Eddie Murphy Renee Zellweger and Jennifer Lopez for Vanity Fair - The Hollywood Issue 2020!
Every year, Vanity Fair puts out a Hollywood Issue during award season, timed as Oscar momentum is building. This year, since the Oscars are earlier, the Hollywood Issue has come out earlier, just one day after Oscar nominations were announced. And, well, the timing is…
The front cover features Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Lopez, and Renee Zellweger. The conversation now is about how two out of these three cover subjects were snubbed by the Academy. Renee seems to be the favourite in the Best Actress category. Her performance as Judy Garland in Judy is amazing. Really, really amazing. It’s also the kind of performance that the Academy responds to: a woman who is struggling, a woman of Hollywood, a woman torn down, a woman in pain and past her prime. It’s not that Renee doesn’t do a good job – she does a GREAT job – it’s that this happens to be where we find her in the narrative, where voters are seeing Judy in her own story; not in command of all her gifts, but at a time when she had lost them. This is the story and the timeline they appreciate most.
I’m talking about this to contrast with Jennifer Lopez’s character, Ramona, in Hustlers. I already wrote yesterday about why her not being nominated for Best Supporting Actress is a snub from the perspective of standard, of the Academy’s standard of “range” and who gets recognised for having it or not having it and what films and performances get to be considered “Oscar worthy”. Nobody questions that a film like 1917 is Oscar worthy because – war, freedom, courage! Fine. But how is Bohemian Rhapsody Oscar worthy but Hustlers not? How is A Star is Born Oscar worthy but Hustlers not? The difference is in familiarity and comfort. We know Queen and Freddie Mercury, the music, his death, and we all know the dream of falling in love with a famous person and becoming famous ourselves.
But a stripper who scams rich men and isn’t sorry? A woman who exploits the only thing the world has told her that she has – her body – and uses misogyny to her advantage, finds the loophole in a corrupt system so that she can taste a temporary victory, and perhaps most controversially, doesn’t, over the course of the film, express or perform the kind of repentant regret that we’ve been conditioned to want to see? Those aren’t the female characters that are typically considered artistically prestigious. They don’t reward dangerous women.
Please. That’s just JLo. It’s not serious art. They don’t see the suffering in it – or at least their definition of how suffering should be performed. Comedic performances are seen in the same way. If it looks fun, it can’t be hard. Which is why comedic performances, undeniably an artform, are so rarely rewarded. This is partly why Eddie Murphy’s electrifying turn as Rudy Ray Moore in Dolemite Is My Name has been largely ignored. But here they both are on the cover of Vanity Fair staring the industry in the face on their artistic bias. On second thought, maybe the timing is actually working.
Eddie’s gives a great interview to Vanity Fair for this issue though, reflecting on his career and fame, about his approach now to his projects, talking about how many of his artistic elders he’s “buried”, and how he’s managed to survive among his peers in a business that can be cruel, especially to trailblazers like him. And then, at the end, when asked directly about the Oscars:
“How could you be an artist, how can you be an actor and be ambivalent toward it? That’s the highest honor an actor can receive. So I love it when that happens. You know, it means you nailed it. That’s always a good thing. It never sucks to be nominated for an Oscar.”
Some people walk around hating the process, the awards, embarrassed by them, insisting with every breath that they don’t care about the trophy, reluctant to participate. How is it that the ones who aren’t invited to the party are the ones who respect it most?
Click here to see the full VF feature.
#RHOA: Kandi Burruss Calls Nene Leakes a "Snitch" While Discussing RHOA's Snakegate
Yovanna Momplaisir Is the Snake?! The latest episode of The Real Housewives of Atlanta left us with more questions than answers as the Georgia Peaches tried to suss out the "snake" in the group, aka the person who allegedly recorded Cynthia Bailey saying some not-so-nice things about Nene Leakes.
Prime suspect No.1 Yovanna Momplaisir denied recording Cynthia, and Nene didn't provide much more intel — to the group, that is. When the ladies asked Nene who has the audio of Cynthia, she declined to name any names. "I'm not a snitch," the RHOA cast member said.
