Yes, I'm A Deadbeat; But Here's A Good Story

OK, pathetic! I was reading my blog today and see I have posts on the FIRST PAGE that are from Christmas! Christmas for Christ's sake! (I guess that was an unintended pun).

So I'll be posting just to get these old ass posts off of my front page...let me start with an email from someone, who gives a very telling story of the YT view of us in Hollywood (at least a lot of studios):

I'm a screenwriter in waiting (still)...mostly because the establishment doesn't value or even acknowledge audiences who aren't just like them and I don't write for them. I write for us.

My day job is in the legal department at one of the mini-major studios. We just cast Cicely Tyson in a small role and folks on the set had no idea who she was. They spelled her name wrong and everything. I even overheard my boss refer to her as "some old Black actress." They've never heard of any black actors except Denzel, Will, Morgan, Laurence or Halle. It's infuriating. I call them out all the time and, of course, they think I'm overreacting.

Sometimes, the insensitivity and invisibility can be a drain...which is why I'm so glad I discovered your blog! I'll have to check back frequently so I can laugh at the situation instead of getting so pissed. Write on!

Take care,

(madame invisible withholds name to protect the innocent and informative)


the woman was married to miles davis (and that was the least of it)! at least know that you asses :-(

Kettles, Robots, and Swimming in "Post Racial America"....

I think it's safe to say that our infatuation with the promise of a "post-racial America" is officially way over. Not that I ever bought into it, for sure. Much about race is bubbling up these days, and while a tiny bit of it just has me shaking my head, the rest of it just makes me wanna kick somebody's ass sometimes. Like Field Negro said, it's just exhausting trying to keep up.

What leaves me going "whatever, dude" is pot/kettle Quincy Jones' non-revelation about Micheal Jackson "wanting to be white". "Have you seen his kids?" he asks in an interview. Wow. This from a man who I've never seen date anyone darker than a Sunset Spray Tan, and whose daughters can pass so well they actually get work in Hollywood. This is who he was with in Europe instead of attending the funeral of the man who made him zillions:



Speaking of Micheal, spotted this on my blogging buddy Eric Easter's site "Big Ideas" from Ebony/Jet.Com. It is a video of Sammy Davis Jr. comparing himself to Michael Jackson on Arsenio Hall, and ends up being something close to a confessional on race. Sammy goes in a few different directions, but you can see and feel the pain this immensely talented man went through, and he used that talent to navigate his way through a tragic life, just like Mike. It was his shield, just like Mike. Oddly Sammy was the only other celebrity besides MJ that made me cry when he passed.




What makes one want to put foot to ass is the situation in Philly that most have heard about by now, where a group of children were denied entry into a swimming pool because it was feared they may change "the complexion" of the pool area. Yes, the fools that run the joint actually said that.

I am not surprised, however, as the same thing happened to me as a kid. My family and I took a road trip to Canada, and in one hotel in Washington state we went swimming. When we went in, all of the YT's promptly got out. I saw one kid crying to his mom "Why can't we swim? I want to swim!" and his mother hissed at him to "shut the hell up". When I asked my mother if everyone got out because of us (it was even obvious to me as an 8 year old), she said "don't worry about it, there's just more room for us to swim now". And being a kid, I promptly forgot about about it. But now that I know better, I'm sure she felt all of the pain, hurt, and frustration those kids in Philly felt, and what made it more ridiculous is though Black, she is the same skin tone as those who got out. I am grateful she made light of it for my sake, so I did not feel what she felt too.


And finally, a cinema related statement on race; a post that my blogging soulmate Tafari did for The Afrospear, which he relayed got him a lot of heated haterade comments:

"Yesterday, I made it a point to go see “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” in IMAX. Ever since the last Transformers theatrical release I had been giddy for more.

Hours before I headed to the movies, I started reading posts online that discussed racism in the movie but still I pressed on to Showcase Cinemas and dropped $10.50 for my ticket.

Fast forwarding 2.5 hours later. I’m walking out of the theater with my mind blown for many reasons; 1st, the movie was so action packed I thought I was going to slip into a seizure. 2nd the movie was overtly sexual, which made it seem like an R rated movie instead of PG-13 and 3rd the racism that was built into the movie was billed as comedic relief.

As I drove home, I tried to reconcile the racism but I could not, so I decided to sleep on it.

