Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony’s film, El Cantante, could conceivably have gone the way of Gigli in it’s opening weekend. And looking at the box office returns — $3.2 — million, it seems that way, until you consider the fact that it was only in a handful of theaters. If you go by per theater gross, it actually came in 4th. So, it is not necessarily a curse for Jennifer Lopez to be in a movie with her man. Even if it was, I don’t think it would stop her.
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• If George Bush’s Homeland Security Department made a documentary about single black woman, this would be it. [WAOD]
• Stevie Wonder is planning his first U.S. tour since 1986. [SP]
• I know that this is completely uncharacteristic of him, but Akon actually angered some fans at a concert in the UK. [MEN]
• An interview going around in which Karrine Steffans unloads all sorts of sordid details about her sexcapades is bogus. Curiously, Steffans has the nerve to be insulted that people would put such words into her mouth. [J-N]
• I’m curious as to what makes Kanye West such an expert on wiggers. [MG]
Who does Lindsay Lohan have to blame the complete failure of herI Know Who Killed Me, which co-stars Garcelle Beavais-Nilon? Probably the black kid.
Embarrassingly enough for Tracey Edmonds & Co. Who’s Your Caddy made a half a mill less this weekend than the horribly reviewed B-movie starring the barely legal, cokehead, alcoholic basketcase. The Simpsons Movie, which seriously had the most intense marketing campaign I’ve ever seen, ruled with a $71.9 million weekend gross. Check out the box office top 10 after the jump.
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- Black middle class families are gettin’ the hell outta Dade. [MH]
- Who’s Your Caddy is a terrible movie filled with trite jokes based on racial stereotypes. I wouldn’t have guessed that. [WP]
- Rihanna’s record-breaking stranglehold on the UK pop charts was broken by Timbaland. [Reuters]
- I implore columnists to stop making themselves look stupid and making Michael Vick seem somehow less responsible for his actions by blaming hip hop for his dog-fighting woes. [Chron]
- The name game is also the race and economic status game. But we all knew that, right? And don’t make fun of me for having a “rich kid” name. [C-ST]
If Halle Berry hadn’t gotten an Oscar out of her collaboration with Billy Bob Thornton, I would say, of the John Singleton-directed movie they’re set to star in, didn’t they learn their lesson the first time? True, it might have been the most important movie she’s ever made, but I think we can all agree that history has not looked kindly on Monster’s Ball. Their new collaboration sounds a little different, though.
Berry will portray the key attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund in a case involving the 1999 arrests of 10% of the black population of Tulia, Texas. The arrests did not produce drugs or money, causing prosecutors and civil rights groups to denounce the bust as racial profiling. The undercover agent who conducted the bust was indicted for perjury; most of the 46 arrestees were pardoned by Texas Gov. Rick Perry last year. The character that Berry plays is not African American but Indian.
As long as there are no graphic sex scenes, it sounds good. I did notice that Halle Berry’s playing an Indian woman. I’m interested to know whether they are changing the part to make her an African American or if Berry will actually be Indian. Either way, she continues to the exception that proves the rule in terms of “colorblind casting,” and not a sign that black actresses, and apparently Indian ones, too, don’t have a problem in Hollywood.
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To coincide with the upcoming release of their movie, El Cantante, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony announced they will go on a joint tour together this fall. It will be J Lo’s first live tour. Hmmm. Wonder why?
Anyway, my guess is that Marc will be handling the heavy vocal responsibility during the show, which will feature both separate sets and duets. The good news is that some of the proceeds will go toward combating child obesity in the Latino community. As for El Cantante, which the couple premiered in Puerto Rico last night, did J Lo learn nothing from Gigli? Significant others and movies don’t mix!
[People]
Pras is probably not pulling in as much dough as he was when he was a Fugee, but things aren’t dire enough to put him on Skid Row. He did that voluntarily. He’s releasing a documentary that chronicles the nine days he spent as a “homeless” man on LA’s Skid Row. I’m sure he encountered a lot of people on the street wearing getups similar to those his former band mate favors. Speaking of Lauryn Hill, Pras had a few things to say about her in between plugging his new movie and his new album.
Pras also expressed frustration about the status of the long-awaited Fugees reunion, which seemed on track as of last fall. “We went in the studio and recorded a couple records that were incredible. But, to put it nicely, it’s dead,” says Pras. “Me and Clef, we on the same page, but Lauryn [Hill] is in her zone, and I’m fed up with that sh*t. Here she is, blessed with a gift, with the opportunity to rock and give and she’s running on some b*llshit? I’m a fan of Lauryn’s but I can’t respect that.”
Hundreds of fans begging for their money back after seeing her in concert can’t respect that either.
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[CL]
Tracey Edmonds is responsible for this. Now that I have a deeper insight into her judgment skills, I’m starting to understand the Eddie Murphy thing.
I’ve been reading about the new movie Wanted with Morgan Freeman, Common, and Angelina Jolie, but I confess I had no idea what it was about. I figured I would wait for the trailer. To my immense surprise, I find out that the movie is based on a comic book series by a guy named Mark Millar, and Angelina Jolie will be playing a Catwoman-esque character named Fox.
This was all well and good until some comic book-obsessed bloggers realized out that Fox was a black woman in the original comics. Now she’s Angelina Jolie. Well, she famously that there was a shortage of roles for people of color, but said that her portrayal of Mariane Pearl in A Mighty Heart was not a good example of the problem. And now? I’m fully aware that this sort of thing is often done in film adaptations of comic books. But Angie again? I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to notice a pattern here.
[AfroGeek via Racialicious]
That little Don Cheadle film I was so excited about last week (but still haven’t gotten a chance to see — shame on me!) opened at number 18, but this has more to do with the fact that it only opened Friday in a few cities and 33 theaters than anything else.
The usual suspects graced the top 10 on the weekend box office, with the obvious, chart-topping addition of the new Harry Potter film. Check out the rundown after the jump.
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