2/21/15

The Weekend Buzz For Feb 21



Lance Gross Shares Photo With Baby Daughter Berkeley
Lance Gross is really loving fatherhood. The actor-turned-photographer can’t seem to get enough of posting pics of his baby girl with fiancee Rebecca Jefferson. His latest snap of little Berkeley showed daddy and daughter making cute faces for the camera:
Too cute!


BIG CHANGES are coming At EBONY Magazine!
After almost one year in the position, Mitzi Miller is out as Editor-In-Chief of EBONY Magazine.  The former JET Magazine Editor took the reigns at EBONY last April after the departure of Amy Dubois Barnett. And after being charged with doing everything possible to help save the print publication that has been hurting (like almost all print media) for several years, Mitzi has decided to move on to new endeavors.  The author of the 2006 bestseller The Vow (which the 2015 Lifetime movie With This Ring was based upon), said via a press release today:

“I’ve always subscribed to the principle of living in the present and remaining open to all of life’s opportunities," says Miller.
"So I believe that now is an exciting time to start a new chapter in my life. It will always be an honor to have been a part of the Johnson Publishing Company legacy. Having served as the editor-in-chief for two of the oldest and most successful African American publications, I take pride in the issues the team was able to explore and expose to the readers. And now, I look forward to continuing to tell our dynamic stories in a new way with my next venture.”

Mitzi brought in fresh faces to grace the many covers her team developed, as well as put the spotlight on even fresher faced game changers for the 2015 EBONY Power 100 list.

But folks have been up in arms about the Publisher's decision to sell the historic archives of the magazine to raise capital.  The Chicago Tribune recently reported the following:
Looking to raise cash ($40 million to be exact), the Chicago-based publisher of Ebony magazine has put its entire photo archive up for sale. The historic collection spans 70 years of African-American history, chronicling everyone from Martin Luther King Jr. to Sammy Davis Jr.

Johnson Publishing has had its collection appraised and recently hired a consultant to shop its wealth of iconic images, including a 1969 Pulitzer Prize winning photo of King's widow and child, taken at his funeral.

"It's just sitting here," said Johnson Publishing CEO Desiree Rogers. "We really need to monetize that in order to ensure growth in our core businesses."
Raising capital is crucial for the company, which is facing declining revenue and a rocky transition from print to digital under Rogers...

Social media was in an uproar last month when the news surfaced that so much Black history wouldn't be preserved by the original owner, but instead sold off to the highest bidder.  EBONY's publishing team has stood firm to the notion that the revenue from the sales of the photo archive will help rectify their losses in ad revenue and circulation numbers.

Regardless of the many major changes taking place, we're sure the legendary EBONY brand will stand the test of time.  And we wish Mitzi the best of luck in her next endeavors.


OH NO 'MEEP' "American Horror Story" Actor Ben Woolf In Critical Condition After Being Struck By A Car
"American Horror Story" star Ben Woolf was rushed to a nearby hospital after being hit by a car in Hollywood 
According to a new report, the actor, who plays Meep on the show, was hit in the head by the side-view mirror of a passing SUV as he was crossing the street. He was immediately transported to a local hospital where he remains in intensive care. Because he was jaywalking when the accident occurred, the driver was not cited, TMZ reported.

Prior to his role on "American Horror Story," Ben appeared in a number of films, including "Dead Kansas" and "Haunting Charles Manson."


Anthony Mackie CONVICTED Of Driving While Impaired!
Yesterday, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” star Anthony Mackie was convicted of driving while impaired.  Anthony was found guilty of the violation and sentenced to complete a drunken driving program and pay fines after a bench trial in Manhattan Criminal Court. The case stemmed from Mackie being pulled over on 126th street and Lenox in November 2013 after he made an illegal U-turn.

Judge Kevin McGrath rendered a guilty verdict which included testimony from three NYPD witnesses.  Anthony didn't testify but he thanked Judge McGrath. “Thank you, your honor, for the opportunity. Thank you for listening to the case and coming up with a fair conclusion. I wish everyone else had done the same,” he said. 

Unfortunately for Anthony, he'll also lose his New York State driving privileges for 90 days.  But there's a bright side - He was given permission to do the intoxicated driving counseling in Louisiana where he's been filming. HMMMMMM So much for talking down SELMA!


College Apologizes For Black History Month Menu Featuring Chicken & Greens
Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio apologized to students and faculty after its dining services division launched a Black History Month menu. The menu featured fried chicken, collard greens, and other southern foods and was placed on a billboard featuring the photos of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other Black leaders.
The apology came down Thursday (Feb. 19) from WSU President David Hopkins via an email and promised that he and his team will investigate how such a display got the green light in the first place. The menu went live this past Wednesday, and a photo of it swirled around social media before it was taken down promptly.

More from Dayton Daily News:
In an email to WSU, President David Hopkins recounted the university’s commitment to diversity and pride at hosting the Phoenix Project and forum featuring daughters of several civil rights leaders. Hopkins also pledged to dig into why a menu sign included chicken, mashed potatoes, collard greens and cornbread under a picture of Martin Luther King Jr. and other famous black figures.

