Justin Martin was featured on Entertainment Tonight and Extra with the other two new members of the ‘High School Musical 3′ cast. They showed Justin and the cast practicing for the movie and video footage from their auditions. Click HERE and HERE to see Justin and the others in action!

Thanks to Mrs. Martin for the links!

YBStar Justin Martin is among the three rising young talents who’ve just been cast in Walt Disney Pictures’ upcoming theatrical production of “High School Musical 3: Senior Year!” Justin will join the original “High School Musical” cast – Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu and Monique Coleman – in the all new feature film, which begins shooting later this month! Justin will be playing one of the sophomore “Wildcats“. He was picked from an international casting search involving over 1000 teen actors across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom!!! WOWz! Congrats Justin!!!

Thanks to Mrs. Martin for sharing this wonderful news!

For those of you who have not yet seen August Rush (which features Jamia Simone Nash), or just want to see it again, the movie is now on DVD as of today!! August Rush is available on both DVD and Blu-Ray. It will be available on HD-DVD on April 1st. You can view the August Rush website by clicking HERE. You can also read about the DVD or pre-order it via the link. Be sure to pick up or order your copy!!

I’d also like to mention that I’ve just added 7 new avatars to the Avatar Gallery! The avatars are of YBStarz Imani Hakim (1), Tiffany Evans (1), Justin Martin (1), Zion Martin (2), and Destiny Edmond (2). Hope you like them!

Thanks to Sugar-N-Spice for the DVD info!

By WENDELL BROCK
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/24/2008
Original Link

As a kitchen-sink drama of stark realism, Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” has always operated on images of claustrophobia, deprivation and dreams deferred.

Light doesn’t seem to exist in the crowded Chicago tenement building where Lena Younger and her family live. Even the houseplant looks lonely and shrunken.

But the promise of blue skies and freedom is always just outside the window of Kenny Leon’s crisp new film treatment of the 1959 classic: a three-hour “world premiere movie event” airing Monday night on ABC and showcasing the cast of the Atlanta director’s 2004 Broadway revival.

Paris Qualles’ new screenplay explodes the walls of the Younger family’s cold-water flat to reveal the broader social divide, the simmering frustrations and glimmering hopes at the heart of the civil rights movement. Outside the fire escape that Walter Lee contemplates like a caged bird are the bigoted policemen, grocery store clerks and unforgiving white employers who stand in the way of the black man’s promise.

Though the movie celebrates the Tony Award-winning work of Phylicia Rashad (Lena) and Audra McDonald (Ruth), it’s the presence of entertainment mogul Sean Combs as Walter Lee that makes this post-Oscar-night presentation a cross-generational event. “It’s important that the story live on, just like ‘Romeo and Juliet,’” Combs said in a recent interview, echoing the sentiment that the Younger family saga remains as relevant today as ever.

By Walter Lee’s definition, money is everything, and the impending arrival of his late father’s $10,000 life insurance check becomes a catalyst of recklessness and destruction.

The story’s big eternal truths — that freedom comes from within and that family ties are sacrosanct — are borne out in the wise demeanor of Mama Lena and Joseph Asagi (David Oyelowo), the courtly Nigerian who pursues Walter Lee’s tempestuous sister, Beneatha (Sanaa Lathan).

“There is something very wrong when all the dreams in a house depend on a man dying,” Asagi tells Beneatha, moments before Lena berates Walter Lee’s desperate attempt to recoup his loss as the lowest kind of emotional impoverishment. “You ain’t never been that poor,” Lena tells her misguided son. “You ain’t never been that dead inside.”

There’s more than a hint of irony in the casting of Combs, who grew up poor and fatherless and has amassed a Forbesian fortune as a recording artist, hip-hop impresario and clothing-label founder. (Combs is also credited as an executive producer of the project.)

On Broadway, his acting limitations were eclipsed by the stellar, critically acclaimed work of his colleagues. But if Rashad, McDonald and Lathan are uniformly superb in both media, Combs’ frozen expressions don’t hold up so well under the unforgiving glare of the close-up. It’s not an embarrassing performance, but it’s diluted and disappointing.

The one true discovery here is Atlantan Justin Martin as Walter Lee’s son, Travis. The camera can’t get enough of this articulate and energetic youngster, who looks like he belongs to the same family as the beautiful Mama Lena, Ruth and Beneatha.

For his film debut, Leon delivers a solid, efficient and likable family entertainment for all ages, exactly the kind of product you expect from a mainstream network.

As the first play by an African-American woman to run on Broadway, “A Raisin in the Sun” was a cultural landmark that captured the imagination of a generation. Nearly half a century later, this TV presentation gives it the wider audience it deserves.

You can check out 2 new articles related to Justin Martin by going HERE and HERE! Justin talks about his early acting experiences and his current film, A Raisin in the Sun. Both articles are rather interesting. I love the attitude he has while pursuing his career and reaching his goals! The articles are both provided by AccessAtlanta.Com. Be sure to check them out!

Thanks to Mrs. Martin for the links!