Source: AP

When we tell you Lifetime does not play when it comes to cranking out their true life movies we are not exaggerating. It was only 16 days ago that a jury found Jodi Arias guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of Travis Alexander. And not even 24 hours have passed since a mistrial was declared in the penalty phase of the 32-year-old’s sentencing, with the jury failing to decide whether Jodi should be given the death penalty or life in prison as a result of her crimes. And now there are only 28 days until Lifetime will air a movie about the convicted killer’s life.

Deadline.com just reported the news, saying Lifetime has announced that Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret will premiere on the women’s network Saturday, June 22, at 8 PM.

The telepic stars Tania Raymonde as Arias, who was just found guilty of murdering her former boyfriend Travis Alexander, who was found dead in his shower in June 2008 with a slit throat, 27 additional stab wounds and a bullet to the head. Jesse Lee Soffer plays Alexander in the movie, and Tony Plana and David Zayas co-star.

Deadline adds that the the two-hour feature will be followed by an hourlong documentary, Jodi Arias: Beyond the Headlines, featuring key players in the murder trial discussing the case. Unfortunately, there will be no update on Jodi’s sentencing by time this documentary is aired. According to USA Today, Judge Sherry Stephens said a new jury would be convened in the case on July 18, with a status hearing set up for June 20 in preparation for the retrial of this penalty phase.

It will be no easy feat finding a jury of Jodi’s peers who hasn’t been inundated with details of this case that even the original jury wasn’t privy to — especially with a movie coming out dramatizing the real facts of the case. I guarantee this will be one of Lifetime’s highest rated movies of the year.

Are you surprised the network is putting a movie out so soon?

Source(s): Singersroom, Lifetime

A couple of weeks ago we told you about a new Lifetime movie, titled Call Me Crazy: A Five Film, starring Jennifer Hudson, Octavia Spencer, Brittany Snow, Ashley Judd, Chelsea Handler, Melanie Griffith and many other notables. Executive produced by Jennifer Anniston, the film will tackle mental illness

As previously stated, Call Me Crazy will consist of five shorts that follow the lives of five different characters impacted by mental illness. Spencer will be playing a psychotherapist, while Hudson will be playing a female soldier who is struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The network released an extended trailer for the film recently, and if the movie is as good as the trailer paints it out to be, then we are in for quite a treat. It really seems like the movie will offer an informative depiction of what life is like for those struggling with mental illness, while squashing silly stigmas that many of us have unknowingly picked up over the years.

“What’s it like hearing the voices?” Jason Ritter’s character asks Brittany Snow’s character, a law student who has learned that she’s been living with Schizophrenia.

“It’s terrifying,” she responds.

In another scene Hudson sheds light on the conflict faced by those who suffer from PTSD in silence, as they attempt to protect the military’s reputation.

“PTSD is real,” one character expresses.

“And it makes the miliatary look bad,” Hudson’s character regretfully chimes in.

The trailer closes with an emotional Hudson saying, “I don’t want people looking at me like I’m crazy.”

Call Me Crazy: A Five Film premieres on Lifetime Saturday, April 20th at 8 pm.

Turn the page for a first look.

Don’t you just love a good television show? They’re so hard to come by more often than not that when you find one and you find yourself so emotionally invested, the level of pisstivity you reach when it is canceled or has a finale is unparalleled.  Here are just a few shows that we loved (for the most part) that made an exit when they were still in their prime! Oh, and feel free to add the shows you thought ended before their time so we can mourn together!

Source: Lifetime

Back in December we told you about a new show that was in development at the Lifetime network entitled, Preachers’ Daughters, which is a reality series that will follow the lives of preachers and their teenage daughters. While not much was revealed regarding the cast members or their families, almost everyone knew that drama was to be expected. Preachers’ Daughters is scheduled to air tonight and judging by the cast bios and the show’s trailer, viewers are certainly in for a ride.

According to the show’s website, the series will document the lives of three families. First, there’s Taylor and the Coleman family.

“Eighteen-year-old Taylor is set on pushing boundaries established by her strict father, Ken, a pastor of City of Refuge Pentecostal Church, who, following the mistakes he made with his older children, wants nothing more than to keep Taylor as his little angel. Taylor craves freedom from all of the rules in the house and occasionally rebels by sneaking out, kissing boys and giving into temptation, all the while trying to maintain her relationship with her Lord.”

Next, there’s Kolby and the Koloff family.

“Kolby is a fun-loving, curious 16-year-old ready to start dating, but quickly discovers it won’t be as easy as she thinks since she has not one, but two preacher parents.”

And finally, Olivia and the Perry family.

“Olivia is an 18-year-old teen mom who, after partying hard, using drugs and drinking in high school, dramatically changed her life after the birth of her daughter. While trying to balance life as a young single mom, Olivia relies heavily on both her family and her faith, especially when she questions the paternity of her baby.”