“I apologize to anyone hurt by the display,” Hopkins wrote about the Wednesday night student union menu. “To our credit, the menu was quickly removed. But the larger question remains: Why was it done? I will find out. We will take steps to prevent this kind of behavior occurring in the future.”
Chartwells Higher Education Dining Services, which posted the menu, declined to answer several specific questions about the menu, but released a statement that read, in part:
“Chartwells celebrates many national events on campus and tries to provide authentic and traditional cuisine to reflect each theme. In no way was the promotion associated with Black History Month meant to be insensitive. We could have done a better job putting this in context of a cultural dining experience. We sincerely apologize.”

Billy Barabino, president of the Black Student Union, said he was “hurt” by the menu’s inclusion in the student meal offerings.
Also coincidental but telling, the menu was announced along with a panel discussion titled “Daughters Rising from the Dust: Children of ‘The Movement,’ Speak Out!” featuring Ilyassah Al-Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz; Reena Evers, daughter of Medgar Evers; and Mary Liuzzo Lillieboe, daughter of Viola Liuzzo.


IT’S OSCAR TIME AND LETS TAKE YOU TO SOME PRE-OSCAR EVENTS!
The Sisters come out to Alfre Woodard's Oscar's Sistahs Soiree
Alfre Woodard, shown above with "Scandal" star Kerry Washington, hosted her annual Oscar's Sistahs Soiree at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Wednesday evening. The lavish "soiree" was sponsored By White Diamond Lustre, Elizabeth Taylor and is held yearly to toast and honor Academy Award-nominated actresses and directors.
When asked why she decided to create the Sistah Soiree, Alfre said she wanted to get "Sistahs" together and "celebrate" their journey. 
"Every time we hear each others’ names, it felt like it was one of our reps going, ‘If that b–tch turns it down, then you can have it!’”“I was like, wait a minute. When I hear my sisters’ names, I want to have a joyful feeling in my heart about it.”
You see how loud it gets! It’s always like this, because all the women in this room have more in common with each other than anyone else in the professional world. We’ve all been on the same journey — we speak a common language.”
In the pic above, Alfre posed with actress Emayatzy E. Corinealdi, director Ava DuVernay, and "The Walking Dead" star Danai Gurira.

"HTGAWM"star Viola Davis looked absolutely gorgeous in a hot-pink satin strapless cocktail dress.  
Kerry Washington rocked a Sophia Kah floral skirt with contrast paneling.
"Selma" director Ava DuVernay celebrated for her successful year at the box office.
Zoe Saldana, who recently gave birth to twins Bowie and Cy, rocked a blueish/grey Lavin dress with ruffles.
Oscar-nominated actress Angela Bassett came out to support Alfre.
Aisha Tyler of "The Talk" wore a little black dress.
Carmen Ejogo, who won rave reviews as Coretta Scott King in Selma, rocked a fun-cocktail dress.
Young British-import Gugu Mbatha-Raw made waves as the lead character in "Beyond The Lights" this year. 
We spotted "Sleepy Hollow" star Nicole Beharie. 
Khandi "Mama Pope" Alexander looked sleek and stylish.
Zoe Saldana and Rosario Dawson were spotted laughing it up at cell phone pics. 
Jurnee Smollett-Bell rocked a short cocktail dress.
Anika Noni Rose looks great!
Loretta Devine was ready for spring in her floral print dress.
Margaret Avery, who's starring on "Being Mary Jane" looked regal in her gold dress and teal overlay.
Jurnee and Gugu Mbatha-Raw posed with Samuel Jackson's wife LaTanya Richardson.
Zoe, LaTanya, Carmen and Anika took a selfie.
Alfre told VARIETY the "soiree" is about making the presence of Black actresses known.
"There are so many beautiful, talented, black and brown women. We know the ones nominated will be out and (are) being celebrated. But when they’re on the carpet, when they’re walking onstage, there are people like them wishing them well. The women who know exactly what you’re doing, actors of quality, saying good on you. We got your back.”
She added, "...it’s not reactive, it’s proactive. It’s about us celebrating us and lifting each other up.”


Here are Photos: Global Green USA's Pre-Oscar Party
Nice!

In Oscar SHADE! THR Oscar Voters: ‘Whiplash’ was offensive, ‘Sniper’ needed more feels
The Hollywood Reporter released two more of their “brutally honest ballot” pieces yesterday. To recap, every year THR sits down with various Oscar voters in various branches and the voters fill out their ballots in front of THR. The voters get to speak their mind under the condition of anonymity, which historically has revealed some amazing WTF-ery of petty grudges, racism and gossip. The two ballots released by THR yesterday were not all that gossipy though. There were some interesting insights, for sure. You can read Ballot #2 (a voter from short films and animation branch) here . You can read Ballot #3 (a voter from the screenwriters’ branch) here

Some highlights:
Ballot #2: the voter is an Oscar-nominated member of the animation/short film branch. Thoughts on Best Picture:

Whiplash is offensive — it’s a film about abuse and I don’t find that entertaining at all. My kid would have told me if he had an abusive teacher. I would have sat in on the class, talked to other kids in the class and then said, “This a–hole has to go.” [The Grand] Budapest [Hotel] is beautifully made, but its story just isn’t special. I didn’t think Selma was a particularly good film, apart from the main actor [David Oyelowo], and I think the outcry about the Academy being racists for not nominating it for more awards is offensive — we have a two-term president who is a black woman [Cheryl Boone Isaacs] and we give out awards to black people when they deserve them, just like any other group.

