Viola Davis and husband Julius Tennon are getting into book publishing by launching Jvl Media.
The new venture, which includes author and publisher Lavaille Lavette at the helm, will look to champion under-represented voices in the book world. The debut titles from Jvl Media, from among a planned slate of non-fiction and fiction books, include Had to Lose to Win: The Tiki Davis Story, by popular motivational speaker Tiki Davis, and The Inclusion Leader Genius, by Dr. Johné Battle.
Davis and her JuVee Productions banner, run as well by producing partner Tennon, have already made deep inroads in film and TV production with titles like The Woman King and ABC’s How to Get Away With Murder that have highlighted underrepresented voices.
“This endeavor embodies our collective aspiration — to champion and elevate voices that resonate with authenticity and are often overlooked. Our mission is to interlace a rich mosaic of...
The new venture, which includes author and publisher Lavaille Lavette at the helm, will look to champion under-represented voices in the book world. The debut titles from Jvl Media, from among a planned slate of non-fiction and fiction books, include Had to Lose to Win: The Tiki Davis Story, by popular motivational speaker Tiki Davis, and The Inclusion Leader Genius, by Dr. Johné Battle.
Davis and her JuVee Productions banner, run as well by producing partner Tennon, have already made deep inroads in film and TV production with titles like The Woman King and ABC’s How to Get Away With Murder that have highlighted underrepresented voices.
“This endeavor embodies our collective aspiration — to champion and elevate voices that resonate with authenticity and are often overlooked. Our mission is to interlace a rich mosaic of...
- 4/18/2024
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Warning: spoilers ahead for Orange Is the New Black!
Sadly, not every character we've grown to love in Orange Is the New Black is in season seven. Well, that's not true. For the most part, we get to see almost all of the characters at the very end of the season when they break the fourth wall to say goodbye. You might be wondering where Sophia Burset (Laverne Cox) falls in the mix. She has a noteworthy ending in season six, and we suspected that she wouldn't appear in the final season, but, luckily, she did.
We first see Sophia as Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) is leaving her parole appointment. Sophia is walking in because she has the same officer assigned to her. In her true sarcastic form, she cracks a joke about how Piper looks basically the same as when she was in prison. Even when she was in Litchfield Penitentiary,...
Sadly, not every character we've grown to love in Orange Is the New Black is in season seven. Well, that's not true. For the most part, we get to see almost all of the characters at the very end of the season when they break the fourth wall to say goodbye. You might be wondering where Sophia Burset (Laverne Cox) falls in the mix. She has a noteworthy ending in season six, and we suspected that she wouldn't appear in the final season, but, luckily, she did.
We first see Sophia as Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) is leaving her parole appointment. Sophia is walking in because she has the same officer assigned to her. In her true sarcastic form, she cracks a joke about how Piper looks basically the same as when she was in prison. Even when she was in Litchfield Penitentiary,...
- 8/1/2019
- by Caitlyn Fitzpatrick
- Popsugar.com
Tanya Wright's hair has always consumed her. The Orange Is the New Black actress admits to spending too much time and energy over the years trying to tame her natural locks - and ending up with more than her fair share of bad hair days in the process. "My hair has been the bane of my existence for most of my life," she penned in an essay for the Huffington Post. "It is massive, curly and has a life all its own. I've had countless hair stories that could easily be horror stories!" It took a family tragedy to change her perspective.
- 6/1/2016
- by Michelle Ward Trainor
- PEOPLE.com
Tanya Wright's hair has always consumed her. The Orange Is the New Black actress admits to spending too much time and energy over the years trying to tame her natural locks - and ending up with more than her fair share of bad hair days in the process. "My hair has been the bane of my existence for most of my life," she penned in an essay for the Huffington Post. "It is massive, curly and has a life all its own. I've had countless hair stories that could easily be horror stories!" It took a family tragedy to change her perspective.
- 6/1/2016
- by Michelle Ward Trainor
- PEOPLE.com
Laverne Cox is trading in her orange jumpsuit for a more dramatic role on MTV’s Faking It. On Tuesday’s episode, the Orange Is the New Black actress will make her side-splitting debut as Margot, the demanding director of the school’s drama department who will hilariously push Karma (Katie Stevens), Shane (Michael J. Willett) and Lauren (Bailey De Young) to their limits. How did the Emmy nominee book a ticket to Hester High? EW hit the set to find out: How did you guest-starring on Faking It come together? I got an email with an offer. It’s...
- 10/14/2014
- by Natalie Abrams
- EW - Inside TV
Sookie, Jason, Alcide, Andy and Sam took a road trip to learn more about the Hep-v vampires while Arlene struggled for a way out of Fangtasia in True Blood's "I Found You."
True Blood "I Found You" Recap
The episode began with Jason (Ryan Kwanten) having a sexy dream about vampire Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) – a side effect of having drunk Eric’s blood last season. Just as things start getting truly steamy, Jason wakes up with a jolt in a church.
Outside the church, Sookie (Anna Paquin) suggests to Andy (Chris Bauer) that they track where the Hep-v infected vamps came from by investigating the dead girl Sookie stumbled upon in the woods the other night. Andy, desperate for a lead to find Holly (Lauren Bowles), agrees, and tells Sookie and Alcide (Joe Manganiello) to meet him at the station. As for everybody else, Sam (Sam Trammell) encourages them...
True Blood "I Found You" Recap
The episode began with Jason (Ryan Kwanten) having a sexy dream about vampire Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) – a side effect of having drunk Eric’s blood last season. Just as things start getting truly steamy, Jason wakes up with a jolt in a church.
Outside the church, Sookie (Anna Paquin) suggests to Andy (Chris Bauer) that they track where the Hep-v infected vamps came from by investigating the dead girl Sookie stumbled upon in the woods the other night. Andy, desperate for a lead to find Holly (Lauren Bowles), agrees, and tells Sookie and Alcide (Joe Manganiello) to meet him at the station. As for everybody else, Sam (Sam Trammell) encourages them...
- 6/30/2014
- Uinterview
Orange Is The New Black co-star Tanya Wright wants you to co-create her new web series HAIRiette of Harlem. Despite landing memorable roles on hit TV series like The Cosby Show, 24, True Blood, and Oitnb, Wright has never been one to wait for a project to come her way. This time, the actress/director/writer/producer is creating a web series, and she'd like our readers' help. I'll let Wright tell you more about HAIRiette of Harlem:True Blood. Orange Is The New Black. It wasn’t always this way, being an actress on two popular shows. There were times where I lived a lean mean existence, eating rice and beans and...well, you know the rest. Being an artist is tough, great,...
- 4/2/2014
- by Emmanuel Akitobi
- ShadowAndAct
A while ago, I had the pleasure of speaking to filmmaker Tanya Wright about her feature film debut, Butterfly Rising, which screens this Friday, Aug. 2, as part of the 2013 BlackStar Film Festival in Philadelphia. Butterfly Rising will screen at 12:50Pm at International House Philadelphia. S&A's Vanessa provided additional details on the festival Here. Wright's film (which she describes as "Thelma + Louise + Magic") is a drama that centers on singer Lilah Belle, who sets out to escape her grief after her brother dies, and embarks on a road trip, but not before coaxing the new-to-town, most scandalous woman in Artesia - Rose Johnson - to go with her. These...
- 7/29/2013
- by Emmanuel Akitobi
- ShadowAndAct
The opening night film at this year's Run & Shoot Filmworks Martha's Vineyard African-American Film Festival next month, which runs from August 7 to August 11, Tanya Wright's Butterfly Rising (which she describes as "Thelma + Louise + Magic") is a drama that centers on singer Lilah Belle, who sets out to escape her grief after her brother dies, and embarks on a road trip, but not before coaxing the new-to-town, most scandalous woman in Artesia - Rose Johnson - to go with her. These two broken souls steal a vintage truck and head out on the open road to a fated encounter with the mythical, magical ‘Lazarus of...
- 7/17/2012
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
IFC Films acquired North American rights to the Sundance indie dramedy titled, which was titled Predisposed, but will now be called Why Stop Now, with the tagline, "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Rehab," as the first official poster shows. Tracy Morgan stars in the film, alongside Melissa Leo, Jesse Eisenberg, Tanya Wright, and Isiah Whitlock Jr. In the film, Morgan plays a hapless drug dealer named "Sprinkles" opposite Eisenberg's character, who happens to be a piano prodigy; the film centers around their relationship. Co-written by Philip Dorling (he directed it as well) and 1994 Oscar-nominee for...
