Entertainment Week of 7/18/11

What really happened between Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony? After 7 years and two kids, the marriage has ended. Was it Anthony’s controlling ways? Was he cheating? Did he have a problem with J-Lo’s clothes? Her way of dressing, was it too sexy? Was he upset when she wouldn’t stay at home and have more kids? Lopez is returning to American Idol as a judge, and sources say that was the final straw in the breakup of this marriage. The two seemed to be in love. It appeared he had grounded her, but the two have decided to call it quits. They had several deals in the works, and apparently, they will still work together on their clothing line for Kohl’s and a possible reality show. Apparently with these two, it’s all about the cash.


Get well wishes to R Kelly, who had to undergo emergency throat surgery. Kelly had an abscess on his tonsils. He will be recuperating for a while.

Rapper/Actor Tone Loc has been fighting with the mother of his child. He was recently caught with an unregister assault rifle after a fight with his babymomma. He was arrested and released. Tone Loc is best known for the hits Wild Thing and Funky Cold Medina.

After 11 years, get ready for the return of D’Angelo. He has been in the studio with Questlove of The Roots, and D’Angelo says new music is coming before the end of the year. Over the past few years, D’Angelo has been through a lot, including a serious car accident, arrests, drugs and soliciting a prostitute.

Get ready for more Unsung. The popular music documentary show will be rolling out more episodes this year, including specials on Billy Preston, The Sylvers and Mary Wells.

Ice Cube is on the cover of the new Jet magazine.

Wendy Williams returns for a third season of her daytime talk show on September 12th.

Get ready for a second season of the VH1 smash Single Ladies. VHI has renewed the show. It is the cable network’s first hour-long scripted series about three best friends in Atlanta. LisaRaye and Stacey Dash star. Queen Latifah is the show’s executive producer. The second season debuts next year.

The Reverend Al Sharpton is getting his own show on MSNBC. The cable news network is close to hiring him for a 6pm nightly show.

L. A. Reid is one busy man. In addition to his judging duties on Simon Cowell’s new singing competition show The X Factor, Reid will also be heading up Epic Records. The X Factor debut Wednesday, September 21st. Reid will be joining Judges Cowell, Paula Abdul, Nicole Scherzinger and Mentor Mariah Carey. Don’t look for nice judges on this show. They will all have an edge.

Dwight Eubanks has left the building. Dwight has been a staple of The Real Housewives Of Atlanta. Eubanks says he feels the show has no sense or substance. He says it’s time to leave the buffoonery and craziness behind. Sources say Eubanks is really upset because the show won’t reveal what he really does. He is the owner of a salon, and producers have never shown it. Eubanks, 50, may pop up somewhere else because he says he is not finished with TV.

Judge Mablean Ephriam says she would like to return to Divorce Court. It’s been five years since the 62-year old Ephriam left the show in a dispute over money and her hair. Judge Mablean appeared on the popular divorce show for seven years, and she made quite a name for herself. Over the past few years, she has appeared in several Tyler Perry movies, and she took care of her mother, who recently passed away.

We’ve got baby news! Congrats to Singer Erica Campbell of Mary Mary. She is expecting her third child with husband Producer/Songwriter Warren Campbell. It’s also baby number three for Actress/Comedian Maya Rudolph. The 38-year old Bridesmaid star gave birth to her third child, a boy named Jack. Rudolph has a five year daughter (Pearl) and 20-month old daughter (Lucille). Rudolph is the daughter of the late Minnie Riperton. This fall, Maya has a new show debuting on NBC called Up All Night.

Filming has started on Steve Harvey’s new movie Think Like A Man. The cast is incredible: Kevin Hart, Gabrielle Union, Chris Brown, Michael Ealy, Nephew Tommy, Taraji P. Henson and Meagan Goode. It’s based on Harvey’s bestselling book Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man.

Two years ago, she won an Academy Award for her role in the movie Precious. Now Mo’Nique has signed on for a new movie project called Bumped. Mo’Nique says it took her a while to get around to acting again because she has been hard at work on her nightly talk show on BET.

Blair Underwood has joined the cast of Bishop T.D. Jakes’ movie On The Seventh Day. The movie also stars Pam Grier and Sharon Leal. Bishop Jakes is on a roll. He recently co-produces Jumping The Broom. His other films include Woman Thou Art Loosed with Kimberly Elise and Not Easily Broken with Morris Chestnut.

SWV is getting back together. They are planning a tour, a new album and a reality show. Coko, Taj and Lelee are back.

Shaquille O’Neal will be joining the analysts for the TNT basketball season, which kicks off this fall. There is a lot of excitement about Shaq being in the analyst booth because he always has a lot to say.

The 63rd Annual Emmy Awards air September 18th on FOX. Congrats to Taraji P. Henson, Andre Braugher, Idris Elba, Laurence Fishburne and Alfre Woodard, who have all been nominated for Emmys this year.

Tyler Perry is the cover guy for the new issue of Ebony magazine. In this issue of Ebony, Perry says no more feuding with Spike Lee. He’s over that drama. He says he regrets some of the things he said, but from now on Perry is going to be more respectful to Lee and his family. Perry also talks about a special lady, but he won’t reveal who she is. He also talks about wanting to be a father.

Get ready for a remake of the 1976 hit movie Sparkle. Paula Patton has been tapped to star as “Sista,” the role made famous by Lonette McKee. Michael Ealy is being considered for the Philip Michael Thomas role (“Stix”), and Zoë Saldana is being considered for the Irene Cara role (“Sparkle”). Speaking of Michael Ealy, he’s joining the cast of the USA network show Common Law.

Patti LaBelle has some exciting business ventures coming up, including a fall tour. Go to pattilabelle.com for more info.

The legendary Johnson Publishing Company is no longer a family owned business. J.P. Morgan has purchased a minority stake in Johnson Publishing. After 70 years, the company has new partners. Johnson Publishing owns Ebony and Jet magazines.

Actress Viola Davis is the cover girl for the new issue of Essence. She has a new movie called The Help coming out next month. The Tony winning and Oscar nominated-actress is best known for her roles in Doubt and Fences.

Nicole Richie has joined the cast of the NBC reality show Fashion Star. Richie will serve as a celebrity mentor. Jessica Simpson will also be part of the cast.

Cedric The Entertainer is returning to TV as host of the game show It’s Worth What? The show goes into the attics and garages of America to help people get money.

Congrats to Laz Alonso! His A&E TV show Breakout Kings has been renewed for another season.

There will be life after all for All My Children and One Life To Live. The popular soaps were cancelled by ABC to make room for cheaper unscripted daytime shows, but they will now live on online.

July 23rd, it’s the Dancin’ On Air Marathon. The popular 80’s dance TV show will air 8:00pm until 10pm then 11pm to 1am on MyPHL17 (Channel 17).

Get ready for Steve Harvey. He’s coming to town in November with a new show.

Kevin Hart’s movie documentary, Laugh At My Pain, opens in theatres September 9th. The movie follows Hart on his latest concert tour including his hometown Philly.

The hit NBC show The Voice is returning for a new season next year right after The Superbowl. Season two will kick off right after the game with Judges Christinia Aguilera, Cee-Lo Green, Adam Levin and Country Superstar Blake Shelton.

Stacy Lattisaw is writing a book. She’ll discuss growing up as a teen idol and what led her into the ministry. Lattisaw had an amazing career with the hits Let Me Be Your Angel and Perfect Combination with Johnny Gill.

Tyrese is gearing up to release a new album. The CD, Open Invitation, comes out November 1st. The Transformer III star is also pushing his latest book, How To Get Out Of Your Own Way.

Johnny Gill says he is ready to come out of retirement. Gill, 45, says his new CD is coming out this fall. The project, In The Mood, is being produced by Terry Lewis.

Get ready for another season of The Braxtons …more drama…more dotcom. Filming is underway with Toni and her sisters for a second season. The Braxtons have proven to be a runaway hit for the WE network, including standout Tamar with her dotcoms. She is hilarious.

Gabrielle Union is in Tyler Perry’s movie Good Deeds, it also stars Thandie Newton, Brian White, Phylicia Rashad, Beverly Johnson and Eddie Cibrian, opens in theatres February 24th. In other Tyler Perry news, his latest Madea project, A Madea Christmas, will be out on DVD just in time for the holidays.

Tom Cruise returns in Mission Impossible IV, which opens in theatres December 16th.

The new BET original sitcom, Reed Between The Lines, debuts in October. The show stars Tracee Ellis Ross (Girlfriends) and Malcolm Jamal Warner (The Cosby Show).

