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NEWS(Click Here! to submit news, articles & rumors)Donnie Wahlberg On Michael Jackson's 'Chain Of Influence'New Kids on the Block probably wouldn't have existed without The Jackson 5, and that is a statement that New Kid Donnie Wahlberg won't argue against. The Jackson 5, in many respects, laid the groundwork for bands like New Edition, NKOTB, the Backstreet Boys and 'NSYNC."Michael Jackson was the first musical artist that I looked up to, aspired to be like," Wahlberg said. "He was the first person to ever really inspire me to dream to what's bigger than what was in front of me." He explained that there's a clear line drawn from the Jackson 5 to the New Kids on the Block. "There's an obvious chain of influence there," he said. "There's always someone who sets the bar. ... Michael Jackson was a child and he was a superstar. Rather than kids across America and across the world looking at adults performing, they were looking at someone like them performing. You could become like Michael Jackson ... suddenly the whole playing field changed." He continued that "from the Jackson 5's influence on New Kids on the Block, his personal influence on me to his personal influence on other members on the group" has been substantial. According to Wahlberg, It's been equally substantial on a number of other artists making music today. "I defy anyone to find an artist today who's out there making music who's not somehow influenced by Michael Jackson," he said. "There's no artist today who wasn't impacted by Michael Jackson. It's his swagger." 2009 Teen Choice Award nominationsSurfboards (in lieu of trophies) for the 11th annual event will be distributed during a two-hour special on Aug. 10 on Fox. Fans, ages 13-19, can vote for the winners at TeenChoiceAwards.com.Choice TV: Villain Vanessa Williams Heads Charitable Education CampaignInterested in getting career advice from Mode magazine's Wilhelmina Slater? You're in luck because Vanessa Williams, the actress who plays the fashion-minded, ambitious diva on ABC's Ugly Betty, is willing to share some of her tips for having a successful career.The singer and actress is spearheading the "Botox Cosmetic: Express Success" charitable education campaign to benefit Dress for Success, an organization that helps disadvantaged women succeed in the corporate world by providing professional attire as well as career support. You can pledge your support now at ExpressSuccessCampaign.com – and also enter to win a trip for two to New York City to have lunch with Vanessa Williams. Williams, whose new album The Real Thing is out now, will officially launch the campaign on June 30. For a look at Vanessa's beautiful home, check out the latest issue of PEOPLE. Billboard CD reviewARTIST: VANESSA WILLIAMSALBUM: THE REAL THING (Concord Records) An unfailingly sensitive set of romantic ballads, Vanessa Williams' latest release functions as a kind of corrective to her tough-cookie character on TV's "Ugly Betty": This breathy-voiced woman wouldn't harm a fly, let alone an ungainly office mate. Williams and her collaborators (among them Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and "Save the Best for Last" producer Keith Thomas) occasionally overdose on the kind of late-'80s soft-pop cheese that can sap the feeling from even the finest vocal performance. Most of "The Real Thing," which includes versions of Bill Withers' "Hello Like Before" and Stevie Wonder's title track, operates at an appealing low burn, with tasty Latin-pop accents. But several cuts -- such as "Loving You," a jazzy new Babyface original -- showcase Williams' Broadway bona fides.
New Kids on the Block sue copycatsNew Kids on the Block have filed a lawsuit against a production company - accusing bosses of using the band's name for another all-male group.The 1990s teen idols, who reunited in 2008, filed papers against SM Productions, a company which provides DJs for events in California. According to TMZ.com, the band's lawyers allege the company tried to form a new group - also entitled New Kids On The Block - in a bid to record music with them and pass it off as made by the original boy band. The lawsuit also claims the company attempted to register the name, as well as the group's record artwork on album Hangin' Tough, with the U.S Patents and Trademark Office. The details of the claim are not known