Photo: Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times — Devastation in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, where survivors, and reportedly looters, were caught rummaging through the ruins. 01/16/10

Photo: Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times –  Despair on the face of a homeless father as he clings to his sleeping son during another night in a park with other quake survivors in the hard hit city of Port-au-Prince. 01/16/10

The L.A. Times has more terrific images of the aftermath of that 7.0 catastrophic earthquake, which ripped through Haiti last Tuesday, January 12. Click here to check out the other photos, but be warned, some are quite graphic.

Photos by FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — A large than life statue of the founder of our “Media City,” Dr. David Burbank, was unveiled Tuesday, January 12, as the center piece of a new park-like enclave at  1075 West Burbank Blvd, or at the Five Points as it’s known.

A lot going on this week on Burbank Boulevard in Burbank. Once a street with a shabby or rundown look and reputation, this boulevard is starting to shine. Earlier on Tuesday, at Five Points, that busy intersection of Burbank and Victory Boulevards, unveiling of the statue of Dr. David Burbank, which is anchored to a 50-foot pole that has an American flag flapping in the breeze at its tip.

By the time I arrived, the speeches and the ribbon cutting were over, but many in the crowd still lingered to spend some time viewing the statue and enjoying the inviting scene of walkways, green lawns, pretty trees, and the free food from the Coral Café located on Burbank Boulevard.   

As usual here in “Media City,” there is debate and controversy about the site. There’s grumbling about the statue, whether Dr. Burbank deserves the honor and complaints that the sculpture, by Andre Favilli, does not look enough like Dr. Burbank. Well, the city is named for Dr. Burbank so a statue of him in the city doesn’t seem outrageous.

 Also, city officials have explained that the sculpture is an artist’s rendition of Dr. Burbank and is not intended to be a perfect likeness. There are concerns about parking at the busy spot as well. Oh, and some have wondered why city officials opted for green lawns instead of the drought resistant landscape it keeps pushing residents to adopt. All good points. The site is not perfect, but it has a good feel to it. I would visit again.

“The Boulevard Is Open!”

Photos by FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove –Burbank Boulevard in Burbank

Some Burbank Boulevard merchants are continuing the celebration with an open house tomorrow, Saturday January 16, noon to 3 p.m. The city is providing buses. The main pick up location for visitors is at the Dr. David Burbank statue site at Burbank and Victory Boulevards. The special open house tour to various shops, stores, and businesses will include prizes, giveaways, discounts, and a “History of Burbank” scavenger hunt.

John Pedersen, owner of Pedersen’s Band & Orchestra, and treasurer of the Burbank Boulevard Merchants Association, told me in an e-mail:”This open house will be a sort of  ”piggy back” continuation of the statue unveiling on Tuesday, January 12th. This unveiling completes the entire Burbank Boulevard streetscape project and we are all very proud of our new street.”  

The Burbank Boulevard streetscape project spruced up the street with light pole banners, new trees and other landscaping and improvements.    

White House photo by Samantha Appleton 01/14/10: President Obama calling for new bank fees.

Some ”fat cats” on Wall Street got a rude whack upside the head from President Obama today. A tough talking Obama put the big banks on notice that he wants them to repay “every dime” of our money they got in that huge financial bailout. The president wants to slap the big banks with a fee designed to recoup perhaps as much as $117 billions over 12 years.  

“And my determination to achieve this goal is only heightened when I see reports of massive profits and obscene bonuses at some of the very firms who owe their continued existence to the American people — folks who have not been made whole, and who continue to face real hardship in this recession. 

We want our money back, and we’re going to get it.  And that’s why I’m proposing a Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee to be imposed on major financial firms until the American people are fully compensated for the extraordinary assistance they provided to Wall Street.  If these companies are in good enough shape to afford massive bonuses, they are surely in good enough shape to afford paying back every penny to taxpayers.”

The fee would only be levied against banks with more than $50 million in assets.  More on the President’s Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee for banks on The White House blog and Reuters.

March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010

Some voices you never forget. Legendary singer Teddy Pendergrass had such a voice. In its prime, it was raw, sexy, smooth, passionate, and explosive. A true Soul singer. His voice was one of those gifts given to only a few. Hopefully, he’s singing now in a higher place. Pendergrass passed away last night in Philadelphia, apparently of complications following surgery for colon cancer.

