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Meagan Good Eyes Whitney Houston Role

Meagan Good Whitney Houston

Although a Whitney Houston biopic may not be in the works for awhile, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues star Meagan Good is throwing her hat into the ring of actresses who could possibly fill the iconic Houston's role.

When asked recently if she would like to portray Houston in a film version of her life, Good answered, "Absolutely," and said that it would be "a blessing," but also admitted, "I don't know if the story is happening." The 32-year-old - who is not particularly known for her own vocals - also added, "Yeah because it's not about singing like her. You'd have to use her voice, you'd have to use her essence."

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Read More | Daily Mail

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Jennifer Hudson Feels Oscar Pressure as an Actress

Jennifer HudsonJennifer Hudson feels pressure as an actress after winning an Oscar.

The actress-and-singer earned an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her very first film role as Effie White in 2006 musical drama Dreamgirls, and she admits being so successful at the start of her career has made her conscious of her acting in subsequent movies. "When I did Dreamgirls, nobody was paying attention to me so I had nothing to prove. Now, I'm the 'Academy Award winner, Jennifer Hudson,' so everybody is watching," she said.

The spiritual star - who first came to prominence as a contestant on singing competition American Idol in 2004 - believes her acting career is a "reward" for embracing her "gift" of singing. "For me, music is always there. Music connects me to my emotions. Someone once told me that singing is my gift and acting is my reward for using my gift. God chose to bless me with an acting career because I honored the gift of singing that he gave me," Jennifer, 32, explained.

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Sequel News: Twister, G.I. Joe and More


Twister: Actor Bill Paxton recently expressed interest in doing another Twister film. Question is: is anyone else interested? (Aside from the Balloon Boy family?) Bill believes 3-D technology and a history angle could bring added elements to the disaster story. “I think you’d still want to have a lot of the dark humor and all of that, with the flying cows and everything. I think you could kind of intrigue people more by getting into a little more of the lore and really understanding. I just think there’s a lot more to explore there,” Paxton said.

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Jennifer Hudson to Play Mandela’s Wife

Jennifer Hudson has signed on to star in Winnie, a biopic about Nelson Mandela’s former wife.

The film will follow her whole life, and Hudson will be singing the movie’s theme song as well.

“I was compelled and moved when I read the script,” the Academy Award winner recently said. “Winnie Mandela is a complex and extraordinary woman and I’m honored to be the actress asked to portray her. This is a powerful part of history that should be told.”

Production begins May 30. With Hudson in the lead, the flick already sounds like Oscar material.

Read More | Vote for the Worst

This Week on DVD and Blu-ray: February 3, 2009

Here are some of the options available this Tuesday:

The Secret Lives of Bees DVD

  • Bottle Shock: DVD
  • Clerks II: Blu-ray
  • Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa: DVD, Blu-ray (avail. on Feb. 6)
  • Napoleon Dynamite: Blu-ray
  • Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Office Space: Blu-ray
  • Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous: DVD
  • The Secret Life of Bees: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Sideways: Blu-ray
  • Space Buddies: DVD, Blu-ray
  • Zack and Miri Make a Porno: DVD, Blu-ray

Click here to see the TV-on-DVD options for this week.

Read More | Amazon

Box Office Breakdown: A Bloody Good Weekend for Twilight

Twilight

Although Disney features typically find a place at the top of the pack, the studio’s cute puppy was outmatched by a hot vampire this weekend. After pulling in $35.9 million on Friday ($7 million of which was earned at midnight), went on to suck up nearly $70 million in total. The film’s first day take alone was enough for Summit Entertainment to immediately greenlight a sequel. (A script for New Moon had already been in the works.)

The Stephenie Meyers adaptation - which was originally slated to premiere on December 12 - undoubtedly owes Warner Bros. partial credit for its success. Had the studio not chosen to move until next year, Twilight would most likely have debuted in fewer theaters. The Catherine Hardwicke film also wouldn’t have become the highest opener ever for a female director. (Deep Impact, helmed by Mimi Leder, took home $41.2 million in 1998.)

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Read More | Yahoo! Movies

Box Office Breakdown: Record Showing for 007

Quantum of Solace

In the battle of Bond vs. Bourne, Jason won out this time…though not by much.

Although it was initially believed would break the $70 million mark, the final numbers for the Sony/MGM film came up slightly short. The 22nd Bond installment hauled in $67.5 million this weekend, just under $2 million shy of the debut for The Bourne Ultimatum. (The 2007 premiered to $69.3 million.)

But don’t feeling sorry for . The actor has helped to revitalize the franchise in a big way. Quantum officially just became the best opener of all the 007 films. (Die Another Day grossed $47.1 million back in 2002.) The movie is also on pace to to beat the theatrical run record set by Casino Royale. (The 2006 film eventually pocketed $167.4 million domestically.)

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Read More | Variety

Box Office Breakdown: Ticket Buyers Escape to Madagascar 2

Madagascar 2

Move over High School Musical 3. Another family-friendly movie is taking over.

This past weekend, stormed into theaters in a big way. The animated sequel took in a whopping $63.1 million, making it second biggest debuter this year. (The Dark Knight pulled in $75.2 million in July.) The film - which topped its 2005 predecessor by $2.1 million - also had the 7th best opening for a cartoon ever.

In other noteworthy news, last week’s #2 was pushed aside for another R-rated comedy. , starring Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott, surpassed expectations to rake in an impressive $19.2 million. That amount nearly doubled what Zack and Miri - this week’s #5 - earned during its first three days. Meanwhile, a movie that was critically-panned did fairly well in its limited release. - the wannabe cult musical featuring Paris Hilton - averaged $6,711 over 8 theaters. That’s a number most of the movies in the Top Ten couldn’t match.

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Read More | Variety

Box Office Breakdown: High School Musical Makes it Two for Two

High School Musical 3

This past weekend, moviegoers showed very little interest in Halloween-themed fare. Despite several horror options, ticket buyers put a G-rated film on top once again.

Although Friday night was slow for cineplexes everywhere, theater attendance thankfully picked up by Saturday. And while there was tight battle for 2nd place, had an easy fight for #1. One week after its $42 million debut, the Disney feature added another $15.3 million to the bundle.

Coming in second was a movie on the opposite end of the wholesome spectrum. - a movie that narrowly escaped an NC-17 rating - pulled in just over $10 million during the past three days. That turnout placed the raunchy comedy amongst Kevin Smith’s highest debuters. (Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back earned $11.1 million in 2001 while 2006’s Clerks II raked in $10.1 million.)

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Read More | Variety

Box Office Breakdown: High School Musical at the Top of the Class

High School Musical 3: Senior Year

This past week, the multiplexes had a little bit of something for everyone: politics, animals, music, dancing, thrillers, Oscar contenders and even horror. Not surprisingly, this meant a lot of dollars were shelled out in return.

As expected, the big screen debut of had tweeners (and their loving parents) all atwitter. Thanks to a $42 million debut, the G-rated film officially became the best musical opener of all time. (Mamma Mia! - with its $27.8 million - was the previous leader.)

Meanwhile, a film on the other end of the ratings spectrum was scaring up some decent dollars of its own. , which probably could have waited to premiere on Halloween, took in approximately $30 million over the last three days. Although it was pitted against the highly-anticipated Disney sequel, the movie carved out its own audience and raised first place-worthy numbers. Although the series is currently on its fifth life, the 2008 installment came within $4 million dollars of Saw III, the franchise’s best performer to date.

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Read More | Variety

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