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*Americans have voted and the woman they most admire is former first lady Michelle Obama, according to a Gallup poll.

As reported by USA Today, this is the first time in 17 years a woman other than Hillary Clinton topped Gallup’s Most Admired Woman list.

Per Gallup.com:

Gallup’s annual survey, conducted Dec. 3-12 this year, asks Americans, in an open-ended question, to name the man and woman living anywhere in the world today whom they admire most. Gallup first asked the question in 1946 and has done so every year since, except 1976.

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About 15 percent of those surveyed this year named Michelle Obama as the woman the most admire while Oprah Winfrey came in second with 5 percent of the votes. Clinton tied for third place with first lady Melania Trump. They each received 4 percent. Also on the list: Queen Elizabeth, Angela Merkel, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Ellen DeGeneres.

Meanwhile, former President Barack Obama was the winner among men for the 11th consecutive year.

Here’s the full list of the most admired women, 2018:

Michelle Obama

Oprah Winfrey

Hillary Clinton

Melania Trump

Queen Elizabeth

Angela Merkel

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ellen DeGeneres

Nikki Haley

Malala Yousafzai

Nancy Pelosi

The top 5 most admired men, 2018:

Barack Obama

Donald Trump

George W. Bush

Pope Francis

Bill Gates

To see the complete results of the Gallup poll, visit the website.

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2018/12/gallup-poll-reveals-michelle-obama-is-most-admired-woman-in-america/

*Did you know that Michelle and Barack Obama have inked a contract with Netflix in what is probably a very lucrative production deal? Back when this deal had unknown entertainment value, the media was only aware of the fact that it will potentially be a docu-series. This deal was also reported to be worth $65 million because it involved the Obama couple’s respective memoirs.

The official press release of this deal, however, released that the name of the series would be The Fifth Risk, and it would help the world understand some of the inner workings of the government. The official press release also revealed that the series will follow all the mismanagement and chaos that has been seen in the departments of Commerce, Agriculture, and Energy after the hand-off of the Presidency from Barack Obama to Donald Trump.

A spokesperson of the production team said …

“Think of this as a funny, timeless civics lesson for adults. It’s not a political statement.”

This was said because people were of the opinion the project will be more of a political statement and less of an informative documentary. To the contrary, the goal of this series is to humorously portray the way in which these agencies improve our lives. The spokesperson continued to shed light on the theme of the series by saying:

”Michael Lewis has written a love letter to the often-nameless public servants who carry out core duties that most of us never think about.”

Even though the Obamas can be seen campaigning for the Democratic Party and shunning President Donald Trump nowadays, this series has apparently nothing to do with all the chaos. The spokesperson said that it doesn’t matter what a person’s political background is – they need to stop questioning government officials’ patriotism and vilifying them.

So what we know now is that the docu-series will educate people about the fact that whatever the beliefs of the government are – they shouldn’t be tagged as enemies of the people. Former President Obama said that even though people criticize the government a lot, they still tend to expect and be concerned about civility from those in charge.

We now know what the series is going to be about, but we’re also sure they can’t launch a whole series about the government without poking some fun at Donald Trump. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2018/12/obamas-to-adapt-book-for-netflix/

*In a new profile of Gayle King for the New York Times, the “CBS This Morning” co-host and her BFF Oprah Winfrey opened up to reporter Amy Chozick about how their close bond developed.

Oprah and Gayle met in their early 20s when they were both working for a TV station in Baltimore. It’s known that Oprah let Gayle crash at her house and borrow some clothes when King was unable to get home due to bad weather,  

According to the Times, they stayed up all night talking and learned they had vastly different upbringings; Gayle grew up with a housekeeper in Turkey (where her dad worked for the U.S. government), while Oprah’s teenage mom worked as a maid in rural Mississippi. But, as Winfrey told the publication:

“We were two black girls who loved being black, who loved the experience of growing up black girls in America, and we felt our value system was very much the same — our dreams were the same,” she said, adding, “Both of us grew up as black girls striving to do better in our lives.”

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Oprah went on to talk about how not having jealousy or animosity between them has helped their friendship endure. She also confirmed that her bestie wants her to run for president in 2020.

“It’s actually really surprised me,” Winfrey told the Times. “She is still talking about ‘the perfect ticket,’ and I said, ‘I don’t get it. I don’t get why you keep doing this? You of all people are supposed to care about my life.’”

“And she said, ‘The country is bigger than your life,’” Winfrey added.

But King told “CBS This Morning” in January, “I don’t think she’s actually considering it.”

She later added, “I do think she’s intrigued by the idea. I do think that.”

Winfrey has dismissed talk of a 2020 presidential campaign, saying in an interview with InStyle that she has no interested in the Oval Office.

Check out the full Times profile for more.

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2018/12/oprah-on-her-friendship-with-gayle-king-and-rumors-of-a-2020-presidential-campaign/

*In case you had any doubts about Kanye West and the orange a-hole in the White House being buddies in 2019,  be advised that nothing’s changed.

No sire  buddy! Ye took to Twitter on New Years day to let the world that that he’s renewing his vows to continue loving Donald Trump‘s orange arse and there ain’t nothing you can do about it.