His life and career were filled with some highs and lows. In 1982, he was an international sex symbol and entertainer when a tragic car crash left him paralyzed and in a wheelchair. Pendergrass was still able to sing, but not with the power that had been part of his signature style. He was only 31 at the time and had already amassed a collection of platinum albums.

Some of Pendergrass’ classic hits from the ’70s and ’80s include, “Close the Door,” “Love TKO,” “Turn off the Lights,” “Come Go With Me,” “When Somebody Loves You Back,” “You’re My Latest, My Greatest Inspiration,” and with Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes, “Bad Luck,” “You Know How To Make Me Feel So Good,” and “Wake Up Everybody.”

Pendergrass continued to record and perform after the accident, but his career never recovered the scope it had achieved previously. Pendergrass was 59 when he died.

I think the words of the hit “Wake Up Everybody” are still relevant today. Other artists have recorded the song, but in my opinion, TP’s version is still the best.

“Wake Up Everybody” (1975)

Wake up everybody no more sleepin in bed
No more backward thinkin time for thinkin ahead
The world has changed so very much
From what it used to be so
there is so much hatred war an’ poverty
Wake up all the teachers time to teach a new way
Maybe then they’ll listen to whatcha have to say
Cause they’re the ones who’s coming up and the world is in their hands
when you teach the children teach em the very best you can.

Chorus
The world won’t get no better if we just let it be
The world won’t get no better we gotta change it yeah, just you and me.

Wake up all the doctors make the ol’ people well
They’re the ones who suffer an’ who catch all the hell
But they don’t have so very long before the Judgement Day
So won’tcha make them happy before they pass away.
Wake up all the builders time to build a new land
I know we can do it if we all lend a hand
The only thing we have to do is put it in our mind
Surely things will work out they do it every time.

Chorus
The world won’t get no better if we just let it be
The world won’t get no better we gotta change it yeah, just you and me.

Concern here and around the world today for the victims of that devastating earthquake that tore through Haiti yesterday. The magnitude: an incredible 7.0. Tens of thousands are feared dead. Thousands of survivors are in desperate need of help. A short while ago, I got an e-mail about the situation in Haiti from President Obama.

Good Afternoon,

The reports and images from Haiti of collapsed hospitals, crumbled homes, and men and women carrying their injured neighbors through the streets are truly heart-wrenching. As we learn more about the extent of the devastation, our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Haiti and Haitian Americans around our country who do not yet know the fate of their families and loved ones back home.

I have directed my Administration to respond with a swift, coordinated and aggressive effort to save lives. The people of Haiti will have the full support of the United States Government in the urgent effort to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble and to deliver the humanitarian relief — the food, water and medicine — that Haitians will need in the coming days.

This is also a time when we are reminded of the common humanity that we all share, and Americans have always responded to these situations with generosity of spirit. If you would like to support the urgent humanitarian effort in Haiti, I encourage you to visit our website where you can learn more about how to contribute:

http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/HaitiEarthquake

Americans trying to locate family members in Haiti are encouraged to contact the State Department at (888) 407-4747.

We will continue to stand with the people of Haiti and keep them in our thoughts and prayers.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama
 

Chris Rock to write and produce new comedy flick

Entertainer Chris Rock has caught the remake fever. Many in Hollywood have been afflicted with the desire to redo films and TV series. Today there’s a report on the Done Deal site (paid membership required) that says actor/comic/writer has optioned the French movie,  “La Première étoile” ( “The First Star”) for a remake. The comedy centers on the culture shock and adventures of a working class black family at a winter ski resort.

Rock’s company, CR Enterprises, is producing the film. Rock is writing the script.

 Tobey Maguire to hang-up his Spider-Man threads

I think it’s a real bummer that actor Tobey Maguire is not going to be flying across the big screen as the web-slinger, Spider-Man, in a fourth installment of the blockbuster movie franchise. For weeks there have been reports that the script for “Spider-Man 4″ was in turmoil. On Monday came the death blow for the film project.

Unable to come to an agreement on the script with director Sam Raimi, Columbia has scrapped “Spider-Man 4.” In doing so, the production company cut loose Raimi and major stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. Columbia plans to reboot the franchise with a teenaged Peter Parker in high school. I’m not feeling that. Let Spider-Man/Peter Parker stay a man dealing with adult problems and not go back to the worn-out teenaged drama stuff. Columbia’s move sounds like one of those bad “James Bond” fixes.