as WENN goes to press. Q&A: Williams talks about new CD, 'Ugly Betty'Madonna isn't the only master when it comes to reinvention.In her two decades-plus career, Vanessa Williams has been the beauty queen, the hit-making singer, Broadway star and marquee film actress, and in the last few years, she's captivated fans yet again with her Emmy-nominated comedic turn as the power-grabbing Wilhelmina Slater on ABC's "Ugly Betty." This month, the 45-year-old returns to one of her past roles with the release of a new album, "The Real Thing." In a recent interview, Williams talked about her music, the TV role that defines her for many of her fans, and how they relate to her as a result. AP: What's the key to your success over the decades? Williams: Besides talent and being prepared for whatever, you have to stay open, you have to be flexible and think about your options and not get stuck in a rut and do the same thing, if this works, well, I've gotta do it 10 different times, always be willing to explore and reach beyond your comfort zone. AP: How do your fans relate to you? Williams: Younger kids know me from "Hannah Montana," 8 and younger ... and I would say (those in their) 20s know me from "Ugly Betty," and then anyone over mid-30s, 40s know me from my music. And above that, it's probably Miss America. AP: Were you worried about taking a four-year break between albums? Williams: I'm happy that I've been able not to depend on one genre to make a living. The recording industry has changed immensely. ... I always hope that my fan base will follow me from project to project and I'm in a position where I have a whole new audience that doesn't even know me as a singer, which is fascinating. AP: Are you planning to tour with this album? Williams: Not right now. ... I have to go back to work the second week in July. So I only have eight weeks off. I'm already exhausted. AP: What do fans think of your role as Wilhelmina? Williams: People who know me from my recording career always get a kick out of it and say, "I love watching you be so bad," and the people who haven't seen me before, the younger audience, are a little bit intimidated, sometimes afraid to approach me, which I think is hilarious. ... To play such a role is very freeing as an actress because you get the chance to really be as broad and loose as you want and kind of be a brat and get away with murder. AP: How would you describe your music to those who only know you as Wilhelmina? Williams: I would have to let whoever is discovering me for the first time see a much softer side than what they see on a weekly basis. That's the funny thing about playing such a terrorized role on TV; my real self is different, so I think a lot of people, if they don't know me, will see, definitely, a side of me they don't see on a weekly basis. AP: There's talk of upcoming changes on "Ugly Betty." Your thoughts? Williams: I do think there is a definite "Betty" style which is unique and I wouldn't want it to become just another show which looks like all the other shows. I hope it will stay unique. NKOTB Full Service Tour Set ListSet List:Close To You (montage of pictures) Full Service Summertime (remix) My Favorite Girl The Right Stuff Didn't I Blow Your Mind Valentine Girl Please Don't Go Girl Dirty Dancing No More Games If You Go Away Stare At You Single Sexify My Love Twisted Video Stay With Me Baby Give It To You Popsicle 5 Brothers & A Million Sisters Tonight Click Click Click I'll Be Loving You Forever One Song Step By Step Hangin' Tough CNN BEHIND THE SCENES W NKOTBThe New Kids on the Block are back on the road. CNN.com’s Reggie Aqui gets an inside look. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE VIDEO!24 Hires Mykelti Williamson to Take Charge of CTUThe late Bill Buchanan's heir apparent has been named, and it's Mykelti Williamson.The actor, whose credits include TV's Boomtown and CSI: NY and the Sundance hit Black Dynamite, is joining Fox's 24 in the series regular role of Brian Hastings, the boss man of CTU's New York outpost. Hastings, says Fox, is MBA-schooled and wields a razor-sharp intellect. Previous Season 8 castings include Freddie Prinze Jr. (as the head of CTU Field Ops/a wannabe Jack Bauer) and Jennifer Westfeldt (as an ambitious newswoman). 