Samuel L. Jackson gets a kick out of the fact that his acting career now supersedes his wife's,
LaTanya Richardson Jackson. The actor, who stars in the forthcoming film
'Freedomland' with his wife, told me during our interview at The Regency hotel in New York City that he loves to tease his spouse about who's the bigger star.
"There was a time when she was the more experienced person. We haven't really worked together since
'Losing Isaiah.' That was kind of early on in both of our cinematic careers. Things have changed a little bit since then," Jackson laughed. "As time has gone on, I've kind of done a little bit more in different places."
The Chattanooga, Tenn.-bred actor described working opposite his wife as "different" and admitted his marquee status in the film posed some challenges for them. "For her to come on this particular set was a kind of culture shock. She had an idea, I guess, about how it all worked. But she got on this set with me and got to her trailer and it was very different than mine. The treatment on set and off set is very different." he explained.
When Jackson was feeling generous, he'd share some of his perks with his other half. "Occasionally I'd let her ride in my car from trailerland to set. You've got to keep them in their place though, you can't let them get used to that," he joked.
In January 2005, Jackson became the highest-grossing actor in movie history with a worldwide box office total of more than $3.8 billion. The Oscar-nominated star was bestowed with the honor of having his hands and feet cemented on Hollywood Boulevard in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Jan. 30, 2006.
"Being able to put my hands and feet in cement in Grauman's was kind of surreal. I have this thing where I am always saying, 'I'm not a movie star, I'm an actor.' I just happen to be an actor that's very popular, and I've made some films that have made some money. But the hands and feet ceremony is one of the things you watched when you were growing up and you saw the kind of people who put their hands and feet in cement. It's a more elite kind of club, I think, than the Academy Award club. It gave me a great sense of pride and sort of speechlessness that there I was doing something that
James Cagney and people that are Hollywood icons did. It kind of makes you admit to yourself, 'OK, maybe I am a movie star," Jackson shared.
Cheerful GiverVeteran R&B chanteuse
Meli'sa Morgan is offering advice to men on how to keep their women happy for Valentine's Day. "Give, give, give," she began. "I don't mean give monetarily or give materialistically, but I mean give from you heart. Chivalry and all of that. The majority of the time women give more than men do and in my relationships especially, we give and we show that we love and we show that we care we show that we want to be there through thick and thin. I think for Valentine's Day the tables should be turned."
Morgan, who's single 'I Remember' from the album of the same name just took a 10-point jump on Billboard's Bubbling Under chart, says that if you need a song for Valentine's Day, there's nothing better than her 1986 hit "Do Me Baby." "I'm sorry, it don't get no better than that! I work more this time of year than any other time of year because of that song," Morgan told us.
On a different note, some say Morgan and
Destiny's Child singer
Kelly Rowland could pass for sisters. "Yeah, I recently did a photo shoot and someone said that," she admitted. "I've only seen her once in person and it was really in passing. I need to take another look at her and see. I'm sure that's a compliment because I think she's very nice looking. I definitely take that as a compliment."
BuzzworthyGroupies infiltrated the Radisson Hotel in Norfolk, Va. last week following the 'BET Presents: Ladies Night Out' tour. More than 24 hot and horny teenage and 20-something girls of all shapes, sizes and races crowded the lobby and begged to get upstairs for some after-show action with
Jagged Edge,
Ginuwine or
Donell Jones. As this columnist sat in the lobby observing it all -- I was in town speaking on the 'BC Fusion' tour for MEAC in conjunction with Black Enterprise and 'It's Showtime at the Apollo' -- one girl approached a security guard and asked with a southern drawl, "I'm saying, can you get me up to Ginuwine?" He responded: "I work with Jagged Edge. You trying to get at them?" The groupie answered: "It's whatever!" Jagged Edge then emerged in the lobby shortly after midnight en route to an after-party and took about eight girls with them. The leftovers were approached by Ginuwine's dancers, though the happily married crooner remained in his room, as one security man put it, "likely on the phone with his wife Sole."
The ladies of 'The View' are headed to Las Vegas on Feb. 20-21 to tape their hit ABC chat fest.
Star Jones Reynolds,
Meredith Vieira,
Joy Behar,
Elisabeth Hasselbeck and
Barbara Walters will all be on hand when the show takes up residence at Caesars Palace. Reynolds is also scheduled to sign copies of her book,
'Shine: A Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Journey to Finding Love,' at the Forum Shops at Caesars on Feb. 20. Behar will perform her comedy routine at the Flamingo on Feb. 23.
Just in case 'All of Us' doesn't get picked up after UPN and The WB merge and become The CW, co-star Tony Rock has a backup plan. Rock, the younger brother of
Chris Rock, has a reality show in mind he'd like to produce. "'O.J. Simpson Searches for the Real Killers,' he told us, jokingly. "That's the next reality show! Every episode, he's like, 'I'm going to start looking for the real killers on this golf course.'"
Fans of 'The Young and the Restless' star
Kristoff St. John have no need to fear. The soap star will be returning for at least three more years to the hit daytime drama. Contract negotiations between St. John and CBS came down to the wire; however the actor has opted to return to his role of Neil Winters. The actor joined the cast in 1991.
BV SceneMathew Knowles exiting an elevator at the Sony Building on Madison Ave. in New York City before myself and nine other journalists-Dwayne Rogers (Rolling Out), Sandra Varner (Oakland Post), Mal Vincent (The Virginian-Pilot) and Cindy Pearlman (Chicago Sun-Times) among them-were trapped in the elevator for 45 minutes...Memphis Grizzlies owner Michael Heisely sitting next to yours truly in first class on a United Airlines flight to Chicago. Heisely, a humanitarian and the most humble billionaire you'll ever meet, encouraged me to visit the National Civil Rights Museum during my next visit to Memphis...Talk show host Tony Danza at The Library, a restaurant inside The Regency hotel in New York City, following his performance at Feinstein's at The Regency...Novelist and New York Daily News columnist Stanley Crouch boarding a US Airways flight from New York City's LaGuardia Airport to Washington, D.C...
Suge Knight and
Vanilla Ice were spotted at The Mint Hi-Limit lounge at the Palms in Las Vegas. Guests were not only surprised that Ice didn't flee to the spot after seeing the man who allegedly once held him over a balcony, but also shocked that Ice was allowed in the high-roller lounge. Also there, separately, were Dennis Rodman and Jenny McCarthy.
Can't Say Names ...What veteran R&B belter is rumored to be a lot sicker than his family really knows? Sources say that the singer has only days to live and that news of how serious his sickness is may have been kept from his family because his manager wants to inherit all of his belongings. "The manager already has her name on the Rolls Royce," our source told us. Said singer's daughter has apparently just filed a lawsuit to gain power of attorney so that the manager doesn't take all her dad's assets when he passes.
