When Tyler Perry Is Considered....

Okay, naturally like everybody else I was totally and completely horrified when I first heard the news that Tyler Perry was chosen by Lionsgate to write, produce, and direct the classic play, "Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf" (I'm sure they'll shorten that title). I mean, WTF?

But then, after further reflection, I decided to keep a Zen attitude about it until the finished product....I mean, we've been bitchin' and moanin' (some of us, anyway) since I first started blogging about how mediocre Perry's scope of limited filmmaking is....he had a formula, followed it, then moved on to the next one in his factory line.

But maybe this is his chance to show there really is something else there, without him having the pressure of having to actually create the material himself. In my opinion, the Spike Lee films that I usually enjoy the most he did not write, and he definitely owns the film when all is said and done---maybe Tyler can do that as well. We should at least give him a chance and try to stay positive about it, no matter how great the initial disappointment.

On another note, speaking of Tyler and Spike, this project and Lee's "Passing Strange" lends a little gravity to the thoughts I've had for using on-stage media for film source, yes?

UPDATE: Hmmmm, maybe I spoke too soon...this from a commentor on Shadow And Act in response to a reader who wanted to start an online petition:

[NothingButAMan] – I TOTALLY support your idea of an on-line petition!! Being a former “Hollywood” girl I have great insight to this tragic situation. Stewart, who is an AMAZING talent, had been working solo on the project for the past 4 years (wrote script, secured rights, gained A-list talent, etc) only to have it stolen in a moments notice when she introduced the project to Perry who was only to exec produce. Sooooo- do you want me to start the petition or you? Another example of BLACK ON BLACK crime – this has to stop!!!!

From IW: Wow. Tyler is surely stepping in it....he might have bitten off more than he can chew. This from one of my loyal readers Ms. Lady Deborah:

IW,

I am going to try and keep an open mind until after I see the film.

For Colored Girls was one of the most important pieces of art for women of my generation. That was us up on that stage, talking like we did when we were hanging out with each other. Saying things that often we not spoken out loud during our young days of womanhood.

Those brothers coming from Nam, they were the men we were building relationships with and often paying devastating costs for doing so. Our anger, our joy and our love was/is right there.

It caused quite a bit of friction within the Black community. I remember when it played in my hometown, the brothers were all laughing and feeling the first part of the choreopoem-until the rough subjects like rape, violence and negative views starting being presented. Those moments caused many men to become outraged and declare that it was male bashing. But, we fought back in defense of what was said, because so many of us had lived those moments in our personal stories. Even though many of our men and families did not want to acknowledge that as a matter of fact.

I hope that Tyler realizes if he does not handle this material in a proper manner-he is going to catch the blues from multiple generations of sistas.

For Colored Girls is now a classical work of theatre. He'd better step real correct! I want to hear our voice and the voices of our younger sistas in a manner that I understand.


IW: Like Bernie Mac said in "The Player's Club": "they's gonna be trooouubbbllllee...."

A Jackson Special....

Sorry for the posting delay...my internet worked for about two days last week, then was down until today...I am not one to blog by phone, only Twitter. And speaking of Twitter, I now know where some of my regular commentors are, and why your blogs are updated like once a month now---everyone is on crack, oops I mean Tweet, lol. I got a little taste of why last night following a trend: #futuretylerperrymovies . I got so caught up in it; it was freaking hilarious--there are some very, very funny people out there, for reals.

Anyway, there was a movie at the L.A. Downtown Film Festival called "Jackson 5 In Africa" (narrated by fine ass Robert Hooks), about Michael and his brothers touring and experiencing Dakar, Senegal in the 70's. I thought it would be interesting to see them react to the continent, cause though they were no doubt very talented, they never struck me as being particularly educated or culturally aware (except for Michael). The film is rare, and hadn't been shown since the 70's....I'm sure that now it will definitely come out in some form or another; probably on DVD. This is some info from IMDB:

"This films was made by a group of African investors in 1974 who ran out of money trying to complete it. In 1982, the owner of the film, an international businessman, bartered with one of the original producers, acquiring a 16mm print of this rare documentary, in exchange for a rough diamond. After Michael Jackson died in 2009, the film's owner contacted a nonprofit organization to find a distributor for the footage."



