Page 26 - Florida Sentinel 2-28-20

Entertainment
Jennifer Hudson Celebrates 'Respect' Wrapping Production
Jussie Smollett Pleads Not Guilty To 6 New Disorderly Conduct Charges
The release of Aretha Franklin biopic Respect just inched a little closer. Filming for the project, which was directed by Liesl Tommy, wrapped re- cently with the film’s star Jen- nifer Hudson celebrating the moment on Instagram.
“It is officially a wrap on @re- spectmovie,” she wrote in a cap- tion. “Wrap it up, it’s done! Too overwhelmed to get into it right now but words can’t express how grateful I am to be chosen by the Queen herself and to live out yet another dream!”
Hudson added that “it was my honor to honor the Queen’s request! The one and only
JENNIFER HUDSON
Queen of Soul #ArethaFranklin.”
CHICAGO, IL – Jussie Smollett arrived at a Chicago courthouse on Monday morning (February 24) surrounded by a mob of people.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Smollett appeared before Judge James Linn and entered a not guilty plea on six new disorderly conduct charges after he was indicted earlier this month.
The charges were handed down by a grand jury on Tues- day (February 11). The office of Special Prosecutor Dan Webb said, “A Cook County grand jury returned a six-count indictment charging Jussie Smollett with making four separate false re- ports to Chicago Police Depart- ment officers related to his false claims that he was the victim of a hate crime, knowing that he was not the victim of a crime.”
The trouble stems from Smollett’s January 2019 claim
JUSSIE SMOLLETT
he was attacked by two MAGA hat-wearing homophobic and racist men who beat him, put a noose around his neck and poured bleach on him. Investi- gators ultimately determined Smollett had fabricated the en- tire story.
Disgraced Empire actor Jussie Smollett has report- edly been indicted by a grand jury on six disorderly conduct charges. According to NBC News, the office of Special Pros- ecutor Dan Webb confirmed the charges were handed down on Tuesday (February 11).
“A Cook County grand jury returned a six-count indictment charging Jussie Smollett with making four separate false re- ports to Chicago Police Depart- ment officers related to his false claims that he was the victim of a hate crime, knowing that he was not the victim of a crime,” the office said in a statement.
This is yet another chapter in Smollett’s already lengthy saga. Smollett is currently fac- ing a $130,000 lawsuit from the city of Chicago, which police and prosecutors say is the amount of money it cost to investigate Smollett’s alleged hate crime.
50 Cent In Disbelief Following Deontay Wilder's Loss To Tyson Fury
50 CENT AND THE MEME COMPARING WILDER TO MARTIN
Deontay Wilder’s TKO loss to Tyson Fury inspired a flurry of memes following their heavy- weight boxing match on Satur- day (February 22). Although 50 Cent typically revels in such on- line jokes, the G-Unit boss seemed to have a more somber reaction to Wilder becoming meme fodder after being de- feated by Fury.
In one post, 50 shared a photo
comparing Wilder’s loss to a memorable episode of Martin in which the titular character gets knocked out by Tommy Hearns. The producer of ABC’s For Life still managed to plug his own TV show in the caption though.
“come on man y’all can’t do my Boy like this #abcforlife Tuesday 10pm #starzgettheapp,” he wrote.
LeBron James’ SpringHill Entertainment Seeking Big New Overall Content Deal
LeBron James is looking for a slam dunk of a new overall deal for his content company SpringHill Entertainment, insid- ers familiar with the talks told Variety. Thanks to a wide field of potential suitors, the produc- tion entity is currently consider- ing separate deals in film and television at different studios, sources said.
Disney Television Studios, Universal Pictures, Amazon Stu- dios, Netflix and other compa- nies had meetings with James and his team in recent months to discuss coming in-house to pro- duce features, series and more in a first-look or exclusive engage- ment, said the insiders.
LEBRON JAMES
The studio is currently in pro- duction on the live-action ani- mation hybrid “Space Jam 2,” which will mark the athlete’s highest profile acting gig to date, alongside WB vault treasure Bugs Bunny. SpringHill also has an update of the iconic Kid ‘N Play comedy “House Party” in development at WB film label New Line Cinema.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2020 FLORIDA SENTINEL-BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 17-A