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Friday,
August 11, 2000 |
 Pettiford,
Carey Bond On Set
Unlike many in show business, Valarie Pettiford doesn't
mind revealing simple truths. Like her age. "I'm
40," she says proudly, looking much younger during a
break from filming All That Glitters, which Vondie Curtis
Hall is directing here. Singer, dancer and Broadway star,
the engaging and straightforward Pettiford has returned to
Toronto to co-star in the movie starring Mariah Carey. It
is shooting here until the end of September.
Pettiford is no stranger. She has been in the city as a
cast member of the musicals Showboat and Fosse. All That
Glitters is her first picture here, however. "I play
Mariah's mom in flashbacks in 1968," offers Pettiford,
who worked with Carey at a rural set just north of
Toronto, which passes for a hut in the Georgia
countryside.
Pettiford portrays the alcoholic mother of Carey's waif
who ends up in New York and eventually becomes a pop music
star. "This is a great chance for Mariah to spread
her wings," reports the veteran trouper. "I told
Mariah I was proud to have her as my daughter. It's a
sweet story with lots of singing and dancing."
And maybe not enough Pettiford. "I'm early in
her life and show up again later," she says of her
role. Adds Pettiford: "The great thing about my part
is that I also get to sing a song, and I think it's one
written by Mariah."
So how is Carey going to do in her first movie?
"She'll do fine, and she's a sweetheart," says
Pettiford. "And Vondie is a brilliant actor and
singer himself, so he will make her feel
comfortable."
At 14, Pettiford was in the ensemble of the movie,
The Wiz, starring Michael Jackson. In her twenties, she
performed with a group called The Stingers, "but
things didn't work out." Broadway did, winning her a
Tony nomination for her singing and dancing in Fosse. She
won raves doing the musical Chicago in London opposite
Chita Rivera and was honoured to be in the national
touring company of Bob Fosse's Dancin'.
On TV, Pettiford has been featured on The X-Files, Walker
Texas Ranger and Sliders, among others. She's even done
time on the soaps - as detective Courtney Walker in
Another World and Sheila Price on One Life To Live.
Based in L.A., Pettiford says that at this point in her
career she'd like to do more TV. "What I'm looking
for," she says smiling at her understatement,
"is a hit TV series. It would keep me at home."
She's had enough of "the gypsy life." "I
did Fosse for a year and half, then Chicago in London -
and had the time of my life. But I can't do another show,
eight times a week, singing the exact same words, doing
the exact same moves."
She would if she had to. It's in her blood. "You keep
dancing through the pain and the injury, and the
apathy," confirms Pettiford. "That's how I was
taught, that's how I was brought up." Age has nothing
to do with it.
(Toronto
Sun)
(Thanks to The
Valarie Pettiford Webste for the picture)
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Wednesday,
August 9, 2000 |
 Meddling
Mariah Rushed Movie
Pop diva Mariah Carey is counting on novelty casting and
her own sex appeal to spark interest in her schlocky
fictionalized biopic "All That Glitters." Singer
Eric Benet, fiance of vehicularly challenged actress Halle
Berry, and condemned "Satanic Verses" author
Salman Rushdie's model-turned-cookbook-writer girlfriend
Padma Lakshmi will make their big screen debuts in the
Columbia-TriStar flick Carey is producing and starring in,
reports foxnews.com's Roger Friedman. For better or worse,
Ann Magnuson, who portrays a music label publicist, is the
only experienced actor on the set.
The movie has been riddled with casting conundrums since
Carey supposedly "fired" an 11-year old girl at
the last minute who wasn't appealing enough in the role of
the young Mariah. But the diva's rep, Cindy Berger,
insists the girl, Bianca Collins, only had three auditions
with casting agents and never met with either Carey or
director Vondie Curtis Hall, who made the final choice.
Meanwhile, sources tell Page Six Carey is pushing the
picture ahead as fast as she can because the soundtrack
will be her last recording for Sony Music before her
contract expires. Insiders say she had been in talks with
Clive Davis to join his about-to-debut label at BMG, but
called it off when Davis wouldn't meet her terms.
"She was asking for up to $15 million in upfront
money, a piece of equity in his entertainment company and
her own label besides," our source says. Carey had
been promised her own label by Sony, but those plans were
shelved due to budget cuts.
Insiders say Davis' problem is that although he'll be
getting $175 million over five years once his deal with
BMG is inked, he's not allowed to sign big-money artists
without approval from BMG boss Strauss Zelnick. Zelnick is
said to have signed off on Carey, but she decided to look
elsewhere after Davis said he'd only go as high as $9
million. He then trained his sights on George Michael, but
Zelnick balked at the lukewarm Brit pop star's $10 million
pricetag. "He hasn't had a hit in a while," one
source snarked. Berger denies that Carey's engaged in
discussions with any record companies. "Conversations
between Clive Davis and BMG are ongoing and an
announcement will be forthcoming," BMG spokesman
Keith Estabrook promises.
(The
New York Post) (Thanks to The
Mariah Carey Archives)
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Tuesday,
August 8, 2000 |
 Hijah,
Mariah! Salman Rushdie's Girlfriend In Movie
Now
we can really play six degrees of separation and draw a
straight line between singer Mariah Carey and writer
Salman Rushdie. Isnt life amazing sometimes?
Rushdies girlfriend, sometime cookbook writer Padma
Lakshmi, has taken an acting job in Mariahs movie, All
That Glitters. (Let me tell you: forget the movie. I
cant wait for the premiere party. Can you imagine the
security and the paparazzi? Lets book Tavern on the
Green now.)