24 kicks off Jack Bauer's bad day in the Big Apple on Jan. 17, 2010. Cruising Tips from New Kids on the BlockWhen the New Kids on the Block boarded a ship for the Bahamas on Friday, they were joined by 2,000 excited fans for a three-night cruise. "I don't know what we were thinking," jokes Donnie Wahlberg. "We have nowhere to run if it gets out of hand."Sitting on the Promenade Deck before the ship departed from Miami, all five New Kids – Jordan Knight, Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Danny Wood and Donnie – shared their aquatic rules with PEOPLE. Manscaping Is a Must There's nothing wrong with a bit of personal grooming. While four of the New Kids said they prefer to be natural, Danny Wood admits to a bit of shaving and tweezing. "Yeah, I manscape," he says. "You've got to look good in a swimsuit. I live down here and I'm always at the beach, so it's kind of a must for me." No Speedos or Mankinis When asked which one of them packed a speedo, the other four members shout "Danny!" But Danny says his swimsuit won't be that revealing: "John Mayer may get away with a mankini, but the rest of us can't." "What's a mankini?" Donnie asks. "It's like a speedo with suspenders, but all one piece," explains Joey. Keep Your Friends Close If the ship were sinking and there weren't enough seats in the lifeboat, who would go down with the ship? "I'd give up my seat for these guys," says Wahlberg. "I'd do it in a heartbeat." "I don't have kids," argues Jonathan, "so you can have my seat." "I'd like to think I'd do that," says Joey, "but I have a little baby at home. So maybe I'd be the one to step all over everyone else to get in the boat." Have a Plan for Being Shipwrecked If the ship sets ground on the shore of an uncharted desert isle, the New Kids would all step into various Gilligan's Island-inspired roles. "Jon would be the professor," says Danny. "He could build the huts. And Joey would be Mr. Howell, dressed up in a dinner jacket." The rest of the guys think they're more like the Skipper, except for Jordan who admits, "I never watched Gilligan's Island enough to know what you're talking about." "None of us are Gilligans," says Danny. "There are a couple of Gilligans in the Backstreet Boys, though." "The problem is that there are no Gingers or Mary Anns," says Joey. "We've definitely got to have them on the island." The three-day cruise, which is full of 2,000 Gingers and Mary Anns, by the way, concludes Monday. After the New Kids disembark, they'll return home to prepare for the kickoff of their summer tour, beginning in Atlanta on May 28. New Kids hangin' tough on cruiseThe little girls who made the New Kids on the Block a boy band sensation in the late 1980s and early 1990s are all grown up and now they've got disposable income.So what better way to show their love for Jordan, Jonathan, Joey, Donnie and Danny than spending three days with them on a Caribbean cruise? About 2,100 women, most in their 20s and 30s, paid more US$1,000 each for a sold-out, three-day Carnival Cruise Lines trip that left Miami for the Bahamas on Friday. The voyage kicks off the band's summer concert tour, where they'll dust off hits like "Hangin' Tough" and "Step by Step" along with songs from their 2008 album. Fans squealed and giggled as they boarded the boat, angling for a glimpse of the New Kids. Some wore buttons and T-shirts with their favourite band members' names and photos. Others kissed cardboard cutouts. The band will perform twice during the trip, allowing half the passengers to come one night and the other half the next. Other events include meet and greets and photo ops. Concert cruises provide a nice bump for Carnival, which recently lowered its earnings forecast because it's had to slash prices to maintain its bookings. John Mayer and Lynyrd Skynyrd have done recent cruises and an upcoming voyage is Elvis-themed. Barenaked Ladies took its fifth "Ships & Dips" cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line in February. Fans like the concert cruises because they're "a more intimate experience than you would have in a typical stadium or concert venue," said Cherie Weinstein, Carnival's vice president for business development. New Kids cruiser Shannon Wright, 32, of Syracuse, N.Y., was hoping to get up close and personal with her favourite New Kid, Donnie - as in Wahlberg, older brother of Mark Wahlberg, who started out as rapper Marky Mark and is now a respectable film actor - but said she'd probably faint when she did. She might get the chance if she aces a poker