::THE SLICE REPORT WITH MONA AUSTIN

Stellar actors play an engaging tempo in their collective performances about one of Black Entertainment's Blues trailblazers, Gertrude Ma Rainey NOTE: Have you ever heard of Ma Rainey?  How about Billy Holiday or Bessie Smith?  Without Ma Rainey, there would be no Holiday or Smith. For many viewers this movie will be an introduction to the the Blues pioneer.  As a biopic, scaled down to one day, coming from the perspective of a playwright,  it is impposible for "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" to accomplish detailing who she was and what her career meant to music.  Some of the details of this review are offered for a a more indepth perspective to recognize a talent who has been overlooked.  However, the overall quality of the film is to be lauded. By Mona Austin Artists and management in the music industry have collided on business matters since the industry started. Historically, it has been tougher on Black entertainers, whose talent wss exploited by White-domi...

Octavia Spencer will star as hair product mogul, Madame C.J. Walker  in  Netflix Madam C.J. Walker series starring  Octavia Spencer . The four-part miniseries,  Self: Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker , is scheduled for release on  March 20 .  Blair Underwood will play the first Black billionaire's husband, CJ.  Tiffany Haddish will play her daughter. This is the untold and highly irreverent story of black hair care pioneer and mogul Madam C.J. Walker (Sarah Breedlove) and how she overcame hostile turn-of-the-century America, epic rivalries, tumultuous marriages and some trifling family to become America’s first black, self-made female millionaire. Based on the book   On Her Own Ground , by A’Lelia Bundles Episodes: 8 Director (first episode)/Executive Producer (first episode): Kasi Lemmons ( Eve’s Bayou, Talk to Me ) Writer: Nicole Asher Showrunners / Executive Producers: Janine Sherman Barrois, Elle Johnson Executi...

First Couple to produce a variety of content under their HIGHER GROUND imprint Hollywood, Calif. -- President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama have entered into a multi-year agreement to produce films and series with Netflix, the world’s leading internet entertainment service. The Obamas will produce a diverse mix of content, including the potential for scripted series, unscripted series, docu-series, documentaries and features. These projects will be available to the 125 million member Netflix households in 190 countries. The Obamas have established Higher Ground Productions as the entity under which they will produce content for Netflix. “One of the simple joys of our time in public service was getting to meet so many fascinating people from all walks of life, and to help them share their experiences with a wider audience,” said President Obama. “That’s why Michelle and I are so excited to partner with Netflix – we hope to cultivate and curate the talented, inspiring...

LOS GATOS, Calif. -- Netflix, Inc.  announced the appointment to its board of directors of Ambassador Susan E. Rice , a former US National Security Advisor and Ambassador to the United Nations. Ambassador Rice is currently a Distinguished Visiting Research Fellow at American University's School of International Service , Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, and Contributing Opinion Writer for the New York Times . "We are delighted to welcome Ambassador Rice to the Netflix board," said Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings . "For decades, she has tackled difficult, complex global issues with intelligence, integrity and insight and we look forward to benefiting from her experience and wisdom." "I am thrilled to be joining the board of directors o...

buzzz worthy. . . LONDON, Jan. 8, 2016  -- #Netflix(Not Really)Everywhere is a major complaint for cord cutters in over 130 countries, but OverPlay™ SmartDNS has the solution. While only a handful of locations do not currently have Netflix™ access, original hit series such as Orange is the New Black and House of Cards are not available without an OverPlay account. Netflix users in recently-added regions including Russia and India will experience even more restrictions, with only 722 and 740 respective titles available, compared to 5,748 in the U.S. and nearly 14,000 total offerings with OverPlay's SmartDNS & VPN services. The announcement by Netflix at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was met with mixed reviews. Netflix is not currently offered to residents in China, Syria, and North Korea, a combined population of more than 1.35 billion, likely due to strict government censorship. OverPlay provides easy-to-use software and mobile apps for a variet...