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04-10-08 EUR ALL ON ONE PAGE
50 CENT, UNIVERSAL SUED BY YAYO'S TEEN VICTIM: Rapper accused of promoting 'gangsta lifestyle.' Plus, artist in talks to join indie film.
*The 14-year-old boy who was allegedly assaulted by associates of 50 Cent has joined his mother in a lawsuit against the rapper and his label, Universal, for promoting a "gangsta lifestyle."
Filed Wednesday by James Rosemond and his mother Cynthia Reed, the lawsuit claims Universal Music Group and its labels Interscope Records, G-Unit Records and Shady Records are ultimately responsible for the assault because they encourage artists to pursue violent, criminal lifestyles.
Rosemond says he was assaulted on a Manhattan sidewalk in March 2007 by four men, including G-Unit rapper Tony Yayo and his employee Lowell Fletcher. The lawsuit claims Rosemond was targeted because he was wearing a T-shirt bearing the name of Czar Entertainment, a management company owned by his father. Czar represents The Game, a former G-Unit rapper who fell out with the group and had become a rival.
The lawsuit names 50 Cent -- whose real name is Curtis Jackson – Yayo, Fletcher, Violator Management and Violator CEO Chris Lighty.
"The members of G-Unit, including defendants Yayo and 50 Cent, encouraged, sanctioned, approved and condoned its members threatening violence, and or engaging in violent acts in furtherance of its business,"
the lawsuit said. The attack on Rosemond was intended to "promote and maintain Yayo and 50 Cent's 'gangsta' image," which was "promoted, marketed and advertised" by record labels.
Yayo, whose real name is Marvin Bernard, pleaded guilty to harassment in February and was sentenced to 10 days of community service. Fletcher pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child and was sentenced to nine months in jail.
"Because of the injuries suffered by James, and the lack of remorse and arrogance displayed by Yayo, G-Unit and all named in the lawsuit, I feel obligated as a mother to bring this suit and obtain justice for my child,"
Reed stated. "Even though Yayo pleaded guilty in Criminal Court to harassing my son and Fletcher pleaded guilty to endangering my son, neither Yayo nor G-Unit members have ever apologized to my son or me."
In other 50 Cent news, Variety reports that he's in talks to join the cast of "Spectacular Regret," an indie film about four Los Angelenos struggling to overcome past events.
Fifty will play a death row inmate whose imminent execution has made him a cause celebre.
Confirmed cast members include Danny Huston, John Ortiz and Kelli Garner. Financed through private equity, the film will shoot in July in L.A.
The drama was scripted by actor Joshua Leonard, who will make his dramatic feature debut as director. Leonard lugged around a camera as one of the stars of "The Blair Witch Project."
JAY-Z RUMORS PLAGUE GLASTONBURY GIG: Organizer denies talk of rapper pulling out due to low ticket sales.
*Organizers for the annual Glastonbury Festival (June 27-29) are denying reports in London’s Sun newspaper that headliner Jay-Z is planning to cancel his appearance because of low ticket sales.
While tickets for the festival usually sell out in hours, more than 30,000 of the 137,500 tickets available remained unsold as of Sunday afternoon. Critics are blaming sluggish sales on the decision to book Jay-Z alongside more traditional rock/alternative acts Muse and The Verve.
The Sun reported that Jigga wanted to pull out because he's angered by critics who feel he's the wrong choice for the legendary festival. There was also talk that organizers were scrambling to book Prince as a replacement since he made such a big splash last year during his 21-night residency at London's O2 Arena.
The rumor picked up steam when it was announced that Jay-Z would also be playing London’s 02 Wireless Music Festival the following week, on July 3.
Michael Eavis, who has run the Glastonbury Festival for more than 30 years, called the Sun's report "malicious," "nasty" and "totally unfounded."
Speaking to XFM, he said: "I'm not sure where they got that from, probably from the people that were doing a show in London the following week [The O2 Wireless Festival] because they were trying to sell tickets for their show.
"That didn't come from the Americans [Jay-Z's management] at all because we checked with them on Sunday and the Americans confirmed with me on Sunday they were definitely doing it [the festival]."
Jay-Z is scheduled to headline the Pyramid Stage on the festival's opening night, Friday June 27. Tickets went on sale again this week.
ERYKAH BADU PLOTS SIX-WEEK TOUR: Roots will open for singer during trek behind 'New Amerykah.'
*Erykah Badu will traverse North America next month for a six-week tour in support of her latest release, "New Amerykah, Pt. One: 4th World War."
The trek, set to launch May 4 in Detroit, will feature opening act The Roots for many of the dates.
