Universal Pictures is ready to bring The Best Man 2 to the big screen.

According to Deadline, Universal has given the greenlight for a sequel of the 1999 film starring Taye Diggs, Terrance Howard, Morris Chestnut and Nia Long.

From Deadline.com:

Universal has set Malcolm D. Lee to write, direct and produce Best Man 2, a sequel to the 1999 film.

Lee wrote and directed the original, a comedy in which a writer (Taye Diggs) is preparing to be the best man for his football player buddy (Morris Chestnut), but the timing is bad because the writer's autobiographical novel is about to pop and it describes how the best man bedded the bride.

Reports also stated that the idea of a sequel came after the cast reunited for dinner in February.

If Lee can get over his small hurdle, The Best Man 2 should be a huge success.

The original movie grossed $35 million at the box office.

The original cast has also been asked to return for the sequel.

This would be a much needed relief from Tyler Perry films, seeing as he's the only one making "black" movies nowadays.

Will Smith is looking to cast Denzel Washington in a new film based on Hurricane Katrina.

According to reports, Smith originally intended to produce and star in the movie entitled "The American Can," which is based on the story of John Keller, who saved many elderly residents during Hurricane Katrina, but Smith cannot star in the film due to his obligations in a new movie with director M. Night Shyamalan.

Smith is now hoping to remain behind the scenes of "The American Can," and have Denzel Washington star in the lead role.

Washington has not yet been confirmed for the film.

Last year, the two Hollywood stars were rumored to be working together on the remake of the 1974 comedy, "Uptown Saturday Night."

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, as well as rapper/producer The RZA, may land roles in the new G.I. Joe sequel.

According to reports, Johnson is in talks to play Roadblock, a heavy machine-gunner, who is an aspiring gourmet chef in the movie G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes.

While Wu Tang Clan member The RZA may play a martial arts expert by the name of Blind Master.

Neither roles have been finalized, but the addition of The Rock could help boost movie sales.

The 2009 film, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, received mixed reviews, while grossing $302 million worldwide.

By comparison, Johnson's last film Fast Five, the fifth movie in The Fast & The Furious series, has made nearly $600 million since its release in April.

It was also reported in April that The RZA will appear in the upcoming season of the Showtime television series Californication.

Rap mogul Jay-Z was on the set of Will Smith's upcoming film Men In Black 3.

The two multimillionaire entertainers were seen conversing and laughing on set, and we're assuming they were plotting a way to make even more millions than they already have.

According to Daily Mail:

During filming Will also received a visit on set from rapper Jay-Z.

The chart-topper - real name Shawn Carter - was spotted laughing and joking with the star as they filmed scenes for the blockbuster in New York's Battery Park.

Will recently announced that Jay-Z is teaming up with his production company Overbrook Entertainment to develop and produce films.

It is rumored that the pair will work together on a revamped version of the Broadway hit "Annie," with Willow Smith in the title role.

Also, Will Smith's daugther Willow Smith is signed to Jay-Z's label Roc Nation.

Men In Black 3 began filming in November 2010, and is scheduled for release in May 2012.

Take a look at pics from the MIB3 set on the next pages.

Clifton Powell is one actor who is not a Spike Lee fan.

During a recent interview with the Russ Parr Morning Show, the actor known for roles in Next Friday and Ray, voiced his opinions of Spike Lee, and the movies producer's negative comments towards Tyler Perry.

Powell said:

"I don't like Spike, for real. I'm just saying it publicly on the radio. Spike is a hater. He was doing all these movies, Sam and all these guys know he's a hater. He kept all the money, there was lawsuits against him... I'm from the streets and you gotta carry your people. We talk about what “The Man” does; Spike need to go sit his punk a** down, and stop talking about Tyler Perry."

"Tyler Perry was homeless about 10, 12 years ago and Spike wasn't writing him no checks. I think it's wrong, and I shouldn't do this, but I don't like Spike Lee because I don't like his politics as it pertains to how he deals with African Americans. I've auditioned for Spike several times, he kept all of us waiting for hours. It was insulting. He's made people fly across country, pay for themselves and come to auditions. Spike is the worst, and he needs to go sit his punk a** down. If you got a problem with it Spike I'm right here and I'll beat your punk a**."

"He has never hired me, I don't really care, because I would never want to work with him... Tyler has found his genre. The problem with being African-American in film as a producer, you have to be so worried about stepping on toes. We have just a few outlets in terms of the dimensions we are as a people. ]We zero in because there are not enough dimensions of what we do.”

Well, damn.

He called Spike Lee a "hater." That's the funniest story we've written all week.

