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11-05-08 EUR ALL ON ONE PAGE
JENNIFER HUDSON TO CRUSADE AGAINST CRIME: Chicago columnist says actress wants to focus on reducing shooting deaths in inner city.
*Still reeling from the murders of her mother, brother and nephew, Jennifer Hudson says she wants to use the tragedy to speak out against crime and gun violence in the urban community.
Chicago Sun-Times columnist Bill Zwecker reported Tuesday of Hudson's plans to "use the newly formed foundation she established with her sister Julia to try to reduce the daily killings in inner-city communities across the nation."
Zwecker continued: "I'm also hearing that once Hudson has had enough time to work through her grief, she hopes to go public on shows like 'Oprah' to turn the anti-violence campaign into a virtual crusade against gangs, guns and urban crime.
The Hudson-King Foundation for Families of Slain Victims aims to care for families who have lost relatives to a violent crime -- including providing food, shelter, clothing and grief counseling, said Hudson's publicist.
OPRAH HELD CELEB CONFERENCE CALL FOR OBAMA: Plus, today's episode will feature CNN's David Gergen, Rep. John Lewis and more.
*On the day before America cast their vote for president, Oprah Winfrey was busy hooking up a morning conference call among prominent African Americans to discuss the real possibility of a Barack Obama White House.
Politico.com is reporting that the call included Obama himself, as well as Sean "Diddy" Combs, Donna Brazile, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn and the Rev. Joseph Lowery.
The Web site quoted an unnamed participant who said: "Obama talked about being on the cusp of history and what it would say to the world to see his daughters play on the South Lawn of the White House. Oprah told everybody on the line they could make America "truly one nation indivisible."
To do her part in getting out the vote, Oprah's show on Tuesday was devoted in part to various first-time voters - from youngsters who just crossed the age barrier, to immigrants with recent citizenship, to filmmaker Tyler Perry.
Today's live post-election broadcast of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" will feature political experts and analysts across the country providing their take on the 2008 election.
CNN political analyst David Gergen, U.S. Rep. John Lewis and trailblazer Gloria Steinem are among the guests tapped for the post-election discussion.
"Listen as they examine what 'Decision '08' really means and how this groundbreaking election could change the fabric of the country forever," notes a press release from Winfrey's Harpo Productions.
NAS RUSHES OUT OBAMA SONG: Rapper recorded track 'Election Night' yesterday morning.
*While in Oslo, Norway on tour, Nas went into a studio early Tuesday and recorded a new track called "Election Night," in honor of then presidential candidate Barack Obama. [Listen to song here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRIJsWgqmHA]
The Queens MC and first-time voter laid down vocals "in the wee hours of the morning," reports MTV. DJ Green Lantern produced and sent MTV News a copy of the record within hours of its completion.
"I'm currently on tour in Europe with Nas and we were at dinner last night talking about how crazy it is that we're not in the states on Election Day," Lantern wrote in an e-mail. "Someone quoted his verse from 'Black President,' when he said 'What's the Black Prez thinkin' on Election Night?' And Nas said, 'Set up the mic - I'm gonna speak on that.' And the result is 'Election Night.'"
Like "Black President," from Nas' recent "Untitled" LP, "Election Night" samples Obama's voice and touches on Monday's passing of his grandmother, the long early voting lines and more.
"I'm a first-time voter," Nas raps. "How can I front?/ Barack been campaigning like 21 months/ The whole country needs answers / While he has to deal with grandma dying from cancer/ He ain't even got time to weep/ And we standing on line when we normally don't/ People claim black people too lazy to vote."
Further along in the 90-second-long record, Nas predicts a win for Obama and says he'll be at the inauguration.
WE REMEMBER: Music industry executive Jheryl Busby dies at age 59.
*Urban music industry heavyweight Jheryl Busby, the one time CEO of Motown Records, has died, according to reports. The Los Angeles native was 59.
Although he suffered from diabetes, as of this posting, details of his death are not known.
"I am deeply saddened by the loss of Jheryl Busby," said Motown great Smokey Robinson. "I had tremendous respect for the way he continued the Motown legacy and how he soldiered on through his long illness. My condolences to his family at this difficult time."
Busby attended Long Beach State College before launching his career as an inventory clerk at Mattel Toys, eventually working his way up to new-toy coordinator.
