Ne-Yo gives fans free tickets to Red Tails screening

R&B singer-turned-actor Ne-Yo invited fans to join him for a cinema date in New York on Friday (20Jan12) by offering up 200 free tickets to his new movie Red Tails.

The So Sick hitmaker stars as one of the heroic African-American Tuskegee Airmen in George Lucas' historical big-budget epic and he decided to help boost box office profits for the movie's opening weekend by treating devotees to a free screening in Times Square.

In a Twitter.com post on Friday afternoon, he writes, "Salutations fam! RedTails is in theaters 2day (sic)! Come watch it w/ (with) me! NYC 1st 200ppl (people) for the 7:20pm show of Red Tails AMC42nd st. Tix (tickets) on me!"

Ne-Yo will have to wait until Sunday (22Jan12), when the box office totals are released, to learn whether his efforts paid off.

Star Wars creator Lucas recently revealed he struggled to find a studio to back the project because film bosses were not convinced the movie, which features an all-black cast, would be a global hit.