So this morning, when I woke up, I actually got mad about what I saw in “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.” The racism that I’m talking about in case you don’t already know is dealing with the Autobot twins “Skids” and “Mudflap” or the “ Little Black Sambo[ts].

1. Both of the twins talk like they are straight from a Lil Wayne video.
   
   
2. They play the dozens (crack jokes on each other and anyone else) in every scene.
3. They are seemingly proud of the fact that they cannot read. “Read?! Nuh-uh…” “No, we don’t really do much readin’!”
   
   
4. Skids has a GOLD front tooth. Yes, a big bucked out gold tooth
5. The names “Skids” and “Mudflap” imply darkness and or nastiness.
   
   
6. Do I really need to add a 6th, you should get the picture now.

(Wait, for extra measure, if you want to see another relevant countdown list, you have to read this. “7 reasons why Transformers 2 might be racist…”)

With all this now parsed out, I’m wondering why and how this stereotypical bullshit slipped past Michael Bay and Paramount Pictures. Did they care? Did they know? Did they think it was ok?

I feel bad and torn because I actually liked the movie a lot, but how could I in good conscious? Maybe it’s the kid in me remembering watching the cartoon way back in the mid 80s.

Although the racism pisses me off about this flick, I was also disturbed about the adult content and overt hypersexuality. But like I said, I liked the movie, so what does this mean about me?

I know I won’t see the movie again, nor will I purchase the DVD. I do not want my kids seeing this mess and not only that it’s so not a kids movie. Don’t let the PG-13 rating fool you!

Transformers used to be all about the kids way back when, but not so much now thanks to Michael Bay and Paramount Pictures. I’m just saying.

Side note: This post is not nearly what I wanted it to be. Not at all! My thoughts are with and on Michael Jackson. As I wrap this up, I’m chair dancing to “Off The Wall” while I try to control my urge to cry about a man that reached my soul through song, dance and beauty."

From IW: Why am I not surprised that Mike Epps was the voice one of those coontastic robots?

Update: OK, I was misinformed. It wasn't Mike Epps, but one of the voices was YT Tom Kenny, who also voices Spongebob Squarepants :-(

This N' That

Lots of stuff floating around...hope I can remember everything; this post might get a bit long...

Let's start off with the Whitaker. Now, I've poked fun at the "beauty" of his wonderful face, but when it gets serious like this I am deeply disturbed. How does a studio deem him suddenly"too black and ugly" to be bankable? It's not like dude was Prince Charming and got into a car accident. How long has he been acting and in how many films? And by the way, didn't he win an Oscar? My loathing for the Hollywood powers that be increases by leaps and bounds daily. For the full story click here (thanks Sergio).

Anyhoo, Tyler Perry is being discussed again, this time for something besides the side-eye of his movies. Supposedly, he is being accused by The Writers Guild of America (not good) of unfair labor. They say he fired 4 writers from "House Of Payne" and "Meet The Browns" when they tried to negotiate a Writers Guild contract for the show. I have two questions...#1) how you gonna have a TV show with TV writers and not have them in a standard Hollywood union? and #2) "House Of Payne" actually has someone writing it on purpose? Yikes!

I wrote a little earlier that Will Smith was doing a sequel to "I Am Legend" and asked how that could possibly happen since dude was blown up into a million pieces at the end. Turns out it is a "prequel" that he has definitely signed on to do. Either way, I deem it as wholly unnecessary, since about 1% of sequels or prequels actually add anything to the original.


Here is the trailer for the movie "Notorious". *sigh* I still miss Big.



Speaking of beloved rappers, yesterday I was laid up due to an overindulgence of some blue Devil's brew drink called an "Adios", which is surely the work of the cheap liquor gods. I watched a ton of movies all day, one of which was "Poetic Justice" (starring Tupac) which was much better than I remembered. Back in the day, people thrashed it cause of Janet Jackson's performance, among other things. How ironic that now it plays better than practically all of the Black Cinema that has been produced in the past two years.

I also saw "Gang Related", which was much worse than I remembered (the soundtrack was bangin' tho!). It entailed Tupac staring off into space a lot and smoking a cigarette while being yelled at by Jim Belushi (who sometimes I want to poison) from beginning to end. The odd thing was, that in the beginning they had these warnings: SO: Shoot Out, BC: Bad Cop, SD: Shakedown (?!), and TU: Tupac. WTF? The very presence of Tupac is such a harmful entity in and of itself that it merits it's own warning? If anyone should have a warning attached, it's Jim Belushi for his non/over acting coupled with his constantly sweaty, non-showered look.


