DENZEL TOASTS FREEMAN AT KENNEDY CENTER HONORS: Plus, Latifah, Beyonce, Ne-Yo sing for Streisand.
*The 31st annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington opened Sunday with Denzel Washington and Clint Eastwood toasting the night's first honoree, Morgan Freeman.
According to Variety, Washington discussed the actor's difficult road to stardom, which included years of bit parts and even a gig dancing behind Chita Rivera at the 1964 New York World's Fair. He said the movie star's memorable role in "Driving Miss Daisy" persuaded Hollywood that Freeman "could give truth to any character he played."
The Oscar-winner's love of blues was represented by musical tributes from B.B. King and Koko Taylor.
Other artists presented with the Kennedy Center's prestigious life achievement award were Barbra Streisand, country singer George Jones, choreographer Twyla Tharp and British rockers Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of The Who.
The show ended with the Streisand tribute, hosted by Queen Latifah and featuring musical salutes from Beyonce, Idina Menzel, Ne-Yo, Kelli O'Hara and Nathan Gunn.
The ceremony, attended by President Bush and other luminaries, was preceded by a weekend of festivities for the honorees. Saturday evening, an Artists Committee dinner took place at the State Dept., hosted by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Previous honoree Eastwood emceed that evening's highlight, the presentation of the colorful awards worn by each recipient. In addition, each honoree was lauded by a close colleague, including "Daisy" author Alfred Uhry for Freeman.
Prior to the gala, President and Mrs. Bush greeted honorees at a White House reception.
The Kennedy Center Honors airs Dec. 30 on CBS.
TYRA, OPRAH, TYLER AMONG TV'S 'SMARTEST': EW magazine ranks television's biggest movers and shakers.
*Whoopi Goldberg, Tyra Banks, Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry appear on Entertainment Weekly's 25 Smartest People in TV, a list of small-screen titans who are driving today's sharpest shows and deals.
Goldberg and her co-hosts on "The View" were listed at No. 25.5 for "juicing their ratings by pumping up their political banter." During election week, "The View" reached No. 1 in total daytime viewers for the first time in 12 seasons.
Banks, 35, ranked No. 23 on the list. EW noted, "She's still in the running towards becoming America's next top TV mogul. Her talk show (moving from syndication to The CW next fall) has the youngest median age in daytime, and 'America's Next Top Model,' which just completed its 11th cycle, remains The CW's highest-rated series. (Spin-off 'Operation Fabulous'
launches next year.) Now the Emmy winner is developing other reality projects that fit the Banks 'brand,' like ABC's upcoming 'True Beauty,' and she recently branched into film with the direct-to-DVD tween drama 'The Clique.'"
Winfrey came in 6th on the tally because "her talk show still rules daytime, her first foray into reality ('Oprah's Big Give') averaged 11.6 million viewers, and she'll launch her own network — appropriately named OWN — in 2009," said EW. "Her production company, Harpo, responsible for daytime hits 'Dr. Phil' and 'Rachael Ray,' will debut a new series next fall with Oprah staple Dr. Mehmet Oz. All this and she was funny on 30 Rock ('Sweater capes!')."
Atlanta-based mogul Perry ranked 4th for proving that "one need not exist within the borders of Hollywood to become an industry heavyweight.
Through his Tyler Perry Studios, he created and produced 'Tyler Perry's House of Payne' — and persuaded TBS to buy 90 additional episodes in 2006 after a 10-show run earned major ratings. Then in August, he struck a deal with the cable net to produce a new sitcom, 'Meet the Browns,' based on his hit play and movie. The biggest sign of his growing success? This fall, Perry ditched his 70,000-square-foot studio for a twice-the-size production complex in Atlanta, which includes five soundstages and a backlot."
Seth MacFarlane, the executive producer of "Family Guy," "American Dad" and the forthcoming "The Cleveland Show," topped the list. EW noted:
"The apple-faced prankster secured a full-season order for a 'Guy' spin-off called 'The Cleveland Show,' and he still manages to find time to shoot his Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy Web shorts (and animated ads) for a separate deal with Google. With Guy reruns airing approximately 20 hours a week on various networks, it's no wonder MacFarlane is now the highest-paid writer in TV.
