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09-26-08 EUR ALL ON ONE PAGE
OPRAH LEAPS INTO DISNEY'S 'FROG': Talk show titan to voice character in studio's first animated film starring black princess.
*Oprah Winfrey has joined the voice cast of Walt Disney's animated "The Princess and the Frog," in the role of Eudora, the mother of the main character, Princess Tiana, voiced by Anika Noni Rose.
Set in the French Quarter of New Orleans, the film is Disney's first animated effort starring an African American princess. However, this isn't Winfrey's first time voicing an animated character.
Most recently, she played Judge Bumbleton in "Bee Movie," and she also provided dialogue for Gussy the Goose in the live-action "Charlotte's Web."
John Lasseter, the chief creative office at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, also announced that Randy Newman has written six new songs for "The Princess and the Frog." He appeared in person at the studio's presentation Wednesday to perform one of the tunes, "Down in New Orleans."
"The Princess and the Frog" is set for release in late 2009.
BUSTA NEARLY STOPPED AT BRITAIN'S DOOR: Rapper first denied, then allowed entry into country for charity concert.
*Rapper Busta Rhymes will make his scheduled appearance at a charity concert in Britain tonight after immigration officials in the country decided to grant his visa after first turning him down.
Stephen Greene of RockCorps said Thursday that Rhymes, born Trevor George Smith Jr., was detained at London City Airport by immigration officers who said their refusal to allow him into the country was based on his "unresolved convictions" in the United States.
But a High Court judge ruled that he was entitled to either bail or immediate release while he formulated a defense. Justice Julian Flaux ordered a hearing for Rhymes' legal challenge to the government's attempt to keep him out of Britain. It will likely be held this afternoon.
Before this year Rhymes had been allowed into Britain twice, both times occurring after his alleged "unresolved convictions," the promoter said.
As previously reported, Rhymes has signed with Universal Motown to release his upcoming album "B.O.M.B." on Dec. 9.
LUDACRIS LOSES POOL HOUSE TO FIRE: Rapper was out of town; relative in main house saw flames and called for help.
*A fire has destroyed the pool house of rapper-actor Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, fire officials tell the Associated Press.
The rapper was out of town Wednesday night when flames engulfed the structure on his property, located outside of Atlanta. Fulton County Fire Department spokesman Gregory Chambers says a relative was in the basement of the main residence when the fire broke out and was not injured.
Chambers says the fire was extinguished within 30 minutes, but not before it destroyed the pool house, which he says is larger than most homes.
The fire was being investigated but the cause was not immediately identified.
MARIAH CAREY CAUGHT IN PREGNANCY RUMOR: Reports surfaced that she was to announce baby news on Oprah.
*Oprah Winfrey is denying rumors that Mariah Carey cancelled an upcoming appearance on her talk show that was supposed to announce her alleged pregnancy.
The singer was reportedly set to reveal that she and her husband Nick Cannon are expecting, but a rep for Oprah's Harpo production company said there are no plans to have Mariah on the show either now or in the immediate future.
Also, a rep for Carey denies that she's even pregnant.
MAXWELL ADDS DATES TO COMEBACK TOUR: New shows in Toronto, NYC; second nights in Oakland, Houston and D.C. in itinerary.
*R&B artist Maxwell is expanding his upcoming tour to include two new dates, as well as extra nights in cities that have been previously confirmed, reports LiveDaily.com.
The trek in support of his forthcoming "Black Summers' Night" trilogy of albums kicks off Oct. 8 in Boston, and now includes new appearances in Toronto (10/12) and New York City (11/23), as well as second nights in Oakland, CA (10/28-29); Houston (11/6-7) and Washington, DC (11/17-18).
Maxwell has described the tour in statements to the press as a "pre-party tour celebration" for the forthcoming "Black Summers' Night," which the artist expects to release over the next three years. The first installment, titled "Black," is due out sometime this year on Columbia, and streaming audio of the first track from the set, "Pretty Wings," can be heard at Maxwell's MySpace page.