Niecey Nash's TV show "Do Not Disturb" was cancelled after just 3 episodes airing. Damn! Maybe now she'll get the hint that maybe, just maybe, she should expand her repertoire beyond "sassy, neck-rolling Black woman".


James Earl Jones is being honored with a SAG lifetime achievement award (btw, I hope many of you were able to catch the classic "The Great White Hope" with him in it on TV One over the weekend). Above is a pic of him and Cicely Tyson back in the day...he looks like he is proceeding to get his mack on, and I think Madonna's designer from way back stole that dress, yes? From Black Talent News:

James Earl Jones, whose acting prowess and iconic voice are world-renown, will receive the Screen Actors Guild’s most prestigious accolade—the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award for career achievement and humanitarian accomplishment. Jones will be presented the Award, given annually to an actor who fosters the "finest ideals of the acting profession," at the "15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®," which premieres live on TNT and TBS Sunday, Jan. 25.

I know I am late, but I haven't posted much this week. A very peaceful journey to Paul Newman, who was not only one of my favorite actors, but possibly the finest looking white man that ever touched ground on Planet Earth. I loved him for the fact that he lived life to the fullest; racing cars, acting, and trying to make the world a better place with his humanitarianism, all while staying married to his wife and partner for decades, a complete rarity in Hollywood. He was definitely an icon in every sense.


And finally, thanks for the recognition of my peeps for my blog. I received an "Honest Blogger Award" from "The Happy Go Lucky Bachelor" and "Make Fetch Happen". High praise indeed, as both of these blogs are on my must reads. If "honest blogger" = "stays talking sh*t" then guilty as charged!

I also received the "Blogging Star Award" from my soul/blogging sister Ms. Marvelous of "The Marvalus View". We started blogging at about the same time, and if you can love someone you've never met, then that's how it is with me when I visit her blog. It always gives me comfort in it's honesty and consistency---I hope she never stops blogging...thank you, sis!

Reader Comments....

There were some terrific responses to the post I wrote the other day regarding Wesley Morris opinion piece on the state of Black Hollywood called "A Black Hole". The comments were are relevant to many posts I have done on this blog, so I will put up a few of them in the upcoming week. Many were very thoughtful and well written. First up is Tambay Obenson's from The Obenson Report:

Your title to this entry says it all... "So what else is new?"

As I've probably mentioned before, I'm simultaneously attracted to and repelled by articles like this. On one hand, when I read Wesley Morris's piece (and the myriad of others like it), I'm encouraged that there are some of us who do demand and expect better; but then I'm also turned off by what feels like a rather "defeatist" attitude that's unfortunately prevalent amongst us.

I've grown weary of talking about what's wrong with black cinema. I feel like we've already granted it much lip service and should be past that, enough to see a shift towards some real action! So, I'm much more interested in hearing plausible solutions.

Maybe we should borrow from Malcolm X, and adopt a "by any means necessary" kind of stance, and build from there.

I think we all should be challenging ourselves here (myself included, of course)! Do we REALLY want change, and if so, what are we doing individually to see the change that we want? Or rather, what are we WILLING to do? Are we being passive, waiting for someone else to lead? Or should we be unwaveringly aggressive, and start blazing new trails?

Tyler Perry doesn't really give a shit about what we think, and frankly, I'm tired of talking about the man! He is what he is, and will continue down whatever path he chooses, regardless of what any of us says or does! As someone said above, he fills a niche, and that's fine. Just because we aren't members of his niche audience doesn't automatically disqualify what he's been able to accomplish! He's in a comfortable position, and I don't see him doing anything to ruin his treasures! The same goes for the rest of the black Hollywood elite - Will Smith, Denzel, Oprah et al! They each have their own personal agendas - agendas that don't necessarily include the rest of us. So, is there really any point in concerning ourselves with what we think they should or shouldn't be doing, since we have absolutely zero control over the choices they each make, and doing so only leads to further frustration? I say no!

As radical as it might sound, maybe what we should be talking about here is some kind of revolution from the ground up. Instead of waiting for them to foster change, those of us who are aware and "mad as hell" should lead the way... and the rest just might actually follow!I obviously don't have all the answers, and I don't expect any one person to generate the ultimate solution, but let's start hearing some real solutions to the problem, especially those that are within the power of the people, whether individually or collectively!

