News

Renée Elise Goldsberry and Lynn Whitfield are forced to put their differences aside during a pivotal road trip in the trailer for the drama feature Albany Road.

The film from writer-director Christine Swanson is set to hit select AMC Theatres and Malco Theatres locations on Nov. 15, with those cinema chains handling the distribution. Albany Road centers on Celeste (Goldsberry), who is preparing for an important work trip and is dismayed that she has to share a car with her ex-fiancé’s mother, Paula (Whitfield). Celeste soon learns that Paula is keeping a big secret from her, with the movie exploring challenging family dynamics and the power of personal growth.

“We come face-to-face with what we fear the most or what we want the most, and sometimes you win — and sometimes you lose,” Whitfield says in the trailer.

Later, while seated in the car next to Whitfield, Goldsberry exclaims, “I hate being powerless!

The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) has set its lineup of narrative and documentary features for its 28th edition, including Jussie Smollett’s return to acting in “The Lost Holliday,” filmmaker Christine Swanson’s latest drama “Albany Road” and the acclaimed Luther Vandross doc “Never Too Much.”

This year’s festival takes place June 12-16 in Miami Beach, Fla., followed by a virtual segment June 17-24 on ABFF Play. Winners of film festival competition will be announced on June 15, during the “Best of ABFF Awards” hosted by Emmy-nominee Dondré Whitfield.

The 2024 narrative lineup includes “Albany Road,” directed and written by Swanson, starring Renée Elise Goldsberry, Lynn Whitfield and J. Alphonse Nicholson; “The Lost Holliday” directed by, co-written and starring Smollett alongside Vivica A. Fox, produced by Mona Scott-Young; “The Waterboyz,” directed by Coke Daniels and produced by Ben Crump, starring Akil McDowell, Alani “La La” Anthony and Quavo; and “Black Heat,...

Despite big changes and a new pastor, Graceway Church is in trouble. But with the season of giving upon them, First Lady Rita thinks a holiday reunion of her sons’ gospel group will be exactly the thing that the church and its community need to get the necessary money… if old gripes and scandals don’t sabotage it all. Will Christmas past get in the way of the Christmas future of the Church, or will the brothers and their wives be able to harmonize in time? “Favorite Son Christmas,” Tank, Lisa Arrindell, Loren Lott, Serayah, and more, rings in the season BET+ on Thursday, Dec. 14. You can watch Favorite Son Christmas with a 7-Day Free Trial of BET+.

How to Watch ‘Favorite Son Christmas’ When: Thursday, December 14, 2023 Where: BET+ Stream: Watch with a 7-Day Free Trial of BET+. 7-Day Free Trial$9.99+ / month bet+ via amazon.com About ‘Favorite Son Christmas’

Robin Givens...

BET+ has an exciting holiday slate.

The streaming service announced Monday it would launch 10 new movies, including family comedies, yuletide romances, and a little musical magic.

The flicks feature Jasmine Guy, Terrence Carson, and Dorien Wilson, Ne-Yo, Serayah, Romeo Miller, LeToya Luckett, and Lala Milan.

Get all the details on the movies below.

A Wesley Christmas - November 3

Adult siblings Chris, Todd, and Cydney Wesley travel to their childhood home to celebrate Christmas with their parents and the entire Wesley family.

With everyone together and all their physical and emotional baggage in tow, the annual Wesley family holiday promises to be a festive, hot-mess of a Christmas with life-changing impacts on the whole family.

Cast: Dorien Wilson, Jasmine Guy, Terrence Carson, Loren Lott, Terayle Hill, Mike Merrill

Director: Patricia Cuffie Jones

Writer: Bree West

Produced by: Octet Productions

The First Noelle - November 10

After twenty years of friendship, Terrance and...

After debuting eight new original holiday movies in 2021, BET+ is getting even more into the seasonal spirit this year with 10 more titles rolling out beginning Nov. 3, Variety has learned exclusively.

The 2022 slate features films starring Ne-Yo, Sereyah, Romeo Miller, LeToya Luckett and Lala Milan, as well as returning BET+ holiday movie staples like Jasmine Guy, Terrence Carson and Dorien Wilson. The titles come from directors and writers including Victoria Rowell (who also appears in “A Christmas Gift”), Robin Givens, Bree West and Patricia Cuffie Jones.

