malikaziz.com

American Muslim IX: The Mountain

malikaziz — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 04:59:11 +0000

So, I want to make my first feature length film…

Step one, as is always the case, was creating the script. I caught parts of Clooney on the Actors Studio over the weekend, and I agree with his sentiment that you can take a good script and make a bad film out of it, but you can’t turn a bad script into a good movie. So the first of many sacrifices I’ve been in the process of making has been slashing my social life down to the bone. By the grace of the Humblebragging Gods, there’s always something to do in this town and somebody I haven’t hung out with in awhile (and that’s not even counting private affairs). But as I look at the Mountain I’m trying to climb, I’ve become hyper focused again about the difference between spending half my day ‘just chilling’, and half my day writing and rewriting.

So what can I tell you about the story? Well it’s part stand up style special, part documentary. From a functional point of view that means the majority of the film can be shot in one day. I have no dreams of being Louis C.K. or Chris Rock, but especially with this subject matter, using my sense of humor and comedic timing is the absolute way to go. As I started to think about blueprints, the irony was not lost on me that in many ways I’m going down the path of the original Tyler Perry blueprint (film your stage shows and market the ish out of those bad boys to your core audience). Not that I’m the type to complete dismiss anyone’s hustle, but I was reminded of one of my favorite lines of Malcolm’s from the Autobiography: ‘…anytime you find someone more successful than you are, especially when you’re both engaged in the same business – you know they’re doing something that you aren’t.’

My superhero alter ego aside, this is also a Mountain that I would be insane to even attempt to climb alone. I know who I want to direct it, I know who I want for a crew, at the moment I’m satisfied with the list of people I want to interview for the documentary sections of the film, and have little doubt the brothers and sisters I already have a personal relationship with are going to be willing to help. As I’ve started the early process of building my team, I’ve made sure to drop a little caveat for my non-Muslim friends, of whom I have many: I need your support to make this happen, and you know me well enough to know I’m not ‘seeking’ to burn any bridges. But that said, the nature of the subject matter and my point of view will rattle somebody’s cages (if I’m doing my job right). But just because I can say something, I don’t want any of my people to catch heat because they have to answer to some person or group that has no jurisdiction over me. So I need your support, but if you have to be a ‘silent partner’ or you have to sit back of the theater so your face doesn’t show up on camera, trust, I take no offence. I’ll be glad to know you have my back.

So the first brick has been laid. Now, in no particular order, I have to drop at least 10 pounds, perfect a song, touch base with Film Independent, IFP, SAGIndie, research Wichita, get a ‘number’, and start writing the sci-fi story I came to this town to make in the first place. That’s what I can think of off the top of my head anyway. I’ve got a big Mountain to climb.

But as the young people say, I’m trending upwards…

An Evening with Aaron Rahsaan Thomas

malikaziz — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:06:30 +0000

The Malik Aziz Foundation held its annual Black History Month dinner on Wednesday in an undisclosed location in Beverly Hills. This year’s Guest of Honor was Aaron Rahsaan Thomas, who participated in an interview, followed by a Q&A with our benefactors, trustees, and their guests.

The following is a transcript from the untelevised interview session.

(Our Host Malik Aziz enters the room during the fourth course of the five course meal. On this particular evening, he’s wearing a midnight blue tuxedo from the Tom Ford Collection.)

MALIK: Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and thank you all for coming this evening. In the play, Richelieu, Or the Conspiracy, you will find in the Second Act, the Second Scene, the following monologue:

True, This! —
Beneath the rule of men entirely great,
The pen is mightier than the sword. Behold
The arch-enchanters wand! — itself a nothing! —
But taking sorcery from the master-hand
To paralyse the Cæsars, and to strike
The loud earth breathless! — Take away the sword —

States can be saved without it!

Our guest of honor tonight is a young Afro-American gentlemen, who is living proof, the pen truly is mightier than the sword. His work has been respected by his fellow writers, as evidenced by his nomination for a Writers Guild award; and also by the coloreds, as evidenced by his NAACP image award nomination.

The Malik Aziz Foundation is proud to welcome to the stage our guest of honor this year, Aaron Rahsaan Thomas!

(Applause as Aaron takes the stage… He gives Malik a look as he sits down.)

MALIK: For those unfamiliar with your past, let’s start with where you’re from, and what inspired you to become a writer.