The following pieces of the trilogy, "Summers'" and "Night," are planned to follow next year and in 2010.
Here is the revised itinerary for Maxwell's tour:
October 2008
8 - Boston, MA - Opera House
9 - New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall 10 - Wallingford, CT - Chevrolet Theater
12 - Toronto, Ontario - Massey Theatre
14 - Cincinnati, OH - Taft Theater
15 - St. Louis, MO - Fox Theater
17 - Indianapolis, IN - Murat Theater
18 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theater
19 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theater
21 - Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theater
22 - Omaha, NE - Music Hall
23 - Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theater
25 - Denver, CO - Paramount Theater
28, 29 - Oakland, CA - Paramount Theater
31 - Las Vegas, NV - Pearl
November 2008
1 - Los Angeles, CA - Shrine Auditorium
6, 7 - Houston, TX - Verizon Theater
8 - Dallas, TX - Majestic Theater
10 - Birmingham, AL - BJCC Hall
11 - Memphis, TN - Orpheum Theater
12 - Atlanta, GA - Civic Center
14 - Greensboro, NC - War Memorial
15 - Richmond, VA - Landmark Theater
17, 18 - Washington, D.C. - Constitution Hall
21 - Philadelphia, PA - Susquehanna Center
23 - New York, NY - United Palace Theatre
WILL SMITH TO RETURN FOR 'LEGEND' PREQUEL: Actor reteams with director Francis Lawrence for new film.
*Will Smith has agreed to reprise his role as scientist Robert Neville in a prequel to his 2007 blockbuster "I Am Legend."
Francis Lawrence will also return as director of the project, which is based on a detailed outline that was written over the past few months by Lawrence, Smith and the film's producers Akiva Goldsman and James Lassiter, according to Variety.
The prequel will chronicle the final days of humanity in New York before a man-made virus caused a plague that left Smith's character the lone survivor among a mutated mob in the city.
Making a prequel was the only way to stretch a franchise that grossed $584 million worldwide for Warner Bros. and keep Smith in the lead role. His character was killed in the first film, after extracting a potential cure for the virus for the scattered survivors.
ELVIS MITCHELL GETS SOME OF HIS CASH RETURNED: Border agents seized thousands at Detroit-Windsor tunnel.
*Film critic Elvis Mitchell will get back some of the money seized by border agents at the Detroit-Windsor tunnel when he failed to declare thousands of dollars upon entry into the U.S.
Federal prosecutors have agreed to return $5,880 to Mitchell, nearly half the $12,000 seized by the feds in April, reports the Associated Press. Anyone carrying more than $10,000 into the U.S. must report it.
Mitchell, a film critic for The New York Times and NPR, among others, was entering Detroit in a cab from Canada when most of the money was discovered in a cigar box, along with 15 Cuban cigars, which are illegal to import.
Mitchell said the whole thing was a big mistake. He claimed to have grabbed the wrong cigar box when he left New York for Toronto on the first leg of his trip.
"If we believed it was from an unlawful source, or intended for an unlawful purpose, we would not have settled the case," Assistant U.S. Attorney Rita Foley said Thursday. She declined to discuss how the government settled on 49 percent for Mitchell.
T.I. TOPS HOT 100 AFTER ONE WEEK BREAK: Also, Kanye's 'Love Lockdown' debuts at a career-best No. 3.
*The three-week reign of T.I.'s "Whatever You Like" on Billboard's Hot 100 chart was interrupted last week by Pink's No. 1 hit "So What." But it reclaims the top spot this week fueled by sales of more than 202,000 digital downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
T.I.'s current single is also the fastest-growing track at radio this week, and ends the four-week rule of Jazmine Sullivan's "Need U Bad" on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
Kanye West's new single "Love Lockdown" debuts at a career-best No. 3 on the Hot 100 after first-week digital sales of 218,000, also a career high, according to Billboard.