“We’re committed to bringing quality Black stories to the screen and the holidays are no exception,” BET+ executive vice president and general manager Devin Griffin said. “Year after year, our members devour holiday programming; in fact, our original holiday films continue to out-perform, which is why we’re committed to growing our investment in this area of the service. But it’s not just about meeting demand,...

AMC announced that the first two episodes of the upcoming dark comedy “Kevin Can F**k Himself” will premiere on AMC Plus on June 13 and air on June 20 at 9 p.m. on AMC.

The remaining episodes will continue to debut on AMC Plus one week ahead of the AMC linear airings on Sundays at 9 p.m.

In the new series, “Schitt’s Creek” star Annie Murphy plays Allison McRoberts, a prototypical sitcom wife who wakes up and revolts against the injustices in her life. The series also stars Mary Hollis Inboden, Eric Petersen, Alex Bonifer, Brian Howe and Raymond Lee, and is executive produced by creator Valerie Armstrong, Rashida Jones, Will McCormack and showrunner Craig Digregorio.

Also in today’s TV news roundup…

Dates

BET Plus will stream “Favorite Son” on May 6, Variety learned exclusively. Based on Tiffany L. Warren’s novel of the same name, the film follows a gospel group...

Hey, "Elementary" fans. We hope you guys enjoyed tonight's episode 2 of this final season 7. Now that it's officially in the history books, it's time to see what will be taking place in the next, new episode 3 next week. The wonderful folks over at CBS did serve up a press release for episode 3. So, that's what we'll be working with in this spoiler session. To get things started, CBS' press release filled us in on what the title is for episode 3. It's labeled, "The Price Of Admission." That is definitely a phrase I've heard before. It sounds like episode 3 will feature some pretty interesting scenes as Homes tries to make his way back into the United States. Watson helps out with a murder investigation and more. We'll go ahead and start off this spoiler session with the Holmes situation. It turns out that Holmes will not only try to get back into the United States,...

"Science took her cells. Her family reclaimed her story." HBO has unveiled an official trailer for a film titled The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, adapted from the book of the same name, telling the story of Henrietta Lacks. Lacks died of cervical cancer in 1951, but her cells were taken without her permission for medical research, and they eventually became the first "immortal" human cells. Renée Elise Goldsberry plays Henrietta. The movie follows two timelines, the second involving her ancestors fighting to reclaim her name in medical history. Oprah Winfrey stars as Lacks' daughter, with a cast including Rose Byrne, Courtney B. Vance, Lisa Arrindell, and Reed Birney. This is technically a "made-for-tv" movie, but we're making an exception because this is an HBO production, and they're at the top of their game recently. Here's the official trailer for George C. Wolfe's The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, from...

Isaiah Washington, best known for his roles on "Grey's Anatomy" and "The 100," is taking on the supernatural in his new thriller, "The Sin Seer." The movie follows Rose Ricard (Lisa Arrindell Anderson), a woman with an unusual gift: she can see into people's souls. She uses her gift to bring closure to unsolved cases, but her most recent task opens the doors to her own past.

To celebrate the new release, Washington shared what movies he watches when he's in the mood for the supernatural.

Catch "The Sin Seer" on DVD or digital video starting Tuesday, February 2.

Isaiah Washington and Lisa Arrindell Anderson star in the indie suspense thriller "The Sin Seer" which premiered at the American Black Film Festival last summer. The Overflow Entertainment project, written and directed by Paul D. Hannah, follows a woman with the ability to see into people's souls, read minds and detect lies. She uses these gifts to solve crimes and other mysteries, helping to bring closure to the lives of others. When her latest case opens doors to her own past and that of her new partner, even she can't see what lies ahead. Anderson stars as the lead character, teaming up with Washington at her side. Richard Brooks, Salli...

Another month begins - a time when Netflix begins another round of monthly streaming library edits; so if any of the below listed movies and/or TV series coming to, or leaving the streaming platform, are of interest to you, add them to your watch-lists!  First, on the list of titles that will be added, starting today, December 1, of note, the 2016 Spirit Awards nominee, multiple Gotham Award winner, and much talked about "Tangerine" becomes available tomorrow. And director Kiara Jones' indie family dramedy "Christmas Wedding Baby," which counts Lisa Arrindell Anderson and Stephen Hill as part of its strong cast. That film is available today, right now! And...