ART: Wait, wait, wait, hold up, brotha…. Did you just use the word, “coloreds”? And, whatsup with the English accent and the blue velvet suit? What kind of place is this? I thought Popeye’s chicken catered this dinner.

(Malik, shakes his head with discernment.)

ART: Anyway, to answer your question, what inspired me to become a writer was my faith in God, my parents’ encouragement to pursue my dreams and the amount of enjoyment I get from writing. Knaw mean?

MALIK: Yes, I know exactly what you mean. Now, your first Hollywood experience came working on the television version of the popular urban story, Soul Food. What was that like, and do you feel like that experience shaped you either positively or negatively in what your idea of what ‘Hollywood’ is?

ART: My experience on Soul Food was all good. Everything I learned on that show, from how a writers’ room operates, to how you carry yourself as a professional in this industry, was invaluable. Combine that with the fact that I was able to see people who looked like me working together in a business where such “urban” situations are extremely rare and mocked by people like you and I can’t begin to estimate the positive impact it had on me at an early stage of my Hollywood experience. Knaw mean, brotha?

MALIK: Yes, I understand what you mean, but don’t call me brother. Now everyone has different feelings about the ‘film school’ experience. As a part time teacher, I would gather your feelings are better than others. But with the benefit of retrospect would you consider it a good decision?

ART: I consider it a great decision. As an adjunct professor at USC, I’m exposed to some of the most talented and ambitious storytellers in the world. It’s a rush to be around them and it keeps me on my toes to make sure that I’m able to give them something they can hopefully use going forward. Reminds me of a cat I went to film school with who used to be down for the cause. His name was Mali—

MALIK: Moving on! Friday Night Lights. You were there from the beginning. Smash Williams is the cocky, smart mouthed black member of the team in the predominantly white high school. In one of the trademark episodes of the first season (and truly the whole series), Smash goes through something of an identity crisis when he feels singled out, and underappreciated by his coaches and superiors. Did you draw from any personal experience when writing the episode ‘Full Hearts’?

ART: Good question. I think all writers try to draw from personal experience. Certainly, in the case of FNL, we tackled topics such as race and class, which were prevalent in the book and movie that proceeded the TV series. These topics are always interesting to discuss and write about. Certainly, I had experiences to pull from to help inform my writing on Full Hearts, which dealt with Smash going home to confront a past he had left behind, including some humble beginnings. Speaking of humble beginnings, my brotha, don’t you know a little something about that?

MALIK: I’m sorry but these beginnings you elude to escapes me (Malik straightens his conk). Tonight is about you so let’s get back on topic. Your first credit as a feature film writer was the film Cover. For those unfamiliar with the story, it focuses on a woman whose life is thrown into chaos when she discovers her attractive, upwardly climbing African-American husband is in fact, a closet homosexual. Did you draw from any personal experience when writing the film Cover?

ART: Lol…. Okay, I see what this is. The answer? No. That story was built off interviews and based on true stories that happened to real people.

MALIK: Next we come to Numb3rs. Your episode ‘Sneakerhead’ revolves around two characters who have a fetish for high priced tennis shoes. In light of the repeated violence that has taken place as sneaker companies try to release ‘limited edition’ versions of popular tennis shoes, do you feel that this subculture has gotten any of hand?

ART: Yes and no. The shoe companies know exactly what they’re doing. Like Chuck D once said, “I like Nikes, but wait a minute…” The shoe companies profit off the high demand for (really dope) shoes. But, even if the sneakers did not exist, the problem with customers would probably still be there. The demand would simply be for something else. And, because supply and demand aren’t going anywhere, I think the issue starts at home. It has to be ingrained that just because you don’t have a pair of sneakers, your stature isn’t any less. You don’t need them bad enough to trample, fight, or maybe even kill somebody. Full disclosure, I’m a sneakerhead, and what I’ve found is even if you don’t get the pair you want on release day, do a little research and due diligence and things have a way of working out.

MALIK: Assassination Games. If I would have told 13 year old Aaron Rahsaan Thomas that someday he’d write a movie starring the Muscles from Brussels, Jean Claude Van Damme, how would he have reacted?

ART: He would have smiled, been very happy, but not necessarily surprised. 13 year old Aaron had some big dreams. Now, if you told him he’d be interviewed by a brotha from KCK who adopted Michael Caine’s accent while wearing a suit from the Love Boat, he might have been curious…

MALIK: You are as precious to me as you were to your own mother and father; I swore to them that I would protect you. And I haven’t! But moving on, now we come to ‘CSI:NY’. You’ve had a wonderful collection of guest stars over the years, from Edward James Olmos to Ne-Yo. Do you have a personal favorite? Is there anyone you’d like to write an episode for that you haven’t had the opportunity to do so with yet?

ART: It’s all a blessing. Working with talented people who I respect is a joy. And, every episode is a new and different chapter. As for people I haven’t worked with? Anyone who has a good story to tell and believes in telling it well, I’m open to collaborating with. Dropping that knowledge on a sucka, knaw mean?

MALIK: Now let’s talk about this week’s episode. What can you tell us about it?

ART: It involves the world of The Go Game, adult role playing and takes a few twists that you may not see coming. There is one murder victim and someone else who gets kidnapped. Basically, it is truly an episode of television that will change your life. Or, maybe entertain you for an hour. One or the other.

MALIK: Thank you for joining us again, ladies and gentlemen, one more time for Aaron Rahsaan Thomas!

Aaron’s latest episode airs tonight on CBS. Check local listings.

For Spike…

malikaziz — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:45:02 +0000

It’s funny how ‘timing’ plays out sometimes. Between Red Tails, the Help, and Sundance, there’s been a lot of public and private conversations already this year about the direction of where black cinema is going. Everyone has their own opinions, but the truth is none of us can look at the landscape and say, ‘This is definitely what’s going to happen next.’ I do think there is one thing we can ALL agree on though…

It’s going to be a LOOOOOOOOONG time before any Hollywood studio even partially bankrolls a film like Malcolm X again!

Personal bias aside, that’s one of many reasons I argued Spike’s epic was the Most Important Black Film ever made, which you can read here:

http://malikaziz.com/2009/12/02/the-most-important-film-of-black-cinema/

Today the film comes out on Blu-Ray. Now if you keep up with me at all you know I don’t really use this space for that type of promotion, but like I said, when’s the next time we’re going to get one of ‘these’ out of the studio system? So yeah…

I’ve still got your back Spike!

First Oscar Impressions

malikaziz — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 04:59:15 +0000

Some quick thoughts on this morning’s nominations…

Best Picture – 9 films, wow. I called 6. Extremely Loud and War Horse haven’t been on my ‘must see’ list, but now I feel obligated…

Best Actor – Gary Oldman, it’s about damn time!!!!! (yes I’m biased, been a fan for decades before he played Commissioner Gordon).

Best Actress – The Globes have made this more interesting than we thought it would be. Viola or Streep? I guess we’ll see…

Best Supporting Actor – Very eclectic list, I just got around to seeing Warrior last week so it’s nice to see people remembered this movie and Nick Nolte.

Best Supporting Actress – Pleasantly surprised for Melissa McCarthy, she really did steal Bridesmaids out from under a great cast of comediennes.

Best Director – What a list!!!! And the crazy thing is the favorite is the only name who’s not already a Hall of Famer!

Best Screenplay – Combining the two categories to ask the question, will Woody show up for a group of his most loyal fans?

Actual predictions coming as we get closer…

Red Tails and the State of the Union

malikaziz — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:53:15 +0000

So the last thing I did this weekend was go out and see Red Tails for myself. I thought it was cool; not the ‘savior’ for black cinema but also definitely not anything that set ‘the movement’ back a hundred years. The box office numbers came in well, which I think was the one thing everyone who had an investment in this film really wanted in the first place.

Whether you want to point the finger at Lucas or not, one thing I will say is that it’s been awhile since I’ve seen so many people express an opinion about a black film before it was released. As I told a friend today, the ‘conversation’ this film produced has been as worthwhile as the film itself. So now that the dust has settled so to speak, where do we go from here? Let’s pick apart some of the things that came up.

‘The future of black cinema is/was at stake.’ Um, no. My cynical side has to answer this one, but (like most Hollywood movies), anything short of record breaking numbers just means we’ll eventually get back to the status quo. Which means the next ‘big budget’ Hollywood film about black folks will come out…whenever another billionaire with a heart of gold decides to finance one. If I can go full Devil’s Advocate on you, I could make the same argument about nearly every decent drama, every film with a female protagonist that isn’t a romantic comedy, and on and on. The system as it is currently setup is Franchise/Tentpole or Bust. Before the screening I went to, there were trailers for the next Tyler Perry film and Battleship. Yes, ‘You sank my Battleship!’ Battleship. It’s the world we live in.

