BV Entertainment Newswire Feb. 15: Confederate States Of America, Step Johnson, John Legend, Tyra Banks, Queen Latifah

Mouth Of The South

Kevin Willmott's ‘CSA: The Confederate States of America’ finally sees the light of day with limited theatrical release. The 90-minute satire, unfolds as a British produced documentary about what happened after the South won the Civil War. “I wanted to make a film that put slavery central to the cause of the Civil War,” Willmott told Black Voices. “I wanted to make people realize what was at stake --to bring slave imagery into today's world in an attempt to make it real for people.” Produced by Rick Cowan’s Kansas City, Missouri-based Hodcarrier Films and executive produced by Spike Lee, Marvin Voth and Andrew Herwitz, ‘CSA’ presents alternative modern day America as a land in which slavery is alive and well throughout the 50 states, other non-whites and non-Christians are relegated to reservations, the country is in an ongoing Cold War with Canada and a Slave Shopping Network plays on TV. Lee called the piece “eye opening and jaw dropping.”

Of the film’s controversial subject matter, Willmott, a civil rights activist and Assistant Professor at Kansas University theorizes: “I think Americans have a tough time relating to the issue and there is no film footage of American slavery like there is of the holocaust in Europe. That is why that footage is so important because people need to see it to understand the evil of it all. I wanted to find a new way to breakthrough the censorship around the issue of slavery in America.” 'CSA' (reviewed here) opens in New York and expands to nine cities on Feb. 24. “As silly as it sounds,” Cowan added, “I believe this film has something for just about everyone but the extremely narrow-minded; It's humorous for comedy fans, it's great for history buffs but is, above all else, a political film…I guess the only people who I wouldn't suggest it to are those diehard hanger-on to Confederate culture who want to believe that the conflict wasn't over slavery, and perhaps the current administration and their cohorts.”

“Dick Cheney won't shoot me for saying that, will he?” quipped Cowan. “Just because something's hard to talk about doesn't mean you shouldn't. In fact, it probably means the opposite.”

Power Moves

Step Johnson has been named President of Urban Music at Interscope Geffen A&M (IGA). The industry veteran has been with Interscope since 1992, most recently co-heading its urban music staff, boasting platinum-plated successes with 50 Cent , G-Unit, Eminem, Mary J. Blige , The Game, Avant, and Keyshia Cole. "Urban music has become a huge part of Interscope Geffen A&M,” the St. Petersburg, Fla. native said. “I'm proud to be part of a company that always looks to the future." The Loyola University alum has also held top radio promotion posts at Capitol Records, A&M and ABC Records, respectively. Interscope Chairman Jimmy Iovine said: "Step Johnson has been an enormous part of Interscope's success from the beginning. His hard work has helped make IGA the top urban music label in the business. An achievement like that comes not only from incredible artists but also the dedication of a talented executive like Step."

John Snags Legend For Oscar Bash

Recent Grammy Award winner John Legend will perform at the 14th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Oscar After-Party on March 5 at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles. "I have been a huge fan of John's since I first heard his album 'Get Lifted'," Sir Elton John said in a statement. "I am so thrilled that he won three Grammys last week and even more thrilled that he will be playing at our Oscar Party." Since its establishment in 1992, the organization has raised over $80 million to support HIV/AIDS prevention and service programs in 55 countries.

‘Top Model’ Goes For 40

Tyra Banks' wildly popular UPN series ‘America’s Next Top Model’ will hold a casting call at Jay-Z's Atlantic City hot spot, the 40/40 Club on Feb. 16. Women, ages 18 to 27 are eligible to apply, but must be at least 5'7" tall and be U.S. citizens. No prior modeling experience is necessary for the casting call for the hit reality show, which returns for its sixth cycle March 8.

Hoop Dreams

Queen Latifah and Eva Longoria are confirmed to coach stars such as Nelly, Nick Cannon, Donald Faison, Chris Meloni and Ice Cube during the McDonald's NBA All-Star Celebrity Game presented on Feb. 17 at Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center. ESPN's Stuart Scott will host the event and rock group Lifehouse will perform during halftime. The game will be televised live on ESPN on Friday, Feb. 17 at 7:00 pm (ET).