What do you get when you combine popular television shows “Entourage” and “How to Make It in America”? BET is hoping that the answer is “Second Generation Wayans,” a new show premiering on January 15 at 10:30 p.m. EST/PST immediately following the premiere of “The Real Husbands of Hollywood” starring Kevin Hart.

“Second Generation Wayans” will follow the journey of Craig Wayans and Damien Dante Wayans as they try to make a name for themselves in Hollywood apart from that of their famous family. Known for comedy, their family includes Keenan Ivory Wayans (“In Living Color,” “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka” and “A Low Down Dirty Shame”), Damon Wayans (“Major Payne” and “My Wife & Kids”), Kim Wayans (“Juwanna Man” and “Pariah”)  and Shawn & Marlon Wayans (“The Wayans Bros.,” “Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood,” “Scary Movie” and “White Chicks”).

Attempting to forge a career in the shadows of their uncles and aunt will not be easy; however, Craig and Damien are up for the challenge. Helping them along the way is their uncle Marlon Wayans who will executive produce their show.

“What’s dope is it’s a progression of what we did and yet a departure at the same time. It will always have that Wayans flavor, that seasoning,” Marlon told BET.com.

“We’ve done so much broad stuff, but this is a more grounded template. It’s gonna push as far as you can go, but this series has heart and it’s funny.”

Of the new scripted series Loretha Jones, BET’s President of Original Programming, said in an official press release that “the Wayans family name is synonymous with comedy and entertainment, and you’ll indulge in plenty of laughter and amusement in “Second Generation Wayans.” You’ll also witness firsthand that life as a Wayans and childhood star isn’t all fun and games in Hollywood. In a way, this series is a behind the scenes look at what it’s like to juggle the pressures of being famous while trying to create your own path.”

Marlon knows better than anyone how difficult it is to make a name for oneself in a well known family, so he was the perfect person to  offer advice to his nephews.

“It’s a gift and a curse. You own it and you don’t fight it against it. You have to just be you. I never tried to be Keenan, I never tried to be Damon, I never tried to be Shawn. I can’t be Kim. I don’t have t—–s,” Marlon said.

“I just wanted to be Marlon and I tried to be the best Marlon I could be. Then I created my own shadow. It’s not a competition. One success is a success for us all. [You’ve got to] stand in your light.”

For more information on “Second Generation Wayans” log onto BET.com

Image Courtesy : Second Generation Wayans

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London Film and Comic Con (LFCC) will take place in the Olympia Grand Hall on Friday July 6 until Sunday July 8, and this year’s global gathering of fans and stars is set to be the biggest yet.

The weekend convention has been an annual event since 2004 and celebrates the best in “films, cult television, gaming, anime and comics,” with fans being given the opportunity to meet their favourite stars, attend special talks, pay for professional photo shoots, and engage with other fans from all across the world.

This year, major stars set to attend include: Gillian Anderson (The X Files), Anthony Stewart Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Merlin), Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead), Hayden Panettiere (Heroes), Laura Vandervoort (Smallville, V), Holly Marie Combs (Charmed), and Robert Maschio (Scrubs), along with dozens of others from the world of film, TV, and beyond.

High-profile guests from previous years include: Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future), William Shatner (Star Trek), Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings) and Alex Kingston (ER, Doctor Who), while many more are expected to be announced for this year’s convention in the coming months.

LFCC is organised by Showmasters, who are also involved with the planning of such events as Eternal Twilight, Hallowhedon, Mike Tyson Experience, and London Comic Mart. Their convention season has become a cornerstone of London’s tourism scene, with an event like LFCC offering European fans an alternative to the San Diego ComicCon International, which attracts thousands and thousands of attendees every year.

Now with the long-running success of LFCC and the other aforementioned conventions, Britain has successfully established itself as a major international draw for American television and film stars.

The Showmasters Twitter feed has over 3,000 followers, while its online message board has over 15,000 registered users, demonstrating the strength of the organisation’s online presence. Guest announcements are frequently made first on the Twitter feed, however, news of Gillian Anderson’s appearance at LFCC caused the website to crash for a brief period while site members attempted to post their responses.

