This N' That....

Okay folks; please tell me you saw "Blackula" and "Scream Blackula Scream" last weekend on TV One. If not, for shame! :-)

I have a laundry list of things going on in Black Cinema--some of it good, some of it pure f*ckery.

First up this one:

Director John Singleton is no longer attached to direct the feature film adaptation of the 80s TV series “The A-Team,” according to Variety.

The filmmaker reportedly balked at Fox’s attempt to delay the long-gestating project for another year to allow more time for script development. The project had already been delayed multiple times due to script issues.

The Web site ComingSoon.net claims Fox is really pushing back the film to make room for an “Alvin and the Chipmunks” sequel. In either case, “The A-Team” release date has been moved from June 12, 2009 to June 11, 2010.

From IW: An A-Team remake with an underdeveloped script? Say it aint so! You know your movie is beyond tired when they push it back in favor of "Alvin & The Chipmunks 2". This is about the 99th project I've read about John Singleton starting and not finishing. 'What the problem is?' as Madea would say.


In other completely unnecessary remake news is this (thanks sergio!):

Having most recently played a dirty cop in "Lakeview Terrace," Jackson is set to star as a bad guy again in Columbia Pictures' remake of Berry Gordy's 1985 cult classic "The Last Dragon."

Jackson will play Sho'nuff, the Shogun of Harlem, a role played in the original by the late Julius Carry, whose spiel included asking ego-driven questions like "Am I the baddest mofo lowdown around this town?" Each time his gang of thugs answered, "Sho 'nuff!"

From IW: This one is co-produced by my fourth husband The RZA, which upon this news, may become one of my ex-husbands. At the very least, they should get Taimak to play Leroy Green again-he looks just as good as he did in 1985, for reals.



Speaking of Sergio and Samuel Jackson, here is Sergio's take on the upcoming movie "Soul Men" after viewing a preview screener:


'I saw Soul Men this morning at a screening and I'm sorry to say that it's shame that Bernie Mac is not around anymore because he'll never have another opportunity to make make up for the dreadful mess this film is.

It's an abysmal, unfunny, extremely tasteless movie that will stun you speechless when you see how bad it is. It's without question one of the worse films Ive seen this year, somewhere in the top three. There wasn't a single laugh or chuckle from the people in the theater when I saw it. Just stunned silence.

There's NO comic timing or pacing and dialogue, in which literally every other word is the F word, it's clumsy, awkward and just plain painful to hear. (Remember the really awful F word heavy dialogue in Eddie Murphy's Harlem Nights? Well this is just as bad or even worse) Bernie Mac is simply just plain not funny at all throughout the entire the film. I understand that he was ill while making the film and that could explain why he's somehow "off his game" in this film. Samuel L. Jackson literally just screams (as he usually does) his way through this film, yet another crappy film in his long list of crappy films that he's made in his career. And wait till you see the final big supposedly comic highlight towards the end involving Bernie, Jackson and John Legend. You (and the audience) will be astounded by how awful and tasteless it is.

Every cliche you've ever seen before about two old partners who can't stand each other but get back together (like The Sunshine Boys) are used but even more wretchedly than before. And of course there's the obligatory super nerdy white guy who wants to be cool to make black audiences feel superior to a white man because he "ain't got no rhythm".

And there's also this pathetic far-from-comic over stereotyped character of this would-be rapper/drug dealer in the film who appears in a couple of scenes who is SO painful to watch that I wanted to walk out every time he appeared in screen.

(One good thing in the entire film, maybe, for guys of my generation is a brief cameo appearance early in the film by the legendary adult film actress of the 70's and 80's Vanessa Del Rio but of course she wasted too)

What even bothers me more is while watching it is that once again I felt that black cinema is in very sorry state of affairs. Medicine for Melancholy excluded, if this is what we're getting then there just shouldn't be any more black films, period. I would be happy and content just watching comic book superhero movie.

Next time I see a film with the credits: "Directed by Malcolm D. Lee" I'm heading for the hills.'

