As she prepares to film her first major movie role, Ciara remains calm. The hit-making singer, who will star in an adaptation of the gospel musical "Mama, I Want to Sing!" isn't nervous -- not now, at least.
"I don't want to claim the word 'nervous' at all," Ciara, 21, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday. "I'm thinking, 'Ciara's gonna go in, she's gonna go hard, she's gonna challenge herself, she's gonna knock it out."'
Any butterflies, she says, will arrive closer to the shoot, which begins this month in Baton Rouge, La.
For now, she's "excited more than anything."
Ciara, the voice of the chart-topping albums "Goodies" and "Ciara: The Evolution," will portray Amara, a preacher's daughter who transforms from church choir singer to international pop superstar. The movie, based on the hit off-Broadway production that opened in 1984, also stars Patti LaBelle and Lynn Whitfield.
"I want to learn as much as I can. ..
. I want to be a sponge on the set," said Ciara, who has a singing scene with R B legend LaBelle.
"Mama," which will be distributed by Codeblack Entertainment under 20th Century Fox's FoxFaith label, is slated for release next year.
When approached to do the movie, Ciara was delighted because she had hoped to fit an acting gig into her schedule this year. "When this came, I was like, 'Oh, perfect,' you know?" said the singer-songwriter, who goes on tour next month.
Cristian Mungiu, the first Romanian to win the Cannes Film Festival's top prize, says his country's recent movie output helped him win the award. Mungiu's low-budget "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days," a harrowing film about illegal abortion in communist-era Romania, beat 21 movies by well-known directors such as Quentin Tarantino and Ethan and Joel Coen to win this year's Palme d'Or. "I don't know why this (success) is happening here and now," Mungiu said.
"If it had been presented in 2001 or 2002, I think there would have been a tiny chance it would have won." He has said "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" shows how a political system, indoctrination and stereotyping affect people's choices.
Bob Geldof took over for a day as the editor of Germany's biggest-selling newspaper, which appeared Friday with an impassioned front-page plea for the country's leaders to "end the misery" in Africa.
Geldof's turn in the chair at the mass-circulation Bild daily came as German Chancellor Angela Merkel prepares to host next week's Group of Eight summit in Heiligendamm, where she has pledged to make Africa a major issue. Bild's front page carried a large picture of an emaciated child inside the outline of Africa. "End this!
Now!" read the headline.
Hilary Swank kicked off a round-the-world run Friday to raise awareness of the world's 1.
1 billion people who lack access to clean drinking water. As part of the Blue Planet Run, 20 runners will log 15,200 miles over 95 days. Each participant will run 10 miles at a time.
Just before the first runner left the U.N. lawn to set out for Boston, the two-time Academy Award winner said she had taken the "ordinary miracle" of clean drinking water "for granted far too many times.
" "Making safe drinking water available is everyone's problem, and it's a problem it will take everyone to solve," she said.
Grant, who also will not face charges for allegedly kicking the photographer, was arrested after the clash on April 24.
News RSS