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It’s been four years since Denzel Washington was recognized America’s Favorite Movie Star. Now the Oscar nominee has reclaimed that title.

In a Harris Poll, conducted online within the United States between December 12 and December 18, 2012 among 2,141 adults (ages 18 and over), Washington was named the Favorite Movie Star, and surprisingly Clint Eastwood, despite his embarrassing “Obama chair” incident at the Republican National Convention (or because of it?), came in next place, for the second year in a row. Tom Hanks took the number three slot.

Rounding out the top ten list were, according to a press release:  Johnny Depp, who fell from number one to a tie for number four; Brad Pitt, shares the fourth spot (unbelievably he has not been on the top ten list since 1998); the late John Wayne is on the list, this year dropping one spot to number six;  George Clooney, who goes from number six to number seven; Harrison Ford remains in the number eight spot; Meryl Streep makes this list at number nine; and Matt Damon is number 10 (his first time on the list was in a tie for the seventh spot in 2007).

Sandra Bullock, Will Smith, and Adam Sandler all dropped off the top ten this year.

When breaking down the stats, men favored Clint Eastwood, and women still love Denzel Washington. “Echo Boomers (those ages 18 and 35) and Baby Boomers (ages 48 to 66) agree on Washington as their favorite actor. For Gen Xers (ages 36 to -47) the number one spot is a tie between Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp. John Wayne is the favorite among Matures (those ages 67 and older), says the release.

And, Eastwood is the favorite for Republicans and conservatives, while Washington is the favorite for Democrats, liberals — and moderates. Independents picked Tom Hanks as their favorite.

Do you agree with the poll?

Emayatzy Corinealdi in “Middle of Nowhere”

The African American Film Critics Association announced (h/t BET)  its award recipients this week with Denzel Washington taking the Best Actor award for his performance in Flight. Another big winner was Sundance favorite Middle of Nowhere with that film taking the Best Actress award for Emayatzy Corinealdi, Best Independent Film, and Best Screenplay for Ava DuVernay.

Interestingly, topping the list of 10 Best Films of 2012 is Zero Dark Thirty, the new film by Hurt Locker director Kathryn Bigelow about the Osama bin Laden killing. Middle of Nowhere comes in at number four, Django Unchained is number seven, Beasts of the Southern Wild is number eight, and Think Like a Man rounds out the list.

Middle of Nowhere hasn’t just been a critical darling. Back in October, the indie movie was taking the box office by storm, making tens of thousand of dollars on the few screens it was shown. Other movies on the top ten list, like Lincoln and Beasts of the Southern Wild, have also had the critics talking about awards they may receive as Oscar season kicks into gear.

We haven’t seen too many movies on the list just yet (Flight was very good), but we have to get it together over the next couple of months. What about you? Any favorites? (And BTW, check out this video of Middle of Nowhere‘s DuVernay and Corniealdi on 24Wired.TV.)

Adriana M. Barraza/WENN.com

It’s that time of year again! What time you ask? Why, awards season of course. While most of the awards ceremonies for all of the big movies and critically acclaimed television shows of the year won’t take place until early 2013, nominations are already moving out and about for everything from the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, to as of this week, the Golden Globes. And while there were a lot of great performances by sistas and brothas of color this year, only three black people picked up nominations for their work. But then again, three is better than none.

Our main man Denzel Washington was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in Flight, where he played an airline captain struggling with alcohol addiction. I actually saw this film in theaters and man…everybody did an outstanding job on the acting tip (big ups to John Goodman), but Denzel was amazing as usual. Another nominated face we love is Alfre Woodard, who picked up a nomination for her role as Ouiser in the Steel Magnolias remake for Lifetime. I was pretty surprised to hear about her receiving Golden Globe love, especially since people really didn’t talk about this TV movie like that after it aired, but nonetheless, we’re proud of her! *Also, the uber-talented Don Cheadle was nominated for his role on the show, House of Lies. I haven’t actually had the chance to check the series out on Showtime, but Cheadle never ceases to amaze me with his awesomeness. On a side note, both Woodard and Washington picked up SAG nominations for their roles in these movies as well.

