New Aaliyah film star, Beyonce Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Whitney film
In this week's news, a new star has been found for the Aaliyah movie, Aaliyah: Princess of R&B; Beyonce's costumes are being featured in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and Deborah Cox is singing Whitney Houston's music in an upcoming Houston biopic.
Zendaya Coleman has been replaced by Alexandra Shipp in the starring role of the upcoming Aaliyah biopic, Aaliyah: Princess of R&B.
Shipp is best known for her role as KT Rush on the Nickelodeon show House of Anubis. She has also appeared on Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Switched at Birth, and Victorious.
The Aaliyah movie had been surrounded by as her family and her fans protested the project. There was even a fan petition seeking to shut the production down.
Coleman says pulled out of the production because she felt the movie was facing too many obstacles. "The reason why I chose not to do the Aaliyah movie had nothing to do with the haters or people telling me that I couldn't do it, I wasn't talented enough, or I wasn't black enough," she explains. "It had absolutely nothing to do with that. The main reasons were that the production value wasn't there, There were complications with the music rights, and I just felt like it wasn't being handled delicately considering the situation."
Coleman also says she does not want Shipp to face the harsh criticism she received,
"I only hope she does not have to deal with half the hate that I had to deal with. And remember that we are all human beings trying to do what we love to do. Let's practice motivation and love — not discrimination and hate. All right?"
Aaliyah's cousin and president of her label Blackground Records, Jomo Hankerson, says that the family was ready to withhold rights to Aaliyah's music and images from the production.
“Because we control the masters [to Aaliyah's recordings], the rights and some images of the musical elements that we put together like the videos, and photo shoots and things that we did, we can just withhold those elements from the production, which we would do,” Hankerson says.
The movie is based on the bestselling book “Aaliyah: More Than a Woman” by former Time music editor Christopher Farley. It is scheduled to film this summer for a fall premiere.More »
Beyonce's 2013 Super Bowl outfits are among several of her costumes now on display at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. The exhibit also features her Givenchy gown from the 2012 Met Gala, her heels from the 2003 "Crazy in Love" music video, and the black leotard from her “Single Ladies” music video. The items are displayed in the Ahmet Ertegun Main Exhibit Hall in the Legends of Rock section.
As Beyonce continues her "On The Run" stadium tour with Jay-Z, she has donated seven million dollars to the Knowles-Temenos Place Apartments in her hometown of Houston, Texas, She built the complex in 2007 following Hurricane Katrina.
The apartments house potentially homeless men and women and services include meals, job readiness training, and HIV/AIDS screenings.
In other Beyonce news, she also leads all artists with eight nominations for the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards which will be presented August 24, 2014 at The Forum in Inglewood, California.More »
Deborah Cox will sing Whitney Houston’s songs in the Lifetime Television biopic being directed by Angela Bassett. The network has not been able to gain rights to Houston's voice for the movie from her family.
Cox has already recorded the classic "I Will Always Love You" which will serve as the movie’s title track. Houston and Cox recorded the duet "Same Script, Different Cast: in 2000. The film will focus on Houston’s marriage to Bobby Brown.
Bassett explains that the film will not be a scandalous portrayal of Houston's life.
“We’re not interested in dragging her life again through, you know, the muck,” she says. “She had to play out her choices, and the consequences of them, in a very hot, glaring spotlight, but we’re not interested in dragging that through again.” She adds, "I really just want to tell a story about a boy and a girl who fell in love."
Bassett co-starred with Houston in Waiting To Exhale.
Yaya DaCosta will star in the title role in I Will Always Love You: The Whitney Houston Story which is scheduled to premiere in 2015. Arlen Escarpeta will portray Bobby Brown.More »
1. Alexandra Shipp to Star as Aaliyah
Zendaya Coleman has been replaced by Alexandra Shipp in the starring role of the upcoming Aaliyah biopic, Aaliyah: Princess of R&B.
Shipp is best known for her role as KT Rush on the Nickelodeon show House of Anubis. She has also appeared on Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Switched at Birth, and Victorious.
The Aaliyah movie had been surrounded by as her family and her fans protested the project. There was even a fan petition seeking to shut the production down.
Coleman says pulled out of the production because she felt the movie was facing too many obstacles. "The reason why I chose not to do the Aaliyah movie had nothing to do with the haters or people telling me that I couldn't do it, I wasn't talented enough, or I wasn't black enough," she explains. "It had absolutely nothing to do with that. The main reasons were that the production value wasn't there, There were complications with the music rights, and I just felt like it wasn't being handled delicately considering the situation."
Coleman also says she does not want Shipp to face the harsh criticism she received,
"I only hope she does not have to deal with half the hate that I had to deal with. And remember that we are all human beings trying to do what we love to do. Let's practice motivation and love — not discrimination and hate. All right?"
Aaliyah's cousin and president of her label Blackground Records, Jomo Hankerson, says that the family was ready to withhold rights to Aaliyah's music and images from the production.
“Because we control the masters [to Aaliyah's recordings], the rights and some images of the musical elements that we put together like the videos, and photo shoots and things that we did, we can just withhold those elements from the production, which we would do,” Hankerson says.
The movie is based on the bestselling book “Aaliyah: More Than a Woman” by former Time music editor Christopher Farley. It is scheduled to film this summer for a fall premiere.More »
2. Beyonce's Costumes Featured in Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Beyonce's 2013 Super Bowl outfits are among several of her costumes now on display at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. The exhibit also features her Givenchy gown from the 2012 Met Gala, her heels from the 2003 "Crazy in Love" music video, and the black leotard from her “Single Ladies” music video. The items are displayed in the Ahmet Ertegun Main Exhibit Hall in the Legends of Rock section.
As Beyonce continues her "On The Run" stadium tour with Jay-Z, she has donated seven million dollars to the Knowles-Temenos Place Apartments in her hometown of Houston, Texas, She built the complex in 2007 following Hurricane Katrina.
The apartments house potentially homeless men and women and services include meals, job readiness training, and HIV/AIDS screenings.
In other Beyonce news, she also leads all artists with eight nominations for the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards which will be presented August 24, 2014 at The Forum in Inglewood, California.More »
3. Deborah Cox to Sing Whitney Houston Music In Biopic
Deborah Cox will sing Whitney Houston’s songs in the Lifetime Television biopic being directed by Angela Bassett. The network has not been able to gain rights to Houston's voice for the movie from her family.
Cox has already recorded the classic "I Will Always Love You" which will serve as the movie’s title track. Houston and Cox recorded the duet "Same Script, Different Cast: in 2000. The film will focus on Houston’s marriage to Bobby Brown.
Bassett explains that the film will not be a scandalous portrayal of Houston's life.
“We’re not interested in dragging her life again through, you know, the muck,” she says. “She had to play out her choices, and the consequences of them, in a very hot, glaring spotlight, but we’re not interested in dragging that through again.” She adds, "I really just want to tell a story about a boy and a girl who fell in love."
Bassett co-starred with Houston in Waiting To Exhale.
Yaya DaCosta will star in the title role in I Will Always Love You: The Whitney Houston Story which is scheduled to premiere in 2015. Arlen Escarpeta will portray Bobby Brown.More »
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