As previously reported, Our Stories was created last year by the Weinsteins and BET founder Robert Johnson as the first label at a studio or mini-major devoted to releasing movies for black audiences. Our Stories president Tracey Edmonds said the shingle was attracted to the Brock Akil project because she offers "a smart, humorous but accurate perspective on modern-day singledom and dating." The movie will reunite Edmonds with Salim Akil, who collaborated on her Showtime drama series, "Soul Food.
" Mara Brock Akil executive produces and writes the ensemble sitcom "Girlfriends" as well as its spinoff, "The Game," both of which air on the CW. Salim Akil has directed numerous episodes of both series. The Akils film is the second announced project on the Our Stories slate after "Who's Your Caddy?
," a Big Boi vehicle about a rap mogul trying to gain access to a country club, which opens in July. *Music veteran Quincy Jones is looking to slap his name on a variety of lifestyle products and digital media sources as part of a major branding initiative kicking off at this week's Licensing International trade show in New York. According to Billboardbiz.
com, the producer's team is currently pursuing deals with suppliers and retailers in professional and consumer audio; coffee-table and how-to book publishing; clothing and accessories; grooming; home decorating; and educational materials. The product lines are "premised on his being a tastemaker in music," says Robert Thorne, whose company is administering Quincy Jones Enterprises in partnership with Jones. "Everything has to have a signature element of quality that makes it clear it's from Quincy.
" On the digital media side, projects will be housed at quincyjones.com, the future site of Quincy's Vault - an online archive of unreleased audio, video, photos and outtakes documenting Jones' work with artists from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson and Celine Dion. Getting Jones' name on everything from neckties to shaving cream to MP3 players should help "move forward some of the items on his entertainment agenda," including his biopic and a movie musical, says The Firm's Adam Shulman, who is leading Jones' new management team.
"My work in music, film, television and currently on Broadway with 'The Color Purple' has been embraced by so many over the decades, and my new slate of film and television projects continues in that tradition," Jones said in a statement. "My initiatives in lifestyle branding and digital media will be the next chapter along with my continuing priority of helping children of all cultures." In the meantime, Jones' upcoming projects include serving as an artistic advisor to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, as well as the ambassador to the Grammys' 50th anniversary.
Also in the works is a TV special celebrating his 75th birthday in 2008 with musical guests. A CD compilation series and an Interscope-released tribute album to Jones produced by will.i.
am and Akon are also set for next year, the 25th anniversary of the Jones-produced "Thriller." There is also a deal on the table for a Jones-branded satellite radio channel, a weekly music-intensive terrestrial radio show and mobile content, which would feature new music recommendations sent via "Q-Tip" text message. *Just hours after Father's Day, Tiger Woods became one himself when his wife Elin Nordegren gave birth to their first child early Monday.
Some 24 hours after he placed second at the U.S. Open on Sunday, the golfer posted a message on his Web site announcing the June 18 arrival of daughter Sam Alexis Woods.
"Both Elin and Sam are doing well and resting peacefully," Woods wrote. "We want to thank our doctors and the hospital staff for all their dedicated and hard work. This is truly a special time in our lives and we look forward to introducing Sam to our family and friends over the next few weeks.
We thank everyone for their well wishes and continued respect of our privacy." Nordegren, a Swedish former nanny and model, met Tiger at the 2001 British Open. They were married four years later, and announced they were expecting last December on his 31st birthday.
ISAIAH WASHINGTON MOVING ON: Ousted 'Grey's Anatomy' star now focusing on Africa. *Isaiah Washington took part in last weekend's African Union Summit Promoting African American Interest in Africa in Beverly Hills on Friday, an event representing the actor's primary focus now that he is no longer a part of ABC's "Grey's Anatomy." Washington is chairman of the Gondobay Manga Foundation, which works to improve conditions in Sierra Leone.
Next month, he'll travel to Ghana for the African Union Summit, where he and 50 other influential African-Americans will meet with 53 African presidents to discuss the continent's future, reports People magazine. Friday's meeting at the Four Seasons hotel also included Jamie Foxx, Chris Tucker, Mos Def and Herbie Hancock, James Mathis and organizer, designer Ozwald Boteng. "Once you get awareness of who you are and how you're here, then I believe there's a responsibility that you have.
And seeing that I can afford to take part in that, I have to be responsible," Washington told reporters of his passion for Africa. As for life beyond "Grey's Anatomy," Washington tells People: "In the coming months, all I'm working on right now is trying to focus on day-to-day life and what I'm doing with the foundation, what I'm doing with the family." Asked if there were any misconceptions about him, he said: "I don't know.
