Entertainment

ABOVE PHOTO: Actor/activist and now Oscar winner Harry Belafonte gives his speech upon receiving the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at last week’s Academy Governors Awards.  (Photo courtesy: Oscar) Associated Press LOS ANGELES — As Harry Belafonte joins the elite EGOT club — adding an Oscar statuette to an awards cache that already includes an Emmy, Grammy…

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ABOVE PHOTO:  Aretha Franklin Tickets now on sale! The incomparable “Queen of Soul” and 18 time Grammy Award winner Aretha Franklin makes her Kimmel Center debut on Monday, December 29 at 8 p.m. in Verizon Hall in support of her recent album release, “Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics” (RCA Records, Oct. 21).  Franklin…

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ABOVE PHOTO: Marque Richardson Interview with Kam Williams  Marque Richardson is a high energy, multi-faceted actor, writer and producer. He can currently be seen in the critically-acclaimed Dear White People, a satirical comedy that examines race and identity in America through the stories of four black, Ivy League college students. As a young actor, Marque…

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  By Tambay A. Obenson Shadow and Act  “The Divide” has been closed. The project has always read like a stellar drama to me, on paper, given those involved, the premise, and the fact that it was initially set to run on AMC (known for its strong, award-winning dramatic programming slate). And that’s why I did…

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ABOVE PHOTO:  Will Smith during filming  of “Concussion.” By Tambay A. Obenson Shadow and Act  Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Alec Baldwin, Bitsie Tulloch, and Albert Brooks all join Will Smith in the yet-to-be titled drama on concussions in the NFL, which is based on the GQ article “Game Brain,” written by Jeanne Marie Laskas, and…

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ABOVE PHOTO:  Kùlú Mèlé Dance Ensemble’s “Oshun” Featuring Danys “LaMora” Perez and Oyu Oro Afro-Cuban Experimental Dance Ensemble The legacy of Afro-Cuban dance will be celebrated when  Kùlú Mèlé, Philadelphia’s premiere African dance ensemble, presents “Danzas de Cuba” at its 45th Anniversary Concert Gala, Nov.  29-30 at the Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine Street….

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By Kam Williams Gugu Mbatha-Raw skyrocketed to fame earlier this year on the strength of her inspired performance as the title character in Belle, a biopic about a biracial slave girl who was brought by her white father to England where she was raised in the lap of luxury by aristocratic relatives. Here, the emerging…

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James Brown changed the face of American music forever. Charting his journey from rhythm and blues to funk, Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown features rare and previously unseen footage, interviews and photographs, chronicling the musical ascension of “the hardest working man in show business,” from his first hit, “Please, Please, Please,” in 1956,…

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By Tambay A. Obenson If you weren’t lucky enough to be living in a city where The Life And Crimes Of Doris Payne screened earlier this year (it saw a very limited, and short-lived theatrical run), and your cable or satellite TV service includes Al Jazeera America, you’re in luck. I was just informed that…

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By Dylan Green  shadow and act.com The original Drumline was lightning in a bottle when it premiered in theaters over a decade ago in 2002. The combination of a star-making turn from Nick Cannon and the fact that it more or less made popular the conceit of pushing the traditional sports movie story through the…

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