Sun, Nov 22, 2009
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Name:
nightshift
Comment: 2 totally different singing styles, Alicia's thick legs!! THAT unfortunately will carry over onto the screen! They may be able to pull it off if Alicia lays off the bronzers, and they do a lot of dubbing, her voice cracks too much. The speaking voice might get it 'cause when they spoke they always sounded high & slow. Considering all the men (powerful & white so that her children would continue to be light skinned called: *lightening*) Lena had laid up with, I didn't think that Janet's "t!tt!e" would have any bearing on her getting the role other than she doesn't have a strong voice and lastly and sadly, she's "too dark" for Lena's tastes. IMO, Lena's voice wasn't so hot either. And to hear her speak, she didn't sound and more educated than "Beyondme". I think O should look for a newcomer.
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Name:
ChocolateBrownGal
Comment: ALICIA KEYS?!?!?!?! Keys can't event act! This is going to be a reaaaaaaal stretch. I too wish she'd gone with a new fresh face. What about one of the Mowry twins, or Jurnee S (girl from The Debaters) or Raven('tho she's abit on the thick side) or the chick from Half and Half, or Jasmine Guy or heck...the Olsen Twins...they're light? (ok that really would have been a stretch) I digress... Janet should be glad this role slipped past her. Come on Lena...it's not as if she was having dudes put dollars in her g string and sliding up and down a pole! Give it a rest already. Don't make it about the super bowl show when it's really about color. Alicia Keys!!?? Whatever!
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Name:
McNasty
Comment: Good for Ms. Lena! I can't think of a better person to play Ms. Horne - Janet can't act and can't sing and would not have done this regal woman justice!
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Name:
McNasty
Comment: Nightshift what you speak of happened in her private life, janet's tittie was very public and not a very good reflection on what she's willing to do for an audience! While Alicia's acting skills may leave a lot to be desired, this role should be an easy one to capture as there was absolutely nothing complicated about Ms. Lena's life. Now, Oprah producing it - I just hope Paris Barclay is looking over her shoulder.
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Name:
shulamite
Comment: Janet and Justin knew exactly what they were doing with her malfunction. They wanted to stretch the boundaries of TV and unfortunately didn't think it through. CBS is not MTV. And so she paid a price she didn't expect. Ms. Horne is from the old school where women held themselves with class at all times. I'm glad this lady put her foot down. Maybe it'll make Janet (or a Janet clone) think before she whips out that next b**b.
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Name:
shulamite
Comment: Alicia Keys is the best choice. With today's technology, they can make her body as lithe as Lena Horne's. She'll have to work on the singing style, but again that won't be too much of problem. The actress from "Half and Half" would have been a good choice, but I suspect that she's a little too "daawk" for Ms. Horne's tastes. :-/
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Name:
Sigmatherunner
Comment: Congrats A. Keys sorry Janet too bad you can't turn back the clock.
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Name:
bigchassie
Comment: MCNASTY/SHULAMITE>i'm with yall. i think Alisha will be an excellent choice for this role. this will be a challenge for Alisha and i think she can probally pull it off. IMO i think she is a far better choice for this role than Janet. i say give her a chance.
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Name:
2ndChance
Comment: by the look of things they are obviously more concerned about ratings than the acting. i'm sure there is a trained unknown actress that could have done lena justice. neither janet nor alicia are good choices, imo. lena probably didn't want janet anyway. nipplegate was just a convenient excuse.
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Name:
DCGG
Comment: Alicia's good for the role but her azz to damn mannish to be playing some Lena Horn...I'm just concerned about Okrah producing it...everything she produces sucks to me...
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Name:
2ndChance
Comment: having read a lot of biographies from old hollywood i would not say they held themselves with class. it was all a fascade. they were undeducated, druggie, alcholics that abandoned their children and *gasp* "fck for tracks" and scripts. the only difference now is the invasiveness of the media. they were classy and debonair on screen though. lol
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Name:
jalvin
Comment: Honestly, I never saw what was rge big deal about Lena anyway. She, IMO, was never that great of a singer or actress, and for a long while, turned her back on most Black people (except maybe for those who worked for her). I don't recall Lena doing anything in the '60's in support of the civil rights movement, and basically, she, like Dorothy Dandridge, seemed to have had been used as the white man's tool (or should that have been...ON!)
I don't care who gets the role...a Lena Horne biopic would not hold much interest to me.