But that’s about it folks. A big missing piece from the pack that we thought would have grabbed a nomination include Kerry Washington for her work in Scandal. I know the show isn’t a mainstream dream like that, but it has a strong following and Kerry is amazing on the series. Plus, for a Shonda Rhimes show, I’m a bit surprised it’s not getting the kind of love it deserves from the Golden Globes like shows like Grey’s received. It’s hard out here for these shows with black female leads…

Are you excited about these nominations? Have you seen Flight and the Steel Magnolias TV movie?

iStockphoto

Apple has 1 million apps in its store and Google Play boasts 700,000 Android apps. But in between Angry Birds and Instagram, what apps and tools can you use to improve your business and boost your career? Here are our top choices.

Evernote
Evernote is a free app for both mobile devices and desktops that helps you remember everything. Sketch out a prototype on a napkin? Snap a photo with your phone and save it in Evernote. Need to connect your To Do List with your Google Calendar? Cross that off your list. Its cute mascot, an elephant, never lets you forget.

Patricia Schlein/WENN.com

It seems like recording artists don’t have the best luck when it comes to their health on airplanes.

According to ESSENCE, singer/songwriter Keri Hilson fainted on her flight home from China (she was doing some performances there) last Friday. She apparently lost consciousness and when she woke up, she couldn’t hold anything down. As she explained when she took to Twitter to tell her fans:

“I fainted on my flight. then I threw up. I’m fine now, I just need real rest…haven’t had more than 3.5hrs of sleep in 48hrs #whatdreamsrmadeof”

On a moving plane with lack of sleep and likely not enough food (performers are notorious for being so focused on the work at hand that they don’t remember to eat often, if at all), its no wonder this happened to her. Anyway, Keri made it home safely and apparently able to get some rest.

But to add insult to her own injury, Keri left her purse and her gifts on the plane – probably in haste to get off the flight.  I’m pretty sure the flight crew got everything back to her.

Adriana M. Barraza/WENN.com

Magic Johnson is one we all admire for his business prowess but he can never seem to get too far away from trouble with the ladies.

Lanita Tomas, Johnson’s personal flight attendant since 2004, is suing Magic Johnson Entertainment and Clay Lacy Aviation after being terminated in September after for being seven minutes late for a flight.  Thomas says she was late because she was at a deli attempting to get two types of turkey that Johnson requires for his turkey sandwiches.  She says that she was actually terminated because at age 45, she believes she’d gotten too old and her release was more about ageism.  She’s suing for age discrimination, wrongful termination and other labor laws.

While neither Johnson nor anyone else from his camp had any comment, Ms. Thomas is fully explaining her side of the story. She stated that two years ago, she went out on medical leave because of a wrist injury and while she was out, Johnson hired a considerably younger flight attendant to fill in. Upon her return to work, Thomas says Johnson’s attitude had changed towards her and he’d become less cordial.  They used, according to her, her late arrival to the flight in September as a reason to let her go and hire the younger flight attendant.

In her lawsuit, Thomas mentions that she wasn’t able to take enough rest or meal breaks because she was too busy doing things like making sure his Red Vine licorice was soft enough and ready to eat.

Thomas left her job with United Airlines to work for Johnson as the only flight attendant on duty where she made $75,000 per year as well as a $25,000 bonus.  Her lawyer says that because of this termination, it will be hard for her to continue her career in a profession she loves. Further, her lawyer stated that this entire ordeal has left Thomas emotionally and financially devastated.

So do you think there’s more to this story? While Ms. Thomas’ story is totally plausible, the argument could be made that she knew his food requirements and should have placed the order earlier so she wouldn’t have been late. On the other hand, even if she didn’t do that, she was on the clock doing something for her employer and maybe they could have cut her some slack.

What’s your opinion? And do you think one should expect that a high profile person will have high expectations for their employees?