While many people of the Christian faith expressed their concern, fear of exploitation and even disapproval regarding the nature of the show, Lifetime execs suggest that the show’s mission is simply to expose viewers to the world of being a PK, not exploitation.

“The show really feels like a unique look into this world that I think a lot of other people haven’t seen before. A lot of reality shows nowadays feel overproduced or soft-scripted; in this, you see a lot of true reality playing out, executive producer, Adam Reed told The Hollywood Reporter.

“What I like about these three families is that they have three girls who are at three very different stages of their lives, but they are all wrestling with the angel vs. devil on their shoulders to various degrees… As salacious as it may all sound, what’s most important and shines through all of these families is their love for each other. They are dealing with the same madness and frustrations and drama that all parents and kids deal with. Even though some parents are more strict than others, the love in the families is evident through all the conflict,” he went on to say about the show’s cast.

Preachers’ Daughters premieres tonight on Lifetime at 10/9c.

Peep the show’s preview on the next page. Will you be tuning in?

Source: WENN

Vibe TV recently caught up with singer and actress, Ashanti as she strolled the red carpet at the 2013 Grammy Awards. During her interview, she touched on a host of topics, including her role in Lifetime series, Army Wives, her latest album Braveheart and possibly collaborating with former label-mate, Ja Rule upon his upcoming prison release. Here’s some of what she had to say.

On Army Wives:

“I actually need to be going over my script. I’ll be doing that on the plane ride home… It’s all about committing yourself. It’s about being believable and the stories, they get the script from real life army wives. They travel and they listen to their stories and their real lives. I think that is what’s going to allow people to come to the show even more.”

On her new album: 

“It’s called Braveheart, I’m super excited about it. I’m doing different records, records that I haven’t done before. I’m opening up just a little bit more. My last album came out in ’08, you know what I mean? So music has changed so much and I’m just trying different things. So I’m really excited about it… [I have] my own record label, Written Entertainment.

On the pressure to get another hit record: 

“At this point everyone just feels pressured to get that hit, whatever genre. We want a multi-format record. Whatever genre, as long as everyone loves it, that’s the hit.

On a potential collaboration with Ja Rule: 

“He’s coming home. I know I can’t wait. We’ll see [if we can do a record]. I don’t know if it’s going to make it for this album, but we’ll definitely do something together.”

We know you’re anxious for that hit Ashanti, but we’re not sure if Ja Rule is the move, boo.

Are you looking forward to her new album?

Source: WENN

From The Huffington Post

NEW YORK — Toni Braxton’s autistic son makes his acting debut in her new Lifetime movie, “Twist of Faith,” and could have had a bigger role, but the singer didn’t want to put too much pressure on him.

“He was supposed to play my son initially but by the time we worked out the shooting schedule, school had started,” Braxton said of 9-year-old Diezel. (She also has an 11-year-old named Denim.)

“Even though he’s considered high functioning right now, he wasn’t in the past, and that’s why I thought him carrying the movie and trying to do the movie and tutoring would have been too much for him,” the 45-year-old singer said.

See what part Diezel will play, plus Toni’s thoughts on working with her son on The Huffington Post.

While Betty & Coretta might not have had people seeing Emmy nominations in the future of the stars, especially not Mary J. Blige (if you ask Betty Shabazz’s daughter, Ilyasah), there are two more Lifetime movies on the way to help you celebrate Black History Month. Toni Braxton’s Twist of Faith is ready to premiere this weekend, and the trailer for Pastor Brown has just been released, with that movie set to premiere on the 16th.

Directed by actor Rockmond Dunbar, the movie stars Salli Richardson-Whitfield, who is playing the daughter of a dying pastor, whose last wish is for his daughter to return to the church and take over his place in the pulpit. Unfortunately, Whitfield’s character has a less than stellar past (including stripping and leaving behind a son), which makes her return home anything but smooth. Especially when that drama comes to light. She has to try and rebuild a relationship with her sister, played by Nicole Ari Parker, and her son, who is now almost a grown up, played by Michael B. Jordan, and find a way to lead a church who doubts her. Ooooh the drama. Check out the trailer for the film below and let us know if you’ll be tuning in to the Lifetime movie on February 16.