So What Else Is New?

Reader Janice posted a link in the comments to an article on a subject that many of us have lamented about repeatedly. It was written by Wesley Morris, a Black film critic at the Boston Globe. I have been Brother Morris' number one fan since his days at the San Francisco Chronicle, and a link to him has been on my blogroll since the first day I started my blog.

He is an insightful reviewer with excellent writing skills, and I always read and trust his film reviews before anyone else's; I rarely disagree with him. And I most certainly agree with him on this subject, without a doubt. Check it:

A few weeks ago I got to see Terrence Howard and Anika Noni Rose play Brick and Maggie "the Cat" in Debbie Allen's Broadway production of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." I went home depressed. Not because the show was bad, although, in its clanging way, it is. I was depressed because for all its shortcomings, the show was a big entertainment event that doesn't happen much in the movies: It had premium melodrama and black stars being starry. As a moviegoer, I hurt for that kind of glamour.

I felt the same hangover leaving an exhilarating concert by Erykah Badu and the Roots earlier this month, and watching both "The Wire," which just said goodbye to us and HBO, and the staggering acting in that production of "A Raisin in the Sun" ABC aired in February: Why isn't black life this interesting, vibrant, or complex at the movies? How is it that Terrence Howard can play a legendary character on the New York stage but is stuck as the sidekick who's jealous of Robert Downey Jr.'s hardware in "Iron Man"?

When it comes to black America, the movies are stagnating. Well, when it comes to any nonwhite male subject matter at the movies, the pickings are slim. But there's such a wealth of black stars, producers, and directors that the scarcity of movies - big-ticket or small, serious or light - focused on the lives of black people, is surreal. There's a gaping entertainment void. It's not just the lack of quantity. It's the lack of variety. Despite the usual death notices posted for hip-hop, black popular music is alive and well.

At the moment, black movies come in two flavors: uplift dramas and Tyler Perry. The first is represented by all those feel-good movies - "Akeelah and the Bee," "Stomp the Yard," "Pride," "The Great Debaters" - that, bless their hearts, wanted to empower us, but that nobody flocked to see. Message movies are a great notion but tricky as entertainment. The makers of these films have this noble but somewhat misguided idea that the average black moviegoer wants to feel like she's in school.

Perry's megaplex successes suggest that the average black moviegoer wants to feel like she's in church. His movies have sermons. His movies have soap opera. And, increasingly, his movies have stars. In the past, I've said only somewhat jestingly that a Tyler Perry movie is where black actors go to get back in touch with their roots. (The prim, post-Nipplegate Janet Jackson who showed up in "Why Did I Get Married?" wasn't just making a movie, she was asking for forgiveness.) But now a Tyler Perry movie is where a black actor goes to act. Angela Bassett is the star of "Meet the Browns." "Daddy's Little Girls" had Gabrielle Union and Idris Elba. And the movie that Perry, who essentially works without Hollywood's help, is currently filming has Alfre Woodard, Sanaa Lathan, and the loveable Taraji P. Henson, that pregnant, hook-belting hooker from "Hustle & Flow."

(to read the rest of the article, click HERE )

Interesting....

Sergio sent this email to me today. I love to learn about new Black filmmakers and share them with you. This one seems to be making a bit of a splash, and he has one of the coolest names ever:

IW-

So have you heard that the big new film that's getting all the praise at this year's Cannes Film Festival is Hunger directed by black British filmmaker Steve McQueen? (Of course NOT to be confused with the famous actor with the same name) This McQueen is a highly praised modern visual artist in the U.K. and Europe and Hunger is his first film. (I've attached a photo of him below) I've sent you a link to Variety's review of his film and a comments from Variety's Anne Thompson from her blog about the movie.

The last African-American filmmaker I can think of who got praised at Cannes for his film was Spike Lee and that was some years ago. We being left in the dust.

Sergio

Variety review

http://www.variety.com/article/VE1117937146.html?c=-1

Thompson On Hollywood:

"This is a talented new filmmaker, hugely gifted, visual and daring. The story of an IRA hunger strike in a Belfast prison is rough to sit through. McQueen throws everything in your face. But he does it with style. And Michael Fassbender--who appears to come close to really starving himself-- is a new star. He's going to play Heathcliff in a new version of Wuthering Heights. I doubt that anyone in the states will pick Hunger up. This is about discovering new talent. There was a rousing ovation from the press; Brit McQueen may be a strong candidate for the Camera d'Or, the prize for first-time filmmakers."

