BV Entertainment Newswire Jan. 4: August Wilson, New York Times, Queen Latifah

August In Winter

Two noteworthy tributes are underway to pay homage to the late Pulitzer Prize winning playwright August Wilson, who died last October of liver cancer. Charles S. Dutton, who starred in the original and revival productions of Wilson's ‘Ma Rainey's Black Bottom,’ will pay homage to the late playwright with ‘Good Night Mr. Wilson,’ at Hollywood’s landmark El Portal Mainstage, running Jan. 18 through Jan. 21. The two-hour production, featuring scenes from such Wilson plays as ‘The Piano Lesson’ and ‘Ma Rainey's Black Bottom,’ will also star actress Bonita Brisker.

Chicago’s Court Theatre recently announced a new production of Wilson's most famous drama, ‘Fences,’ to run Jan. 12 through Feb. 12, directed by OJ Parson. With the original production winning a Tony Award and starring James Earl Jones and Mary Alice, ‘Fences’ centers around Troy Maxson, a former star of the Negro Baseball Leagues turned embittered, resentful garbage collector, coming to terms with his own lost dreams while struggling to hold onto pride and keep his family together.

Sign Of The ‘Times’

John Legend and Aaron McGruder are on board for the Fifth Annual ‘New York Times’Arts & Leisure Weekend, a national and international event that includes a wide range of arts activities from interviews with celebrities to free admission at museums around the world. Robert Redford, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Lorraine Bracco, Edie Falco, Larry David, Bobby Flay, Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Bebe Neuwirth are confirmed for the New York City events. ‘Times’ Culture Reporter Lola Ogunnaike will do the honors of conducting one-on-one interviews with Legend and McGruder, respectively, at the City University Of New York’s Graduate Center in New York City. Legend will also perform at a benefit with proceeds going to The Actors’ Fund of America and MusiCares.

‘Crash,’ ‘Lackawanna’ Gets ‘Reel’ Nods

Nominations for ‘The 7th Annual Black Reel Awards,’ presented by the Foundation for the Advancement of African-Americans in Film (FAAAF) were released last night, and Terrence Howard received a total of three nominations, including Best Actor (‘Hustle & Flow’), Best Supporting Actor (‘Crash’) and Best Supporting Actor, TV (‘Lackawanna Blues’). Leading the theatrical category with six nominations each are Paul Haggis’s ‘Crash’ and the John Singleton-produced ‘Hustle & Flow.’ Malcolm Lee’s ‘Roll Bounce’ garnered five nods. HBO’s George C. Wolfe-directed ‘Lackawanna Blues’ leads with nine nominations in the television category, while the Oprah Winfrey-produced ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’ follows with seven nods and ‘Sometimes in April’ and ‘Miracle Boys’ both receiving five. Other actors recognized include Idris Elba, Rosario Dawson and Tyler Perry. Winners will be announced at the ‘Black Reel Awards Gala’ on Feb. 18 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.

American Beatty

Acclaimed author Paul Beatty will release his latest literary effort, ‘Hokum: An Anthology of African-American Humor’ (Bloomsbury), on Jan. 17. The new book –available in hard-cover and paperback— is a collection of writings, musings and sentiments from a diverse group of Black notables; from Zora Neale Hurston, and Langston Hughes to Mike Tyson and Reverend Al Sharpton. "I chose the selections in an attempt to broaden the range of black humor beyond the folklore, yo mama, stand-up comic holy trinity," Beatty, 43, told Black Voices yesterday. "Most of the stuff are excerpts I wanted to share because they meant a lot to me… Other selections are just me trying to force my tweaked sense of humor down the throat of the reader."

Detroit Has ‘Blunts’

Indie filmmaker Damien Earl Mathias will unveil his long awaited ‘Blunts & Stunts: Class of 1994,’ at Detroit’s Phoenix Theatre on Jan. 5. Billed as “the first urban reality film,” the 12 year old documentary is “about real people who think they have real talent in music, film, dance, singing, comedy and rap,” a spokesman told Black Voices. Starring DJ Pooh, Don Curry and Michael Sachs, ‘Blunts & Stunts’ was written and directed by Matthias, a former music and video producer for LL Cool J and Tupac Shakur. In 2000, Matthias founded the Santa Monica, California- based Headstone Entertainment –which will distribute the film.

Star Treatment

Academy Award nominated hip-hop superstar Queen Latifah will be honored today with a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her latest movie ‘Last Holiday,’ directed by Wayne Wang (‘Maid In Manhattan’) co-starring LL Cool J and Timothy Hutton, opens on Jan. 13.