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Jeff Bridges & Christoph Waltz will be seen a lot in the coming months; they each have big movies coming out in December (Green Hornet for Waltz; True Grit and Tron Legacy for Bridges). Sandra Bullock is taking her time deciding on a new project; she’s contemplating a legal comedy called Bobbie Sue that once had Cameron Diaz involved. We may not see her on screen again until next year. As we’ve already reported on this blog, Precious screenwriter, Geoffrey Fletcher, is writing the screenplay for Bourne director Doug Liman’s upcoming Attica project; he also plans to return to his director roots, with 2 projects in the works (one possibly involving Forest Whitaker), but nothing is certain yet. See my post on a meeting he had with Queen Nefertari Productions.
Today it was reported that Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood, starring Russell Crowe, will be the opening night film. Since opening night is May 12th and the film opens on May 14th the timing couldn’t be more perfect.
Slim pickings in birthdays today… Jasmine Guy is 48 years old today! Wow! A member of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater as a teen, the former A Different World star has continued to appear in TV shows mostly, but none quite as memorable as the pesky, snooty Whitley Marion Gilbert Wayne in A Different World, which ran on NBC from 1987 through 1993. In 2005, her book titled, Evolution of a Revolutionary, a biography of Afeni Shakur, mother of late actor/rapper Tupac Shakur, was published. I didn’t know she was an author as well. Apparently, she was very close with the Shakur family. She can currently be seen in The Vampire Diaries which airs on the CW channel. And lastly Tim Mosley, aka Timbaland, is 39 years old today. The Grammy award-winning uber-producer/rapper has worked on the albums of a myriad of artists, including mega-stars like Justin Timberlake, Mariah Carey, Wyclef Jean and a few others. Mosley has also dabbled in film – specifically serving as executive producer of the 2001 dramedy, 30 Years To Life, which starred Tracy Morgan, Kardeem Hardison, Erika Alexander, Paula Jai Parker and many others. It was directed by Vanessa Middleton. You’ll also find some of his music on the soundtracks to many feature films and TV shows.
The titular Ned (played by Oscar-nominee for The Hurt Locker Jeremy Renner) is laden with enough emotional baggage to totally destroy any human soul. As a child, he saw his racist, irresponsible father incarcerated indefinitely; he’s shopped from one foster home to the next, including one suicidal family, who almost kill him. Ned never quite had a real family, and like most young adults with his history and desires, he clings to any group that wants and accepts him – even if it’s made up of neo-Nazi skinheads who commit race-crimes, as is the case in Neo Ned. We’ve heard of the hooker with the heart of gold; In Ned’s case, switch “hooker” with “skinhead.” But he’s also quite nutty, unpredictable, and prone to irrational behavior, although balanced with moments of calm, reason, and even love, encouraging, but not necessarily demanding that you empathize with his plight. But for the story to work, the audience has to. Although, oddly, despite his mercurial nature, his actions are largely predictable, if only because we’ve seen this character make-up before; he’s cliched. And that makes the story less of a mystery. Continue reading Review – “Neo Ned” (White Racist Falls For Single Black Mother) The film opens next week Friday; Some new pics have been released, and a red band trailer, which is pretty much the same red-band trailer Sergio posted a couple of months ago. But, for those who haven’t seen it… trailer is below; pics are underneath.
Essence answers that question when the magazine talks to the Hollywood starlet as she gets real on power, sex and her guilty pleasures… including, what else, sex, stating: “Love it, love it, love it—can’t live without it! I love sex. I love skin. I don’t believe the body is something to hide. I think in American society we’re messing up our kids by taking away the education on and awareness of our sexuality and replacing it with violence, guns and video games—and we’re breeding little criminals.” And on her long-time boyfriend Keith Britton: “I’m more of a punch-drunk-love kind of girl; I mean punch as in that pow, that jolt, that kick in the gut. I like things that are severe, passionate and extreme.” I hope she actually talks cinema as well The April issue should now be on news-stands, or on its way shortly.