Interesting. Speaking of Michael, Spike Lee is having a block party for Michael, now in Prospect Park in Brooklyn, from noon till 5pm on the 29th. It sounds so fantastically fun---I wish I could be there--my New York folkses get busy!



Hmmm....I was gonna talk about some other stuff, but let's just stick with the Jacksons now, yes? There is just too much going on with them, and I want to share. Like how they ruled Michael's death a homicide....ummm, really? I don't think anyone on this planet ever had plans to murder Mike, actually saying "I think I'm gonna kill Michael Jackson today"--I mean, how the eff would you get away with it? Manslaughter, maybe....nothing sinister going on, just recklessness, stupidity, and greed. I howled when I saw Bygbaby's tweet: "wonder if they will have Michael Jackson's body at his own murder trial. Might as well at this point" Indeed--why would anyone wait so long to bury somebody like that?


Speaking of greed, the remaining Jackson brothers are having their own reality show. You know you are trifling when your sibling's death is quite possibly the best thing that ever happened to you. What are they gonna show? Randy fixing cars? Marlon stocking shelves at Von's? Tito on his eleventeenth martini with his Jackson cover band? (all of which was widely reported on last year). All I know is mediawhore Jermaine must now have a 24 hour hard on....maybe now he can afford some real hair instead of that graffiti spraypaint he's been using...I mean, WTF?


Now Jermaine also won't have to come out with that book he tried to shop around a couple years ago, where he called Mike gay, a drug addict, and sneaky and devious (among other things), and how he excused living at his parents' house most of his adult life as being "needed", though most of the other sons were usually there as well...maybe it's time for at least a one bedroom, 'Maine.



Let me leave you with this tidbit that I found on Dlisted, which I watched with a sort of horrified fascination....earlier this year, I alluded to the fact that Marlon might be a bit....uh..."slow", and the more I see and hear LaToya, the more I think she might have that gene, too. This video does not help; it is her performing at a club in Slovenia (?!) in front of what looks and sounds to be about 7 people. Check out the end, where she comes out in a robe like she just performed in front of a stadium like Mike....now this is what reality shows are made of--A&E are you listening? Oh wait--I forgot--she said that she couldn't do "Dancing With The Stars" because of the "timing", but in the very same sentence said she would like to be a judge on "American Idol". Simon Cowell, are you listening?



Just curious; when someone asks you what you do for a living, how do you explain that you are one of Latoya Jackson's backup dancers?




dr.conrad pic from bossip

Question....

Ms. Invisible is officially back in her element. I moved back to the Bay last year to be closer to family and close friends, but I knew I was only denying the inevitable move back. I am an L.A. girl, and that's it, period. You will reap the benefits by getting some first hand reportage on all things Black Cinema.

I missed attending the opening night of Spike Lee's "Passing Strange" at the Downtown Film Festival, cause I was still in the Bay (a movie that sort of adds to my theory I posted about using plays for filmed material). It is sort of a small fest, so not too much was jumping off for Black films...there is a documentary about Bill Withers that I may catch called "Still Bill" playing tomorrow. There is another film screening there called "The Soul Of Ashanti" which I am almost ashamed to say I first thought was about the singer Ashanti, lol. To my relief it is based in Africa.

Nice to see some quality films on the circuit, but some things never change, and it's getting tiresome. While Sergio and I were lamenting the latest debacle from The Wayans Brothers, a sequel to "White Chicks" (they had the nerve to say they brought it back "by popular demand"), he wrote this:

"I was talking to a friend yesterday and we got into this discussion about why do we see so much coonery going on by black people in the media and in real life in general.

I think, and my friend agreed, it's because many (most?) black people deep down inside truly believe that they're inferior, totally worthless. That they're not in any way as intelligent, attractive, or simply as good or equal as white people. Therefore they resist acting intelligent, rational or even if they have common sense because they're terrified that they will be revealed as frauds and phonies. So it's much easier to act the fool. And that goes for the Wayans as well.

That's why you hear black people criticizing other black people about "acting white" What they're really saying is "How dare you think that you're as good as a white person, because we're not so don't pretend"."