From IW: So if this film and the filmmaker are so great, why won't it get picked up in the states? Is it the subject matter--or the fact that the director is black, and not only Black, but has the nerve to be dark complected too?

We get films in America with dark subject matter regularly, and I get the feeling that if this movie were made by someone like Terrence Malick, we would be reading something different. I am so very, very sick of us being regulated into some f**ked up box. This is one of the very films we need to have shown in the U.S., that shows the versatility and diversity of what a Black filmmaker is capable of.

Today In B'Days

Kimberly Elise is 41.

Her birthday was actually yesterday, but I was too lazy to do but one post...

I wanted to say something about her, cause I rewatched "Diary Of a Mad Black" woman the other day (only because I half-watched the first time). When I wasn't distracted by Shemar Moore's ridiculous cornrowed lacefront wig, I kept thinking that she would probably be very good in some romantic comedies. Why is the go-to always Gabrielle Union? I'm so tired of women that look 100% Black not getting any work!

Here is Madea breakin it down to Kimberly about the realities of a woman's worth--hilarious.

And here is Kimberly with my beloved in "Pride"

This N' That

Note: Please forgive spelling errors as Blogger spellcheck is not working, and I am the world's worst speller.

Hope you guys are having a good weekend...it's Super Sunday so I know I won't be seeing a lot of you until tomorrow, haha. I was a chosen blogger by Nielsen to rate the Superbowl commercials...tho I come from a football lovin' family, it's never been my thing (I like to watch the puppy bowl), but the commercials are always a big discussion in the public for the past few years, so it might be interesting....is anybody else doing this rating? Let me know....

Billary and Obama's camp were in Cali over the weekend for rallys, Hill in San Francisco and Ted Kennedy with one of the women I absolutely adore, Representative Barbara Lee across the bridge in Oakland for Obama. I noticed that when Hillary speaks now, it is so overly careful and heavily modulated...extremely unatural. It's like somebody told her "try to speak calmly the way Obama does". You can see her concentrating so hard to keep a level oration that you can't even focus on what she's saying, and the long pauses between words don't help. I wonder how many people she's fooling with that mess.

Normally I try to go to as many film festivals as I am able, both Black and non-black. While looking at the advance program for The San Francisco Independent Film Festival there was not ONE black film featured. WTF? To me that is just blatant "we don't give a f--k, and we don't care if you know it" and I cannot support an independent film festival with zero diversity. One reader, I forget who it was, said that Black film festivals are pretty much useless as far as getting your film distributed, but the white ones are where all the money is made. At this point in time, regretfully I would have to tend to agree, so it's extra f'd up that we get no love at fests like these. There was ONE six minute preview short about some rap group from Oakland. That figures. There was one film out of like 25 that featured a person of color, a Dominican kid from Brooklyn. If you would like to call the film festival on their BS (which I think is very important we start doing) click HERE, and tell director/founder Jeff Ross about himself and the policies of his festival. If you care about Black film and how we are represented, these are the things we need to do.

Anyway, over at BygBaby's blog, I found out about a film called "Touissant", which is being directed by Danny Glover about the infamous former leader of Haiti. Don Cheadle plays Touissant, and it co-stars Mos Def, Chiwetel Eljiofor, Angela Bassett, and my favorite wierdo, Roger Guenveur Smith. I see that Jonathan Rhys Myers is getting top billing, so I hope it's not another one of 'our stories' told by some YT's perspective once again....I would like those to go away for a while, imho.

Speaking of opinions, I will be giving mine (of which I have many, haha) along with Qadree from Culture Critical, The Black Actor, and Mr. Obenson on his podcast "The Obenson Report" tomorrow, Monday, at 9pm EST. We will be discussing all things Black Cinema, of course. If you want the info, click here.

And finally, some things I see I want to post here; alas they are not fitting with the content of this blog, but I could not resist this one. Someone seems to be keeping company with Jasmine Guy in the club of "aging rapidly and not well":

The party's over, Pam, please read the memo in it's entirety.

More Hollywood Shenanigans....