So does that mean the audience should give up? Not at all. Actually, in some ways the game has gotten better. I remember when ‘Daughters of the Dust’ came out, I heard about for a few years before, and eventually, my public library had a copy that I was able to check out. Conversely, thanks to these here interwebs, when a black project has great word of mouth (like the Awkward Black Girl series that I was late to the party on but enjoyed), we have YouTube and KickStarter to view and support the projects we want to see almost instantly. As a result of the system going in more of a corporate direction, the next group of filmmakers are coming out of the gate saying “Eff it!” I know there’s no way you’ll develop a film like Pariah, so we’ll find our own means to make it and get it to the masses. Like everything else in life, Hollywood goes in cycles, and there are more than a few signs to suggest we’re about to have a redo of that early 90s feel: ’We’re telling our stories for our audiences, Hollywood can make all the crap movies they want’.

So I guess we’ll all see where it goes from here. Oscar nominations come out in the morning, this discussion may continue sooner as opposed to later…

Most Important Black Films: A Soldier’s Story

malikaziz — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 08:04:46 +0000

So like a lot of you, I’m getting geared up to see Red Tails in a couple of weeks. To get my mind ready for that, I went on Netflix Instant this weekend and rewatched A Soldier’s Story for the first time in what must have been 2o years. The trailers already let us know that in terms of action sequences there’s not going to be a contest between the two films. But as far as story goes…the jury is going to be out for a few more weeks. I never wrote about this really good film when I did this blog’s signature list a couple of years back, but it’s never too late to do an honorable mention breakdown. You can search the blog if you aren’t aware/forgot what the five categories stand for:

Relevance: The film is about a black captain going down to Louisiana during World War II to do an investigation of the murder of another black officer, most likely by the Ku Klux Klan. Need I say more?

Legacy: Men of Honor is a great film, and I have a soft spot for Cadence (Oh don’t you know, that’s the sound of the man, working on the chain…ga-a-ang!), but I can’t look at Red Tails without looking at A Soldier’s Story as a direct descendant with its period story and primarily black male cast. Is there a Denzel Washington, a David Alan Grier, a Howard Rollins, a Robert Townsend in the movie about to come out? Could be; time will tell I guess.

Craft: I named four black actors and there’s another five faces you know in this movie as ‘That Guy’ even if you would have to look up their names. The film is based on an off Broadway play, and there’s enough A game in this film to replace the actors who were replaced from the Broadway production.

Crossover: Not much. To this day this is one of those, by us for us films.

Apollo: Outside of the references to the Negro Leagues that definitely went over my head as a kid, I completely forgot Patti LaBelle was in this movie. Doing Patti LaBelle things. And yes, that’s a compliment.

So we’re all on to Red Tails in a couple weeks. The standard has been estabished…

J. Edgar

malikaziz — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:32:40 +0000

I heard a lot of mild criticism when J. Edgar came out so I didn’t have my hopes real high when I finally got a chance to see it. It’s not a bad film by any means, but against the best work of either Clint Eastwood or Leonardo DiCaprio, this film definitely falls into both men’s second tier.

The film tells the story of the rise of the F.B.I. and its controversial figurehead, J. Edgar Hoover. This film isn’t an action flick by any stretch, so the sections about the Bureau (like the Lindbergh case) aren’t dramatically interesting until a third act revelation. Like most character studies, this film revolves around the relationship the main character has with others. In this case it’s Hoover’s relationship with his mother (an icy Judi Dench), and his ‘right hand man’ at the Bureau (played by Armie Hammer). The real Hoover was supposedly a closeted homosexual, and where Eastwood’s film really shines is in exploring both why J. Edgar was repressed in his sexuality and even more telling, how living a secret life possibly opened the door to an obsession with other people’s secrets. If you want to go all the way with it, does selling the world on one big lie make it easier to sell others (including yourself) on a hundred other smaller lies over the course of a lifetime? It’s an interesting thought.

You can add me to the chorus of those who think Leo was miscast in this role, but can’t say it was a bad business decision. Even with Clint’s pedigree, I doubt Warners would have signed off on Philip Seymour Hoffman playing the title character (but that would have been something!)

Hugo

malikaziz — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 05:26:23 +0000

I went into Hugo with literally no expectations. It was a Scorsese picture, but definitely not a typical “Martin Scorsese’ picture. It’s a 3D film (bleh) but Hugo is a complete family film (by far the best use for that technology in my opinion). I came out of Hugo not overwhelmed, but pleasantly surprised that the film I thought I walked into 5 minutes in, morphed into something more ambitious by the time I walked out.

An orphan boy lives in a train station and keeps the clocks tuned. He’s constantly at odds and on the run from a local shopkeeper (played by Ben Kingsley) who accuses him of theft, and a beat cop (played with subtle humor by Sasha Baron Cohen) whose trying to send him straight to the orphanage. The story of how these various men (and others) relate to and are connected to each other is charming, and another tribute to the master storytelling ability of Scorsese. Like any of us have doubted that ability for the past 30 years!

Without giving away the plot points that I didn’t know about walking in, I will say it’s interesting to wonder if this is the direction Scorsese may be going next. The Departed got him his Oscar but to me that’s not even among his top 3 crime films; recently he’s done more documentaries which are nice change of pace pieces. Is ‘Marty’ going to take a cue from his buddy DeNiro and start doing more family friendly fare? Hmm, don’t know how I feel about that but I guess we’ll see.

Regardless Hugo is a nice film that at the moment seems to be stuck in a year (or an awards season at least) of several high quality films. I guess we’ll see where it lands…

Midnight in Paris

malikaziz — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 06:08:23 +0000

First off, hope everyone had a nice New Year. Now let’s get back to business…

As I watched Midnight in Paris, I appreciated the irony of this particular story. A writer who spends quite a bit of time daydreaming about his idols finds a time warp that allows him to hang out with Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein and company. Some people have been hyping this film as Woody Allen’s best film in years (I disagree). But I will say this film more closely ‘feels’ like Woody’s most celebrated films (such as Annie Hall and Manhattan) than anything he’s made recently. So I wonder how many of the critics who’ve fawned over the film are overly nostalgic themselves for the Woody Allen films of the 70s and 80s? Is he making a comment about his own career arc and fan base? I don’t think so actually but it’s a sign of respect for the man that I’m even thinking about it and throwing it out there.

Led by Owen Wilson in the ‘Woody’ role, and featuring a stacked supporting cast including Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates, and Adrien Brody, the thing I took away the most from Midnight is that Woody still has ‘it.’ I know a lot of film lovers, but I know very few (I think) who still plan to be active when they get to Woody’s age, let alone put out high quality work. That statement alone makes the film worth watching.

The Wheelhouse

malikaziz — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 05:29:37 +0000

How about something fun for my last post of 2011?

So 99 times out of 100 when I’m sent sides (an audition script), I can look at the product as a whole, look at where the character fits into the story, and build something from the ground up. But there was one screen test I did this year where I had to do things a little differently…

2Pac.

When I first heard about the project (when Antoine Fuqua was still attached), I was actually aiming for the part of Mopreme, one of Pac’s older relatives who in the story (real and fictional) acted as his conscience. Then word went out that there was an open call for the title role, and they wanted an ‘unknown’. To be truthful, I was still a little hesitant (since at this point I’m older than Pac was when he was murdered), but after a few ‘Fuck That!’ conversations and reminders that every biopic I like uses this rare technique known as ‘makeup’, I decided to go in.

So now it’s a question of craft. Creating a completely original character is one type of challenge. But how do you create a character that based off a real person whose own persona is iconic in its own right? We all know what Pac looked like, we know how he sounded when he talked, how he sounded when he rapped. If you do a pitch perfect impersonation, you’re seen as an impersonator and not an actor. But you stray too far away from the public persona, and you’re rejected for not being ‘accurate’ or ‘realistic’. This is why playing real people, living or dead, is generally seen as the greater challenge.

So the sides went out and as a 2Pac fan I recognized it instantly from my teenage years. You have to take me at my word when I say I didn’t rewatch this until after I did my screen test:

So I learned the words, thought about the emotions behind them (frustration) and made some choices. Part two of the screen test was doing any Pac song that we liked. The choice I made in that regard was to stay away from his best known videos, where again we all have an established ‘visual’ performance to go with the lyrics. I lucked out a little since my favorite Pac song doesn’t have the ‘iconic’ video to go with it.

So my last gift for you this year, my loyal readers, is the screen test I did for ‘Tupac’. You can judge for yourself if the choices I made ‘worked’ or if I could’ve gone farther with it. I heard John (Singleton) is calling the shots now, so if you’ll excuse me I have to go butter up one of my fellow Trojans.

Feliz Ano Nuevo!