BV Entertainment Newswire April 14

Royal Highness

Queen Latifah has struck a major deal with Focus Features and Rogue Pictures to develop multiple films under her Flavor Unit Entertainment banner.

First flick up is 'Welfare Queen,' a fact-based story of a woman who scammed the public assistance system. The film will be written by Abdul Williams and co-produced with Tracey Edmonds' Edmonds Entertainment. Latifah, born Dana Owens, is set to star.

Edmonds produced films such as 'Soul Food' and 'Light It Up,' and currently helms reality shows for BET, 'Countdown to Lockdown' and 'College Hill,' respectively.

Latifah's 17-year old Jersey City, N.J. based entertainment company's credits include 'Bringing Down the House,' 'The Cookout,' and last year's 'Beauty Shop.' The slasher flick 'Horror in the Hamptons,' scripted by Alex Mirkin, is included under the new deal with Focus. 'Reality Sucks,' described as a spoof of the reality show genre, is also included into the deal.

"We get our hands on a lot of material we can do well, and our dream is to work up to producing three movies a year," Latifah said in an interview. "This is the first major deal we've signed with a studio and we did it because we felt confident."

The Grammy Award winning music star made her major film debut in Spike Lee's 1991 'Jungle Fever,' and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2002 for her role in 'Chicago.' Latifah, who will next star in 'Stranger Than Fiction' alongside Dustin Hoffman, Will Farrell and Emma Thompson, will begin shooting the movie adaptation of the Broadway musical 'Hairspray' in the coming weeks. In January, the romantic comedy 'Last Holiday' bowed. Her voice is currently heard in 'Ice Age: The Meltdown.'

'Money' In New York

The Russell Simmons-founded Hip-Hop Summit Action Network will host its first New York City Hip-Hop Summit in five years on April 22 at the Manhattan Center Studios’ Hammerstein Ballroom. For the Big Apple stop of the "Get Your Money Right" national tour, platinum-selling rappers Nas and Fabolous will join veteran producer Marley Marl, Reggaeton performers Wisin y Yandel and radio jock Ed Lover. Now in its second year, the tour brings together a cross-section of celebrities and financial experts to speak to students and community members about the importance of financial literacy. Topics to be covered include the basics of banking, home ownership, repairing bad credit and understanding credit scores, entrepreneurship, vehicle financing and more.

"Hip-hop is about improving the quality of life for all people," emphasized Simmons. "We are committed to helping people get themselves out of poverty." Founded in 2001, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) is dedicated to using hip-hop a catalyst for social and economic change.

Upcoming stop for the tour are Miami (May 20), Atlanta (Sept. 16), Los Angeles (Sept. 30) and Dallas (Oct. 14).

'One' Doing Big Things

TV One recently announced a comprehensive, multi-year programming agreement with Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution to air popular movies and series -- including staples such as 'Martin' and 'Living Single.' One unique facet of the deal include the rights to air popular sitcoms 'All Of Us,' and 'Eve,' which are currently airing on network television (UPN), and the nationally syndicated variety show 'Showtime at the Apollo.' Other shows slated to air on the two-year old network include 'Wanda At Large,' 'The Parent Hood,' 'All About the Andersons,' 'Fastlane' and 'A Man Called Hawk.' Movies will include classics such as 'The Color Purple,' 'Malcolm X,' 'New Jack City,' 'Purple Rain,' 'Sparkle,' 'Superfly,' 'Shaft,' 'Lean on Me,' 'Krush Groove' and 'Cabin in the Sky.' "We're confident that the addition of feature films, the premieres of off-network comedies, the licensing of proven hits and the renewal of successful staples of their already strong line-up will provide a nice boost to their schedule," said Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution President Eric Frankel. The new line-up of shows will start its initial roll-out this fall.

'Preaching' Out

Charles Randoph-Wright's long awaited film, 'Preaching to the Choir,' opens in limited release today. The movie stars Billoah Greene, Darien Sills-Evans, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Tichina Arnold, Novella Nelson, Eartha Kitt, Janine Green, Marva Hicks, Adriane Lenox, Norm Lewis, Tim Reid and Patti LaBelle among others. According to production notes, 'Preaching' chronicles the journey of orphaned twin brothers who have taken radically different paths in life. Originally titled 'On the One' and shot a few years ago, the movie, which is being distributed by Jeff Clanagan's Codeblack Entertainment, was honored with the Audience Award at the 2005 American Black Film Festival. However syndicated columnist Kam Williams has panned the movie, calling it "blasphemous blaxploitation." Randolph-Wright, who wrote the play 'Blue,' has directed the 50th Anniversary national tour of 'Guys And Dolls' (starring Maurice Hines). He serves on the artistic board of Duke University, where he is an honorary graduate. Other screenplay credits include 'The Emmett Till Story.'

Remembering June Pointer

Black Voices has learned that funeral arrangements for R&B veteran June Pointer, who died on April 11 from cancer, will be held at Los Angeles' Forest Lawn Cemetery (The Little Chapel on the Hill, Burbank) on April 21 at noon. The R&B music community is mourning the loss of one of its unsung heroines. "June had a rich warm voice that cemented the success of songs by The Pointer Sisters, like 'He's So Shy' and 'Jump (For My Love),'" said Dr. Jason King, who is Associate Chair of The Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music at New York University. "She was a pioneer and she'll be missed." For more on the life and death of June Pointer, click here.