However, in an interview during the episode, a producer asked Nene, "Is Yovanna the snake?" Nene answered, "Snake is just a, not a nice word, OK? So I wouldn't call her a snake. Is Yovanna the one with information? Yes."
Kenya Moore Explains *That* Bombshell Rumor About Tanya Sam's Fiancé Paul Judge
As much as Nene tried to not blow up anyone's spot amid the Snakegate accusations, it seemed to Kandi Burruss that was exactly what she was doing during her interviews in the episode. "So did she start being a snitch in her interview?" Kandi said while watching the clips back during her appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen on January 12.
Andy Cohen then asked if Kandi thinks Yovanna really has a recording of Cynthia. "Well, I felt like there had to have been a recording," Kandi said. "I didn't feel like Nene would make that up."
Kandi went on to say that she wishes Nene would just have been straight up about the recording and who did it. "It was like this whole big circle being talked around us, and we were all getting frustrated," she said.
#NewMusic from Luke James ‘Blow’!
Luke James is on our list for one of the most anticipated albums of the year with his upcoming to feel love/d. He's been tempting and teasing with sensual jams like "go girl" and "All Of Your Love." He's got yet another tantalizing treat to offer with the release of the project's latest single "Blow.""Blow" finds Luke's instrument in fine form as he taps into his abilities over a minimalist arrangement. The song forgoes the use of drums completely, an interesting move for a track so steeped in R&B. You won't miss them, though, as the crooner is heard from the song's onset. His falsetto is one of the first things we hear. "Here by your side, I let go / I float onto a place where time slows / And all this time, we both know, oh-oh / That what we feel, we don't control," he sings over the strains of rhythm and bass guitar moving at a sensual pace.
LISTEN HERE
It all fits as Luke sings about the natural high that occurs during the act of lovemaking.We have a feeling that this one's already got his fans feeling a certain way and, honestly, we don't blame them. Our anticipation for what Luke James has coming is at a fever pitch. Our wait will soon be over, though, as to feel love/d is scheduled to drop on January 31st — just a few days after his To Feel Love/d Tour kicks off. Prepare yourself for what's coming your way by listening to "Blow" right now. But be warned, you might want to have your lover close when you do so.
#HipHopNews: Method Man To Reunite With Mary J. Blige On ‘Power Book II’!
NEW YORK, NY – Method Man and Mary J. Blige are working together again. This time, the “I’ll Be There for You/You’re All I Need to Get By” collaborators will be on the small screen acting in Power Book II, a spinoff of the hit series Power.
The Wu-Tang Clan MC will play an attorney named Davis Maclean in the upcoming television drama created by Courtney Kemp, according to Deadline. Blige’s starring role in the series was announced last year.
Meth’s acting chops have been on display in multiple projects, including the popular television shows The Wire, Oz and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He’s also starred in cult classic movies such as Belly and How High.
Blige is an Oscar-nominated actor, earning acclaim for her role in the film Mudbound. She’s also appeared in Netflix’s Umbrella Academy and will be featured in the upcoming Aretha Franklin biopic Respect.
Method and Blige last performed together at the 2019 BET Awards. The latter was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the ceremony.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2020 inductees Have been announced!
Whitney Houston, who has been eligible to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame since 2010, will at long last be enshrined into the pantheon of music immortals 10 years later. The late pop powerhouse, who changed the way every diva wannabe sang after her, got in on what was shockingly her first nomination when the rock hall class of 2020 was announced Wednesday morning.
Also joining music’s exclusive club — for which artists become eligible 25 years after their debut album — are Depeche Mode, the Doobie Brothers, Nine Inch Nails, the Notorious B.I.G. and T. Rex. They made the cut from a group of 16 nominees that were announced last October.
Those on the ballot who will have to wait at least one more year to learn the secret RRHOF handshake include Pat Benatar, Dave Matthews Band, Judas Priest, Kraftwerk, MC5, Motorhead, Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, Todd Rundgren, Soundgarden and Thin Lizzy.