Ted Danson is replacing Lawrence Fishburne in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Fishburne left the CBS drama after two seasons. Danson is best known for his role as “Sam Malone” on the long-running sitcom Cheers.

Alicia Keys is headed to Broadway as a producer of the production Stick Fly. The show kicks off next year.

The Temptations: The Musical is also coming to Broadway. A musical based on the popular TV mini-series about the legendary Motown group is scheduled to debut in 2013

Angela Bassett is also coming to Broadway replacing Halle Berry in the production The Mountaintop. Samuel L. Jackson is starring as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The show opens October 13th. Speaking of Halle Berry, she is returning to TV. The Oscar and Emmy winner will play a college professor in a project called Higher Learning. It is currently being shopped to HBO and Showtime.

Congrats to Boyz II Men and the late Singer Barry White! They are going to be inducted into the Hollywood Walk Of Fame next year. Actor Vin Diesel and Jennifer Lopez also made the list of inductees for next year.

Danny Glover is teaming up with Kiefer Sutherland for the FOX drama Touch. The show is about a father and son who predict events before they happen.

Jill Scott’s new CD is The Light Of The Sun, and she is about to go on tour with the Budweiser Superfest. She will be at The Susquehanna Bank Center, Saturday, August 6th with Anthony Hamilton, Mint Condition, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Doug E Fresh, who is hosting the concert.

Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback Michael Vick is gearing up to release his autobiography. Finally Free arrives in bookstores July 27th. Tony Dungy is doing the forward. In his book, Vick talks about his life: his youth growing up in Virginia, playing for the Atlanta Falcons, the dog fighting scandal, going to prison and landing with the Eagles. Vick recently resigned with Nike Athletics with a four year deal for endorsements.

Kindred The Family Soul has released a new CD called Love Has No Recession. Raheem DeVaughn, Chuck Brown, Lady Alma and Carol Riddick are featured on the album which is out now.

Jill Scott, Kem, Kirk Franklin and Kevin Hart will be joining Steve Harvey in Las Vegas for The Hoodie Awards, August 11-14th.

Actress Kerry Washington will be staring in the new Shonda Rhimes produced-TV drama Scandal. Rhimes is known for her TV smashes Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice. Scandal debuts this fall on ABC.

Actress Naturi Naughton, who used to sing with the group 3LW, has joined the cast of the NBC-TV show The Playboy Club. The show debuts this fall.

Singer Lenny Kravitz will be starring in the movie Hunger Games, and his new album, Black And White America, comes out August 30th.

Mary J. Blige is ready to start work on her new film project. Blige will be starring in a movie based on the life of Jazz Great Nina Simone. Mary is also releasing My Life II: The Journey Continues in September.

The 2011 summer season for The Dell Music Center has been announced. Look for some exciting changes this season, including a new night. Thursday will be the new concert night ....no more Monday concerts. The Box Office at 33rd and Ridge will be open Wed through Saturday. Video screens will be added so you can really enjoy the shows. A marquee is being added in the front to announce the shows. There will be more concessions stands with a better variety of food, including fruit. You can pre-register for tickets at mydelleast.com. The Dell Music Center is located at 33rd and Ridge Avenue:

July 28th - Ginuwine, Tank and Avant;
August 4th - Fred Hammond, Martha Munizzi and E. Daniels;
August 11th- Jeffrey Osborne and Kindred The Family Soul
August 18th – Will Downing, Kirk Whalum and Gerald Albright;
August 25th- Rachelle Ferrell and Angela Winbush;

The Bynum Brothers are getting ready to unveil a new venture: Green Soul, 7169 Ogontz Avenue. It’s a new healthy food restaurant.

Check out the Lineup for Warmdaddy's for the month of July. Warmdaddy’s is located at Columbus Blvd.and Reed at the Riverview Plaza:

Elizabeth Withers July 22nd and 23rd

Nelson Mandela is coming out with a book of quotes. Nelson Mandela By Himself features over 2,000 quotes pulled from public speeches and private papers. The former president of South Africa turns 93 in July, and recently hosted First Lady Michelle Obama and the Obama daughters during their visit to South Africa.

WHAT’S THE UNDERGROUND BUZZ?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This Reality Star is leaving a hit franchise, but will the right price and publicity tempt this Star to reveal behind the scenes secrets that could hurt the show or its other Stars?

**Pattys Page