Lakshmi, as this column reported first on March 2, is the
beautiful 39-year-old Indian woman for whom Rushdie left
his most recent wife. Rushdie, of course, is the author of
The Satanic Verses, and upon whom a fatwa, or death
notice, was placed. Padma - whose paperback version of
Easy Exotic: A Model's Low-Fat Recipes From Around the
World, will be out in the fall, and Salman first went
public at a private party for Anjelica Hustons movie
Agnes Browne. Rushdie said then that the cookbook writer
was making all his favorite dishes.
The casting director for Careys 20th Century
Fox/Columbia Pictures movie, All That Glitters, was not at
liberty to tell me what character Lakshmi is playing. But
sources from the Toronto set say that shes already
become pals with another cast member, the great comic
actress Ann Magnuson.
In the movie, Mariah plays a singer (surprise!) who rises
to the top with the help of a club DJ/producer. The singer
is said to be inspired by Madonna and the DJ by Jellybean
Benitez. When I saw Jellybean the other night at the
premiere of Coyote Ugly, I mentioned this to him. "Is
that right?" he said. "That should be
interesting. I didnt know what it was about."
All That Glitters, directed by Chicago Hope star Vondie
Curtis Hall, has already had its share of trouble. Last
week I told you that Carey replaced 11-year-old-actress
Bianca Collins - who had had at least three auditions
before she landed the role of a young Mariah - with
another girl she spotted and liked better. The All That
Glitters soundtrack will also mark the final release for
Carey on Sony Music. Shes busy shopping for a new label
and should have a mega deal to announce shortly, possibly
with Arista Records.
This is not Padmas first acting job, by the way. Her
other credits include Caraibi, a German TV movie, and a
small part in an episode of an Italian TV series.
(Fox411)
(Thanks
to The Mariah Carey Archives)
She's
A Kid At Heart
People are talking about Mariah Carey giving a
surprisingly good performance filming "All That
Glitters" in Toronto, finishing up that movie's
soundtrack, posing for Vanity Fair's music issue and
visiting young fans at Cabbagetown Youth Center. The kids
drew pictures for Mariah and she decorated her trailer
with the artwork. (Yeah, she still wears those hot pants
and crocheted halter tops. But underneath, she's a child
at heart herself.) But it's not all work and charity for
Mariah. She'll relax in Mexico this weekend with her Latin
lover, Luis Miguel.
(The
New York Post) (Thanks to Mariah
Online)
 Eric
Benet "Glitters" With Mariah Carey, Da Brat
Soul
singer Eric Bent is the latest musician to be added to
the cast of Mariah Carey's forthcoming rags-to-riches
flick "All That Glitters," a project that is
currently before the lens on location in Toronto.
"Variety" reports that Bent, who previously
had a small role in the WB series "For Your
Love," won't have to stretch too much in his feature
film acting debut, as he's set to play an R&B singer
named Ceasar in "All That Glitters."
In addition to Carey and Bent, the Vondie
Curtis-Hall-directed movie will also feature rapper Da
Brat as Carey's best friend in the flick, which details
the dramatic rise to fame of a young singer (Carey) from a
foster home in the inner-city projects. "All That
Glitters" is scheduled to film in Toronto and New
York City through the end of September, and is tentatively
set for release in March 2001.
In addition to the movie career, Bent is also working on
his third solo album, the follow-up to his 1999 sophomore
effort, "A Day In The Life," which has sold more
than 752,000 copies, according to SoundScan.
(MTV
News)
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Monday,
August 7, 2000 |
Mariah Rumors
Can we
slow down the Mariah Carey rumors, please? My girl MC called me
late one night, pleading with me to straighten some of these crazy
stories out. For starters, many weeks ago, there was a story that
hit the internet in regards to Carey being pregnant with boyfriend
Luis Miguel's baby. Then tales popped up, saying the two would
soon be married. MC put me straight, reminding me how much her All
That Glitters movie project means to her. That's true. How could
she manage to get pregnant when she's got her motion picture debut
to shoot this summer? As if she hasn't had enough pubic grief,
with her sister ready to sell out with a tell-all book. I was told
of her longtime stylist - the one responsible for those revealing
outfits - had committed suicide. My regards to her family. Your
auntie has nothing but love for Miss Mariah, so y'all better
"cut the crap" with these rumors.
(Black Beat October) (Thanks
to The Mariah Carey Archives)
 Mariah
Carey's Love Trip Around The World
Lovebirds Mariah Carey and singer Luis Miguel are breaking records
for romantic travel - with sexy vacations in 33 hot spots in 18
months, pals say. "They recently spent and extended vacation
on the island of Capri," in the majestic Mediterranean, a
source close to Mariah told the Enquirer. "They soaked up the
sun, swam and visited the Blue Grotto - one of the most romantic
spots in the world. This summer they also spent three weeks
cruising through the Bahamas and strolling on romantic deserted
beaches. They are very much in love. It's exciting to see how
happy they are."
(National
Enquirer) (Thanks
to The Mariah Carey Archives)
All
That Glitters Information:
BASED UPON: A story idea conceived by Mariah Carey, though it is
not intended to be perceived as autobiographical.
PREMISE: A young singer (Carey) who grew up in the projects after
she was abandoned by her mother gets her big break when a DJ hears
her demo tape (which also leads to a relationship). The film takes
place in the New York club scene of the early 1980's, and the
singer is a member of an all-girls group.
MUSIC NOTE: Obviously, Ms. Carey will be providing the music for
the film (to be produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who also
produced her latest album, Rainbow), though there's no word yet on
whether it will be entirely new material or some of her previous
songs. What is known is that she intends to go on a big worldwide
tour after the film is released in support of it (and the likely
hit soundtrack).
FILMING: Production is scheduled to start on this movie on July
24th, 2000, with locations to include Toronto and New York.
Filming is expected to wrap around September 30th, 2000.
GENRES: Drama, Musical, Romance
(Thanks
IMCO)
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