In addition to Houston, the Doobie Brothers and the Notorious B.I.G. — eligible since 1996 and 2019, respectively — also made it in on their first nominations. So did T. Rex, although the influential glam-rock band has been eligible since way back in 1993. Meanwhile, Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails got the nod on their third nominations.
While it’s great to see Houston take her rightful place in the rock hall this year, it’s a real shame that she’s the only woman to be inducted. Both Benatar and the female-fronted Rufus featuring Chaka Khan would have been worthy while also pumping up the diversity.
But after the Cure made the RRHOF last year, it’s nice to see another ’80s British alt-rock band, Depeche Mode, get the love that the synth-pop pioneers were due. The electronic outfit was ahead of its time, paving the way for artists such as fellow inductees Nine Inch Nails.
What’s really sad, though, about the class of 2020 is that three of the acts won’t be there to perform and soak up their big moment at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland on May 2. Houston died in 2012, while Brooklyn’s own Notorious B.I.G. — only the second solo rapper to ever be inducted, after another slain MC, Tupac Shakur — was murdered in 1997. And T. Rex disbanded after Marc Bolan, the group’s founder and frontman, died at 29 in a 1977 car crash.
Spike Lee to lead Cannes film festival jury!
American filmmaker Spike Lee, seen arriving for the 2019 Academy Awards in Hollywood, has been named head of the Cannes Film Festival jury for 2020. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Spike Lee will lead the jury of this year's Cannes Film Festival, and festival organizers hope the provocative American director will "shake things up" at the gathering of the world's cinema elite.
Lee said he was "honoured to be the first person of the African diaspora" chosen for the prestigious position.
Festival organizer Thierry Frémaux said naming the first black president of the Cannes jury wasn't a political decision, but "a message of universality."
Speaking on France's RTL radio Tuesday, Fremaux noted the diverse nationalities of jury members and directors whose films are screened at Cannes.
Many of Lee's films have been shown at Cannes, and his BlacKkKlansman won a major prize at Cannes last year.
This year's festival runs May 12-23, and the rest of the jury members will be announced in April.
From Bed-Stuy to Scarborough: How Spike Lee influenced generations of Canadian filmmakers
"When I got the call ... I was shocked, happy, surprised and proud all at the same time," Lee said in a letter, adding that Cannes "changed the trajectory of who I became in world cinema."
Without explicitly mentioning Lee's career-long fight against racism or other political views, the festival said in a statement Tuesday: "Lee's perspective is more valuable than ever. Cannes is a natural homeland and a global sounding board for those who (re)awaken minds and question our stances and fixed ideas."
Last year's jury president was Mexican director Alejandro Inarritu, and the festival's top prize went to Korean director Bong Joon-ho's Parasite, nominated this week for best international film at the Oscars.
Lori Harvey Reportedly Could Face A Year In Prison After Being Charged In Hit-and-Run Case!
Lori Harvey, 23, has been charged with one count of resisting, delaying, and obstructing a peace officer and one count of hit and run resulting in property damage, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office confirmed, according to PEOPLE. She could be sentenced to a year in prison if convicted of the two misdemeanors, an unnamed spokesperson for the city attorney’s office told the outlet. She's due to appear in court on Jan. 21, that same source said.
Harvey has not commented publicly on the case and a representative for her did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Both E! News and TMZ also confirmed news of the charges.
The Oct. 20 crash took place in Beverly Hills. At around 10 p.m. that night, the Beverly Hills Police Department received reports that a sedan had hit a parked car, according to Entertainment Tonight. The driver of the car had allegedly fled the scene by the time authorities arrived, but officers found Harvey walking down the street a short distance away from the crash scene and identified her as the driver in question, according to TMZ.
The parked car, a Prius, had been hit hard enough that Harvey's own vehicle, a Mercedes G-Wagon, was flipped onto its side, TMZ reports. Police have said that they do not believe that alcohol played a role in the incident, but witnesses did tell police that they observed Harvey texting behind the wheel before hitting the other car, according to the outlet.