“Trump all day,” the rapper tweeted on Tuesday, adding, “Just so in 2019 you know where I stand.”

West also made sure to make his BS soaked (non)point about African-Americans being forced to support Democrats.

“They will not program me … Blacks are 90% Democrats That sounds like control to me

If you had stopped paying attention to Kanye, you might missed his statement back in October  about “distancing” himself from political issues.

“My eyes are now wide open and now realize I’ve been used to spread messages I don’t believe in,” bhe tweeted at the time.

Of course, if you’re talking about Kanye West and Donald Trump, who can forget the super bizaare scene of the the two of them in the Oval Office at  the White House last Summer. Also in 2018, Kanye wore a MAGA hat on Twitter and ranted about the White House occupant during his appearance on “Saturday Night Live.”

West first defended his support for Trump back in April of 2018.

“You don’t have to agree with trump but the mob can’t make me not love him. We are both dragon energy. He is my brother,” West wrote. “I love everyone. I don’t agree with everything anyone does. That’s what makes us individuals. And we have the right to independent thought.”

He added this:

“If your friend jumps off the bridge you don’t have to do the same. Ye being Ye is a fight for you to be you. For people In my life the idea of Trump is pretty much a 50 50 split but I don’t tell a Hillary supporter not to support Hillary. I love Hillary too.”

In related news, the Wests are having ANOTHER baby! Yep, Kim Kardashian and Kanye are expecting their fourth child, a boy, via surrogate, multiple sources confirm in the new issue of Us Weekly.

In August, Us reported that the couple, who used a surrogate for their third child, 11-month-old Chicago, had one embryo left, a male. Now he’s due to arrive “in very early May,” says an insider.

In addition to baby Chicago, the couple are also parents to North, 5, and Saint, 3, and another source reveals that 38-year-old Kardashian “always wanted four kids.”

For more on the reality star’s surrogacy journey, check out the video above.

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2019/01/kanye-still-down-with-u-know-who-trump-all-day-he-kim-expecting-baby-4/

*Brazil’s recently elected president is of basically the same mindset as Donald Trump. On Tuesday (Jan 1, 2019), far-right President Jair Bolsonaro was installed in office and immediately issued executive orders targeting the country’s indigenous groups, descendants of slaves and the LGBT community in the first hours of his administration.

Bolsanaro’s actions come after a campaign in which the leader said he would radically overhaul many aspects of life in Latin America’s largest nation, according to a report via Aljazeera:

One of the orders issued late on Tuesday, hours after his inauguration, will likely make it all but impossible for new lands to be identified and demarcated for indigenous communities. Areas set aside for “Quilombolas”, as descendants of former slaves are known, are also affected by the decision.

In the move favourable to his allies in agribusiness, which have criticised giving large swaths of lands to native groups, Bolsonaro transferred the responsibilities for delineating indigenous territories from the Justice Ministry to the Agriculture Ministry. The new agriculture minister, Tereza Cristina, is part of the agribusiness caucus in Brazil’s lower house and has opposed requests from native communities.

The temporary decree, which will expire unless it is ratified within 120 days by Congress, strips power over land claim decisions from indigenous affairs agency FUNAI, previously under the Justice Ministry. FUNAI, which also oversees other initiatives for indigenous communities such as healthcare, housing and language preservation, will be moved into a new ministry for family, women and human rights.

Meantime, Marina Silva, who ran against Bolsanaro and lost in the October election, reacted with shock to the orders.

“Bolsonaro has begun his government in the worst possible way,” she wrote on Twitter.

Dinama Tuxa, a member of Brazil’s Association of Indigenous Peoples, said many isolated communities viewed Bolsonaro’s administration with fear.

“We are very afraid because Bolsonaro is attacking indigenous policies, rolling back environmental protections, authorizing the invasion of indigenous territories and endorsing violence against indigenous peoples,” Tuxa said.

You can read the rest of this story at Aljazeera.

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2019/01/brazils-new-president-negatively-targets-slave-descendants-and-indigenous-people/

*Dammit! Democrats in the House are not thrilled with incoming freshman Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib of Michigan for her expletive-riddled statement about impeaching Donald Trump. Apparently she didn’t get the memo regarding their approach (carefully crafted rhetoric)  to take on the president.

As has been reported, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats have long argued that impeachment is a last resort that would come at the end of exhaustive oversight and investigations. Unfortunately, today the media is spotlighting  the profane words of Rep. Tlaib who told a crowd of progressive activists Thursday night that “we’re gonna impeach the motherf**ker!”

It didn’t take long for her colleagues – rearing dam ge her comments could cause, spoke out against her. They pointed out that Republicans would hold it up as proof that Democrats were playing politics rather than pursuing genuine oversight of the president — even if the GOP never showed interest in investigating Trump scandals while they were in power.

“Mueller hasn’t even produced his report yet!” said Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.), referring to special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe. “People should cool their jets a little bit, let the prosecutors do their job and finish the investigation.”

“Inappropriate,” added Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.). “As elected officials I think we should be expected to set a high bar… It’s not helpful.”

Even California Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman, who introduced an impeachment resolution earlier this week, was shocked. His eyes bulged in disbelief when a reporter read him Tlaib’s comments and he was speechless for several seconds.

After he regained his composure, Sherman said that kind of language was detrimental to the cause: “That’s not language I would use…I think the office of the presidency should be treated with respect.”

Party elders also sought to calm talk of impeachment without criticizing Tlaib directly. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the new chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, called Talib’s comments “inappropriate” and said, “We need to be patient.”

“You can’t accomplish very much of anything unless you have civility and show respect for your colleagues,” Cummings said. “Those kind of comments do not take us in the right direction.”

Pelosi said while she didn’t agree with the language, she also didn’t think anyone “should make a big deal” about the expletive, noting the president is also known for having a foul mouth sometimes.

“I’m not in the censorship business. I don’t like that language, I wouldn’t use that language, but I wouldn’t establish language standards for my colleagues,” Pelosi said during an MSNBC town hall Friday morning.

Read/learn MORE at at Politico.

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2019/01/rashida-tlaib-pisses-off-dems-after-she-vows-to-impeach-the-motherfker-watch/

*Former President Barack Obama has debuted on Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs chart at number 22 with his gospel-inspired remix of a song by Lin-Manuel Miranda that originally appeared in the hit Broadway musical “Hamilton.”

Obama’s “One Last Time (44 Remix)” dropped before Christmas as part of Miranda’s “Hamildrops” remixes and features cast member Christopher Jackson and gospel singer BeBe Winans.

Have a listen to the song via the player above.

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Proceeds from sales of the remixes, which features various celebrities including “Weird Al” Yankovic and Mobb Deep, will reportedly go to charity.

The “One Last Time” entry is called the “44 Remix” and has Obama reading a passage from George Washington’s farewell address.

The track was the final selection of the 2018 “Hamildrop” series in which Miranda, a former substitute teacher, released remixes of tracks from his hit musical every month throughout the year.

*There’s good news for Cyntoia Brown Earlier today, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam said he is commuting her sentence of life in prison to supervised parole.

If you’re not familiar with her story, Brown was convicted in 2006  of first-degree murder and aggravated robbery in the 2004 murder of Nashville real estate agent Johnny Allen after Brown (who was 16 at the time) was picked up by Allen and taken to his home. She claimed she was a sex trafficking victim.

Brown, now 30, was tried as an adult in 2006 and imprisoned in Tennessee following her trial and life sentence for the death of Johnny Mitchell Allen, who paid Brown for sex.

Brown’s horrifying and unreal original sentence was life in prison with the possibility of parole after serving a minimum of 51 years in prison, which means she would not have been eligible for parole until 2055 at the earliest.

“This decision comes after careful consideration of what is a tragic and complex case,” Haslam said.  “Cyntoia Brown committed, by her own admission, a horrific crime at the age of 16.  Yet, imposing a life sentence on a juvenile that would require her to serve at least 51 years before even being eligible for parole consideration is too harsh, especially in light of the extraordinary steps Ms. Brown has taken to rebuild her life.  Transformation should be accompanied by hope.  So, I am commuting Ms. Brown’s sentence, subject to certain conditions.”

Several dozen supporters of Brown attended a rally Saturday in Nashville, pleading for her clemency from Haslam, whose terms ends Jan. 19.

The bottom line is that Cyntoia Brown will be released from prison on August 7, 2019, but will remain on supervised parole for 10 years. Her parole conditions will require that she not violate any state or federal laws and she must meet certain other conditions including employment, education, counseling and community engagement.

Source Link: hhttps://www.eurweb.com/2019/01/cyntoia-brown-granted-clemency-by-tennessee-gov-haslam-release-set-for-august/

*The name Ed Buck may or may not ring a bell. For those who don’t know, he is wealthy Democratic donor who has contributed to politicians like Hillary Clinton and California Gov. Jerry Brown.

As we reported last year in July, Gemmel Moore, a 26-year-old gay black man died in Buck’s West Hollywood home. Now it’s happened again.

Yes, another young black man has been found dead in Buck’s West Hollywood home and as of this posting, no arrests have been made.

The Advocateis reporting that Buck has a “fetish for shooting drugs into black men he picks up off the street or on hookup sites.” The L.A. County Coroner’s office said Moore’s death on July 27, 2017, was due to an overdose of methamphetamine a/k/a crystal meth.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Moore wrote in a journal a few months before he died that he was using drugs and “Ed Buck is the one to thank. He gave me my first injection of chrystal [sic] meth.” On July 4, 23 days before Moore died, an escort reported Buck to authorities but nothing was done. After Moore died, Buck’s apartment was searched and allegedly “found the following items in Buck’s two-bedroom apartment: 24 syringes with brown residue, five glass pipes with white residue and burn marks, a plastic straw with possible white residue, clear plastic bags with white powdery residue and a clear plastic bag with a ‘piece of crystal-like substance.’”

For whatever reason, Buck was never charged with anything. Buck’s attorney at the time, Seymour Amster, said:

“I think it’s time to bring this tragedy to a conclusion. This was an accidental death. This was an unfortunate death … but that doesn’t mean we can make spurious accusations and spin something out of control.”

