ENTERTAINMENT                By Myrna Hughes

If it ain't funny, you can forget about it anyway," she says, comparing herself to comedians like Red Foxx, Whoopi Goldberg and Richard Pryor, who used race in their acts to talk about cultural barriers. "I think there were some over-the-top things in the movie, but I don't think there was anything extremely stereotypical that was that offensive. I'm not trying to make some major political statement," she says. "It's easy for people outside of what we do to talk about it, but they don't see the real battles that we fight everyday, that we break down stereotypes ... There's really nobody out there that could tell me anything. Because they don't see those battles." Besides, Latifah adds, as the movie's executive producer, she was able to employ more minorities and become a Hollywood power broker. "I've employed a huge amount of African-Americans for positions they were qualified for, and for positions they had no experience in, but they had the drive to learn -- hundreds of people, from my management company to my talk show," she says forcefully. "Now they're all out producing all over town." As far as her future, she says she would like her next "production" to be a baby, and jokes that she's already practicing for it. But ask her about her private life and the fiercely private Latifah makes a "putting on the brakes" signal, letting you know you'll get no farther on that subject. She'd prefer to put the focus back on her projects, and right now, the one that seems closest to her heart is the Dana Owens album. "I just hope that people will be receptive to it and give it a listen," she says. "I hope they'll enjoy it enough to buy it and if they buy enough of them -- then I'm going to come out and perform it for them."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Singer Justin Timberlake plays three-on-three basketball with children and members of the Toronto Raptors during a surprise visit at downtown charity basketball clinic in a youth centre in Toronto.

 

TORONTO, Canada- Justin Timberlake gave a group of Grade 8 students a thrill Thursday when he made a surprise visit to a Toronto Raptors basketball workshop held at a downtown elementary school. Wearing black shorts and a white Raptors sweatshirt, Timberlake strode into the gymnasium after being asked to "even out the odds" in a game between students and members of the NBA team. "It seems a bit unfair it's four of you guys and only three of us," said Raptors guard Rafer Alston, who was joined by forwards Chris Bosh and Donyell Marshall. "We need another participant. We're gonna grab ourselves another player. We're gonna bring out Justin Timberlake to be on our team." The gym then erupted with screams of: "No way" and "Oh my god." The publicity stunt was arranged by McDonald's Canada as part of a marketing campaign to convince people that eating at the fast-food joint can be part of a healthy lifestyle. And, like Timberlake's commercial says, the kids were "lovin' it." Girls fanned themselves in the overly dramatic way only a teen heart throb can inspire. The boys, meanwhile, were keen to bone up on professional dribbling techniques. The 10-minute appearance was arranged in true sleuth form. The 30 kids were told they'd be participating in a noon-hour clinic with the Raptors' mascot to promote a healthy lifestyle. Men in fancy suits and dark shades stood guard at the gym's two entrances ensuring no one from the outside could enter.