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THE FILM STRIP: Bow Wow, Malcolm Lee, Charlie Murphy, And Brandon T. Jackson Hit The Red Carpet.
Tom Cruise Affirms What Black Parents Have Been Saying All Along
Moviegoers are in for a big treat come September when the film, “Roll Bounce,” is released. “Best Man” director Malcolm D. Lee steps up to the plate once again with bona a fide hit. This 1970s roller-skate themed treat is a coming of age tale starring Bow Wow, Brandon T. Jackson, Chi McBride, Nick Cannon, Charlie Murphy, Meagan Good, Wesley Jonathan, Mike Epps and Wesley Jonathan.
Bow Wow (Xavier Smith), a maser on wheels, along with his crew once ruled supreme at their South Side Chicago rink, the Palisades Garden. But when the doors of their favorite hangout close, it marked the end of an era and the beginning of another that thrust the boys into a completely different environment—the North Side’s swanky Sweetwater Roller Rink, with its sleek, well-to-do roller-boys and fly girls.
Set at the height of the roller disco era, when “jam skating” was born, the film combines the retro thrills of 70s dance and music with the moving story of a family trying to find a way to roll through hard times to a better future.
Opening night of the Urbanworld Film Festival in New York City had Bow Wow, Lee, Jackson and Murphy walking the red carpet in front of the Magic Johnson theater in Harlem. Before they arrived there was a professional skate demonstration that vowed the crowd. Bow Wow was in top form and full of energy. He told The Film Strip he’s been entertaining since he was five years old, but that audiences are in for a big surprise when they see him perform this time around:
“I really display my acting ability, maturity and growth as an actor. I must say I did my thing. I acted my butt off. I lived this character and you can tell…That boy [Xavier] is confident and I’m very confident. People take it as cocky, but it’s confidence.”
Detroit, Michigan native Jackson was just as excited as Bow Wow. I did the Apollo at 13,” he exclaimed. “I thank God. It’s a blessing. This is my first film and I’m happy.”
Lee says he wants the audiences to have fun. “It’s a fun movie.” “Communication and love” is just as important, he says. “It’s a story about fathers and sons.” “The story is deep,” Murphy added.
A film based on one of the most hallowing incidences in American entertainment hits the screens this week. The release of the movie, however, has been surrounded by controversy because the personal beliefs of its star and recent BET awards presenter, Tom Cruise, did not sit well with the American public. Cruise took aim at psychiatry and, in particular, Brooke Shields who wrote a book on postpartum depression.
Shield’s response to Cruise might very well prove his point that drug use in her case was ill advised. She said Cruise should stick to fighting aliens and if he wanted to see her play, she would leave two tickets for him—one for an adult and one for a child. Get a grip, Shields! Cruise is fighting aliens in a movie and Katie Holmes is 26 years old, well above the tender age of 11 when you were doing semi-nude work.
Ironically, Cruise has been affirming what Black parents have been saying for years, that the system spends more money on keeping their kids drugged than on educating them. Cruise and Steven Spielberg (director of "War of the Worlds") both have Black kids, although apparently Whites prefer to call them "bi-racial" because the term is more appealing.
The war of the words has eclipsed “The War of the Worlds,” but then it’s been said that the pen is mightier than the sword.