As far as activist Jasmyne Cannick is concerned, she is calling on the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department to arrest Buck and for District Attorney Jackie Lacey (who happens to be be black), to “prosecute him for murder after another young black gay man was found dead in his West Hollywood apartment of an apparent overdose.”

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2019/01/2nd-black-gay-man-dies-in-west-hollywood-home-of-democratic-democratic-donor-ed-buck/

*BALTIMORE – Today (01/08/19) marks day 17 of the partial government shutdown and importantly, it also marks the second week without pay for the 800,000 government workers and millions of others who depend on government agencies.

It’s unconscionable that Americans are forced to suffer the brunt and being held as political hostages because of President Trump’s unreasonable pursuit for a border wall we simply can’t afford and don’t need. As we have seen historically from Berlin to China, walls don’t work and not an effective way to remedy our broken immigration system.

Many government workers have shared their #ShutdownStories. It’s clear that this shutdown has put them in an untenable position. Both Trump and Congress have a duty to the American people that exceed whatever political leanings they may have. This shutdown is a disservice and a disgrace to our nation.

Although we do not know what will be discussed during Trump’s address tonight, what we do know is that the information in which he is basing the need of this wall on is not evidence based, however its implication will affect more than just immigration at the southern border. This is nothing but a veil attempt to spread his xenophobic rhetoric to his base and scare others into thinking that this wall is needed while holding government workers as political hostages.

NAACP is calling on the White House and Congress to work swiftly and put an end to this shutdown in a way that does not compromise the integrity of our country.

Sign petition to end the government shutdown.

http://support.naacp.org/onlineactions/CAgEmrM0G0WETAX0irXV-g2

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2019/01/naacp-statement-on-government-shutdown-and-trumps-address-tonight/

*(Reuters via MSN News) – President Trump walked out of a White House meeting with congressional leaders Wednesday afternoon over the partial government shutdown after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi again rejected supporting new funding for a border wall, according to those in the meeting.

Speaking to reporters after the brief session, New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, said the “president just got up and walked out.”

The president, in a tweet, called the meeting “a total waste of time” and appeared to confirm that he left after Pelosi’s answer.

“I asked what is going to happen in 30 days if I quickly open things up, are you going to approve Border Security which includes a Wall or Steel Barrier? Nancy said, NO. I said bye-bye, nothing else works!” Trump tweeted.

The meeting in the Situation Room Wednesday afternoon came ahead of Trump’s planned trip to the southern Texas border on Thursday. Earlier, the president traveled to Capitol Hill to meet with Senate Republicans, saying afterward, “We have a very unified party.”

Get the FULL story at MSN News.

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2019/01/trump-walks-out-of-meeting-with-dems-govt-workers-still-screwed-watch/

*As the new year rolls onward, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who is now the first Black and the first woman to chair the House Financial Services Committee, is not holding back on her criticism of Donald Trump.

On Sunday, Waters took to Twitter to warn 45 that “even your most vocal defenders will turn on you w/ your shutdown when there’s no food on the table, the rent is not paid, the car is repossessed, & the childrenTru need shoes.”

“No American who works for our govt should be treated this way while you are living off the govt,” she added.

Trump and Congress, meanwhile, continue to make history for all the wrong reasons as we enter the 24th day of the partial government shutdown.

“Trump, you didn’t get $5 billion to carry out your ill advised election promise & now you want to declare an emergency. The only emergency facing our country is the need to impeach you before you destroy our country, our ideals, & leadership in the world. Trump, go home. Bye bye!”

According to The Washington Post “Trump’s advisers are scrambling to build an exit ramp while also bracing for the shutdown to last weeks longer. Current and former aides said there is little strategy in the White House; people are frustrated and, in the words of one, ‘freaking. out.'”

Auntie Maxine also read Trump for filth over his alleged ties to Russia, writing: “Please. No one should wonder why Manafort gave polling data to Russians. The only reason Russians wanted this info was to use it against H. Clinton in support of Trump. Why do you think Manafort w/ all his ties to Russia & Ukraine was in the campaign to begin with? Stay woke!”

FBI officials questioned whether Trump was “acting at the behest of” Russia after he fired former FBI director James Comey in 2017, The Hill reports.

“No surprise the FBI questioned Trump’s allegiance to US! He meets w/ Putin 5 times in secret w/ no readout; gave Russians classified info in WH; disregarded US intel on Russia; praised Putin’s election; lies abt his deals in Russia. Is there any question Trump is a Russian agent?,” Waters wrote.

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2019/01/maxine-waters-warns-trump-even-your-most-vocal-defenders-will-turn-on-your-shutdown/

*Kerry Washington, Congresswoman Maxine Waters and many social media users have slammed CBS News for its lack of Black journalists covering the 2020 election.

When the network recently announced its lineup of reporters and producers that will cover the campaign trail, one Twitter user noted what many agreed with: “It lacks representation from the largest minority group in the nation.”

The former “Scandal” actress took to Twitter to voice her frustration with the lack of representation. She wrote:

“Dear @CBS News, I am encouraged by the diversity you DID include. But when it comes time to discuss the inevitable role that race and racism will play in the election, who will you turn to for a perspective with nuanced & personal understanding of the African American experience?”