- 7/5/2012
- by Courtney
- ShadowAndAct
We have added the first trailer to IFC film's and writer Ron Nyswaner's (Philadelphia, The Painted Veil) upcoming comedy drama "Why Stop Now." The film directed by Phil Dorling and Ron Nyswaner stars - Jesse Eisenberg, Melissa Leo, Tracy Morgan, Isiah Whitlock Jr, Sarah Ramos, Emma Rayne Lyle, Stephanie March and Tanya Wright.Watch the new trailer for "Why Stop Now" below;"Why Stop Now" is on limited release in the Us from August 17th."Why Stop Now" tells the bittersweet story of Eli Smith (Eisenberg), a piano prodigy, and his mother Penny (Leo) who despite her cheerful, loving disposition, struggles with drug addiction. On the day of his audition for a prestigious music program, Eli's mother plans to enter rehab, but a...
- 7/4/2012
- by Anthony Pearson
- Monsters and Critics
IFC Films acquired North American rights to the Sundance indie dramedy titled, which was titled Predisposed, but will now be called Why Stop Now, with the tagline, "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Rehab," as the first official poster shows. Tracy Morgan stars in the film, alongside Melissa Leo, Jesse Eisenberg, Tanya Wright, and Isiah Whitlock Jr. In the film, Morgan plays a hapless drug dealer named "Sprinkles" opposite Eisenberg's character, who happens to be a piano prodigy; the film centers around their relationship. Co-written by Philip Dorling (he directed it as well) and 1994 Oscar-nominee for...
- 6/14/2012
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
Marking her directorial debut, actress Tanya Wright pulled from personal family tragedy to lay the foundation for her new film Butterfly Rising which she stars alongside McGhee Monteith.
The story was initially written as a script that went on to become a self-published book and, not to long afterwords, adapted into a film. Also, the screenplay is an adaptation of A Turn To Grace, a semi-finalist in the Nicholl’s Screenwriting Competition.
The actress, who plays Deputy Kenya Jones on HBO‘s True Blood, suddenly lost her brother saying…” My brother died suddenly in 2005 and I was…changing—wide and deep. My attraction to Butterflies during this period of my life was strong. A butterfly (with its four stages: egg, caterpillar, cocoon and finally, Butterfly) is the result of a metamorphosis—the complete transformation. While driving back from a trip to the beach with a friend, I was listening to an Aretha Franklin CD.
The story was initially written as a script that went on to become a self-published book and, not to long afterwords, adapted into a film. Also, the screenplay is an adaptation of A Turn To Grace, a semi-finalist in the Nicholl’s Screenwriting Competition.
The actress, who plays Deputy Kenya Jones on HBO‘s True Blood, suddenly lost her brother saying…” My brother died suddenly in 2005 and I was…changing—wide and deep. My attraction to Butterflies during this period of my life was strong. A butterfly (with its four stages: egg, caterpillar, cocoon and finally, Butterfly) is the result of a metamorphosis—the complete transformation. While driving back from a trip to the beach with a friend, I was listening to an Aretha Franklin CD.
- 2/25/2011
- by Cynthia
- ShadowAndAct
Tanya Wright, one of the stars of the hit show, True Blood is more than just an actress. No, this dark and lovely lady proves that in her debut novel, Butterfly Rising, of which she has just completed the film adaptation of. In the film, in which she not only stars in but also wrote, produced and directed, she tells the story of two girls whose paths intersect under mysterious circumstances and lead the reader on a journey they never would have expected. In my interview with the steaming hot actress today, she discusses her novel, her inspirations for success, how the death of her brother prompted her to inspire others, what her True Blood cast members really think of her success and so much more. Press Play To Listen Butterfly Rising...
- 8/28/2010
- by Jeff Rivera
- Huffington Post
Tanya Wright suffers no fools and talks a lot of smack as bossy Deputy Kenya Jones on HBO's monster hit, "True Blood." Fans of the top-rated series may be surprised, in a good way, by the Bronx native's debut novel. You'll find neither a vampire, nor werewolf, nor shape-shifter in Wright's tender novel, "Butterfly Rising," but you will go through several tissues by the end of the book's 257 pages...
- 8/13/2010
- Essence
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