Considering that many of LFCC’s biggest guests have Twitter accounts also, such as Holly Marie Combs, Hayden Panettiere, and the just-announced Robert Maschio, the organisers are in a fortunate position of being able to effectively utilise the full power of social media in order to spread news about LFCC and the rest of Showmasters’ upcoming events for 2012.

It is important to note that the organisers have moved LFCC 2012 from Earls Court, its previous home since 2005, to the Olympia Hall in Hammersmith in order to make room for the Olympic Games, set to take place in London this July and August.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/entropy1138/

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This year’s ceremony was a night of celebration for the likes of Adele, Bruno Mars, and Blur. The BRIT Awards 2012 took place on Tuesday, February 21, at London’s O2 Arena, with James Corden returning to host the music ceremony for the second year in a row.

Going into the evening, Blur and Emeli Sandé had the most reason to celebrate since they had already been confirmed as the recipients of the Outstanding Contribution to Music and the Critics’ Choice awards, respectively. Blur followed in the footsteps of such honorees as Freddie Mercury, Sting, and U2, while Sandé’s joined the ranks of Adele, Florence + the Machine, Jessie J, and Ellie Goulding, all of whom began their career with the Critics’ Choice acknowledgement.

Coldplay, Florence + the Machine, and Olly Murs were the night’s early performers, while the ceremony was interspersed with slightly more sombre moments as video tributes were paid to BRIT winners, Amy Winehouse and Whitney Houston, who both passed away in recent months. Ed Sheeran took home the award for Best British Male Solo Artist, and special note was paid to his social media following (including 1.4 million Twitter followers) who were cited as being instrumental in his breakout industry success.

Winner of the Best British Group award was Coldpay, who had previously won the title in 2001 and 2003. In total, the band has taken home seven BRIT Awards during their 16-year career. In their acceptance speech, the band members thanked the “discerning, handsome, intelligent Radio 2 voters” who were responsible for deciding who would win the award.

Adele, meanwhile, was the recipient of the evening’s first award – Best British Female Solo Artist – before a surprise loss to One Direction for Best British Single, a category she had been expected to win with her smash-hit song ‘Someone Like You’. However, the 23-year-old artist took to the stage and wowed the crowd with a performance of ‘Rolling in the Deep’ which cemented her return to the music scene after spending the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012 away from the spotlight as she recovered from throat surgery.

Foo Fighters took home the award for Best International Group, but were not present at the ceremony, instead sending a pre-taped video message. Their absence was hardly felt, though, as Ed Sheeran was there to accept his win for Best British Breakthrough Act – beating the likes of Emeli Sandé and Jessie J – and Bruno Mars performed a Rat Pack-esque version of ‘Just the Way You Are’.

New York-based Lana Del Rey, who calls herself “the gangsta Nancy Sinatra”, won Best International Breakthrough Act and thanked the UK for embracing her music this year. Her solemn, teary-eyed acceptance was immediately forgotten as Rhianna provided the night’s most energetic performance, thanks to dozens of dancers who entertained with ‘We Found Love’, Rhianna’s chart-topping collaboration with Calvin Harris.

An interesting feature of the BRITs this year was an individual breakdown of each of the Best British Album nominees, where the likes of Adele and Florence Welch were able to explain the personal significance of their records in pre-taped segments.

Adele returned to the stage one final time to accept the night’s biggest award – Best British Album – but her speech was cut short by host James Corden in order to make time for Blur’s final performance.

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‘SUCCESS’ magazine, the national business publication that serves small business owners and entrepreneurs, delves into the world of celebrity marketing for the cover of its February issue. On the magazine’s cover is Kim Kardashian, the entrepreneur and ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ star, cited as the premier example of the hard-to-miss trend of celebrity marketing.

In the February issue, Kardashian talks exclusively to ‘SUCCESS’ about social media marketing, her goal-setting routine with mom and manager, Kris Jenner, and her current business strategy to pull back from specific products in favor of focusing on her larger product lines, such as the Kardashian Kollection at Sears.