Don't expect to see Clifton Powell in any Spike Lee joints any time soon, but it's not like Spike had him in any movies to begin with.

Listen to the full interview below:

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The winning continues within the Smith Empire, as Will and Jada's son, Jaden Smith, recently became the highest paid child actor.

According to reports by the Daily Mail, the 12-year-old actor was paid a 1 million dollar upfront salary, and 2 million dollar bonus from box office profits for his role in the remake of The Karate Kid.

Jaden Smith has also starred in the 2008 film The Day the Earth Stood Still, and along side his father in the 2006 movie The Pursuit of Happyness.

Jaden's next movie, Amulet, where he appears along with his sister, singer/actress Willow Smith, is set for release in 2012.

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In a recent interview with Black Enterprise, Hollywood actress Sanaa Lathan revealed her very first job.

"I was a maid," she said. "My grandmother had an older man friend that lived in the building with us, and I would go over and clean his apartment when I was 13-years-old. He would give me like $30."

"I was trying to make that cash," she continued. "I didn't have a problem with it. I think that there's no shame in making a living, and getting money by honest means. So I would just say, do what you have to do, but do it honestly. Go after your dream, but there's nothing wrong with making money with a regular job."

From cleaning dirty sheets to starring in movies alongside Denzel Washington and Queen Latifah, the 39-year-old actress has come a long way.

Lathan plays a maid in the new Broadway play, "By the Way, Meet Vera Stark."

But if Sanaa Lathan was still a maid today, would you want her to clean your room?

Watch her Black Enterprise interview, and then take a look at her pictures on the following pages before you answer that question.

The movie, which also stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayane "The Rock" Johnson, Jordana Brewster and Tyrese Gibson, opens nationwide in theaters this Friday, April 29th.

Ludacris will play Tej Parker, a character the rapper/actor played in The Fast & The Furious sequel, the 2003 film 2 Fast, 2 Furious.

Hit the more link for more Fast Five promo pics and a trailer, posted on the following pages.

It seems like Tyler Perry has had it up to here with the criticism. In a Tuesday press conference in Beverly Hills, CA, the director, writer, and actor fired back at his critics, particularly fellow Black filmmaker Spike Lee.

"Spike can go straight to hell! You can print that. I am sick of him talking about me, I am sick of him saying, ‘this is a coon, this is a buffoon.' I am sick of him talking about black people going to see movies. This is what he said: ‘you vote by what you see,' as if black people don't know what they want to see."

"I am sick of him - he talked about Whoopi, he talked about Oprah, he talked about me, he talked about Clint Eastwood. Spike needs to shut the hell up!"

Perry is one of the most successful Black directors in Hollywood history.

Yet, the filmmaker is often times criticized for stereotypical Black characters in his movies, most notable the gun-carrying, loud-mouthed character Madea, played by Tyler Perry in the popular Madea series.

Some critics have gone as far as to call his movies and plays a “minstrel show” and demeaning to Blacks.

Still, Perry said he doesn't understand why the majority of his criticism comes directly the Black community, when directors and actors of other races don't face the same negative feedback from their own communities.

"I've never seen Jewish people attack Seinfeld and say "this is a stereotype," I've never seen Italian people attack The Sopranos, I've never seen Jewish people complaining about Mrs. Doubtfire or Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie. I never saw it. It's always black people, and this is something that I cannot undo. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois went through the exact same thing; Langston Hughes said that Zora Neale Hurston, the woman who wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God, was a new version of the 'darkie' because she spoke in a southern dialect and a Southern tone. And I'm sick of it from us; we don't have to worry about anybody else trying to destroy us and take shots because we do it to ourselves."

Perry continued to express his frustrations saying, "So me being frustrated with it, and then they go on to say that people of other ethnic groups or white people don't go see my movies, and that's all a lie. I'm standing on stage looking at thousands of people, thousands of faces, with every race represented, and I'm tired of it. I'm tired of just laying down, tired of just being nice and letting them say whatever they want to say however they want to say it without people knowing what the intent really is."

Tyler Perry's latest film Madea's Big Happy Family opens nationwide in theaters this Friday.

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According to Ross, starting today fans that join the Freeway Rick Ross community can enter for their chance to win $50,000 and a starring role in Ross's new movie about his life written by Nick Cassevetes.

The film, which is an autobiographical story about Freeway Rick Ross's life before, during and after his stint in the drug game,  also points out that the film will showcase how he has turned his life around following his release in 2009.

The contest is open to both experienced and non experienced actors and Ross will choose the one male and one female to cast as the winner. The contest will end on April 1, 2011. For contest rules and to enter, log onto: Freewayenterprise.com

Check out the video below:

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