Given my earlier posts today on Gabourey Sidibe (the announcement that she’ll be co-starring in a Showtime series with Laura Linney, as well as Howard Sterns harsh words for/about her), I thought I’d also remind you folks about another project she has a part in – this time a feature length indie film titled Yelling To The Sky. We profiled Yelling To The Sky on this blog last November (read that post HERE), which stars Zoë Kravitz (daughter of Lenny Kravitz) as Sweetness O’Hara, the youngest of two mixed race sisters, who “spends the better part of being seventeen navigating an identity between the known (a violent life of crime), and the unknown (a life of purpose and meaning).” Gabourey Sidibe co-stars, along with Tim Blake Nelson, Jason Clarke, Yolonda Ross, Shareeka Epps, and others. Continue reading Gabourey Sidibe Joins Zoë Kravitz In Indie Drama “Yelling To The Sky” Just call it a “raptors rendezvous.” In the movie, physical therapist Queen Latifah, falls for basketball player Common, whom she’s helping recover from a career-threatening injury. Paula Patton plays the spoiler, and Foxy Brown herself, Ms Pam Grier, meddles a little too. Directed by Sanaa Hamri (Something New), Just Wright opens May 14th. Thoughts? As an addendum to my post just before this one on Gabby’s job prospects… this has been making its way around the web today. Yes, it’s Howard Stern, and we all know what he’s M.O. is; but, behind all that typical Stern callousness (and I’m sure many will react adversely to his words, and will impulsively want to verbally beat up on him) is he saying, frankly, what a lot of people are and have been thinking (including some of you reading this), or is he way out of line here? Continue reading Howard Stern Has Some “Advice” For Gabourey Sidibe (Keeping It Real Or Just Cruel?)
With awards season officially over, and Precious now out on DVD, many are wondering what Gabourey Sidibe’s post-Precious prospects in the biz are, given that she doesn’t fit Hollywood’s preferred physical type and look, and whether Precious might indeed be the highlight of her career. Some have suggested that she should lose weight if she wants success and longevity in this business, or at least, if she doesn’t want to be type-cast in everything she does; others say that her bubbly personality and smarts will be good enough to carry her through. What do you say? While you’re pondering all that, you should know that Ms Sidibe will co-star in an upcoming Showtime series titled The Big C. (when we first reported on this, the show was called The C Word). Continue reading Gabourey Sidibe Joins Laura Linney In Showtime Series, “The Big C”
Written in 1995, the play titled Riff Raff, is being revived in the U.K. at London’s Arcola Theatre, for an April 6 through April 24 run. The play, set in New York’s criminal underworld, revolves around half-brothers Mike “20-20″ and Billy “Torch,” who are holed up in an abandoned crack den on the Lower East Side. They’ve got three kilos of smack, blood on their hands and New York’s biggest drug lord on their tail. With nowhere to turn, Mike calls his old friend from Brooklyn to get them out of their mess. When the man arrives and the night draws in, stories are swapped, loyalties are tested and the bleakness of their criminal lives threatens to envelop them forever. A film based on the play, written and directed by Fishburne himself, was produced in 2000, under the title Once In The Life. Continue reading Laurence Fishburne’s Play “Riff Raff” & The Movie That Was Based On It… So, you say you missed it when it originally aired on Adult Swim on Oscar night. Well, you’re in luck! Parts one, two, and three of the hour-long, T-Pain–starring animated musical show, Freaknik: The Musical, are embedded below, with voice-over work provided by the likes of Snoop Dogg, Andy Samberg, Keri Hilson, Lil Wayne, George Clinton, and many others: Part 1: Continue reading Watch T-Pain’s “Freaknik: The Musical” In Its Entirety
The film follows a man (played by Charlie Hunnam) standing on a high-rise ledge who insists he must jump by noon, while a policeman below (played by Terrence Howard) tries to manage the situation. Chapman says that the film will examine “the different and sometimes dangerous beliefs people adopt as a means of surviving emotional trauma.” So, it looks like the entire film takes place on the proverbial ledge, as the clock races towards noon, and good old Terrence’s job is to possibly talk him out of it, as others hurriedly try to get to the man at the top of the high-rise. No release date mentioned.
Well, it’s now on DVD - Precious, that is. It hit the stores today, so get yours. Oddly enough, or maybe not so much, the film is still in theatres currently. It pulled in another $200,000 over the weekend, so I’d expect it to remain in theatres for a few weeks longer. Remember our contest from late last year, in which you folks were supposed to take guesses at how much you thought Precious would make in total at the theatres, before heading to home video. Looks like we’ll know who the winner is in another week or two, and whoever it is will be awarded 2 DVDs of their choice. Also on DVD today is apocalyptic flick 2012, from the master of disaster movies, Roland Emmerich, which featured Danny Glover as president of the USA, Thandie Newton as his daughter, and Chiwetel Ejiofor as a scientist I reviewed the film after seeing it last November; you can read my full review HERE. CLICK HERE to buy Precious on DVD, and HERE to pick up a copy of 2012. Or if you prefer, CLICK HERE for Precious on Blu-ray, and HERE for 2012 on Blu-ray. iTunes has Precious for digital download at $3.99 to rent and $14.99 to buy. 2012 is only available to buy at $14.99. So, how many of you will be buying either?
I am intrigued… Found this over there on one of those gossip sites, today.