Yeah, I’m a “Spider-Man” fan. Loved the first two “Spidey” movies; thought the third was just so-so. No matter, I was still up for the fourth installment. This comic book based-franchise has generated $2.5 billion at the Box Office, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 

The plot thickens over at troubled NBC. “Tonight Show” host, Conan O’Brien, issued a statement today, in which he turns thumbs down on the NBC plan to give Jay Leno a half-hour comedy show at 11:35 p.m. In the statement, O’Brien claims shifting the  “Tonight Show” to 12:05 a.m. is not an option he can accept:”For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show.”

O’Brien goes on to say: ”My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction.”      

You know, I’ve never been a real big O’Brien fan, however, I have to give the comedian his props for this bold statement. And he makes a lot of sense. Nikki Finke has the full O’Brien statement and more on the NBC mess over on her Deadline.com Hollywood site.

I’m getting a lot of questions, e-mails, and searches on this blog for more information about that hot new agency in Tinseltown. After some investigating, I’ve discovered Verve Talent and Literary Agency has a website up and running. Not much to it yet, but give them time.

The partners Bryan Besser, Adam Levine, and Bill Weinstein just hung out their shingle a few days ago. Apparently, their first priorities are signing clients and making deals. I can understand that. 

Here’s the link http://www.vervetla.com/

Ford Motor Company won the two major awards at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit today. The U.S. automaker’s sweep is a milestone. It’s only the third time in 17 years that a single automaker has captured both awards.

The Ford Fusion Hybrid won the car of the year award and the Ford Transit Connect snagged the truck award. The awards are great marketing tools. Last year’s winners became hot sellers, according to Reuters. In a press release, Ford crowed about the prestigious awards and boasted that the Ford Fusion Hybrid gets an estimated 41 mpg in the city and 36 mpg on the highway. The Ford Transit gets a reported 22 mpg in the city and 25 mpg on the highway.

Here are some other awards and accolades collected by the hot Ford Fusion Hybrid:

Awards and accolades for the Ford Transit Connect include:

The only downside to this, both vehicles were built outside of the country. Now, if Ford and the other two struggling Detroit automakers can import what worked with these two vehicles to their U.S. plants — then we could really be looking at a recovery for the American Car Industry.  By the way, Ford was the only one of the big three not to file bankruptcy last year or grab a chunk of that $120 billion government bailout. It might be a good idea for General Motors and Chrysler to check out Ford’s business model as well.

Some very familiar names and some fresh talent on the Writers Guild of America’s list of nominees for outstanding achievement in writing for the screen. Here are the nominations released today.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

(500) Days of Summer, Written by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber; Fox Searchlight

Avatar, Written by James Cameron; 20th Century Fox

The Hangover, Written by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore; Warner Bros.

The Hurt Locker, Written by Mark Boal; Summit Entertainment

A Serious Man, Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen; Focus Features

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Crazy Heart, Screenplay by Scott Cooper; Based on the novel by Thomas Cobb; Fox Searchlight

Julie & Julia, Screenplay by Nora Ephron; Based on the books Julie & Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme; Sony Pictures

Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire, Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher; Based on the novel Push by Sapphire; Lionsgate

Star Trek, Written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman; Based upon Star Trek, Created by Gene Roddenberry; Paramount Pictures

Up in the Air, Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner; Based upon the novel by Walter Kirn; Paramount Pictures

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

Against the Tide, Screenplay by Richard Trank & Rabbi Marvin Hier; Moriah Films

Capitalism: A Love Story, Written by Michael Moore; Overture Films

The Cove, Written by Mark Monroe; Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions

Earth Days, Written by Robert Stone; Zeitgeist Films

Good Hair, Written by Chris Rock & Jeff Stilson and Lance Crouther and Chuck Sklar; Roadside Attractions

Soundtrack for a Revolution, Written by Bill Guttentag & Dan Sturman; Freedom Song Productions and Louverture Films

The winners will be announced at simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York on Saturday, February 20, 2010.

Moviegoers keep shelling out the bucks for tickets to James Camerons’ 3D epic, “Avatar.” For the fourth straight week “Avatar” is the number one at the domestic Box Office. Last weekend, “Avatar” scooped up a hefty $50.3 million.