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Name:
McNasty
Comment: 2ndchance they may have catted around on their own time (which wasn't much) but hollywierd used to work hard to keep their dirt and misdeeds hidden and actually enforced whatever moral code there was. We didn't know for a long time that one of their best known male leads was gay - actually there were several and there were quite a few female leads that had to toss their cookies before they did a love scene with men. Hollywierd wasn't all over every channel and there was no such thing as papparazzi. The times that we were actually meant to see them their image was upstanding, classy and sophisticated. When it wasn't hollywierd had no qualms about kickin' them to the curb - betty davis ring a bell?!
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Name:
SmokeyBones2004
Comment: Lena was a mixed-raced woman - Black only in America - FYI. Now, Alicia Keyes is bi-racial. Janet is not mixed like them. Don't hate! Why don't you instead celebrate your DARKNESS, lol.
PS. A 'realistic' portrayal is not Sidney Portier playing Justice Thuragood Marshjall neither! LOL!
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Name:
B00TANEB00TUS
Comment: Yo...I concur with most posters...Lena was a beauty but she was white man's booty...Lemme stop...She was married to a brotha at one time and was active in the civil rights movement...I heard her sing and, and, lets' just say she is a beautiful woman...and has aged well...She didn't get a chance to show off her acting talents 'cause at that time roles for Black woman were scarce...really scarce and c'mon, who would believe her playing a maid?...Like Dorothy Dandrige she was stuck in that too dark, not dark enuff place...I would be interested in her bio-pic...I'll probably wait for the DVD...Donald Bogel has written some good books on Black folks in Hollywood during that time...Believe it or not she did do some domestic work in her younger days...Yo, if she was my maid..Sheets would have to be cleaned every day...As for Jan, she woulda been better off playing Josephine Baker...She had no problems showing t1tties, azz, wearing bananas skits, playing with cheetahs...dating elves, ect...
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Name:
mseffy
Comment: This story is the most provocative thing I've read on this board in quite a while. I love Alicia Keys and I'm trying to imagine her in the role **Looking up, and thinking....girlfriend has the chops, no doubt on that. But there's so much more to Lena and I hope Alicia can pull it off*** Time will tell but I hope it works!!!
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Name:
FiveMore
Comment: So, my grandpa was a mixed raced man that still don't mean nothing in American society.Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandrige were very interesting women.Uhmm, since you like to take jibs a blacks, I didn't see you over here when Clemens was caught up in the juicing scandal.Whites are infactuated with blacks and that is a known fact(look at you over here all the time).Looks like somebody is loving on the black people.lolol, I love my people too!
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Name:
ChocolateBrownGal
Comment: REMEMBER THE IGNORE MEMO!!!!!
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Name:
mseffy
Comment: Clarifying here...the 'more' is not necessarily good.
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Name:
FiveMore
Comment: I know some maids and cooks that favor like Dorothy D. and Lena Horne. Maybe in Hollywood but in the real world(back in the day) black women had to clean, cook, and become a nanny for the white folk children.Oh, the memories of the good ol' days!sighh...
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Name:
SmokeyBones2004
Comment: TRUTH hurts only the IGNORANT!
LOL!
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Name:
Grace12_34
Comment: I hope Alicia can pull it off. For those who say she cannot act, that is what ACTING LESSONS are for!!! I never understood why Janet Jackson was even CONSIDERED for the role. MIND YOU, IMO Janet Jackson is NOT a bad actress at all. As a matter of fact, I like her a lot better as an actress than as a singer-cheerleader during her concerts, etc. Janet was actually being GROOMED as a television actress when she got this ridiculous idea in her head about singing (most likely because it offered more of a guarantee by riding on Michael's coattails and exploiting the fame of the Jackson 5). Had she allowed the grooming to continue, IMO she could have achieved Emmy and even Oscar status!!!
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Name:
khufu
Comment: hmmmm i can see it based on looks and music....Halle looks like her as well...Jasmine Guy is too old looking now...
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Name:
Synthia
Comment: That god Janet isn't involved with this project anymore. She always overestimates her talent and I really can't bear to see her mumbling azz on the screen pretending to act. Alicia was in a movie this summer in a supporting role that got good critical reviews. She can pull this off.
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Name:
khufu
Comment: hmmmm powerful comment...
back i the day the Publicity machine worled miracles...
and it's "facade" :--)
Name: 2ndChance
Comment: having read a lot of biographies from old hollywood i would not say they held themselves with class. it was all a fascade. they were undeducated, druggie, alcholics that abandoned their children and *gasp* "fck for tracks" and scripts.
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Name:
khufu
Comment: i want to see the biopic about Nina Mae McKinney....
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Name:
khufu
Comment: what grown azz adults sending "ignore memos"...damn is it that deep? WHy Black folks always creating cliques?
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Name:
FiveMore
Comment: Khufu, There are no cliques online,man!lol I think CBG might be saying: Since you know that the person is a white racistt(if he is from new orleans- he might have some black in him...lol and may have past over into the other side lol again), do not argue or bicker,just ignore the troll.:0)
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Name:
khufu
Comment: 5more..im just fookin with CBG...
anyway, i always want to see a biopic about Florence Mills
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Name:
khufu
Comment: also want to see
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Name:
FiveMore
Comment: What about the darker sisters like Hattie McDaniel, Esther Rolle or Butterfly Mcqueen?Aren't these women deserving of attention, or is just Dorothy and Lena type?Quiet as it is kept, Mr. Charlie was creeping with the darker ("blacker the berry") type sister on a regular.Yes,I have blood proof.
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Name:
5thSymphony
Comment: When this story first hit around 2003 the names that came to light were Janet, Alicia, Jasmine Guy and Vanessa Williams. Personally, my vote is with Vanessa b/c she can sing and act and her complexion is similar. The only draw back is that I am sure they want someone who can be aged through time. It is easier to make a younger person older than make an older person younger.
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Name:
Southernbelle
Comment: Great choice for Lena! Too bad for Janet. But, overall I think Alicia is a better choice.
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Name:
Fortitude
Comment: Lena Horne originally requested that Whitney Houston be given the part to play her life story on the big screen. Whitney had several other projects under consideration and never gave a clear yes or no answer to Lena Horne’s people. Then Janet Production Company produced a script that initially Lena Horne ok until the Super bowl incident. Lena Horne initially wanted two brown skinned actresses to play her. Also, Lena Horne refused to play at night clubs that would not admit Black people. Lena Horne loved white men, but Quincy Jones, Sidney Porter and a whole lot of other Black men love white women.
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Name:
MOTHERSHIP
Comment: I don't understand what all the hullabaloo is about. Janet is much closer in complexion and stature to Lena. I don't know what Ms. Lena being all selfrighteous about, the shty she did in her day. Besides, if folk ain't seen a mammary before then that's their azz. I met Ms. Lena, spoke with her and Janet fits more with playing her than Alicia does. Alicia is taller and thicker in the legs than Ms. Lena. Janet would have been perfect as a younger Lena.
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Name:
2ndChance
Comment: *facade* thanks khufu. mcnasty betty davis'bio was the last one i've read. i'm very familiar with her. i've actually been working on the papers of a few playwrights and biographers this past year. some of the antics were reported but the masses never caught wind of it. those movie houses were only concerned about $$ not the actors and certainly not moral code. i dang near teared up when i saw judy garland's story on the biography channel years ago. that piqued my interests in the other starlets of her day. i still love the old movies.
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Name:
MOTHERSHIP
Comment: 2ndChance, old hollywood had more abortions, dope takin' and slangin' and suicides than the law allow. One of my favorites was Myrna Loy.
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Name:
golfebj
Comment: She's too bottom heavy and her voice is too deep.
If anybody out now that should play her it's Grant Hill's wife Tamia. Minus the freckles (which can be edited out or done out by makeup) she has the voice to carry Lena.
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Name:
stellababy5
Comment: Lena Horne was apart of the Civil Rights movement.She was out in front
marching with Dr.King and alot of other
celebrities at that time.I saw all the
photos that were taken, including Harry
Belafonte and Jesse Jackson.Also for
those of you who don't know, she was very active in performing with the USO
to entertain our troops overseas.There
was one incident over in France or Germany where the USO/Military wanted
to place the German POW's in front of
our Black Soldiers and she refused to
perform until it was changed.She was
married to a Brotha and she bore him two kids, a boy and a girl.Her daughter
Gail is as dark as I am(pecan-tan)and
her hair is just as kinky as evryone
else's.Although she did marry a yt man.
In one of her interviews,Ms.Horne admitted that she married a white man
in order to further her career and he
did just that and yes she did use him.
But she has always been in the forefront of our Civil Rights.As far as
her music, she was in that Billy Holiday era and i love her music.I got
to see Lena Horne's one woman show on Broadway in NYC about 20years ago and
it was fabulous.Alicia Keys is the perfect choice, she's a talented musician and singer and she's got her
acting skills on point.Peace and blessings.
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Name:
mcctusk
Comment: Jalvin et al, perhaps this will be helpful for your edification as well as the preservation of a courageous woman's legacy:
Lena Horne is also noteworthy for her lifelong contribution to the Civil Rights movement. In the 1940s, she performed at Cafe Society and spent time working with lifelong friend Paul Robeson, another singer who was involved in work against racial discrimination. During World War II, when entertaining the troops at her own expense, she refused to perform "for segregated audiences or to groups in which German POWs were seated in front of African American servicemen" according to her Kennedy Center bio. But she became more well-known during the Civil Rights movement, attending the March on Washington of 1963, and speaking and performing on behalf of the NAACP and the National Council for Negro Women. She also worked with Eleanor Roosevelt to pass anti-lynching legislation in the U.S. Congress.
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Name:
Vonnj
Comment: I think Alicia is good choice, but I think Jasmine Guy, would have been a great choice. She can sing, act, and can throw on that southern drawl that Ms Lena speaks with.
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Name:
mcctusk
Comment: golf> i agree. Tamia is poised. All I can think of when Alicia speak, is that horrible break in the video with Mos Def...'yeah, it's da waitress, from da diner....wait wait hole on....can you hear me now?'
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Name:
mcctusk
Comment: stella>> I remember a recording Lena Horne did where she talked about how Max Factor made some makeup to lighten her skin enough so that her movie could get played in southern theaters (so she could get her money), but they decided to put the makeup on Ava Gardner instead. I cannot imagine what her life must have been like back then.
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Name:
FiveMore
Comment: golfbej & mcctusk>I agree!You know I can see Tamia in the role, also.I like Alicia but she is a little rough around the edges , but hey anything is possible, maybe they can polish her into a delicate chanteuse of the big screen.lol Anything is possible.
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Name:
Olivia
Comment: ***************************************I will let Lena speak for herself. I can't respect that, who does this?
Her's her words***********************
Horne admitted that she married Hayton not because she loved him, but because "he had more entree than a black man." But as their married years went by--and there were 24 of them before his death in 1971--she "learned to love him because of how good he was to me and patient."
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Name:
Dean32
Comment: To bad Ms. O didn't pick someone that can act for the role. Remember the lady that starred in IDLEWILD, she would be an excellent chose.
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Name:
SistaBigBone69
Comment: HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE......I felt this was an excellent choice. Alicia will fit the younger version of Lena pefect. I did not know Lena H had said that about Janet. I would hope after all of this time Lena would have digress the light/dark thang. I agree with a lot of you re: Jasmine Guy that would have been an excellent choice as well. I'm glad Alicia got the part, but I probably will not got to the movies to see it. I will wait till it comes on cable. I've never been a Lena Horne lover
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Name:
GoldenLady
Comment: Yes, the girl from Idlewild is a good choice, Robin Thicke's wife, but I can't call her name. I will say in Alicia's defense, I saw her live in concert and the entire show was themed after 40's club scene. She sang Billie Holliday and other greats of the time. She dressed the part and was beautiful and elegant too. I haven't seen her act, but she seems to know when to loose her street. I would like to see her play this role. I've seen Lena Horne live too, so it would be interesting.
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Name:
Calidee
Comment: I have mixed feelings about this. I think it's great that Alicia Keys is getting an opportunity to expand her talent. But I think this would have been a great opportunity for a seasoned actor.
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Name:
darrren12000
Comment: this is the dumbest pack of lies ever. after the superbowl, lena asked janet to back out of the role and keyes was cast sometime last year. janet moved on from this in 2004 -- three years ago. and she has gone on to do a motion picture. please get over the janet hating. this is not a "blow" to janet.
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Name:
ladybyrd
Comment: Congrat's to Alicia! I think she will do an awesome job. Have you all seen any footage on Mrs. Horne. She's one cool sister. I old clips of her on 60 minutes with Ed Bradley. I think Janet would have done a wonderful job as well, but I think Mrs. Horne handled it professionally. There is too much hate press around Janets Superbowl performance, yes still. And to ALL you naysayers, Radio One and so on had callers and posters saying that Denzel was TOO DARK to play MALCOLM. That Denzel hair wasn't red and his nose was TOO WIDE. Yes, this came these comments came from black folk, probably the same individuals posting. Blacks are ALWAYS looking for something. And Denzel did what to the role?? You damn right, he killed it! Peace
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Name:
MomaKnowz
Comment: Color was absolutely top priority in this selection. It has always been foremost in Lena's criteria... for husbands, her children and *their* spouses and grandchildren. The other consideration is box office. Alicia is a bigger draw than any but Beyonce. I think it's a nice idea to put Lena's story out. But, I think it would have been better suited to a TV series. Unless Lena is gonna tell the TRUTH about her life (which I doubt), it will be a boring tome to self with no juice. And in today's market that's sudden death. That is the reason that we don't have an Oprah story. People want the WHOLE story. Some of that isn't pretty. Haven't you wondered what happened to the Kitty Kelly "Op" book? I think the same thing happened to *that* bio that happened to the one written by her father... it was buried.