From IW: Hmmmm....interesting. What do you think, guys? And yes, that is Damon Wayans below in the blackface.

This N' That....

Didn't watch the BET Awards last night, did you? I know there was a tribute to Michael J, which was nice, but did you know that Spike Lee and John Singleton both directed videos for the Gloved One? I didn't. (I posted the pic above cause I absolutely love these two together, so sue me.)


Speaking of Michael, The Reaper seems to be on a vendetta...Farrah, McMahon, and yesterday Billy Mays. Strangely I felt kinda bad about Billy---my co-workers had this joke that if they wanted someone to get their ass in gear they would imitate Mays and talk REALLY loud, saying that his shouting style seemed to motivate people. Someone was watching "Pitchmen" at my house (Billy's show) ironically the day before he died, and I felt an immense amount of respect for how he treated his family--they were so very loving, I'm very sad for them, he seemed like a very good man.


I watched, or half-watched, "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" on TV One yesterday, starring an array of very attractive and very C-List actors. Was that movie underwritten by Tyler Perry? All the elements were there...the gospel scenes, the child in peril, the woman getting her ass beat, and this seeming surplus of "good men" and all problems are completely solved by going to church. *yawn* But I have to admit that I absolutely adore the original series "Unsung", especially the profiles on Donny Hathaway, Minnie Ripperton, and Shalamar. What is up with Jeffery Daniel's upper crust semi-British accent? Weird.


The trash that is Transformers made a sh*tload of money over the weekend, being number one, of course. My Sergio had this to say:

"[Keep] this in perspective. The film cost $250 million to make and another $150 for advertising and marketing , so Paramount knew from the outset that they had to make the film the biggest opening ever if they had any shot to make their money back. Which is why the film already opened overseas almost two weeks ago and opened here in over 4200 theaters. And also keep in mind that the far and away superior The Dark Knight opened last year with an opening $203 million and it achieved that in three days while this racist piece of shit opened on a Wednesday."

A couple years ago I posted a piece about the first "Transformers" called "Racism And Robots" which you can read HERE. I didn't even write the actual article, yet I got some voracious hate mail and a good amount of traffic from it--still do. And yes, I still believe Michael Bay is a loser.



Speaking of traffic, why do I get tons from folks searching for Countess Vaughn of all people. Who can these people be and why do they want to know about her? The mind boggles.....


And listen to me and the majority of the contributors to Shadow And Act chop it up on a podcast tonight--get your details right HERE, my friend....5pm PST, 8pm EST.

For My New York Folkses....

Got this is my email:

Hey

My name is Jonathan Hyppolite from Afropunk. I was wondering if you can put up the Afropunk poster on your webpage for promoting the entire festival. Musician and Poet Saul Williams, Grammy Award-nominated Janelle Monae, and Legendary 1977 punk band Pure Hell are just a few of the headliners for the 5th Annual Afropunk Music/Film Festival in Brooklyn, NY. UrbanX will introduce the BMX/Skateboarding competitions with the prize being two tickets to the X-Games. Can't wait to see you guys there. History in the making.

Event: 5th Annual Afropunk Music/Film Festival
Place: Brooklyn Academy Of Music
Time 11am-10pm (times varies)
Dates: June 30th ( Webster Hall) July 4th-6th, July 12th (Bloc party)

Much Love

Jonathan Hyppolite
http://www.afropunk.com

Movies Revisited...Mo Better Blues

This is a repost from my other blog "Soul Sis-Star Reviews" (Movies Revisited), where Issa Rae and I give our two cents on Black Film we've watched. Please join us over there and give your two cents as well :-)


Even though this movie was highly anticipated when it came out, and I did indeed see it then, there were only a few details I remembered...the beautiful clothes, how pretty everyone looked, slightly crushing on Wesley Snipes (long gone, of course). But watching it again brought me a bit past my original superficial thoughts on the film.

For those of you who don't know, the plot synopsis is this (from IMDB--not a very good one, sorry):
"Opens with Bleek as a child learning to play the trumpet, his friends want him to come out and play but mother insists he finish his lessons. Bleek grows into adulthood and forms his own band - The Bleek Gilliam Quartet. The story of Bleek's and Shadow's friendly rivalry on stage which spills into their professional relationship and threatens to tear apart the quartet."

