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In her first interview since Whitney Houston’s death, mother Cissy Houston told My9 TV that she did the best she could raising her daughter and she doesn’t blame herself for Whitney’s untimely death. The interview took place at New Hope …
Cissy Houston’s First Interview Since Whitney’s Death: “I Did The Best I Could” [VIDEO]
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How much has Whitney Houston ‘s tragic death propelled the musical remake of Sparkle into the spotlight? Consider: I’m 99% sure Matt Lauer has never seen “the 1976 movie called Sparkle ,” but even the Today Show did a segment on the first trailer for the August release, which prompted robo-Kathie Lee Gifford to exclaim “I was flooded with emotions as I watched it.” See if you feel the same after watching Houston’s churchgoing mother attempt to help her daughters navigate the pitfalls of fame, Dreamgirls -style. Like 1976’s Sparkle , which starred Irene Cara in the title role of Sparkle Williams, Lonette McKee as her sexpot sister, Sister, and Mary Alice as their quietly-suffering mother, the Salim Akil-directed remake follows the ups and downs of a Motown-era girl group as they deal with success, men, drugs, infighting, and assorted other drama. (If it sounds an awful lot like Dreamgirls , there’s a reason: The film’s success paved the way for and influenced the subsequent Broadway show, which follows a very similar story.) Following with its predecessor, we’ll get new renditions of the songs Sparkle made famous, including the catchy “Hooked On Your Love” and “(Giving Him) Something He Can Feel,” a song later remade memorably by En Vogue. This summer’s remake stars American Idol’s Jordin Sparks as Sparkle, British actress-singer Carmen Ejogo as Sister, and Tika Sumpter as the third (and let’s be real, more forgettable) sis Dolores, with assorted other familiar names filling in the cast: Cee-Lo Green as R&B star Black, Derek Luke as Sparkle’s decent songwriter boyfriend Stix, Mike Epps as seedy gangster/woman abuser Satin. Houston plays the girls’ mother in a role that seems considerably bumped up from the original, but while watching her aglow onscreen is mighty saddening, her storyline doesn’t seem to overshadow the greater saga. That said, the trailer makes no mention of the film’s heavy drug subplot, which was always the part of Sparkle that made it hit home. Like 1972’s Lady Sings the Blues , this backstage R&B musical had a gritty realness to it; it was melodramatic, sure, but you felt the desperation of these characters — to make it at their first talent contest, to battle through petty jealousies, and later, to smile through the bruises — in every gloriously dark moment. Sparkle’s turn from mousy back-up singer to empowered starlet felt like a real transformation, but here Jordin Sparks looks all manicured and well-coiffed and put together from the start. Inevitably, the specter of Houston’s death looming over Sparkle will make its tragic themes resonate beyond what’s onscreen, and her gospel number will top the charts. Kathie Lee will cry. As will I. Verdict: As a Sparkle fan, I am hesitantly curious; as a Whitney fan, it’s a no-brainer.
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Watch: Whitney Houston Lends Tragic Power to Glossy Sparkle Trailer
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The trailer for Whitney Houston’s final film, “Sparkle,” debuted on NBC’s “Today” show Monday, giving her fans a glimpse of the big-screen performance that would be the superstar’s last. The remake of the 1976 Supremes-inspired flick is due to hit theaters in August, and marks Houston’s first return to movie acting in 16 years. In the film, Whitney plays the mother of Jordin Sparks’ character, a singer who never quite made it to the big time. Take a look: RELATED: Cocaine Found In Whitney Houston’s Hotel Room Tyler Perry Gives Bobbi Kristina A Job Bobby Brown’s Sister Accuses Ray J Of Giving Whitney Houston Cocaine [VIDEO] Whitney Houston’s Cause Of Death Revealed Ray J Finally Breaks His Silence
Whitney Houston’s “Sparkle” Trailer Debuts On “Today” Show [VIDEO]
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For the first time since the death of her daughter, Cissy Houston has spoken out. In an interview that will air Monday on New Jersey’s My9’s 10 O’Clock News, Cissy Houston says she still has her “moments” of mourning since Whitney passed away in February. “I’m not there yet. I don’t think I’m any more courageous than anyone else. I am a true believer in God, if I could bring her back I would, but that’s not possible.” News broke yesterday that cocaine was found in Whitney’s hotel room, following coroner confirmation that the singer died with that drug in her system. The artist’s substance abuse problems have been well documented, of course, but Cissy says she can’t hold herself responsible for these issues, not after so many years of attempting to intervene. “I know I did the best I could,” she says. “I don’t blame myself. I know I did the best I could for everything.” While avoiding any public statements until now, Cissy has reportedly been critical of her former son-in-law , Bobby Brown, and has been looking over her granddaughter, Bobbi Kristina. She’s now the most direct link Cissy has to Whitney. “I’m very proud of my daughter,” she says in the interview. “She accomplished a whole lot in the short time that she had here… she was a very wonderful person.”