JEREMIAH WRIGHT CALLS HASSELBECK 'DUMB BROAD': He also said Obama made a 'bad decision' to distance himself from him and Trinity.
*In a sermon delivered Sunday at his old stomping ground, Barack Obama's former pastor Jeremiah Wright referred to one of his harshest critics, Elisabeth Hasselbeck of ABC's "The View," as "that dumb broad."
Speaking at Trinity United Church of Christ for its 47th anniversary, Rev. Wright included his trademark array of history lessons, mimicry and singing, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. His ire, however, was saved for Hasselbeck, who Wright twice referred to as a "broad,"
including once as "that dumb broad."
Wright expressed pride in Obama's longtime association with Trinity United Church of Christ, where he recently retired after serving 36 years as senior pastor.
"The hatred of the media and the haters in politics may have caused him to distance himself from us, but the love of Christ will never allow me to distance myself from him,' Wright said of Obama. "I can no more disown him than I can disown any other child of mine who makes [a] bad decision. He made a bad decision, but he's still my child."
Wright and his sermons became controversial during the presidential race, particularly one in which he said "God damn America." Obama subsequently cut ties with Wright and the church where he was married and where his children were baptized.
Also at Trinity on Sunday was the Rev. Michael Pfleger, whom Wright called "my main man." Pfleger drew heat with criticism of then-candidate Hillary Clinton last spring.
'HOUSE OF PAYNE' NO. 1 IN BLACK HOMES: Tyler Perry's sitcom outranks every other show, including "Oprah," among black audiences.
*"Tyler Perry's House of Payne" is running in the middle of the pack when it comes to cable sitcoms, but among the African-American audiences it targets, it tops anything else on television, reports Broadcasting & Cable.
Among African-American adults age 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54, "House of Payne" is the No. 1 show in all of network primetime, all of cable and all of syndication, according to its live-plus-seven (people who watch a DVR, VOD, or PC viewing of the show within seven days of its airing), season-to-date and gross-average-audience. The rating includes double-runs on stations and its cable run on TBS.
In primetime, "House of Payne" beats such ratings giants as "Grey's Anatomy," "Dancing With the Stars," "Desperate Housewives" and "CSI" in all African-American adult demographics, notes the trade publication.
Among syndicated shows in black households, "Family Guy" comes closest to "House of Payne" at a 4.9 among adults 18-34. Among adults 18-49, NBC Universal's "Maury" inches out "Family Guy" at a 4.2 to a 4.1. And among older African-American audiences "Judge Judy" and "Oprah" are in third and fourth at a 5.1 and 4.3, respectively.
In primetime, Fox's "Family Guy" is "Payne's" closest competition among African-Americans 18-34 at a 5.2. ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" wins third place among African-Americans 18-49 at a 5.2, followed by CBS' "60 Minutes"
at a 4.8. And among older audiences, "CSI: Miami" takes third at a 6.5, followed by "CSI" at a 6.1.
PAULA SPEAKS ABOUT FAN SUICIDE TRAGEDY: Abdul says Paula Goodspeed has been stalking her for nearly two decades.
*While promoting her new line of Forever Your Girl accessories, Paula Abdul is speaking out for the first time about the apparent suicide of her obsessed fan, Paula Goodspeed, outside of her Los Angeles home.
During an appearance on "The View" Monday, the "American Idol" judge revealed that Goodspeed has actually been stalking her for 17 years, and had also tried to commit suicide outside of Abdul's New York residence several years ago. [Click here to watch Abdul's appearance on "The View":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqqdk4_2IZs&eurl=http://mjsbigblog.com/paula-
abdul-the-view-says-paula-goodspeed-stalked-her-for-17-years-video.htm]
In an interview with People magazine, Abdul confirmed recent reports that she is selling her Los Angeles home and hasn't slept there since Goodspeed's suicide.
"I've been staying in different homes and hotels, and I have security with me," she tells People.
The tragedy came in the middle of an extremely busy time for Abdul, who, besides working on the new "Idol" season, recently taped a new MTV cheerleading squad competition special, "Rah!," (which airs in January) and has been preparing to launch her Forever Your Girl accessories line on HSN Dec. 13 and 14.