Ranked by Ad.ly as the second-most-influential celebrity in social media, Kardashian has 17 million online fans, and her family’s various business ventures, including shows, books, fragrances, clothing lines, and shoes, are said to be worth $1 billion and growing.

“I honestly feel that I’ve gotten to where I am—with sales of my fragrance, the QVC line, our various products, and the success of our Dash stores—because I listen to my fans,” Kardashian tells ‘SUCCESS’. “I have such a personal relationship with them. Being very involved in social media, I feel a real connection with my fans.”

“People aren’t stupid,” she says. “You really have to love what you do, and you really have to believe in what you’re working for, for everyone else to believe you.” This willingness to be transparent via social media is perhaps the reason why this reality star has proven that celebrity marketing is a force that is here to stay, despite the fallibility of celebs.

“Celebrity marketing is clearly a major trend,” says ‘SUCCESS’ Media Executive VP, Steve Jamieson. “How could we not give our take on it? We take our promise to bring our readers relevant ideas in a positive manner very seriously. This is no exception.”

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Brad Pitt has been voted the Top Money-Making Star of 2011 in Quigley Publishing Company’s 80th Annual Poll of Motion Picture Exhibitors. This is Pitt’s sixth appearance in the Poll, but his first win. Exhibitors felt Pitt was responsible for more traffic to theatres than any other Hollywood star based on his performances this year in “Moneyball,” “The Tree of Life,” and “Happy Feet Two.”

The Quigley Poll, conducted each year since 1932, is an annual survey of motion picture theatre owners and film buyers, which asks them to vote for the ten stars that they believe generated the most box-office revenue for their theatres during the year. It has been long regarded as one of the most reliable indicators of a star’s real box office draw because the selections are made by professionals whose livelihood depends on choosing the films and actors that will bring audiences to their theatres. The Quigley Poll lists the results of all the Polls since Marie Dressler, Janet Gaynor, and Joan Crawford took the top three places in 1932.

George Clooney placed second this year based on “The Ides of March,” where he was also the director, producer, and co-writer, and “The Descendants.” Johnny Depp, last year’s winner, made it to number three this year with 2011 roles in “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” and “The Rum Diary.”  Depp has placed in the poll seven times, as has this year’s number four, Leonardo DiCaprio, who starred in “J. Edgar.” Matt Damon, number five, had a very busy year with “Contagion,” “The Adjustment Bureau,” “Margaret,” and “We Bought a Zoo.”

Sandra Bullock, winner of 2009, placed number six, which marks her fifth appearance in the poll. She first placed in the survey in 1995. There were two first-timers this year, Bradley Cooper number seven and Ben Stiller number ten. Bradley Cooper was in “The Hangover Part II,” and Ben Stiller was in “Tower Heist.” Robert Downey, Jr. was number eight on the strength of “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” and Meryl Streep was number nine as ‘The Iron Lady” and is in the Top Ten for the fourth time.

Tom Cruise has not placed in the Poll since 2006, but he has been in the Top Ten 20 times since 1983 and has been voted number one the most of any actor – seven times. Tom Hanks, Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds, and Bing Crosby have all won five times. Clint Eastwood has been in the poll 21 times starting in 1968. Currently, exhibitors appreciate him more as a director that brings audiences to their theatres. John Wayne, Doris Day, and Shirley Temple each finished first four times, but John Wayne was voted one of the Top Ten Money-Making Stars an astounding 25 times from 1949 to 1974.

Exhibitors were also asked to name the Stars of Tomorrow for 2011, one actor and one actress who they feel will be Top Money-Makers in the years to come. The 2011 winners are Rooney Mara, who played Lisbeth Salander in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” and Jonah Hill, who had a breakthrough performance in “Moneyball” and starred in “The Sitter.”

Top Ten Money-Making Stars of 2011

1. Brad Pitt
2. George Clooney
3. Johnny Depp
4. Leonardo Di Caprio
5. Matt Damon
6. Sandra Bullock
7. Bradley Cooper
8. Robert Downey, Jr.
9. Meryl Streep
10. Ben Stiller

Stars of Tomorrow:

Rooney Mara
Jonah Hill

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