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Name:
MOTHERSHIP
Comment: Ladybyrd, overall, though, Denzel does favor Malcolm.
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Name:
rre1239
Comment: what about beyonce, does anyone think she would be a better choice?
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Name:
mcctusk
Comment: Olivia> didn't Tina Turner do the same thing? Didn't Diana Ross? Let's be fair about this. No one ever questioned Sidney Poitier's commitment to civil rights or his role in breaking down barriers for Black people in film in spite of the fact that he was married to a Becky. And it wasn't to get ahead, it was just to have snow bunny eye candy. Cornell West is respected as the preeminent scholar on all things African American - and was married to a becky. Lena said it correctly, unfortunately, there were no black men at that time who had the kind of entree that she desired. Whatever her reasons were, they were hers.
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Name:
bundie
Comment: I believe that Lena Horne's life would make an interesting movie. I would like to see someone with a physical resemblance portray her, as well as the Hollywood luminaries of the era (Paul Robeson, Hattie McDaniel, Harry Belafonte, etc.) They found actors with strong resemblances to McDaniel (can't remember the movie) and Belafonte (in Introducing Dorothy Dandridge). The days of Sidney Poitier playing Thurgood Marshall, Diana Ross playing Billie Holiday, and Gregory Hines playing Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (although this last one I can excuse, given both of their great dancing talents) should end. I'm still smarting over that short actor who played Eddie Kendricks in The Temptations.
I think Vanessa Williams, in dark hair and brown contact lenses, would be a good choice to play Lena from 30 up. Surely there's an unknown who can play her as a teenager through her 20s?) She could do her own singing. Lena Horne admits that she had to be trained to sing, and although her voice was rather bland, she evolved into a good performer. And she was well known in the black community for having skinny, skinny legs, so I can't see Alicia Keys in this part.
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Name:
TMan
Comment: They could've picked a better choice to play her, but as they say, "that's hollywood."
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Name:
TMan
Comment: I wonder if they are gonna cover the part of Lena Horne's life where she was supposed to have been seeing Joe Louis. I heard he is the one that broke her nose.
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Name:
FiveMore
Comment: @ladybird> Honestly, Denzel's portrayal of MalcomX had me conviced that he had come back from the grave-homeboy played that part to death.I felt every morsel of Malcom in Denzel's bigscreen portrayal.Now, you talking about an Oscar worthy performance; Denzel was robbed in 1992/93!
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Name:
onyxeyes
Comment: Unfortunately, they let Lonette McKee get too old to play a young Lena but she looks more like her than ANYBODY.
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Name:
McNasty
Comment: They are not looking for an exact replica of Lena, in which case janet would never have been considered. It would be between Halle, Vanessa and still Alicia Keys. Lena was within her rights to say that no talent janet would not be her choice. While Jasmine Guy would have been the next best thing - y'all seen her lately? She looks much older than her 40 something years. Yeah, Alicia hands down is the right choice.
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Name:
ladybyrd
Comment: FiveMore> Exactly...That's what I'm saying.
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Name:
ladybyrd
Comment: MOTHERSHIP > I thought Denzel favored him, but I remember when Spike cast Denzel all hell broke lose. I was listening to Lee Bailey's radio show and there were so many call in's by angry blacks saying how Denzel would not be able to do Malcolm justice. It was call after call about Denzel's color, lack of acting, his teeth etc. And I thought, damn black folks know they can pick something apart with no just cause.
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Name:
ladybyrd
Comment: bundie > I liked the actors Suzanne DePasse choose for The Temptations. I love that movie and so does my neices and nephews.
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Name:
onyxeyes
Comment: Black folks are nothing if not consistently negative about each other. it's a d@mn disease.
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Name:
Marlin
Comment: janet ain't have no business trying to play lena horne..........or dorothy dandridge. sometimes we get a little besides ourselves and janet was out of 'CONTROL' for that one.
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Name:
Angel
Comment: Paula Patton was in Idlewild.
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Name:
ladybyrd
Comment: onyxeyes > I agree!
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