Like many of Spike's films, I found parts of Mo Better Blues to be pretentious and cartoony, edging on corniness--the dialogue of the children in the scene where Bleek Gilliam, the main character played by Denzel Washington was a child, the overly studied and propped shots of "the hood" that would even be too much for a photograph, the very familiar moving dolly shots that were part of Spike's trademark.

For some reason this time around they were endearing to me, maybe because it was a woeful reminder that there is a severe absence in trademarks or style in today's Black Cinema. There are some up and coming directors that are notable, to be sure, but none of them have established a familiarity of like, say, a Spike, Tim Burton, or Wes Bentley. Earnest Dickerson, the cinematographer on this film, was also on top of his game here--the colors, the crisp, professional look of the film, the surreal atmospheres, the intimacy of the jazz club, the way he made everyone look so lush and beautiful...even Spike almost had a handsome look in this one.

I got lost in the beauty of the movie, and wondered why I never crushed on Denzel back in the day. When I worked for The Studio That Will Henceforth Remained Unnamed, Denzel's production offices were right downstairs, and I was never even remotely curious. After viewing this film, I wondered for the rest of the day what planet I must have been on....yes, he was deserving of the sex symbol hype he garnered in the 90's--Denzel was hot as fish grease on the sun in this.


If this film were made today it would do gangbusters--the different moods of the film, from brooding, to comedic, to romantic flow very well together. The storylines--Bleek's sometimes acrimonious relationship with his right hand and sax player Shadow (Wesley), the shenanigans and gambling issues of his manager, Giant (Spike), the two timing love relationships that he had with his women, Clarke (Cynda Williams) and Indigo (c'mon, really, Indigo?) played by the one mega-weak link in the film (besides Cynda's anticlimatic "big" singing debut), Joie Lee, Spike's sister...the storylines mesh and never overwhelm each other.

I understand Spike has love for his sis, but I believe this would have been an infinitely even better film if a stronger, or at least more interesting actress would have been cast in ger role. Joie's personality (and I use that term loosely) seems to fade into the background; her look is different and while attractive in it's own right, is not particularly big screen worthy. In her love scenes with Denzel she has zero sex appeal--she made kissing on him look like a chore...what was up with that? Maybe she was uncomfortable with her brother shooting her that way...if that was the case, someone really should have let the Assistant Director step in.

I must admit, because of the dearth of interesting Black film (interesting to me, anyway) I have found that lately, rewatching film that are 10, 20, 30 years old, that I have a much deeper appreciation for the work, time, and creativity for movies such as this one. Mo Betta Blues has moved up more than a few notches in my book--if you haven't seen it, rent immediately--if only to reminisce on the comedic stylings of the late Robin Harris, the house comedian in the jazz club and to enjoy the jazzy score. Here is the trailer:

Dis N' Dat....

Yeah, I know, spotty posting. What can I say? If I was paid to blog in a real way, I'd blog every day...I just don't have the wherewithal like someone like The Black Snob...I'm a slacker and semi-proud of it!

For terrific movie news, join Tambay Obenson at the "Obenson Report", which had a veeery interesting dustup on Black Film Festivals HERE (be sure to read the comments), or hop on over to the great Black Cinema blog "Black Film Academy" which also faithfully lists calls for submission for filmmakers and screenwriters.

Onward....

Some of this you probably heard already, but you know I must always add my two cents.

Y'all know how I feel about Bey, so there is nothing more I can add to that. But Beyonce as Angela Davis? Just plain wrong. And Stupid with a capital "S".

What I do want to see is Wesley as James Brown in Spike's bio-pic. Me no likey Mr. Snipes for the past few years, but I am extremely intrigued to see what he and Spike will come with.

A friend of a friend of mine Cheo Hodari Coker, who wrote "Notorious", is now penning the bio-pic for Run DMC. Hmmm...all I know is that going to Stanford University seems to open a lot of doors, no matter what you choose to do in life.

This just in from Planet Duh: Will Smith is now officially the most valuable and highest paid actor in the business, in the world. Who woulda thunk?

