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Gabrielle Union will co-star and executive produce the upcoming Lifetime movie “The Vow,” based on the 2005 novel by Denene Millner, Angela Burt-Murray and Mitzi Miller.

The story follows three women who attend a wedding and all decide to be engaged within the next year.

The project is in development at Sony Pictures TV and will be adapted by screenwriter Nzingha Stewart. Joining Union as executive producers are Tracey Edmonds and Sheila Ducksworth.

Union was last seen on the bigscreen in “Cadillac Records” and has a recurring role this fall in ABC’s new sci-fi drama “FlashForward.”

Jay-Z spends so much time at his recording studio, he needs to keep a bed in there…

“Jay-Z spends so much time at his recording studio, he needs to keep a bed in there. Sources told us Hova hit up BoConcept on Madison Avenue and 30th Street to find furniture for his Manhattan “office.” We hear his purchases included a sleep-sized sofa, a bar table, bar stools and a glass coffee table, and that he dispatched his assistant to collect the goods. No word as to whether Beyoncé had any say in the decorating decisions.”

SOURCE: New York Post

“I’ve known her since she was a teenager!” actress Gabrielle Union tells People.com of her close friend Beyonce. But the singer’s on-stage persona, dubbed “Sasha Fierce,” has remained a virtual stranger to the actress.

“Beyoncé is quiet and reserved, very Southern, sweet and polite,” Union told People at Ideal Bite’s “Best in Green” Awards on Thursday. “If someone told me that girl was gonna go on stage and do the kind of performances that she does, and be so fiery, and this quintessential and iconic entertainer, I’d be [in disbelief], like, ‘Yeah, okay!’ “

Beyonce, whose dual personality is expressed in her new album I Am…Sasha Fierce, stars with Union in the upcoming “Cadillac Records.”

“It’s been nice to see that her music and her lifestyle choices and her acting choices have all evolved as she’s gotten older,” says Union, adding that Beyonce’s marriage to Jay-Z has not changed the entertainer one bit.

“They were good to each other before, they’re good to each other now,” Union noted. “They seem very happy when they’re around. As long as there’s more smiles than frowns, I suppose that’s the key.”

Helmer Darnell Martin makes music with the percolating and scintillating ’50s biopic Cadillac Records mostly because of the rich, righteous and mythic sensibility out of the story of Leonard Chess, Muddy Waters and the birth of the Chicago blues.

For those unfamiliar with the story of Chess Records, the main crux is between Leonard Chess,played by Adrien Brody, and Muddy Waters, brilliantly played by Jeffrey Wright. The duo’s relationship provides the back story to the legacy of the Chicago record label. This is the second film dealing with the same artists, yet Cadillac Records takes a far broader approach than Jerry Saks Who Do You Love.

Brody does a bang-up job as the man who founded Chess Records and compliments Wright’s simmering dignity and eloquent performance. Martin does a great job of establishing the foundation of what blues meant to those all across the U.S. during the 1950s. The cast was well-assembled and did a great job of blending up into their roles. Columbus Short (Stomp The Yard) becomes Little Walter – the only Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Famer to be inducted for his work as a harmonica player.

But it’s with the story that things get convoluted. Chess and Waters relationship becomes strained the more money gets involved the more successful Chess Records becomes. New additions such as Chester “Howlin’ Wolf” Burnett – powerfully played by Eamonn Walker, Chuck Berry (Mos Def) and Etta James (Beyonce Knowles) make-up the blueprint of black music that Motown and more recent labels like Roc-A-Fella get their inspiration from.

With all these players, the star is Jeffrey Wright. His portrayal of Muddy Waters from sharecropper to superstar details the ups and downs of everything going around him. Weighty emotions for his labelmates and his bad financial habits find him needing support from Leonard Chess and leaves Waters in a vulnerable place. Furthermore, his competition with rival Howlin’ Wolf played a subtle part in developing not only the sound, but the movement of Chess Records.Walker makes you believe that he was a fierce blues competitor and their clash had the makings of an on-wax rap battle.

But still trying to find her voice in all of this was Beyonce Knowles. Whereas Mos Def and Jeffrey Wright modified their voices to fit their roles, Knowles’ ability to mimic the great Etta James is just not there. Simply put, it’s Beyonce singing Etta James – which does not bode well for Ms. Knowles.

On the very basic level, this is a solid story. Most of the details are right-on in Cadillac Records, although Martin’s approach sometime blurs the lines of realism and fan-worshipping. With unforgettable performances, plenty of bottoms should be in the seats groovin’ to the blues on this one.

Eamonn Walker’s name might not be too familiar here in the United States where he doesn’t have years of appearing on stage under his belt, but if you’re a long-time subscriber to HBO, it’ll be hard to forget him playing Kareem Said for all six seasons of Tom Fontana’s prison drama “Oz.”

Although Walker has been a regular presence on television (and stage) since that show went off the air, his film appearances have been few and far between, which is why one might not recognize him when he first appears on screen in his latest movie, Cadillac Records, which reunites him with former “Oz” director Darnell Martin. The movie’s a look at the early days of recorded blues at Chess Records, and Walker gives an amazing performance as legendary blues singer Howlin’ Wolf. The movie also stars Adrien Brody as Leonard Chess, the label’s co-founder, Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters, and Beyoncé Knowles as singer Etta James.

