Mo'Nique gets back to her roots with her 'Spread the Love' comedy tour with guests Rodney Perry and Tone-X
By Eunice Moseley

Comedian/actress and late night talk show host Mo'Nique gets back to her comedic roots on her "Spread the Love" tour with guest comedians Rodney Perry and Tone-X. That is the Mo'Nique I am familiar with. In my home town of Baltimore she had the night clubs on lock with her sassy comedic talent and her in your face approach to comedy - before she left for Hollywood ("The Parkers"). Still her walk, her sassy personality; her shape; her love of people and God, and even how she talks scream "I'm from Baltimore!"

"Cuss, cuss, cuss, cuss, cuss," Mo'Nique said when addressing why she uses profanity. The Oscar winner addresses that, her unexpected pregnancy and the arrival of her twin boys (now four years-old); her husband; her weight lose; winning the Oscars, and she addresses (or confesses) the "diva" rumors that went on during the promotions of the film "Precious" during her "Spread the Love" event - which I attended in Los Angeles.

I was graciously given passes to the VIP lounge where I saw some of her cast members from UPN's "The Parkers" and other projects she has appeared in - all there to support her along with myself. I sat there remembering how I cried when she left Baltimore - our hometown celebrity - because I felt I would never interview her again. I enjoyed our "conversations" that always ended up in us fellowshipping and giving God His glory and praise. Then I remembered how I cried when my interview requests still went through in covering she starring role on "The Parkers."

I remembered crying when she invited me to her house-warming party in Tarzana, California - along with a plane load of her fans and local media from Baltimore (I hear she lives in Atlanta now). I cried out to the screen when she appeared in Soul Plane, "No, Mo'Nique don't do it!" I cried when I heard about her outstanding performance in "Precious" because I knew I could never see it, hits too close to home (I am a "Precious" too). I remembered crying all night when she won the Oscar knowing that she is now in history books forever, no matter what she ever does because she is the fifth black female to ever win the award since it began in 1927 - past winners include Hattie McDaniel/Gone with the Wind, Whoopie Goldberg/Ghost, Jennifer Hudson/Dreamgirls, and Irene Cara/Flashdance. I almost started crying again back there in the VIP lounge - after seeing the "Baltimore" style comedy again, but I left with a warm heart instead, with a thought that yes Mo'Nique has "spread the love" with the laughter she inspired in us.

The "Spread the Love" tour arrives Friday April 9, 2010 in Newark, NJ, then on to Augusta, GA on April 10th and continues across the country until it ends May 22, 2010 in Bridgeport, CT. For more information on the "Spread the Love" tour with guest comedians Rodney Perry and Tone-X log onto www.aeglive.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

Bio-film on the life of Paul Robeson planned for production by Four Stars International and Nexus Films
"I think Paul Robeson is the most accomplished African-American of all time," states Richard Akel co-founder and President of Four Stars International, LLC ,the film production company producing the film based on the life of Paul Robeson. "It's about time a film was made about him. I immigrated from New Zealand. It was African-Americans that were most supportive of me and I never forgot. I have become a successful film maker and I want to give back."

Paul Robeson was a scholar (being the third black to ever be accepted to Rutgers University and a graduate of Columbia Law School); a sportsman (he earned 15 varsity letters in American football, baseball, basketball ,and track and field); an entertainer (with his bass voice his renditions of old Spirituals were acclaimed - i. e. "Ol' Man River" from the play "Show Boat"), and a civil rights activist (founded the American Crusade Against Lynching, which was supported by Albert Einstein). He was a married man to Eslanda Cardozo Goodie, known as Essie, who headed the pathology laboratory at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. An unusual marriage, Essie accepted Robeson's taste for extramarital affairs and considered only once divorcing him when he fell in love with a British woman. But for some reason the relationship with the British lady ended, and Essie and Paul remained together in an "open marriage" until she died in 1965 - 44 years later.

Akel along with VP/business manager Janice Hammond and director Greg Carter plan to put the life of this complicated and amazing individual in theaters everywhere.

"He was the highest earning African-American in the United States at that time," Richard points out about Robeson. "I have great expectations that it's going to be bigger than Ray and Ali (films). I respect their achievements, but Paul was all those things combined."

Four Star International, LLC, Nexus Films and Lynn Allen Jeter & Associates are producing a Paul Robeson Celebration, in honor of his birthday April 9, 1898, in Los Angeles. For more information on the Paul Robeson project email Lynn Jeter at lajass@att.net