Star studded season finale

[NikkiGreen]

News release from nbcumv re SVU's season finale, on May 22^nd.

CHRIS 'LUDACRIS' BRIDGES, STAR JONES REYNOLDS, STEVEN WEBER, NANCY GRACE AND MANY MORE APPEAR IN THE SEASON FINALE OF NBC'S 'LAW & ORDER: SVU,' TUESDAY, MAY 22, (10 P.M. ET/PT)
Published: March 6, 2007

LISAGAY HAMILTON, ERNEST WADDELL , VINCENT SPANO, JUDITH LIGHT, AND MICHAEL WESTON ALL APPEAR

Adam Beach Makes Official Debut As New Special Victims Unit Detective Chester Lake

NEW YORK – March 6, 2007 – In the powerful star-studded season finale of NBC's "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," episode "Screwed" (Tuesday, May 22nd at 10 PM ET/PT). Actor/rapper Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges returns to SVU, along with guest star appearances by Star Jones Reynolds, Steven Weber, Nancy Grace, LisaGay Hamilton, Ernest Waddell, Vincent Spano, Judith Light, Michael Weston. In addition, Adam Beach makes his debut as new Special Victims Unit Detective 'Chester Lake.'

Bridges, in a powerful performance reprising his role as Darius Parker, the step-son of Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola (Ice-T) and son of Teresa Randall (guest star LisaGay Hamilton) is on trial, a year later for the brutal murder of a woman and her baby, wreaking havoc for the detectives in the SVU. Parker (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges) is back to settle a score with his family and is now represented by defense attorney Matthew Greyson (guest star Steven Weber) a former police officer, who has an incredible record for getting his clients cleared. Star Jones Reynolds and Nancy Grace appear in the episode as the case gains momentum in the media. The two personalities appear as themselves offering their opinions on the case.

"It's so cool to be returning to work with the Law & Order: SVU family. My first experience was so great and I am honored that they have asked me to return for the season finale. Once again, the amazing script and the talented cast immediately made me accept their offer. I look forward to reprising my role on the show and giving the audience a big bang finale that they will never forget!" Said Bridges.

In guest starring on SVU, Reynolds said, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, is my favorite show on television, I have never missed an episode since its premiere. When I was asked to appear on the show I immediately accepted the honor without hesitation. I am very excited to work alongside the incredibly talented cast and crew of Law &Order: SVU as well as the brilliant Dick Wolf."

Film star Adam Beach makes his return to the SVU as Detective Chester Lake, but this time for good. As there is unseen chaos in the SVU, Det. Lake is brought in to the SVU to help out permanently. Beach's character, Chester Lake, was first introduced to the series earlier this season when he joined forces with Det. Odafin Tutola (Ice-T) to track down a rapist who had struck in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Additionally, all reprising their roles on SVU are Judith Light as Judge Elizabeth Donnelly, Vincent Spano as FBI Agent Dean Porter, Ernest Waddell as Ken Randall, and Michael Weston as Simon Marsden.

Beach joins the cast of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Detective "Chester Lake", an SVU detective from Brooklyn, for the show's upcoming ninth season. The role will mark Beach's return to television since his appearances on "JAG" and "Third Watch" as he has been busy with a successful film career. Beach can be seen in Clint Eastwood's critically acclaimed Flags of Our Fathers, in a role, as one of the flag raisers on Iwo Jima, which earned him a Satellite Award Nomination. Beach has also just finished filming the HBO film adaptation of the book Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, which was produced by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Executive Producer Dick Wolf.

Bridges is the only rap music star to have such a successful and immediate crossover from music into film. He won a Critics Choice Award – "Best Ensemble ("Crash"); a SAG Award - Best Ensemble ("Crash") and he was a nominee for his first NAACP Image acting award for Best Supporting Actor ("Crash"). "Crash" and "Hustle & Flow" are only Bridges' second and third films. His first was "2 Fast 2 Furious," the blockbuster sequel to "The Fast & The Furious." Most recently Bridges won Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album, "Release Therapy" and Best Rap Song, "Money Maker," he performed "Runaway Love" - the current #1 song on the R&B charts live with Mary J. Blige and special guests Earth, Wind & Fire. Bridges is scheduled to play the Angry Elf in the 2007 movie, "Fred Claus" opposite Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, and Kevin Spacey.

Grace hosts Headline News' legal analysis program, Nancy Grace, on Headline Prime, and Nancy Grace: Closing Arguments on Court TV. She is based in CNN's New York bureau. One of television's most respected legal analysts, Grace comes to Headline News from Court TV, where she hosts the live daily trial coverage program, Closing Arguments. She also has appeared as a legal commentator on CNN's Larry King Live, ABC's The View, The Oprah Winfrey Show and numerous other cable and network programs. Her book, Objection!, was published by Hyperion in April 2005 and was an instant New York Times bestseller.

Jones Reynolds, a lawyer and former prosecutor, is known to television viewers for her candor, confidence and uncanny ability to clarify muddy legal issue and pop culture concerns. Her knowledge of the law and talent for television have won her critical acclaim as a news and legal correspondent. Also a best-selling author, Mrs. Jones Reynolds released her second book in February 2006, Shine: A Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Journey to Finding Love, a personal and inspiring account of the fundamental steps toward achieving self-fulfillment.

"Screwed" was written by veteran writer/producer Judith McCreary who has worked on the show for years. In addition, McCreary has worked on various network series including: Dick Wolf's "New York Undercover," "413 Hope Street," "Lyon's Den" and "Threat Matrix," before landing on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and the psychological drama entitled "Criminal Minds."

