“Beverly Hills Cop,” “Boyz N the Hood” make cut.

The Los Angeles Times top-10 list of movies that best reflect L.A. city life and culture is filled with Black star power. Among the contributions are: Jackie Brown, starring Pam Grier and Samuel L. Jackson; Boyz N the Hood, starring Cuba Gooding Jr., Laurence Fishburne and Ice Cube; Beverly Hills Cop, starring Eddie Murphy; and Collateral, starring Jamie Foxx. The movies included were all released within the past 25 years and feature the L.A. landscape as a “main character” in the script.

“Lakeview Terrace” minimizes its Madea factor

Apparently, Hollywood can only accommodate one crazy Black woman character at a time. Samuel L. Jackson’s new film Lakeview Terrace, co-starring Ray’s Kerry Washington, cut a scene in which Washington appears to “lose it” on camera. Washington, who plays the wife in a couple terrorized by their neighbor, pretends to seduce the next-door character, Jackson, but then pulls a knife on him. “It got removed,” she says. “The producers felt like, at that point in the film, my character was the only sane one and they needed her to stay sane in the mix. She was losing it.” Madea would surely be disappointed with the decision.

Rapper remains in Florida custody

DMX has been denied bond and the ability to return to his home in Arizona, angering a judge with his reported profanity. The rapper, who’s been held in Miami-Dade County on a bench warrant arrest since Aug. 12, hoped to get bond Tuesday. But Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Lawrence Schwartz upheld X’s no-bond status, citing the fact that the rapper faces drug charges in Florida. X appeared via video monitor before reportedly stating under his breath “I ain’t going back to no f***ing jail” as he heard the judge’s decision. Schwartz told DMX that he heard the obscenity, as the rapper walked away from a podium. The judge warned a lawyer representing the 37-year-old performer and film star. He’s expected to remain in custody until October. 

Brother of R&B singer explains fainting spell

The man who is shown in Web footage singing dutifully as his brother lay passed out on an Australia concert stage says neither member of the R&B duo was under the influence. K-Ci and JoJo, who recently performed without their Jodeci band mates, are shown crooning live when JoJo walks toward the back of the stage and abruptly crumbles to the floor, loudly dropping his microphone. A stagehand walks out and picks up the mic, ignoring JoJo on the floor as audience members express shock. K-Ci has taken to the airwaves to explain that JoJo suffered an epileptic seizure, and that rumors about the duo’s drug addiction are false. Footage shows JoJo regaining consciousness on his own after about a minute, eventually getting to his feet and waving to the crowd before he’s helped off the stage. K-Ci says JoJo is feeling much better.

“Run’s House” stars write about parental success. Take Back Your Family, a book written by Rev. Run, formerly of rap group Run-DMC, and his wife Justine Simmons is a hit. The self-help guide has reached No. 15 on the New York Times best-selling hard-cover advice list. The book features principles applied within the family whose lives are shown weekly on MTV’s hit reality show “Run’s House.” Take Back Your Family is the first book jointly written by Rev. Run and his wife.

The potential first lady gets the magazine’s style nod.

Vanity Fair magazine, in releasing its 2008 International Best Dressed List, has named possible first lady Michelle Obama among its fashionistas. Obama, the wife of presumptive democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, is the person the editors called “our commander-in-sheath.” The magazine mentions some of the standout ensembles she has worn throughout the year, including the Maria Pinto purple sheath, with a black Azzedine Alaïa belt, when her husband claimed the Democratic presidential nomination; and the Donna Ricco black-and-white print dress from her appearance on “The View.” Kanye West also made the list, which can be seen at th magazine’s just-released slide show.