Beyonce, who starred in ‘Dreamgirls’, will be singing again on the big screen for her next big role. While speaking to Cedric the Entertainer on his latest film, Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, he mentioned to blackfilm.com that Beyonce has been cast to play famed singer Etta James on his next film, Cadillac Records.

The story is about Leonard Chess, the legendary founder of the South Side Chicago blues label Chess Records. The period piece follows the rise and fall of Chess Records, which launched the careers of such R&B greats as Muddy Waters, Etta James and Chuck Berry. Chess, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, scoured the South, checking out the various blues scenes and selling records from the back of his Cadillac. Cedric the Entertainer will play Willie Dixon, who wrote most of the hits records and was part of the famous company. One of his most famous songs was “Hoochie Coochie Man”.

Oscar winner Adrien Brody has also joined the cast to replace Matt Dillon as Leonard Chess, the founder of Chess Records. Dillon had to drop out of the project due to a scheduling conflict.

Jeffrey Wright will portray Muddy Waters in the film. Also new to the cast are Emmanuelle Chriqui, Columbus Short and Tammy Blanchard. Darnell Martin (”Their Eyes Were Watching God”) penned the script and is directing. Sony/BMG’s Sofia Sondervan and Andrew Lack are producing.

Some 15 years after recording their debut release, Oxford, Mississippi’s Blue Mountain will go into Elmwood recording studio in Dallas to cut a full-length album of all new material with producer/engineer Stuart Sikes, formerly of Easley Recording here in Memphis.

Blue Mountain was formed in Oxford in 1993 by former husband and wife Laurie Stirratt (bass, vocals) and Cary Hudson (guitar, vocals) with Matt Brennan on drums, later replaced by Frank Coutch. Coutch accompanied Stirratt and Hudson on a recent reunion tour and will join them in the studio next month.

In the 1990s, Blue Mountain was on the forefront of an entire movement now considered “alt-country” or “Americana” and included bands such as Uncle Tupelo and The Jayhawks. In fact, the band graced the second cover for the magazine No Depression, the definitive journal for roots music.

Blue Mountain released their self-titled debut in 1993 before going on to release three highly acclaimed albums for Roadrunner Records. Their last studio album, Roots, came out in 2001. In 2002, celebrating 10 years together, the band released Tonight It’s Now or Never, a double-CD recorded live at Chicago’s Schuba’s Tavern on March 11, 2001. Blue Mountain disbanded shortly after that night until their performance at Twangfest in June of 2007.

Blue Mountain will roll into Memphis for a show at the Hi-Tone Cafe on February 15.

Read here to find out how the former Gangsta Disciple tried to start over. He turned to non-violence in recent months, but was found shot to death in a car wash in Hickory Hill this morning. R.I.P., Marcus Glass.

Frequent blogger Carole H just returned from a trip to Orlando, where she ate at Emeril's Tchoup Chop and reports back that it was a visual and culinary delight. Pictured here is a coconut creme brulee with tuile cookie and strawberry/whipped cream garnish and bourbon pecan pie with house made vanilla bean ice cream.

Here's what she has to say about it: "It is the most visually beautiful restaurant I've ever eaten at in my life.  The food was exquisite & the service was near perfect.  They don't do a lot of lunch business & we were the only ones in there for awhile around noon.  I think there were five different people bringing us things & clearing our table.  They all wear Hawaiian type shirts & dark pants & there is an open chef's table by the kitchen.  The ceilings are very tall & there is a pool in the middle that becomes a fountain as the water spills over the end."

We had shrimp chips w/an Asian peanut sauce dip & scallop ceviche, which were complimentary appetizers.  The menu changes daily.  I had kalua pork loco moco w/an omelet instead of a fried egg & it was served on top of fried rice.  My friend had mahi mahi that she said was the best she ever ate (she has lived all over the country, incl. San Francisco).  It had fried lotus root chips on top - not much taste but nice crunch.  There was a mushroom sauce around it & it was perfectly cooked.  She also had a green salad.  Our entrees were $18/$19 & wine was $9/glass. "

Have you had a good meal lately you want to share with us? Send a picture to me at biggs@commercialappeal.com and if it's the right resolution and so on, I'll post it. 

Upset in the making? It wouldn’t shock me. Houston just needs this one bad enough; it’s basically an NCAA Tournament game for the Cougars. If Memphis has just a slight lapse in concentration or effort tonight, the Tigers could suffere their first loss of the season. We’ll see how they get up for this game. I predict the Tigers will be down at halftime.

I’m sitting even closer to the bench here than I do at home games, so I’ll be able to get all the little ins and outs during the game. I might even be able to sneak into the huddle. A player to watch for Houston tonight is Dion Dowell. He choked big-time agianst the Tigers last year, but he’s been a key 3-point shooter this season. H’e’s a tough cover for a guy like Robert Dozier, who isn’t used to playing his man out on the perimeter. Doneal Mack played well in this building last season and made a couple big 3-pointers in the first half that helped eht Tigers grab control of the game. He could be big again.

This place is starting to fill up. The line to let students in was crazy when I pulled up. Also, props to Houston SID staff for getting wireless Internet this season. Big, big plus. In a place like Hofheinz Pavilion, which doesn’t look like it’s been touched since about 1975, that’s a big amenity. I only recognize two of the officials: Duke Edsell and David Hall. Hall is a notorious homer, and he loves to be The Show when he refs. We’ll see how that plays out tonight.

According to today’s newspaper, a Goodlettsville man was indicted on charges of illegally possessing up to $1 million worth of Jack Daniel’s whiskey with intent to sell it. In his defense, 47-year-old Randy Piper claims he was trying to sell the vintage bottles, not the whiskey inside.

Which leads me to wonder what he was planning to do with all that whiskey, if he wasn’t going to sell it along with the bottles.

Pour it out? If that’s the case, if he’s convicted, the judge ought to tack another couple of years onto his sentence, just on general principle.

of beautiful flyers, check this one out: