Jamie Foxx

The “Django Unchained” trailer that hit the Web last week highlights a number of the movie's unusual aspects, not least of which is the blending of Tarantino-esque revenge western with one of the most shameful chapters of American history. But star Jamie Foxx said the shamefulness will come through loud and clear. “This is the truest depiction of slavery [on screen], in terms of how tough and brutal it was,” the actor told 24 Frames. “When you see the movie you'll automatically go back to the time and the way slaves were treated.” PHOTOS: Hollywood backlot moments He added, “It's really going to make people look at the time in a different way.” Foxx plays the titular Django, a fugitive slave who joins up with a bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz)

EXCLUSIVE: Jamie Foxx and Ken Jeong  have both subverted ethnic stereotypes to great comedic effect. Now the two are teaming up. In an unusual, if informal, partnership, Foxx and Jeong have each agreed to star in movies written by the other, says Foxx, the former “In Living Color” star. Foxx has agreed to take a lead role in a new movie Jeong will produce called “After Prom.” The buddy comedy  is about two old high school friends, one “a jock and the other a cool dude,” as Foxx puts it, who must now steer their teenage children through their own prom gantlet.

So Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" has saturated the web with its vengeance-seeking goodness courtesy Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz and Kerry Washington. While Leo completes his bid to own your Christmas Day (when "Django" releases, in addition to his Baz Luhrmann-directed"The Great Gatsby"), it's undeniably Foxx's return to a leading man status. Sure, palling around with Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day and Jason Bateman in"Horrible Bosses" was novel, but he hasn't taken the wheel like this since 2009's "The Soloist.

I made a mistake Those were apparently the last words of a despondent young mother in New York who piled her four children into the minivan and drove off a bridge into the Hudson River. Lashonda Armstrong drowned along with three of her children — an 11-month-old daughter and 2-year-old and 5-year-old sons. According to her 10-year-old son, who escaped through a van window, she had second thoughts the minute the van plunged into the river. But by then, of course, it was too late.

Spectacular slam dunks, fancy passes and arching three-point shots are expected to delight fans at this weekend's NBA All-Star game at Staples Center. But the real razzle-dazzle is taking place off the court, before and after the game. A-listers from the film and music world, including Jamie Foxx, Diddy and Justin Bieber, are preparing to mix with current and former NBA players at an avalanche of celebrity-studded events ? concerts, pregame competitions and parties stretching from Hollywood to Venice.

Shamefully, pure decadence used to be wasted on me. No longer. At my age (87), I've come to embrace over-the-top entertainment as I take a last fleeting grasp for life experiences. It's like a hobby almost. So on Monday night, as Grant Hill held Kobe Bryant to a mere 40 points, well shy of his record 81, I sampled the fast times at the Hyde Lounge at Staples Center. Here, Dr. Jekyll, is my story: The Hyde is a nightclub that sits rather high up in Staples Center, invisible perhaps to mortals such as you and me, but catnip for the young, hip and overmoneyed.

Invictus Warner Bros, $28.98; Blu-ray, $35.99 Morgan Freeman plays Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon plays rugby captain Francois Pienaar in director Clint Eastwood's moving, well-observed "Invictus," based on the true story of how the 1995 World Cup helped alleviate some of South Africa's racial strife in the wake of apartheid. The movie doesn't make any bold new stands with its "sport unites us"/"racism is bad" message, but neither does Eastwood overwork the material, and Anthony Peckham's script smartly emphasizes the formal gestures that lead to reconciliation, showing how going through the motions can help achieve a desired outcome.

Grammy viewers might have wondered what the bleep happened to the music. During a medley performed near the end of Sunday's award show by rappers Lil Wayne, Eminem and Drake, CBS silenced the audio at least 10 times, presumably due to salty language. Grammy executive producer Ken Ehrlich said Monday that the hip-hop era has created a tricky situation for award shows, which must keep up with the culture but also abide by broadcast decency standards. Indeed, networks have spent years battling the Federal Communications Commission over curse words uttered during national telecasts.

In this era of award show proliferation, it's hard not to smirk at the "once-in-a-lifetime" advertising campaigns for shows such as the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards on CBS Sunday night. Beyoncé is up for 10 Grammys this year and you have to suspect that back at the home, the trophy room is the most cluttered corner -- well, except for the walk-in shoe closet. Still, there is something about the scale, history and reach of the Grammys stage that stirs undeniable emotion in the artists who step on it for the first time.