Rihanna's "Disturbia" drops 3-4, followed by Taylor Swift's "Love Story," M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes," Ne-Yo's "Closer" and T-Pain's "Can't Believe It" featuring Lil Wayne at Nos. 5-8, respectively.
Katy Perry's "Hot N Cold" jumps 12-9, followed by Estelle's "American Boy" featuring Kanye West, which drops 9-10.
Former Hootie & the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker scores his first No. 1 on Hot Country Songs as "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" leaps 3-1. The artist's Capitol Nashville country debut, "Learn To Live," opened at No. 5 on The Billboard 200 yesterday.
JAY-Z, STARGATE FORM LABEL: Mogul teams with songwriting/production duo for venture under his Live Nation deal.
*Jay-Z and Norwegian songwriting/production duo Stargate have joined forces to form StarRoc, a new record label and publishing company under Jay-Z's Roc Nation venture with Live Nation.
According to Billboard, "the focus is to find new talent and develop artists through mutually beneficial global partnerships which include music distribution, publishing, touring and merchandising."
Stargate (Tor Erik Hermansen and Mikkel S. Eriksen) has produced several big hits for artists Jay-Z nurtured while president of Def Jam, including Rihanna and Ne-Yo. The duo is currently represented on the Hot 100 by Ne-Yo's "Closer" (No. 7), Rihanna's "Take a Bow" (No. 27) and Jennifer Hudson's "Spotlight" (No. 41).
Stargate work will be heard on upcoming albums from Lindsay Lohan, Beyonce, Monica, R. Kelly and Keyshia Cole.
Meanwhile, Jay-Z's new album, "Blueprint 3," is expected before year's end. It's his last under contract for Def Jam before he begins recording for Live Nation.
OBAMA EFFIGY HUNG IN OREGON: Cardboard cut-out of candidate found hanging from tree at small Christian university.
*A life-sized cardboard cut-out of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama was found hanging from a tree on the campus of a small Christian university in Newberg, Oregon.
According to the Associated Press, officials at George Fox University said a custodian discovered the effigy early Tuesday and removed it. University spokesman Rob Felton said Wednesday that the commercially produced reproduction had been suspended from the branch of a tree with fishing line around the neck.
Taped to the cardboard cutout was a message targeting participants in Act Six, a scholarship program geared toward increasing the number of minority and low-income students at several Christian colleges, mostly in the Northwest. The message read, "Act Six reject."
The school has 17 students in the Act Six program, whose name derives from the New Testament book of Acts. All but one are members of minority groups, Felton said. Students in the program receive full scholarships and are selected on the basis of leadership potential.
Administrators said Wednesday they do not know who hung the effigy, but school officials are working with the Newberg police to find out who was responsible. Felton said few people saw the effigy before it was taken down.
Newberg police Sgt. Tim Weaver said the police department has notified the U.S. Secret Service, although it's not clear yet whether the act was a crime.
At the end of the college's regular chapel service Wednesday, George Fox University President Robin Baker told students he was "disheartened and outraged."
"It has been my dream to establish a university that more adequately represents the kingdom of God," he said. "This act causes some to question our commitment."
Baker added, "What I've learned is we still have work to do."
SAM MOORE UPSET WITH 'SOUL MEN' FILM: Singer says plot appears to be based on his famous stint with Dave Prater.
*Veteran R&B singer Sam Moore says he should've gotten some kind of recognition from producers of the upcoming film "Soul Men" because of its similarities to his own singing career with Dave Prater as "Sam and Dave."
The movie stars Samuel L. Jackson and the late Bernie Mac as estranged members of a legendary soul group who reunite for a gig after another member dies.
"In the movie, they have a reunion concert," Moore, who made "Soul Man" a hit with Sam and Dave, tells New York Daily News columnists Rush & Malloy. "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,'" says Moore. "That's also our song."
