jennifer hudson Tagged Articles at Cinematical

You'd think there wouldn't be a ton of stuff to catch you post-Turkey blokes up with, but it's the exact opposite. So here's some stuff(ing) and things to skim over today:

-- Folks are going bonkers today over news in Production Weekly that the much-anticipated (and kinda secretive) Tron sequel has changed its title to TRZ in order to trick young kids into thinking MTV has adapted their now-retired TRL for the big screen. Okay, that's not the real reason ... but do we really need to know the real reason? TRZ? Here's the snippet of plot synopsis they provided: "After being transported into the surreal landscape of a mainframe computer to destroy an intruder, a programmer finds himself allied with the leader of a rebellion against a corrupt cyber-entity." According to Disney, an official title for the Tron sequel is not set yet.

-- George Miller finally went on the record and told a talk show in Sydney that he's officially off Justice League. He's done. That's it. Over. Dark Horizons says Miller thinks the film will be recast when (and if) it happens because "the studios seem to want bigger stars in their superhero movies now." We wonder why?

-- According to Shock, a source tells them Rob Zombie will indeed return to direct Halloween 2, the follow-up to his successful (at the box office) reboot of the franchise, titled Halloween. Additionally, the site claims Halloween 2 will begin shooting as early as this March.

-- Why do all the Nazi flicks come out during the holidays? And how do you sell them?

-- Jennifer Hudson's estranged brother-in-law has been arrested for the deaths of the actress/singer's mother, brother and nephew, according to CBS News.

After the jump: First looks at Whip It and Youth in Revolt, more on Chef and a very cool short film contest.

The Secret Life of Bees, adapted and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood from the best-selling book by Sue Monk Kidd, weaves racism and the civil rights movement around the story of Lily (Dakota Fanning), a young white girl taken in by three African-American sisters when she runs away from her controlling, emotionless father. It's a role that's in some ways reminiscent of the character Fanning played in Hounddog, a film that was critically panned and rather controversial for having a scene in which Fanning's character was raped.

This time around, there's no such awkward controversy; The Secret Life of Bees is a sweet, mostly charming coming-of-age tale that, while it doesn't particularly break any new ground with regards to the filmmaking, does an able enough job of adapting a bestselling book of the "women's bookclub" variety for the screen. Here's the basic story: Lily is haunted by the death of her mother; now, on the eve of her fourteenth birthday, she's had enough of her father, T-Ray (Paul Bettany), and starts to fight back against him.

When their maid, Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson), is accosted by a pack of angry white men on the way to registering to vote -- and ends up arrested herself for her trouble -- Lily decides that it's time for both her and Rosaleen to escape. She has a vague idea about where to go -- Tiburon, South Carolina -- based only on the name of a town written on one of the few possessions she has of her mother's, and a label from a honey jar.

Last year, bit by bit, we got casting notices for the uber-drama Winged Creatures, which collected a powerful group of actors -- Forest Whitaker, Kate Beckinsale, Jennifer Hudson, Dakota Fanning, Jackie Earle Haley, Guy Pearce, and Jeanne Tripplehorn. Now a trailer has finally hit the Internet, which you can see above.

As the trailer outlines, the film follows a group of people who suffer post-traumatic stress after a random shooting at a Los Angeles diner. Talk about a soul-sucker. The trailer alone should steal some of the wind from your happy sails, but it looks like it will be in the most worthy way. Initial buzz at IMDb has pegged the film to be a 9.1/10, so this could be one of those heavy, challenging dramas worth our time and energy. The film premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival, but a release date is yet to be set.

Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster for The Secret Life of Bees (click above image to enlarge), based on Sue Monk Kidd's best-selling coming-of-age novel. And talk about an all-star cast of top-notch female talent, Bees stars Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Dakota Fanning, Alicia Keys and Sophee Okonedo. The film, which is set in South Carolina in 1964, follows two friends (Fanning and Latifah) who run away from home in order to solve the mystery surrounding one of their mothers. Eventually, the three Boatwright sisters (Latifah, Keys and Okonedo) take the two girls in and teach them how to care for and raise bees. The book itself has a ton of fans, and I expect the film -- especially with this cast -- to win over a slew of new ones as well.

The Secret Life of Bees buzzes into theaters on October 17.

I was, admittedly, a bit of a latecomer to the Sex and the City craze. For years, I staunchly refused to watch the show, convinced from what I knew of it that it wasn't for me. It struck me as self-absorbed and superficial, episode after episode of successful, independent women who should have been perfectly content with their lives, endlessly bemoaning what they didn't have -- Prince Charming and "happily-ever-after" -- over endless rounds of Cosmos. Who wants to listen to four women talking about nothing but fashion and men? Not me, said I. I didn't even drink Cosmos for the longest time, just because I associated them with the show.

