Read our exclusive interview with actor Leslie Odom, Jr., who portrays Sam Strickland in NBC’s upcoming musical series ‘Smash.’ The anticipated show, which is set to debut on Monday, February 6, 2012, follows two musical rivals-the veteran actress Ivy Lynn, played by Megan Hilty, and newcomer Karen Cartwrigh, portrayed by Katharine McPhee. The two compete for the lead role in a Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. Sam will be introduced as Ivy’s best friend in the first season’s fourth episode. Odom, who can also currently be seen as Declan ‘Winky’ Hall in the action-adventure-drama ‘Red Tails,’ discusses with us, among other things, what attracted him to…

One would think that a movie with the driving force of George Lucas, a script co-written by “The Boondocks” creator Aaron McGruder, a director like Anthony Hemingway and starring the likes of Terrence Howard and David Oyelowo would be good. Really good. Sadly, the critics, aren’t seeing a lot of good about the film aside from being a well-meaning film. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently has a low 33% from the critics, whereas the audience has given it a 73%. The general critical consensus is, according to Rotten Tomatoes, “Despite a worth fact-based story and obvious good intentions, ‘Red Tails’ suffers from one-dimensional characters, corny dialogue, and heaps of…

Elijah Kelley made quite the splash as Seaweed in 2007′s Hairspray, but the triple threat opted to put two of his talents aside for the sake of history. Kelley stars as Samuel ‘Joker’ George in the upcoming film Red Tails. Inspired by true events, the film focuses on the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African American pilots segregated to their own airbase during WWII. Despite Joker and his buddies’ ability in the air, the army refuses to let them act as bomber escorts, assigning them to merely pick off ground targets. However, when Col. A.J. Bullard (Terrence Howard) steps up on their behalf, the boys get their opportunity to fight…

This might be considered a spoiler-filled post for those who do not want to hear about who won what at Spike TV’s SCREAM Awards, which will air Tuesday, October 18 at 9 p.m.-11 p.m. ET/PT. But if you don’t care, keep on reading! And the biggest winner of the night–”Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows–Part Two.” The film went home with six awards as well as the big award of the night, “The Ultimate Scream.” The film series also received a tribute by Daniel Radcliffe and Ralph Fiennes (aka Voldemort). “The Dark Knight Rises” won the award for “Most Anticipated Movie” with “Rises” stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gary Oldman and Anne…

Too many romantic comedies witlessly hone in on the differences between men and women to create a heightened-stakes backdrop in which every interaction with the opposite sex is imbued with some sort of grand, gender-statement significance, which is of course then supposed to be neatly resolved and tidily put away by the time a paired-off happy ending rolls around. Co-written by Annie Mumolo and “Saturday Night Live”‘s Kristen Wiig, “Bridesmaids” instead focuses a considerable amount of its energy on female friendships, yes, but also the things women want in relationships — love, security, availability — that are the same as men. The result is the best female-fronted Hollywood comedy in years, and a…

The pet project of George Lucas, a film called “Red Tails” has a trailer released for film fans’ consumption. The movie, starring Terrence Howard, Ne-Yo, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Nate Parker, David Oyelowo, Tristan Wilds, Method Man, Michael B. Jordan, Andre Royo, and Marcus T. Paulk (from “Moesha”!), tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen as they fought the enemy in WWII and racism in the American Air Force. Since I am an Alabamian, I’m proud to know that a film about the Tuskegee Airmen has been made, but I’m also irritated that George Lucas is behind it. Granted, he didn’t direct the film–Anthony Hemingway is the director and Lucas only…

Ready for your last Movie News Cheat Sheet of July 2011? Just as we’re heading into the home stretch of the summer season, a slew of films are priming to snag the spotlight as their big debuts are on the horizon. Not only do we have a ton of images from a selection of Toronto International Film Festival participants like the Jason Segel starrer Jeff Who Lives at Home and Francis Ford Coppola’s supernatural horror thriller Twixt, but Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and Judge Dredd, too. Entertainment Weekly also gave us our very first look at Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson all decked out in their Gale and Peeta…

Star Wars fans rejoice; the time has finally come! All six Star Wars film will hit Blu-ray next year! The news came straight from George Lucas himself while at Star Wars Celebration V in Orlando. He said all of the films will arrive in a massive box set “utilizing the highest possible picture and audio presentation, along with extensive special features – including documentaries, vintage behind-the-scenes moments, interviews, retrospectives and never-before-seen footage from the Lucasfilm archives.” It’s been five years since the franchise’s last installment, Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, hit theaters, so it’s about time. At Celebration V Lucas explained, “We’ve been wanting to do it as…

Genius Products recently released the dvd details and artwork from the upcoming May 19, 2009 release of “Fanboys” by director Kyle Newman and starring Dan Fogler, Kristen Bell, Jay Baruchel, Sam Huntington, Seth Rogen, William Shatner, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes and Danny Trejo. Synopsis: Get ready for the comedy adventure that’s “smart, funny, and tailor-made for the inner-Jedi in all of us” (Pete Hammond, Hollywood.com). In 1998, four childhood buddies with a shared love of all things Star Wars reunite for one final, hilarious odyssey. Their insane plan: a cross-country road trip to storm George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch and steal a copy of Episode I…

The Weinstein Company sent us the final movie poster from the upcoming comedy “Fanboys” by director Kyle Newman (The Hollow) and starring Sam Huntington (Superman Returns), Chris Marquette (Infestation), Dan Fogler, Jay Baruchel, Carrie Fisher, Jaime King, Seth Rogen, Kevin Smith, Danny Trejo and Kristen Bell (Heroes). Synopsis: “Fanboys” is set in 1998 and is about a group of “Star Wars” fanboy friends who decide to steal an early copy of “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” from George Lucas’s Skywalker Ranch for a friend of theirs dying of cancer. Along the way they encounter villainous Star Trek fans and William Shatner, among other obstacles. The inclusion of the cancer-suffering friend…