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 says. "Whoa. You know, slavery times have ended."
Moore, 72, is also put off by how much the N-word is reportedly used by the characters.
"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."
HOUSE TO INVESTIGATE CHARLES RANGEL: Ethics committee to probe his use of congressional stationery to seek donors.
*The House of Representatives will launch an inquiry into Rep. Charles Rangel, the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, to investigate his use of congressional stationery to seek donors for a public policy institute in his name at City College of New York.
The Associated Press reports that the ethics committee of Congress announced they have established a subcommittee to conduct the probe.
The committee will also investigate Rangel's use of four rent-stabilized apartments leased in the Lenox Terrace apartment complex in Harlem, the financing of the beachfront villa leased in the Dominican Republic, and his questionable storage of a late-model Mercedes Benz in the house garage.
In a statement the committee said it will determine whether Rangel "violated the Code of Official Conduct, or any law, rule, regulation or other standard of conduct applicable to his conduct in the performance of his duties."
50 CENT TO GET CONN. KEY TO THE CITY: Bridgeport will honor rapper in ceremony to be held next month.
*The town of Bridgeport, Conn has decided to honor its most famous resident, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, with a key to the city.
The actor, who owns a 19-bedroom home in nearby Farmington, will be presented with the key during a ceremony on Oct. 12, which will officially be known as Curtis Jackson Day.
Jackson, who filmed his new movie "Righteous Kill" in the state alongside Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino, says he will not go overboard in celebrating his new status.
"I'd probably just have a nice picnic," he said. "But everybody should have a block party - with just my music being played."
WILL.I.AM, KIDJO JOIN ANTI-POVERTY CAMPAIGN: YouTube effort hopes to cut global poverty in half by 2015.
*Musicians Will.I.am and Angelique Kidjo were among the celebs gathered at the United Nations Thursday to launch a new campaign designed to cut global poverty in half by 2015.
According to the Associated Press, Will.I.am and his Black Eyed Peas group member apl.de.ap performed a new song written for the Global Call to Action against Poverty called "in my name" outside the UN, where world leaders are gathered this week.
"It's calling individuals to realize their power in solving global poverty and ending world hunger," Will.I.am sang. "Enforcing the politicians to keep what they promised and picking the world leaders that will lead the world honest."
"How can we continue this injustice and move forward, how can we prepare the next generation not to repeat the same mistakes that are happening today?" said Kidjo, who is from Benin. "As an African artist, as an African mother, as an African person I cannot just standby."
Also on hand Thursday was actress Kristin Davis, model Elle Macpherson, Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and economist Jeffrey Sachs.
YouTube launched a new channel on its site Thursday where users can upload a video stating their name, home country, and a message to their government about the need to meet the poverty goals.
Steve Grove, head of news and politics for YouTube, said the company will accept videos until Nov. 1, at which point Will.I.am will mash up all the videos into another version of the song. He then will present it to world leaders and broadcast it directly to the U.N.
ED MCMAHON TO RAP FOR MONEY: Johnny Carson's sidekick to star in two viral videos for FreeCreditReport.com.
*Financially-strapped TV personality Ed McMahon has signed on to star in two viral rap videos for FreeCreditReport.com, a financial Web site owned by credit bureau Experian.
The 85-year-old former sidekick to Johnny Carson appears in the videos wearing a tracksuit and being chauffeured around Los Angeles in a Cadillac Escalade golf cart.
In the first clip, McMahon - who once pitched the American Family Publishing sweepstakes - and a bodyguard are cruising through a neighborhood looking for sweepstakes winners to ask for some money back.
In the second spot, McMahon wears a new suit after undergoing a financial and emotional makeover. His rap, which he spent one day in the studio recording, centers on his dire financial situation.