The performers will visit U.S. cities from coast to coast, as well as a few Canadian provinces, and Badu will veer off for gigs in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean island of Aruba.
Tour details are listed below:
May 2008
4 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theatre
5 - Toronto, Ontario - Massey Hall
6 - Sherbrooke, Quebec - Jacques Cartier Park
8 - Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre
9 - New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall 10 - Baltimore, MD - Pier Six Concert Pavilion
11 - Upper Darby, PA - Tower Theatre
14-15 - Washington, DC - DAR Constitution Hall
16 - Norfolk, VA - Chrysler Hall
17 - Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum
18 - Richmond, VA - Landmark Theater
20 - Boca Raton, FL - Mizner Park Amphitheater
21 - San Juan, Puerto Rico - Coliseum of Puerto Rico
23 - Atlanta, GA - Fabulous Fox Theatre
24 - Montgomery, AL - Jubilee City Festival
25 - Aruba, Dutch Caribbean - Soul Beach Music Festival
27 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
28 - Memphis, TN - Orpheum Theatre
29 - St. Louis, MO - Fox Theater
30-31 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre
June 2008
2 - Denver, CO - Fillmore
3 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot
5 - Redmond, WA - Marymoore Amphitheater
6 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom
8 - Oakland, CA - Paramount Theater
10 - San Diego, CA - Humphreys Concerts by the Bay
12 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre
13 - Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues
14 - Mesa, AZ - Mesa Amphitheater
15 - Albuquerque, NM - Kiva Auditorium
BEYONCE WAVES WEDDING RING AT HUSBAND'S GIG: Also, will Bey-Jay break the sales curse plaguing music couples?
*Jay-Z may have gone without his wedding ring in the days following his April 4 nuptials, but People magazine reports of Beyonce not only sporting her ring, but waving it for all to see during her husband's tour stop in the A.T.L.
The singer was in the VIP area of Atlanta's Phillips Arena with Usher when Jay-Z began his hit "PSA," which has the lyrics: "I got the hottest chick in the game wearing my chain." According to People, "Usher threw up the diamond Roc sign, while Beyoncé showed off a telltale diamond rock of her own and waved her arms to the beat."
On Monday night, Jay-Z was at his 40/40 club in Manhattan - without his wife or a wedding ring - cheering on Memphis during the NCAA men's basketball championship game with friends including rapper Tru Life.
When congratulated on the wedding by patrons, Jay-Z reportedly
responded: "I don't know what you're talking about."
Meanwhile, power marriages within the rap/R&B industry appear to be detrimental to album sales for both the bride and groom, according to numbers crunched by Billboard.com.
As Jay-Z and Beyonce bask in the afterglow of their nuptials, they might want to consider the fate of Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, both of whom saw a decrease in album sales after their wedding on June 5, 2004.
Prior to their union, Lopez released three albums, which have sold a combined 8.1 million in the United States, according to Nielsen Soundscan.
Lopez's post-wedding 2005 album, "Rebirth," has sold 731,000 copies, while a pair of 2007 albums, "Como Ama Una Mujer" and "Brave," fell to 200,000 and 154,000, respectively.
Anthony released seven albums between 1994 and early 2004, with combined sales of 2.5 million. His biggest selling album to date is his 2002 crossover set "Mended," which has moved 680,000 units. His first post-wedding album, "Sigo Siendo Yo," released in 2006, has moved 151,000 copies to date, while his 2007 album, "El Cantante," has sold 183,000.
The post-wedding sales dip also applies to rapper Nas and R&B singer Kelis, who married on January 8, 2005. Nas' eight pre-marriage releases have sold a combined 11.3 million copies, while Kelis' two albums released before
2005 add up to 785,000. Post marriage, Nas has sold 755,000 of 2006's "Hip Hop Is Dead," while Kelis has moved 157,000 with "Kelis Was Here," released in 2006 as well.
NO MORE 'BIRTHDAY' FOR THE ROOTS: Group yanks track off of new album 'Rising Down.'
*Rap collective The Roots will not release the track "Birthday Girl"
as the first single from their forthcoming album "Rising Down" because it has been removed from the set entirely, reports Billboard.
Drummer and co-producer Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson says the track, featuring Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump, did not fit the tone of what he calls "the most incendiary, political album of our career to date."
"It was just sticking out like a sore thumb," Thompson says of "Birthday Girl," which was built from an idea that's been around since sessions for the Roots' 2004 album "The Tipping Point." "Initially it was going to kick-start the record ... but then that didn't work. Then we were going to have a 'halftime' thing where it was gonna come in the middle of the record as a break from the political thing, but that didn't work, either.
