Report: Rihanna in Talks for Fast and the Furious 6 Role
Is Rihanna becoming the latest celeb to do double duty between the recording studio and the sound stage? After spending the spring on a world tour to promote her debut role in Battleship — which has already earned $170 million at the international box office ahead of its American debut — reports are floating that RiRi's already landed her next role as a villain in The Fast and the Furious 6.
British newspaper The Sun claims the bodacious Bajan will play a "sultry vixen" (of course) in the next installment of the car racing mega-franchise, which also stars Vin Diesel and Paul Walker.
A source told the tabloid: "Rihanna impressed with her acting debut in Battleship. Writers think she’ll be perfect for the role. Her character has plenty of bite and doesn’t take any prisoners — just like her in real life. It’s a step up the ladder for her and could lead to bigger action roles."
Rihanna as badass action-vixen makes a lot of sense, so hopefully this rumor turns out to be true. Meanwhile, you can catch her in Battleship starting May 18.
Wiz Khalifa Busted for Marijuana Possession...Again
For the second time in less than two weeks, Wiz Khalifa has been popped by the police for weed possession.
According to TMZ, North Carolina police discovered 11.39 grams of marijuana on the rapper’s tour bus after he played a concert in Winston-Salem last night. The amount of the illegal substance was enough to get the hip hop stoner a citation, but he was not detained. Khalifa will be expected to appear in court at a later date.
This is not the first time Khalifa has had a run-in with the law in North Carolina. He was arrested and charged with “trafficking in marijuana” in 2010 when cops found a stash of weed on his tour bus after a show in Greenville, NC.
As previously reported, the “Black & Yellow” rapper was recently issued a ticket in Nashville, TN on April 21 after he was caught with 3.7 grams of weed. During that incident, the Taylor Gang leader admitted to possession after police responded to a complaint about a strong smell of marijuana emanating from his room at a Holiday Inn
Fire at Tyler Perry Studios
Shortly after 9 p.m. last night, a four-alarm fire broke out at Tyler Perry's Studios in Atlanta. Fortunately, the blaze was contained to one building on the 60-acre complex.
According to the Associated Press, more than 100 firefighters came to the scene and it took a little under an hour to contain the fire. Tyler Perry was reportedly at the studio last night, but as of now, there are no reports of injuries.
Tyler Perry's Studios is a 200,000-square-foot studio with five sound stages and a 400-seat theater. Films like I Can Do Bad All By Myself, Why Did I Get Married Too? and Madea Goes to Jail were all filmed at the studio.
Tyler Perry hasn't commented but, reportedly, the structure to Tyler Perry Studios is still intact.
Birdman Says Lil Wayne's New Deal “Biggest Ever in Urban Music”
Birdman and Lil Wayne recently recommitted to their longstanding business partnership, and the Cash Money Records founder is boasting that the new deal may be the biggest ever in urban music.
"The type of situation we did never been done in urban music," Baby said recently in an interview with MTV News. "It's probably the biggest deal ever in urban music."
Asked by Sway whether the contract reached eight-figure territory, Stunna would only confirm that they were "big numbers goin' north."
"I'm blessed to even do that," he said. "Whatever my son want, he can get. It's all his anyway, so it don't really matter to me. I live my life how I wanna. It's about him and them — my team. It all start and stop with Tunechi, so the whole thing was to make him proud and satisfied and do whatever we can to make him happy. And we did that."
As for how many albums Wayne has committed to, Birdman said only that the deal was "for life."
In addition to the deal with Wayne, Cash Money has also welcomed DJ Khaled's family into the mix. Birdman announced that Khaled's imprint We the Best Records has been absorbed into YMCMB.
“I’d like to let the world know that Khaled’s brand, which is We the Best, is officially signed to YMCMB and the first act coming out that umbrella will be Ace Hood,” Birdman announced recently from the set of Khaled's new video "Take It to the Head."
Khaled himself had already been signed to the label.
Charges Coming in Fla. Hazing Death
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — At least five people will face charges in the hazing death of a Florida A&M University band member aboard a bus after a performance in Orlando last fall, authorities said Tuesday.
Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings told The Associated Press that multiple defendants will be charged in 26-year-old Robert Champion's November, 2011 death, although he refused to say what the charges are.
At least five defendants face a wide range of misdemeanor and felony charges, said Danielle Tavernier, a spokeswoman for the State Attorney's Office in Orlando. She refused to name the charges pending an announcement by prosecutors on Wednesday.
No arrests had been made by Tuesday afternoon. Both Demings and Tavernier said the arrests would likely take place in multiple jurisdictions.
Detectives say Champion suffered blunt trauma blows and that he died from shock caused by severe bleeding after he was hazed by other band members on a bus parked outside an Orlando hotel. Hazing that involves bodily harm is a third-degree felony in Florida.
In a civil lawsuit, Champion's family alleged that the bus driver stood guard outside the bus while the hazing took place.
Witnesses in the Champion case have told his parents he might have been targeted because he opposed the culture of hazing they say has long existed in the band, the parents' attorney has said. It has also been suggested to them that he was targeted because Champion was gay and a candidate for chief drum major.
In a January interview with the AP, Champion's parents dismissed the notion that his sexual orientation brought on this incident, which was to their knowledge the first time he'd ever been hazed.
"The main reason that we heard is because he was against hazing, and he was totally against it," Champion's father, Robert Champion Sr. said in an interview.
Champion's parents have sued the company that owns the bus where the hazing took place.
Since Champion's death, FAMU and other schools have been under intense scrutiny about how they handle complaints of hazing.
FAMU suspended the band and launched a task force to recommend steps it could take to curtail hazing, the subject of complaints involving the university band for years.
Three FAMU band members were arrested in the Oct. 31 beating of a female band member whose thigh broken.
On Tuesday, a lawyer for two FAMU music professors who allegedly were present during the unrelated hazing of band fraternity pledges in early 2010 said they have been forced out.
Both faculty members had been placed on paid administrative leave in late March after a Tallahassee Police Department report quoted witnesses as saying they were on hand when the hazing occurred at the home of one of the professors then.
Diron Holloway, the band's director of saxophones, and Anthony Simons, an assistant professor of music, resigned last week after receiving notices that they had 10 days to contest their impending dismissals, said attorney Mutaqee Akbar.
"They both decided to resign from the university and pursue other career opportunities," Akbar said.
