Aretha’s Wish List of Stars for Her Biopic Doesn’t include J-Hud
The search is still on for the best woman to play the role of Aretha Franklin in the singer’s coming biopic, “From These Roots.” The Queen of Soul has a few names in mind, but surprisingly none on the list include Jennifer Hudson.
On Tuesday, Franklin’s rep told the press that she’s scheduled to meet with the director and financiers of “Roots” to discuss the woman for the part and other primary roles, reports the NY Daily News.
Nia Long is a prospective to play the role of the older sister, Erma Franklin, Kerry Washington for younger sister Carolyn Franklin, and Blair Underwood for brother Cecil Franklin. She previously dreamt Terrence Howard to play Smokey Robinson and Denzel Washington for daddy Franklin.
Although last year Halle Berry was her primary choice to play the starring role, she hasn’t come up with any new names recently and her most recent wish list didn’t actually include the star role
Franklin’s wish list also did not include an actor to play her new fiancé, William Wilkerson, 64, and we hear that some sources in Franklin’s camp are skeptical that she’ll actually go through with the planned summer wedding.
Meanwhile, an insider notes that Franklin, who was briefly engaged to Wilkerson — a close confidant and member of the singer’s security team — in 1987, has already changed her mind about the location of the wedding, from Miami Beach to the Hamptons. The source says that’s a telling detail.
Rihanna Takes Over Kobe Bryant’s Table at Basketball Bash
Rihanna had a prime seat after making a late arrival at a party for L.A. Clippers star Chris Paul and his new shoe line: She grabbed Kobe Bryant’s table!
The R&B star, who was recently spotted at a Clippers game, arrived just as Bryant was leaving the bash, which was held at Greystone Manor in Los Angeles. But she and her girlfriends were there in time to enjoy several tunes before the club closed.
As for the newly-single Bryant, he headed to the party after flying back to town from Salt Lake City, where his team, the Lakers, played the Utah Jazz. And once inside, he stuck to his table – secluded behind the deejay booth and across the room from Paul.
But he didn’t go unnoticed: At one point, Jamie Foxx jumped in the deejay booth, grabbed the mic and teased Bryant, saying, “Isn’t this a Clipper party?”
People
Mark Wahlberg sorry for 'disrespectful' 9/11 comments
Mark Wahlberg has apologised after saying things may have turned out differently if he had been on one of the planes that crashed on 9/11.
In a magazine interview, he said: "If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn't have went down like it did.
"There would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying, 'OK, we're going to land somewhere safely, don't worry.'"
One widow of a 9/11 victim had called the comments "disrespectful".
Mark Wahlberg, who has appeared in films like The Fighter and The Departed, was meant to be on one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Centre in New York on 11 September 2001.
After making the comments in Men's Journal magazine, the 40-year-old issued a formal apology.
"To speculate about such a situation is ridiculous to begin with, and to suggest I would have done anything differently than the passengers on that plane was irresponsible," he said.
"I deeply apologise to the families of the victims that my answer came off as insensitive. It was certainly not my intention."
The Oscar-nominated actor, who made his name in the music business as rapper Marky Mark, started acting in 1993.
He is now promoting his latest movie project Contraband, a thriller in which he plays a former smuggler forced to protect his brother-in-law.
He has also produced TV shows like Entourage, In Treatment and Boardwalk Empire.
Parker lifts Spurs over Magic 85-83 in OT
It took a while, but the San Antonio Spurs have finally found success on the road this season.
They had to work a little longer than normal to realize it, though.
After dropping their first five games away from Texas to begin year, the Spurs put the ball in the hands of one of their stars late in the game Wednesday night to help them grind out an 85-83 overtime victory over the Orlando Magic .
Tony Parker, who has helped carry the team with Manu Ginobili sidelined, scored 25 points, including 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, to help preserve the win.
"We wanted to come here and try to play well and have an opportunity to win the game," Parker said. "I'm happy it bounced our way finally."
Tim Duncan said the effort was just good enough and came at the right time for a team that was coming off blowing a 17-point lead in a 22-point loss to Miami.
"It took every minute of that game and we couldn't make shots at the right time, but we continued to make stops, continued to push," he said.
The loss snapped a season-best five-game win streak for the Magic, which also lost the only game of their lone back-to-back-to-back stretch of the season.
Dwight Howard led the Magic with 24 points and 25 rebounds, with Ryan Anderson adding 17 and Von Wafer 15 off the bench. But it wasn't enough for them to overcome a dismal shooting night.