The lineup of eight campaign reporters and four producers does not have any Black journalists. There are, however, several other minorities represented.

“Wow. I’m sure some exec somewhere looked at this and thought, “Hey! We’ve got a guy with an Arab name, a woman with a Latinx name, and an Asian! How diverse!” That exec is wrong,” wrote Twitter user N. K. Jemison.

User @Lexialex said: “If we have to get some non-whites, make them men. A couple of Asians and one of them A-rabs. That should do.”

And Auntie Maxine wrote: “CBS, the efforts on your website about your support for diversity flies in the face of your display of all of the reporters you’ve selected for the 2020 campaign. Not one black. What’s up with this? An explanation is needed.”

Many others agreed with Waters and Washington:

As reported by Yahoo, this isn’t the first time Washington has called out CBS News about its lack of diversity.

Back in December, she mentioned the network during a speaking engagement at The Wing. “Come along for the ride, CBS,” she said, encouraging the news team to embrace a woman of color.

Meanwhile, Twitter user @kiesehansen said of the mostly white team of newly assembled reporters that will be covering the 2020 election:

“A lot of these comments say “you couldn’t find one?” but we really should be asking, you couldn’t find at least two?? & I say that for all demographics that need to be represented. It’s 2019. No more being the ONLY one on a team, in the room, etc.”

Another commenter tweeted the network directly asked, “Does CBS stand for Caucasian Broadcasting Service now? Did we miss the memo?”

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2019/01/kerry-washington-slams-cbs-news-for-not-hiring-black-journalists-to-cover-2020-election/

*NEW YORK, NY – Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller, and the supernatural, recently announced the upcoming premiere of its first original documentary feature, ​Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror. ​

Based on the acclaimed book of the same name by Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman, ​Horror Noire takes a  critical look at a century of genre films that by turns utilized, caricatured, exploited, sidelined, and embraced both black filmmakers and black audiences.

The film features in-depth interviews with noted directors, writers, and actors, including Ernest Dickerson (Bones), Rusty Cundieff (​Tales from the Hood), Jordan Peele (​Us), Tina Mabry  (​Mississippi Damned), Tony Todd (Candyman), Paula Jai Parker  (​Tales from the Hood), Tananarive Due (​My Soul to Keep), and Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman. ​Horror Noire will  premiere exclusively on Shudder on Thursday, February 7, after special screening events in New York and Los Angeles earlier in the month.

“After I saw Oscar winner Jordan Peele’s ​Get Out, I created a UCLA class around Black Horror called The Sunken Place,” said executive producer Tananarive Due. “The text I recommended was Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman’s ​Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from the 1890s to the Present. So I was so thrilled to help bring this story to life on the screen. ​Horror  Noire is about the history of black horror films, but it’s also a testament to the power of representation and how horror is such a visceral way to fight racial trauma: our real pain and  fear, but from a safer distance – while we get stronger.”

“The horror genre is daring, unflinching pedagogy. It is like a syllabus of our social, political,  and racial world,” said executive producer Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman. “The horror film is  fascinating if for no other reason than that it prides itself on snuggling up next to the taboo,  while confounding our sense of good and evil, the monstrous and divine, and the sacred and  profane. It is one of the most of entertainment forms in its scrutiny of our humanity and  our foibles. It is my sincere hope that ​Horror Noire will spark fierce debate and trigger even  more exacting, nuanced explorations into the power of horror.”

Beginning with the silent film era, ​Horror Noire explores the often overlooked and downplayed  history of Black Americans in Hollywood: the emergence of black leading men in genre cinema  in the late ‘60s with ​Night of the Living Dead and into the ‘70s with ​Blacula and films of the  blaxploitation era; ​Candyman and the growing popularity of urban horror in the 1990s; up to the genre’s recent resurgence with movies like the Oscar-winning, critical and commercial hit ​Get  Out. “There are messages of humanity and survival that Black storytellers and performers have  been expressing in horror since the genre’s beginning,” said Ashlee Blackwell, a producer and  co-writer of ​Horror Noire as well as the founder and managing editor of ​Graveyard Shift Sisters, a website dedicated to the topic of Black women in horror. “It’s been an exciting journey to  work with a team to bring this once hidden history to life and out of the shadows.”

Horror Noire is adapted from Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman’s landmark influential 2011 book,  Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from the 1890s to Present, a comprehensive  chronological survey of the genre. Both book and film provide a unique social history of blacks  in America as seen through their changing images in horror films.  Horror Noire features interviews with filmmakers and scholars, showcasing a who’s who of  black horror cinema, from those who survived the genre’s past trends to those shaping its  future. The complete list of Horror Noire interviewees​:

Ashlee Blackwell Creator, ​GraveyardShiftSisters.com

Ernest Dickerson Director, ​Bones, ​Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight

Jordan Peele Writer/ Director, ​Get Out, Us

Keith David Actor, ​The Thing

Kelly Jo Minter Actor, ​The People Under the Stairs

Ken Foree Actor, ​Dawn of the Dead

Ken Sagoes Actor, ​A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

Loretta Devine Actor, ​Urban Legend

Mark H. Harris Creator, ​BlackHorrorMovies.com

Meosha Bean Filmmaker Miguel A. Nuñez Actor, ​Friday the 13th: A New Beginning

Monica Suriyage Filmmaker

Paula Jai Parker  Actor, ​Tales from the Hood

Rachel True Actor, ​The Craft

Richard Lawson Actor, ​Scream Blacula Scream

Robin R. Means Coleman, PhD Author/ Educator

Rusty Cundieff Co-Writer/ Director, ​Tales from the Hood

Tananarive Due Author/ Educator

Tina Mabry Writer/ Director, ​Mississippi Damned

Tony Todd Actor, ​Candyman

William Crain Director, ​Blacula

Horror Noire is directed by ​Xavier Burgin​, executive produced by ​Dr. Robin R. Means  Coleman​, ​Tananarive Due​, ​Fangoria

​Editor-in-Chief ​Phil Nobile Jr ​and​ Kelly Ryan ​of Stage 3  Productions, and is produced and co-written by ​Ashlee Blackwell​ and ​Danielle Burrows​.

“​Horror Noire is an important and timely documentary that explores an overlooked part of the  horror genre that’s only just beginning to get the attention it deserves,” said Shudder’s general  manager, Craig Engler. “We’re honored and thrilled to help bring this project to life and share it  with the world.”

Ahead of its Shudder debut on February 7, ​Horror Noire will have its world premiere Friday,  February 1, in collaboration with Beyond Fest and the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian  Theater in Hollywood, CA, headlining two days of screenings with special guests in celebration  of black horror. More information and tickets will be available soon at  americancinemathequecalendar.com.

Then on Monday, February 4, ​Horror Noire will have its east coast premiere at the Brooklyn  Academy of Music, followed by a panel conversation featuring executive producer Tananarive  Due, writer/producer Ashlee Blackwell, filmmaker R. Shanea Williams, and comics writer Greg  Anderson Elysee. The film will screen on a double bill with Rusty Cundieff’s 1995 classic, ​Tales  from the Hood. Tickets for this special event will be on sale Monday, January 7 at BAM.org.

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Press Contacts: Sean Redlitz  Shudder  Sean.Redlitz@amcnetworks.com

Sharon Liggins  Tasty Shop Media  sharon@tastyshopmedia.com

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2019/01/shudder-announces-horror-noir/

*If you’ve been feinin’ for a sequel to Eddie Murphy‘s “Coming to America” you’re about to get your wish fulfilled. Now, after a long development, it’s a reality!

No less than Murphy himself will reprise his role of Akeem, the African prince. Although we’d have to assume that in the remake he’ll be King Akeem. So, not only is Eddie heading the new version, Paramount, the studio behind the project, has tapped Craig Brewer (“Hustle & Flow,” Fox’s “Empire”) to helm the film.

“After many years of anticipation, I’m thrilled that Coming to America 2 is officially moving forward,” Murphy said in a statement. “We’ve assembled a great team that will be led by Craig Brewer, who just did an amazing job on Dolemite [Is My Name], and I’m looking forward to bringing all these classic and beloved characters back to the big screen.”

Most likely, one of those beloved characters will be John Amos‘ Cleo McDowell, who owned the burger joint and was also the daddy of the girl (Shari Headly) that Murphy’s Prince Akeem character fell in love with. In any event, Amos told TMZ he absolutely wants in on the new project.

OK, regarding the sequel … specifically, the story is about Akeem coming back to America when he learns of a long-lost son and unlikely heir to the throne of Zamunda.

Kenya Barris (“blacki-ish” creator) is rewriting the script, which was written by “Coming to America“ writers Barry Blaustein and David Sheffield. If everything goes according to plan, production will start sometime this year.

“Craig’s ability to create a distinct cinematic world with each of his films is not only impressive, but also what made him exactly the voice and vision we needed to bring this story to life,” Barris said. “From ‘Hustle and Flow‘ to his work with Eddie on ‘Dolemite Is My Name,’ he never fails to blow me away. He is a true auteur and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have him on board.”

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2019/01/with-eddie-murphy-officially-aboard-coming-to-america-2-is-a-go/

*Attorney Antonio Moore and political commentator Yvette Carnell dig into the R. Kelly Lifetime series #survivingRKelly that exposes the long list of sexual allegations against the R&B star.

The two detail how this may be a result of Moore’s claim that black celebrity is a #DecadentVeil covering black poverty. And be part of a rising black celebrity new feudalism.

They look at wealth, aspiration and talent in evaluating the plagued stars relationships with his accusers.

Lifetime says its six-part documentary series “Surviving R. Kelly” garnered an average of 2.1 million total viewers, according to Nielsen live-plus-same-day ratings.

The series, which included interviews with #MeToo founder and civil rights activist Tarana Burke, musician John Legend and others, documents the decades of sexual abuse allegations against the R&B artist. It aired across three nights, starting on Thursday, Jan. 3, concluding on Saturday, Jan. 5.

