Jennifer Hudson, famous for American Idol (she only placed seventh!) and DreamGirls, and who remade And I Am Telling You (I’m Not Going) for which she won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress just had a personal tragedy. Jennifer Hudson’s fifty-seven year old mother, Darnell Donerson, and her twenty-nine year old brother, Jason, were found murdered inside their home in Chicago. The victims were reportedly shot. They were discovered by a family cousin. Jennifer Hudson’s seven year old nephew, Julian King, is also reported missing. William Balfour, married to Jennifer Hudson’s sister Julia, is a suspect in the double homicide.

Jennifer Hudson must be devastated about this tragedy. In a recent Associated Press interview, she said her family, which includes older siblings Julia and Jason, helped keep her grounded. “My faith in God and my family, they’re very realistic and very normal, they’re not into the whole limelight kind of thing, so when I go home to Chicago that’s just another place that’s home. I stand in line with everybody else, or, when I go home to my mom I’m just Jennifer, You get up and you take care of your own stuff. And I love that; I don’t like when people tell you everything you want to hear, I want to hear the truth, you know what I mean.”

Jennifer Hudson just like in her recent role in Sex And The City The Movie, is engaged to actor David Otunga, who is known as “Punk” from I Love New York 2. Jennifer will next be seen in the films The Secret Life of Bees and Winged Creatures. She also has a no. 1 song in Billboard’s R&B Charts with Spotlight.

Update: Jennifer Hudson’s missing 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, has also been believed to have been found, sadly, the body of a male child around the same age was found on the scene, inside the missing car.

Is I.T.A.L.Y. (I Trust And Love You) by GMA Films a flop? I can see that it is still showing though and is on its 3rd or 4th week na. Saka it also boasts of a stellar cast made up of Jolina Magdangal, Rufa Mae Quinto, Rhian Ramos, Mark Herras, Eugene Domingo, and Dennis Trillo. Plus director Mark Reyes said “Love is a journey, and I.T.A.L.Y. is a very interesting journey to take.” O di ba?..Kayo nanood na ba kayo ng I.T.A.L.Y. (I Trust And Love You)? Was it good?

Singer actor Lance Raymundo has done some better use for those muscles by appearing in indie films which showcases his other muscle. And put to good use it is! Lance Raymundo is working on 5 films like: Motorcycle produced by Cinema One Originals by John Red, with Jason Abalos and Jao Mapa; Desisyon produced by Star Cinema; Saya, a period film intended for Cinemanila and the Toronto and Vancouver Film Festival; Xenoa 2; and Fidel where Lance Raymundo topbills the film. Fidel is intended to be shown at next year’s Cannes Film Festival. Fidel, is an indie film based on the true story of a male OFW sensually abused by his Arab employer played by hot and hunky model John Hall! And the highlight of the film is a daring abuse scene with John Hall. Also starring in Fidel are Andrea del Rosario, Snooky Serna, Maria Isabel Lopez, John Hall, among others.

Lance Raymundo on his role in Fidel:

“There’s one scene na kailangang gawin para mas maipakita yung story. Sa movie kasi, he got * by this Arab, e, pero it’s done in a way na wala namang naagrabyado sa artista. Iyong Arabo was played by John Hall and pareho kami, both have modeling contracts na may mga clauses. Kasi I represent MET Tathione and he represent another brand, so may limitations din. Pero we’re able to compromise para maipakita pa rin ng realistic yung kuwento.

“May partial sa akin, wala lang contact ko. Bale implied yung eksena, pero after that, nang iwan ako ng rapist na halos mamamatay na ang katawan ko, siyempre ipinakita kung ano yung aftermath nun. Kaya siyempre, hindi naman puwedeng nakabihis doon, kaya pumayag ako sa eksenang ‘yon dahil kailangan talaga, e.

“So, yeah, masisilip yung ano ko rito, nakadapa ako after the scene, e. Part of the job ito and wala naman akong qualms sa mga ganitong eksena dahil napakaimportante nun, e. Kasi if you put yourself in a role ‘tapos yun yung nangyari sa ginagampanan mo, lalo’t base ito sa true-to-life story, you won’t feel shy.

“‘Tsaka yun yung mindset na nakuha ko sa pamilya ko, dahil mga artista rin ang pamilya ko, na talagang you forget who you are. Na hindi ako si Lance, ako si Fidel and ito ang nangyari sa kanya kaya kailangan naming ipakita iyon.”

Does he expect an award for Fidel?

“I’m hoping, kasi talagang piniga ako ni Direk, e. It’s by Direk Sandy Bacolod, siya yung assistant director ng 100 na nanalo si Mylene Dizon, Konsiyerto, at Boses. And ngayon ay full-fledged direktor na siya. Pinanood ko ang mga movie na ‘yan at nakita ko kung paano nila idinirek dito si Mylene and ‘yon din yung ginawa nila sa akin.

“Although I don’t wanna assume, pero I wanna hope dahil siyempre, gusto ko na ‘yong pinaghirapan ko, kasi talagang in-immerse ko ang sarili ko na noong nasa set ako, feeling ko nga ay hindi na ako si Lance. Pati ‘yong mga pulis na gumanap doon, mga Arabo talaga, e. So kapag nakakaramdam ako ng pagod at hirap, nandoon naman yung satisfaction na worth it ito, dahil ginastusan at pinaghirapan talaga e.”

In the tradition of the Anne Curtis armpits post, let me present to you, the underarms of Alicia Keys, lol. In fairness, despite Alicia Keys being black, her armpits are not ewww black. By the way, Alicia Keys will be back in Manila after her very successful concert in Manila years ago. Alicia Keys Live in Manila was held last night, August 5 at the open grounds of the SM Mall of Asia Complex (moved inside the Convention Comlex because of rain). The SM Mall of Asia Complex is where the MTV Music Summit was held. Alicia Keys Live in Manila was brought to you by MTV Philippines. Meanwhile, Alicia Keys and Jack White have recorded the theme song for the new James Bond film”Quantum of Solace.” The R&B singer and White Stripes frontman Jack White  have teamed up for “Another Way to Die,” the first duet to be chosen as a Bond theme.

Before the Philippines, Alicia Keys came from successful concerts in Jakarta, Indonesia; Hongkong, and Singapore. Alicia Keys has rolled out a number of concert dates in North America too.

• Sept 12: Mashantucket, CT The MGM Grand at Foxwoods
• Sept 13: Hammond, IN The Venue
• Sept 14: Cincinnati, OH Procter and Gamble Hall
• Sept 17: Denver, CO Wells Fargo Theatre
• Sept 18: Salt Lake City, UT Abravenel Hall
• Sept 20: Seattle, WA WaMu Theater
• Sept 21: Vancouver, British Columbia Orpheum Theatre
• Sept 26: Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara Bowl
• Sept 27: Phoenix, AZ Dodge Theatre

Jonathan Neri da who, you would say. Actually, Jonathan Neri is an up and coming actor, a really good actor. He is still very young and he appeared in the Eugene Domingo Best Actress winning film, Pisay. He is starring in the new indie film about call center agents, My Fake American Accent. But yeah, like any young, hot blooded alpha male, he has his weaknesses.

Jonathan Neri is the one on the left, 2nd to the left, exactly in the My Fake American Accent movie poster. Premiere screenings are on July 11-20 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).

Watch Jonathan Neri in the trailer of My Fake American Accent below:

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