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Cissy Houston on Daughter’s Death: Nothing I Could Do
Bobby Brown is in trouble with the law once again. The singer was arrested this afternoon in Reseda, California on suspicion of driving under the influence , TMZ confirms, as police pulled the artist over around 12:20 p.m. local time while he was chatting on a cell phone. Brown was then booked and placed in a Van Nuys jail. Friends are reportedly on the way to bail him out as we type. Whitney Houston’s ex, who has not been making positive headlines since his former wife passed away, was also arrested in 1996 on drunk driving charges, eventually serving eight days in jail. In November 2002, meanwhile, he was arrested in Atlanta (mug shots above) and charged with possession of marijuana, speeding and driving without a license or proof of insurance.
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Bobby Brown Arrested on Suspicion of DUI
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Second sequel to smash comedy will be finale of the trilogy. By Gil Kaufman Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper and Zack Galifianakis in “The Hangover Part II” Photo: Warner Bros. Nothing beats a classic movie trilogy. And while nobody is rushing to compare “The Hangover” to “Star Wars,” director/producer Todd Phillips is aiming to end the hugely successful morning after comedy franchise with a third and final chapter next summer. According to The Hollywood Reporter , Phillips confirmed on Thursday that “The Hangover Part III” will indeed wrap up the series when it’s released next summer. “We’re going to surprise a lot of people with the final chapter we have planned,” Phillips said. “It will be a fitting conclusion to our three-part opera of mayhem, despair and bad decisions.” The movie is slated to hit theaters on May 24, 2013, hoping to capture some of the same box office magic that the second installment grabbed when it launched on that same weekend in 2011 on its way to a massive $581.5 worldwide gross. Additional good news came with the confirmation that after extensive negotiations, stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zack Galafianakis are all on board for the third go-round. To date, the first two movies have grossed more than $1 billion worldwide, a rarity for an R-rated comedy franchise. It was such an unexpected smash, in fact, that the Reporter noted that Warner Bros. studio didn’t even sign the stars to option deals for sequels because no one expected the original 2009 film to gross more than $467 million. That resulted in the “Wolfpack” trio getting “hefty” raises for the second film and a reported $15 million each for the third movie. Phillips will again work on the script with “Part II” co-writer Craig Mazin, but he would not tip his hand as to where the third movie will take place. The magazine reported that a recent draft of the script indicated that it was set in Los Angeles and that it deviated from the “what happened to us last night?” formula of the first two films. Star Cooper recently lent credence to the script speculation when he revealed in a December interview, “We adhered to the formula in the second one, for those of you who’ve seen it, and the third one, which would close the whole sort of trilogy, which now it would be a trilogy — even though we thought we would never make a second one, let alone anybody see the first one — I think it will take place in Los Angeles and maybe not adhere to the structure. It might be different.”
