Deon Taylor Enterprises / Roxanne Avent / Deon Taylor Announce Tommy's Girl Release

Deon Taylor Enterprises production team Roxanne Avent and Deon Taylor have recently announced the coming television release of Tommy’s Little Girl - a Godfather meets sexy chicks-with-guns spin-off, with Selma Blair as the heroine, a lawyer by day and avenger by night. NBC immediately picked up this mobster-drama, highly anticipating a successful continuation of a Kill Bill-esque depiction of girl-gets-even.

So, what’s the story? Selma Blair is the daughter of a mob lord played by silver screen veteran, Paul Sorvino. Not much is given away in its first teaser trailer but what we can grasp is that Sorvino’s character is morbidly wronged during his involvement with a tight-knit bunch of mobsters, thus causing him serious injury or death. We imagine a teary-eyed hospital bedside dialogue between Blair and Sorvino, where she promises vengeance as his heart rate flat lines. This might be where the guns come out to play. Seeking to right the wrongs of her father’s mobdom, she sets out to knock off the hard knocks.

We’re quite excited to see this television series play out. With the recent influx of terrorism and bio-dramas, we’ve been parched for a good old fashioned nitty-gritty mobster feature. If the series continues in the direction its trailer establishes, we’re likely to see the forefront of a new style of television drama.

50 Cent - Actor First - Rapper Second?

Shedding 50 pounds for his role in Things Fall Apart - he gets the Christian Bale award for commitment to the craft - and with six movies in production - 50 is just about to take his place at the top of the list of great African American actors. Believe it. Sure, nobody like the Things Fall Apart trailer - but again you have to give him huge points for the effort, no matter how dismal the film might be. And check out the movies yet to release - there are some really good choices here:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1265067/

"It's the New King of Comedy" - or so the Guardian wrote in 2000

This article from 2000 jumped out at me because I wondered how much further we have come in ten years? Name the top 10 comedies starring African Americans since this hopeful article ten years ago -

Hint - of the ten listed here only 2 have been produced after 2000 (and one of those is "Wild Hogs" which made the list because one of the four male leads was African American - hardly a reason to be counted in a very "white movie")....What happened? How did the bottom drop out?

From Guardian:

Eddie Murphy used to stand alone. But this summer US audiences have flocked to comedy films starring black actors. Mark Morris reports on a rich new crop of black talent who are now a major force in Hollywood....
read the rest on the Guardian website

F. Gary Gray Set to Direct “The Last Days of American Crime”

According to Deadline.com, F. Gary Gray (Law Abiding Citizen and The Italian Job), has signed on to direct Sam Worthington (Avatar) signed to star in The Last Days of American Crime.

The Last Days of American Crime is about a group of criminals executing one last heist before the government unleashes a technology that will eliminate the criminal impulse in all brains. Shooting is set to start in September.

Gray is repped by UTA and Principato-Young.

Salim & Mara Brock Akil Ink Development Deal with BET

BET Networks has signed an unprecedented multi-year agreement with Salim and Mara Brock Akil.  In addition to their current roles as executive producers and director for “The Game,” the husband and wife team, through Akil Productions, will develop new shows for BET Networks.

“We’re thrilled to build on the very important relationship between our network and the Hollywood creative community, especially with two proven powerhouses in entertainment – Salim and Mara Brock Akil,” said Loretha Jones, President of Original Programming at BET Networks. “Through this partnership we hope to continue to bring our audience high quality content that reflects their lives and our communities.”

“Our goal is to expand on our existing brand, by way of Akil Productions, to create new opportunities for ourselves and others,” said the Akils. “BET has provided us with a tremendous platform to create smart, funny and dramatic, quality programming with multi-layered and multi-dimensional characters appealing to millions of viewers.”

Mara Brock Akil created “The Game” and executive produced the series with Salim, who also directed. Salim recently made his feature film directorial debut with “Jumping the Broom,” which stars Laz Alonso, Paula Patton and Angela Bassett and opened as the country’s #1 comedy.  In 2000, Mara created and executive produced the hit series, “Girlfriends,” which currently airs on BET.

Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil are represented by ICM and Morris Yorn Barnes Levine Krintzman Rubenstein & Kohner.

Jumping the Broom - Welcome to the Big Time

Jumping The Broom exceeded TriStar/Sony’s expectations opening in the #3 spot on the box office charts collecting $13.7 million from 2,034 locations, averaging $6,732 per site.  Sony was only expecting the $6.6 million film to do between $8 to $10 million.

The film was aimed at older African American women who showed up in droves.  70% were female and 64% was over 35.

Great news - we have a legit big-time hit. No it's not going to do $500 million; but it has a good ratio of cost to gross and it's a great "niche buster" film that has built in easy marketing. Start pitching those copy-cats now!

Directed by Salim Akil, Jumping the Broom is the story of a collision of worlds when two African-American families from divergent socioeconomic backgrounds get together one weekend in Martha’s Vineyard for a wedding. The film stars Angela Bassett, Paula Patton, Laz Alonso, Mike Epps, Loretta Devine, Meagan Good, Tasha Smith, DeRay Davis, Julie Bowen, Romeo Miller, Gary Dourdan, Pooch Hall, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Valarie Pettiford. Tracey E. Edmonds, Elizabeth Hunter, T.D. Jakes, Glendon Palmer and Curtis Wallace produced.

Method Man Joining the Cross-Over Superstars List

The Wu-Tang Clan member and occasional actor Method Man joined the cast of director David Gordon Green's comedy The Sitter, starring Jonah Hill, which just wrapped filming before Christmas, reports The Playlist.

The Sitter follows a college student, suspended for the semester and living back at home with his single mom, who has a night to remember when he gets talked into baby-sitting the eccentric kids next door -- two boys and a wild 8-year-old girl. Sam Rockwell and J.B. Smoove star as Jonah Hill's drug dealer nemeses.

Method has been sharpening his acting skills of late in the horror genre with Deon Taylor Enterprises produced Night Tales television series. Said Deon Taylor, "I saw a promo of 'the Riddler' with Method and knew right away he'd be perfect for Night Tales."

With projects like The Sitter, Night Tales and the George Lucas penned Red Tails soon to release all near the same time period, Method Man will be making his move to join the list of cross-over superstars such as Ice Cube, Common and Ice-T.