Saw this clip of Gabourey Sidibe's audition for the movie"Push", by Lee Daniels, and thought it was interesting. What I don't find interesting, however, is that the film is being fought over by Lionsgate and the infamous Weinsteins. Just give it to Lionsgate you greedy fuckers and let us see a decent Black film for once!



I have been on deck to interview one of the film's producers and Lee's partner, Lisa Cortes, for some time now...I guess I'll have to wait for the final verdict to do it.

Am trying to stay out of the Rihanna/Chris Brown fray, but there is a lot of personal emotional involvement on the part of the general public. Should women be allowed to go ballistic on men with no consequences? How many breaks do you get being famous, even beating someone with the whole world watching? And so on. All I know is that this is just another sad case in Black male/female relationships, where there is already plenty of anger on both sides. Speaking of which, I will be reviewing "Diary Of A Tired Black Man" this weekend.



And speaking of relationships, lovely reader Ms. Lady Deborah (email me your address, girl) wins a copy of "A Good Day To Be Black And Sexy" (I will be interviewing the Director Dennis Dortch very soon so stay tuned). She thought the best Black Cinema love scene was Angela Bassett and Wesley Snipes love scene just holding each other all night after meeting in a hotel was terrifically romantic. She said: "When I think of what scene in a movie provided me with a realistic satisfying moment-it was in Waiting to Exhale. When Wesley and Angie met, cuddled and did not have sex. I believe that came across that way because the real need they had at that moment was being met."

I would tend to agree that sometimes the best sex is sexless. On second thought, maybe just rough and dirty talk sex. Ummm...Ms. Invisible will investigate and report back, haha!


Speaking of Angela Bassett, saw this on Obenson's blog:

Angela Bassett will be stepping behind the camera for the very first time, as director of a film based on a book by Percival Everett called Erasure, stating, "I always thought that I had a third eye, but it's frightening and I always wonder if I can pull it off... It's a good story. I've had opportunities in the past to direct smaller, independent movies and television shows. I never want to do it just for the heck of it."

Erasure has been sitting in my ever-growing pile of books to read for about a year now. It's about an African-American writer who "overcomes" his intellectual tendency to "write white" and ends up penning a parody of ghetto fiction that becomes a huge commercial and literary success.

From IW: Sounds great to me, with a tad of "Bamboozled" in it, it seems....now maybe Angie can give that strong jaw a rest for a while, lol.




thanks black market index and c&d for the bey, wesley pix

Random Movie News....

Yes, very random--a veritable Black Hollywood stew.

First up--Spike is all over the place these days...he is making a film on the L.A. Riots. From comingsoon.net:

Spike Lee may be close to filming his movie about the 1992 Los Angeles riots with producer Brian Grazer, who tells ComingSoon.net that it might hit theaters before their sequel to “Inside Man 2.”

Grazer, the founder of Imagine Entertainment with filmmaker/partner Ron Howard, said the L.A. riots film would be a “360 degree view of what that is, an autopsy of how a riot works."

Like Spike, Grazer has been trying to get the project made for a long time.

From IW: Hopefully, Spike and Grazer won't butt heads--those are 2 massive and polar opposite egos in the room. But if Spike gains control, at least it will be from a Black perspective for once.


Question...why, why why, is Universal ready to make a "Nutty Professor Part 3"?


I'm sorry, except for Hugh Jackman, this has to be the sorriest ass Sexiest Men Alive Top 10 List in homosapian history. Pathetic! (sorry Blair)



Have you heard that Cedric The Entertainer is in talks to make a movie based on the life of Marcus Garvey? About f*cking time somebody is! It will be extremely interesting to see Ced play a dramatic role with Garvey, and he does have the look for it.



And for all of you checking out the Old Boy/Will Smith/Spielberg saga of an "Old Boy" remake (including me), here is the latest.

No one really expected that team to come through, and I was wondering what the cop-out would be--here it is; the movie will be based on the graphic novels of Old Boy, and not a remake of the Korean film. That f*cking figures. I knew they would get around actually making something truly noteworthy somehow....it kinda pisses me off, to tell the truth.




And finally can someone explain what these folks are trying to do here? This "Black Dynamite" movie seems to be a copycat blaxploitation movie with a straight face, but I can't tell. With such random folks as Arsenio Hall, Nicole Sullivan, and Jimmy Walker, are they serious, or is this a parody? Note to the filmmakers: "I'm Gonna Get U Sucka" was done 20 years ago--we still remember it!