Among adults aged 25-54 and 18-49, 1.2 million tuned in; that includes 858,000 women aged 25-54 and 798,000 women 18-49.

The high-profile docuseries attracted higher-than-average viewership for Lifetime, which should expect the final numbers to only increase once the live-plus-seven figures roll in. The show has renewed interest in the allegations, keeping them in the headlines and reportedly even spurring legal action against the artist. Variety 

*Jermaine Dupri  is a Grammy-winning producer, member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and star of the hit Lifetime show, “The Rap Game.”

As a super producer, Dupri gave the Hip-Hop world acts like Kriss-Kross and Bow Wow. Now he is creating a new crop of young stars. Season 5 of “The Rap Game” promises to be the most intense ever. The stakes are high for the young rappers – this season features a battle every episode – to try to stay on the HIT list and in the house.

Yours truly, EURweb correspondent Jill Munroe, sat down with Jermaine to discuss season 5 – including current and former contestants – the controversy behind his curated concert series for the NFL’s Super Bowl LIII and R. Kelly.

Dupri was selected by the Atlanta Super Bowl Host committee to produce a series of free concerts during the week leading up to the big game.

There were some who felt Dupri should boycott the event because of the league’s treatment of former NFL star, Colin Kaepernick. JD had this to say on the topic:

“I’m from Atlanta and have been speaking on before people even wanted to come to Atlanta. It was a thing people weren’t even paying attention to it… As ATLiens, we have that midset that we have to do what we have to do to make our city rise and be the place we want it to be. And to turn my head or boycott during a time when the most people will be in Atlanta, and coming with the mind of where’s Jermaine Dupri or that person, it’s a hard thing to ignore. Without thinking of anything else, that’s my reason. It’s not about football…”

What can you expect? Old school acts like Goodie Mob and a Saturday night event that will take you back to the 90’s, as JD turns Centennial Olympic Park into a Freaknik experience complete with Mr. College Park himself, DJ Smurf spinning.

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2019/01/jermaine-dupri-defends-super-bowl-appearance-speaks-on-the-rap-game-r-kelly/

*Newly engaged Safaree Samuels and Erica Mena have reportedly been offered $350, 000 to live stream their wedding.

According to a source, Mainstream Digital Platform reached out to the couple after they announced their engagement last month.

“I’m absolutely the luckiest woman in the world. A Man who has never been afraid to love me. A MAN who has been here and knows everything I been through. Everything before this- It no longer matters,” Mena wrote on Instagram.

OTHER NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: Newly Engaged Erica Mena Says Fiancée Safaree Samuels ‘has never been afraid to love me’

The “Love and Hip-Hop” stars plan to marry this year and apparently some people from the VH1 production team believe an interactive wedding event is the way to go.

Sources say Safaree and Erica haven’t accepted the offer yet because they’re still in the early planning stages of their nuptials, but they’re definitely interested in a huge payout to broadcast their special day for all to see, TMZ reports.

They will definitely have a lot of people tuned in, as Erica has 3.8 million followers and Safaree has over 2.1 million.

Erica took to Instagram on Christmas morning to flash her engagement ring bling, and revealed that the wedding date has already been set.

She was previously engaged to rapper Bow Wow, and Safaree dated Nicki Minaj for over 11 years.

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2019/01/newly-engaged-safaree-and-erica-mena-offered-350k-to-live-stream-wedding/

*Legendary rapper/reality TV star Rev. Run (born Joseph Simmons) sat down with TheWrap to reflect on his career with iconic hip-hop group, Run-DMC.

“I’m very proud of what I’ve accomplished,” Run told TheWrap. “I’m not the EGOT guy like John Legend, but once you’ve got a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame trophy and a Lifetime Achievement Grammy, you’re pretty much killing it…or killed it.”

He not only cites Drake and Bruno Mars among his favorite newer artists, Run says unlike some of his contemporaries, he’s “not the old-school angry rapper. I actually look for new hit records and enjoy them.”

“I still love rap,” he continued. “I love seeing Beyonce and Jay-Z tour the world. I love what Meek Mill just put out. I’m not one of those old-school guys who says, ‘Back when I was younger…’ I’m not the old-school angry rapper. I actually look for new hit records and enjoy them, like Nicki Minaj, Flipp Deniro and other stuff. I’m into rap, I’m not only up on it, I love it.”

But the hip-hop pioneer says…“Don’t put me up against Nat ‘King’ Cole,” when it comes to comparing top Christmas songs, such as the DMC classic “Christmas in Hollis” from 1987.

Run credits the group’s then-publicist Bill Adler for urging them to record the track which was part of “A Very Special Christmas” compilation album.

“I sat there with a pen,” Run recalled. “I remember bacon, eggs and jelly and I wrote the rhyme within one minute. I called him (Adler) back, and I think there was a Holy Ghost takeover because the rhyme was very much spiritual and beautiful. I thank God for that moment of giving me that rhyme.”

Fun Fact: Run-DMC played a vital role in molding the Beastie Boys into what they ultimately became.

Rev. Run also recalled remaking the now-iconic cover of Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way.”