tournament on the cruise itinerary for Sunday - the winners play Wahlberg at midnight. Wright says her husband is "a little jealous of Donnie, but otherwise he's OK with it." She just got over seeing the group in concert a month ago, and now she's got them cornered on a boat. Emily Vance of Dayton, Ohio, took the cruise with her mother, Debbie Kingham, and friend Jenny Duncan. They wore matching black tour-branded tank tops and gushed about their favourite member - also Wahlberg, who was known as the "bad boy" of the group. Kingham and Vance remembered their first concert in July 1990. When Vance went to their reunion concert this October, she cried. Vance and Duncan said their husbands think they're crazy, but they don't care. "We're the only ones who understand," Duncan said. After 20 years, band members say it's flattering to still have screaming women at their feet. The confined spaces of a boat make it harder to get away from obsessed fans, but they said they want to spend time with people who are still loyal. In between jokes about wearing Speedos on deck and making the entire boat breakfast, band members talked Friday about why they decided to continue performing. "Our fans have come out since Day One, and we've just tried to answer the call," said Joey McIntyre, at 36 the youngest member of the group. "It had to be fun and it had do be challenging, or we wouldn't have done it." The New Kids "Full Service" summer tour begins June 4 in Atlanta. NKOTB ANNOUNCE AUSTRALIAN TOUR!VIP PACKAGES AVAILABLE AT I LOVE ALL ACCESS!PUBLIC ON-SALE MAY 28 @ 9AM Sat 1-Aug-09 Perth Burswood Dome Vanessa Williams returns with Latin-tinged classicsIt's a prime time to be a Vanessa Williams fan. She's on the small screen weekly, as the shrewtastic fashion magazine editor on "Ugly Betty," and she plays a conniving label publicist in "Hannah Montana: The Movie." But on June 2, Williams returns to her first love -- music -- with the release of "The Real Thing."The Concord album is inspired by jazz and Latin music, particularly the work of Sergio Mendes, who first performed the Stevie Wonder-penned title track. "I wanted to do something with kind of a Brazilian feel," Williams says. "It's kind of a hybrid of samba, bossa nova, some salsa and also some pop and R&B." Several of the songs are standards, like Bill Withers' "Hello Like Before" and Bebel Gilberto's "Close to You." Two of the tracks, "Loving You" and "Just Friends," are originals written by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. "The Real Thing" is Williams' first studio album since "Everlasting Love" in 2005, which sold 62,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. (Her best-selling album is 1991's "The Comfort Zone," which sold 1.7 million.) Juggling Williams' acting career with her recording schedule was a feat. On and off, over the course of two years, she recorded the album during her hiatus from the TV show. Williams relished returning to the studio. "Because of my TV schedule and the logistics of recording and moving to New York for the show, it wound up taking a lot longer than originally planned," she says. "But I love that kind of music and I wanted to perform it." NKOTB TOUR ANNOUNCEMENTDue to unforeseen production delays, the summer New Kids On The Block tour has made necessary changes to the tour dates and venues. The new tour schedule is listed below. If you have questions regarding your specific show, please contact your local venue who can issue refunds if necessary or provide more information.5/28 MOVED to June 4th Atlanta, GA Lakewood Amphitheatre CANCELED Birmingham, AL Verizon Wireless THU 6/4/09 Atlanta, GA Lakewood Amphitheatre New Kids On The Block, Jabbawockeez Rock 'Today' ShowDonnie Wahlberg calls boy-band/dance crew collaboration a 'no-brainer.'They may be two decades into their career as pop's preeminent boy band, but New Kids on the Block showed the Jabbawockeez, the masked season-one winners of "America's Best Dance Crew," that even veterans of the music industry can still shimmy their way into the hearts of women everywhere. Pumping out their classic "Hangin' Tough" NKOTB shared the stage with tourmates the Jabbawockeez for their Friday (May 8) appearance on the "Today" show. It's a collaboration that New Kid Donnie Wahlberg revealed was a long time in the making. "We've actually been fans of Jabbawockeez since 'America's Best Dance