Later Busby joined Stax Records--the legendary Memphis-based 1960s soul alternative to Motown's crossover pop that, with its subsidiary, Volt, introduced Carla Thomas, Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Booker T. and the MGs, and the Staples Singers.
Eventually, Busby became head of West Coast promotion and marketing for the label. During the early 1980s, he did promotional work for several record companies, including Casablanca, CBS, A&M, and Atlantic.
Employed by MCA Records as vice-president of the black music division in 1984, Busby enjoyed phenomenal success.
His promotion of such established singers as Patti LaBelle and up-and-coming acts like New Edition catapulted record sales to $50 million in the mid-1980s. When he ended his career at MCA in the late 1980s--as president of the black music division--his sector was number one in the industry in black album sales.
Offered the opportunity to head Motown in 1988, Busby told Michael Lev in the New York Times, "I thought it couldn't get any better: president and CEO of probably the most important record label in America in terms of black music."
MIJAC UPSET WITH JERMAINE OVER TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT: Sun-Times' Bill Zwecker says Jermaine was also wrong about Janet's involvement.
*Chicago Sun-Times columnist Bill Zwecker is reporting that Michael Jackson gave his brother Jermaine "quite the tongue-lashing" for wrongly announcing that he is involved in an upcoming Jackson 5 reunion tour.
According to Zwecker, Jermaine's assertion that Janet Jackson was on board for the tour is also false.
'Both Michael and Janet [Jackson] are not involved in any way,' Zwecker quotes of a longtime MJ pal, 'and Michael really laid into Jermaine for even raising the possibility.'
Michael "is said to be hard at work on a trio of new albums -- including one featuring at least one track with his oldest son, Prince," writes Zwecker. The new CDs reportedly take Jackson's music in a new direction, "one that won't alienate his millions of fans ... but will include some interesting gospel and hip-hop touches we haven't heard before," said the source.
'MONTEL' PRODUCER SEEKS MORE LAWSUIT MONEY: Woman wants additional $3 mil in unfair dismissal suit.
*A former producer of "The Montel Williams Show" is seeking an additional $3 million in damages as part of her unfair dismissal lawsuit against CBS, reports WENN.
Erin Primmer accused the network, which airs the program, of firing her from her $110,000-a-year job after she collapsed on set from a brain aneurysm in March 2007.
Doctors cleared the staffer to resume working in April of that year, but Primmer says she was told that her contract would not be renewed because its executive producer needed "someone capable of handling pressure."
Williams, who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1999, is not named in the lawsuit. But Primmer's lawyer, E. Christopher Murray, has criticized the talk show host for doing nothing when she was let go.
Murray tells the Post: "Coming from a guy who prides himself on helping people who are disabled... it's a little hypocritical."
Primmer, who had been an employee of the network since August 2005, adds in the lawsuit - initially filed in February (08) - that her firing was "a clear violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, New York State and New York City law."
SNOOP DOGG RECORDS ODE TO MUMIA ABU JAMAL: Rapper teams with British act Massive Attack for special track.
*Snoop Dogg and the British trip-hop group Massive Attack have joined forces for the track "Calling Mumia," in honor of jailed former Black Panther leader Mumia Abu Jamal.
The collaboration - under the alias "100 Suns" - appears in the new documentary, "In Prison My Whole Life," which chronicles the life of the convicted murderer. His case has attracted international attention from supporters who believe he was not given a fair trial.
Jamal is currently on Death Row for killing a Philadelphia policeman. The film looks at the years before and after his incarceration.
Snoop's lyrics include "The way I live now is to educate and elevate the kids/ and give them more than weed and bottles of beer....I got a lot to say/ cuz ain't no fun when you're locked away."
JAMES EARL JONES TO APPEAR ON CBS SITCOM: Veteran actor to play clergyman on 'Two and a Half Men.'
*Stage and screen legend James Earl Jones will take a guest starring turn on the CBS comedy "Two and a Half Men," sources tell TVGuide.com.
The eight-time Emmy nominee will use his signature baritone to play a clergyman who officiates a funeral for Charlie, played by Charlie Sheen. Sources say the funeral does not mean Sheen's character is actually deceased.
In the past, Jones has been the voice of Darth Vader, CNN and Mufasa of Walt Disney's "Lion King."