Isaiah Washington and Lisa Arrindell Anderson star in the indie suspense thriller "The Sin Seer" which premiered at the American Black Film Festival over the summer. The Overflow Entertainment project, written and to be directed by Paul D. Hannah follows a woman with the ability to see into people's souls, read minds and detect lies. She uses these gifts to solve crimes and other mysteries, helping to bring closure to the lives of others. When her latest case opens doors to her own past and that of her new partner, even she can't see what lies ahead. Anderson stars the lead character, and teaming up with Washington at her side. Richard...

Isaiah Washington and Lisa Arrindell Anderson star in the indie suspense thriller "The Sin Seer" which premiered at the American Black Film Festival over the summer. The Overflow Entertainment project, written and to be directed by Paul D. Hannah follows a woman with the ability to see into people's souls, read minds and detect lies. She uses these gifts to solve crimes and other mysteries, helping to bring closure to the lives of others. When her latest case opens doors to her own past and that of her new partner, even she can't see what lies ahead. Anderson stars the lead character, and teaming up with Washington at her side. Richard...

Nick Cannon is bringing the beat back to Atlanta A&T in the teaser for the VH1 movie “Drumline: A New Beat.” See video: Megan Fox, Nick Cannon Are Terrible Artists, But They Still Beat Jimmy Fallon, Wiz Khalifa The forthcoming “Drumline” sequel stars Alexandra Shipp as Dani Bolton, a promising young percussionist who leaves Brooklyn with the hopes of becoming the fictional Southern university's first female drum leader. Shipp also stars as ill-fated recording artist Aaliyah Haughton in Lifetime's “Aaliyah: Princess of R&B.” “Drumline” also stars Lisa Arrindell Anderson, Jasmine Burke and Leonard Roberts, who played Cannon's...

Richard Brooks and Salli Richardson-Whitfield have joined Isaiah Washington, Lisa Arrindell Anderson, Michael Ironside and C. Thomas Howell in the suspense thriller The Sin Seer.  The Overflow Entertainment project, written and to be directed by Paul D. Hannah... ... follows a woman with the ability to see into people's souls, read minds and detect lies. She uses these gifts to solve crimes and other mysteries, bringing closure where there was none. When her latest case opens doors to her own past and that of her new partner, even she can't see what lies ahead. Anderson will star as the woman, and Washington will play...

Richard Brooks (“The Crow: City of Angels”) and Salli Richardson-Whitfield (“The Lottery”) have joined Isaiah Washington in Overflow Entertainment's suspense thriller “The Sin Seer,” TheWrap has learned. Brooks and Richardson-Whitfield previously shared the screen in “Being Mary Jane.” Also read: ‘Grey's Anatomy's’ Sandra Oh Teases Isaiah Washington's Return: ‘Burke Is Back’ (Photo) The cast also includes Washington's “Clockers” co-star Lisa Arrindell Anderson, Michael Ironside (“Vegas”) and C. Thomas Howell (“Criminal Minds”). “The Sin Seer” follows a woman with the ability to see into people's souls, read minds and detect lies. She uses these gifts to solve crimes and other mysteries,...

• Happy Endings’ Adam Pally has signed on to star in the upcoming indie romantic comedy Bad Boys Crazy Girls. Helmed by The Art of the Stealth director Don Argott, the upcoming film focuses on two friends who are unlucky in love and decide to help each other alter their personalities in order to become “bad” and “crazy.” [The Hollywood Reporter]

• Teen Wolf actor Colton Haynes has joined the cast of the upcoming earthquake action drama San Andreas. Haynes will star alongside Dwayne Johnson (Fast & Furious 7), Carla Gugino (Watchmen), and Alexandra Daddario (Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters) in the upcoming film about an ex-...

San Andreas

Colton Haynes ("Arrow," "Teen Wolf") has joined the cast of Brad Peyton's earthquake disaster film "San Andreas". Carla Gugino and Alexandra Daddario also star.

Dwayne Johnson plays an ex-Special Ops firefighter pilot who searches a devastated California for his estranged daughter after the Big One hits. [Source: Just Jared]

The Good Lord Bird

Jaden Smith and Liev Schreiber have signed on to star in an adaptation of James McBride's slightly satirical, Huckleberry Finn-esquw slavery drama novel "The Good Lord Bird". McBride, Schreiber and Brian Taylor will produce.

