Hustle and Flow’s Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard are at it again: hustling and flowing.
This time however, the acting powerhouses are both starring in (Precious’) Lee Daniels hip-hop drama where Terrence is playing the head of a music empire whose three sons and ex-wife battle for the throne.
The typical ingredients that make up [a hip hop show] like such are too involved: drug dealer wishing to go legit, money hungry women and wives, and a battle for power between each who as a little or a lot-then the music.
Hip-hop mega producer Timbaland produced the original soundtrack so you know with its premise and hot cast, Empire is looking to be a welcomed addition and one of Fox’s top shows-further building on Fox Television Group’s already thriving repertoire.
The premier of the show is this evening on Fox 9/8c
Although the show WILL go on and has received a thumb up over at renown veteran critic’s Robert Ebert.com , it doesn’t go on without incident.
Rapper 50 Cent who himself (if anybody knows anything about an empire-it’s him) has grown his very own empire far beyond gripping a microphone and standing on stage in front of screaming fans.
In addition to his vitamin water, underwear, headphone and other brands he’s grown; the outspoken rapper and executive producer of Power, publicly stated that Empire had stolen its promotional ideas from his show, citing:
“Power 2 is unbelievably good trust me. I have the best writers and show runner. I like Terence Howard and Taraji P. Henson. I don’t like that they would copy the marketing.”
A fan asked Henson what she thought of 50 Cents’ statements and she replied:
“I pay attention to $ NOT cents”
At any rate (no puns intended).
Check out Empire‘s trailer atop the OSF big screen and too, Empire’s The Hollywood Reporter cover story:
It’s been three days since Dana Walden heard the latest tracking figures for the first big test of her tenure as co-head of the Fox Television Group, and she’s anxious for an update. Empire, she informs the 16 executives seated before her and partner Gary Newman in the fifth-floor conference room of the Fox Broadcasting building, “is the priority.”
With a massive marketing push already underway, expectations for the series are rising. Its principals — co-creators Lee Daniels and Danny Strong, the celebrated team behind Lee Daniels’ The Butler, and Oscar-nominated actors Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson — earned it immediate credibility, and its King Lear meets The Godfather premise, about a drug dealer turned music mogul and three sons who are vying for his empire, has all the trappings of a hit. But the series, part musical, part melodrama, is by no means a sure thing. The pilot episode grapples with themes of mortality and homophobia, and the music — original tunes from Timbaland — isn’t the jukebox of familiar hits that drove Glee. The most recent data suggests the series is scoring “incredibly high” intent-to-view numbers with African-Americans, a demographic that’s helped make ABC’s Scandal a hit, but Fox TV Group COO Joe Earley tells his new bosses in early December that it’s still “a little soft” with everybody else.
If Earley is concerned, however, he’s not letting on, and neither is marketing executive (cont’d).
