-
Production Designing 'Fruitvale Station' -
Exclusive: Lorraine Hansberry Biopic In Development ... -
'MadCap: New York' - How We Shot A Feature ... -
What’s Wrong With 'Detropia' - A Detroit ... -
SIFF Review: Painterly, Meditative 'The Forgotten ...
-
This Week in Black Television: Daniel Sunjata ... -
What Would A 'Breaking Bad' Spin-Off Be Without ... -
Sorry, But I Don't Need The New York Times ... -
Will Either Of These Black Actors Get The ... -
What Is It That Terrifies Dorothy Dandridge ...
-
My (Short) Conversation w/ Screenwriter Geoffrey ... -
'End Of Watch' Explores A Post-Racial Ho ... -
Interview - For the Actors and Actresses: ... -
VOD Review: BBC Films' 'Shoot The Messenger' ... -
What Does The Future Of 'Black Cinema' Look ...
5 Netflix Streaming Titles You May Not Know ...
African Diaspora Palme D'Or Winners In Cannes ...
What's Missing From The WGA's '101 Best Written ...
Review: 'RE-EMERGING: The Jews of Nigeria' ...
An Industry Without... Black People (What ...
For The Love Of Movies... Can We Talk?Star Jones' 'Satan's Sisters' Heading To VH1, Produced Under New Wendy Williams/Suzanne de Passe Deal
First a recap... last October, I posted an entry revealing that a TV movie/series based on Star Jones' novel Satan's Sisters, published last year, was in development.
Star Jones made the announcement herself on Wendy Williams' show, but she didn't reveal much at the time.
A few months later, in February of THIS year, Star Jones returned to Wendy Williams' show, and, during her segment, talked a lot more about the project, from where it stood at the time, to her choices of actresses she'd cast, to the fact that she had partnered up with Suzanne de Passe to executive produce the project for VH1.
That last revelation about de Passe was the most interesting to me, as I immediately remembered last week's news (read post HERE) that production companies belonging to Wendy Williams and Suzanne de Passe had teamed up to develop projects for TV and film.
And an article posted on MSN Entertainment earlier this week, confirmed what I was thinking after I watched the below video reveal - that this Star Jones book adaptation to film/TV will be one of (if not the very first) project that comes out of this new business partnership between Williams and de Passe.
It makes sense to me, even though I haven't read Jones' novel, which I hear is a trashy yet entertaining work of fiction that may or may not have been influenced by Star's tenure as co-host of ABC's hit talkshow, The View.
So what's Satan's Sisters about? Here's a synopsis from Amazon.com:
Set in the bright lights of daytime television, SATAN'S SISTERS is the story of The Lunch Club--a long-running, popular ladies' talk show in which alliances are forged, careers are made, and bridges are burned. The show's famous red couch is ruled by its esteemed matriarch, Maxine Robinson, the first African-American to become a network news anchor, who maintains a hidden safe of diaries chronicling others' indiscretions for posterity--and leverage as needed. But even all-knowing Maxine is caught off-guard when now superstar former co-host Heather Hope makes a ratings-gold guest appearance only to announce a bombshell: the imminent inside scoop straight from the mouth of another ousted member of The Lunch Club's inner sanctum.
Self-described "southern belle" Melissa "Missy" Adams has written an explosive tell-all exposing all the Lunch ladies' secrets and she's going to reveal it on Heather's show; but the story is bigger than just the two of them. Delving into the murky waters of each of the current five co-hosts' life--and the loved ones, lovers, and support team surrounding them, SATAN'S SISTERS dishes the dirt while serving up laughs, suspense, solidarity, and heartbreak. The Lunch Club's beleaguered publicist is assigned to track down the embargoed manuscript and assess the potential damage to everyone's livelihood...but time is running out and there's now a new mole spilling details of the show's private panic mode. Looks like Maxine is going to have to take things into her own hands...but can even she escape becoming collateral damage?
Altogether now... Oooooh... saucy! :)
When asked by Wendy about casting, Star mentioned Diahann Carrol, Diana Ross and Lynn Whitfield for the role of Maxine, but she didn't confirm if any of them was actually in the running, or had attached themselves to the project, so we'll just have to wait and see how this all shakes out.
In watching the video, you can see Wendy's enthusiasm for it, which suggests that this is something she's interested in as more than just a source of entertainment and amusement. She, at one point, says that she could see it as a TV series, so I won't be surprised if it goes the Single Ladies route with a 2 hour pilot movie, which then leads to an hour-long drama. This is VH1 we're talking about after all. It's very much their kind of material, if descriptions of the material are any indication.
Anyone read the novel? Thoughts on it?
Watch Star's February 2012 appearance on Wendy's show, revealing the news about VH1, de Passe, etc...
9 Comments
mivoyce | July 8, 2012 10:52 AM
Star, dont nobody want to see this bat shytt. Grow Up!
ALM | July 5, 2012 9:41 PM
Maybe it's just me, but I just don't really buy "Vh1" in the same sentence with "Diahann Carrol, Diana Ross, and Lynn Whitfield".
Reads4Pleasure | July 5, 2012 10:50 AM
I read Satan's Sisters last year and it was fairly entertaining. As long as Star doesn't try to play one of the characters, it should be just as good as a tv movie or mini-series. I don't see any way for them to stretch it out into a full blown series though unless they rework some of the story lines.
Orville | July 4, 2012 10:28 PM
I am happy for Star Jones I really think she got a raw deal from those trashy ladies on The View I can't stand that sea hag Barbara Walters! So it is good news to see that Star's novel is being turned into a television show. Go Star!
Miles Ellison | July 4, 2012 3:54 PM
If VH-1 is involved, it's virtually guaranteed to be hot blackface garbage. They wouldn't be interested otherwise.
Adam Scott Thompson | July 4, 2012 2:07 PM
Wasn't she the one calling for a boycott/condemnation of all the "hot mess TV" shows associated with African-American women on TV?
Missy | July 4, 2012 2:04 PM
Why this book??? I don't know anyone who's read it and based on customer reviews I just glimpsed at, it seems to be poorly rated. Not a huge seller either. Very confusing. I really hope Wendy and Suzanne did their homework on this.
Matthew Milam | July 4, 2012 1:57 PM
Andy Griffith is dead and trash dominates the land of television. What a world.
Soomsie | July 4, 2012 1:55 PM
On a totally separate note, why does Star look stunning in that natural/makeup-free pic? It's the best I've ever seen her. Where'd that pic come from and how recent or not is it? Jeepers. #carryon