Archive for February, 2009


Most Important Black TV Shows #22 – The News

Filed under: 25 MIF & TV — Leave a comment
February 15, 2009

 

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Television News has been central to documenting the history of African-Americans in the 20th Century.  While show business has definitely done its fair share of good and bad in shaping the images of black people around the world, the news at its core documents the ‘real life’ of black America.  On to the breakdown…

Relevance:  While by definition the news is not a show built around black people, the power of the news to shape perception is undeniable.  One of the oldest jokes in the black community revolves around the universal fear we have whenever the report begins with “There’s a rape/murder/burglary suspect on the loose tonight,”  and while we wait for the cut to the suspect’s picture, we PRAY it’s not a black person (see photo above).

Legacy: The “I Have a Dream” speech.  The Rodney King beating.   The OJ Simpson murder trial.  Hurricane Katrina.  Barack Obama Elected President.  That’s five off the top of my head.  With the obvious exception of the last one, would any of the events hit the zeitgeist as hard without the power to broadcast them into every home in America (and around the world)?

Craft:  The news of course is not about any technical wizardry.  Depending on your political leanings, you may feel certain channels lean to far to the left or the right.  That’s another discussion for another time.

Crossover:  I don’t think anyone would argue that the News can still go into homes and deliver messages that some of the best fictional pieces of work about African-Americans can not.  Only a few television programs on my list rank as high or higher (getting curious yet?).

Apollo: The age of the internet will continue to kill off the “Oh No!” factor that the News can bring from time to time.  Mine may be the last generation though that will gather around a television set to watch a national story unfold (though I certainly hope not).

A personal favorite of mine will be checking in at #21.  Keep your eyes open for that in the next couple of weeks.

 

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On A Mission…

Filed under: Lady In My Life, What I'm Working On — Leave a comment
February 15, 2009

The i’s have been dotted and the t’s have been crossed, so I’ve had to step up my preparation for my next project.  I have a to do list of things I need to do before this show gets on the road.  The last time I got on the scale, I was 15 pounds over my ideal weight (damn Nilla Wafers), so that meant no more ‘days off’ from the gym, and to clean up my diet – NOW.  Motivation has never been the problem, but I’ll damn if my whole body isn’t sore as hell at the moment (damn first week back in the gym).  Doesn’t look like I’ll be enjoying too many more Popeye’s dinners for the time being, so if you run into me anytime soon and I’m crankier than usual, at least you’ll know why.

As you can probably imagine, I have a list of films I need to watch and re-watch to put myself in the right mindset.  Through sheer luck of the draw, I more or less overdosed on Brando films last week: The Godfather, Last Tango in Paris, Burn! (a little underrated), Guys and Dolls (I completely get why Sinatra called him Mumbles now), Julius Caesar.  My piece is definitely more modern so I doubt I’ll be watching anymore ‘classics’ the next few weeks.

This will be my first experience working with the RED One camera.  From everyone I’ve talked to about it, it’s an impressive piece of equipment.  I know Soderbergh shot Che with it, and I’m not going for anything remotely that epic!  So we’ll see how it goes.  I have a few goals for this project that I’ll go into more detail about when I get a little deeper in.

On a side note, doesn’t look like the Art Fradieu Oscar picks will be any type of video debate.  We’re both just too busy right now.  But I will be posting my picks for each category during the week, so check back daily if that interests you.

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Senator, You Can Have My Answer Now If You’d Like…

Filed under: What I'm Working On — Leave a comment
February 13, 2009

In one of my last classes of film school, we were asked to fill out a quasi-survey describing what we would be doing if we weren’t making movies.  I forgot all the details of the survey, but I do remember my side occupation was ‘Criminal Mastermind.’  My mind is always flowing, and it’s built for making ‘the big deals’.  The power is nice, but guys like me don’t get off on the power as much as we get off on watching multiple smaller pieces come together to work for a larger goal.  It’s one of the things I love about sports, it’s one of the things I enjoyed about being part of the various cliques and networks I’ve been apart of over the years.  The mind of  a producer.