Really, Spike?

Spike Lee has written School Daze part II but can't find anyone willing to fund the project. The new film focuses on the same college 25 years later and was set to star Kanye West and Alicia Keys.



hat tip rws

Not Such A Miracle.....

If you have been following this blog for a while, you would know that I was not such a huge fan of Spike Lee's earlier works. I thought them sometimes confounding (Bamboozled), overwhelming (School Daze), underwhelming (Jungle Fever), cliched (Get On The Bus), and recently, just weird (She Hate Me). And I will never, ever, get the attraction of "Do The Right Thing" (please don't bother to recruit me in the comments, it won't work).

But at the very least, he was admirable for the very fact that he was doing what no Black director was doing, and had not really done much up to that point--making films on his on terms. Sure he talked massive amounts of shit (and got away with it) about the Hollywood system, but the bottom line is people gave him money to make movies the way he wanted them made. For better or for worse.

A lot of his frustrations and anger came out in his earlier films, and many accused him of being ham-fisted with his race related subjects, which I tend to agree about. I'm all for speaking out, but I don't want to be clubbed in the head over and over again. At some point folks will stop listening--and somewhere in the 90's people did; folks didn't rush out immediately to see the latest Spike movie, but instead gave it a careful side-eye before deciding, and then usually made the decision to stay away. I believe it pretty much began with "Girl 6", in which Spike's anger and message multi-tasking started to give way to his fantasies and hobby interests (basketball).

I've always believed that in his early years he was much better at marketing and inciting controversy than actually making movies-in fact, he was a genius at it. He knew how to make films about inflammatory subjects, and folks (especially Black folks) were thirsty for something different after the overwrought corniness of the early and mid eighties cinema. He was still developing as a director, but no one could miss that he had the potential to be something greater.

And greater he definitely is today. When veering off outside of his comfort zone, and directing others' projects, I feel he is amazing. "25th Hour" is beauty incarnate as a film (read my review on this blog if you haven't), "3 Little Girls" and "When The Levees Broke" are sober, absorbing and monumental in their social responsiveness. "Sucker Free City", "Miracle's Boys" for kids TV and "A Huey P. Newton Story", while not completely successful, were indeed exercises in expansiveness, and definitely not boring. "Inside Man" was his biggest hit of his career.

But now we come full circle. While watching "Miracle At St. Anna" I was reminded of the Spike I used to know--ambitious, heavy handed, trying to say everything about everything in one film. While the subject matter is important and needs to be shown, the way in which it was said was....let's just say I had a flashback to the early 90's, a place that I don't love in association with Spike.

I wished with all of my heart that he had told just a straightforward story about what actually happened during that battle, with a lot less personal interjections, just as I wished "Bamboozled" were just about racism in Hollywood. I wished that it would be shorter (at almost 3 hours) and better edited, just like I wished School Daze wasn't so messy and doing 5 things at once that could have been edited out. And I wished that I didn't see and hear Spike's personal thoughts so loudly, like I did when I saw "Get On The Bus". And yes, once again, I did completely admire him for doing something different, and on his own terms, but that's not always enough, is it?

That being said, one Black director isn't the savior for the whole race, and he and every other Black director should be allowed their missteps, without everyone jumping on them like pitbulls on a steak. Especially him, as very few Black directors even attempt to say anything in the way of social responsibility, consciousness, and accountability. He does his thing, and he is not afraid, nor boxed in by one train of thought. Which is why, no matter how much I may dislike one of his films, I know he will soon make one that I love. And that is more than I can say for the majority of Black Cinema and it's makers in these present times.

This N' That....

This post is just a mish mash of things...feel free to wonder why I'm going off on different tangents....

First off, I listened to a couple of Terrence Howard's songs. I had the same approach as when you go into a deep, cold pool; just take a deep breath and hold it, then jump in. And. Oh. My. God. I actually liked it! I thought it was very different, and it kinda had a 70's soul sound to it. Believe me, it gives me no pleasure to admit this--it is tantamount to admitting to my boss that I shoot up heroin in the bathroom during lunch....who woulda thunk? Not me, that's for sure.....these are truly the last days.

