LOS ANGELES – Dave Chappelle says in a new interview that he had several reasons for walking away from his cult-favorite “Chappelle’s Show” – and a deal worth more than $50 million.
His decision to leave the Comedy Central series in May led fans and industry executives to question his motives – and his sanity.
But in a 10-page spread in Esquire magazine, he says he left “Chappelle” for cultural, professional and personal reasons.
Culturally: “The bottom line was, white people own everything, and where can a black person go and be himself or say something that’s familiar to him and not have to explain or apologize?”
Professionally: “I felt like I was really pressured to settle for something that I didn’t necessarily feel like I wanted.”
Personally: “The thing about show business is that, in a way, it forces dysfunctional relationships in people.”
Chappelle tells the magazine that putting on “Chappelle’s Show” was the best television experience he ever had. He plans to continue telling jokes and entertaining audiences, so long as he can retain a degree of personal and creative freedom.
Alicia Keys opens door on acting work
LOS ANGELES – Alicia Keys is adding another note to her acting resume.
The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter has been cast in the big-screen adaptation of the best-selling book “The Nanny Diaries,” spokeswoman Kelly Bush said Thursday.
The film features Scarlett Johansson as a nanny for a wealthy Manhattan family. Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney and Chris Evans also star. Keys will play the nanny’s best friend, Bush said.
The character is a far cry from the assassin she plays in the upcoming action flick “Smokin’ Aces,” which features Ben Affleck, Andy Garcia, Jeremy Piven and Ray Liotta.
Keys, 24, and longtime manager Jeff Robinson formed a production company, Big Pita, Lil’ Pita, in January that will create original television and movie projects – and even more acting opportunities for Keys.
Bear all stuffed with fluff on Walk of Fame
LOS ANGELES – Winnie the Pooh loves his honey, but the beloved bear now has something just as sweet: a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The children’s character, created in the 1920s by British author A.A. Milne, was joined Tuesday at the star’s unveiling by his Hundred Acre Wood pals Tigger, Eeyore and Rabbit.
Pooh debuted as a cartoon character in the 1966 Disney featurette “Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree,” and went on to star in dozens of films and specials, as well as several cartoon series.
“I know that Winnie would react to all this fanfare by simply saying, ‘Oh, bother,’ ” said Robert Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Co. “But, Winnie, you really are worth a bother.”
Milne named Pooh after a stuffed bear owned by his son, Christopher Robin Milne.
The ceremony coincided with the DVD release of 1997’s “Pooh’s Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin,” which marks the bear’s 80th anniversary.
Magician’s new trick going into the tank
NEW YORK – David Blaine intends to sleep with the fishes – but only for a week, and in full public view.
The 33-year-old magician will perform his latest stunt by living underwater for seven days and nights in a “human aquarium” in front of New York’s Lincoln Center.
He will conclude by attempting to hold his breath underwater longer than the record of 8 minutes, 58 seconds. The finale of his latest stunt will air live in a two-hour ABC special on May 8.
Blaine’s previous feats of endurance include balancing on a small platform for 35 hours and surviving inside a massive block of ice for 61 hours, both of which he performed in New York. In 2003, he fasted for 44 days in an acrylic box suspended over the Thames River in London.
The aquarium in which Blaine will float is a specially built 8-foot acrylic sphere. He will receive liquid nutrition through a tube, and the water will be kept at a balanced temperature to help keep his core temperature close to 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
Passers-by will be able to touch the aquarium, take pictures with Blaine and communicate with him. He will enter the sphere May 1.
To prepare for the challenge, Blaine trained with U.S. Navy SEALs and a world-class free-diving team. An inside look at his training will be shown on the ABC special “David Blaine: Drowned Alive.”
From Herald news services
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