I came home tonight and felt compelled to throw Godfather II in the Blu-Ray.  Michael survived every assassination attempt (physical and character), both his underbosses turned on him (Fredo was…Fredo, Frankie Pentageli was smart, but Mike was smarter), his wife leaves him (though not before admitting she knew he was too smart to let any of them beat him).  As his enemies scatter, Tom tries to be the voice of reason…

Tom: Mike, you’ve won.  Do you want to wipe everybody out?

Mike: I don’t feel I have to wipe everybody out Tom.  Just my enemies.

Tom is right, but really, who hasn’t felt like Mike before?  Anyway, I’m talking in a lot of parable-speak right now, but I will say some seeds I planted awhile ago are starting to bear fruit.

One of those seeds is to pick up the pace a little on the 25 Most Important Countdown as time allows.  Well, time is starting to allow, so look for the next couple reviews in the next few days.

All for now.

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Love

Filed under: Uncategorized — 2 Comments
February 11, 2009

I know I’m a few days early with this one, but in light of recent events in pop culture, the timing feels right…

In the group of guys that I came up with, there’s a handful of bachelors left.  One of whom is about to get married for the second time.  I won’t use his real name of course, so for the purpose of this post I will refer to him by his nickname: Hostess.

Anyway, for those of us who know Hostess best, his second trip down the aisle isn’t really causing jealousy, but comic relief.  Don’t get me wrong; he’s a great guy, one of the best young brothers I know in fact.  I’ve noted to myself before that Hostess’ take on romance is very similar to my own – when I was in preschool.  Completely idealistic and romantic, ‘today might be the day I meet the woman of my dreams,’ etc.  Imagine what your attitude was like before anyone had ever crossed you.  Hostess is one of those people who gets over it and literally hits the reset button.  There doesn’t seem to be any ‘be careful’ or ‘you remember what happened last time’ voice.  Or maybe that’s my job.  More on that in a minute…

It’s human nature to want to be loved and appreciated.  It’s human nature to want to be accepted.  But you have to, you have to, you have to love yourself first.  And I don’t mean that fake showmanship, that “I’m the Bomb!” crap.  I mean when you’re alone in your thoughts; when you wake up first thing in the morning and look in the mirror, do you really love the reflection that’s staring back at you?  Some people get that love of self instilled early by their parents.  Those are the lucky ones.  Like many people, my love of self is rooted in my faith.  I came to learn that’s not the whole equation though…

While I was growing more comfortable living inside of my own skin, I was often told by family and ‘friends’, that by being myself I wouldn’t be able to attract and keep the kind of woman that would have my back in all things and support me in my life’s work.  I know a lot of people who have gone through or are going through something similar, so let me say, based on my own personal experience: that’s some bulls–t.  The world is a very big place.  We all have disagreements with the people we love from time to time, but if on some basic level, the people you’re sharing your life are disrespecting you, then you really are messing around with the wrong type of person.  I do believe that part is simple, while I acknowledge the path is usually difficult.  That’s what my life has taught me anyway.  I wasn’t one of those people who was born into the support system I would need to have the life I wanted.  Through a lot of trial and error, step by step, ‘brick by brick,’ I’ve built something of a ‘family’.  It can be biological, professional, a group of friends, or (usually) some mix of the three, but I do think it is also essential to have some type of family structure to fall back on.

This is one of those sentences that sounds obvious when you read it, but building those personal relationships are a LOT easier when a) you’ve got your own insecurities under control and b) the people who you’re counting on to look after your best interests really are looking out for your best interests.  Everyone gets lonely or horny from time to time and will compromise for a short term solution.  But I feel when it looks like you may be getting into THE relationship, you damn sure better have you and ‘your house’ in order before you start picking apart what ’the One’ is about.

And as a part of the Hostess House, I’ve tried to express my sentiments to my friend (for the second time).  Hostess being who he is, he laughs it off and says it’s under control.  He thinks this is the year I’ll be making an ‘announcement.’

Doubtful.  But I guess stranger things have happened.

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Frost/Nixon

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February 10, 2009

 

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Finally caught up to Frost/Nixon over the weekend.  For those unfamiliar, Frost/Nixon is a highly fictionalized account of the buildup to the real series of interviews that took place between Robert Frost and Richard Nixon following the resignation of the former president.  Based on the critically acclaimed stage play of the same name, Frost/Nixon is nominated for Best Picture, and for his performance as Richard Nixon, Frank Langella is nominated for Best Actor.

Now, it’s a stretch for me to say I lived through this.  I haven’t watched the actual interviews that took place; I haven’t seen the Broadway production.  So I’ll let you decide if I’m an ideal person to review the film or if I need to do more ‘homework’ before giving you my opinion.  I can say I’ve enjoyed the work of the two leads in other Oscar nominated movies I’m fond of: Michael Sheen for his portrayal of Tony Blair in The Queen; Frank Langella for his small but important role in Good Night and Good Luck. 

I’ve seen my share of Nixon impersonations over the years, but I have to say Langella’s performance is up there with the best of them.  He really played the character from the inside-out (the Method I’m most fond of), making it his own.  In almost any other year, I’d say he’s a strong candidate to win the Best Actor award.  But with Sean Penn’s Harvey Milk and Mickey Rourke’s wrestler in the mix, it’s hard to imagine Langella pulling off the upset. 

So who do I think is going to win?  Well…stay tuned.

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Relationships

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February 3, 2009

A few of the guys came by my pad for Super Bowl Sunday.  Through sheer luck of the draw, they each symbolized a different aspect of my personality; one of my ‘Hollywood’ friends, one of the Muskeeteers (my clubbing partner in crime), and one of my frat brothers.  I was reminded of an analogy another friend told me years ago now, but I still think it’s one of the best analogies I’ve heard in my life.  In essence, the relationships in your life are like bank accounts.  Professional, personal, sexual, friendship, family…all relationships. Let me make it plain…

if you put a little money in the ‘bank’ everyday, eventually it adds up and if you’ll need a ‘loan’, you’ll know that money is in the bank.

if you’re only putting money in the bank every once in a while, then when you need something in return, maybe you’ll have enough in there, maybe you won’t.

and I think we’re all familiar with the phrase ‘writing checks you can’t cash’.

Of course, now more than ever, we also know that you can put alot of money in the bank and that money just disappears, but that’s another story. 

Anyway, I’m not one for ‘keeping score’ so to speak, but the ‘bank’ analogy is one I keep in mind alot.  Not as much in terms of how others treat me (I’m well known to be a slow burn who warms up to people in time), but in how I approach others.  We all get stuck in that position once in a while, but you never (or at least I never) want to earn the reputation of ‘that guy who only calls/comes around’ when he wants something.  In my book, that’s a close second to the guy who only calls/comes around when everything is going well.   

One thing I’ve picked up on as I’ve gotten older is it’s harder to get away with the ‘he (or she’s) young’ excuse.  You reach a point where if you’re immature, you’re just immature, period.  I look at the relationships I’ve kept, I’ve lost, the ones that are still growing and that one’s that have run their course.  More than 9 times out of 10, I’d say I can make the bank analogy work.  The best friends are the relationships that at this point aren’t doing anything but ‘collecting interest’.  The fake friends (or the ‘frenemies’ as the young people say) are like high interest credit cards: you should have one around in case you need it, but Lord help you if you get in ‘too deep’.  And you know that ‘get rich quick’ scheme you put money into when you were younger, which you knew deep down wasn’t really going to work out, and every once in a while something happens to remind you how much ‘money’ you threw away?  Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about!

Anyway, no real point to this one.  Just food for thought.

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Most Important Black Films – #23 Hollywood Shuffle

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February 1, 2009

 

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Hollywood Shuffle was the first film written, directed, produced by and starring Robert Townsend.  The autobiographical tale is simple enough; a young black actor finally gets his break in the Business, winning the part of the lead pimp in a ‘black’ mashup of West Side Story.  The role is so brutally stereotypical though, he wonders if he’s selling out his race just to get ahead.  Before anyone sends me a note in all caps asking ‘HOW IN THE BLUE HELL IS HOLLYWOOD SHUFFLE SO LOW ON YOUR LIST?!?”, I ask you to read the tale of the tape…

Relevance:  My counter argument begins here.  According to my ranking system, there are only 2 films in my ’25 Best’ breakdown that are either equal to or ranked higher than Hollywood Shuffle in this category.  The plot alone would rank it high in this category; the cast (which included besides Townsend a young Keenen Ivory Wayans and a younger John Witherspoon) adds to the relevance category; and the actual devices used in the movie (more on that later) make Hollywood Shuffle one of the most relevant black films ever made.

