Tuning In

Foxx’s ’Redemption’

Jamie Foxx’s transformation from comic to serious actor takes another giant step forward in FX’s newest telefilm.

“Redemption,” which debuts at 8 p.m. Sunday, casts Mr. Foxx as the imprisoned co-founder of the Crips gang.

The real Stanley “Tookie” Williams has been sitting on death row for years following his conviction on four murder counts. Williams has used his time behind bars to embrace nonviolence and write a series of children’s books that promote peaceful conflict resolution.

The film paints a flattering portrait of the convicted killer, offering only one scene reminding us of the heinous crimes of which he was found guilty.

“Redemption’s” Williams is almost without fault, save some braggadocio near the beginning. Surely the real figure is more complex — and far less easy to excuse.

But Mr. Foxx elevates the biased telepicture every time the camera trains on his thoughtful face. The former “In Living Color” cast member gives Williams an aching humanity that anchors a film that often veers toward melodrama. Nearly as good is Lynn Whitfield, who plays the woman who helped him produce his children’s books.

Director Vondie Curtis-Hall finds some redemption of his own here. The film partially washes Mariah Carey’s “Glitter” off his directorial resume. It doesn’t hurt that the film’s lustrous production design makes us forget the film’s television roots.

Rivers’ makeover

Revenge is a dish best served … with style?

Joan and Melissa Rivers, who endlessly blab about everyone else’s fashions as part of E!’s award coverage, get the makeover treatment themselves on the season premiere of “Head 2 Toe.”

The Lifetime show, which bows at 6 p.m. tonight, targets the mother and daughter team for an amiable makeover. Unlike some reality shows, “Toe’s” ebullient Tanika Ray — a District native — doesn’t tear down the contestants even if they really, really deserve it.

The installment finds the elder Rivers trying to strike a more casual note, while daughter Melissa wants to spiff up her own wardrobe.

Cuban’s reality

The latest millionaire-turned-reality-show star is the exuberant owner of the Dallas Mavericks.

Mark Cuban is ponying up $1 million to the winner of a new reality show dubbed “The Benefactor,” Associated Press reports.

More than 500 people eager to win the grand prize attended an open casting call last week for the upcoming show.

Sixteen persons will be chosen from auditions in five cities and from submitted video applications, but there’s still no word on what it will take to win the money on the ABC show.

“It’s like ’Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,’ ” Mr. Cuban told the Dallas Morning News. “When you walked into Willy’s factory, you had no idea what the game was.”

Contestants will live in a Dallas house for three weeks and participate in activities Mr. Cuban devises.

“The game is: What’s Mark looking for?” executive producer Clay Newbill said. “Mark Cuban is our show.”

It’s clear what the show’s producers are looking for — that millionaire lightning in a bottle NBC captured with Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice.”

Taping on “The Benefactor” is expected to begin this month, with the show’s eight episodes expected to air in August or September. Mr. Newbill said the show is in negotiations for the house that contestants will live in, but he wouldn’t reveal its location.

Compiled by Christian Toto from staff and wire reports.