THE OBENSON REPORT

Covering Cinema From All Across The African Diaspora
Showing posts with label where have you been?. Show all posts
Showing posts with label where have you been?. Show all posts

TV NEWS - Tempestt Bledsoe & Husband In Reality Series

Posted on 4:24 PM comments (10)
Labels: ,


Fox has ordered a new series that puts an attention-getting gender twist on the trophy-spouse reality genre.

The network has ordered nine hours of a program called Househusbands of Hollywood, which follows a collection of stay-at-home husbands of successful L.A. women.

The cast includes... drum roll... Tempestt Bledsoe (The Cosby Show) and husband Darryl M. Bell (A Different World), amongst others.

Househusbands, set to bow in August, falls into an ensemble soap category that's provided ample fruit for such high-profile cable players as Bravo, VH1 and E!

Fox Reality hopes to find a new audience with the series and, if successful, expand the Househusbands brand beyond a single series (not unlike a certain group of Real Housewives on Bravo).

I had absolutely no idea Tempestt Bledsoe was married to Darryl from A Different World. I didn't realize she was a so-called "successful L.A. woman." I wonder what she does for a living, because, she's certainly no longer working in TV... until now anyway. I remember having a crush on her when I was in high school :o)

This Househusbands program certainly is a twist on the usual... not that I'll be rushing to watch it. Although, I'm sure I'll hear about it.

By the way... someone should put together one of those "where are they now" scenarios for the entire Cosby Show clan - specifically the kids. I know little Rudy (Keshia Knight Pulliam) is co-starring in Tyler Perry's next - Madea Goes To Jail.

And Theo (Malcolm Jamal Warner) has done some TV shows in recent years - notably Malcolm And Eddie (co-starring Eddie Griffin), and most recently, Jeremiah (co-starring Luke Perry).

And, of course, Raven-Symone, up until last year, had her own TV show on the Disney Channel, titled That's So Raven; and earlier this year, saw her 4th studio album released.

I have no idea what Lisa Bonet and Sabrina Le Beauf are up to.

via MARKETWATCH
TV

What Happened To...?

Posted on 2:16 PM comments (2)
Labels:
Speaking of 25 new faces of independent film (see post below to catch up), what happened to Peter Sollett, the fellow who made the 2000 gem of a film below? He was on the list that year, but hasn't produced anything since then...

Alfonso Ribeiro On TV Again!

Posted on 8:09 AM No Comments
Labels: ,
For those of you who've been wondering what Carlton Banks, aka Alfonso Ribeiro is up to these days (all 3 of you), here ya go... wonder no more :o)

From EURweb:

- Actor Alfonso Ribeiro... is taking on the role of host for the Game Show Network’s new series “Catch 21,” which premieres tonight, the 21st of July!

“Catch 21” pits three players in a game of cards. Each contestant is given one card and in order to up their number of cards, and thus their total, they have to answer a multiple choice question.
“Whoever gets that question correctly, they get $100 and control of the game (and) they get the next card in the deck,” Ribeiro explained. “They can keep that card or they can force it on one of the other players making their hand worse. The goal is to catch ‘21’ exactly, and if not, be the last player standing with a good hand..."

The blackjack component game has a possible jackpot of $25,000.

Well, there you have it! Tune in tonight and watch him do the game show host thing. If you can't wait until then, watch the corny promo for the show below. He actually does have that game show personality, so I suppose it's a smart move on his part. I wonder if he and Will Smith are pals?




SOURCE

Tichina Arnold Attempts Dramatic Turn In 'The Lena Baker Story'

Posted on 12:38 PM comments (5)
Labels: ,
Incase you were wondering what the former Martin and Everyone Hates Chris co-star has been up to recently... here ya go...

She stars as the titular character in the upcoming The Lena Baker Story, a film that was shopped around at this year's Cannes Film Market in May, but, to my knowledge is yet to find distributor, whether for television (network or cable), theatre, or home video.

From the film's website: It's based on a true story and takes place in the early 1900’s in Cuthbert, Georgia... The moment Lena Baker thinks she has overcome her inner demons, she is called to work for Elliot Arthur, a white man, father, a millworker and a drunk. As their relationship unfolds, it becomes strange, strained, and highly unacceptable for the time. Elliot needs Lena; Lena seems to need him. He abuses her and keeps her from her children by imprisoning her in his home. When she has finally had enough, Lena stands up and attempts to break free from the bondage of Elliot Arthur. A struggle ensues, and Elliot Arthur, a white man, is shot by Lena Baker, a blac woman, that night in Southwest Georgia in 1945. A jury of 12 white men found Lena guilty of murder and she received the death penalty, earning her a place in history as the first and only woman to be sentenced to death by electric chair in the state Georgia. She was pardoned posthumously in 2005.

My take? I've grown weary of historical black dramas! I don't have any concrete evidence at my immediate disposal, but it certainly feels like that category of film dominates black cinema. If it's a comedy, you can be sure it'll be something contemporary, filled with some form of hybrid minstrelsy. If it's a drama, it's more often than not historically based. Why? Again, I haven't done any hard research on this, so this is all basically conjecture on my part, although I feel quite certain that any research I do will prove this accurate. I'll take on that challenge and report my findings.