Harvey wasn't arrested at the time, with officers instead giving her a citation for misdemeanor hit and run and another for obstructing/delaying a police officer, according to Entertainment Tonight.
The model made headlines last year when her rumored relationship with hip hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, 49, apparently ended. She has since been linked to rapper Future, 36, with the pair seemingly going public with their relationship via various suggestive Instagram posts, Page Six reports.
When asked about his stepdaughter’s apparent new relationship, Steve Harvey opted not to comment at all, according to a video published last week by The Hollywood Fix.
“I don’t know nothing about it,” he told reporters.
Taylor Swift Netflix Documentary 'Miss Americana' Gets Release Date!
Taylor Swift‘s highly anticipated Netflix documentary Miss Americana now has a release date!
The 30-year-old “You Need to Calm Down” singer’s doc will hit the streaming service on January 31, according to an update of the listing.
The Lana Wilson-directed film will first premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23.
The description of the almost 90-minute feature reads, “In this revealing documentary, Taylor Swift embraces her role as a songwriter and performer — and as a woman harnessing the full power of her voice.”
Timbaland Reveals 130-Pound Weight Loss!
Timbaland is making some major life changes. The hip-hop producer is revealing how he overcome addiction and lost over 130 pounds as part of his journey to a healthier lifestyle.
“I had to get whipped, because I didn’t appreciate anything,” the 47-year-old tells Men’s Health. “All my life I felt it was a little too easy.”
After receiving a prescription for painkillers following a root canal in 2011, he started abusing OxyContin and Percocet. In the midst of a divorce from his then-wife Monique, which began in 2013, and financial woes (The IRS filed a $4 million lien for unpaid taxes), he used the painkillers to ease the pain. “It put me in a great feeling of not caring, of just being free,” says Timbaland. “I’m like traveling, doing shows, popping ’em, having fun, just being ignorant.”
Timbaland, whose real name is Timothy Mosley, also started putting on weight and developed prediabetes. “I had a dream that death was near,” he recalls. “I saw myself with a white face.”
But the father of three had an awakening and realized that he needed to save himself for his daughter, 12, and two sons, 17 and 27. “It’s like a bright light going on in your brain,” he says. “That’s how you know what true love really is.”
He decided to quit all on his own. “Just me and God,” he says. “This was the path chosen for me. God was rebuilding my character.”
He credits his family for keeping him strong. “One of the toughest things I’ve been through,” he reveals. “The only things that got me through it were my kids, my girl, the help of God keeping my mind still.”
His girlfriend, Michelle Dennis, turned him on to Punch Elite Fitness in Miami where he learned to box. He was 350 pounds before he joined the gym and started working out twice a day, boxing in the mornings and doing cardio and weights at night. He also adopted a nutrition plan including chicken, salmon, vegetables, and three-and-a-half liters of water a day.
Timbaland, who recently worked with Kanye West and Coldplay, says he continues to be a work in progress. “God has me under construction, which I’m still under,” he says. “I don’t feel like I’m complete. I don’t want to ever feel like I’m complete, ’cause my mind would probably get idle. God needed me to be clear so I could see what is needed, not what I want.”
Elton John Blames Cocaine For His Past "Diva" Behavior!
In addition to being a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Knight of the British Empire and famed philanthropist, Elton John has long been an advocate for sobriety and addict rehabilitation.
John has repeated in the press and during his concerts over the years that he would have died young had he not made the best decision of his life and gotten sober in 1990. Even his Golden Globe-winning biopic, Rocketman, dwells largely on the pitfalls of his drug abuse.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, John recalled his first dalliance with cocaine as the "Worst decision of my life. I shouted at people. I wasn't proud of that behavior because it is not really who I am."
The singer/composer continued, suggesting that his bad reputation in the music industry was a result of how ugly his behavior was when he was high. But his saving grace has always been song.