I'm only gonna do a couple of short posts today...it was my berffday weekend (me and the King!) and I have been practically bathing in lemondrop martinis, topped off with a Jim Beam-sponsered party last night. I don't know how those hillbillys drink that stuff. Needless to say today I am feeling the full effects of it.

I just wanted to mention this, tho, and was wondering if anyone else has noticed a trend. I saw the movie "Cloverfield" (which by the way, was a very fine piece of filmmaking.....if anyone tells you it wasn't off the hinges, they are too jaded to be going to the movies).

The previews were extremely interesting to me....there were four, and they all seemed to star the same white, bland, faceless, 23 year old girly-man as the main character. I'm serious. I could not tell if the dudes were different or the same. But what was more interesting/disappointing was that there seems to be a new type of "magical negro" sprouting.

For those of you who don't know, the "magical negro" in a film is a black character that exists solely to give the central or main white characters advice, life lessons, help, or come-uppance in a film. They seem to have no other existence or pleasure in life other than helping said YT in their journey. Examples of this are Will Smith in Bagger Vance, MCD in The Green Mile, and Scatman Crothers in "The Shining".

Anyhoo--there seems to be a new league of these coming up, but they are the "heavy"-- intimidating rather than subservient. They give the white character their come-uppance, albeit in a violent way, and they are:

-dark (which I'm fine with)

-super violent and/or menacing in every way

-completely second banana to this bland, faceless white dude

-actors that should have their own films with top billing.

The ones seen in the previews were Laurence Fishburne, Djimon Hounsou, and Samuel Jackson.

I must say that I don't believe I was making too much of viewing these previews, and what really gets me is the trailers probably contain about 10 to 15 seconds of each of them, regardless that you can tell they are very central to the story and probably get tons of screentime in the actual films themselves. What value are they placing on some of our communities most loved male actors? What kind of message are they sending out by making these films? Why are these major actors playing second fiddle to some kid I've never seen before and don't care about? WTF is up with this type of marketing in the trailers? Who are they marketing to, cause it most certainly doesn't seem to be us.

We are invisible even in the movie trailer realm. What do you guys make of this? What action should we be taking besides "witholding our dollars" which is a start, but imho not that effective of a message?


On a lighter note, for a funny caption on Digimon aka Djimon, click here.

Today In B'Days

Denzel Washington is 53. The dude in this picture is supposed to be a "Denzel Washington impersonator". Uh, yeah...good luck with that.

Nichelle Nichols is 75. Wonder how she feels about Zoe Saldana playing her role in the upcoming "Star Trek" movie?

Since we're on the subject of Nichelle, here is a clip where she played a hardcore pimpette in the Isaac Hayes Blackexploitation classic "Truck Turner". I'm thinking maybe it's a good thing that this may be the only movie she ever made other than Star Trek....some people should just never attempt to utter a cuss word. LMBAO at the line: "They call her Turnpike, cause you gotta pay to get on, and pay to get off!":

Also, just missing the "WTF Volumes".....there was some huge poll done in the UK the BFI (British Film Institute) did on the top 100 Black Film Icons. First of all, there are 100? Are they including cartoon voices?

In the Black Male category, the top three are Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, and Sidney Poitier. Okay, check, everything seems to be in good order there.

But in the Black Female category, the top 3 are as follows:

Nichelle Nichols

Dorothy Dandridge

Hattie McDaniels

I mean, WTF? Of course I have no problem with Ms. Dandridge, but Nichelle? Ummmm, she's a TV actress---hello? And I won't even begin to comment on that Hattie McDaniels bulls--t. Don't even get me started. To be fair, tho, they misspelled Nichelle's name in the poll, so what do they really know?

F'd up invisibility and screwed up Black perceptions have a passport all over the world.

Somebody Found Cynda Williams....

From AOL:

Wesley Jonathan, who was last seen opposite Anthony Mackie in 'Crossover' and 'Roll Bounce' with Bow Wow, is currently in a film that's playing in limited theaters.

'Divine Intervention' is a comedy about a young, hip preacher who becomes the temporary pastor of a small fundamental Baptist church in Los Angeles when the long presiding pastor has to take an indefinite leave of absence after suffering a stroke.

Directed by Van Elder, the cast also includes Jazsmin Lewis, Laz Alonso, Roz Ryan, Carl Gilliard, James Avery, Luenell, Lisa Dewitt, Reynaldo Rey, and Cynda Williams.