Crew,' " he told MTV News at the groups' "Today" show rehearsal on Thursday. "We had explored working with the Jabbawockeez for [our first 'Today'] appearance. This is like a week after they won the finals on 'America's Best Dance Crew.' We couldn't make the schedules work." But after some hustling, both groups finally made it happen. "We kept looking into it, and suddenly, after eight or nine months, their agents called us," Wahlberg said. "For us it was a no-brainer. It was good mixing of [fan] exposure." On "Today," the New Kids also brought out their older favorite "Call It What You Want," as well as their newer single "Dirty Dancing." The two groups will be hitting the road for NKOTB's summer tour, beginning on May 15 in Miami. Has Ugly Betty's Wilhemina Lost Her Edge?What's up with Willi? Ever since she became a new mom, she hasn't really been herself — falling asleep in the office, passing up a hot date with a pectacular manny. Sure, motherhood is difficult, but this is powerhouse editrix Wilhemina Slater; surely she can handle a diaper or two! As Ugly Betty returns from its spring hiatus Thursday (8 pm/ET, ABC), Vanessa Williams tells TVGuide.com about the changes in store for Willi as she questions the parentage of her surrogate son, mourns her lost love with Connor and recommits to her sinister plans for publishing-world domination. Plus, Williams the musician has a new album!TVGuide.com: How do you think motherhood has changed Willi? Vanessa Williams: I think she's making a valiant effort to try to do the right thing and be a better mom. I think that she truly has the intention to be a better person and to give the time and the sensitivity that is needed to be a good parent. But very soon it'll all start to crumble. TVGuide.com: Why? Is she afraid of losing her edge? Williams: I think that might be the case. But it won't happen. TVGuide.com: She kind of seems not so into the baby. Is this why she starts to question his parentage? Williams: You hit it on the head. The bonding issue is the trigger that will start the ball running in terms of investigating the DNA of the baby. TVGuide.com: Why haven't they tested his DNA before, especially since she used a surrogate? Williams: I think she just assumed [he was hers]. Of course, it also makes better TV if there's an issue. TVGuide.com: It seems like Willi's whole tough-guy routine is really wearing on her. Are we in for a softer, gentler Willi in the future? Williams: Yes, but her exasperation ends pretty quickly and she's back to climbing her way to the top. TVGuide.com: I hear you might be playing some tennis in an upcoming episode. Williams: Yeah, my character plays against [guest star] Christine Baranski, and Christine's character plays against Billie Jean King. That was phenomenal. We actually shot at [the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Queens, N.Y.]. Her name was on the building and there she was standing right next to me. TVGuide.com: Do you play tennis normally? Williams: I do have a tennis court, but I don't play enough. I should be ashamed. I haven't been living [in New York] for the past two years, being out in L.A. But I do have the desire to get better. Once I have some time, hopefully with this hiatus, I will take a few more lessons. TVGuide.com: I'm guessing the scene wasn't so much about tennis precision anyway as it was about comedy, right? Williams: Yes, comedy and Willi getting what she wants, which is always her intention. TVGuide.com: You have a new album coming out in June. Any chance you'll ever sing on Ugly Betty? Williams: Yes, in fact, very soon! I sing "Man That Got Away" with [Baranski] on the May 14 episode. TVGuide.com: Is there love in Willi's future? Have we seen the last of Connor? Williams: Yeah, we've seen the last of Connor this season. Who knows about next season? I thoroughly enjoyed working with Grant Bowler, and I loved the storyline, and I would love to have him back. He left us to go back to New Zealand to do a run on a series there. So, who knows what will happen? New Kids on the Block Announce Summer Tour DatesIf you missed them the first time around, now's your chance to catch the New Kids on the Block live on stage. The group is launching the Full Service Tour, which kicks off May 28 in Atlanta. Starting April 3, tickets and VIP packages – which will include backstage BBQs with the guys – will be available. (Special $10 lawn seats will also be available for a limited time.)Joining the tour are America's Best Dance Crew winners JabbawockeeZ, as well as other surprise guests. "Full service! You want it, you're gonna get it," member Donnie Walhberg says in the band's vlog. Dates for the Full Service Tour are below. There are also still a limited number of cabins available for their cruise, which sets sail from Ft. Lauderdale to the Bahamas on May 15. Dates for NKOTB's Full Service Tour: Live Review: NKOTB in London, Ont.No kiddin', the most famous Red Sox/Bruins/Celtics fans in pop music were partying in Team Canada jerseys at the John Labatt Centre last night.Before proving those jerseys are perfect when it comes to singing Hangin' Tough, the New Kids on The Block had partied with 5,600 fans. Those fans were overwhelmingly female. Girls and women of almost every age screamed, cheered and danced as the U.S. pop vocal group known as NKOTB swore its allegiance to "all the ladies" in house and Canada -- their new-found home away from home. "Just crossing the border into Canada was so exciting. It felt like home," NKOTB's bad boy Donnie Wahlberg said early in the night. Home is Boston, where the screams and singalongs are the loudest. Would the fans in the downtown London arena respond to Wahlberg's urging that they be as loud in London as they were on much earlier stops in the True North like Toronto and Vancouver? "I don't have to try because you're already louder," Wahlberg said. That didn't mean that the New Kids weren't willing to try extra hard as their comeback tour continued. The Kids arrived and departed on a stage elevator surrounded by cold blasts of icy "cryo." Leave the cheesy fire of "pyro" to the hair bands, eh? Fifteen years after breaking up and burning out, the New Kids -- Wahlberg, Danny Wood, Joey McIntyre and brothers Jordan and Jonathan Knight -- are revisiting their glory days of pop/ R&B hits including Please Don't Go Girl, I'll Be Loving You (Forever) and You Got It (The Right Stuff). Last night, thousands of girls and women were happy to revisit them, too. McIntyre and Jordan Knight have the sweet-sounding vocal duties, perfect for their cover of the Delfonics' Didn't I Blow Your Mind? It arrived early in the set and proved the group can still sing and dance at the same time. So did a terrific Step By Step during the encore. The best dancing was from Jabbawockeez, a mime/dance group that opened to big cheers. Sometimes, the sound was dismal. Dirty Dancing was almost impossible to hear properly. Not that any of the fans were objecting because that song causes a lot of butt shaking and Michael Jackson-like body language from the New Kids. The fans were busy lofting cellphones in a galaxy of little lights to greet their heroes. They also lofted signs, which expressed their devotion even if the spelling was off. "Plz hug me," said one. "D-Y-N-N-I-E," said another in a salute to Wahlberg before it changed into a greeting for "D-A-N-N-Y." The concert ran more than two hours with such distractions as a Pussycat Doll on screen to duet on a new song, Grown Man, and a Boston Celtics star on the big screen to urge the fans to get loud at encore time. "Any more gifts you want to drape me with?" he asked as he beamed from three or four new caps to go with his Red Sox logo chapeau of the moment. Wahlberg switched caps almost as often as Cher changed costumes in her two farewell performances at the downtown London arena. In fact, the New Kids almost kept up with the diva when it came to costumes. Gold jacket for McIntyre. Silver lame' for the whole group. Faux Rat Pack hats and jackets. Shoes of every type. They also made a fine trip to the back of the arena for a tiny, circular stage, giving fans in that area close up looks at Single and Tonight. There was a piano on that tiny stage, but it was only so Wahlberg could deliver more pep talks and McIntyre could hit some sweet notes on separate trips to its top. Sure, there was some padding. A whole sequence about a stop-action photo image on the big screen was just embarrassingly slow and forced. Jordan Knight had a fan -- the electric type -- blowing the shirt right off his torso during a silly ballad. A heartfelt salute to fallen heroes and friends -- including images of Frank Sinatra, Heath Ledger and James Brown as well as family members -- was undercut by the band's pounding music. But every time things faltered, the older and wiser Kids seemed to pick them. A strange, sexy number called Twisted had one of the group's backup dancers slinky in faux leather and McIntyre apparently channelling Ledger as the Joker. Wahlberg injected a little more "O Canada" into Cover Girl. "I'm not leaving Canada until I find one," he vowed. Well, maybe that wasn't strictly true. But you can't blame an older New Kid for trying. 