Legacy: For the sheer number of talents who appeared in this film, I would argue Townsend and Wayans are the only two who truly ‘jumped off’ to the next stage based on Hollywood Shuffle.  The story of ‘how’ this film was made (Townsend putting the half the $100,000 budget on personal credit cards, getting the crew to wear UCLA shirts since the cops rarely harass ‘students’) is as much part of Hollywood Shuffle’s legacy as anything else.

Craft: OK friends, let’s be honest with each other.  How many of you really remember this movie because of the plot?  How many of you even remembered the plot before I spelled it out in the first paragraph?  How many scenes can you quote from that revolved around the ‘plot’?  Even those of you (like me) who love this movie know good and well the ‘story’ is not why you love this film.  It’s “Winky Dinky Dog,”, it’s the black “Siskel and Ebert,” “Black Acting School,” “Jheri Curl,”…man I could go on, but the point is the skits that make up the film are what Hollywood Shuffle stand out.  And there’s nothing wrong with that, but it means compared to other ‘films’, Hollywood Shuffle has trouble keeping up.

Crossover: Whew, another rough category in my opinion.  Even with the number of classic skits in this movie, I can’t recall one white (or Hispanic or Asian) friend of mine ever talking about this film.  If you look back at the course of Robert Townsend’s career, I don’t know if he ever had the goal of crossing over to the mainstream, so you can’t fault somebody if they’re not really trying. But this is the crossover category…

Apollo: Some of the skits are naturally funnier than others, but the ‘interrogation of Jheri Curl’ still gets me to laugh out loud every time.  For those of you haven’t seen the movie, Jheri Curl (played by Keenen Ivory Wayans) turns out to be the killer of this young cat, but he won’t confess until he gets his curl activator taken away and his hair starts drying up…oh, just YouTube it (or better yet, watch the whole movie on Hulu (and no I didn’t get paid for that plug.))

So the hits keep coming.  Come back in a few weeks for my next pick, which might also be seen as ‘controversial’ in a different light…

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Most Important Black TV Shows – #23 The Flip Wilson Show

Filed under: 25 MIF & TV — Leave a comment
February 1, 2009

 

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The Flip Wilson Show aired in the early part of the 1970s.  Its run was relatively short, but it broke a lot of new ground for African-Americans on TV.  Read on…

Relevance: As the title suggests, the show was a variety show hosted by popular African-American comedian Flip Wilson.  Flip’s show became a place where you could expect to find other African-American talent, in front of and behind the camera.  Among the comedians who wrote for his show were Richard Pryor and George Carlin.  That had to be a hell of a writer’s room…

Legacy:  Along with being the first variety show hosted by an African-American, The Flip Wilson Show might have been the origin of another well known joke.  One of Flip’s most popular characters was Charlene, a sassy black woman with attitude to spare.  While white comedians have also done their fair share of cross dressing characters, Dave Chappelle famously joked that with black comedians, it’s something of a ‘requirement’ that if you want to hit the top level, you have to do some version of the sassy, or big black woman (think Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence for starters).  I’ll let you debate that one…

Craft: Well, it’s a variety show for televsion, so this category is something of a Not Applicable. 

Crossover: In its brief time on the air, the Flip Wilson Show was consistently one of the highest rated shows on television.  Along with popular claim, the show was well respected by its peers; Flip Wilson and the writing staff for the show won both Golden Globes and Emmys for their work.

Apollo: As you would expect with a show like this, the Flip Wilson show thrived on getting the audience to howl.  With his outrageous characters and his trademark catchphrase (“The devil made me do it!”), the Flip Wilson Show scores highest in the Apollo category.

The countdown continues on the television side continues in a few weeks, with the first show on the list that’s still on the air…

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