by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent All you need to know is one quote from Aretha Louise Franklin, the subject of biopic RESPECT starring Jennifer Hudson from United Artist Releasing that opens on Friday the 13th. “Be your own artist, and always be confident in what you’re doing. If you’re not going to be confident, you might as well not be doing it.” Those words truly capture the fierce energy that was Aretha, from her top charting Billboard hits, “...

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent #RespectMovie is just a hashtag for now, but in 2020 Jennifer Hudson will shake the rafters with her multi-octave homage to the late great singer Aretha Franklin, The Queen of Soul who died at age 76 in August of 2018. The Dreamgirl will follow the rise of Aretha’s beginnings as a child-singer in her father's church choir to blazing fame as an indelible icon and cultural force the world over. RESPECT is the aptly titled biopic base...

Aretha Franklin: Soul Music Loses its Queen, its Soul American soul music queen, singer Aretha Franklin, died on August 18, aged 76, of pancreatic cancer in Detroit, where she grew up. Memphis, Tennessee born Aretha was the daughter of Rev. C. L. Franklin, a Minister and gospel singer, and a staunch church-goer herself. Unfortunately, her mother left the family when Aretha was just six years old and died when Aretha was 10. Her father was shot by burglars in 1979 and died in 1984, after five...

SPOTLIGHT MEDIA PRODUCTIONS   The 2015 Oscars, By Adrienne Papp   By Adrienne Papp The Oscars have been handed out, the corks on the champagne bottles have been popped, the winners are all sleeping off their hangovers, and the movie industry has put a wrap on the 2015 Oscars. On Sunday night during the 87th Academy Awards broadcast shown on ABC, “Birdman” took home Best Picture and Best Director...

By Maria Esteves – September 8, 2012 Project Runway Season 10 final television show was filmed on Friday, September 7, 2012 at the tent in Lincoln Center during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week New York Spring 2013 Collections. Mentored by Tim Gunn, hosted by Heidi Klum with judges Michael Kors, Nina Garcia, Academy Award-winning actress and Grammy Award singer Jennifer Hudson. Eight emerging designers (Christopher Palu, Dmitry Sholokhov, Fabio Costa, Gunnar Deatherage, Elena Slivnyak, Melissa...

By Maria Esteves – September 23, 2012 New York Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week presented by IMG Fashion, is one of the world’s most influential semi-annual fashion event that showcase established and emerging designers from around the world. It is the forefront of fashion design, manufacturing, and retail for industry professionals. Since 1943, New York Fashion Week gave American designers a chance to showcase their work. Today, New York Fashion Week presents nearly 500 semi-annual sho...