I guess Greenberg won’t be getting a positive review from him. You know how he just gives them out all the time. And by the way, I love that photo. I want one of me just like that
Cameron has already been witness to numerous critical jabs at the film’s simplistic narrative and overall weakness (acknowledged by the fact that it wasn’t nominated for an Oscar in the screenplay category). So, it might be of interest to some of you to listen to the man talk about how he comes up with the material. It’s about an hour long. Listen below:
Bow Wow (he’s not so L’il anymore) aka Shad Gregory Moss, is 23 today. The rapper turned actor was last seen in the Forest Whitaker straight-to-dvd post-Katrina basketball drama, Hurricane Season. You can see him next in Lottery Ticket and The Family Tree, both scheduled to be out some time this year. Emmanuel Lewis, star of 80s sitcom Webster, is 39 years old today. Since Webster, which ended its 6 season run in 1989, Lewis has appeared as himself in several TV shows, sitcomes, TV docs, and reality TV shows like The Surreal Life in 2007. He can next be seen in a likely straight-to-dvd feature film titled Doesn’t Texas Ever End, in which he plays a doctor. That’s it for today. To take us out, here’s an old video with Emmanuel Lewis jamming with Michael Jackson:
I’ve seen writer and director Rick Famuyiwa’s previous movies Brown Sugar and The Wood, and though I wasn’t impressed with either film, compared to OFW, they’re masterpieces. Where to begin? Well of course you know the premise by now – two families (well more like a family and a half… I’ll get to that later), one Hispanic Mexican and the other black, find out that their prized offspring are getting married, and all hell breaks loose as the fathers of the prospective groom and bride face off in a racial and cultural clash; though naturally love, brotherhood and understanding win out in the end. Every tired ass joke you’ve ever seen about race and culture used in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, The Jeffersons and countless other similar themed movie and TV show are trotted out for laughs that never come and every predictable plot turn and twist you can see coming ten miles away. Earlier tonight, Larry King gave Roger Ross-Williams a stage to deliver the Oscar acceptance speech for Best Documentary Short that he never had a chance to give, during Oscar night’s WTF? moment: Continue reading Roger Ross-Williams Gets To Redo His Planned Oscar Acceptance Speech The first full trailer for Tron Legacy, a sequel to the 1982 childhood favorite Tron. Of course, Disney will release this in 3D! It hits theatres in December. Is it on your “must-see” list?
Chartier watched the Oscars from a viewing party thrown by industry pals, about 30 miles away, in Malibu. When the Best Picture award was given, Chartier, visibly excited, first listened as Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal and Greg Shapiro gave their speeches, before standing up to give his speech, which lasted much longer than the 45 seconds he would have gotten if he was on stage with the others. Chartier remained for 90 minutes after his win before changing from jeans into a tuxedo and heading off to the Vanity Fair party and others. Good for him (h/t Deadline): Continue reading Banned “Hurt Locker” Producer Gets His Oscar Moment
I may be jumping the gun here, but so be it… In a Facebook post by Lanre Idewu just moments ago, he stated that he was on his way to a “meeting with Oscar winning writer Geoffrey Fletcher,” in Los Angeles, although he didn’t detail the specs of the meeting. He did further say, “Maybe we’ll produce his next movie…” Hint… hint. If I didn’t mention it before, Lanre Idewu is a senior executive with Queen Nefertari Productions, the newly formed film production company created by Cynthia Stafford, the black lady who won over $100 million in her state’s lottery, and opted to use $30 million of that money to start a the film company (if you missed my post on that, read it HERE. And also read HERE for a follow-up “Deals” post involving the company while at Sundance earlier this year). So, back to Lanre’s comments (that’s him above-right, with Cynthia Stafford)… Continue reading “Precious” Screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher Meeting W/ Queen Nefertari Prods |
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It’s been the habit during the past few years for the Cannes Film Festival to choose some huge, very commercial Hollywood blockbuster as the opening night film such as The Da Vinci Code, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and one of those awful Star Wars films (I can’t remember which one now), instead of some foreign art film that had been the custom since the beginnings.
Looks like everyone’s favorite film critic Armond White (…well I’m sure he must be somebody’s favorite critic) is not a happy man right now. Seems that he was barred from attending a recent film screening of the new Ben Stiller film Greenberg. (Hey Armond I’ve been barred a couple of times too. It happens to everyone) However our Armond is not one to take this lying down and he sent out an e-mail that’s been circulating around to other film critics and media reporters. It states:
O.K. how about awful, cliched, seriously out of touch and woefully unfunny to start off with? Nothing is sadder than a comedy without laughs and Our Family Wedding (which opens this Friday) with Forest Whitaker and the notoriously unfunny Carlos Mencia (who’s also well known for stealing material from other comedians) is not even fitfully amusing. It just lies there dead from the every first moment. You keep hoping at the beginning that it’ll get better, but as the minutes go by, you come to the horrible realization that it’s not going to. So you sit there and suffer in silence waiting for the end credits to roll by.
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