Eddie Murphy gears up for Final “Shrek” film

Eddie Murphy used to known for his adult-themed comedy films. Over time, Murphy expanded his brand and became a PG comedy movie star. Most of Eddie Murphy’s original fans say that he sold out. It is true that Murphy has made a lot more money off of these PG films than he did in his rated R, critically-acclaimed films.

It seems like each year; Eddie Murphy comes out with the same film. Each year delivers a new film with Murphy and some little girl with powers. If it is not that, he comes with Daddy Daycare and another Shrek film. Ever since the first film came in 2001, Eddie Murphy has portrayed the role of “Donkey.”

For those who criticize him for selling out, they feel that is the perfect role for him. It may not be what fans of Coming to America like, but they know that at least one of their children love Shrek and “Donkey.” Murphy’s character is the sidekick of Mike Myers’ “Shrek.” The film first premiered in 2001.

Every three years, since has brought another Shrek film. Next year will be three years since Shrek the Third and it will bring Shrek Forever After. In this latest film, the ogre longs to return to his roots of scaring people. He signs a pact with a crook that sends him to a far away land where ogres are hunted. In the end, it is up to Shrek to correct all of the mistakes that the pact made.

Like all of the other films in the series, fairy tale themes will be heavily used and parodied. The film will premiere across the United States on May 21, 2010.

Day26 lost in Diddy’s New Deal

Back in September, Diddy announced that he was shifting his Bad Boy Records out of Atlantic Records and into Interscope Records. Under the terms of this deal, Atlantic no longer owns a 50% stake in the label. All of the Bad Boy artists signed to Atlantic Records will remain as Bad Boy/Atlantic, but all of the new artists would be a part of Bad Boy/Interscope.

In a situation as sticky as that one, there are going to be some artists lost in the fray. Right before this deal was announced, Yung Joc said that he wanted to leave Bad Boy. At the time, it looked very unlikely, given the fact that Diddy rarely releases any artist from their contract. But, after he announced that he was leaving Atlantic Records, it made sense for him to let Yung Joc go.

Many fans of the Bad Boy label looked at Day26 as the 21^st Century version of 112, the first R&B band on the label. This group is probably best-known for being his band on “Making the Band.” Fans from across the world were able to see this group be formed from scratch and end up becoming what they are today.

As far as R&B goes, they have been the top priority of Diddy, up until now. His focus has shifted from Day26 to the artists signed to his deal under Interscope. He said that he would not neglect the artists left on Atlantic Records, but he has been letting them go. First, it was Yung Joc, then he transferred Mase to Interscope.

Under the terms of this new deal, Day26 was forced to move under the regular Atlantic label. They said that this move has nothing to do with Diddy, it is just label politics. The group said that they will be forever grateful to Diddy for all that he helped them to do. Under the watchful eye of the Bad Boy honcho, they released two successful albums in 2008 and 2009.

Beyonce to release a New Album in 2010

After the success of her last album, Beyonce is getting back to work. She has enjoyed hit singles, high record sales and critical acclaim. Now, she wants to get back in the studio to create more memories. Working with the same formula, Beyonce has gotten back to work.

Recently, she announced that she was getting back in the studio to create her next album. Most likely, she will follow the trends of her first three albums. So far, every Beyonce release has been successful sales wise and each has received critical acclaim. But, the artist in her may lead to Beyonce doing something different with her next album.

Last year’s I Am… Sasha Fierce did feature some different styles from Beyonce, but the same overall theme. Her next album has yet to have a title announced. Actually, she is still out promoting singles from last year’s album. The latest single released from the album is “Video Phone,” which was released earlier this month.

While Beyonce is said to be working on another studio album of all-new material, she has released multiple re-releases of I Am. She has recorded almost an album’s worth of new tracks that have been featured on these re-releases. Any more new tracks recorded by Beyonce will probably be for her upcoming 2010 album.

Chris Brown to do Tell-All interview with ABC’s Robin Roberts

Earlier this month, Rihanna visited “20/20” to tell Barbara Walters her story. Her interview came only days before the release of her album, Rated R. In the interview, she told of her relationship with Brown and that she still had feelings for him. Despite all of that, she still ended up throwing him under the bus.

The Rihanna interview brought in high ratings for the network. Soon, there was some demand for a Chris Brown interview. Beating other networks, such as CBS, or the struggling NBC to the punch, ABC landed an interview with Chris Brown. Now that Rihanna had her tell-all interview, Chris Brown will be having his with Robin Roberts.

In this interview, Brown is going to discuss his upcoming album, his relationship with Rihanna, and, of course, the fight between the two. He will also be performing for “Good Morning America.” Almost just like Rihanna, Brown will also be interviewed on “20/20.”  His interview with Roberts was taped last week.

Chris Brown will interview with Barbara Walters for “20/20” on December 11, 2009.

Terrell Owens is the new face of VH1

A few years ago, Terrell Owens was on his way to becoming the poster boy of the NFL. But, a few altercations with teammates and team switches stopped that from happening. Along the way, Owens did become an entertaining media personality. VH1 noticed that.

During the offseason in 2009, the Dallas Cowboys revealed that they were not going to re-sign Terrell Owens. In his short time there, he had yet to bring the team a playoff win. After he left Dallas, he signed with the Buffalo Bills. Moving from Dallas to Buffalo is a major transition that had to be caught on tape.