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‘Hangover Part III’ Due Next Summer
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Rep for Ray J said he was upset about claims that he was Houston’s enabler. By Gil Kaufman Ray J and Whitney Houston Photo: Denise Truscello/WireImage Just hours after the world learned that the Los Angeles County coroner determined that Whitney Houston died as a result of accidental drowning with cocaine use and heart disease as contributing factors, the finger pointing began. Leolah Brown, the sister of Houston’s ex-husband, Bobby Brown, went on the “Dr. Drew” show on HLN on Thursday night and made some salacious allegations aimed at Houston’s frequent companion, singer Ray J. Leolah claimed that she saw Ray J leaving Houston’s hotel room in a hurry on the night of her death in February. “I saw Ray J coming out of the hotel, hiding his head, being pushed into the car,” she told Drew. “Why? I looked and I said, ‘why is he hiding his face?’ He’s always trying to show his face when he’s around Whitney. Why now? Why are you trying to hide now Ray J?” She went on to allege that Ray J was never Houston’s boyfriend, as widely reported, but that he was her “runner boy,” and that he often fetched and gave her drugs. Drew said that CNN/HLN could not independently confirm Leolah Brown’s claims. But a spokesperson for Ray J denied the allegations, telling TMZ that he had no knowledge that Houston was using again before her death. Furthermore, the unnamed rep said Ray J was not even with Houston on the day she died, but was in San Diego. While a final coroner’s report is not due for two more weeks, the initial report claims that traces of cocaine were found in Houston’s system at the time of death along with anti-anxiety drug Xanax, muscle relaxant Flexeril, marijuana and Benadryl, which officials said played no role in her death. No cocaine was found in the singer’s room when she died, but coroner spokesman Craig Harvey noted that cocaine metabolites were found in her system, leading them to conclude that Houston was a chronic user of the drug. A number of prescription pills were recovered in the Beverly Hills hotel room, but officials from the coroner’s office said there wasn’t an unusual amount of medication. Related Videos Farewell To A Legend: Whitney Houston’s Funeral Related Artists Whitney Houston Ray J
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Ray J Rep Says He Had No Idea Whitney Houston Was Using Cocaine
SMH…R.I.P. Whitney According to TMZ reports : Whitney Houston had cocaine in her system when she died — this according to the L.A. County Coroner. The L.A. County Coroner has just released the singer’s official cause of death — accidental drowning … but the report also notes heart disease and cocaine use were contributing factors to Whitney’s demise. A source connected to the investigation tells us it is “very possible” Whitney had a heart attack that caused her to lose consciousness and drown. The heart attack may have been triggered by hardening of the arteries as a result of cocaine use. As we previously reported, Whitney was found dead in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton hotel last month and several pills were found on the scene — including Xanax, Ibuprofen, and Midol. Investigators found NO EVIDENCE of cocaine in the hotel room. Law enforcement sources have told us from the beginning they did not suspect foul play — and believe her death was not a homicide. Cotdammit! We we’re SO hoping that this wasn’t true. Let this be a lesson to all you “Yayo faces” out there, coke ain’t no joke! Get your life together! Image via WENN More On Bossip! Let’s Be Honest: Rihanna Gets Kushed Up And Hollers At A Shawty On Twitter What The Fluctuation PT 1? Celebrities Whose Weight Keeps Going Up And Down Another Group Of Reality Slores Attack! Meet The Stars Of “Hollywood Exes”
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Say It Ain’t So! L.A. Coroner Toxicology Report Confirms That Whitney Houston Had Yayo In Her System At Time Of Death!!
The Los Angeles County Coroner has released the official cause of death for Whitney Houston. According to the report, the singer passed away due to an “accidental drowning” that was related to heart disease and also the presence of cocaine in her system. An insider tells TMZ that it’s “very possible” the heart attack caused Whitney to pass out and fall under the water. It’s also likely this was triggered by the use of cocaine. It should be noted, however, that no cocaine was found in the hotel room where Houston passed away. Law enforcement officials have said from the beginning that no foul play was involved in the tragedy and nothing in this report suggests anything different. Perhaps now folks such as Nancy Grace can let Whitney rest in peace.
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Whitney Houston Cause of Death: Heart Attack, Cocaine
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British boy band are first U.K. group to have a debut album enter American albums chart in the top spot. By Gil Kaufman One Direction Photo: Getty Images British boy band One Direction will set a record next week when their first album, Up All Night, debuts at the top of the Billboard 200 albums chart. Yes, believe it or not, Niall, Zayn, Liam, Harry and Louis will be the first British group to have their debut album enter the chart at #1 with their first effort thanks to sales of 176,000, according to figures provided by Nielsen SoundScan. That’s just enough to keep fellow Brit Adele at #2 for a second week, as sales of 21 dropped 24 percent to 148,000. Last week’s #1, Bruce Springsteen ‘s Wrecking Ball, dropped by 71 percent to 57,000 as it falls to #4 in its second week. The only other new face in the top 10 is worship band Passion , whose White Flag debuts at #5 on sales of 49,000. The rest of the top 10: Guns N’ Roses benefited from 25-cent sales on Google Music and Amazon, as their Greatest Hits jumps more than 600 percent to #3 on sales of 85,000. Whitney Houston ‘s Greatest Hits holds steady at #6 (45,000), and Drake also hangs in at #7 with Take Care (36,000). NOW 41 falls five spots to #8 (29,000), Gotye moves up 7 spots to #9 with Making Mirrors (24,000) and fun. tick up a few to #10 with Some Nights (22,000). Further down the line, veteran rapper Tech N9ne debuts at #15 with the Klusterfuk EP (17,000) and Say Anything hit #22 with Anarchy, My Dear (14,000). Over on the iTunes charts, fun.’s collaboration with Janelle Mon
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