadets graduated from flying school at Tuskegee.
Mar. 8, 1945: Phyllis Mae Daley, first of four African American Navy nurses to serve active duty in WW II, receives her commission as an ensign in the Navy Nurse Corps.
Mar. 9, 1997: Rap artist the Notorious B.I.G. is killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. He was 24. (Source: www.BlackFacts.com)
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