As previously mentioned, VH1 noticed how marketable Terrell Owens is. Quickly, they reached out to Owens’ camp to green-light “The T.O. Show.” The series ended up becoming a ratings success for a network best-known for “Flavor of Love.” It appears that the reality dating shows are falling off, as a result, the network is investing in shows like T.O.’s.

Due to the success of the first season, VH1 renewed the show for another season. The next season will deal with Owens’ life in Buffalo after the first season with the Bills. After the next round of “For The Love of Ray J,” and the “Tool Academy” season, VH1 will be ready for more Terrell Owens.

LeBron James may move to New York

It is no secret that LeBron James wants to play on the big stage. In the NBA, there is no bigger stage than Madison Square Garden. James is a very marketable brand and he needs to be in a major media market. He plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers, which is in a small media market.

Last season, LeBron James and his Cavs were expected to win the NBA title. However, they came up short, losing to the Orlando Magic. When he first arrived in the league, critics expected James to have already won championships by the time he reached his sixth season in the league. Currently, he is playing in his seventh season.

Sources who claim to be close to James say that he will leave Cleveland if he does not win the NBA championship this year. Unexpectedly, the team has not played as well as many other teams in the East, so they may not win this year, either. It is no secret that LeBron wants to win a ring and he may leave Cleveland to do just that.

Entering the 2010 free agency period, the New York Knicks have a lot of money to spend. They could easily afford to sign LeBron James to a maximum contract. That is exactly what they intend to do. Their plan is to sign James and assemble a great supporting cast around him. Not only can James make money with the Knicks, he can market himself in the media capital of the world.

In New York, LeBron James could finally win an NBA championship and become the first billionaire athlete.

LL Cool J’s “NCIS: Los Angeles” will be Syndicated

In his first role as a regular on a drama series, LL Cool J has already ran into success. He is the star of the spin-off of the hit CBS drama, “NCIS: Los Angeles.” LL has gotten extremely comfortable in his new role. It is said that he has given up creating albums in favor of playing on this show. However, he did record an NCIS-themed song.

Already, LL Cool J is being paid off of doing the series, but he is guaranteed even more money. It has been confirmed that this series will be placed into syndication. The show has been such a hit that CBS has made a promise to see the show cross the 100-episode mark. Once the show does hit syndication, LL Cool J will be in the big money.

Currently, the series is still in its first season on CBS. “NCIS: Los Angeles” airs every Wednesday on CBS at 9:00 pm. When available, the USA Network will acquire the syndication rights to the series.

“The Unit” finds a new home at BET

BET finally has a primetime drama to fill out its schedule a bit. Going away from the typical BET-type of programming, the network acquired the syndication rights to the former CBS drama, “The Unit.” The series aired on CBS, starting in 2006, until its cancellation in 2009.

The series stars Dennis Haysbert, the Allstate guy. The series centers around a top-secret military unit modeled after the Special Forces Operational Detachment, also known as the Delta Force. For the most part, “The Unit” centers on the activity of Haysbert’s character of Sergeant Major** Jonas Blane.

Never in the history of BET have they aired such a series. Showing that they are willing to change, they do now. Ever since November 19, BET has been airing the former CBS drama. “The Unit” airs weeknights on BET at 8:00 pm.

Gayle King is not moving to Daytime TV

It is all over the news, now, Oprah Winfrey has plans of ending her longtime daytime talk show, “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Usually, when a popular TV talk show host leaves their show, they always find a good friend to replace them. As everyone knows, Oprah’s best friend is Gayle King. King has become quite a popular radio talk show host.

Now that Oprah is leaving, fans are in need of something. Just hoping for something to happen, they have begun floating the idea of Gayle King taking over the show once Oprah leaves for her own cable network. Due to her close relationship with Oprah, the fans have become very receptive to King. If she were not associated with Winfrey, there is no way her radio show would be as popular as it is.

With all of that in consideration, Gayle King realizes that no matter how great of a host she could be in replacement of Oprah, she could never fill those shoes. Moving into that show would be career suicide. No one realizes this more than King, she said that no one will ever be able to replace Oprah and she is not going to try.

Mo’Nique is not feuding with Oprah and Tyler Perry

With her recent role in the Tyler Perry-directed and Oprah-backed film, Precious, Mo’Nique proved her versatility. She is known for portraying roles in comedy films, but she is aiming to become an overall actress. Usually, she is overlooked for these types of roles, but after this performance, all of her phones will be ringing off of the hook.

Even with all of the praise and critical acclaim, some negativity came. Not long after the film premiered to rave reviews, rumors of turmoil began. It was said that Mo’Nique has been feuding with Oprah and Tyler Perry. The feud was said to stem from Mo’Nique wanting thousands of dollars to walk the red carpet at a film festival in Canada.

For a little while, these rumors began to heat up. It was not until Lee Daniels, another worker with the film, denied these charges that people backed off. He said that the relationship between Mo’Nique, Perry, and Winfrey is just as strong as it had ever been. Daniels also denied rumors of her demanding money to walk the red carpet.

Despite the rumors of Oprah also being upset, Mo’Nique’s representative said that there is nothing going on besides mutual respect and admiration.