From IW: Ummm...dang. I'll reserve judgement until I see it (won't be paying tho). I'm seeing it cause of Isaac Hayes and the association with Malcolm Lee, whose career is starting to look a little dicey, at the very least.


Speaking of dicey moves, there is an online petition to get rid of The Cheadle in "Ironman" and bring back Baby Wipes Howard. Yes, really. If you want to see it, or heaven forbid sign it, you can click HERE.


In non-Black Hollywood news, I am really sad to see that Joaquin Phoenix has decided to quit acting for good. I saw "We Own The Night" last night, and really enjoyed it. It was a great cops and criminals action/suspense thriller, in which he co-starred with Robert Duvall and Mark Wahlberg. With so few real actors around, and folks like Robert Duvall and DiNiro getting older, it is sad to see someone like Joaquin leave, while Marky Mark keeps making movie after movie. I've always found that dude so wooden, and he looks and acts exactly the same way in every single film he's in. *sigh*


In other news, Elijah Kelley seems to be venturing from his brand new career in acting to writing/directing already. After getting rave reviews in "Hairspray" and landing a role in one of the supposed 3 biographical films of Sammy Davis, Jr. (what happened to those anyway?) he debuts with a project called "Who Killed Bishop Brown". It is described thusly:

'A scandalous romp filled with church politics, sexual tension and the untimely death of Bishop Brown. Kelley capitalizes on a style of filmmaking that has become very popular in the black community - a combination of drama, comedy, music, and morality.

Okay, here is the deal. Tyler Perry is to aspiring young black filmmakers what Quentin Tarrantino was to young white filmmakers a decade and a half ago. You can see Perry's influence throughout "Who Killed Bishop Brown." The dialogue, filmmaking and even casting choices mimic Perry’s production style.

“Who Killed Bishop Brown” is full of self-righteous dialogue, preachy messages and clumsy blocking. But it also features realistic characters and an ability to connect with the audience in a way put them in, in this film with Christian overtones.'




From IW: I'm sure Sergio will be thrilled to read this. Above is the trailer for it.....by the way, I got the info about the film from a site I discovered called "I Love Black Movies" which is filled Black Cinema movie reviews from folks that pretty much dedicate their lives to Black film and it's offshoots. It is definitely worth taking a gander, imho.

Another interesting blog worth wondering over to is IWBCAL commenter Camille Acey's "Adventures in Wheelville". In it she chronicles her life and times of being a former Brooklyn chick and now currently a one year resident of Radovljica, Slovenija (?!). Loves it.

Please check out my homie schlomie pop culture writer Michael G. Gonzales' co- project, "The Southernist". On it he describes his experiences with such elegant and intricate delicacies as chitlins and grits, haha!



Speaking of Mike G., he wrote this great comment on my post about Fred Williamson making Black Caesar:

[black caesar] is one of my favorite flicks; and the soundtrack is killer. i interviewed fred once and he told me james brown was mad, because he wanted to play the lead.

reminds me of when i read that originally, mgm wanted to cast sammy davis to play shaft...now, picture that.

From IW: James Brown as Black Caesar and Sammy Davis Junior as Shaft? I think God was directly involved in bypassing those two calamities, for sure.


And finally a huge big up to Reelblack's Michael Dennis winning CNN's IReport Film Festival. He says:

'I would like to personally thank everyone who viewed and voted for our film, which follows my grandmother's trek to vote for Barack Obama in the 2008 Pennsylvania Primary. It's been an amazing run. Since debuting at Fancypants Cinema and on Reelblack TV, we've been invited to screen in festivals in New York, LA and Charlotte, NC. The film will also screen the week of October 28 on BET-J's BLACK STORIES (along with Philly filmmaker Bianca White's short). All the comments are appreciated but there's so much more work to do. I chose the title The 13th Amendment to remind folks that there wasn't always a time when all Americans had the right of freedom. One of our greatest privileges is the Right To Vote. Please do it on November 4.'

From IW: Right on. If you'd like to see the short, you can view it HERE.