November 17, 2016 

Complied by Shonassee Shaver 

Contributing Writer 

Kellee Stewart does away with typecast role in new FOX comedy “BBF,” produced by Cedric the Entertainer

 

The Soul Man actress, Kellee Stewart will star in the new series, “BBF (Black Best Friend),” a single-camera comedy based on Stewarts life. Debuting on FOX, the comedy follows a black woman, caught between two cultures, who steps out of the shadows of her friends in search of her authentic self. Stewart’s switches positions from being the token black character to becoming the lead actress. For over a decade, she has built a career by playing the black best friend on TV sitcoms. Written by Sebastian Jones (Hot in Cleveland, My Boys and Friends), BBF blows up the trope and hijacks the camera away from the usual white female lead and onto the black best friend.  In addition to starring, Stewart, who helped conceive the series with Jones, is executive producing alongside him as well as with Cedric the Entertainer and Eric Rhone via Cedric’s Bird and a Bear Enter­tainment. Her feature credits include TBS comedy My Boy, The Soul Man where she had a recurring role as Cedric’s sister-in-law and film Hot Tub Time Machine. She co-stars in the indie film Hunter Gatherer premiering in theatres on November 16, reports deadline.com.

 

 

 

Will Smith stars in heartfelt film Collateral Beauty

 

A versatile actor, Will Smith seems to be a “jack of all trades” actor, from “Bad Boys,” “Men in Black,” “Hitch,” to “I Am Legend,” Smith has done everything from comedy to drama. With recent film credits: “Focus,” “Concussion” and “Suicide Squad,” he readies his new project “Collateral Beauty,” a drama that follows a successful New York advertising executive (Howard Inlet), who suffers a great tragedy and retreats from life. While his concerned friends try desperately to reconnect with him, he seeks answers from the universe by writing letters to Love, Time and Death. But it's not until his notes bring unexpected personal responses that he begins to understand how these constants interlock in a life fully lived, and how even the deepest loss can reveal moments of meaning and beauty. Smith is joined by Naomie Harris, Jacob Latimore, Michael Peña, Keira Knightley, Kate Winslet and Helen Mirren. The film is directed by David Frankel and written by Allan Loeb. “Collateral Beauty” opens in theaters December 16.

 

 

 

Denzel Washington and Viola Davis bring Tony Award-winning play, Fences to the big screen on Christmas Day!

 

 

 

Award-winning actors Denzel Washington and Viola Davis team up on the big screen for “Fences.” Directed by Washington from a screenplay by August Wil­son, adapted from Wilson's Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play, the film follows Washington as Troy Maxson, a former Negro League Baseball Player married to Davis who plays Rose Maxson. Troy now works as a waste collector, who struggles with race relations in the United States while trying to raise his family in the 1950s and coming to term with the events of his life. Fences stars Jovan Adepo, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Russell Hornsby, Mykelti Williamson, and Saniyya Sydney. The film is ­produced by Washington, Todd Black and Scott Rudin and executive produced by Molly Allen, Eli Bush, Jason Cloth, Aaron L. Gilbert, Charles King and Kim Roth. “Fences” debuted on Broadway in 1983 and won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 1987 Tony Award for Best Play with James Earl Jones, Mary Alice and Courtney B. Vance. The first Broadway revival starring Washington and Davis was nominated for ten Tony Awards, winning three for Best Revival of a Play, Best Actor in a Play (Washington), and Best Actress in a Play (Davis). Washington recently starred in the remake of “The Magnificent Seven” and Viola is currently starring in her third season of “How to Get Away with Murder.” Fences opens in theaters December 25.

 

 

 

 

Veteran actress Nia Long lands role in Netflix TV series “Dear White People”

 

The Love Jones actress will star and recur in the satirical comedy-drama, “Dear White People” featured on Netflix. Nia Long plays Neika Hobbs, a Winchester University African-American studies professor who is smart and confident but whose pulled-together professional life contrasts a more complicated personal one. Based on the 2014 film of the same name, the series centers on a diverse group of students of color as they navigate a predominantly white Ivy League college where racial tensions are often swept under the rug. The series is a send-up of “post-racial” America that also touches on a universal story about forging one’s own unique path. Justin Simien will return to write and direct several episodes of the series. Ten 30-minute episodes has been ordered by Netflix, with an expected premiere date of 2017, report eurweb.com. Long is joined by Logan Browning (“Hit the Floor”) and Brandon P. Bell, who will reprise his role from the film. Long’s recent credits include “House of Lies,” ABC’s “Uncle Buck and Keanu.” She will star opposite Idina Menzel in the remake of “Beaches” on Lifetime Network. 

 

Category: Arts & Culture