Hudson Won’t Sing at Obama Bash, Rep Says
It looks like the Grammy-Award-winning singer and actress Jennifer Hudson won’t be singing the National Anthem after all at the presidential inauguration later this month.  Read more.

Oakland Leaders Ain’t Digging the Hughes Bros.
Oakland City officials aren’t too happy with the Hughes Brothers and their latest project, “Gentlemen of Leisure,” which they say not only glorifies the life of a pimp but casts their city in a negative light. The new HBO drama is to be shot in the California Bay-Area community, but the Oakland City Council is debating whether it should approve a permit for the production, The San Francisco Chronicle reports. Written by Evan Reilly, the series puts a spotlight on hustlers, pimps, violence and drug culture. It’s exactly the type of image that runs counter to the one being pushed by Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, a former longtime member of Congress. But the Hughes Brothers contend that folks have the wrong idea about his film. It could actually benefit the city, they say, pointing to “The Wire” and what they believe that series had done to paint an honest portrait of Baltimore. “It’s The Wire meets The Sopranos set in Oakland in a crime element never used before,” Allen Hughes told The San Francisco Chronicle. “It’s not just about pimps and prostitutes, but also about the history of a city that never got its due. Like Detroit or Miami and a lot of other cities, Oakland is steeped in heavy street industry, in rackets. I’m just going to say it: Oakland is a pimpin’ town. It’s flourished there. And whenever and wherever street life is celebrated, the city gets a shout out.”

TAGS: Gentlemen of Leisure, hudson; oakland, hughes brothers, inauguration, obama

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