LIONEL RICHIE TAPS AKON, NE-YO FOR NEW CD: R&B vet's "Just Go" due in stores Feb. 17.
*Lionel Richie has enlisted Akon and Ne-Yo as co-writers on his upcoming album "Just Go," due Feb. 17 from Island.
"Just Go" is the follow-up to 2006's "Coming Home," which has sold 444,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
The set's first single, "Good Morning," was just shipped to urban adult-contemporary radio stations, reports Billboard.com.
Richie, the father of socialite Nicole Richie, was due to perform last night on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" and Dec. 31 on Dick Clark's "New Year's Rockin' Eve." A world tour begins March 13 in Dublin.
LIL' WAYNE IS NOT DEAD: Rapper is latest victim of Internet death rumor - this time in Britain.
*Lil Wayne became the victim of a death hoax last weekend when a fabricated BBC News page reported that he had been killed in a gang dispute.
According to the fake site, Wayne was supposedly riddled with bullets in the early hours of Saturday morning, following a beef between the Bloods and the Crips.
The page, which can be seen at www.Kineticnorth.com, claimed the rapper had been pronounced dead after being shot six times, reports NME. The hoax caused rumors of Wayne's murder to circulate around the Internet over the weekend.
A similar online death hoax using the same "BBC News" generator also appeared this weekend suggesting U.K. rapper Wiley had also died.
ALLEN IVERSON TRADED TO PISTONS: Former Denver Nugget heads east to replace Billups, McDyess and Samb.
*Allen Iverson was traded from Denver to the Detroit Pistons on Monday in a major NBA shakeup that could but both clubs in better position for a championship title.
The 33-year-old guard, in the final year of his $21.9 million contract, went to the Pistons while Detroit guard Chauncey Billups, forward Antonio McDyess and Senegalese center Cheikh Samb were sent to the Nuggets.
"We are pleased to welcome Allen Iverson to the Pistons organization," said the team's president of basketball operations Joe Dumars. "Allen has proven he is one of the elite players in the league and we like what he adds to our roster at the guard position."
Iverson, in his 13th NBA season, has played for Denver since being traded from Philadelphia in December of 2006 alongside Carmelo Anthony. He was named the NBA Most Valuable Player in 2001 when he helped lift Philadelphia to the NBA Finals, where the 76ers lost to the Los Angeles Lakers.
50 CENT TEAMS WITH BETTE MIDLER FOR GARDEN: Patch of earth part of singer's 'NY Restoration Project.'
*50 Cent appeared with veteran entertainer Bette Midler on Monday to celebrate the opening of "The Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson Community Garden" in Queens, New York.
The garden is part of Midler's New York Restoration Project, which reclaims, restores and maintains neglected public spaces.
"I called and nagged him," Midler said, describing to People.com how she got the rapper involved with the garden. "His G-Unity Foundation gives a million dollars away every year in grants to non profits all over the city ... They're just brilliant."
The garden, located in 50's hometown of Jamaica, Queens, will mainly serve as a living classroom for neighborhood school children to learn about how food grows.
"I wish I had this to come to when I was growing up around here," he said. "The opportunity to create this garden for the youth and the community is a great one." Besides, he noted, "When Bette calls you don't say 'no.'
Not if you want your reputation to stay the way it is."
When asked if their collaboration will extend into the recording studio, 50 said "Absolutely!" before sharing a laugh and a hug with the singer.
"He's producing my next record," the "Beaches" star said with a wink. "I will be rapping. He's writing a song for me right now."
BROADWAY'S CHICAGO GETS A NEW MAMA MORTON: 'Color Purple's' LaVon Fisher-Wilson to replace Carol Woods.
*LaVon Fisher-Wilson, who made her Broadway debut in The Color Purple, will join the Tony Award-winning revival of Kander and Ebb's Chicago, from Nov. 14 through Jan 1, 2009, reports Playbill News.
Fisher-Wilson will succeed Carol Woods as Matron "Mama" Morton in the long-running production at the Ambassador Theatre (215 West 49th St.). The musical revival will also celebrate its 12th anniversary and its 5,000th performance on Broadway Nov. 14.
LaVon Fisher-Wilson received the Suzi Award for her portrayal of Gran Mimi in Jelly's Last Jam at the Alliance and has also been seen in productions of Once on This Island; Crowns; Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope; Dreamgirls; Tommy; and Beehive.