"When I retired, I was famous," McMahon spits in the video. "I had money and glory/I bought a house for 6 mil/I thought nothing could touch me/Until my credit went south, and debt started to crunch me/Next thing I know, instead of playing gin rummy, I was scrambling just to make ends meet/It wasn't funny."
After being joined by two scantily clad women, McMahon continues: "Got a bump from the media chumps, but that was temporary/Wife with bad credit was scary, so I got wise/I may have fallen, but I got back up/Now I'm back on the attack, like a ninja swinging nunchucks/I told the haters, 'Go on, take a hike'/It's my show now, and I can do what I like."
McMahon said he hopes his involvement in the videos, which debut online in October, will inspire viewers to learn from his mistakes and become more aware about their finances.
When asked if he would consider releasing a full-length rap album, McMahon said: "Not immediately."
ITTY BITTY BITS: Sam Jackson honored; Warren Sapp a diva?; T-Pain's hearse.
*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."
SENATE APPROVES BILL TO PROBE CIVIL RIGHTS MURDERS: Legislation to give $10 million annually over 10 years.
*The Senate passed legislation Wednesday that would give the Justice Department more money to investigate unsolved murders from the civil rights era, reports the Associated Press.
The bill authorizes $10 million annually over 10 years to help the FBI and other agencies take a fresh look at dozens of cold cases, mostly in the South. Additional funds are included for local law enforcement agencies.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., is named after Emmett Till, a black teenager murdered in Mississippi in 1955 after being accused of whistling at a white woman. No one has been convicted in his death.
The House passed a similar bill last summer sponsored by Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. But the measure had stalled in the Senate due to opposition from Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who has single-handedly blocked dozens of bills for their spending provisions.
Coburn sought his own legislation that would have taken money from other areas of the budget to pay for the civil rights initiative. But Democrats refused to go along, and Coburn ultimately abandoned his opposition. The bill passed unanimously Wednesday.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the idea has always had broad bipartisan support and called it "shameful" that Coburn had delayed the legislation for a year. Coburn was unapologetic.
"For the victims of these decades-old crimes, justice delayed is justice denied," he said. "Yet, it is also unjust that Congress' borrow and spend approach to passing legislation will burden future generations with the cost of today's well-intentioned, but fiscally irresponsible, efforts."
Since 1989, state and federal authorities have made about 29 arrests in civil rights crimes, leading to 23 convictions, according to civil rights organizations and others. Last year, the FBI announced a new Cold Case Initiative to redouble efforts at cracking other long-ignored crimes. But the initiative - a partnership with civil rights groups - has no stand-alone budget, and civil rights leaders have expressed disappointment that it hasn't resulted in new prosecutions.
The new funding in the Till legislation must be appropriated in subsequent spending legislation.
EUR MOTIVATIONAL NOTE
"A human being is a part of the whole, called by us 'the universe.' Our tasks must be to widen our circle of compassion. To embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." — Albert Einstein
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Sept. 26: Singer Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men is 36. Singer Christina Milian is 27.
Sept. 27: Producer Don Cornelius ("Soul Train") is 72. Rapper Lil' Wayne is 26.
Sept. 28: Blues singer Koko Taylor is 80. Singer Ben E. King is 70.
WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
Soulful Detroit is just that ... a site dedicated to old school Detroit soul artists, labels and more. Check it out at www.SoulfulDetroit.com.
Submit your favorite Web site to us along with a 15-20 word (or less) description to info@eurweb.com.
BLACK HISTORY
Sept. 26, 1962: A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., becomes the first African American member of the Federal Trade Commission. He was also appointed a federal district judge and U.S. Circuit Judge of the Third Circuit.
Sept. 27, 1905: First published blues composition, W,C. Handy's "Memphis Blues," went on sale in Memphis.
Sept. 28, 1829: Walker's Appeal, an antislavery pamphlet, published in Boston by David Walker. The Appeal denounced slavery and called for slave revolt. (Source: www.BlackFacts.com)
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