Both teams traded a pair of baskets to begin the extra period before and 18-foot jumper by Duncan made it 81-79 with under a minute to play in OT.
A dunk by Howard off a missed jumper by Jameer Nelson quickly tied it again before Gary Neal's 3-pointer on the ensuing possession put the Spurs back up three.
Wafer drove, was able to spin in a layup and was fouled with 16.3 left, but missed the free throw.
Richard Jefferson was fouled on the rebound, though was able to connect on only one of his two free throws.
The Magic got multiple looks at a 3-pointer to win the game on their final possession, but J.J. Redick's final swish from the top of the key was ruled to be after the final horn.
Spurs coach Greg Popovich said he isn't surprised by the resiliency his team showed when things got tight.
"They always respond and tonight they did," he said. "They were aggressive, they were physical and more than anything they just played through whatever was going to happen on the court. They didn't worry about the last play. ... Just that mental toughness that they showed after not showing it last night, that was very satisfying for the whole group."
Winners of 10 of 12 games entering Wednesday, there hadn't been much to rattle the Magic during that streak.
Not long stretches of games with few breaks. Not playing poor defense, shooting badly or allowing teams to hang around late.
But against San Antonio, the Magic at times were guilty of all, most notably a 33 percent (29 for 87) shooting night from the field.
Still, coach Stan Van Gundy said afterward that the deficiencies came most from his end this time around,
"Just kicking ourselves," he said. "Our guys deserve to win with the effort they put out tonight. But I'm kind of disappointed in myself."
Specifically, he noted that he thought he might have reacted to different situations too slow at times and played Howard and Nelson too long. Howard played 40 minutes and Nelson 38.
"We just came up short in the end," Howard said. "Third game in a row, (we) fought hard for the whole game. So there's nothing bad you can say about tonight's game."
Parker scored 10 of the Spurs first 12 points of the fourth quarter to push San Antonio out to a 69-64 lead with less than eight minutes to play in regulation.
Orlando came back and got a steal and layup on the other end by layup by Redick to tie it at 73 with 36.9 seconds remaining before a tip-in by Duncan on the Spurs next trip.
Redick tied it again with a pair of free-throws with 17 seconds left, but Parker badly missed a jumper. The Magic got the rebound, but with only .03 seconds they couldn't get off a clean shot.
The Magic were without one of their best post entry passers Wednesday with starter Hedo Turkoglu sitting because of injury, and it showed for Orlando in its half-court offense.
Duncan matched up with Howard defensively, playing him mostly straight up with no double-team help.
The philosophy worked for the most part with the Magic leading by just three points at the break and Howard managing only seven field goal and four free-throw attempts for eight first-half points.
The Spurs failed to capitalize, though, shooting 40 percent in the half, including 1 for 8 from the 3-point line.
As good as the win felt, Spurs forward Richard Jefferson said it is nothing they are going to dwell on.
"I know it's the first road victory, but let us not get carried away," he said. "It's not like we were a bad team, or under .500. ... We had some tough losses and bad losses. We have a quality team here. We just have to play better on the road for a longer period of time."
Novak Djokovic beats Santiago Giraldo at 2012 Australian Open
Novak Djokovic continued his Australian Open title defence with a trouble-free win over Colombia's Santiago Giraldo.
The top seed overturned an early break before racing away to triumph 6-3 6-2 6-1 and set up a third-round meeting with Nicolas Mahut.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga overcame Ricardo Mello 7-5 6-4 6-4, while Milos Raonic beat Philipp Petzschner in four sets.
Highly-rated Canadian Rasonic will face Lleyton Hewitt who progressed after Andy Roddick retired hurt.
Roddick was two-sets-to-one down, trailing 3-6 6-3 6-4, when he called it a day following a leg injury, sustained while stretching to reach the ball when 2-0 behind in the second set.
The American had looked in fine form when he won the opening set, but needed medical treatment when trailing 3-0 in the second set and failed to recover, although he did battle on until Hewitt, surviving three break-back points, served out the third set.
There was also a victory for Janko Tipsarevic, who beat Australian wildcard James Duckworth 3-6 6-2 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.
The ninth seed will face Richard Gasquet in the third round after the Frenchman's opponent Andrey Golubev retired hurt when two sets down and trailing 3-0 in the third.
Djokovic, bidding to become only the fifth man in the Open era to win three consecutive Grand Slam singles tournaments, needed just one hour and 45 minutes to win his 16th match on the trot in a major tournament.
"You can't underestimate any opponent and Santiago is a tricky player," said the Serb, who broke the Colombian's serve seven times and always looked comfortable, hitting 27 winners during the match.
