EDDIE GATHEGI AT IT AGAIN!!!

Kenyan actor based in the US, Edi Gathegi, known for his role in the ridiculously popular Twilight series bas bagged a role in a new action/shooter video game web series titled ‘Hawken.’   Edi played the dread-locked vampire Laurent in the first two sequels of Twilight will now play a fighter pilot in the video game.

According to MTV, the live-action series follows a “squad of mechanical pilots tasked with seeking out a missing VIP who has the secret to curing the Hawken virus which has decimated the planet with crystalline structures.” The series also stars Gonzalo Menendez, Dameon Clark, and Hannah Hall, and is directed by Gears of War art director Jeremiah O'Flaherty, his first live-action credit. Hawken is a multiplayer mech combat game. The focus is on creating an intense and enjoyable battle experience that captures the feeling of piloting a heavy war machine while keeping the action fast-paced and strategic.

AMERICAN ACTOR ARRIVES IN TANZANIA FOR MOVIE PREMIER

Mario and son Mandela at Dar es salaam airport

American actor Mario Van Peebles arrived in Dar es Salaam yesterday to launch his latest movie 'We are the Party' and to be guest at the ongoing Zanzibar Film Festival. He is to premier his movie on July 13 at Century Cinema in Mlimani City in Dar es salaam. Mario Van Peebles got his first break acting opposite Clint Eastwood in the 1986 war film "Heartbreak Ridge" and parlayed that success into a prolific career both acting and directing. Van Peebles' latest acting and directing project, "We The Party," is a raucous, multi-cultural comedy about a group of teenagers coming of age during America's first black presidency. In the U.S., it is rated "R," restricting kids under 17-years-old from seeing it without a parent or guardian. In theaters this Friday, April 6, the film is a real family affair and co-stars Van Peebles, several of his children, his famous father, director Melvin Van Peebles (the subject of Mario's 2003 movie "Baadasssss!"). Rapper Snoop Dogg also puts in an appearance

NOLLYWOOD GOES HOLLYWOOD

The Nigerian movie industry has taken yet another huge step of progress with the movie, TOBI; a Nigerian movie shot in the United States of America. This is not just one of those movies where the producer or director sneaks a camera into the streets and shabbily shoots a single scene and merges this into a Nigerian picture. Rather, with an American lead cast (Mark Williams) and a cross section of other foreign and Nigerian actors (including Chet Anekwe of Monique’s ‘Phat Girls,’ Chisom Oz-Lee and others), Nigeria’s U.S-based producer, Emmanuel Ijeh delivers a movie that takes a giant leap into the halls of Hollywood yet retaining its Nigerian essence. The movie premieres today (18/05/2012) in Nigerian cinemas on at Ozone Cinema in Lagos, Nigeria.

NATALIE PORTMAN IS KENYAN CHARITY AMBASSADOR

Hollywood actress Natalie Portman is the new ambassador for Free the Children, an organization that works to provide educational opportunities for kids around the world.

The charity enabled the creation of the Kisaruni All-Girls Secondary Boarding School in the Maasai Mara region of Kenya.

Natalie teamed up with Free The Children in 2011, to support the Power of a Girl project, which enabled the creation of the secondary school.

She released a statement about her new position. “As a mother and the organization’s newest ambassador, I am grateful to Free the Children for giving me the opportunity to channel my passion and love of children into meaningful action that furthers the education and leadership of young women for years to come. I hope others join me in supporting this important cause.”

KENYAN HOLLYWOOD ACTOR LANDS TV ROLE

Edi Gathegi has signed up to co-star opposite Kyle Bornheimer in ABC’s comedy pilot called White Man Van, which centers on Jack (Bornheimer) "who is forced to put his dreams on hold in order to take over the family handyman business from his father Tony" (played by J.K. Simmons).

Edi will play Darren, one of Tony’s workers.  Edi's film credentials include playing Darwin in X-Men: First Class.

SEXY GHANAIAN ACTRESS STARTS A REALITY SHOW

Heard the Ghanaian/Nollywood actress and some of her very close family members are getting set to star in their own reality show titled - The Buari Ville. The show will feature Nadia Buari's parents, and siblings.Critics are already labelling the actress a c

opycat saying the whole concept is borrowed from the Kim Kardashians show.

HOLYWOOD ACTRESS IN KENYAN SLUMS TO FILM DOCUMENTARY

Hollywood actress Olivia Wilde is in KENYA to shoot a documentary for an American media portal called PBS (Public Broadcasting Service). On Saturday, the actress known for her role in blockbuster movie Cowboys and Aliens and TV series House was in Kibera.
In her twitter account on Friday afternoon, the actress posted: “I'm in Kenya with PBS and Nick Kristof shooting a doc for Half The Sky!! Tomorrow we head into the slums to interview female entrepreneurs.”
On Saturday (September 3) Olivia was at the Jamii Bora Trust in Kibera know for it’s initiative in getting over 50 street beggar families in Nairobi out of poverty and building a better life for their families.
PBS is the most prominent provider of television programs to U.S. public television stations.
The documentary Half the Sky, based on Kristof's book of the same name will highlight how women turn oppressive situations into opportunities. He is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner who writes op-ed columns for New York Times.