Birdman, I didn’t get it at all — I look around and it’s doing so well and I just don’t get it. American Sniper glosses over feelings — how do you feel when you kill 170 people? You just see him hesitating in the one scene with the boy who briefly picks up the rocket and then you see him sitting at a bar looking depressed; that’s not enough. As far as The Imitation Game, Alan Turing was very much defined by his repressed homosexuality, and I just don’t think the film deals with that very well. I admired Boyhood and it didn’t bore me, but it doesn’t totally work. But Theory [of Everything] I loved. It was the only one of the nominees that fully worked as a whole film — it was beautifully performed, nicely directed and it was about something — although Boyhood is pretty special for its own reasons. Just because the Academy gives you a preferential ballot with a bunch of lines doesn’t mean you have to fill them all out. Those are only two that I find worthy of the award. MY VOTE: (1) The Theory of Everything, (2) Boyhood

*This person voted for Richard Linklater for Best Director because “It’s not even close for me because I didn’t especially like the other nominees’ pictures.” The voter went with Eddie Redmayne for Best Actor because “it’s an amazing performance” and they also went for Felicity Jones for Best Actress (interesting). This voter thought Meryl Streep was “unbelievable” (in a good way) in Into the Woods and ended up voting for Meryl instead of Patricia Arquette.

[From THR]

And here are some highlights from Ballot #3, from a voter in the screenwriters’ branch.
*The voter had nothing but compliments for all of the Best Picture nominees, except they weren’t all that jazzed about Boyhood. This was their final vote: (1) The Imitation Game, (2) Birdman, (3) Whiplash, (4) The Theory of Everything, (5) American Sniper

*Best Director was between Richard Linklater and Alejandro G. Inarritu and the voter went with the crazy-ambition of Inarritu.

*Vote for Eddie Redmayne because his role was the most “transformative.” Same with Julianne Moore – this person voted for Moore because her role was the most transformative.
*Another vote for JK Simmons and Patricia Arquette even though “None of the [supporting actress nominees] blew my mind.”

[From THR]

As I said, these weren’t as gossipy as the first one. For Ballot #3, the closest we get to gossip is when this guy (??) talks about how he like American Sniper and he didn’t think the “attacks” on the film were “legitimate” because at the end of the day, it’s not a documentary. Blah. I thought Ballot #2 shows (yet again) how Selma really irritated Oscar voters and the Academy really doesn’t like to be called out on their racist BS. Too bad.

Well at least the excitement is building!


Is he Jay Z’s Alleged Love Child ?
Famous people deal with all kinds of bizarre issues that the rest of us don’t have to worry about, and Jay Z is getting called out by a 21-year-old aspiring rapper who claims he’s his father.
Rymir Satterthwaite insists that the “99 Problems” hitmaker hooked up with his mother in the early 1990s and nine months later he was born. Unfortunately, Satterthwaite says Jay is blocking his ability to make a legal case for paternity.

In a new civil suit, Rymir says Mr. Z gave the court some fraudulent information and has since refused to take a paternity test. He and his legal guardian Lillie Coley are seeking financial damages for emotional and monetary strife.


Amber Rose Gets Book Deal For ‘How to Be a Bad Bitch’
Model Amber Rose will write How to Be a Bad Bitch, Simon & Schuster imprint Gallery Books announced
The book, scheduled for publication on Oct. 27, 2015, will share Amber’s secrets on how to be successful, covering love, beauty, fashion, finances and a career, as well as advice for confidence and self-acceptance.
In a statement, Rose says a “bad bitch” is a “self-respecting, strong female who has everything together. This consists of body, mind, finances and swagger; a woman who gets her by any means necessary.”
Jennifer Bergstrom, vice president and publisher of Gallery Books, added: “Amber Rose is the ultimate cool girl who you want to be best friends with. I know a lot of women who will want to read this book.”
Photographer David LaChappelle, whose images have appeared on covers and pages of various magazines including Vanity Fair, GQ and Rolling Stone, will shoot Rose for the cover.

The 31-year-old recently made headlines for publicly feuding with reality star Khloe Kardashian. The Twitter war began when Rose spoke to New York’s Power 105.1 about Kardashian’s family and Kylie Jenner’s alleged relationship with rapper Tyga.
Rose was introduced to Gallery Books by her manager, Nick Cannon, whose company, Nick’s Ncredible Entertainment, is represented by ICM.

Rose was represented by ICM and attorney Walter Mosley on the deal. Jeremie Ruby-Strauss acquired the work for Gallery Books from Doug Johnson.


AND FINALLY FROM THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART FILES
‘YOU CAN’T SEE ME’
John Cena is a WWE Superstar and actor (kinda) and rapper (sorta) and basically just an all around good guy. Can’t hate on a guy that make kids that happy!


HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERYBODY!!!
EFREM

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