Yet work, she says, "gives me diversion. I always feel like if I can divert my brain to something else then I'll be okay. That's why I like to multitask."
She is also thankful to others for their help during the ordeal. "I have my family, and I have my good friends who've completely opened their hearts and their doors to me, which is great."
BELAFONTE TO AUCTION PERSONAL MLK PAPERS: Among them, notes for his first speech against Vietnam War.
*Harry Belafonte has decided to auction off some papers that were handwritten by his friend, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. – including an outline for his first speech condemning the Vietnam War.
Sotheby's will offer the document for sale Thursday along with two
others: the scribbled notes for a speech King planned to deliver in Memphis, Tenn., three days after he was assassinated and a letter of condolence from President Lyndon B. Johnson to King's widow, reports the Associated Press.
Belafonte, an early disciple of King and his host on King's visits to New York, says he is putting the treasured items up for sale because "I am at the end of my life — I will be 82 shortly — and there are a lot of causes I believe in for which resources are not available, and there is a need to redistribute those resources."
The pre-sale estimate for the three documents is set at $750,000 to
$1.13 million, with the Vietnam speech valued at $500,000 to $800,000.
King wrote the first draft of his Vietnam speech in ink on three sheets from a yellow legal pad and left it behind at Belafonte's apartment when he went to Los Angeles to deliver the finished remarks on Feb. 25, 1967, before a hotel crowd of Hollywood celebrities and four U.S. senators who also had denounced the war.
The speech, titled "The Casualties of the War in Vietnam," cited, along with military and civilian victims, a loss of moral principle, resources diverted from the fight for civil rights and the war's effect in alienating other nations from the United States.
The Memphis notes, found in King's pocket after he was gunned down April 4, 1968, were given by Coretta Scott King to the late Stan Levison, a close friend who then gave them to Belafonte. In the notes, King praises the city's sanitation workers for striking against "starvation wages" — the cause that had brought him to Memphis. "What does it profit to be able to eat in an integrated restaurant and not make enough money to take the wife out?" he asks.
Johnson's letter of condolence tells Mrs. King that the "full powers of local and federal authority" had been committed to finding her husband's killer, and "we will overcome this calamity and continue the work of justice and love that is Martin Luther King's legacy." She gave the letter to Belafonte after the funeral service, where he stood at her side.
O.J. IN PRANK MUSIC VIDEO 'GET JUICED': Simpson gets his Ashton Kutcher on before attempted robbery conviction.
*As O.J. Simpson begins his 33-year jail sentence for robbing two sports memorabilia stars at gunpoint, he leaves behind an appearance in a rap video that was filmed as part of a prank-themed DVD titled "Juiced."
The song, "Get Juiced," features Simpson pranking unsuspecting victims a la Ashton Kutcher in his former MTV series "Punk'd." Adopting a gangsta rap persona named MC Juice, Simpson performs the track at a strip club surrounded by numerous burlesque, nude dancers, according to Allhiphop.com.
“All you player haters and you sucker MC’s better get on your knees/and get some of the these/These nuts...,” Simpson raps over a beat similar to Steady B's “I’m Serious.”
Outtakes from the video also show Simpson holding a tongue-in-cheek audition for the strippers, dressed as Elvis with a dwarf, working in a fast food drive-thru, dressed as an 80-year-old man playing bingo and as a cheater who gets caught with a married woman, according to Allhiphop.com.
Additionally, Simpson is shown attempting to sell his infamous white Ford Bronco to unsuspecting marks, while acknowledging there are “no bodies in it” and that the SUV has “escapability.”
An uncensored version of O.J. Simpson’s “Get Juiced” will be featured on the Juiced comedy DVD, which is available in stores and online
(http://www.getjuiced.com/) for $19.99. The video is also available on iTunes for $.99.
In other O.J. news, the family of murder victim Ronald Goldman, who won a wrongful death lawsuit against Simpson, will continue its pursuit of the $42 million award owed by the disgraced star, even as he serves jail time.
A lawyer for Goldman's father, Fred Goldman, tells the New York Post the $33.5 million award his family won has increased to $42 million with interest. And Goldman is reportedly determined to pursue Simpson's assets during his sentence to collect the sum.