And then, one day a few years ago I was going nuts being confined to bed rest with my last child. I'd watched everything on Court TV and more sappy Lifetime movies than any one person should ever have to stomach, I was desperate for something else to watch to pass the time. And there, right by the DVD player, was my oldest daughter's most prized possession: Season One of Sex and the City. What the hell, it couldn't be any worse than re-watching Tori Spelling in Mother, May I Sleep With Danger, right? I slipped the first disc into the DVD player ... and didn't stop watching until I'd watched every episode of the first season. And then I was hooked on the adventures of Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte.

With the end of this month comes final confirmation: Can Sex and the City make it as a feature film? To continue to whet our Sex appetites, a whole slew of clips popped up over on the net. Above you can check out the, erm, fleshed out waxing clip from the trailer, and after the jump there's a wedding announcement, that Cinderella clip, some "coloring," home shopping, and Carrie getting a little bit too "pat on the head," "I've been there" preachy with Jennifer Hudson.

As someone who enjoyed the show (whilst ignoring the idiotic fashions and some of the crappy men), this is looking to be the sort of film that will appeal to fans ... although it will be a little different than its skin-risque HBO roots. A few years passed and now it seems that we won't be getting the usual fleshy shocker from Samantha -- rumor has it that the only woman who celebrates full-flesh is Cynthia Nixon. It's too bad that age seems to be making the women cling to the clothing, but then again, that's SatC for you -- partially stereotype-breaking and partially stereotype-clutching.

There is nothing new about the debate over rampant commercialism and Sex and the City. So, I'm not even going to go into whether empowerment can be achieved through shopping. But, Fergie's new theme song for the big-screen SATC has hit the web, and she has no qualms about making an ode to designer labels. Titled Labels or Love, the track sounds like a My Humps redux, and frankly, it's pretty awful. For starters, throughout most of the song I had a hard time understanding what she was even saying. But when you can make out the lyrics, they include such philosophical statements as: "Love is a like a runway," "Stop chasing those boys and shop some more," and "No emotional baggage, just replace it with Dior."

Fans of the show have been awaiting the feature film version with bated breath since the news first hit, and the fever pitch has only risen now that Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker have been letting the spoilers fly. Unfortunately, SATC was never really my thing, so I only have a passing curiosity to see how they translate Carrie and the gang on the screen. One thing is for sure, if this theme song is an indication of the music for the movie, I definitely won't be buying the soundtrack.

Take a listen and tell me what you think: Did Fergie improve upon the original? Or is this track best reserved for the closing credits?

Well, Tyler Perry has been outed as a possible roid-rager, and I'm sure it has made plenty of fans look at him just a little differently. Now, the man famous for dressing up in a housecoat has decided to take a stab at something just a little more dramatic, 'cause goodness knows, he could probably use the change. Variety reports that Jennifer Hudson is currently in talks to star in his family drama, Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys -- now I know I am not the first person to comment on this, but really, does he have to put his name in the title of every single film that he makes? Perry will direct and star along with Sanaa Lathan, Kathy Bates, Alfre Woodard and Rockmond Dunbar (Prison Break). Perry also wrote the script, which is about two families who become intertwined due to relationships in love and business.

The film will mark the first time that Perry has included white actors in the major storyline of the film -- but I can't say that it is really going to matter. Let's just say that I'm enough of a cynic to pretty much assume that any Tyler Perry film isn't exactly going to rock my world. But it's not like I've never been proven wrong about this kinds of things, so you never know. Hudson is still hard at work filming the big-screen version of Sex in The City (as Carrie's assistant, or better known as the "sassy black female friend #1703") as well as The Secret Life of Bees (based on the critically acclaimed coming-of-age novel by Sue Monk Kidd). The Family that Preys is set to start shooting March 2 at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta. After an Oscar and a slew of high-profile roles, is it wrong to suggest that maybe Hudson should steer clear of this particular film?

Super-not-so-shocking news today: Dakota Fanning is about to sign on to play another kid with a dark life. Variety reports that she is in negotiations, along with Alicia Keys, for the upcoming drama The Secret Life of Bees -- which has already nabbed the likes of Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, and Sophie Okonedo. Gina Prince-Bythewood, who wrote and directed Love & Basketball, adapted Sue Monk Kidd's bestselling novel, and will direct it when shooting begins in January in North Carolina. (I guess the South Carolinian book locale was too pricey to shoot in.)

Set in the 1964 south, the year the Civil Rights Act came to be, the film will focus on Lily (Fanning), a 14-year-old girl who lives with her abusive father and memories of her dead mother. It seems that her mom died when a 4-year-old Lily accidentally shot her during a fight with her husband. Meanwhile, her nanny Rosaleen (Hudson) gets into some trouble with some white men while going to register to vote and has to flee the Georgia town. Lily joins her and the pair run off to South Carolina, which somehow holds secrets about her mom's past. They are then taken in by the "eccentric" Calendar sisters (Latifah, Okonedo, and Keys), who make Black Madonna Honey. So, that's where the bees come in. If this slice of drama sounds interesting, the project has a quick turnaround -- Fox Searchlight plans to release it in 2008.