"It led a lot of people to say I've always been a diva," he said. "I am not. Now I don't take drugs. ... Music, from the age of three or four, was my comfort blanket. And when I was doing terrible things to myself in the '70s and '80s, it was also my comfort blanket. And so it kept me alive. Music has been everything to me. ...If I hadn't have had that love of music, I would have died, without question. Because even when I was at the depths of despair, I used to play music all the time."
Few would accuse John today of being a diva, given his continuous work on behalf of HIV/AIDS research, his generous donation to Australian bushfire relief and his recent tale about taking the stage in Las Vegas a matter of weeks after prostate cancer surgery.
Build-A-Bear will debut a Baby Yoda stuffed animal as customers scramble to get their hands on toys based on the adorable character from 'The Mandalorian'!
Baby Yoda is coming to Build-A-Bear. Toys featuring the instantly popular character from "The Mandalorian" have been in high demand since the show debuted on Disney Plus in November. A Baby Yoda toy from Funko quickly became a top-selling action figure on Amazon in early December — even though customers who preordered the toy will not receive it until May.
"I'm excited to share we will be one of the first companies to provide the digital and internet phenomenon who is trending higher than all the presidential candidates combined," Build-A-Bear CEO Sharon Price John said during a presentation on Tuesday at the ICR Conference in Orlando, Florida.
"We now will have The Child, also known as Baby Yoda," John added.
Build-A-Bear CEO Sharon Price John shows off a Baby Yoda stuffed animal on Tuesday. Kate Taylor/Business Insider
Holding up a Baby Yoda stuffed animal to show the audience, John said Baby Yoda would be available at Build-A-Bear workshops in the next few months.
"It's great, again, to be in business with best-in-class partners," John said, adding that Build-A-Bear, Disney, and Lucasfilm worked quickly to make the Baby Yoda character a reality.
"We started this process almost with the first episode," John said.
High-profile partnerships are crucial to Build-A-Bear's business. John said on Tuesday that while historically much of Build-A-Bear's business has been geared toward children, almost half of its sales now are items intended for tweens, teens, and adults. John added that the chain has seen significant growth in adults shopping online and seeking out products produced in partnership with companies like Disney, Lucasfilm, and Warner Bros.
Netflix Files To Dismiss Mo’Nique’s Discrimination Lawsuit, Denies Allegations of Gender and Racial Discrimination!
Two months after Mo’Nique filed a lawsuit against Netflix for discrimination, the streaming giant is firing back in its defense.
In new court documents obtained by Baller Alert, Netflix has asked a judge to dismiss Mo’Nique’s lawsuit, in which she claimed the service discriminated against her based on her race and gender.
In the suit, Mo’Nique reportedly accused Netflix of only offering half-a-million dollars for a comedy special, while paying several million to her male and white female counterparts.
“Despite Mo’Nique’s extensive resume, when presented with an opportunity to do an exclusive stand-up comedy special for Netflix, she was given a low ball offer that was only a fraction of what Netflix paid other comedians,” she said in her suit, all while highlighting Jerry Seinfied’s $100 million deal in 2017, Dave Chapelle’s $60 million deal for three specials and Amy Schumer’s $11 million offer, which she was reportedly able to negotiate to a $13 million deal.
“When the talent was not a Black woman, Netflix offered to pay, and did pay, astronomically more than it pays to Black women like it offered to Mo’Nique,” she added, according to the Blast.
But now, in Netflix’s new motion, the service says that is not the case, adding that Mo’Nique has yet to provide evidence that her offer was a product of discrimination.
“Plaintiff fails, however, to allege any facts showing that the compensation offered her was the product of discrimination,” the suit read.
“To the contrary, her Complaint contradicts its core premise by noting that other persons of color, other women, and another African American woman (like Plaintiff) have been paid substantially more money to create comedy specials for Netflix’s streaming service than what was offered to Plaintiff. And Plaintiff fails to explain why she was entitled to be offered what the stars to whom she compares herself were offered for creating such comedy specials.”