Also, “Avatar” snatched the record for the best fourth week showing from “Titanic,” which earned $28.7 million on the same weekend during its theater run. “Avatar” has rolled right over the pack, and is now chasing “Titanic” for the best worldwide gross ever.  “Titanic” holds the title with a gross of $1,842 billion. “Avatar” has moved up to second place with $1,341 billion. Box Office Mojo has more on the records being challenged or shattered by “Avatar.”

As for the rest of the weekend Box Office, “Sherlock Holmes” held onto second place raking in $16.58 million. The animated feature , “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel”  was close behind in third with $16.56.

A new horror vampire flick, “Daybreakers,” starring Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe, scared up a$ 15 million debut, which was good enough for fourth place. Rounding out the top five, the adult romantic comedy, “It’s Complicated” with $11million.

Photo:Councilman Dave Golonski from Burbank City website.

I was at last Tuesday’s Burbank City Council meeting and it was truly a disappointment. A couple of actions by  the council are still bugging me. Yeah, there’s some other stuff that I thought was kind of whacked as well, but two decisions at the January 5 meeting stick out the most and are of great concern. I can’t help wondered about the ramifications of those decisions.

First, Councilman Dave Golonski’s attack on two members of the  Burbank Civil Service Board is really disturbing. Golonski targeted Nathan Schlossman and Ex-Burbank Mayor Mary Lou Howard for removal from the board for making what he considered inappropriate comments, while rejecting the temporary appointment to Police Captain of Lieutenant Armen Dermenjian. Hmm, is this a case of the pot calling the kettle black? How many times, have members of this city council, Golonski included, made inappropriate remarks during council meetings in the past year? Has anybody been keeping a count?

During pubic comments, Civil Service Commissioner, Ted Milner, bravely stood before the council and defended the remarks made by his two fellow board members as “courageous” and “honest.”  Very gutsy of Milner to speak up for Howard and Schlossman and risk the wrath of Golonski. But speak up he did.  And I agree with him.

If Howard and Schlossman went too far in scrutinizing Dermenjian’s appointment, from what I’ve read of their comments in the transcripts, it was with good reason. Dermenjian’s name has been mentioned in that ongoing FBI probe of the Burbank PD. We don’t know if he’s considered a witness or something more. The FBI is not giving out details.  

Also, then Police Chief, Tim Stehr, pushed hard for Dermenjian’s appointment, despite being on shaky ground himself. In the wake of all those lawsuits, investigations, low morale in the BPD, and the suicide of Sergeant Neil Thomas Gunn, Stehr decided to retire last November. I think Schlossman and Howard were looking out for the best interest of the city and its citizens when they questioned Dermenjian’s promotion.

Even though the Civil Service Board blocked Dermenjian’s appointment to acting police captain twice, city officials managed to find a way to circumvent the board. Dermenjian got that promotion. Still last Tuesday, the city council voted 3-to-2 ( Dr. David Gordon and Mayor Gary Bric were the “no” votes) to censure or publicly reprimand the two civil service commissioners for their inappropriate comments. I disagree with the decision and consider it, ah, well, inappropriate for the alleged offense.

Photo: Burbank City Attorney Dennis Barlow by FLewis/A Writer’s Groove

Also, I had some difficulty understanding how the city council could quickly vote to hand over $1.2 million of city funds to pay some new high-priced lawyers. A million of that is being set aside for attorneys Merrick Bobb of Police Assessment Resource Center and Debra Wong Yang of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP.  Ironically these lawyers already have been hired. Last Tuesday’s vote apparently was just a formality.

I thought it was interesting when Councilman Gordon questioned Barlow about whether he’d asked for a price break on the steep legal fees. Barlow answered  “no”  because he didn’t want to “nickle and dime” the big time lawyers. I don’t think we’re talking about chump change here. This is serious money!

I’m not sure what kind of advice on improving the BPD these lawyers can give before the results of the investigations are known. So why start hiring expensive lawyers now?  Some believe the real reason these lawyers are being brought on board is to defend the actions of some of THOSE folks who had a hand in causing many of the problems and legal challenges now facing the city and the police department. 

Again, I’m disappointed in the city council. I don’t think these two decisions were in the best interest of the city and its citizens.  Not a good beginning for 2010.