"It was really important to win the first set. I am trying to be physically fit and fresh for the upcoming rounds. The longer the tournament goes, the tougher it gets."
Elsewhere, fifth seed David Ferrer was tested but eventually beat Ryan Sweeting 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 3-6 6-2 6-3 and will play Juan Ignacio Chela, who beat Pablo Andujar 6-4 6-4 6-3.
France's Michael Llodra will face Andy Murray in the third round after completing a 6-1 6-3 4-6 5-7 6-4 victory over Alex Bogomolov, while Djokovic's next opponent Mahut beat Tatsuma Ito 1-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 6-2.
Llodra's compatriot and 14th seed Gael Monflis came from a set down to beat Thomaz Bellucci 2-6 6-0 6-4 6-2.
Monflis will next play Mikhail Kukushkin, who beat Viktor Troicki 5-7 6-4 6-2 4-6 6-3.
Meanwhile, the unseeded Frederico Gil defeated Marcel Granollers 3-6 6-4 4-6 3-6.
Gill must prepare to face 2008 finalist Tsonga, who admitted the hard courts suited his game.
"The conditions here are good for me. The surface also, it's not really quick so maybe it's good for my game," said Tsonga.
England crumble to heavy defeat
England folded to a humiliating defeat by 10 wickets in Dubai as their woeful batting performance helped Pakistan go 1-0 up in the three-Test series.
Trailing by 146 runs, England made a disastrous start as Umar Gul (4-63) removed Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen cheaply.
Spinners Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman then claimed three wickets apiece as England were skittled out for 160.
Pakistan's openers easily knocked off the required 15 runs to seal victory.
Just as it had been in the first innings, England's batting performance made a mockery of their number one Test ranking as their technique and concentration were found wanting.
Kevin Pietersen and Alastair Cook both fell to poorly executed pull shots, while Ian Bell failed to read Ajmal's doosra for the second time in the match.
Only Jonathan Trott showed the necessary application to survive in unfamiliar conditions as he became the fourth-fastest England player to pass 2,000 Test runs, but even the unflappable Warwickshire batsman gave his wicket away on 49 with a loose cut outside off stump.
In total, England's top six made only 143 runs between them in the match as Ajmal became the first spinner to claim seven lbw dismissals in a Test.
Perhaps the only crumb of comfort for England will be the fact that the early finish gives them two extra days to regroup before the second Test in Abu Dhabi starting next Wednesday.
For Pakistan, the next Test cannot start soon enough after the most comprehensive of victories.
Gul began the carnage when he had Strauss caught behind down the leg side. The England skipper sent Billy Bowden's decision for review but the verdict was upheld by third umpire Steve Davis, despite HotSpot failing to show any impact with the bat.
Cook looked decidedly out of sorts as he scratched his way to five runs off 40 balls. Desperate to find some scoring rhythm, he was tempted into a pull shot by a Gul bouncer, but only managed to feather an edge through to the wicketkeeper.
Pietersen at least managed to connect with his attempted pull, but the shot lacked the power to clear the rope and was easily caught by Rehman at deep square leg.
And Bell was undone by Ajmal's doosra, the ball striking him on the back pad plumb in front of the stumps.
Eoin Morgan again looked relatively comfortable against the spin as he ground out 14 runs before nicking Rehman behind and Matt Prior was pinned back on his stumps by Ajmal.
Stuart Broad (17) and Graeme Swann (39) delayed the inevitable with an entertaining 48-run stand before Broad holed out to long-on and Chris Tremlett edged his first ball to slip.
Some lusty hitting from James Anderson spared England the ignominy of an innings defeat but Swann's demise to Ajmal ensured Pakistan's target was a mere formality.
Earlier, Pakistan's last three wickets had added 50 runs as the hosts took their first innings total to 338.
Broad removed Gul in the second over of the day and Swann had Ajmal caught at short leg after another inconclusive review.
But Adnan Akmal frustrated England with some improvised shots, cleverly keeping last man Aizaz Cheema away from the strike and reaching 61 - his highest Test score - before he was stumped to give Swann a fourth wicket.
At that stage England hopes of a turnaround remained alive, but after Gul's dramatic opening burst, there was only going to be one winner.
Pacquiao’s next fight will not be against Mayweather
Manny Pacquiao has chosen his next opponent, and it’s not Floyd Mayweather. In an interview at his office Wednesday, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said Pacquiao has chosen his next opponent — whom Arum would only divulge was one of the four previously reported candidates, Juan Manuel Marquez, Timothy Bradley, Miguel Cotto or Lamont Peterson — and plans to make his return to the ring on June 9 at a new outdoor facility off the Strip.