It’s officially Black History Month! And remember when we told you that Lifetime was going to start rolling out three major original movies to commemorate the month? Well, we know that Betty and Coretta comes first and premieres on Saturday, but we finally have the chance to get a first look at Toni Braxton in her starring role in the movie, Twist of Faith.
Once again, the synopsis goes a little something like this:

In Twist of Faith, Jacob Fisher (Hirsh), an Orthodox Jewish Cantor and amateur songwriter who resides in Brooklyn, New York, witnesses the senseless murder of his wife and three children. Catatonic, Jacob walks out on his Jewish mourning ritual, leaving behind his Jewish garments, wallet and keys. Abandoning his identity, he wanders aimlessly, hoping somehow to understand his tragedy. Fortuitously, he lands in Brent, Alabama (population 2,500), where he is embraced by Nina (Braxton), a single mother and the lead singer of a small gospel choir (an unlikely finalist in the competition to determine the best gospel choir in Alabama), her Uncle Moe (Williamson) and their gospel community who help his return to life while music brings Nina and Jacob together as they try to make sense of his past and their possible future. Twist of Faith is produced by Lighthouse Pictures. Daniel H. Blatt (Wisegal), Craig Baumgarten (Shattered Glass) and Andrew Howard serve as executive producers. Paul A. Kaufman (Sins of the Mother) directs from a script written by Joyce Gittlin (Wings), Janet Fattal and Stephen Tolkin (Brothers & Sisters).

By the trailer, there’s definitely a lot of drama that hopefully will make the movie a winner, and even if it’s not a slam dunk on the acting tip, we get to hear Toni break it down on the microphone as she plays a singer in her church’s choir. So will it be good? Check out the trailer below and let us know what you think! And remember, the movie premieres next Saturday on February 9.

Source: WEtv

If you were like us around here and were wondering when you were going to get your Braxton fix again (and I’m not talking Tamar and Vince. Thanks…but no thanks), good news, the show will be back on March 14. And by the sound of the press release about the new season and what the sneak peek shows us, they’ll be having a lot of fun and dealing with a lot of drama (and you know Tamar is involved in a lot of it). So what can you expect in March? Toni is busy trying to juggle a new movie role (for the Lifetime movie Twist of Faith) and personal problems; Trina and Gabe are making an effort to work on their marriage again, same for sister Towanda and her man Andre; Traci gets into motorcycle riding (and bright blonde hair), and Tamar gets heat from her sisters for becoming extremely focused on her own show and singing career. As the dramatic press release puts it, “Issues from the past and the Braxton ladies’ ongoing competitiveness—especially when it comes to music endeavors—threaten the longstanding Braxton family like never before.”

You can notice the tension and shade being thrown in the sneak peek. In it, the sisters and their mom (minus Tamar) go on a Roman holiday, where they smash grapes, go topless and have fun. You can also get a glimpse at a rift growing between the ladies and Tamar, especially between her and Towanda, which is something that their mother, Evelyn, asks her to step up and fix. New season, new mess, and you know you’ve missed it. Check out the sneak peek and let us know if you’ll be tuning for the new season, premiering in March.

Well all right! I don’t know when Lifetime became the new and improved version of BET, but I’m not mad at them! As more details about the production of the movie, Betty & Coretta, come out, it has been revealed that the Lifetime network is premiering THREE, yes three, films in honor of Black History Month. Aside from Betty & Coretta, the network is also premiering Twist of Faith, which will star Toni Braxton, and Pastor Brown, which will star Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Rockmond Dunbar, Ernie Hudson and Tisha Campbell-Martin.

Twist of Faith is said to have Braxton playing a single Christian mother who makes a love connection with a widowed Orthodox Jewish man who loses himself and his faith after watching the murder of his wife and son. After the fact, he finds himself on a trek to the South, Alabama to be exact, where he meets Braxton’s character, the lead singer of her gospel choir. While they are clearly of two different faiths and races, their love of music brings them together, and the church helps him get a new lease on life. This movie will premiere on February 9.

As for Pastor Brown, Richardson-Whitfield will play the daughter of a dying pastor. As his last wish, he asks Whitfield to take over the dealings of his beloved church, which is something Whitfield’s character reluctantly decides to do. She finds herself at odds with her sister, and her father’s church. As she tries to maintain order, she tries to reconnect with an estranged son (who is played by my husband, Michael B. Jordan), re-bond with a family at odds, and make sense of her own life. Pastor Brown is set to premiere on February 16.

With Betty & Coretta leading the pack for the Black History Month programming, premiering on February 2 and telling the story of the friendship between Coretta Scott King and Betty Shabazz after the deaths of their husbands, a new photo has been released of the two women in character (look up). I’m not going to say anything crazy about who does and doesn’t look like who, because I like both of these women (plus, I’m in a good mood this morning!), so I’ll just say, I’m interested to see how this film will play out. Great plot line, but will it be a great movie?

All in all, I’m excited about all of these new movies, and I have to give big kudos to Lifetime for providing some positive images of black folks for Black History Month, because we know that they didn’t have to do so (sadly, I think we’re so used to networks not doing anything at all for the month…). Now if we could just get some other networks to provide such programming the other 11 months of the year, that would be awesome…