Smith plays a young slave named Henry "Onion" Shackleford who skips town with abolitionist John Brown (Liev Schreiber) who believes Henry is actually a girl. The pair, and his crew of freedom fighters, travel the nation meeting historical figures on the way to the Harper's Ferry raid which set the stage for the Civil War. [Source: Deadline]

Max

Thomas Haden Church and...

Coming off his well-received return to “Grey's Anatomy” and career-best reviews for “Blue Caprice,” Isaiah Washington has signed on to star in Overflow Entertainment's suspense thriller “The Sin Seer,” TheWrap has learned. The cast also includes Lisa Arrindell Anderson (“Madea's Family Reunion”), Michael Ironside (“Vegas”) and C. Thomas Howell (“Criminal Minds”). Also read: ‘Grey's Anatomy's Isaiah Washington and Ellen Pompeo Reunite in First Photo From Lot “The Sin Seer” follows a woman with the ability to see into people's souls, read minds and detect lies. She uses these gifts to solve crimes and other mysteries, bringing closure where there was none.

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Ahead of the release of The Single Moms Club, a film written, directed, produced by and starring Tyler Perry, we thought it was worthwhile looking back on all the Tyler Perry Productions (Tpp) that came before it. In total, Perry has produced 16 films (including Smc) from the ongoing Madea franchise to stand-alones, such as Temptation and Why Did I Get Married? All of the films have been met with varying degrees of praise and success. But who has actually sat down and watched all of them? Inspired by that question, I decided to review all of Perry’s film in order to grade and rank each film.

To see how they fall in order (from worst to best), flip through the gallery above. For a more in-depth, critical analysis keep on reading!

(Warning: The films were not watched in order of release. In fact, if watched in...

Here's a trailer for yet another upcoming black romantic comedy titled First Impressions, from director Arthur Muhammad, which stars Lamman Rucker and Lisa Arrindell Anderson. Synopsis reads: Vernon Richardson and Imani Townsend meet unexpectedly at a cozy Jazz club, unpretentious, and unaware, they're a match made for heaven on a popular internet dating website. They fall in love with the people they really are, but the influence of life's circumstances and false expectations keep them apart. However, their pseudo internet personalities keep them closer than they know. Vernon, an aspiring writer, takes a job at Townsend Publishing, run by Imani, setting up the ultimate...

Actress Lisa Arrindell Anderson welcomes 42 today. The Bronx native is probably best known for her role in Madea’s Family Reunion.

She’s also appeared in The Cosby Show, Clockers, In The House, The Practice, The Steve Harvey Show, Big Momma’s House 2, Disappearing Acts, K-Ville, Drop Dead Diva, House of Payne, Law & Order and Meet The Browns. Pheww! The girl has been working.

The next film project we can expect to see her in is the movie Bolden!, about the first Cornet King of New Orleans, alongside Anthony Mackie, Omari Hardwick, Wendell Pierce, Omar Gooding and Jackie Earle Haley.

Like him or not, Tyler Perry is a phenom to his audience, having amassed half a billion dollar in the box office, not counting his success in the stage circuit. Yet he is not without his fair share of detractors—from prominent African-Americans offended by Perry's stereotyping to film critics offended by Perry's aptitude.

Recently, Lionsgate released Perry's most successful films on Blu-ray, so we thought it'd be the perfect opportunity to reassess five entries from Tyler Perry's filmography, as well as the stage version of Madea's Big Happy Family, which Perry is already adapting into a film.

• • •

Diary of a Mad Black Woman

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You wouldn't be blamed if you thought Tyler Perry's Diary of a Mad Black Woman was about Madea, who features prominently on the cover. Instead, she's just a side character offering emotional support and helping the true titular mad, black...

Take a look…

I’m curious if anyone saw last night episode of Law & Order Svu. They promoted the hell out of it because Quinton Aaron, you know that big black guy from The Blind Side, guest starred on the show. But what they failed to mention was that Jill Scott also appeared on the episode as well. Story wise it was quite a compelling show, one of the best of the season, but not without it’s problems. The case centered on a wheelchair bound Ms victim, very well and movingly acted by Lisa Arrindell Anderson, who is found beaten and raped in her apartment. She is taken care of by her sister, played by Scott, who is revealed to be insanely jealous and resentful of her sister, and has been the one beating her. Aaron played Scott’s son who is forced to choose between his mother and his aunt.

