Whitney-Fan.com: April 2004 News on Whitney Houston (Part II)

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2004/4/30

Denials and Blaming: "Dateline NBC" aired an interview with Bobby Brown during its program tonight in which he discussed his substance abuse problems and marriage to Whitney Houston, accompanied by his mother. During the interview, Brown first denied, then played down charges that he allegedly struck Whitney during an altercation in December 2003. He also said his career has been harmed by giving it a backseat to his marriage. If you missed the program, you can watch the approximately 15-minute interview in RealVideo, and read a transcript, if interested. Whitney's spokesperson declined to comment for the program.

Forums: The Whitney-Fan.com Web Board has been upgraded and enhanced, so please stop by and take a look.

'Cheetah Girls' on Video: According to Video Business, "The Cheetah Girls" will be released on NTSC VHS and Region 1 DVD for the U.S. and Canada on June 29. The DVD edition will include the film's alternate ending as well as music videos. The movie, which will be distributed by Buena Vista Home Video, has a DVD list price of $19.99 and VHS price of $14.99.

2004/4/29

Possible Cameo: Whitney Houston may make a cameo appearance in Queen Latifah's next film, "Beauty Shop," expected in theaters this fall. You can click the link to read an "Entertainment Tonight" report from an interview with Latifah.

Bocelli Wants Collaboration: At a press conference, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli said he would like to sing a duet with Whitney, among other favorite female vocalists, according to a report published today by Agence France-Presse.

2004/4/26

Lather, Rinse, Repeat: Time to bust out the curlers and the cornrows because the battle for the best beauty shop film is gonna get hot. And blame it on "Barbershop." The 2002 MGM comedy not only spawned a sequel but also an official spinoff and two unofficial indie spinoffs.
Wednesday night at the Laemmle Sunset 5, the first of those unofficial ones, "Nora's Hair Salon" directed by Jerry LaMothe, screened for cast, crew and special guests. This one could maintain the lowest profile (it's likely to go straight to DVD), but it does have a few flashy surprises. Tabloid staples Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown both have cameos - Whitney as herself and Bobby as the abusive wannabe boyfriend of Tatyana Ali's character - as does the freshly indicted Lil' Kim. "It's fun when you see them," says vet actress Jenifer Lewis who plays Nora, salon owner and mother hen to a rowdy group of stylists. "Whitney and I did 'Preacher's Wife' together, and she's like my baby." How's she doing these days? "She's getting it all together," she says. "All we can do right now for Whitney is send her light and whisper a prayer for her, because God knows we all run into madness in this business."
But back to the beauty shop biz. The other indie spinoff stars Mo'Nique, while MGM's 'Beauty Shop' is toplined by boxoffice diva Queen Latifah. "I hear the one with Mo'Nique is not that good, and I hear the one with Latifah went in a totally different direction with a whole bunch of white folks in it," Lewis lets loose. "I don't know that much more about it, and I don't know that I care. I don't think 'Nora's' is a great movie, but I think it's a good little movie. It's got some heart." [From The Hollywood Reporter] Note: "Nora's Hair Salon" is expected to be released on NTSC VHS and Region 1 DVD for the U.S. and Canada on May 25.

2004/4/23

'Princess' Sequel in August: You can read a synopsis of "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement" from the April 30 issue of Entertainment Weekly. The sequel, which follows the $108 million domestic success of Brownhouse Productions' first feature film, is expected in U.S. theaters on August 11. In other news, Amazon.com lists a "special edition" DVD of the first film to go on sale August 3.

2004/4/21

Whitney And Bobby Chill: Stop the presses! Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown just spent a quiet few days relaxing at the Atlantis casino and resort in the Bahamas--and making no news at all. "I just got out of prison, so I really need [a break]," says Brown, 35. He and Houston, 40, who spent time at a substance-abuse facility in March (and traveled to the Bahamas with a counselor), dined poolside and shopped with family. But Brown apparently steered clear of the buffet. "I'm trying to get rid of [my belly]," says the singer, who added 15 lbs. during a month in jail on a parole violation. He blamed the gain on a "lack of anybody taking the fork out of my hand." Brown will be back in the public arena April 30 when, in a Dateline NBC interview, he tells Stone Phillips that he once spent weeks getting high "on coke...marijuana at the same time, alcohol," partly to avoid arguing with his wife. Now? "It's kick-back time for my wife," he says. "She needed it." [From May 3 issue of People magazine]

Charity Auction: Suffolk Life Newspapers reports the John T. Mather Memorial Hospital's annual Families Walk For Hope against breast cancer will mark its tenth anniversary on May 1. New to this year's event is a Celebrity Sock Auction, where event coordinator Laura Juliano reports autographed socks with certificates of authenticity have been entered by such celebrities as Clint Eastwood, Peggy Fleming, Teri Garr, Jay Leno, Bill Cosby, Matthew Broderick, Whitney Houston and Maya Angelou. You can view Whitney's submission here. The hospital is located in Port Jefferson, Long Island, N.Y.

2004/4/18

German Concert Dates: "For those who might be vacationing and have chosen Germany to do so, I will be doing 4 concerts with Whitney Houston, and Natalie Cole. The dates are: July 3, Berlin..July 7, Hamburg..July 9, Gelsenkirchen, and July 11, Munich." [Message from Dionne Warwick's official Web site]

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