It’s a mess. That’s about the nicest way to describe the situation that NBC finds itself in right now with three of its talk show hosts, Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien, and Jimmy Fallon. Rumors of the demise of Jay Leno’s low rated prime time talk show have been swirling around for a while. Then last week, those rumors, all over the Internet and elsewhere, became a firestorm, fueled by leaks that Leno was headed back to late night.

Today, Jeff Gaspin, chairman of NBC Universal Television Entertainment, made the announcement at the Television Critics Association Press Tour in Pasadena. Gaspin spoke to the media and got right to the point: “… I can confirm what many of you have been reporting: starting February ’The Jay Leno Show’ will no longer air at 10 PM. While it was performing at acceptable levels for the network, it did not meet our affiliates’ needs and we realized we had to make a change.”

If he had his way, Gaspin would have “The Jay Leno Show” start at 11:35 p.m., followed by “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” at 12:05 a.m., and then “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” at 1:05 a.m. However, Gaspin admits nothing is confirmed and that the talks with the hosts and their reps are ongoing.  

“The Jay Leno Show” is expected to get the boot out of prime time by February 12,  when NBC begins airing the Winter Olympics. Let me just say here that Leno should have been allowed to stay on the “Tonight Show.” His ratings were high, even during the 2007-2008 writers strike. That’s right, folks were willing to watch Leno even without a great monologue and celebrity guests. It wasn’t broke, but NBC executives decided to fix it anyway. And look what happened!

Nikki Finke has an extensive report on Gaspin’s comments and the NBC debacle on her Deadline Hollywood site.

Kindle — Amazon’s popular wireless reading device

On Thursday, Freelance Writer Gayle Trent signed with a big time agent after one of her mystery novels became a bestseller in Amazon’s Kindle Store, which has around 400,000 e-books, magazines, newspapers, and blogs.

Small independent publisher of books set in or about the South, BelleBooks, recently offered Trent’s mystery, “Murder Takes The Cake,” in the Kindle Store as part of a temporary promotion.  Well, the mystery shot to number three on Kindle’s bestseller list.

What happened next sounds like a  writer’s fantasy. Trent told GalleyCat she got an e-mail from Super Agent Robert Gottlieb of the Trident Media Group and first thought it might be some new Nigerian e-mail scam. However, she finally got up the nerve to respond to the e-mail: “I was pleasantly surprised–okay, thrilled–when I called the number at the bottom of the e-mail and learned it was legitimate and that Mr. Gottlieb was indeed interested in talking with me.”

Also, “Murder Takes The Cake” was a semi-finalist in Amazon.com’s Breakthrough Novel Award contest.  Nice to see a semi-finalist score the big win. More on Trent, her novel, and hooking up with a major agent here.

No big winner in the Mega Millions lottery game last night. Since none of the tickets in that game matched all six numbers, the next jackpot gets pumped up to at least $60 million. You can dream really big when a jackpot leaps the $50 million mark.

One ticket bought in California for last night’s drawing picked five numbers, but not the Mega Ball. That ticket is worth $649,916.  Two tickets purchased in the state got four numbers right and the Mega Ball. Each is valued at $24,223. The next drawing for the Mega Millions game is Tuesday, January 12.

Superlotto drawing tonight

Superlotto ticket buyers for tonight’s game will be playing for an $8 million jackpot. The numbers will be selected at 7:57 p.m.

 A Highland Park college student is really going green this year. Green as in dollar bills. The Pasadena City College student, who doesn’t want his name released, won the SuperLotto jackpot on Saturday, January 2, 2010, according to the California Lottery website.  The jackpot was worth $8 million bucks. Not the kind of jackpot that draws media attention, but enough financial security for this guy to quit his part time job at an auto parts store and to go to school full time.

Oh, the lottery winner wants to use some of his new riches to help others and, “travel to the corners of the world.”

The Mega Millions draw worth at least $48 million

Now if you want to talk about some serious money, tonight’s Mega Millions drawing is worth at least a hefty $48 million. California is one of several states that participates in Mega Millions, the largest multi-state lottery game in North America. The drawing tonight is at 8 p.m.

Verve, that new Hollywood talent and literary agency, is wasting no time in getting down to business. On Monday the agency, headed by former WME motion picture agents Bryan Besser, Adam Levine, and Bill Weinstein, announced it was up and running. Today Nikki Finke reports, the agency has signed 24 working writers and/or directors.

