All aboard Disney‘s magic carpet ride! For, the studio have finally confirmed the cast of its much anticipated ‘Aladdin’ live-action remake.

After reportedly “struggling” to secure stars for the flick, the media force have signed newcomer Mena Massoud for the lead role of Aladdin, while ‘Power Rangers’ actress Naomi Scott will play Jasmine.

Their recruitment brings an end what some sources claim was a mammoth search for the picture’s protagonists, with names such as Riz Ahmed and Dev Patel initially eyed.

In a major coup, Will Smith has been formally announced as Genie – confirming speculation that had been building for months.

Set to commence shooting in London next month, the picture is being directed by Guy Ritchie.

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Nostalgia and re-tellings are a tried and proven path to box office success in today’s climate, so we’re of the “why not” mindset. Especially if done correctly.

We just hope that for every big-budget revisiting of stories already told, studios will commit to the creation of new ones.

Your thoughts?

[Photo credit: Getty]

Welcome to Retro Rewind, the TGJ original feature carved out to give you easy access to some of TV and Film’s best and brightest moments.

Today, we honour the 90s and its incomparable delivery of riveting thrillers by revisiting the 1992 classic ‘The Hands that Rocks the Cradle.’

In it, a web of wickedness is woven when a doctor molests one of his patients and commits suicide when it emerges that he has done the same to several women within his affluent community.

It isn’t long before his widow, posing as a nanny, moves into one of the homes affected by her husband’s wicked deed with a plot to avenge him….and her dead baby.

Piqued your interest?

Watch below…

‘Cradle’ rocked its way to box office nirvana with $88 million prised out of the public’s pocket and was penned by Amanda Silver who is currently hard at work on Disney’s forthcoming ‘Mulan’ reboot.

Your thoughts?

Inez and Vindooh scored praise when they joined ‘Vogue’ to release their stunning snaps of Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik.

In the shoot, the couple are showcased to the world as a “gender fluid” pair who share each other’s clothes.

Seem problematic? It does to some fans who have criticised the aforementioned parties for doing so.

Why?

Now, the couple have joined ‘Vogue’ to release the following statement:

The story was intended to highlight the impact the gender-fluid, non-binary communities have had on fashion and culture.

We are very sorry the story did not correctly reflect that spirit – we missed the mark.

We do look forward to continuing the conversation with greater sensitivity.

What do you make of the drama?

The critical acclaim secured by SZA‘s ‘CTRL’ now sees her sit atop R&B’s platinum throne.

How she’s celebrating this fact? By inviting her fans into her world via a dinner party she threw for friends to discuss the set.

How she did it? Via VEVO’s ‘Dinner Party‘ series.

Yet to hear the LP?

Peep its track list below…

1. Supermodel
2. Love Galore (ft. Travis Scott)
3. Doves in the Wind (ft. Kendrick Lamar)
4. Drew Barrymore
5. Prom
6. The Weekend
7. Supermodel
7. Go Gina
8. Garden (Say It Like Dat)
9. Broken Clocks
10. Anything
11. Wavy (Interlude) (ft. James Fauntleroy)
12. Normal Girl
13. Pretty Little Birds (ft. Isaiah Rashad)
14. 20 Something

Your thoughts?

Kandi Burruss is all sorts of busy these days.

The singing entrepreneur has been racking up praise as part of the reformed Xscape and is enjoying ample success with her new restaurant – ‘The Old Lady Gang.’

Perhaps most exciting for fans though is her role in the upcoming 10th season of ‘The Real Housewives Of Atlanta.’

During a visit to the TODAY show this week, Ms. Burruss opened up on what taping has been like thus far – as well as what it’s been like filming with the returning Nene Leakes.

Check out what she had to say below…

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Is ‘Love & Hip Hop’s Cardi B making a beeline to the top of rap charts?  Time will tell, but the growing commercial and critical response to her latest release – ‘Bodak Yellow’ – is certainly a good indication.

Unveiled in late June, the braggadocious bop’s real sendoff occurred over BET Awards weekend where she not only gave the tune a live showing, but also won over some new fans along the way.  With her glowing buzz – assisted by two BET Awards nominations (Best New Artist & Best Rap Female) – the colorful tune was hoisted to a Hot 100 debut on this week’s refreshed tally.  It comes as her first appearance on the chart.

Like Cardi, Tyler the Creator – who has been active in various capacities since 2011 – also saw his inaugural appearance on the Hot 100 this week.  With his song ‘Who Dat Boy,’ the first release from his latest album, ‘Scum F*ck Flower Boy,’ Tyler debuted at #87 on this week’s tally.  Yet, with the heightened attention and boiling controversy surrounding some lyrics found on his latest album, we wouldn’t be surprised if the song bursts into Billboard’s upper half next week.

Until we find out for sure, look below to see who’s ruling the top 25 on this week’s refreshed TGJ Chart Check:

Hot 100 This Week

Your thoughts?

With each passing episode it seems TNT’s breakout new series, ‘Claws,’ is leaving more and more of a mark on its legion of growing fans.  For that reason and more, the network has renewed the Niecy Nash-led dramedy for a season 2, set to kick off in 2018.

Currently just midway through its inaugural season, the critically acclaimed series – also starring Karrueche Tran, Carrie Preston, and more – follows the lives of manicurists at a Floridian nail salon who have become wrapped up in some serious illegal activity.

