Entertainment Briefs

‘Bringing Down’ the Barbershop
MGM Studios is trying to create a “female” version of “Barbershop” – with Queen Latifah as the star.
Variety quotes sources, as saying the rapper-turned-actress will receive a paycheck of at least $10 million to head the cast of “Beauty Shop.” She’ll also have a cameo in the sequel to “Barbershop,” setting up a spin-off movie with her as the owner of a beauty shop next door to the original barbershop locale.
Queen Latifah reportedly received $1 million for her starring role opposite Steve Martin in “Bringing Down The House,” a comedy about a prisoner who meets a lawyer in a chat room, then weasels her way into his life in hopes he can exonerate her.
The movie spent three weeks at the top of the box office before falling to No. 2 this past weekend.
Angie Stone Goes to “Chicago”
R&B songstress Angie Stone set to join the Broadway company of
“Chicago” April 14. The singer, a two-time Grammy nominee, will play the role of Matron ‘Mama’ Morton. This will mark her Broadway debut.
Best known for her chart-topping albums, ‘Black Diamond’ (Arista) and ‘Mahogany Soul’ (J Records), Stone has also appeared in the Touchstone film ‘The Hot Chick’ and will co-star in Paramount Pictures’ ‘Fighting Temptations’ this summer.
Kravitz releases song in response to war
Lenny Kravitz is the latest singer to release a song in response to the war in Iraq.
“We Want Peace,” available only on the Rock the Vote Web site, also features Iraqi pop singer Kadim Al Sahir, Palestinian musician Simon Shaheen and Jamey Hadded of Lebanon on percussion.
“I came to Rock the Vote because of its strong stance with young people as defenders of free _expression,” Kravitz, 38, said Tuesday. “This song for me is about more than Iraq: It is about our role as people in the world and that we all should cherish freedom and peace.”
The rock star, whose hits include “Let Love Rule” and “Are You Gonna Go My Way,” is among several artists who are speaking out through song about the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
Rock the Vote, founded in 1990, is a nonprofit group that encourages young people to vote and become involved in the political process.
Muhammad Ali writing memoir with daughter
Muhammad Ali and his daughter, Hana Ali, are co-writing a spiritual memoir. “Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life’s Journey” is scheduled to come out this fall.
Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
“It is after I retired from boxing that my true work began. I have embarked on a journey of love,” the former heavyweight champion said in a statement released Friday by the book’s publisher, Simon & Schuster.
According to the publisher, Ali will share “the beliefs he has come to live by and that he has passed on to his children. Some of the wisdom is his own; some comes from the teachings of true Islam, from his spiritual studies, and from people he has met in the course of his life.”