By Karu F. Daniels, AOL Black Voices

The very long awaited Vivica A. Fox film, 'The Salon,' will finally see the light of day. Directed by Mark Brown, the comedy is based on Shelly Garrett's groundbreaking chit'lin circuit musical 'Beauty Shop.' Terrence Dashon Howard, Darrin Dewitt Henson, Kim Whitley, and Monica Calhoun all star in the story of a popular neighborhood beauty shop under pressure to close due to eminent domain. It arrives in theaters --via Codeblack Entertainment -- May 11.

Critics haven't been invited to review the new film 'Slow Burn,' but are asked to write about it. In it, hip-hop superstar LL Cool J (credited as James Todd Smith) plays an enigmatic stranger who turns up at a police station to contradict a beautiful assistant district attorney's story and paint a very different picture of her talented colleague. Ray Liotta leads the cast of what is being described as "a sexy, stylish thriller," playing a big-city district attorney with his eye on the mayor's office and a big problem on his hands -- his staffer confessed to murder as an act of self defense. Mekhi Phifer, Guy Torry, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Taye Diggs also star in the Wayne Beach-helmed vehicle. Filmed in 2005, Lionsgate will release 'Slow Burn' on April 13.

Fresh off the heels of fronting the musical adaptation of 'Sister Act' and following a memorable cameo in 'Dreamgirls,' Dawnn Lewis has landed her next gig. The 'A Different World' star and Lamont Thompson have been cast as the parents in the CW comedy 'Hell on Earth,' according to published reports. The show follows a mean girl who gets hit by a bus and gets a second chance in life as a normal girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Lewis and Thompson will play the girl's parents. As previously reported by The BV Newswire, Kim Coles has been cast as an angel.