CinemaCon, the big annual exhibitors confab in Vegas, isn’t exactly where you go to with Oscars on your mind. It is a place where the biggest applause lines are usually about how many billions of dollars studios are making for theater owners and themselves. Nevertheless, in recent years, amidst all the various summer…

Universal Studios Boss Donna Langley didn’t have any trailers for Cats, the studio’s feature take on the hit Andrew Lloyd Weber musical because as actor James Corden said in the reel “it’s a level of technology which hasn’t been used before.” So they tickled attendees this morning with a BTS look showing the dancers…

Ten-time Oscar nominee Diane Warren didn’t win Sunday in the Original Song category at the Academy Awards for RBG‘s feminist anthem “I’ll Fight,” but powerhouse singer Jennifer Hudson knocked it out of the park singing it in the first performance among among the nominees. The song also served as a reminder of the…

MGM has set stage director Liesl Tommy to direct Respect, the feature film about music icon Aretha Franklin. Oscar winning Dreamgirls star Jennifer Hudson was handpicked by Franklin to play her, and Oscar-winning Thelma & Louise and Nashville creator Callie Khouri is writing. Liesl is the first black woman to earn a…

“Craig would have loved it” was a common refrain heard in the lobby of the Television Academy’s Wolf Theatre on Sunday night at the conclusion of Thespians Go Hollywood, a tribute to the life and work of the late prolific film, TV and Broadway producer Craig Zadan. Not only would he have loved it, he could have produce…

Jennifer Hudson – Aretha Franklin’s personal choice to play her in a biopic – is just one of the performers set to pay tribute at the Queen of Soul’s private funeral in Detroit next Friday. Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Fantasia, Faith Hill, various gospel stars and Franklin’s son Edward are also on the list released…

Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift, James Corden and Ian McKellen are set to star in Working Title and Universal's movie version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's smash musical Cats, I can confirm. Quite the cast. Tom Hooper (The King's Speech) will direct the film, which has been adapted by Lee Hall (Billy Elliot) from Webber's…

The Voice is getting its next band together. NBC said today that Grammy winners Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson will return to the singing competition as coaches for Season 15 in the fall. Original American Idol winner Clarkson joined the show for the current season, and 2004 Idol finalist Hudson returns after…

EXCLUSIVE: Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy party is always the hottest ticket before the Grammy Awards. Tonight he dropped an exceptional surprise. Davis tonight introduced Oscar and Grammy winner Jennifer Hudson to sing a couple songs, and then told the audience that Hudson will be playing Aretha Franklin in an upcoming…

Grammy Award-winning a capella vocal artists Pentatonix will return to NBC for their second holiday special. A Very Pentatonix Christmas is set for Monday, Nov. 27 at 10 PM ET/PT on NBC, with an encore airing on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. The one-hour show will feature The Voice coach and fellow Grammy-winner Jenni…

Talks to bring two of American Idol’s biggest stars to NBC’s singing competition series The Voice began well in advance of ABC’s talks to return Idol to the air,  NBC reality-TV chief Paul Telegdy insisted Sunday. “We had been talking to those two [stars] for a long time about joining The Voice,” he said on a phone…

Jennifer Hudson will join NBC’s The Voice as a coach when the show returns for Season 13 this fall, NBC says. "Jennifer is an extraordinary vocal talent and one of the premier voices of our time,” said Paul Telegdy, President, Alternative and Reality Group, NBC Entertainment. “She embodies the experience, expertise…