Source

Source: WENN

Rappers might need to slow down on that YOLO life. Lil Wayne once said in one of his lyrics, “Live fast, die young, leave a nice corpse,” and if he doesn’t slow down on his purple drank, weed smoking life style he might do just that considering he the ordeal he experienced on a flight yesterday.

The story, according to TMZ:

Lil Wayne made an emergency landing in Texas after suffering seizure-like symptoms on a private jet …

A source close to Weezy — real name Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. – tells us, right after the plane touched down … the rapper was transported to a local hospital to get treatment on Thursday afternoon.

We’re told Wayne was at the hospital for several hours … he checked out around 6 PM local time.

It’s unclear if doctors made an exact diagnosis — but we’re told Wayne is “doing better.”

Does Rick Ross come to anyone else’s mind? Earlier this year Rozay suffered an actual seizure – twice — aboard flights, which he attributed to a diet of heavy weed smoking and late-night drinking. Everyone else was looking at his large belly thinking he better slow down but nobody can sustain a routine like that no matter how tiny you are. Weezy I’m looking at you. Hopefully this will be a wake-up call to get off of whatever stuff has him thinking he’s an alien for real.

Denzel at the Los Angeles premiere of “Flight.” Image: Todd Williamson/Invision/AP Images

Flying can be scary. So when people are 7,000 feet in the air, the last thing they want to see is a film about a frightening flight.

This could be a problem for Denzel Washington‘s new film, Flight, in which he plays an alcoholic pilot who is faced with an in-flight emergency. The movie, which cost $35 million to make, hits theaters on November 2. The studio, Paramount Pictures, has received lukewarm reception from the various airline companies about showing the film onboard during flights.

While the aviation disaster flick wouldn’t have made a ton of money from being shown in-flight, the fees airlines pay to show films does usually add up to a few million dollars. And during a time when ticket sales are down, any extra profits are good news. “According to The Wrap, summer ticket sales dropped nearly 20 million from 545 last year to 526 million summer 2012,” reports Business Insider. In fact, ticket sales have dropped $100 million over the last ten years.

“Don’t think it’s going to happen,” the film’s director, Robert Zemeckis, said of the chances that Flight would be shown in-flight, reports The L.A. Times.

Even Delta Air Lines, which helped train Washington in a cockpit simulator, might not show the film on its planes.

The film also stars Don Cheadle, Melissa Leo, Bruce Greenwood, Kelly Reilly and John Goodman. It is actually based loosely on the 2000 crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261, in which the pilots attempted to recover from catastrophic loss of control by flying the aircraft upside down. That crash had no survivors.

Although the airlines aren’t jumping at showing Flight, early reviews have been good, according to Rotten Tomatoes.

Source: iStock

A dangerous thing happens to me when I leave New York: I let my guard down. On my commute to and from work, and virtually anywhere else I’m headed on foot or Subway, I refuse to walk out my front door without head phones on. It’s the only protection from the excess street harassment, homeless people begging for food, and entertainers jigging in train cars for cash. So, once I get outside city and state lines I tend to be a calmer, less-guarded person, knowing all those elements of fuckery aren’t present in overdrive. Until recently, that method never really failed me. Then this weekend  that mindset led to me chatting with an old white man on my flight to Cincinnati who was probably the sweetest  post-Klansman (assumed) I’ve ever met in my life.

Despite my more welcoming demeanor in other more friendly cities, I’m still not too keen on striking up conversations with random people, especially on a flight when the landing is your only way out. And I did have one line of defense on my flight which I had to pull out rather quickly, Drown by Junot Diaz.  I don’t remember what the older white man sitting next to me first said to make me grab for the book of short stories but I had an inkling he was a talker, and talk on that little one-hour commuter flight I did not want to do. Eventually though, my eyelids got heavy and I knew I wasn’t going to make it through another page so with one fell swoop I attempted to slide my book into the seat back in front of me and close my eyes fast enough to avoid signaling I was open for discussion. Something told me as soon as that book left my hands that man was going to strike up a convo, and when I failed at operation put the book down unnoticed that’s exactly what he did.

