9- 2 M P F/ P


 Playing Millennium "Honeymooners" U 1I fl m

 Challenging and Beneficial for Young Starlets i Oli WUOV uip SCOOp _j^


 It's quite evident from her scene-
stealing character in the "Scary
Movie" franchise and stint as a no-
nonsense litigator on "Ally McBeal"
that Regina Hall has emerged as one
of Hollywood's true comedic ac-
tresses. Gabrielle Union, is off-
screen the most authentically funny
human being you'll ever come
across. When word surfaced that
both would star in a movie together,
and that the film would be an all-
black version of "The Honeymoon-
ers" to co-star Cedrick the Enter-
tainer and Mike Epps, one could
only imagine the shenanigans in
store.
 "The Honeymoon-
ers," opening Friday,
is a contemporary
version of the 1950s
sitcom starring Jackie
Gleason and Art Car-
ney as buddies Ralph
Kramden and Ed
Norton, a bus driver
and sewer worker.
respectively who dab-
ble in get-rich-quick
schemes while their
wives Alice and
Trixie, sit back and
shake their heads.
 "Trixie wasn't a
character on the show
that was necessarily Ac
fleshed out," says Hall, who por-
trays the character in the remake. "I
did certainly think a lot about trying
to make the amount of time that she
had matter, whether it was being
funny or being supportive. I had a
lot of thought of 'Who is Trixie?'
because it wasn't there when I
watched a lot of the old episodes."
 Along with the challenge of find-
 ing a voice for the character who
 barely had one in the original series,
 Hall was also worried about making
 Trixie's relationship with the hap-
 less Ed believable and distinct.
 "Ralph and Alice have a very
 specific dynamic where they love
 each other, but they never get
 along," explains Hall. "I wanted
 Trixie and Ed to be that couple
 where you're like, 'They belong
 together. Who ,else .would want
 him?' That couple you see at a oartv


and they're over there having a
good time, and he thinks she's won-
derful, and she thinks he is too, but
not everyone else agrees, but you
get it? I wanted them to have that
different dynamic."
 For Union, nailing down the
patience and calm nature of Alice in
the midst of Ralph's aggravating
behavior was as much of a chal-
lenge.
 "I have zero patience for mess.
I'm one of those people fool me
once, shame on you. Fool me twice,
I'm kickin' butt" says Union. "And
some of the roles I've had reflected
that part of my personality. So I


tresses Regina Hall and Gabrielle Ui
struggled with [the role of Alice]
initially, especially in a scene where
she realizes Ralph took their money.
I was acting like Lorena Bobbitt and
[the filmmakers] were like, 'Whoa,
PG-13 here, kiddo.' So I had to pull
back."
 "I'm thinking about what my
 mom said when I got married," Un-
 ion continues. "She was like,
 'Sometimes you have to sacrifice a
 couple battles to win the war.' I'm
 like, 'I'll win every battle, and the
 war!' So I had to take myself out of
 Alice and get back to the basics of
 the characteristics that make up Al-
 ice Kramden and not Gabrielle ."
 Having to learn patience for the
 role actually came in handy for her
 when she went home from the set to
 her husband, former NFL running
 back Chris Howard.
 "lt hel6ed mv"'inarriaee when 1'


needed to show a little bit more
calm and a little bit more restraint
and not be the wife that had the
knee jerk reaction to the toilet seat
being left up or him forgetting to-
matoes at the store," she says.
"Whereas before the movie, I had to
learn even on the screen how to
take things a little bit better. I
brought that home."
 It's no surprise that Regina and
Gabrielle became close friends as
soon as they met on set. Their tight
friendship remains in tact, which
Hall admits is rare.
 "I think a lot of times people
become friends on the set, but when
 -you come back to
 your real life, it's hard
 to maintain that
 friendship because
 you go back to your
 own friends and you
 don't need each
 q other," Regina says.
 "So I think it's great
 that since we've both
 come back to L.A.,
 we both still keep our
 friendship up. I think
 that's kind of rare."
 An aspect of Hol-
 lywood that has be-
 come less of a rarity
 I in recent months is
union the appetite for re-
makes. "The Honeymooners" will
have to share the marquee this sum-
mer with big budget reworkings of
"Herbie the Love Bug" (in "Herbie:
Reloaded"), "Bewitched," "The
Dukes of Hazzard" and the grand-
daddy of them all, "War of the
Worlds," starring Tom Cruise.
Schultz's approach to making an
all-black version of "The Honey-
mooners" more palatable to the
masses, according to Hall, was to
avoid the mention of race.
 "They are black, but one of the
 things that everyone was conscious
 of in the movie was not to make
 reference to the fact that they're
 black," says Hall. "Let's not make
 their blackness become a difficulty
 in getting the house. It's not about
 racism. They just happen to be
 black, but the struggle isn't because
 they're black."


