August 18, 2005

Law & Disorder

…R. Kelly asked a Chicago judge for time to defend charges of having sex with an underage girl. Kelly arrived in court, bruised and sporting a bandage above his left eyebrow—the result of a rough basketball game with friends, his attorney said. Kelly's lawyer said the defense needs more time to find witnesses who can testify about the age of the teenager seen having sex with Kelly in the videotape. The judge agreed to give them until Sept. 2nd. 

• A judge ordered O.J. Simpson to pay DirecTV $25,000 for allegedly stealing satellite signals. 

• Richard Pryor has hit director Penelope Spheeris with a lawsuit. Spheeris helped Pryor shoot and edit his first movie back in 1968, Pryor claims Spheeris took its only existing copies from his home. 




Oh Shat......

…In a recent interview with Cameron Turner at the Television Critics Association meeting to promote 'R U the Girl with T-Boz and Chilli', T-Boz commented on the recent break-up of Destiny’s Child. “I’ll just say it! I’ll put it out there! We had to fold after Lisa passed because TLC wasn’t just about one person,” T-Boz said. She went on to say that from the very beginning, Destiny's Child has always been Beyoncé’s group, which is the only reason they were able to endure the major personnel changes. Original members Latavia Roberson and Letoya Luckett were fired and replaced by new members Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin. Several months after being in the group, Franklin was reportedly fired as well. Three members fired for one main reason: they didn't want to conform to the rules implemented by Beyonce and Mathew Knowles. T-Boz explained that would never have been possible with TLC because TLC were a group...a group of three very different females who all brought something different, whether it was vocally or artistically, to the group. Tionne, Lisa and Rozonda each contributed and shared the success, including the high.

Missy wants to give Michael Jackson an extreme makeover. "I would give him some thugged-out braids, a wife-beater, a pair of jeans, and penny loafers," Missy told Spin in their August issue. "I'd bring him back on some next-level kind of flavor."



It’s not everyday that Jay-Z, Puffy and Jimmy Iovine all vie for the attentions of a teenage girl. But 14-year-old singer Karina Pasian is no ordinary teen. Lloyd Lowdown reports that that all three moguls had a 10-day high-stakes bidding war to sign Pasian - described as a cross between Alicia Keyes and Whitney Houston - before Jay-Z dramatically trumped his competitors with a "seven-figure deal." A Def Jam rep confirmed that the label just signed Pasian, but declined to comment on contract negotiations. Interscope and Bad Boy declined comment.



Charlie Murphy recently told The Post he doesn't think Dave Chappelle will be back to finish the third season of the Comedy Central series. Murphy said he thinks the eight episodes already produced will "be released on DVD, I'm sure. But that's it." 




Music World/Bizz Updates/Ventures


• Snoop has recruited Ice Cube and the Red Hot Chili Peppers to join him at a benefit concert for his Snoop Youth Football League. The concert will also include some unannounced artists. It all goes down at the Greek Theater (LA) Aug. 25th. 


Upcoming Projects/Shows/Movies Etc. 

Flicks/Projects:Shows: Oprah Winfrey's HarpoFilms plans to turn Toni Morrison's novel, Paradise, into a four-hour miniseries. Salma Hayek has signed on to star. 

Michael Clarke Duncan is set to provide his voice for the game The Suffering: Ties That Bind. Duncan stars as the lead villain in the Baltimore-set sequel, which centers on the adventures of a former death row inmate. It will be available in Sept.

• Oprah will release a 20th anniversary DVD in Nov. featuring highlights from The Oprah Winfrey Show. 

• Samuel L. Jackson has signed on to star in and co-produce Afrosamurai, a live-action film based on a Japanese "manga" comic.



QuickBits 

…Sheryl Lee Ralph tied the knot with Pennsylvania Senator Vincent Hughes in LA.

• According to the new biography Room Full of Mirrors, Jimi Hendrix managed to avoid being sent to Vietnam as part of the 101st Airborne by pretending to be gay. Jimi knew what was up! 

• President Bush signed a bill to allow a post office near Ray Charles' LA studios to be named after Charles. The Ray Charles Post Office will be unveiled Aug. 24th, Charles' 75th birthday. Also, the Smithsonian Institute will induct Charles artifacts into its permanent collection on Sept. 22nd, while an exhibit of Charles memorabilia will move to Nashville for a yearlong exhibit at the Country Music Fall of Fame, starting in March 2006. 

•The United Negro College Fund will present Stevie Wonder with the Lifetime Achievement Award. The tribute will be broadcast as part of "An Evening of Stars." 

• A.J. and Free have both left BET after five years. A.J. claims he was pushed out. More details next week.