Mariska Hargitay, Chris Meloni, Dann Florek, Richard Belzer, B.D. Wong, Diane Neal and Tamara Tunie also star in "Law & Order: SVU."

Executive producers for "Law & Order: SVU" are Dick Wolf, Neal Baer, Ted Kotcheff and Peter Jankowski "Law & Order: SVU" is produced by Wolf Films in association with NBC Universal Television Studio.

*************
Sounds interesting. 'Ludacris' really good the first time around.

[untitled]

Adam Beach was on JAG? Does anyone know who he played?

Mariska Hargitay, Chris Meloni, Dann Florek, Richard Belzer, B.D. Wong, Diane Neal and Tamara Tunie also star in "Law & Order: SVU." <-- interesting how they list the cast order.

Eww Star & Nancy Grace on SVU...Ick! Star studded? I haven't even heard of half of them.

[Techguy]

untitled said:

Adam Beach was on JAG? Does anyone know who he played?

According to IMDb Adam Beach played a character named Marcus Tillicum in a single episode of JAG titled "Whole New Ball Game" in 2004.

[NikkiGreen]

zap2it.com

Bridges' Ludacris Acting Dreams
By John Crook, Zap2it
May 22, 2007

There's nothing especially new about rap stars taking roles in films and TV shows. LL Cool J, Eminem and Ice-T, among others, have done it.

But Chris Bridges is dead serious about his acting career, and if you think otherwise, well, you're just being ludicrous.

The performer still best known to many by his Grammy-winning rap persona, Ludacris, makes a double play on television this week, first with a Sunday, May 20, comedy cameo on FOX's "The Simpsons," then with a prominent guest appearance on the Tuesday, May 22, season finale of NBC's "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."

"I'm extremely happy about how this worked out," Bridges, 29, says. "The 'SVU' thing is going to be huge. On 'The Simpsons,' I'm only on there for a quick second, although I don't like to downplay anything."

There's no way anyone is going to downplay that "SVU" guest appearance, an intensely dramatic follow-up to a 2006 episode introducing Bridges as Darius Parker, the stepson of Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola (Ice-T). That episode, titled "Venom," climaxed with Darius' arrest for the brutal murder of a woman and a baby, a crime Darius said was prompted by long-simmering rage over being abandoned by his mother (guest star LisaGay Hamilton) when he was an infant. Just before the final credits rolled, Darius swore that if he had to face trial for the murders, he would bring down the rest of his family with him.

"Darius delivers on everything he threatened in that last scene," Bridges reveals. "Whenever you're on trial, you have the right to kind of defend yourself, so I sit second chair with my lawyer, and that's what makes it extremely interesting, I must say. Everything he promised before is going down, and it's extremely emotional for all of these characters. I don't want to give anything away, but there's definitely a twist to it that no one expects."

Bridges already has proven he can act, playing the conniving Skinny Black in "Hustle & Flow" and earning a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of the acting ensemble of the Oscar-winning "Crash" – but the role of Darius Parker is arguably the most challenging acting role he has tackled to date.

"Darius is the most complex character I've ever played, with everything he's got going on," Bridges says.

"I don't feel like I'm very much like Darius, but that's one of the great things about acting. I do think, however, that every human being has emotions that he can bring to the forefront. Certainly I have certain traits in my personality that I can relate to Darius, although probably on a smaller level. That's what is so great about this episode, and my evolving as an actor, because the true test of time is coming. I'm going to try to be versatile and continue proving to people that this is something that I want to do."

The little cameo appearance on Sunday's 400th episode of "The Simpsons" is nowhere near as demanding, but Bridges says he is very happy to be a part of this pop-culture milestone.

"I'm playing myself," he says of his animated gig. "I can tell you that someone has to go to the dentist, and there's something called Luda-Crest toothpaste. I'm trying to encourage kids to brush.

"People always tell me that I'm 'animated' anyway, in my videos and my music, and I take it as a big compliment that [the 'Simpsons' team] would even think of doing something like that. It's extremely flattering and I love it, because I have a 5-year-old daughter myself and a lot of things I'm doing these days amaze her, which makes me feel better about what I'm doing and how I've evolved as a man."

While Bridges says he is very happy that people in the industry seem to be paying attention to his growth as an actor, he admits this new career might never have happened if filmmaker John Singleton hadn't called him up out of the blue and offered him a featured role in his 2003 action flick "2 Fast 2 Furious."

"He loved my work in my videos," Bridges explains. "I guess he saw potential in me as an actor, but although I always loved movies, I never had really thought of that as a reality for me. But I had a lot of fun with the movie, and I knew that was something that I wanted to continue to do."

For his "SVU" role, he still is billed as "Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges," but he says he looks forward to a day when he can make a clean break between his acting and music careers.

"Ludacris is a character all within itself, because that's my music persona," he says, "so when I do movies, I don't want to be looked at as Ludacris. I want to be looked at as Chris Bridges, the person who is trying to work as a character actor. Once people get to know the 'Chris Bridges' name, I will take 'Ludacris' completely out of there when it comes to acting. That's my goal. I wouldn't say I'm really close to that, but I would say that I definitely am on the right path.

"I love not only surprising other people, but also surprising myself. I believe that if I put my mind to it, I can accomplish and do anything. I'm definitely out to disprove the myth that some people may have that I can only play one kind of character."


*****

Ludacris was good. Lisa Gay Hamilton as "Teresa Randle" was good. Otherwise, I have to ask...is that how the court system really works?

The episode was title '"Screwed" and I guess most everyone certainly is, thanks to Darius.

I hope Capt. Cragen and Munch are still around next year.