Page 27 - Florida Sentinel 3-15-19

Entertainment
Jussie Smollett Lawyer Wants Cameras In Court To Prove Star’s Innocence In Hate Crime Trial
Idris Elba To Replace Will Smith In ‘Suicide Squad’
Idris Elba is adding an- other superhero franchise to his resumé. He is jumping from “the Marvel universe to DC,” to replace Will Smith in Suicide Squad, according to Variety.
Smith dropped the role for the sequel because of schedul- ing conflicts.
Elba will now play the character of a “grumpy sniper par excellence and leader of a group of unruly super-villains who begrudgingly save the world.”
Another Marvel alum, James Gunn, reportedly will write and direct the movie. Produc- tion will begin in September and Warner Bros. is looking to set the release date for August 6, 2021.
Although the cast isn’t complete, Margot Robbie, who plays the role of Harley Quinn, is more than likely to be in the movie. Quinn was so popular in the original film that the character has a pre- quel, Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), that will hit theaters on February 7, 2020.
Although Smith isn’t a part of Suicide Squad anymore, he has plenty of projects lined up.
IDRIS ELBA
Some include him playing in a biopic as Richard Williams, the father of tennis icons Venus and Serena Williams. This news is caus- ing some controversy relating to colorism issues. The site re- ports that it is uncertain about future plans for the movie.
Elba is also keeping busy. He is starring in two movies Three Thousand Years of Longing and Hobbs & Shaw all over the world. He will also play Macavity, the Mystery Cat, in the classic Cats. His comedy, Turn Up Charlie de- buts on Netflix next week as well.
As we’re waiting for his upcoming movies and shows, Elba is scheduled to make his debut as host this weekend on Saturday Night Live, with musical guest Khalid.
Missy Elliott To Receive Honorary Doctorate From Berklee College Of Music
Missy Elliott will become the first female Hip Hop artist inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in June when the annual ceremony goes down in New York City.
Ahead of the momentous oc- casion, the celebrated Hip Hop legend will also receive an hon- orary doctorate from the pres- tigious Berklee College of Music alongside pop royalty Justin Timberlake and con- ductor Alex Lacamoire.
Berklee College Of Music an-
MISSY ELLIOTT
nounced the news via Twitter on Tuesday (March 12).
Playboy's 2019 Playmate Of The Year Is Jordan Emanuel, She's The 4th Black Woman To Hold the Title
Of the many milestones we’ll celebrate this Women’s History Month, here’s one we admit- tedly found a bit surprising: in the 59 years Playboy magazine has crowned a “Playmate of the Year,” only four have been black women.
The fourth? Playboy Bunny Jordan Emanuel, who is the first black woman (and only the second woman) to make the leap from working in the newly revived Playboy Club (Emanuel in the New York City location), to becoming a “Playmate of the Month” (De- cember 2018), to the coveted Playmate of the Year.
“We are excited to share that
JORDAN EMANUEL
Jordan Emanuel has been named our 2019 ‘Playmate of the Year,’ said Playboy in an Instagram post. “Jordan em- bodies everything we value at Playboy: she advocates for equality and sexual freedom, she speaks out on what she be- lieves in, and she’s committed to lifting up the voices of oth- ers.”
A lawyer for Jussie Smol- lett said Tuesday that she would welcome cameras in the courtroom during the “Em- pire” actor’s trial on charges accusing him of lying to the po- lice, saying there has been a lot of leaked misinformation and cameras would allow the pub- lic to “see the evidence and the lack thereof.”
Attorney Tina Glandian made the comments during a brief hearing Tuesday in Cook County criminal court during which both sides agreed that cameras would be allowed at the next hearing in the case, which is scheduled for Thurs- day. During that hearing, the case will be assigned to a trial judge who will then likely ask Smollett to enter a plea.
During the hearing, which was held after local news or- ganizations requested that cameras be allowed in the courtroom, Judge LeRoy Martin, Jr. said that the new judge will decide whether or not to allow cameras in the
JUSSIE SMOLLETT
courtroom during subsequent hearings and the trial.
After the hearing, Glan- dian told reporters that evi- dence has been presented against Smollett that is “demonstrably false.”
“We welcome cameras in the courtroom so that the public and the media can see the ac- tual evidence and what we be- lieve is the lack of evidence against Mr. Smollett and we look forward to complete
transparency and the truth coming out,” she said.
Smollett was charged last month with one count of mis- conduct —the felony in Illinois that people are charged with when accused of lying to police — because he allegedly lied to police about being the victim of a racist and homophobic attack by two masked men in down- town Chicago on Jan. 29. Last week, a grand jury indicted him on 16 counts of the same crime.
Prosecutors allege that Smollett, who is black and gay, enlisted the help of two other black men and staged the Jan. 29 attack because he was unhappy with his salary and wanted to promote his career. Those men have admitted to police that they took part in the staged attack for Smollett, who paid them $3,500.
Smollett’s attorneys have called 16 counts “prosecutorial overkill.” The actor, who is free on bond, maintains his inno- cence.
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