Arum reiterated that the problem with making a May fight with Mayweather was the timing. Mayweather has insisted that the fight take place May 5, tweeting Tuesday that “the date can’t change.” Arum says construction on a 38,000-seat temporary facility cannot be completed until later in the month. On Wednesday, Arum said he met with construction officials as well as officials from the Wynn and Sands Hotel. Arum also visited the construction site, a 40-acre plot jointly owned by the two hotels.
“To be safe, they said they needed until the end of May to get it done,” Arum said. “Economically, it’s a problem that Floyd created. The amount that would be lost by moving it up to May 5th is enormous. The fight is not going to happen on May 5th. We’ll do the fight in November. There is no real magic in doing it in May.”
Arum says he plans to move forward with building the outdoor facility and test it out in Pacquiao’s next fight. Arum added that he and Pacquiao were on the same page as far as Pacquiao’s future.
“He realizes that economically the May 5th date is not smart,” Arum said. “If you postpone it two or three weeks, you can make so much more money. Mayweather told the court he was committed to fight on May 5th. I think they lied and said Pacquiao was ready to fight him. Now they are saying the judge ordered them to fight on May 5? Was the MGM behind this? If the judge says you have to surrender yourself on June 1st, what the f— does it matter to the judge if you fight on May 5th or two weeks later?”
A call and text message to Mayweather’s adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, was not immediately returned.
Asafa Powell To Receive Major Awards
Having risen from humble origins to international supremacy in athletics, Asafa Powell will be recognised for his achievements on February 4 at the Terra Nova Hotel, when he is slated to be presented with the highest award of the University of Technology (UTech), the Chancellor's Medal.
The honours to be bestowed on the World Championship 100-metre bronze medallist does not stop there, as he is in line to receive the prestigious Diana Award.
The Diana Award was established in 1999 in memory of Lady Diana, Princess of Wales, as a legacy to her belief in the power of young people to change the world.
Charitable work
The presentation of the award to young people from across the globe who are committed to helping others and improving their communities is in keeping with the remarkable charitable work Lady Diana pioneered around the world.
The evening will also witness the launch of the book, Dennis Johnson Diaries, which chronicles the life of one who was formerly the world's fastest man, Dennis Johnson, and his phenomenal contribution to the development of athletics locally.
Powell, who has the record for the most sub-10 seconds clockings over 100 metres, will be the second recipient of the Chancellor's Award, with the first being his MVP coach, Stephen Francis, who was recognised by the university in 2008.
Where the Princess Diana Award is concerned, Powell will be the first such recipient in the Caribbean and Central America.
"The Chancellor's Medal was established in 2008 to begin to recognise individuals of high national and or international achievement," UTech president, Errol Morrison, disclosed at the launch of the black tie gala and ceremony yesterday at Terra Nova Hotel. "Asafa, who is an alumnus of UTech, continues to train with the UTech-affiliated MVP and mentors, supports and
works with a number of our student athletes."
Overdue honour
Morrison added: "We felt that at this time in his career, the recognition is well overdue and, as such we were able to convince the selection committee that this is the time for Asafa (Powell). The coordination of that with the Queen's recognition through the Princess Diana Award is also telling you the major contribution that he is being recognised for worldwide."
Powell will be presented with the Chancellor's Award by UTech chancellor and former prime minister of Jamaica, Edward Seaga.
The Diana Award's chief executive, Maggie Turner, OBE, will make the keynote address, during which she is expected to call on Powell to receive the award.
Turner will also bring greetings from the Queen of England and British Prime Minister David Cameron.
The event which will feature entertainment from the likes of Etana, Freddie McGregor and To-Isis, will cost patrons $10,000 per seat.
‘No shutdown’ - LIME says environment tough but it’s not leaving
LIME Jamaica yesterday strongly denied a news report that British parent company Cable & Wireless (C&W) plc has decided it will shut down its local operation in light of a ‘difficult’ regulatory environment.
“I categorically deny that,” LIME Jamaica Chairman Chris Dehring told Nationwide Radio just minutes after the news station reported that C&W plc last year informed a former Jamaican prime minister that it will pull out of the country if there was no ‘improvement’ in the regulatory environment, and that the merger of Digicel and Claro only accelerated that decision made in London.
“Certainly, as the chairman here at LIME Jamaica, no such decision, to our knowledge, has been reached and we continue to operate,” Dehring said.