'Spinning Into Butter' churns up compelling questions about raceSpinning Into Butter dives headfirst into the muck and confusion of racism.Though the movie trails off unsatisfyingly, it raises intriguing and candid, if unanswerable, questions about race relations and political correctness. The questions addressed and the notion that most people operate with some bias is worth pondering, particularly during an era that some have dubbed "post-racial." Few would be so naïve as to presume racism is over simply because a black man is president. But the question has been largely set aside by the mainstream media, and Hollywood has generally followed suit. That it tackles the subject in these relatively placid times makes Spinning Into Butter worth seeing. Based on the acclaimed 1999 play by Rebecca Gilman, who co-wrote the script, the story centers on a series of hate crimes aimed at an African-American student on the campus of a prestigious New England college. The school — Belmont College — is fictional. But the events are derived from Gilman's experience as a student at Middlebury College in Vermont. As Belmont's dean of students, Sarah Daniels (Sarah Jessica Parker) is faced with finding those responsible for the hate crimes against Simon Brick (Paul James). She also must answer to the college's top brass, who are hellbent on portraying their university as peacefully ethnically diverse. While perhaps in over her head, Sarah is a decent, compassionate soul. In stark contrast, another dean, Catherine Kenny (Miranda Richardson), is nasty and overbearing, concerned mostly about the school's image. Sarah, who recently came to the school from a predominantly black college in Chicago, feels isolated and at odds with the school's policies. Their solution is to convene a forum on race, lecturing the students rather than encouraging dialogue. Though the hate crimes remain unsolved, Sarah is assigned to devise a 10-point plan to end racism on campus. This task forces Sarah to confront her own prejudices. This examination comes to a crescendo when she's in the company of Aaron Carmichael (Mykelti Williamson), an African-American reporter. Their exchanges form the powerful center of the film. Parker plays Sarah with a subtle gravity. The character, while possessing some of Carrie Bradshaw's sardonic sense of humor, is a wise departure for Parker. The crime, once unraveled, raises more questions. Despite an earnest and dour tone, the story and the subjects tackled are compelling and thought-provoking. Spinning Into Butter * * 1/2 (out of four) Stars: Sarah Jessica Parker, Mykelti Williamson Vanessa Williams busy with 'Betty,' new albumVanessa Williams takes a break from playing Wilhelmina Slater on ABC's Ugly Betty and gets back to making music. She releases The Real Thing, on Concord Records, June 2.Her first album in four years has touches of jazz, samba, salsa, pop and R&B. "I had been wanting to do a Latin-flavored album since I played a ballroom dancer in the (salsa) movie Dance With Me," Williams says. She called on old friends, including Keith Thomas, who did such hits as Save the Best for Last and Colors of the Wind, and Rob Mathes, who worked on Williams' Christmas albums. She also sings Babyface songs Loving You and Just Friends. She says Ugly Betty's schedule will keep her from touring extensively, though she plans to introduce new music at shows in Atlantic City in May. "I won't be going city to city," she says. "I've got a regular gig on TV, and I'm happy to have a job." SightingsVanessa Williams, cheering on her Ugly Betty costar Michael Urie, who earned big laughs while reading from Miley Cyrus's new autobiography, Miles to Go, during the weekly Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words show at New York's Triad Theater. With his tongue planted firmly in cheek, the actor also channeled his inner Tommy Lee, sharing tips for pleasuring lovers, straight from the rocker's tome Tommyland.Boomtown News Archive |
