News

Exclusive: Rockmond Dunbar, the director-producer of the feature film Pastor Brown, has optioned Tobie Gene Levingston's autobiographical book Soul On Bikes: The East Bay Dragons Mc And The Black Biker Set about the rise and adventures of the infamous East Bay Dragon Motorcycle Club, the notorious all black Harley Davidson biker gang in Oakland, CA. Dunbar grew up in the Bay Area and has known Levingston, the East Bay Dragons and their exploits since his…...

Loretta Devine and Salli Richardson will join Esai Morales to star in an indie drama titled Teachers, which will be directed by Gary Wheeler, from a script penned by Rhonda Baraka, who also wrote the screenplay for Pastor Brown, which starred Salli Richardson, as well as Trinity Goodheart, which starred Eric Benét. Teachers centers on a divided community that comes together to save a high school that was once-popular. No word on what exactly divides this community. Devine will play a guidance counselor, Richardson, the principal, and Morales a parent. The film is being produced by Eric Tomosunas and Scott Aronson of Swirl Films. Loretta Devine will...

Sons of Anarchy alum Rockmond Dunbar is set for a co-starring role in Doubt, ABC’s legal drama written and executive produced by David Shore. The project, from Sony TV, centers on Vincent, a former cop who’s now a cunning but charming low-rent lawyer who uses his street smarts to work the system for his clients while battling his own demons and wooing his ex-wife. Dunbar, repped by Buchwald/Fortitude & Leg Management, plays Detective Steve Adams, Vince’s former partner in the force who now functions as Vince’s best friend and confidante. His directorial debut, Pastor Brown, premiered on Lifetime this month. Isiah Whitlock Jr (The Wire) is the first actor cast in another ABC drama pilot, Lucky 7, from ABC Studios and Amblin TV. Written by David Zabel and Jason Richman based on the BBC series The Syndicate, Lucky 7 is about seven employees of a service...

On TV this weekend: Beyoncé shows us what makes her irreplaceable, a Revenge plot claims its casualties, Downton Abbey gives the help the next several months off and Californication reunites Hurley and Shannon. As a supplement to TVLine’s original features (linked within), here are 15 programs to keep on your radar.

Saturday, February 16

8 pm Pastor Brown (Lifetime) | TV-movie: A woman (Eureka‘s Salli Richardson-Whitfield) returns home to honor her dying dad’s final command to take over as pastor of the family church – despite her sordid past and the son she abandoned years ago. Tisha Campbell-Martin, Nicole Ari Parker and Michael B. Jordan co-star.

It's time for a new season of Degrassi and Cam's still depressed.

I just hope he doesn't start chugging milk again.

News

Jason Ritter has joined Friends & Family, the Fox comedy pilot based on Gavin & Stacey, taking the Gavin role. That's got to be a promising first step, right?

Maggie Smith tells 60 Minutes this weekend that she's never watched Downton Abbey, saying she'd "agonize" over her performance if she did. That's right, even Maggie Smith has those moments of insecurity.

Apparently they didn't mean it. E! has cancelled Whitney Cummings' talk show, Love You, Mean It.

NBC's adaption of About a Boy has cast its lead female, asking Minnie Driver to step into the role played by Toni Collette in the film.

CBS' summer adaptation of Stephen King's Under the Dome just added Breaking Bad alum Dean Norris to the cast.

Wait. Wait. What's this about Cch Pounder...

The film was actually completed back in 2009. We posted the trailer for the Rockmond Dunbar-directed Pastor Brown at the old site. Now, it is finally being released for Lifetime and premiering on the network this month on February 16th. Sergio interviewed Dunbar a few days ago about his directing debut (read that interview Here if you haven't). Pastor Brown stars Salli Richardson-Whitfied, who also co-produces), as an ex-stripper who honors her dying father's wish to take over as pastor of the family's church. I had the pleasure of interviewing the lovely Mrs. Richardson-Whitfield, who says this was a very challenging role for her due to her character's...

For some time, we have definitely been following actor Rockmond Dunbar’s feature film directing debut, Pastor Brown, which premieres on the Lifetime Channel next month, Saturday Feb. 16, at 8Pm (7Pm Central). It stars Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Nicole Ari Parker, Michael Beach, Tasha Smith, Keith David, Michael B. Jordan, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Ernie Hudson and Dunbar himself as Salli’s romantic interest. The film deals with ex-stripper Jesse (played by Richardson) who finds herself is an unexpected situation when her ailing pastor father (David), names her his successor of his church to, of course, the consternation of church officials, for whom...

Finally... I was just wondering when these movies will all eventually debut. Of course - Black History Month! The 3 films are: Betty & Coretta, starring Angela Bassett and Mary J. Blige; Twist of Faith, starring Toni Braxton, Mykelti Williamson and David Julian Hirsh; and Pastor Brown, featuring Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Keith David, Ernie Hudson, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Nicole Ari Parker, Rockmond Dunbar and Michael B. Jordan. Trailers for each should surface any day now; and I'll certainly be on the look-out! The full details via press release from Lifetime below... Lifetime To Celebrate Black History Month With Three World Premiere...

On the FX drama series Sons of Anarchy, actor Rockmond Dunbar (Terriers, Prison Break, Soul Food) stars as Charming’s new lawman, Eli Roosevelt, a no-nonsense member of the San Joaquin Sheriff's Department, he takes his job seriously and doesn’t like to be manipulated. Recruited into Assistant U.S. Attorney Lincoln Potter’s (Ray McKinnon) task force to help bring down the Sons’ gun-running operation, he quickly realizes that he is also just a pawn in a larger scheme. During a recent interview to promote his role on Season 4 of the popular show, Rockmond Dunbar talked about how recent events will effect his character’s actions, that Eli comes from a lineage of police officers, that his character was originally supposed to die after 10 episodes, how much he loves working with Peter Weller as a director, and that he has family members that were in the first black Harley motorcycle gang,...

Halle Berry’s ex with the sex addiction, Eric Benet, will be starring in an independent feature film called Trinity Goodheart.

The film, penned by Rhonda Freeman-Baraka, who wrote the screenplay for Rockmond Dunbar’s Pastor Brown, centers on a 12-year-old girl, played by Erica Gluck, who’s “on a mission to reunite her disjointed family.” I’m guessing Benet plays

Joanne Hock (who’s primarily a Dp) will direct.

The production team aims to premiere the film at the American Black Film Festival (Abff) in July, which would be followed by a limited theatrical run.

Benet has acted previously, notably in a bit part alongside Mariah Carey, in Vondie Curtis Hall’s 2001 film, Glitter.

Best gal pal Bff’s and singing duet performers/actresses Tisha Campbell and Tichina Arnold stepped out and presented their hilarious outfits that alone are pretty good but together hurt the gut from laughter. The two appeared in L.A. at Privilege for the 7th Annual Heidi Klum Halloween Party dressed as America’s Next Top Model‘s Host Tyra Banks (equipped with the enlarged prosthetic to give definition to the enormous five head of the forehead that Tyra has) and Judge Miss J. aka J. Alexander.

Tisha and Tichina have done it again. Just as many others fall in and out of the spot light and some may just have a couple of hit works with the audience these two remain to keep it fresh and valid to stick into our minds.

Starting out as two of the three singing narrator types in Frank Oz’s remake of Little Shop of Horrors.

We caught up with actress Salli Richardson-Whitfield who was most recently seen in the film Black Dynamite and the upcoming film Pastor Brown. Also starring in the hit film I Am Legend with actor Will Smith, we had to ask her about the rampant rumors of the possible prequel to that film. Here Salli answers all of those questions and more right here! Check out the interview!