From IW: It must be very limited theaters, cause it sure isn't playing around here. Wesley Jonathan is a cutie pah, but I wanna see what Luenell is gonna do.

Reader Comments and Industry Shenanigans.....

I love you guys' comments...it is always so interesting to read what someone thinks about film and it's by-products...some of your comments are very thoughtful and on point, some of them make me laugh out loud--freakin' hilarious.

I want to post a couple of comments that came up in the past couple days, as I thought some of you may be interested. The first up is from reader Janice, who commented on my post "Chocolate Rain" regarding the movie "Bolden":

wow, i'm really excited about this (and this is the first I've heard about the movie.

I was googling and came across a trailer for a short movie written by one of the lovely actresses, Karimah Westbrook.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=91509181

I really want to see this short film but they don't have any info, looks well shot.

I took a look at the page, and must admit, it did pique my interest; unfortunately it is probably one of those films that will be shown at a couple black film festivals and never heard from again **sigh**. The synopsis is this:

Best Kept Secret is a short drama that explores the Down Low lifestyle that many African American men are living. Today, while there are black men who are openly gay, the majority of those having sex with men still lead secret lives, products of a black culture that deems masculinity and fatherhood as a black man’s primary responsibility.

A few years ago, the epidemiological data started rolling in, showing increasing numbers of black women who weren’t IV users getting infected with H.I.V. While some were no doubt infected by men who were using drugs, experts say many were infected by men on the Down Low. The center for disease control states that African American women represent a whopping 68% of new H.I.V cases, causing President Bush to declare a state of emergency and pledged to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in the black community.

AIDS researchers point to shame and stigma as two driving forces spreading AIDS in America. Best Kept Secret will heighten the awareness of this dangerous secret and encourage people to live a more protective and honest sexual lifestyle.

From IW: Here is the trailer:


Reader Lance, a screenwriter, has made some interesting points over the past few days...this one related to those actresses in "Bolden" as well:

hmmm, i wonder if "hollyweird" are going to "shop" the new sisters to push out the "old"...particular sistergals who are in their 30's...like sanaa, gabrielle, nia and so on...

it's the glass ceiling effect but in hollywood, age is the excuse. and if you ain't got major $$$$ to bankroll your own project...the future looks dim. ;-(

Even if that is what might possibly happen in the future, these pretty chicks don't have much to look forward to...example--this post I read on a blog that recently came on my radar "The Black Actor", another blogger who also writes about Hollywood shenanigans and its effects on Black folk:
Something Sanaa Lathan Said...

I was preparing another post and fooling around on the computer. In the back of my mind was what Sanaa Lathan stated in that Essence interview. She said, “I’m happy to have gotten a job this year.”

Anyhoo, while on IMDB I took a look at Sanaa’s work over the past four years.
I was stunned.

For the years 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 Sanaa Lathan has appeared in TWO FILMS only!

I had no idea.

Then I took a look at Nia Long

I was equally surprised. She doesn’t fare much better than Sanaa Lathan – with only five movies in the last four years.

Then I was wondering about Gabrielle Union, she’s working regularly.

Only TWO FILMS in the last four years!?

From IW: Damn. She posted this too:

Where are the young black actresses?

Where u at?

I was going to prepare a post. But now I can’t. So, I guess I’ll post this instead…

I needed two things to write the post. To begin with, I needed two lists…

a list of ten popular white actresses under 30 – between the ages 20 - 29.a list of ten popular black actresses under 30 – between the ages 20 - 29.

I’m unable to write the post because I can’t finish one of the lists. :(

… unless you, the readers can. I don’t know everything. There’s plenty that I don’t know. And plenty I’m not in the loop about. So, I could be missing eight actresses.

It’s quite possible. In fact, I’m really expecting to be embarrassed if and when readers fill up the list. Because as I’m writing, I’m saying to myself, “surely, you’re missing people.” Because really, I just can’t believe this is the end of the list. I don’t believe it.

[The Black List]
Meagan Good
Lauren London

[The "Other" List]
Hilary Duff
Anne Hathaway
Lindsay Lohan
Scarlett Johansson
Christina Ricci
Kate Hudson
Kirsten Dunst
Anna Paquin
Jessica Biel
Keira Knightley

Isn’t it reasonable to expect that in almost 2008, we should be able to name off the top of our head ten young black actresses?

I was unable to do this.

