BV Entertainment Newswire July 24

Diesel Power

Whoever said that Hollywood hot-shot Vin Diesel was just a flash in the pan should reconsider their position.

On July 21, 'The Fast & The Furious'star and his One Race production company announced an exclusive partnership with BET's new animation unit to produce an animated series based on the life of Hannibal of Carthage, widely recognized as the greatest military leader in history.

The proposed series will span the life of Hannibal, from his warrior apprenticeship under his father, the king of Carthage, to his history-making invasions of Spain, England and his legendary scaling of the Alps with his army of elephants.

During the Roman Empire’s peak he assembled a global army to challenge them and his techniques are still studied today.

"Having worked passionately for ten years to develop a film property on Hannibal, this animated series will offer audiences a chance to begin to understand the larger-than-life mythology of this classic figure," Diesel, who struck box-office gold with the hit flicks 'The Pacifier' and ' 'XXX,'said.

The project was jointly announced by Diesel and BET President of Entertainment Reginald Hudlin during the Comic-Con International Conference in San Diego, the world's largest comic book, animation and sci-fi media convention. "From my first week at BET, I have been pursuing this project," Hudlin said.

"Vin Diesel brings great thought and passion to both character development and storylines, and we are pleased to be the first to be in the animation production business with [him]."

Earlier this year, the music-centric basic cable network announced the formation of BET Animation under the management of Denys Cowan, former producer of the hit animated series "The Boondocks."

"It only took Reginald Hudlin becoming President of Entertainment for me to know that BET would be the perfect network to launch a 'Hannibal' franchise, the story of the great African general who fought an empire," Diesel added.

The series, according to a spokesperson, is being developed to premiere next fall. "Hannibal' will be epic storytelling," Hudlin added.

Read about BET's Slice of Reality here.

Are you an animation fanatic? Check out 'The Boondocks' on Black Voices here.

CeCe Takes a 'Whirl'

Seven time Grammy Award winner CeCe Winans will serve as a judge for the Second Annual "Spirit of Cooking" competition; a nationwide search for recipes presented by Whirlpool. The Grand Prize winner will receive a Whirlpool brand suite of kitchen appliances and an exciting, mid-week live performance from Winans at their church. Other prizes include a $5,000 donation the winner's church from Whirlpool.

Last year's winning recipes were Oxtails in a Bag; a creative Baked Beans recipe; Melt in Your Mouth White Chocolate Almond Cheesecake; and Mutha's Favorite Chicken Salad "Good food and praise go hand in hand in our churches," said Winans. "I'm delighted to be joining Whirlpool as they honor the longstanding legacy of community and worship that are an important part of the African American experience."

Recipes will be judged based on taste/quality, unique or alternative ingredients, ease of duplication/replication and preparation and cooking time.

The deadline for entries is September 25. Visit www.whirlpool.com/spirit for complete rules and more information on the contest

Does CeCe's voice move you? Talk about her music and her powerful voice with other fans here.

Love Ox-Tails? Join the discussion in Black Voices' cooking forum here.

On the 'Grind'

Fresh off of her star turn in Lee Daniels' edgy noir 'Shadowboxer,' which hit theaters last weekend, Vanessa Ferlito has snagged a role in Quentin Tarantino's next film, 'Grindhouse.'

Rosario Dawson Tracie Thomas, Sydney Tamiia Porter, Kurt Russell, Zoe Bell, Rose McGowan and Jordan Ladd were also announced for the project, a highly anticipated double feature pairing with Robert Rodriguez, to be released through the Weinstein Company next spring.

'Grindhouse' will include two one-and-a-half hour films joined by faux ads and trailers: Rodriguez's zombie movie 'Planet Terror' (featuring Stacy Ferguson of the Black Eyed Peas, Naveen Andrews from 'Lost' and Josh Brolin) and Tarantino's slasher flick 'Death Proof.' Both will be shot in the tradition of '70s ‘Grindhouse’ drive-in movies which have always been an influence on the pulpy films of both Rodriguez and Tarantino.

Both films are set for production in Austin, Texas.

R. Kelly Headed Home

R. Kelly will soon be available on DVD format -- but for a different reason than what he may have been known for a few years back.

Image Entertainment has signed a worldwide exclusive distribution agreement with three-time Grammy Award winning R&B superstar's label Jive Records, to release his first live concert DVD. "R. Kelly is one of the hottest and bestselling R&B performers of all time," said Image's programming chief Barry Gordon. "This will be the first R. Kelly full-length concert event to be released on DVD and we are anticipating a huge response from his millions of fans around the world."

Filmed in high definition in March 2006 at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, the DVD package will also include behind-the-scenes material and a rare up-close-and-personal look at the 'Down Low' (Nobody Has To Know)' superstar.

"I appreciate my fans for supporting me and giving me the chance to live my dreams and share my songs with them throughout my whole career," said R. Kelly in a statement. "This is my first concert DVD and I'm so proud to be able to bring the world a new classic!"

Produced by Ann Carli and directed by Jim Swaffield (the same team that did Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet" DVD), the yet to be titled project is expected to be released at the top of next year.

Are you a fan of R. Kelly? Then check out AOL Music's All R. Kelly Video Channel here.

Lifetime Snags 'Anatomy' Rights

The official word is that the Lifetime Television network has bragging rights for snagging the exclusive basic cable rights to Shonda Rhimes' hit series 'Grey's Anatomy.'

Although pending deals with the Oxygen Network and TNT were rumored last week, Lifetime will begin airing episodes from the first season once a week, starting next January.

Nominated for 11 Emmy Awards, 'Grey's Anatomy' --which ended the season as the #1 scripted series on television-- is a medical drama focusing on young interns at Seattle Grace Hospital struggling to be doctors and doctors struggling to stay human.

The show co-stars Ellen Pompeo, Patrick Dempsey, James Pickens, Jr., Sandra Oh, Chandra Wilson, and Isaiah Washington.

Lifetime's Senior Vice President of Acquisitions, Scheduling and Planning, Leslie Glenn-Chesloff said: "This is an extraordinary show that tells powerful stories of love, hope and sometimes despair, as seen through the lives of an amazingly gifted ensemble cast. Women all over the country -- including all of us here at Lifetime -- absolutely adore this wonderful series and we're thrilled that it's joining our schedule."

On Aug 5, repeat airing of 'Desperate Housewives' joins the Lifetime line-up at 11PM (ET/PT), beginning with its first season.