Joining Verve’s new client list are David Elliot & Paul Lovett, scripters on last year’s blockbuster  ”GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” and Darren Lynn Bousman, director of “Saw II,”  Saw III,” and “Saw IV.” Finke has the scoop on the other new clients on her Deadline.com/ Hollywood site. Also, Verve is apparently actively on the hunt for even more talent to add to its roster.

DGA picks top five film directors of 2009

Today the Directors Guild of America announced a solid list of contenders for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2009. The nominees for the award are: Kathryn Bigelow “The Hurt Locker,” James Cameron “Avatar,” Lee Daniels “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” James Reitman “Up In The Air,” and Quentin Tarantino “Inglourious Basterds.”

If they weren’t already, these films and directors shot to the head of the Oscar contenders list with today’s announcement. The DGA Award is considered an accurate barometer for who will win the Oscar for Best Feature Film Director. Since 1948, only six times has the winner of the DGA Award not gone on to win the Academy Award, according to the guild’s website.

The winner will be announced at the 62nd Annual DGA Awards Dinner in Los Angeles on Saturday, January 30, 2010. More details on the nominees and the DGA Awards here.

2010 People’s Choice Awards

This year’s People’s Choice Awards were handed out earlier in the week. The winners include Sandra Bullock, Johnny Depp, Ellen Degeneres, Mariah Carey, Carrie Underwood, and Taylor Lautner. The Wrap has a nice recap of the winners and a tidbit about the controversy surrounding the newly designed People’s Choice trophy.  

Photo: Annie Leibovitz/Vanity Fair website

Golf Superstar Tiger Woods’ life is a train wreck that we can’t stop gawking at or shaking our heads about. I admit it, I’m shocked at some of the salacious stuff Tiger is accused of doing. Meanwhile, a pre-scandal Tiger is shown on the cover of the February issue of Vanity Fair. Does he look a bit sinister in this photo?

Over on the mag’s website, the photo of the shirtless 33-year-old athlete, staring unsmiling into the camera, appears a number of times. So I couldn’t help but look at Tiger’s face and search for signs of trouble or places where the perfect façade might be cracking.

The cover story is an interesting report about the two Tigers; the congenial sportsman with the incredible golf swing and billion dollar career and the other newly revealed Tiger, embroiled in damaging allegations of sexcapades, which now threaten his marriage and the image he has so carefully crafted over the years. The story is a good read. It doesn’t answer the tough question of who is the real Tiger Woods? A question, I don’t think anyone can really answer, except maybe the golfer himself.  And he’s not talking, at least, not right now.

“Michael Jackson’s This Is It” in the running for NAACP Image Award

“Michael Jackson’s This Is It,” a behind the scenes look at the King of Pop rehearsing and prepping for a series of concerts, is up against four other films for the NAACP ‘s Outstanding Motion Picture Image Award. The other contenders are: ”The Blind Side,” “Invictus,”  “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” and “The Princess and the Frog.” These are just some of the 41st NAACP Image Award nominees announced today at a news conference in Beverly Hills.

The drama “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” led the pack with eight nominations. In the Recording Category, Jay-Z and Maxwell both received five nominations each, followed by Alicia Keys with three, and Mary J. Blige, Whitney Houston, and Rihanna each got two.

Nominees in all the categories: television, motion picture, writing/directing, recording and literature are up on the Image Awards website.  The Image Awards celebrate outstanding achievement and performances by people of color in the arts as well as those individuals or groups who promote social justice through their creative endeavors, according to the website. For 2009, over 12-hundred entries were submitted. The winners will be announced during a live broadcast Friday, February 26, 2010.  

Will Smith & Denzel Washington the next dynamic duo?

 Hollywood loves to remake hit films. So it comes as no surprise that the 1974 comedy, “Uptown Saturday Night” is getting a re-do. Will Smith’s company, Overbrook Entertainment, and Warner Bros. are involved in the development of the remake. Apparently the deal has been in the works since 2002.

The plot revolves around two friends who go out clubbing, they get robbed, and next day they discover that one of the stolen wallets had a winning lottery ticket in it. According to the website Done Deal, there’s a chance Will Smith and Denzel Washington will team up to play the two pals. A new script is being written.

The 1974 version was directed by Sidney Poitier who starred in the film along with Bill Cosby and Harry Belafonte.