Goldman's collection lawyer, David Cook, says, "Even though Mr.
Simpson has changed his address from Florida to Nevada, we're still going on."
WILL SMITH EXPLAINS LACK OF LOVE SCENES: Actor keeps thinking about his grandma's words.
*Turns out there's a reason why Will Smith is rarely involved in a sex scene on the big screen.
"My grandmother was really firm about how men are supposed to treat women," the actor told reporters Friday while promoting his new film "Seven Pounds." "So for me, my worst nightmare is for an actress to ... feel like I'm taking this opportunity to get a little quickie feel – you know, some legal cheating going on!"
"I just need, specifically women, to feel comfortable around me," he added. "I just don't want to feel like I'm that dude."
Smith's discomfort with love scenes, which he also discussed during a recent appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," was about to ruin an intimate take with "Seven Pounds" co-star Rosario Dawson, that is until Jada gave him the green light to just go for it.
"Jada said, 'Listen, I know you're uncomfortable, but you better not embarrass me,'" he said with a laugh. "She said, 'When you do that love scene, you better show 'em what you're working with!'"
Smith said it's also been a struggle getting used to the public attention paid to his 11-year marriage.
"I was with [rapper] Redman the other day [and] he said, 'Man, listen. I've got this relationship that I'm trying to make work, but I'm telling you, if you and Jada don't work, I'm done,'" Smith said.
"That so terrifies me that there are people's lives that I can affect like that just with little stuff, not even having to do anything big," he continued. "So I don't want to break that ... I might mess something up, and that sorta keeps me in a place where I'm really focused and paying attention, and I just don't want to step wrongly."
DUPRI DENIES JANET PREGNANCY: Producer says recent blog reports are not true.
*Usweekly.com is reporting that Jermaine Dupri has denied reports from several blogs that his girlfriend, Janet Jackson, is pregnant.
The baby rumors started flying when Jackson canceled tour dates in October due to "vertigo." But the magazine claims Jackson is not with child – at least for now.
"Everyone tells me that there will never be a good time, that I will always be busy, but I just think when the stars are aligned it will happen,"
she said. "I'd love to have children... It's just up to Jermaine, what he wants to do."
TRINA RE-LAUNCHES CHARITY FOR TOY DRIVE: Miami rapper's Diamond Doll Foundation to visit Miami's Jackson Hospital.
*Miami rapper Trina is re-launching her charity organization, Diamond Doll Foundation, with the 1st Annual "Jingle Bell Toy Drive," to take place Dec. 14 as a benefit for the children of Jackson Hospital in her Miami hometown.
The artist will collect toys, pose for pictures and sign autographs at The Chop Shop, a popular barbershop within the Miami community. The day will include free haircuts and surprise appearances from special guests.
All attendees must bring a new, unwrapped toy to participate in the festivities. The following week, Trina will present the collected toys to the children of Jackson Hospital to help boost their spirits.
"It's important for entertainers to utilize our influence to get involved and build awareness for community programs such as the Jingle Bell Toy Drive," said Trina. "I am putting a renewed focus and energy into the Diamond Doll Foundation this coming year, as we look to help the less fortunate and provide motivation for young people to improve their lives."
Trina created Diamond Dolls as a way to speak to young women about issues facing their community, such as teen pregnancy, runaways and self-esteem.
BEYONCE, SOLANGE CANCEL BENEFIT CONCERT: Show was to raise money for victims of Hurricane Ike.
*Beyonce and her sister Solange have canceled their planned Houston concert to benefit victims of Hurricane Ike due to "a set of irresolvable scheduling conflicts," according to a press release.
The one-hour "Beyonce and Solange: Hope for the Holidays" benefit concert was to take place Dec. 9 at Houston's House of Blues.
The Knowles sisters' concert was supposed to debut on the Fuse network on Dec. 21, and was intended to benefit the Gulf Coast Ike Relief Fund to aid Texas victims of Hurricane Ike.
'8 MILE' ACTOR FOUND HANGED: De'Angelo Wilson's body discovered in a room in Los Angeles.