Elsewhere, the streaming service addressed Mo’Nique’s claims of retaliation, saying, “The incurable problem with Plaintiff’s retaliation claim is that she fails to plead any facts showing that Netflix engaged in any conduct after she made her complaints.”
“Instead, Plaintiff claims only that Netflix did not unilaterally reach out to her to increase its initial offer after she called for a boycott against Netflix. A decision not to negotiate against oneself after being publicly criticized is not, and cannot be, retaliation,” the suit continued.
Barack Obama Foundation Receives $5 Million Donation From Nike For Upcoming Athletic Facility At Obama Presidential Center In Chicago!
The Obama Presidential Center is currently in its beginning stages in Chicago and will be located in Jackson Park on the Southside of Chicago, near the University of Chicago.
According to Obama.Org, The Obama Presidential Center will consist of four main buildings on its campus, including a museum, a library, a forum for people of different backgrounds to come together for programming, and a plaza serving as a public space for events of many different natures.
Now Nike has decided to donate $5 million for Barack Obama to be able to create an athletic facility on the premises.
President of the Nike Foundation and community impact officer, Jorge Casimiro, explained the reason for the athletic brand company’s donation stating, “Obama has said it wouldn’t be his presidential center if there wasn’t a place to play some hoops.”
“We wanted to make sure it had a building in the center focused on recreation, play, and athletics,” he continued.
Overall, the coming Obama center campus showcases how important it is for people to take care of their physical health and have an open space for the community, according to Forbes. The center will even feature a children’s playground as well as walking paths.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
“It is about the transformative power of sport. It is about coming together, about having a space to run around in and have fun and play, but also a space to have meetings. Both foundations believe people, especially young people, can change the world, particularly through sport,” said Casimiro.
The center is set to open to the public in the coming years.
“At the end of the day, it is going to be a symbol to the world and visitors about why this is important,” he added.
Nike has been partnering with the Obamas since Michelle Obama’s 2013 Let’s Move! Active Schools initiative, donating a whopping $50 million in five years, according to Forbes.
Senators Sanders and Warren appear to have tense moment onstage after debate!
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) appeared to have a tense exchange onstage at the end of the Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday night.
Sanders was seen in video reaching out his hand to Warren as she approached him onstage after the debate, though the pair did not end up shaking hands.
Warren, who held her hands together during most of the interaction, appeared to be making a point when she approached her fellow progressive Democratic presidential hopeful. The conversation ended seconds later, with Sanders putting up his hands and walking away.
WATCH
CNN later replayed the moment, with political commentator and Democratic strategist David Axelrod remarking, "This is not warm and cuddly."
Businessman and Democratic candidate Tom Steyer appeared to be got caught in the middle of the discussion as he waited to shake Sanders’s hand. Steyer later told MSNBC that he did not hear what the two senators were saying.
"All I was trying to say was to both Sen. Warren and Sen. Sanders, 'It was great to see you. Thank you for participating in this,'" Steyer told MSNBC. "And whatever they were going on between each other, I was trying to get out of the way as fast as possible."
Warren and Sanders have been embroiled in a feud since CNN reported that Sanders told Warren in 2018 that he did not think a woman could become president.
The Vermont progressive denied that claim during the debate, saying, "Anyone who knows me knows that it is incomprehensible that I do not think a woman could be president of the United States.”
Warren later said, "Bernie is my friend, and I'm not here to fight with Bernie."
The pair also sparred after the Massachusetts senator said no one on the stage had defeated an incumbent Republican in the last 30 years but her. Sanders pointed out that he did in 1990, which Warren quickly retorted was 30 years ago.
AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES
‘MARRIED WITH CHILDREN’
It’s a nice day for a white wedding…and 10% off steam vacuums!
EGGPLANT NATION: Meet Papi
Meet Papi! You can see more when GO HERE TO SEE THE PICS! And remember they’re NSFW!
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HAVE A GREAT DAY ALL!!!
EFREM
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