Coffee Talk: Ava DuVernay to Direct New MLK Biopic

See why we’re having instant coffee:

• Middle of Nowhere director Ava DuVernay is taking over Lee Daniel’s Martin Luther King Jr. biopic. Selma, in which David Oyelowo will play the lead role, will focus on King’s 1965 voting rights campaign. Daniels was originally working on this and the Butler, but ultimately chose to complete the latter due to funding issues. DuVernay is said to be finalizing the script. There’s no indication when filming will begin. [Slash Film]

• Tina Turner is nearly ready to jump the broom for the second time at age 73. Turner will marry her longtime partner Erwin Bach in Zurich, Switzerland in the coming week. The couple has been together for 27 years. Sources also say they may be throwing a second bash in the south of France as well. [NY Post]

• Toni Braxton and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds are working on a duet album. Although much isn’t known about the project, it’s scheduled to hit stores this September. However, as previously reported, Braxton will embark on a nationwide tour beginning in August, which will wrap up in Atlanta just before Labor Day. [Rollingstone]

• Paula Deen has let her original legal team go and has chosen new counsel. It’s the latest update in the ongoing saga in which the celebrity chef admitted to using racial slurs in the past. Since the fallout began weeks ago, Deen has lost a number of high-profile endorsements in addition to retaining Judy Smith to help fix her problems. [Fox News]