“I thought we were making hillbilly jibberish,” Run recalled of the song. “We used to rap over that beat and never wanted to hear the lyrics and never knew what was being said by Steven Tyler. The job of the DJ was to make sure that Steven Tyler didn’t say anything. When Rick Rubin told us to do those vocals, we had to go home and find out what Steven was saying because as a rapper, you’d be biting if you took someone else’s lyrics. We used to rap over that beat in the hood and those vocals were not the hippest thing for us to do. And it ended up being a big hit and confounded our minds.”

As for any new Run-DMC music, don’t count on it. While he and DMC continue to play “seven-to-eight” shows that are “the right opportunity,” the report states, Run says a new album will likely never surface.

“How often does an iconic group make another hit record?” he asked rhetorically. “And how often do they go out and perform all of the hits? How badly do you not want to hear the material from the new record that’s replacing ‘My Adidas?’ How bad do you want to hear ‘Walk This Way’ instead of a new record?

“You’d be pissed if I tried to play my whole new album and miss you all of your favorite songs,” Run added. “So that’s the answer.”

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2019/01/rev-run-reflects-on-his-iconic-hip-hop-career-with-run-dmc/

* Jordan Peele gifted fans on Christmas Day with the trailer for his next chiller feature, “Us,” showing a vacation gone horrifically wrong for the Wilson family, in which Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o), Gabe (Winston Duke) and their children come under attack from sinister figures knows as The Tethered, doppelgängers of the family.

Here’s a breakdown of the plot:

Haunted by an unexplainable and unresolved trauma from her past and compounded by a string of eerie coincidences, Adelaide feels her paranoia elevate to high-alert as she grows increasingly certain that something bad is going to befall her family.

After spending a tense beach day with their friends, the Tylers (Emmy winner Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Cali Sheldon, Noelle Sheldon), Adelaide and her family return to their vacation home. When darkness falls, the Wilsons discover the silhouette of four figures holding hands as they stand in the driveway. Us pits an endearing American family against a terrifying and uncanny opponent: doppelgängers of themselves.

As part of EW’s exclusive first look into Us, Peele broke down the new trailer, which features Luniz’s “I Got 5 On It,” and he offered some insight into the monsters he calls The Tethered. Scroll down to read the Q&A.

OTHER NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: ‘King Kong’ Brings Epic Entertainment Never Seen Before on Broadway

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Why did you decide to use Luniz’s “I Got 5 On It”:
JORDAN PEELE: That song, it came pretty simple, I’m making a movie in Northern California, that’s a bay area hip-hop classic and I wanted to explore this very relatable journey of being a parent [and] maybe some of the songs you listened to back in the day aren’t appropriate for your kids. So that was one level, and another part was, I love songs that have a great feeling but also have a haunting element to them and I feel like the beat in that song has this inherent cryptic energy, almost reminiscent of the Nightmare on Elm Street soundtrack. So those were the ideas that that song hit the bullseye on for me, and also, it’s just a dope track.

Who are The Tethered?
I think the main idea that went into writing this film is that we’re our own worst enemy, and that idea created this monster, The Tethered. I wanted to forge this new mythology that explored our duality and the duality of the characters. To the actors, I knew this was the ultimate fun because who doesn’t want to play two roles in a movie; when you’re tired in one, you get to jump into the other. But I think what was a fun challenge for actors, was finding the connections between the characters and their counterparts.

What was the significance of the rabbits and scissors imagery?
I’m a filmmaker and film-lover that loves iconic imagery and what it could mean. When we talk about the scissors and the rabbits, for every choice like that, there are several different reasons that clicked to me but the first test that anything passed was the genre test. So does it conjure the horror genre to me, which is a limitation that I feel very dedicated to working within. I think rabbits and scissors, they’re both scary things to me, and both inane things, so I love subverting and bringing out the scariness in things you wouldn’t necessarily associate with that.

How far does the destruction span? 
I won’t say how far and all the places this goes to but I definitely wanted to do a movie that started with this sense of invasion, this sense of the fear of other, the fear of the stranger from outside, which I think is a common fear in society these days, and then sort of force the characters to realize the invaders have their faces. I didn’t want to make just a home invasion, though I utilized that imagery. I wanted the sense of an adventure that was not necessarily a claustrophobic one — that’s a feeling that turns me off watching. I wanted to make this expansive, I wanted it to have themes of night and day.

Talk about your ideas for the Wilson Family?
I can’t think of a horror movie of this nature with a family in the center of it that uses a black family. So I knew just by putting an African-American family in the lead role, already we would be exploring cinematic uncharted territory – and I apologize if I’m missing something, which I probably am. I love films like Poltergeist, I love The Shining, The Amityville Horror and I love Amblin films, those Spielberg films that brought extraordinary situations to a family unit, and even though this movie is not about race, I felt like it was an important piece of the project to have a black family in the center. Get Out was one missing piece of the racial conversation and this is another one and we’re seeing a lot of great strides being taken by great artists like Ava (Duvernay) and Ryan (Coogler).

“Us” is set to hit theaters March 15, 2019.

Source Link: https://www.eurweb.com/2019/01/jordan-peele-breaks-down-us-trailer-and-the-tethered-doppelgangers/