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From Essence

The first of many summer action-packed thrillers hits theaters Friday. Pain & Gain, starring Anthony Mackie, Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson, follows three bodybuilders as they join forces to kidnap, rob and attempt to murder a wealthy Miami business man.

ESSENCE.com caught up with Mackie to chat about his new buff-body crime thriller, how he got into shape and what it was like to loosen up on camera.

On preparing for his role as Adrian and whether or not he talked to the “real” Adrian, who is character is based on:

Not at all. Thinking about it, the dude is on death row. There are a lot of aspects to his personal life that I didn’t want to get in to. I feel like him being a real guy in a movie like this wasn’t so important. Not too many people know about this story, let alone know about him. I felt like if I captured the true essence of what the writer gave me on the page, then I would be able to tell the story and do him justice.

On whether or not he’s workout obsessed:

I try to be. I try to go to the gym every morning for an hour, hour and a half. It’s just to keep myself in shape. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to do this movie. I took a four-year period when I was playing cops and stuff like that. So I drunk a lot of whiskey and ate a lot of beef and got fat.

His competitive spirit:

I met Mark before. He’s just a real down to earth cool dude. But I have this weird thing about me—I’m always overly competitive with men over six-feet tall. I don’t know why. [laughs] Every time I see a dude over six feet, I just want to be really aggressive and I’m five-foot-eleven. Whenever I have to look up at another man I want to bite him. I don’t know why! [laughs] Once I met Dwayne it was on like donkey kong.

It sounds like this was a fun movie to film.  You can check out the full interview over on Essence.com. Are you an Anthony Mackie fan? Will you be checking this one out (with all those fine men)?

I’m sure I’m not the only person who has no idea what the movie Pain and Gain is about starring Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Anthony Mackie, but has an outrageous urge to run to the movie theater to see it the minute it comes out this week. Why? Because of The Rock of course. Since he signed on for this movie, that man has gotten bigger in muscle mass, grown a very alluring mustache and beard combination and is nice and tan all of a sudden, and I’m not sure about you, but it’s doing something for me. So much so that I felt the need to do another Evening Eye Candy slideshow for the brotha, who was one of the first pieces of candy we showed off back in 2011. And if this slideshow isn’t enough for you, I’d encourage you to do like me (his new stan) and become a follower of his new Instagram page, @therock. You won’t be disappointed!

After the last few years have been spent doing WeightWatchers commercials, Jennifer Hudson is back on her acting ish, taking a fabulous role on one of my favorite shows on NBC, Smash, and starring in director George Tillman Jr.’s The Inevitable Defeat Of Mister And Pete, which made its debut at the Sundance Film Festival, which started last Thursday and wraps up on January 27. Aside from Jennifer Hudson, who plays the drug addicted and struggling mother of the character Mister, the film also stars big names like Anthony Mackie, Jeffrey Wright, and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (remember him? He was Adebisi in Oz). Alicia Keys is a co-executive producer for the film, which is set in the Brooklyn projects.

According to the plot, which we checked out via Shadow and Act, Hudson’s character is the mother of Mister (played by Skylan Brooks), and after struggling to get back on her feet, she is arrested, which forces Mister to fend for himself. With the help of his best friend, Pete, who is also down on hard times thanks to his own mother’s arrest, the young men search for food, try to avoid trouble, child protective services and drama, even as they come upon obstacles that would break most people. The movie is said to take a good look at the important bonds of friendship, and according to the Sundance description, it also shows “the way transformation sometimes can happen just by holding on long enough.”

In the following clip, we see Hudson in her most gritty role, probably ever, as she argues with her son, who only wants her to get a job, put food in the fridge and do better for herself (Mister’s character is only 14 if you were thinking, “WHY DOESN’T HE GO AND GET A JOB!?”). I’m definitely impressed with what I see, and I’m excited to see the film when it’s finally released to the public later this year, just because I’m an indie film stan. Check out the clip below and let us know how you think Hudson and Brooks did so far.

We see them on TV, and on the movie screen. We hear them on the radio. We follow them on Twitter. Our fave celebs are creating all kinds of buzz and blazing trails in everything they do. These business-savvy celebs have launched some lucrative ventures worth checking out. Take a look…

straightfromthea.com

Jennifer Hudson

It seems that just about everything JHud touches turns to gold. First, it was her Oscar-worthy role in Dreamgirls. Then it was her Grammy-award winning debut album. Now it is Weight Watchers. JHud wowed us with her phenomenal weight loss reveal last year, and now she hopes to influence people in her native Chicago to do the same. JHud became the first celebrity to have a Weight Watchers center when she opened the Jennifer Hudson Weight Watchers Center in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood last fall.

What’s next for JHud? A launch of her new clothing line, the Jennifer Hudson Collection on QVC this fall, as well as recurring role on the hit NBC show Smash, where she’ll take on the role of Broadway star Veronica Moore.

Source: Uptown Magazine

One of our favorite actors, Anthony Mackie, is walking in that mainstream shine he’s always deserved. Whether he’s doing theater, or in a motion picture alongside Matt Damon or Kerry Washington, Mackie always brings his talent. And we’re never disappointed. The actor, who stars in the new movie “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” (don’t scoff until you’ve seen it), recently chatted with the folks at Uptown about his career thus far, not getting caught up in the hype and why he’s not your regular heartthrob.

Check out excerpts from the interview below:

How he describes himself: Average guy. If your car breaks down, I’m your guy. If you need a heartthrob, I’m not your guy. I’m dead serious.

The difference between celebrity and artist: There’s a difference between being a working actor and being a celebrity … If you’re in this field you have to ask yourself that in the beginning and be honest with yourself. If you want to be a celebrity go after that 100 percent. If you want to be a working actor, it may mean doing a play that no one sees, but you love the craft.

On getting caught up: Everybody was like ‘This is it, dog, you’re blowing up. I bought into it thinking that my ‘Denzel time’ had come. I was left there with egg on my face.

His love for theater: It’s instant gratification. I know now that in certain aspects of my life, I’m a Slore for attention. I love to be on stage … and I love to say something and hear the audience respond. It’s a drug.

Who he wants to be when he grows up: I love where I am right now. If I grow up to be Don Cheadle, I’m very happy with that.

Source

And acting is not all he does. Check out the video of Mackie talking about his Brooklyn restaurant and his favorite foods.

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Anthony Mackie, star of the upcoming film, “Man on a Ledge,” shared his opinions about the insanely popular and controversial movie “The Help.” While the film has received critical acclaim and is receiving plenty of Oscar buzz, there are plenty of people, many of them in the black community, who took issue with the movie. Among other things this is what Mackie had to say about the film.

As an African American actor in this day in age, it is our job to portray every time in history.

You can listen to the rest of Anthony’s statement and why it works for him at EurWeb.com.

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You’ve seen the ads, you’ve watched the trailer now that the movie’s in theaters you can finally see the film. But before that check out what the actors told Madame Noire, including  their characters, funny moments from the set and how fate acts in their own lives.