Maybe for 50 years and the history of media and television I represent something that's supposed to not exist. This happened to Malcolm X, this happened to Paul Robeson - this misconception can happen to any man of power that loves himself and wants to spread that love and that humanity throughout the world." ROBERT WISDOM JOINS WENTWORTH IN 'PRISON': Actor rules Panama jail in Fox drama's new season.
*Actor Robert Wisdom, fresh from his memorable role as "Bunny" on HBO's "The Wire," will join the cast of Fox's hit series "Prison Break" when it returns for a third season this fall. The last time we saw Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), he was walking into the courtyard of his fresh new digs - a prison in Panama. Wisdom will play Luchero, a Panamanian drug kingpin who is incarcerated and controls all the other inmates.
Also added to the cast next season is Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, a veteran television actress who will play Betty Crocker, an operative for shadow government organization, The Company. Besides "The Wire," Wisdom's other recent credits include the feature films "Freedom Writers" and "Ray." NAOMI CAMPBELL CASHES IN ON BAD REPUTATION: Model pokes fun of anger issues in Dunkin' Donuts spot.
*Naomi Campbell just shot a commercial for Dunkin' Donuts in which she perpetuates her image as a cell phone-throwing, assistant-beating diva unable to control her rage. According to a spy for the New York Daily News, Monday's shoot featured the model "gardening in an evening dress. Something goes wrong, she gets frustrated, and she flips out.
She then takes her shoe off and throws it through a window. Next to her is a Martha Stewart type who is calm, cool and collected, thanks to her frozen Dunkin' Donuts drink." Campbell follows in the footsteps of Britney Spears' ex-husband Kevin Federline, who capitalized on his attempt to enter the rap world in a commercial for Nationwide insurance, where he daydreams of being a rap star while working fries at a fast food restaurant.
50 CENT'S EX-GIRL EYES VITAMINWATER MONEY: Shaniqua's lawyers say big paycheck should be on the table in current child support case. *The huge cash windfall coming to 50 Cent from the sale of his stake in VitaminWater has piqued the interest of lawyers for the mother of his child, Shaniqua Tompkins. VitaminWater's parent company, Glaceau, was recently acquired by Coca-Cola for $4.
1 billion. Thompson, in the midst of a child support battle with the rapper, wants some of 50's share to benefit their 10-year-old son, Marquise Jackson. "This will be a subject of the trial," her lawyer, Raoul Felder, told the New York Post: However, a lawyer for 50 says: "The extent of his worth is irrelevant.
He always has and always will support his son." The case resumes Friday in Suffolk County Family Court. BARACK OBAMA APOLOGIZES FOR HILLARY MEMO: Democrat said joke about her ties to India was 'dumb mistake.
' *Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama is in the midst of controversy over a memo sent out by his staff that pokes fun at rival Hillary Clinton's financial ties to India. In an interview with The Associated Press, Obama denounced the memo which carried the headline - "Hillary Clinton (D-Punjab) - and referred to Bill and Hillary Clintons' investments in India; her fundraising among Indian-Americans; and the former president's $300,000 in speech fees from Cisco, a company that has moved U.S.
jobs to India. In a statement on his Web site, Obama said he was not aware of the contents of the memo before it was distributed. But he took full responsibility for the mistake and announced his campaign had taken appropriate action "to prevent errors like this from happening in the future.
" "It was a dumb mistake on our campaign's part and I made it clear to my staff in no uncertain terms that it was a mistake," Obama told the AP, further labeling the memo as "unnecessarily caustic." Last Thursday, Obama's campaign sent the memo to reporters, demanding that it not be attributed to their campaign. The Clinton campaign obtained the document and sent it to journalists.
Since then, it has caused outrage within the Indian-American community and raised questions about Obama's claims that he is above attack politics. "It is not reflective of the long-standing relationship I have had with the Indian-American community," Obama said in the interview. "The issue of outsourcing is a genuine and important issue but to refer to one particular country was, I think, an error and I let all of us know that we've got to be more careful about how we communicate.
" MUSIC BITS: Suge a new man; Ike laments 'What's Love'; Blaxican indicted; Jackson's rabid fans; Clash manager's N-word; Bundles retaliation murder? *Readers of Sunday's Washington Post Style section were greeted with a full above-the-fold photo of Marion "Suge" Knight and a rather lengthy article from staff writer Teresa Wiltz about many topics, including his forthcoming reality show (which attempts to set 20 troubled kids on the right path), his decision to delete all N-words from material on label Death Row his, and a new commitment to sanitize his image as a ruthless music mogul. Read the entire article here: As previously reported, Our Stories was created last year by the Weinsteins and BET founder Robert Johnson as the first label at a studio or mini-major devoted to releasing movies for black audiences.
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