Speaking of music, why is Solange's hair always so mountainous, and when will Andre 3000 stop wearing that stupid hat? Note to Andre Benjamin: that ish is NOT the business--let it go!





I'm glad to see that The Hughes Brothers are doing something besides that pimp mess. From Black Talent News:

Oscar winner Denzel Washington has signed on to star in the post-apocalyptic drama "The Book of Eli" for directing duo Allen and Albert Hughes ("From Hell).

Gary Whitta wrote the original story, with rewrites by Andrew Peckham. The story takes place in the not-so-distant future where America is a wasteland and a lone warrior (Washington) fights to bring society the knowledge that is key to its redemption.

"This is an epic tale, a thriller set in a future uninviting yet hopeful, and its hero could not be batter suited to Denzel Washington," Alcon's Johnson and Kosove told Variety. "The Hughes brothers will bring a bold, contemporary edge to the story and we're excited to have this be our next film."

From IW: Hopefully Denzel and the Hughes' can bring something new to this 'been there, done it too many times' genre.



And speaking of 'been there, done that' do we really need a sequel to "Inside Man"? Me love Clive Owen and all, but....



And speaking of Spike, why is he saying that talkin' greasy about Clint Eastwood will cost him the Oscar for "Miracle At St. Anna"? Ummm...note to Spike: Maybe your movie will prevent you from getting an Oscar, yes? Nobody's even seen it yet...damn.



Is Kelly Rowland's new man a ghost?



Urbanworld Film Festival in The Big Apple, y'all. It starts TODAY. I don't know if it's still the same, but I've been a couple of times and it was very exciting and energizing. Check out all the details HERE.




Why Janet and Jennifer? Not the look, girls....




And finally thank you so much Dirty Red from a "Black Man's View" for giving me this tasty award; "The Brilliante Blog Award". Thought I forgot about you, huh Red? I did forget about the tag, tho (accidentally on purpose! :-) )

Ruh Ro....

A review from Variety on Spike's 'Miracle At St. Anna' (warning-some spoilers) thanks sergio:

Spike Lee loses the battles and the war in “Miracle at St. Anna,” a clunky, poorly constructed drama designed to spotlight the little-remarked role of black American soldiers in World War II. Clocking in at 160 minutes, this is a sloppy stew in which the ingredients of battle action, murder mystery, little-kid sentiment and history lesson don’t mix well. Nor is it remotely clear who the audience is meant to be; the R rating pretty much rules out younger students, and extensive subtitles will deter action fans, who would be bored anyway. Best B.O. will likely be in Italy, where most of the melodrama takes place.

Pic is a particular disappointment after Lee’s reputation-restoring previous feature, “Inside Man,” which saw the director working imaginatively within an established genre. Same can’t be said here, as Lee has imposed no discipline on novelist James McBride’s script, which trudges from digression to digression to the detriment of any dramatic focus.

It remains a wonder that no one, from Lee to the various producers and studio execs, demanded that someone whip this story into more sensible shape before the cameras rolled, so obvious are its excesses and indulgences. Yarn starts with a murder case -- a sixtysomething black postal worker, a devout man and recipient of the Purple Heart, shoots a man who comes to his window to buy a stamp. News of his arrest, and the fact he is in possession of a piece of Italian statuary worth millions, has weird repercussions in Italy, whereupon the action flashes back to Tuscany, 1944, where the Yanks are putting the hard press on dug-in Nazis.

Focus falls on the Buffalo Soldiers, black soldiers within the 92nd Infantry division in the segregated American Army. A number of grunts are sent to ford a river beyond which Germans are thought to wait. The way they’re mowed down reinforces the notion that “Eleanor Roosevelt’s niggers,” as they are derided by racist white officers, are regarded as little more than cannon fodder. In one of the few successful touches, the troops’ river crossing is accompanied by a propaganda broadcast from Axis Sally (Alexandra Maria Lara, in an outstanding reading), who goes on about how their country doesn’t care about them and even says the Nazis have nothing against the blacks.