Visit www.chicagothemusical.com for additional information.
JAY-Z'S ROCAWEAR ENDURES BAD ECONOMY: Clothing line helps parent company turn a profit.
*Jay-Z's Rocawear fashion line has managed to stay above water and earn money for its parent company Iconix Brand Group despite a dramatic downturn in the U.S. economy.
Iconix, which bought Rocawear from Jay-Z in 2007 for $204 million, banked more than $18.3 million for the third quarter of 2008, reports Allhiphop.com.
According to Iconix CEO Neil Cole, Jay-Z's direct involvement with Rocawear helped boost the company's earnings, as did growing sales from the company's London Fog brand of clothing, the Web site reported. According to Cole, the two brands were the "two biggest standouts in the quarter."
Rocawear also recently debuted its first fragrance, 9IX Rocawear.
ITTY BITTY BITS: Lauryn Hill sighting; Laila reps ADA; Lewis Hamilton wins; 'Smokin' Aces' prequel; Scary Spice in Egypt.
*The New York Post's Page Six says Lauryn Hill and four of her five children were spotted in New Jersey recently at Martha Stewart's book-signing for her newest title, "Martha Stewart's Cooking School," at Williams-Sonoma at Short Hills Mall.
*The American Diabetes Association (ADA) has tapped Laila Ali as the spokesperson for the new promotion Kiss Diabetes Goodbye, developed to reinforce its outreach efforts to raise awareness about the seriousness of diabetes throughout American Diabetes Month. The effort invites consumers to help raise a total of $1 million in one month for diabetes research, advocacy, and education programs in the community. "With the help of Laila Ali, we hope to involve a large audience of adults and children throughout the country," says Stewart Perry, Chair of the Board of the Association.
*Lewis Hamilton, Formula One's new world champion, has been speaking about the thrilling moment when he grabbed the title with just seconds to go - making history as the sport's youngest and first black world champion. Speaking to the BBC's Adam Parsons, the 23-year-old from Stevenage said he wanted to win again next year but does not plan to wait until "the last corner of the last lap to do it." Listen to entire interview here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7707337.stm
*A prequel to the film "Smokin' Aces" has been greenlit by Universal, reports ComingSoon.net. The original 2007 action flick featured Taraji Henson, Common and Alicia Keys among its all-star cast. No announcements were made regarding returning actors. "Smokin' Aces" writer/director Joe Carnahan broke the news on his official Web site on Oct.
30.
*People.com is reporting that Melanie Brown and her husband Stephen Belafonte stopped at the Borgata Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City en route to Egypt to renew their vows. "They were holding hands the entire time," a source says of the two, who wed in June 2007. The couple reportedly danced and sipped champagne throughout the night.
FLA. BOARD KEEPS KLAN LEADER'S NAME AT H.S.: Members vote 5-2 to retain name Nathan Bedford Forrest High School.
*A Florida school board voted late Monday night to keep the name of a Confederate general and early Ku Klux Klan leader at a majority black high school, despite opposition from a black board member who said the school's namesake was a "terrorist and racist."
After hearing about three hours of public comments, Duval County School Board members voted 5-2 to the retain the name of Nathan Bedford Forrest High School, reports the Associated Press. The board's two black members cast the only votes to change the name.
"(Forrest) was a terrorist and a racist," argued board member Brenda Priestly Jackson, who is black.
Betty Burney, the board chairman and the board's other black member, also voted against retaining the name.
"It is time to turn the page and get beyond where we are," she said. Board member Tommy Hazouri voted to keep the name and said it is difficult to know "who the real Forrest is."
The board listened to passionate arguments from those on both sides. More than 140 people crowded into the meeting room, with another 20 watching the meeting on a television in the lobby.
Many urged a name change, saying the Forrest name was an insult.
"Nathan Bedford Forrest was part of the Ku Klux Klan, no matter how you put it. Nathan Bedford Forrest needs to be changed," said Stanley Scott, who is black.
But several spoke favorably of the general, saying the perceptions that Forrest was an evil man who ordered the massacre of Union troops were incorrect. June Cooper, who graduated from Forrest in 1970, said some people wanted to wipe out Southern history.
