London

UK NEWS: ACTOR NOEL CLARK TO CO-DIRECT THRILLER ‘4,3,2,1’

September 18, 2009

So this is what old Noel was talking about via Twitter some weeks back, but refused to give much away. He left Twitterville in an absolute tizz. People all over the UK desperately wanted to know what Noel Clark was working on next. And now at long last the cat has been let out of the bag!!!! Via The Hollywood Reporter Universal Pictures International Entertainment (UPIE) and The Works U.K. Distribution are among the backers for multi-hyphenate Noel Clarke’s heist thriller “4.3.2.1.” which started shooting this week. Scheduled […]

UK NEWS: RAPPER SPEECH DEBELLE WINS MERCURY MUSIC PRIZE

September 8, 2009

This news surprised me. I didn’t think she would win. Via BBC News Rapper Speech Debelle is the surprise winner of the Mercury Prize for the best British album of the past year. Her debut Speech Therapy, released last month, has not appeared in the UK album chart but sales will get a huge boost from her win. The 25-year-old, from south London, performed single The Key at the ceremony for the 18th Mercury Prize. Continue Reading….. Congratulations Speech Debelle. [Thanks AKS]

UK EVENT: FIGHT THE POWER

September 7, 2009

Spike Lee’s 1989 classic film Do the Right Thing was both celebrated and reviled on its release 20 years ago, so this month (7th – 30th September) BFI Southbank will introduce a season that includes some of the films that influenced its making, as well as those it influenced. Click HERE for more information/booking details. [Thanks Nessa]

UK NEWS: BLACK WOMAN ALMOST BLINDED AFTER UNDERGOING OPERATION TO TURN HER BROWN EYES BLUE

August 30, 2009

Shenise Farrell photographed after receiving corrective surgery I thought I had seen and heard it all….. Via The Daily Mail When Shenise Farrell read on the internet about a £5,000 operation which could turn her dark brown eyes light blue, she wasted no time in heading off to Panama. Less than two weeks later, British surgeons were battling to save her sight. They had to repair a hole in her iris and remove implants. It is unclear whether she will suffer long-term damage […]

UPDATE: UK EVENT: THE BLACK TIE COMEDY AWARDS CANCELLED / NEW DATE NOW CONFIRMED

August 24, 2009

It’s been announced that the highly anticipated Black Tie Comedy Awards, due to be held tonight (August 23rd), has been cancelled. The first ever Black Tie Comedy Awards organised in celebration of some of the UK’s top black comedians was supposed to be held at the IndigO2 but the Metropolitan Police apparently stepped in and shut it down. The event will now be rescheduled for a new date in November. Tickets are refundable at the point of purchase. Media Enquiries please contact […]

UK ENTERTAINMENT NEWS: COMEDIAN KOJO SET TO STAR IN NEW FILM

August 13, 2009

It sounds like big things are on the horizon for comedian Kojo. The MTV Base Comedy Fun House host, who currently spends most of his time in New York tickling the funny bones of our Stateside cousins announced today that he is set to star in a new film. He said via Twitter, Had the best meeting of my career yesterday! Gonna be in a brand new film with a Hollywood Director and the movie is gonna be about me!!! Well this should be interesting….. I wonder who […]

UK MUSIC NEWS: SINGER TAIO CRUZ SAYS ‘I MAY NEVER PUT BLACK GIRLS IN MY VIDEO’

August 8, 2009

[Thanks Shach] Last year I dedicated a post to UK singer Tiao Cruz, and asked him why he refused to feature black women in his videos. Where is the balance? Well our resident ‘equal opportunity’ employer has now finally addressed the issue….. Via Filing The Void “I like to put girls in my video that I think are hot. If a really hot black girl came to a casting, she’d be in my video. I think that people even focusing on the race issue in my videos is a problem. […]

QUOTE OF DAY: MIKE TITLE (FRONT MAN FOR THE BAND DEAD KIDS)

August 7, 2009

I think that the music industry is something I look upon as an anomaly. I don’t really understand what’s going on and who’s going to make money from it, unless you’re a massive pop artist. It just seems to be about money full-stop. We’ve been playing festivals this summer and I’ve met people signed to big major labels and big indie labels and they look worried. Their foreheads are creased. There’s concern. They’re flogging a product that no one is buying. That’s […]

PREGNANT PRISONER IN UK CUSTODY

August 6, 2009

Via BBC News A pregnant Briton jailed for smuggling heroin in Laos has been handed to UK Ministry of Justice officials, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said. The transfer took place in Vientiane, capital of Laos. Samantha Orobator will now return to the UK to give birth and serve out her life sentence in Britain. Orobator, 20, from Peckham, south London, was caught with 1.5lb (680g) of heroin in August last year. She avoided Laos’s mandatory death penalty because of her pregnancy. […]

UK NEWS: SINGER LISA MAFFIA CRIES IN COURT