Empire
Lee Daniels Fox Pilot Drama STAR Casting Central Characters Including: Transgender Woman!
Photo Credit: HutchinsPhoto.com
On the heels of the smash hit primetime sudsy drama Empire, creator Lee Daniels and Fox are hard at work putting together the pilot for his next TV project, Star!
At the epicenter of Star ia the story of four young woman trying to make it big in show business with big dreams and aspirations. According to the official description from the network on the series concept: “It will feature the choices with which these artists are faced along the way, while showcasing the allure and heartache of the cut-throat music scene, and exploring cultural themes from a new perspective. What will they do to rise to the top?”
Now according to TV Line, casting is already underway for the four core characters which include: a transgender woman named Cotton, 20, who is a half-black, half-Spanish with a “stunning look” and a “keen eye for fashion.” The other woman are described as: “Star”, an 18-year-old white woman with a “badass attitude.” Then there is “Simone”, 16, who is Star’s half-white, half-black sister. She’s simply described as “tragic and adorable.” And finally, Alexandra, a black woman around the age of 20. Though she’s described as “elegant” and “classic,” she wants to abandon her “material world” in the hopes of making “real, authentic music.”
So, what do you think of the concept of Star and the characters? Daniels, who is always a trendsetter and one to shed light on an under-represented part of the population is putting a transgender character to the mix, as the trans community has been garnering more media attention of late. Finally, who would you suggest to the play the four lead characters? Put your casting director hats on, and then share your thoughts below!
Empire
Jussie Smollett Releases New Rap Single ‘Thank You God’ Speaking On the Injustice of His Court Case
Now that former Empire star, Jussie Smollett (Ex-Jamal Lyon) is out of jail while appealing his conviction for the 2019 Chicago hate crime hoax, in which he was at the epicenter, the singer/actor wasted no time dropping a rap single.
On his Instagram account, Smollett posted a short clip of a new rap song, which speaks about his court case and the injustices brought down upon him by the system.
The track entitled,“Thank You God,” features Smollett rapping lyrics like: “You think I’m stupid enough to kill my reputation?” He also raps, that there will come a day when he can sit down and talk with his followers. He gives a mention to “D.L.” who many believe is CNN anchor, Don Lemon, who was originally one of Smollett’s main advocates.
Jussie served 10 days of jail time of his sentence of 150 days before being released . He also has 30 months of probation ahead of him and was ordered to pay $120,106 to the city of Chicago and a $25,000 fine for his actions.
Smollett says any funds raised for “Thank You God” will be donated to the Illinois Innocence Project, Rainbow Push, Secure The Bag Safety.
Check out Jussie’s Instagram post containing the rap below/
Now let us know, what do you think about Smollett releasing this track and still defending his innocence? Comment below.
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Breaking News
‘Empire’ Star, Jussie Smollett, Sentenced to 150 Days In Jail For Fake Hate Crime Attack
Late Thursday, former Empire actor and singer, Jussie Smollett, was sentenced in Chicago more than three months after being found guilty on five felony counts to the alleged 2019 hate crime hoax that made national headlines, and got the actor fired from the former Fox primetime drama series.
In the sentencing, Smollett was sentenced to 150 days starting immediately. In addition, he received 30 months’ probation, and has to pay the city of Chicago $120,106 in restitution, plus Jussie received an additional $25,000 fine.
Cook County Judge James Linn, who levied the sentence, came down hard in his words on Smollett due his actions noting he was, “selfish, arrogant and narcissistic.” The judge added, “You wanted to make yourself more famous throwing a national pity party for yourself. You’re just a charlatan, pretending to be the victim of a hate crime.”
Linn went in on Smollett for his ‘performance’ and ‘pure perjury’ when the actor took to the witness stand in his own defense last year.
At the end of his sentencing, Smollett pulled down his mask to speak. He then let everyone in the courtroom know that he feels he is innocent, adding, “Your honor, I respect you and I respect the jury, but I did not do this. And I am not suicidal. And if anything happens to me when I go in there, I did not do it to myself. And you must all know that.”
Just before he was taken into custody, Smollett yelled again that he was innocent and raised a fist in the air as he exited.
Watch the sentencing of Jussie Smollett below, then weigh-in. Did Smollett get enough of a sentence for his crime? Share your thoughts via the comment section.