"He was a good man," said Cooper, who is white. "He was a military genius."
Despite her opposition, the board's chairwoman noted that the intensely debated issue could distract from students' education and had even prompted one person to receive death threats for wanting the name changed.
"The naming of a school should not take precedence over someone's life," she said.
Some had suggested naming the school after the street it sits on, or honoring a graduate whose plane was shot down in 1991 over Iraq on the first night of Operation Desert Storm.
Forrest High School, which has received two consecutive "F" grades on state assessment tests, opened as an all-white school in the 1950s. Its name was suggested by the Daughters of the Confederacy, who saw it as a protest to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that eventually integrated the nation's public schools.
But now more than half Forrest High's students are black.
EUR FILM REVIEW: Changeling
Mysterious 1928 Kidnapping Revisited Courtesy of Clint Eastwood
Film Review by Kam Williams
*When a movie opens with an absolute assurance that what you’re about to watch is “A True Story” you certainly expect to see a historical drama far more credible than the patently absurd Changeling.
Perhaps, if director Clint Eastwood had qualified the claim with words like “Based upon” or “Inspired by,” the picture’s preposterous premise might have been a lot easier to swallow.
The point of departure is March 9, 1928, which is when we are introduced to Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie), a single-mom raising a nine year-old (Gattlin Griffith) in the City of Los Angeles.
By profession, Christine roams around the floor of the phone company on roller skates as the supervisor of a bank of operators.
The plot thickens the fateful Saturday she agrees to fill-in for a co-worker, leaving little Walter home alone. By the time she returns after the shift, the boy has vanished without a clue, so she calls the police to file a missing persons report.
Several months later the cops seem to have solved the mystery, as they announce that Walter’s been found alive and well in DeKalb County, Illinois and that he’s on his way back to L.A. by rail. However, Christine’s hopes are soon dashed when she sees that the child who disembarks from the train is an impostor (Devon Conti) who’s four inches too short.
Now, this is where the movie starts to make no sense. Instead of accepting the mother’s simple assertion that this was not her son, we’re led to believe the LAPD instead pressured Christine to take custody of a perfect stranger because the department was more concerned with getting positive press coverage for cracking the case than with reality.
Doesn’t that sound inhuman? And how long could a young impersonator keep up such a charade, even if he had wanted to? Wouldn’t the fraud have been exposed the first time “Walter” went out to play with his friends, visited relatives, greeted neighbors or returned to school and was unrecognized by his teachers or classmates? Something simply doesn’t add up here.
Be that as it may, the authorities’ reaction to Christine’s offer of physical evidence is to have her committed to a mental institution, rather than to ascertain the accuracy of such readily verifiable claims as whether or not her son was circumcised. And a grassroots movement led by Reverend Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich), a corruption-fighting crusader, apparently had no impact either.
Only when a mass grave with a score of bodies is uncovered on the ranch of a serial killer (Jason Butler Hamer), does anyone in power start to believe Christine might not be psychotic after all. Released from the institution, she enlists the bro bono assistance of a hotshot attorney (Geoffrey Pierson), and the dominos start to fall as the careers of the Mayor (Reed Birney), Chief of Police (Colm Feore) and a Captain (Jeffrey Donovan) crumble in the wake of a well-publicized, review board hearing.
Regrettably, neither the painstakingly recreated period backdrops nor an abundance of inspired performances outweigh Changeling’s fatal flaw of resting upon a totally fanciful conceit, pretensions to the truth notwithstanding. A crime saga strictly for the very gullible.
Fair (1 star)
Rated R for profanity, violence and disturbing content.
Running time: 141 minutes
Studi Universal Pictures
To see a trailer for Changeling, visit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57_t2BFZaK8
EUR MOTIVATIONAL NOTE
"Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do." — John Wooden
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Nov. 5: Singer Angelo Moore of Fishbone is 43. Actress Judy Reyes ("Scrubs") is 37.
WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
Ladies, do you need another pair of shoes? If so, here's a site with shoes in all colors and styles (www.headoverheelzonline.net/).
Submit your favorite Web site to us along with a 15-20 word (or less) description to info@eurweb.com.
BLACK HISTORY
Nov. 5, 1836: Theo Wright becomes the first black person to get a Theology degree in the U.S. (Source: www.BlackFacts.com)
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