While dismissing the reports, however, the LIME chairman acknowledged that the company believes that the current regulatory environment is making it very difficult for the company to operate a viable business.
“We are certainly not shutting down, there’s no intention to shut down, but obviously people are going to have to take a cold hard look sometimes at the economics of it,” Dehring said. “It’s an environment which does not help us and therefore any shareholder will say, ‘listen, we need to invest our funds where we can make a decent return’...We would love to invest more into this country, but we have to know that the playing field is level.”
LIME Jamaica Managing Director Garry Sinclair later issued a statement further dismissing the Nationwide report and seeking to assure the public that LIME is “100 per cent committed to Jamaica”.
“We would like to assure our employees, our loyal customers, our shareholders, our suppliers and the wider public that we remain committed to serving them. It is, therefore, imperative that we are not distracted from the real issues plaguing the country’s telecoms sector,” Sinclair said.
“At this point, Jamaica’s telecoms industry is at a critical juncture as we stand on the verge of seeing meaningful change in the regulatory framework. These changes are necessary to restore competitiveness in the industry, which will bring real value and benefits for Jamaican consumers,” he added, stressing that LIME has been advocating for these regulatory changes for the past six years.
Digicel last year acquired Claro’s Jamaican operations, a deal which allowed the firm to solidify its place atop the local mobile telecommunications sector where it already claims in excess of two million subscribers among the Jamaican population of 2.8 million.
News broke last week that Digicel was granted permission to shut down the Claro network less than four months after agreeing to keep it going under the terms of their merger.
Permission for the network to be switched off was granted by the outgoing Jamaica Labour Party Government before December 8, as the general election campaign was kicking off.
An incensed LIME accused former Prime Minister Andrew Holness of betraying Jamaican consumers when he reversed the requirement that Digicel maintain both networks as a condition of its proposed merger with Claro. At the same time, the firm urged the Government to implement an emergency overhaul of the regulations governing the telecoms industry in order to protect consumers and other service providers
LIME Jamaica reported losses of $6 billion after taxes in its last financial year.
Grenada hosts UK-Caribbean Forum
Dozens of journalists from regional and international media are expected in Grenada this weekend for an important trade and business meeting involving representatives from the United Kingdom and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
The journalists will be here primarily to cover the 7th UK-Caribbean Forum. However, their visit coincides with the honouring of track star, Kirani James, and the hosting of the 2011 National Sports Award at the Grenada Trade Centre in Morne Rouge, St George’s.
The UK-Caribbean Forum is held every two years for the purpose of what has been described as “establishing priority areas for cooperation, discussing key areas of concern and proposing mechanisms to facilitate greater collaboration” between Britain and CARICOM nations.
The Grenada get-together, to be hosted by Foreign Minister Karl Hood, will be held over three days, starting Friday, January 20.
Hood will be joined by his foreign affairs counterparts from other Caribbean countries; CARICOM Secretary General, Irwin LaRoque; and a UK delegation headed by Foreign Secretary William Hague.
“The UK’s relationship with the Caribbean should be a broad-based partnership that involves business, civil society and ordinary people,” Hague said. “That is why I am so pleased that we are starting the Forum with a meeting of UK and Caribbean companies.”
The Forum closes Sunday afternoon with a 12-overs’ cricket match at the SSU Grounds at Point Saline. A team of UK ministers and officials will compete against a CARICOM squad led by Hood.
For the visiting journalists, their presence is also an opportunity to cover Saturday afternoon’s event at which Lagoon Road will be renamed after James, the current World 400 meter champion.
Saturday’s unveiling of the Kirani James Boulevard, as well as a roundabout to be named after athletic coach and former 400 meter indoor record holder, Alleyne Francique, will be attended by government officials and representatives of the Grenada Olympic Committee.
On Saturday evening, 19-year-old James will be attending the National Sports Awards where he is one of the nominees for Grenada’s Male Athletes of the Year.
James and Janelle Redhead, a women’s 200 meter semifinalist at the 2011 World Championships in South Korea, are among 16 male and female athletes vying for the top sportsman and sportswoman awards.
The keynote speaker at the awards’ ceremony is Trinidad Olympic medalist, Ato Boldon.
Another Trinidadian who will be in Grenada to deliver an address is journalist, Tony Fraser. He is the featured speaker at Sunday’s 6th annual awards’ ceremony of the Media Workers Association of Grenada (MWAG) at the Trade Centre.
“We are very excited that Tony has agreed to come and speak at the awards,” said MWAG president Rawle Titus.
By Lincoln Depradine
Caribbean News Now