 BOBBY BROWN WANTED FOR ARREST:
Warrant issued after singerflakes on hearing.
 lawyer for the so-called King of R&B
 pulled out an ol' King of Pop excuse to
 explain his client's absence from court
 'i last week.
 SBobby Brown's attorney told a Massa-
 / I i- chusetts family court judge that the enter-
 _---L_ -L 1 tainer failed to appear for his child sup-
 port case because he fell ill and was taken to an Atlanta
 hospital. When the lawyer was unable to offer proof-
 and Brown did not suddenly appear the judge
 promptly issued a warrant for Brown's arrest.
 Famously referred to as the "King of R&B" by his
wife Whitney Houston, Brown failed to make a dead-
line to fund an educational trust for his two children
with Kim Ward, to prove his source of income and to
make the latest monthly child support payment.
 Brown was sentenced to 90 days in prison last June
for missing three months of child support payments,
but he avoided jail time after paying about $15,000 on
the spot. If the judge finds Brown has violated the
terms of the latest court order, she can slap the previ-
ous 90-day sentence on him, according to the court's
Register of Probate, Patrick McDermott.
DEBRA LEE REPLACES ROBERT JOHNSON
AT BET: New position is effective immediately.
 BET Founder and CEO Robert L.
Johnson has announced the appointment
of Debra L. Lee, currently President and ,
Chief Operating Officer, as his successor
as the company's CEO effective immedi-, .* 7 '
ately. ,
Johnson now becomes Chairman, and
is planning to retire from the company he founded in
1980 by January 2006. Lee will assume the title of
Chairman and CEO following Johnson's retirement
next year.
 "I could not have chosen a better chief executive and
outstanding leader to succeed me at BET than Debra
Lee, and that's what makes this announcement so im-
portant to me and positive for BET's future," said John-
son. "Few executives in this industry have exhibited
the ability to manage a unique growth company and
shown the commitment to building a successful brand
the way Debra has in her 19 years at BET. She mas-
tered the cable programming industry long ago, and
has a strong executive team in place to support her as
she leads BET within the Viacom family."
 JUDGE DENIES GAG ORDER IN
 S COSBY CASE: Other women claiming
 S harassment will not be kept a secret.
 A number of women who claim they
 were victims of Bill Cosby will not have
their identities shielded by a gag order in the actor's
sexual molestation case
 A federal judge denied the gag order motion filed
by Cosby's team to keep secret the names 6f other po-


tential witnesses who allege similar assaults. Robreno
said those women could, however, seek confidentiality
on an individual basis and he gave them 10 days to do
so. The judge ruled that the allegations against Cosby
by the other women may cause the actor serious em-
barrassment, but that alone did not justify a gag order.
 As previously reported, the plaintiff, a former Tem-
ple University employee, sued Cosby in March claim-
ing the comedian drugged and molested her at his
home in Pennsylvania. Cosby denies any wrong-doing,
and says he gave her over-the-counter medication last
year after she complained of being tired and stressed.
 Cheadle the 'Gangster;' Don Cheadle so fresh
 and so clean on the June "Ebony"
 cover is being wooed by Universal
 Pictures and director Terry George to
 star in "American Gangster" for Brian
 Grazer's Imagine Entertainment, re-
 i 1 ports Variety. Denzel Washington was
 --- attached to star until budget problems
halted the project. George, who directed Cheadle in
"Hotel Rwanda," was hired in March to rework Steve
Zaillian's script to a more manageable budget. Cheadle
would play Frank Lucas, a Harlem heroin kingpin in
the 1970s who, after he was brought to justice, helped
end the corruption and legal loopholes that allowed
him to import the drug from Southeast Asia.
 New Jack City Remix Nino Brown himself
would be proud of the new DVD upgrade given to
"New Jack City." On August 23, Warner Home Video
will release a two-disc special edi- --
tion disc featuring director com-
mentary from Mario Van Peebles,
three all-new documentaries and
music videos by Ice-T, Christopher -'
Williams and Color Me Badd. The
urban gangster flick starred Wesley
Snipes as drug lord Nino Brown, while Ice-T and Judd
Nelson played the cops who tried to take him down.
 Sam Jackson to cure nympho Samuel L.
Jackson and Christina Ricci are in negotiations to star
in the racially and sexually-charged indie film "Black
 S Snake Moan," according to Production
 Weekly. Ricci would play a nympho-
 maniac who hopes an older bluesman,
 played by Jackson, can cure her sexual
 S- issues. The Film borrows its name from
 Sa 1927 Blind Lemon Jefferson song.
 Production is set to begin this summer
 in Memphis with director Craig Brew-
ster ("Hustle & Flow").
Macy Takes on fashion Macy Gray is the lat-
est to jump into the fashion world with her own line of
retro clothing, described as "ghetto chic." The singer
will work with stylist Nonja McKenzie (Black Eyed
Peas, Jill Scott) to create designs for her collection,
which bears her real name, Natalie MclntyreI:; ..


MEET THE NEW HONEYMOONERS


Cedric The Entertainer Mike Epps
 is Ralph Kramden is Ed Norton


 Gabrielle Union Regina Hall
 is Alice Kramden is Trixie Norton


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 For rating reasons, go to www.fllmratlngs.com In Theatres Everywhere June IO



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ORANGE PARK 24 REGENCY SQUARE 24 AVENUES CINEMA 20 BEACH BLVD. 18 TINSELTOWN 6300 Blanding Blvd. Directories or Call
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June 9-15, 2005


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