Can anyone?

Ah, Meagan Good. I remember when I first saw her in Eve’s Bayou. I thought her career held such promise. Like Jurnee Smollett, I thought Good’s showing in the film was more than respectable. I thought Meagan Good was going to blossom into a highly regarded young actress. It seems that Meagan Good is becoming more well known as a caricature in the gossip rags, rather than a talented young actress to be reckoned with (which she probably could be – and may still be, before all is said and done).

The good news: Meagan Good works very regularly!

As for newcomer Lauren London, I thought she held her own in ATL.

One of the reasons I don’t think young black actresses are given the chance to shine and bloom like their white counterparts is because I think often their white counterparts are seen as actresses first and whatever else they are, second. Say what you want to say about Lindsay Lohan, she is still recognized as a very talented actress. My guess is that sistas are probably often seen through amorous eyes first; probably in some instances with little regard to their thespian capabilities.

When the list fills up, I’ll write the post.

How were they selected? Not much thought went into it. I just started listing the names of some of the most popular actresses I knew of. Then I separated them by age. I went from there.

If you’re wondering, the following people don’t qualify for the list. Why? The main reasons…

Beyonce has been in only two movies the last four years. Jennifer Hudson has only one film credit at present. Eve hasn’t been in a motion picture in three years. Raven Simone has appeared in one film in the last four years.

From IW: In case anyone thought we were making inroads in Hollywood...SIKE!

Speaking of Lauren London, 100% percent of you agreed that the Lauren/Weezy hookup was extremely disgusting, to put it nicely, haha. Lance also had a great theory on why 50 cent (and reader names 5 dimes, 50 pennies, and my favorite, .34 Euros, from LaJane) was in a thousand years able to act with DeNiro and Pacino...which everyone was completely perplexed on, (including me):


when i first heard about this project a year ago. 50cent, deniro and pacino, i was like "wtf?!!!"...50???

get real...true, there are plenty of actors who could "probably" do a superior job than 50 based on previous acting roles, etc. but why 50?... i did some research to find out that millennium films, that produced "home of the brave" starring 50 is also producing this film "righteous kill". interesting.

did 50 had a contractual commitment with this prod. co that would have tied him into this film? maybe or maybe not. but one thing is for sure...50 cent has "will smith" bank right now and he could have easily bankrolled his way into the film with millennium's producers blessing.

will i watch the film? sure, it's de niro and pacino. those are the stars to watch fo sho. the producers would be suicidal to have 50 run alongside d&p for the length of the film. if so, d&p will school him so much, that they ain't gonna let him fuck up "their" game. case in point: denzel washington in "training day"...who woulda thought snoop dogg and dr. dre would step up their acting game. when denzel's on the set, betta have yo' shit together.

From IW: Indeed.

And finally, I mentioned the other day I was developing a crush on Tony Rock. Well, after viewing this little tidbit he's in, I might have to rethink that. Remember "Farrah", the one who was kicked out of Destiny's Child back in the day? Well , she's made a "movie" called "Single Black Female", which is such a huge rip-off of "Single White Female" that they didn't even bother to change the title. Even worse, it looks like it was filmed on somebody's camera phone, straight up. It should also be noted that Farrah is one of the "Executive Producers", which goes a long way in explaining the reason why this film is even in existence. Watch at your own risk:

Not My List....

People magazine put out their annual list of "Sexiest Men Alive" and once again it's a big yawn. And once again Black Hollywood is practically invisible...I mean, is it really a risk putting Will Smith on the list every year?

Out of the top 15, maybe I can see Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt (kinda the same ol' same ol' tho). Ben Affleck is even OK as he looks like an old fashioned movie star from the 40's or 50's to me....but there are 50 Black Hollywood stars I would name before them, and they definitely aren't Will Smith and Shemar Moore (who was also named, wtf?)

I am convinced that these lists, just like the casting of much of mainstream Hollywood, are done by 130 lb queenie Ivy League graduates in tight jeans and girlie Fall Out Boy haircuts. In other words, completely out of touch. I don't get why they fail to see why magazine readership is down, TV viewership is down, and movie box office is down. You know why? Generic, uninspired ideas with zero diversity is NOT WORKING.

Btw: this is who was named sexiest man alive:
Update: I forgot to mention that Justin Timberfake is on this list....an automatic red flag that this list is one that I should take with a grain of salt.