ComingSoon.net had a chance to sit down with Walker to talk about what went into playing the role of Howlin’ Wolf, as well as to learn a bit about his new NBC show “Kings” which starts airing next year.

CS: When you first appeared in the studio performing it really took me a second to realize it was you, even though I’ve seen every episode of “Oz” a number of times.
Eamonn Walker: You didn’t recognize me.

CS: I don’t know if it was the just the beard or just the situation, and I was really curious, do you have any kind of musical background whatsoever?
Walker: I’m a frustrated musician, I would go there. I sing in the bath, I’ve done the odd piece of singing here and there, but nothing what I would turn around and call myself a singer. I knew for this that I would have to step up, and really kind of dig in and find my voice.

CS: Did you just happen to find the script or your agent?
Walker: You may not know, but Darnell directed the pilot and the first two episodes of “Oz” so that’s where we met. My first big meeting at HBO was with Darnell Martin and twenty seven HBO executives, and I had to come in and read, and I read with her and we clicked straight away. It was a really amazing reading, because she’s a pretty good actress herself although nobody knows that. That’s how that came about and then all these years later, when she said she had some quite specific ideas in her head. I guess what popped up was working with me ’cause I can do intense I guess and she wanted this character to have an intensity about him as regards to the specific subject matter between he and Muddy Waters. If you watch this movie, you could take away from it that their whole relationship was this slice that you get, but it wasn’t, they played together, they loved each other, they respected each other on one level. It was like they became really great friends, and Willie Dixon, they all played together, all of them.

CS: Oh yeah, of course. It’s funny because he toured in the U.K. a lot, and I don’t know how old you are, but were you aware of him being there and playing with Clapton and others?
Walker: I’m in my 40s and no, I wasn’t aware of him at all. I mean my – I call him my surrogate father, John, because I adopted him and said, “I like listening to you.” Anyway, he was a big fan of Howlin’ Wolf, and so, I told him I was doing this film and I’m still apprehensive as to his reaction, because that was a criteria that I held high in my mind’s eye. Any of the music that I listen to or the kind of broader eclectic kind of thing came from him. That’s why I’m saying I was working in the Hope & Anchor with punk and all of that stuff. It’s because of that band my music is quite wide that I listen to. So, me playing this role and him being a huge Howlin’ Wolf fan specifically, and he really spoke about it. I was like, “Oh my God, I really don’t know what to do,” because there’s one person I cannot let down, it’s John.

To read more of this interesting interview with Eamonn Walker, please click here.

Previously: ‘Jay-Z Better Watch Out For Adrien Brody’

Darnell Martin, the writer/director of “Cadillac Records,” admitted at Monday’s premiere that she took some “dramatic license” in creating a make-out scene between Etta James and the head of her label, Leonard Chess.

But, Adrien Brody, who plays Mr. Chess, said he had no problem with the historical inaccuracy of kissing James, who is played in the film by Beyonce Knowles.

“Let’s just say it wasn’t a deal breaker,” the grinning actor told the New York Daily News. “When I met Etta [the real one], she told me, ‘Leonard and I did not do those things!’ So, yes, it was somewhat embellished. But what’s wonderful is the truth Beyonce brings to that moment. That justified it.”

Beyonce, who came to the premiere with husband Jay-Z, said she didn’t find the intimacy repellent.

“It wasn’t so bad,” she said. “I remember when he kissed Halle Berry. He’s not shy! Not at all.”

Meanwhile, Cedric the Entertainer, who plays bluesman Willie Dixon, said he was upset that “they wrote me out of a scene with Beyonce.”

Following the premiere, cast members Mos Def, Gabrielle Union and Emmanuelle Chriqui hit the after-party at Marquee with guests Leonardo DiCaprio, Diddy, Ne-Yo, John Legend, Kevin Connolly, Akon and Russell Simmons.

Adrien Brody admitted during the premiere of Cadillac Records on Monday that making out and rolling around on the ground with Beyonce, Etta James in the movie, wasn’t part of the script but even though it was historically inaccurate, no one complained. “Let’s just say it wasn’t a deal breaker,” Brody smirked. Then he winked really hard as to suggest something. Brody’s girlfriend wasn’t around when he followed up with, “It is fun, obviously, to kiss Beyonce. I insisted on a lot of takes.”

When asked about this scene, Beyonce said “It wasn’t so bad. I remember when he kissed Halle Berry. He’s not shy! Not at all.”

Jay-Z then looked at Beyonce like a hurt kitten and she just laughed because the dude is ugly. Seriously. Love must be blind. Jay-Z trying to look cute would be like that one scene in The Simpsons where Moe the bartender tries to smile.

Adrien is a smooth cat… Check out what he did to Halle Berry when he won an Oscar!

SOURCE: The Blemish

Jay-Z’s been spotted here and there (most recently the Cadillac Records premiere) wearing something a little bit more… distinguished.

With the “hipsters” and “cool kids” all around showcasing their individuality – is Jay-Z, aka The King of Trends, following them now?

You be the judge!

Katy Perry performs her own version of Beyonce’s hit “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It).” Who’s the better dancer?!

The music-inspired movie, set in 1960′s Chicago, chronicles the rise and fall of Chess Records and co-stars Adrien Brody, Gabrielle Union, Mos Def, Cedric The Entertainer, Jeffrey Wright, Columbus Short and Emmanuelle Chirqui. Watch the trailer below: