Aug. 6, 2007

Ready to Laugh

Academy Award nominee Don Cheadle is an actor's actor. The 42-year-old thespian is the Hollywood talent that his male counterparts aim to be as good as and females campaign to star opposite of.

Cheadle, a native of Kansas City, Missouri, lights up the screen in the sleeper hit of the summer, 'Talk To Me.' The indie film, based on the life of radio pioneer Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene Jr., has been in limited release since July 14 (33 theaters) and expanded wider on July 28 (115 theaters). So far, the Kasi Lemmons-directed film has made over $2 million, usually having the second highest per-screen gross of the weekend.

'Talk To Me' is generating Oscar buzz for Cheadle and his co-stars Taraji P. Henson ('Hustle & Flow') and Chiwetel Ejiofor ('Inside Man'), but the laid back star admits that he isn't driven by praise.

"Oscar buzz doesn't validate to me what we've done and it wouldn't invalidate it for us not to get it. It's a nice accolade to have and it means your peers and others in the industry give you a big up, but at the end of the day, I have a gang of awards and they're all behind my couch under the end table and I never see them unless I go back there. And it's real; my stuff's not out there on display so I would rather have the film connect with the people and have them in the business want to give you another job," he shared while we spoke at the Ritz Carlton Georgetown in Washington, DC.

In 2005, Cheadle received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for his portrayal of Paul Rusesabagina in 'Hotel Rwanda.' The film 'Crash,' that he both starred in and was a producer for, was also nominated for Best Picture that year. Though Cheadle enjoys challenging projects like those, he hopes that Hollywood will see with 'Talk To Me' that he can still deliver while letting his hair down.

"It's really not outside of my comfort zone," Cheadle said about being funny. "Finally, I can show these people that I'm loose like that too. These opportunities don't always come along. Hollywood's really good about trying to pigeonhole people and I know people who have been in rooms with producers and they'll pull out that comedy and look at it and go, 'Well we can't send this to Don Cheadle 'cause he's the 'actor'."

What most don't know is that Cheadle, who appeared in Angela Winbush's 1989 music video for the song "It's The Real Thing," began in show business as a comedian. "I started off in stand-up," he enlightened. "That's what I did before I did anything serious. That's another reason why I wanted to produce. That's why I wanted to start developing stuff 'cause if I wait around for people to give me the things that I want it may never come."

Cheadle stars next in a film called 'Traitor' that begins production in September. "It's about a CIA operative who infiltrates his cell and they don't know if he's flipped or not. So far it's just me in 'Traitor' so far. It's in the casting process now," he said.

The actor also confirmed that he is readying a bio-picture on the life of the late jazz great Miles Davis, as had been previously reported. "Next year, hopefully I'll get this Miles Davis project off the ground," he shared.

'Talk To Me' is in theaters now.

Frankly Speaking

"The only time that the producers really took notice of my Christianity was when we were in Thailand. They asked us to bow to Buddha and of course, I wouldn't do it. The cameramen asked me why I wouldn't bow. I shared that to bow to Buddha was to put him over my God, and that I will never put any other image or idol before my God, and I just cannot and won't bow to Buddha. I think at that moment, they realized that they had a Christian on their hands. It is easy to say you are a Christian, read your Bible, and go to church on Sundays. But to be committed to God, you have to walk it out in everything you do."

- 'America's Next Top Model' cycle six winner Danielle "Dani" Evans speaking about how her faith affected her competing on the Tyra Banks' reality show in a feature story for the August/September cover of Precious Times magazine.

Buzzworthy

Tisha Campbell-Martin and hubby Duane Martin are not separated, according to a friend of the 'My Wife & Kids' star. A pal of the actress, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the former 'Martin' star is aware of the rumor and feels it doesn't even warrant a response. Apparently, Martin and her 'All of Us' husband usually participate in a prison outreach event together in Pennsylvania. When she attended the event solo this year, rumors began on a Philadelphia radio station that they were having marital problems and are separated. In addition, the e-mail circulating online claiming that TMZ.com reported on a split is completely bogus!

Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child is slated to release her first ever R&B solo set this fall. In 2002, the Rockford, Illinois-bred singer released 'Heart to Yours,' her gospel debut which was certified gold (500,000 units sold) in the United States and certified platinum (one million units sold) worldwide. During her stint on Broadway as the lead in Elton John and Tim Rice's production 'Aida' in 2004, Williams dropped a critically acclaimed sophomore gospel release titled, 'Do You Know.' Now the singer, currently starring in the Chicago production of 'Oprah Winfrey presents: The Color Purple' as Shug Avery, and is hoping make her mark on the mainstream with her junior solo CD on Oct. 9. Williams was previously a spokesmodel for The Gap, where she appeared in print and television ads, and she's part-owner of the WNBA team, Chicago Sky.

Tyrese Gibson is campaigning to get out of his deal with Clive Davis' J Records. Gibson originally bumped heads with the label after making plans to release a hip-hop CD under the alias Black Ty. The 28-year-old entertainer agreed to release a double-disc called 'Alter Ego' for the label, instead of just a rap record. The CD, which was certified gold, only produced one single, "One," which was a track from the R&B CD. In other Gibson news, the 'Transformers' star just signed the rock and hip-hop fusion group Life Nine to Headquarter Entertainment, his multi-media entertainment company. The band will record for his label HQ Recordings and is expected to release a self-titled debut later this year. HQ Recordings is also home to Canadian soul crooner Glenn Lewis.

Sanaa Lathan wants to quell rumors that she's pregnant. Apparently every six months or so a pregnancy story surfaces online about the actress. "It's just that all of the high-end dresses that are being made now have the poof thing in the front and makes everyone look like they're pregnant," Lathan told celebrity photography Andreas Branch at the Foley & Corinna fashion party at Chateau Marmont in Hollywood. Lathan hung out with gal pal Regina Hall ('Scary Movie'), whom I had the pleasure of interviewing for the cover of Jewel magazine. Also on-hand for the event were Gabrielle Union, Taye Diggs, Molly Simms and Haylie Duff.

BV Scene

Oscar winning actor Louis Gossett Jr. ('An Officer and a Gentleman') checking into the Renaissance Chicago Hotel on West Wacker Drive in Chicago… R&B/gospel diva Shirley Murdock and husband Dale DeGroat dining at Phillips Flagship on the Southwest Waterfront in Washington, DC… 'American Idol' winner Ruben Studdard and gospel star VaShawn Mitchell both flying in the first class cabin on a Delta flight from Washington, DC's Reagan-National Airport to Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport… (See VaShawn Mitchell perform his hit "No Way" here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LJv4XwuvS0)

Can't Say Names…

Quincy Jones initially wasn't amused when one of the musical guests scheduled to salute him during his Grammy Foundation's Starry Night Tribute on July 28 at UCLA backed out to attend Usher's wedding to Tameka Foster in The Hamptons. Things changed once Jones got word that the wedding was cancelled. "One of my friends called me and said, 'Q,' I can't come perform because I am going to a wedding," Jones told the crowd, before adding: "But look what happened!" The music legend then laughed hysterically.