Initially, I actually started to feel bad and curse my introverted personality for not being more social. My seat partner had shared all sorts of tales with me from his days in the Air Force, and because we’re both from Ohio, he taught, yes literally sung, the O State versus Michigan chant to me 30,000 feet in the air. I was literally laughing at myself for getting got by a talker with no place to escape and simultaneously pleasantly surprised that the old man was pretty decent company. That was until he dropped the “c-word:” colored.

After telling me about working his way up from the manufacturing floor to head of a company he worked for for 40 years. My seatmate asked me what I did for a living. I said I was an editor for a black women’s website and for some reason a light bulb went off in his head that he should prove he has something in common with me. That’s when he proceeded with, “we had a colored girl that worked for us once. When she first started, one of the men on the floor pointed me out and said, ‘you see that man there? That’s a man you don’t ever want to piss off.’”

Haha?

I barely had time to digest the c-word or respond to old Jim Crow because the “damn I knew this was too good to be true” thought was drowning out most of my cognitive abilities. All I could manage was, “did he really say colored?” while also thinking, “he’s old enough to possibly get a pass, but young enough to know we’re not called that anymore.”

I let the verbal slip slide, figuring a flight was not the place I wanted to get into race dynamics with a man who told me he once maced a dog after threatening to put his size 10-and-a-half shoe up his owner’s butt so I continued listening to his tales of times passed and hoped for the best. Unfortunately that didn’t last long as he then proceeded to tell me about another fella he checked on the job, letting him know he didn’t appreciate him telling him how to do his job. Eventually he got around to telling me that same man was the first colored so-and-so and now they’re the best of buds and play golf every week. At this point I thought, “and his colored butt hasn’t told you yet that we’re called black now?! That man probably hates your white a**” Oh, I also was assured Mr. Antebellum had probably lynched one or two back in his heyday day, or at least lit the torches and cut the eye-holes in somebody’s bed sheets. He was too turnt up that early in the morning and too ignorant of all things black to not have had an issue with segregation at some point. I kid. Sort of.

At the end of the day, I wasn’t really up in arms about my passenger. I mean, at least he didn’t call me the n-word. And he didn’t seem to mind colored folks too much as he was tapping me on the shoulder and cracking jokes every minute a story from the good old days popped in his head. I just need some white folks to get it together and step into the 21^st century, at least when talking to said coloreds. We’re actually referred to as black now. You know this.

Have you ever had a “white person just called me an awkard name” moment?

Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.

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It’s sort of outrageous to think anyone would advocate for airlines adding on more fees than they already have, but a professor at Princeton University think airlines should be passing along the burden of high fuel expenses to the passengers they feel are to blame in the first place: overweight fliers.

In a controversial Project Syndicate essay, bioethics professor Peter Singer proposed an idea to allow airlines to base their ticket prices on each passenger’s weight. He suggests airlines do this either one of two ways. The first suggestion is to base the ticket price on a standard passenger weight so that any flier over that amount would have to pay a surcharge for the cost of additional fuel. Any passenger weighing less than the standard would also receive a discount in the same amount.

The other price model involves combining the weight of the ticketed passenger with his or her bags. The passenger would be asked to get on a scale with his or her luggage and then adjust the price accordingly—hot mess waiting to happen.

In a lot of ways the overall idea screams fat shaming, but in professor Singer’s eyes, with all of the other accommodations that have had to be made for obese individuals such as stronger hospital beds and operating tables, bigger refrigerators in morgues, etcetera, the costs of those accommodations justifies public policies such as this that discourage weight gain. According to him, the issue isn’t just a financial one, it’s an environmental one when you consider greenhouse gas emissions.

“Many of us are rightly concerned about whether our planet can support a human population that has surpassed seven billion. But we should think of the size of the human population not just in terms of numbers, but also in terms of its mass. If we value both sustainable human well-being and our planet’s natural environment, my weight – and yours – is everyone’s business.”

What do you think about this idea? Should overweight passengers be charged more to cover fuel costs?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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