*Actor De'Angelo Wilson, an up-and-coming actor whose biggest role was as DJ Iz in the 2002 Eminim film "8 Mile," has been found dead in an apparent suicide, according to AllHipHop.com.
The actor's body was discovered in a room inside of a commercial building in Los Angeles. It is believed he had hanged himself on Nov. 26.
According to AllHipHop.com, Wilson’s mother could not afford the fee to transport his body to his Dayton, Ohio hometown - so friends donated money to help out.
Wilson also starred in an episode of CBS's "CSI: NY" and in several other movies, including "Antwone Fisher," "The Salon" and "Mercy Street."
ITTY BITTY BITS: Lionel joins 'Rockin' Eve'; Serena skips Hopman Cup; Prince at Viper Room; J.Lo sells Beverly Hills home.
*Lionel Richie will join the Jonas Brothers and Taylor Swift in Times Square to perform live on "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve." As previously announced, Natasha Bedingfield, Fall Out Boy, Jesse McCartney, Ne-Yo, Pussycat Dolls, Solange and Robin Thicke will perform during the Hollywood Party segments, which will be hosted by Fergie. The program – co-hosted by Ryan Seacrest, will begin Dec. 31 at 10 p.m. EST.
*Serena Williams pulled out of next month's Hopman Cup mixed teams event with a hamstring injury, organizers said Monday. The world number two injured her hamstring in the year-ending WTA Championships and was unable to recover in time for the tournament in Perth, Australia. However, she intends to play the Australian Open later in January, organizers said. World No.10 James Blake will now be partnered with Meghann Shaughnessy for the Hopman Cup.
*Fresh paparazzi photos of Prince dressed in black flare bottom leggings and carrying a rhinestone cane hit the Internet last week. The artist was on his way into The Viper Room in Hollywood to see The Pussycat Dolls perform. But according to gossip blogger Janet Charlton, "something went wrong and he left in his black Cadillac after only a few minutes. We're guessing that he had a particular doll he wanted to see, and she was not in THAT [performance lineup].
*Now that Jennifer Lopez has put down roots in Long Island, NY with her husband Marc Anthony and their twins Max and Emme, the actress-singer has placed her Bel-Air home on the market for $8.5 million, reports the Los Angeles Times. The walled and gated French farmhouse has four bedrooms, 5
1/2 bathrooms and is 7,357 square feet. There is a detached guest house, a pool and pool house, gardens and pathways around the property. The Multiple Listing Service says it has a "European ambience."
OBAMA BITS: Ludacris/Big Boi's Urban Ball; Warwick/Adams' Legends Ball; J-Hud performance rumors; 'Commander in Chief' videogame.
*Ludacris and Big Boi will co-host the Urban Ball, one of the numerous inauguration-night galas celebrating the election of Barack Obama.
David Banner, Bobby Valentino, Lil Jon, T-Pain, Cedric the Entertainer, the Cheetah Girls, Fantasia and Monica are slated to appear at the Jan. 20 event at D.C.'s Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. NBA players Jalen Rose, Kenny Smith and Alonzo Mourning will also be on hand. Tickets are $350. Click here for more info: http://www.americanmusicinauguralballs.com/UrbanBall.html
*The lineup for the Legends Ball, co-hosted by Dionne Warwick and Yolanda Adams, is slated to feature appearances by Chaka Khan, George Clinton, Kirk Franklin, Harold Melvin & Blue Notes, the Temptations with Dennis Edwards, Isaiah Washington and Reggie Miller. Tickets for this event will cost $450. Click here for more info:
http://www.americanmusicinauguralballs.com/LegendsBall.html
*The Obama camp is denying that fellow Chicagoan Jennifer Hudson will sing at the president-elect's official ball. However, Beyonce has offered to sing, and Shakira's name has been added to the list of reported performers, according to MTV.
*Videogame maker Eversim will start selling "Commander in Chief" on January 20, when Obama is sworn in as president, the company said on Monday.
"Commander in Chief" is played on a three-dimensional world map, and contestants must pick a cabinet then tackle problems ranging from terrorism to economic woes, reports Reuters. The game is also available in several countries around the world, including Spain where it is called "Yo Presidente."
