Only in the film business can a film make $84 million over the weekend and still be considered a disappointment. But that's what some people saying about Star Trek: Into Darkness. Since Weds night, the film has grossed that amount up to today, which is about equal to what the previous Star Trek reboot made back during its first weekend in 2009 adjusted for today dollars. There were originally predictions of a $100 million weekend, but it fell short. Still $84 million is definitely nothing to sneeze at. Iron Man 3 has already passed the $1 billion mark worldwide which explains why Robert Downey is reportedly asking for the moon from Marvel Productions and...

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Today in history... May 19, 1925, Malcolm Little/Malcolm X/El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz was born in Omaha, Nebraska, the 4th of 7 children, to Earl Little and Louise Norton. Of course, I'm sure we all know of Spike Lee's 1992 film based on the life of the man - a film that will rest among the nation's treasures in the world's largest archive of film, TV and sound recordings; just over a year ago, it was inducted for preservation in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. And by the way, it's now officially on Blu-ray, finally released in that format last year. So you can pick up a copy if you haven't yet. You can also watch Orlando Bagwell's 2 1/2 hour...

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A new season of Roomieloverfriends, the web series created by the Black & Sexy TV team (aka Dennis Dortch and Numa Perrier), and executive produced by Issa Rae (aka Awkward Black Girl) via her Issa Rae Productions. We here at S&A totally love what these folks are doing within the web series space, building a strong library of work, giving audiences (especially black audiences) varied slices *our* varied experiences mostly ignored by the mainstream. So take advantage of their offerings. And even if this one doesn't appeal to you specifically, there are others to choose from within the Black & Sexy TV/Issa Rae...

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Morgan Freeman has signed up to co-star with Diane Keaton in a dramedy titled Life Itself, which is based on a novel by Jill Ciment titled Heroic Measures. Here's Amazon's description of the novel: New York City is on high alert--a gasoline truck is "stuck" in the Midtown tunnel and the driver has fled. Through panic and gridlock, Alex and Ruth must transport their beloved old dachshund--whose back legs are suddenly paralyzed--to the animal hospital, using a cutting board as a stretcher. But this is also the weekend when Alex and Ruth must sell the apartment in which they have lived for most of their adult lives. Over the course of...

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Titled Crisis, NBC has set Sunday nights at 10pm to broadcast the Lance Gross thriller from writer/executive producer Rand Ravich. Gross stars alongside Dermot Mulroney and Gillian Anderson, in what is described as an emotionally-charged political action thriller set in Washington DC, that will follow Marcus Finley (played by Gross), an idealistic Secret Service agent who finds himself at the center of an international crisis on his first day on the job as the President's son's protection, when the son, along with several of his schoolmates, are kidnapped. Here's NBC's official synopsis for the series: It's...

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At Cannes earlier today, Harvey Weinstein unveiled The Weinstein Company's 2013 lineup of upcoming films, to attendees, and one of the films on the company's slate is Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Idris Elba's Nelson Mandela biopic, directed by Justin Chadwick, which highlights Mandela's early life, coming of age, education and 27 years in prison. S&A isn't at Cannes this year, so we obviously weren't present for the showcase. But thankfully Twitch Film was and they published a write-up of the event, which included trailers for each. So they got to see the first trailer for Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, and seem impressed by it: Perhaps the most compelling...

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Taking place tomorrow, Saturday, May 18th, starting at 4:30pm, the Maysles Cinema and United Muslim Alliance presents the 4th Annual Malcolm X On Film & Panel Discussion in celebration of the 88th birthday of Malcolm X.Then & Now, The Legacy of Malcolm X-El Hajj Malik El Shabazz Lives On Co-sponsored by the People's Survival Program 4:30pm Dinner 5:00pm Malcolm X Book/Video and Art Fair 6:00pm Malcolm X Speaks: The Speeches of Malcolm X 1997, color & B/W 41 min. Malcolm's speeches from 1963-1965 including several legendary Harlem speeches such as "The Ballot Or The Bullet" and "By Any Means Necessary." 7:00pm Autobiography Of Malcolm X: His Own Story As It...

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The call for submissions for the 2013 edition of the trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff), which takes place from September 18 to October 1, will close on May 31, and filmmakers who wish to submit a film are urged to do so no later than that date. The ttff seeks to highlight excellence in filmmaking through the exhibition of dramatic, documentary and experimental feature and short films made in T&T, the Caribbean and its diaspora. The Festival therefore accepts submissions from Caribbean filmmakers, Caribbean filmmakers in the diaspora, and international filmmakers with films from or about the Caribbean or its diaspora. Submissions must have been produced after January 1,...

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The intriguing documentary opens today at New York's Quad Cinema (34 W 13th Street) on May 17 for a week-long engagement, with two shows daily at 1pm and 7pm. For tickets and more information go to the film's web page at http://www.re-emergingfilm.com. Directed by Jeff Lieberman, journalist, producer and documentary filmmaker, RE-EMERGING: The Jews of Nigeria documents the lives of Igbo people who have embraced Judaism as a part of their legacy, and who believe Igbos are really descendants of Israelites. The doc follows Sam, now known as Shmuel, on his quest for knowledge about Igbo identity and history - from Igbos' roots in Israel, to their journey during the Atlantic Slave Trade,...

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*EXCLUSIVE* Here's the first official picture of @idriselba from #LUTHER 3, coming this summer to @bbcone: twitter.com/BBCOne/status/...-- BBC One (@BBCOne) May 17, 2013 The star of the series, Idris Elba, revealed in an interview with the UK's Guardian, earlier this year, that season 3 would debut in September. Given the tweet above from BBC One, the channel that airs the series in the UK, it looks like it'll return this summer, which begins not-so-long from now, given that we're in the middle of May. And like last season, I assume the BBC will make the episodes of next season available here in the USA within 24 hours or so after they air in the UK. That seems to be the trend, with...

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