At the unlikely intersection of Douglas Sirk movie, sitcom, trashy romance novel and revival meeting, Tyler Perry has carved out a boxoffice niche of impressive proportions. However unbelievable and broad his excursions into kitsch, they connect with audiences.

"Diary of a Mad Black Woman" debuted at No. 1 a year ago, and Perry sticks with the strange formula in his directing debut, "Madea's Family Reunion", the second movie version of one of his wildly popular plays and an even bigger boxoffice performer despite the lack of opening-day reviews (Lionsgate did not screen the film for critics). Neither good nor so-bad-it's-good, Perry's odd oeuvre has an allure all its own.

Brimming with cliches, "Madea", like "Diary", has an undeniable appeal, for those who can stick with it, in its earnest and unfashionable conviction. More welded together than interwoven in this tale of an extended Atlanta family are plot strands regarding a pending reunion, an abusive relationship and a perfect romance. Perry again plays three characters, chief among them Mabel "Madea" Simmons, a formidable old woman who suffers no fools and variously shelters, counsels and gives kicks in the butt to her gorgeous younger relatives who are going through rough times.

Designed more for the stage than the camera lens, Perry's drag illusion is hardly perfect, his beard at times visible through the makeup. But you're either with Madea (slang for "My Dear") or not, and Perry's affection for her is a powerful element of the mix. The committed performances of the cast notwithstanding, the film is more alive when she shows up to cut through the glossy soap opera with her sass. Perry also plays Madea's flatulent, lecherous brother Joe -- a character who already had overstayed his welcome in the first film -- and Joe's upstanding lawyer son, Brian.

Perry this time goes deeper into the mash-up's melodrama, and though Madea is still a hoot, all comic patter and deadly glowers, she's less irreverent -- no pot smoking for the Old School Southern matriarch in this saga. But then, she's got to set a good example for her incorrigible teen foster daughter (Keke Palmer), who Madea turns into a mannerly good student in a too quickly resolved plot strand that involves judicious use of the belt.

With a family reunion and a glamorous wedding approaching, two ultra-hissable villains emerge. Madea's niece Lisa (Rochelle Aytes) is about to marry investment banker Carlos (Blair Underwood), a smooth operator who beats her at the flimsiest provocation. When Lisa tells her mother, Victoria (Lynn Whitfield), she advises her to stop upsetting him; an appearance-conscious phony, Victoria needs this marriage in order to maintain her ostentatious lifestyle. Without attempting to make him the least bit sympathetic, Underwood's terrific performance conveys the needy infant within his controlling creep.

Lisa ends up at Madea's, where her half-sister, Vanessa Lisa Arrindell Anderson), has been living with her two young children. Perry's fondness for fairy-tale romance bursts into full flower through Vanessa's chaste courtship with the impossibly perfect Frankie (Boris Kodjoe), a handsome, sincere artist/bus driver who also is a single parent and a Christian. In one of the film's most substantial roles, Anderson has real fire.

The script's mild sermonizing (God is invoked, but not Jesus), Oprah-style pep talks and emphasis on family crescendo at the reunion, where none other than Cicely Tyson delivers a rousing and impassioned lecture to the younger generations.

Perry's efficient direction has as many styles as the story, from high-intensity, teary-eyed close-ups to sitcom staging to more artful views of Atlanta. Character-defining production and costume design and classic tracks ("Love and Happiness", "We Are Family") are key elements of the low-budget pic.

MADEA'S FAMILY REUNION

Lionsgate Films

A Lionsgate and Tyler Perry Co. presentation

Credits:

Screenwriter-director: Tyler Perry

Producers: Tyler Perry, Reuben Cannon

Executive producer: Mike Paseornek

Director of photography: Toyomichi Kurita

Production designer: Ina Mayhew

Music: Tyler Perry, Elvin Ross

Co-producers: Mike Upton, Roger M. Bobb

Costume designer: Keith G. Lewis

Editor: John Carter

Cast:

Madea/Joe/Brian: Tyler Perry

Carlos: Blair Underwood

Victoria: Lynn Whitfield

Frankie: Boris Kodjoe

Issac: Henry Simmons

Vanessa: Lisa Arrindell Anderson

Myrtle: Cicely Tyson

Lisa: Rochelle Aytes

May: Maya Angelou

Milay Jenay Lori: Jenifer Lewis

Donna: Tangi Miller

Nikki: Keke Palmer.

Running time -- 110 minutes

MPAA rating: PG-13...