As for Tichina's performance? I haven't seen enough of her on screen, so I actually know very little about her range as an actress. But she certainly looks convincing in the trailer.

I'd guess that this will likely make its way to television, and home video.

Here's the trailer for The Lena Baker Story:

What's Cuba Gooding Jr Been Up To?

Posted on 2:47 PM comments (2)
Labels: ,
See for yourself below... I see not much has changed since the last time... unfortunately (Harold opens today in limited release, by the way):


Vanessa Bell Calloway, Dawnn Lewis, Ananda Lewis, Tatyana Ali In 'The Divorce'

Posted on 10:01 AM comments (4)
Labels: ,
So what are Vanessa Bell Calloway, Dawn Lewis, Ananda Lewis and Tatyana Ali doing these days you ask?

I was wondering the same thing, and thankfully, an answer surfaced this morning!

From EURweb:

- Vanessa Bell Calloway stars alongside co-stars Dawnn Lewis, Ananda Lewis and Tatyana Ali this Saturday in Don B. Welch’s stage play “The Divorce,” playing at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles, CA. Showtime for “The Divorce” is slated for 8 p.m.

Like anyone else, Calloway said she’s just trying to stay employed. For African American actresses, particularly those who are part of the 40-and-over-club, gainful employment has now become a roll of the dice with many of them crapping out. Quality roles for women such as the great Angela Bassett and the ageless Pam Grier, are simply too far and between.

“I’m looking for a job,” Calloway said emphatically. “The reality in our business is that when you get offered a job, you take it. You audition for what is available, which is different than our white counterparts. Then you have to conform to whatever that character is. I like to do whatever is character-driven and good.”

The character Calloway plays in “The Divorce,” is a role that usually typifies the former Alvin Ailey dancer: sassy and blunt. In the play, Calloway plays the role of Eva Owens, who like the other women, helps Dawnn Lewis’ character celebrate the breakup of her marriage with a divorce party.

At least they're working on something right? If I was in L.A., I might actually check this out.

The rest here: CALLOWAY IN THE DIVORCE

Incase You Were Wondering What She's Been Up To...

Posted on 10:27 AM comments (3)
Labels: ,
Spike's little sister, aka Joie Lee, does do some acting from time to time, even though we see very little of her. She's been in many of her brother's films, but rarely has she ventured outside of the family to work on a none-Lee joint. There was her stint with her other brother, Cinque, in Jim Jarmusch's Coffee And Cigarettes (didn't care for it), and she assumed writer/director duties for a short film she made in 2001 called Snapped (never seen it, so I'm curious). But she clearly isn't interested in going down the traditional path that most currently working actresses have taken, seemingly not pressured to take roles just for a paycheck. She must be involved in some other ventures that feed her bank account.

Anyway, I found out that she's co-starring in a film that just opened up in limited release called Full Grown Men, a film that is said to have "spent more than a year and a half on the festival circuit and was on the verge of self-release when it won the audience award in the IndieWIRE and Sundance Channel's Undiscovered Gems screening series in January 2008, awarding it a $100,000 distribution deal, including a theatrical release through Emerging Pictures and a run on the Sundance Channel."

Short synopsis: A man stuck in the reveries of his youth tracks down the boyhood friend he once tormented, only to find that simpler times were more complicated than he thought.

I'm not sure how much of a role she plays in the film, but one look at the trailer revealed nothing - she isn't in it, which speaks volumes!

The film stars a list of mostly unknowns like Matt McGrath and Judah Friedlander. Alan Cumming is the most recognizable name.

Full Grown Men made its U.S.theatrical premiere on June 25 at New York¹s Cinema Village, 22 E. 12th Street. The film will open throughout the summer in theaters across the country.

Arsenio Hall To Make TV Return In Reality Show

Posted on 12:55 PM comments (1)
Labels:
A confession: I actually wondered whether this was worth posting, and almost didn't. But Arsenio used to be my late night TV companion way back when, during my high school years, so I still have a soft spot for the brotha, despite his appearance on Flavor of Love 3.

AOL BlackVoices.com reports that Arsenio Hall has been named host of the new reality series with working title of Funniest Moments, set to premiere this fall on the MyNetworkTV network. (Aren't there already a myriad of other shows like this, most notably, America's Funniest
Home Videos?).

The show takes a look at life's most outrageous moments caught on tape... The hour long program has been slated to air on Wednesday nights at 9.

Hall is best known as the host of the Emmy-Award winning late night talk show, The Arsenio Hall Show, which premiered Jan 3, 1989 and lasted five years. Since then, he has been spotted in CBS's dramedy, Martial Law, and then followed up with a two-season stint as Host of the new Star Search. Recently, Hall returned to stand-up comedy and toured for the first time in over a decade. He will be featured in The Weinstein Company's upcoming animated film Igor, scheduled for an 09 release.

Blair Underwood's Dream Job

Posted on 11:58 AM comments (2)
Labels:
Former L.A. Law hunk Blair Underwood, also of HBO's In Treatment and ABC's Dirty, Sexy Money reveals to THR.com the role he'd most like to play and why. I forgot he was even still around and working...

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)