Making it across the river and, shortly, up to the small medieval village of Colognora, are Second Staff Sergeant Aubrey Banks (Derek Luke); Sergeant Bishop Cummings (Michael Ealy); Cpl. Hector Negron (Laz Alonso), the man charged with murder 40 years later; and PFC Sam Train (Omar Benson Miller).

Train, a large man with little military discipline and a preoccupation with religious superstition, saves a 7-year-old boy, Angelo (Matteo Sciabordi), and thereafter watches over him. This sort of heart-tugging, and very Italian, story strand hasn’t been seen in an American war movie in years, maybe even decades, and one can see why; it’s embarrassing.

The other three guys are made of sterner stuff, but the film comes down with a case of severe lethargy once the men hole up in the village. Issues surrounding a fascist father, his lovely daughter, Renata (Valentina Cerri), whom Bishop gets the hots for, internecine quarrels among the local partisans, and the wait to figure out where the Germans are reduce the picture to the speed of a lumbering tank; two successive scenes of dreadful slaughter put the nail in the coffin. A coda blatantly attempts to pull the heartstrings, but it’s not earned.

Beyond the dramatic deficiencies, the writing for character is not good, so that even at the protracted running time, the men don’t emerge as strongly etched individuals. Train stands out because of his size and blubbery vulnerability, Stamps is notable for his courage and ability to speak Italian, and Bishop is the randy, gold-toothed one -- but fully dimensional they’re not. Lee breaks up the slow flow by plugging in little episodes to dramatize discrimination, notably in a flashback in which German prisoners are allowed to eat in a Southern diner but black G.I.s are not.

"I love Italy. I ain’t a nigger here,” one of them later says to further underline the point. Too bad the film wasn’t better written to make the sentiment implicit rather than needing to be said.

Production values are OK without being particularly notables, and Terence Blanchard’s score drones on virtually throughout. Lee’s early-career cinematographer, Ernest Dickerson, handled second-unit chores.

From IW: Hmmm....I've been watching Black film long enough to know I need to judge for myself, unless it stars Ice Cube. Still, an interesting read.

Random Movie News....

Okay, finally Ms. Invisible has some tidbits you might be interested in....

For my comix lovin' folkses (you know who you are):

'Djimon Hounsou has partnered with Dynamite Entertainment to star in and produce a theatrical feature based on the comic book character Thulsa Doom, an immortal sorcerer that is a central figure in the Conan The Barbarian and Kull The Conqueror comic book series. Doom was portrayed by James Earl Jones in 1982's "Conan the Barbarian."'

From IW: James Earl Jones played some comic book dude? I sure don't remember that--then again, I don't think I ever saw Conan the Barbarian. Wouldn't mind seeing Digimon in a fur loin cloth, tho....haha!



I wanted these guys to come back, but really, there must be a better way:

'Directing duo Albert and Allen Hughes are pimping an HBO drama series, "Gentlemen of Leisure." The series is a remake of their 1999 documentary "American Pimp." The series explores the world of prostitution and pimping through the eyes of a 35-year-old legendary pimp in Oakland, Calif. Allen describes it as a "film noir-style urban drama based in rich characters that will explore the human conditions across the board." '

From IW: Y'all know I love me a pimp movie, but methinks all that needed to be said was said in "American Pimp" Let's move on, people!



Speaking of moving on and elevating, I love what Spike has been up to lately. To wit:

'Spike Lee has used his own cash to acquire the rights to the book "Time Traveler: A Scientist's Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality," a memoir by Ronald Mallett, one of the nation's first African-Americans to earn a Ph.D in theoretical physics. '

From IW: If ultra-thrifty Spike is using his own fundage for this project, it must really be something....at the very least is sounds like a refreshing change from BS like "Janky Producers".


Another brother doing his own producing (the third one in this post--hurray!!!):

'Blair Underwood will serve as executive producer for a 90-minute documentary about black artists in the entertainment industry. The project, which will be produced by Associated Television International, will focus on several veteran artists relating their victories and struggles within the industry. '

From IW: I really wonder who they will be talking about in this film.



And finally, one of my favorite directors, F. Gary Gray (Friday, The Negotiator, The Italian Job, Set It Off) will be directing the biopic of Marvin Gaye. Loves it.



*source*