And, if the way Twitter is set alight when the show airs is any indication, fans are wrapped up right along with them.

Deadline reports:

Five episodes in, Claws — from producers Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, creator Eliot Laurence and showrunner Janine Sherman Barrois — has become the highest-rated TNT series launched since the cable network’s programming shift last year under the new regime.

It also is the youngest-skewing TNT drama series. Ranking as cable’s No. 4 new drama with adults 18-49 for 2017-to-date and No. 4 cable drama in social engagement, Claws is reaching a multiplatform audience of 6.3 million viewers per episode across TNT’s linear, digital, mobile and on-demand platforms and averaging 1.1 million adults 18-49 in linear Live + 7.

‘Claws’ airs Sundays at 9 PM, with the season finale set for August 13th.

Your thoughts?

Following a window of exclusivity on TIDAL, JAY-Z‘s much discussed ‘4:44’ album hit all services (sans Spotify) within the last week.

It meant that Jigga’s numbers would be easier to track in the traditional sense. Especially after the confusion that ensued when he was awarded a Platinum plaque for “selling” 1 million copies of the LP in the US – despite the project only being available on TIDAL (who didn’t report their numbers). Later, it became apparent that this was possible due to Sprint “buying” a million copies to give away for “free” to customers.

So, how do the numbers stack for the album’s first wide week of availability?

According to Hits Daily Double, the simple answer is: good enough to secure a #1. 

Jay will officially sit atop of the Billboard 200 this week and shifted the following to do so:

277,601
[Sales Plus Streaming]
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175,441
[Pure Sales]

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For what it’s worth, another week at #1 looks likely. For, the 47-year-old is still in pole position on the iTunes US store and boasts more star power and hype than a number of the releases unleashed in this new tracking week.

Your thoughts?

[Photo credit: Getty]

For almost 20 years, Beyonce has proven a formidable force and 2016 was no different.

Billboard have published their list of Top 50 Music Money Makers and unsurprisingly Queen Bey has bested the rest.

The criteria drawn on to compile the tally were: sales, streaming, publishing, and touring.

While the list, in itself, makes for an interesting read, the difference between each act on certain fronts is even more riveting.

For instance, though Bey excelled in pure sales and touring (enough to make her total $20 million ahead of the act in #2 spot), other names like Rihanna and Drake outranked her streaming figure.

Check out key names, where they placed, and how they got there below…

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Michael Jackson‘s estate may have trouble on its hands if it doesn’t comply with the wishes of his producer Quincy Jones.

Quincy created a number of the late star’s greatest hits and mourned his passing with the rest his star-studded family.

Alas, things have taken a turn for the worst now that he believes his estate is refusing to cough up cash he is owed for building his discography.

How much?

$30 million.

‘Variety’ reveals…

Attorney Mike McKool delivered his opening argument in the trial, which is now underway in Los Angeles Superior Court. McKool said that before Jackson’s death in 2009, Jones had received his customary royalties from producing three albums: “Off the Wall,” “Thriller,” and “Bad.”

But, McKool argued that that changed when Jackson died and the singer’s estate took control of his finances. Jackson’s death brought a surge of interest in his catalog, and the estate reaped an increased share of the royalties from his hit songs. But Jones was not allowed to share in the bounty, McKool contended, and indeed was not even informed of the increased royalties until after filing suit in 2013.

Michael’s team thinks differently.

We believe the evidence will show that Mr. Jones is not entitled to anything but a fraction of the money he’s after. Mr. Jones has been paid over $18 million, and he will make millions more.

He didn’t get paid any of the money Michael was going to get because he didn’t do any of the work. Mr. Jones is asking for tens and tens of millions of dollars. He just wants it and he hopes you will give it to him.

The trial is set to last three weeks and will see Jones testify next week.

Your thoughts?

Nostalgia is proving a popular play in todays TV and film arenas. And Russell Simmons wants in.

The media mogul is reportedly readying a reboot of his ‘Def Poetry Jam’ series for HBO and has his sights set on Chance The Rapper to host.

If a go, the updated show would be titled ‘All Def Poetry.’

The original ‘Def Poetry Jam’ was a spoken word poetry series hosted by Mos Def on HBO; it ran  from 2002-2007.

As Deadline notes, it was an off-shoot of Simmons’ classic ‘Def Comedy Jam’ which aired 1992-97 – also on HBO. Recently rebooted (as ‘All Def Comedy’), the initial incarnation of the series launched the mainstream careers of talent such as Martin Lawrence, Chris Tucker, Bernie Mac, and Steve Harvey.

The first run of ‘Def Poetry’ earned a Tony, a Peabody, and an NAACP Image honor. So, any such revival has a firm foundation to build on.

A post shared by Russell Simmons (@unclerush) on Jul 14, 2017 at 7:47am PDT

Your thoughts?

JAY-Z continues his unorthodox push for new album ‘4:44.’

Each week since the June 30th release of the LP has brought with it a new video and the latest is for ‘BAM.’

Directed Rohan Blair-Mangat, the visual was shot in Jamaica and features the song’s guest feature Damian Marley.

Watch below…

‘BAM’ is easily one of our most played tracks from the album, so it’s awesome to see it receive the video treatment.

In other Jay news, he announced the US  ‘4:44 Tour.’ Click here for dates.

Your thoughts?