Empire
Ex-‘Empire’ Star Jussie Smollett Found Guilty On Five Counts For Hate Crime Hoax
Jussie Smollett (Ex-Jamal Lyon) from Fox’s former primetime soap opera, Empire, was found guilty on Thursday on five of six felony counts of disorderly conduct stemming from making a false report to the Chicago police department that he was the victim of a hate crime.
The actor’s account of the story dates back to 2019 and finally made its way to the Chicago court system for trial.
In the end, a jury of six men and six women deliberated for more than nine hours Wednesday and today to return the verdict after sitting through testimonies of 13 witnesses.
According to reports, Smollett did not look at his family or the judge during the reading of the verdicts on the six counts he was charged instead he looked at the jury members.
Smollett could face up to 3 years in a prison and a $25,000 fine, Judge James Linn will have discretion in imposing a concurrent or consecutive sentence for each count. That will happen at a later date.
Special prosecutor Dan Webb said at a post-verdict news conference: “Mr. Smollett would not have lost this case as he did today unless the jury found that he lied to them. The fact that he came up with a completely ridiculous story to explain his misconduct did not apparently have an impact on the jury’s verdict.”
During the trial brothers, Bola and Ola Osundairo testified that Smollett had paid them to stage the hate crime attack on him in an attempt to get media attention. The brothers testified that they fake punched Smollett, poured bleach on him, put a noose around his neck and used racist and homophobic slurs, because Jussie told them to do so in return for the money.
According to Smollett’s defense team, they will appeal the verdict.
So, what do you think about the guilty verdict for Jussie Smollett? Comment below.
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New characters will be good..
This season #2 has been over kill of Cookie ..
Cookie, Cookie, Cookie ..
More of Lucious- I like him better than Cookie..
Jamal, I really like him, but all his songs sound much the same ..
Hakeem, I really like him and his songs /music is really good.
Empire is AWESOME!
Looking forward to the new four core characters 🙂
su0000, these four characters are for a different show. But I totally agree with you about the Cookie overkill. Too much of a good thing is … well… a bad thing.
Su0000 read the article before commenting. Is a new show casting the PILOT with four characters in the world of entertainment. .. it’s not four characters for empire .. LOL. ..SMH
these characters will be for his new show titled star – they are not for empire………
The casting is for a “NEW” show called Star.
ooops on me!
thanks for the correction ..
You knew what you were doing su0000 knock it off lol
EMPIRE is getting a little one note with its sole focus on the music business — surely Lucious has holdings in some other sort of businesses to mix up the plot a bit.
STAR would do well to focus on the worlds of film and modeling as well as music to open up as many story avenues as possible for its characters.
Yes, so tired of all the singing. I get it’s about the music biz, but come on! Stop trying to sell me an album.
Oh please not another show shoving a trans character down my throat. If I want a quality show on the issues of the transgender community I will keep watching “Transparent” on Amazon. And Lee Daniels is getting a little cocky. Empire is phenomenal but the last thing any one wants is Empire Another Perspective….
Nobody is shoving anything down your throat. If you want to turn a blind eye to a segment of humanity, change the channel or shut off your TV. There are, oh, about 10,000 shows that don’t feature any transgender characters so you should be able to find something to suit your tastes.
You don’t have to watch the new show. No one is forcing you to do so. All you have to do is use your remote to change the channel.
You’re right I do not have to watch anything I choose not to, however….my feelings on the situation are less valid regardless of the lame admonitions I am receiving for speaking my mind. Your feelings are yours and you are entitled to them. However I stand by mine and if I choose to change the channel or turn off my television it will be MY decision and mine alone. Not any one else’s so keep your passive aggressive directions aimed at you or your family and leave me to express my feelings as I see fit. Point and match.
We’ll see. I think he needs to concentrate on Empire though. The premiere ep this season wasn’t good. It has improved, but there are areas of improvement. Several of my co-workers who used to love the show are saying they’re going to stop watching.
I like Empire. I think it is still good. The season is now 18 episodes so it can’t move as fas paced as last season. Terrence and Taraji are still bringing it and I am loving the focus on Andre. Shows have to develop and can’t be bang, bang every week but like I said, I have no issue with it and I love the music. It’s about a music company and both Timbaland and Neyo are handling the music so I expect to see performances. But to each its own.
Oh god now here comes more crappy shows in the works, just wait. We had cop shows, hospital shows, talk shows, reality shows, now empire and another show in development. If I misses something please.