"Then we tried to make it the last song on the record, and that wasn't working," he continues. "Then we tried to make it the hidden track, and that wasn't effective. Basically the album was complete; it starts with 'Rising Down' and it ends with 'Rising Up,' so that makes more sense to me."
"Birthday Girl" will now be available as an iTunes exclusive later this month. A video for the track will be available on viral outlets.
The political tone, Thompson says, was inspired by circumstances in the Roots' native Philadelphia, where high school dropout rates are 45 percent and crime has sharply increased.
"Add up all that, plus being in your mid-30s and working 300 nights a year and this being an election year -- yeah, all that's what this album's about," Thompson says.
CNN GATHERS CANDIDATES FOR 'COMPASSION FORUM': Topics to include AIDS crisis, poverty and human rights.
*Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will answer questions about faith and values on CNN's "Compassion Forum,"
which is scheduled to air Sunday, April 13.
Unlike a traditional debate, each senator will be interviewed separately in 40 minute blocks, reports Reuters. Topics will include issues such as the global AIDS crisis, poverty and human rights. Some of the questions will come from the audience, which will be made up of faith leaders from all over the country who have been invited.
CNN anchor Campbell Brown and Newsweek editor Jon Meacham will moderate the forum, which is sponsored by Faith in Public Life. The event will be held at Messiah College, a Christian college located near Harrisburg, Pa., nine days before the state's primary.
Sen. John McCain was also invited, but has yet to respond. In any event, the Republican presidential candidate will be invited to a planned future forum that will also be televised with the eventual Democratic nominee.
BOB MARLEY'S MOTHER DIES IN MIAMI: Cedella Booker passes at age 81 from apparent natural causes.
*Cedella Booker, the mother of reggae legend Bob Marley, died Tuesday night at her home in Miami, family spokesman Jerome Hamilton confirmed to the Associated Press. She was 81.
Booker apparently died from natural causes, according to Hamilton.
The Jamaica native was 18 when she married Norval Marley, a British man 32 years her senior. Their son became an international superstar before a brain tumor took his life in 1981 at age 36.
"Mrs. Booker was the matriarch of a movement so powerful that the mystical qualities of the Marley musical legacy remain strong and potent,"
Jamaica Information Minister Olivia Grange said.
"She was a star in her own right," Jamaica Prime Minister Bruce Golding said in a statement. "Her life was one of hardship, struggle and eventual fulfillment, and through it all, she exuded hope, strength and confidence."
Following the death of Norval Marley in 1955, Booker married an American man and settled in Delaware. She wrote two biographies of her famous son and recorded two albums, "Awake Zion!" and "Smilin' Island of Song."
Funeral arrangements have not been announced.
RAPPER PLIES SUED FOR $10 MILLION: Five plaintiffs claim they were hurt during a shooting at his concert.
*Plies is targeted in a lawsuit filed by five Gainesville, FL residents who claim they were injured during a 2006 shooting at one of his shows.
According to the Gainesville Sun, the plaintiffs are seeking $10 million in damages against the rapper (born Algernod Lanier Washington), his label Slip-N-Slide Records, 283 West (the downtown Gainesville nightclub where the shooting took place), as well as others tied to the event.
"If they're suing Mr. Washington, they're suing the wrong person,"
says his attorney Robert Rush, who also told the Gainesville Sun that he has yet to see the lawsuit. "He does not have legal liability. It is not an entertainer's job to provide security for a club where the entertainer is performing."
According to reports, members of Plies' entourage fired into a sold-out crowd of close to 1,000 attendees after organizers shut off his microphone to prepare for the next performer, Lil' Boosie.
Two members of Plies' entourage - his brother Ronell Lavatte, 31 at the time, and then 21-year-old Tory Carnegie - were accused of firing at least three rounds and charged with attempted murder. Police searched their vehicle and found five loaded firearms and additional rounds of ammunition.
Plies and another member of his entourage, Keon D. McRae, were then charged with illegal possession of a concealed weapon. Plies entered a plea of no contest to the charge.
RZA CHANNELS BOBBY DIGITAL AGAIN FOR TOUR: Wu Tang Clan founder plans outing to back new studio album.
*Wu-Tang Clan general RZA will again assume his alter-ego Bobby Digital for his first solo tour in several years, reports Live Daily.
The 20-date outing – which kicks off in Houston on June 28 will promote the July release of his upcoming studio album "Digi Snax."
The project continues the story of Bobby Digital, a persona created by RZA in his lab on "Wu Mountain" and described in a record company bio as a "self-indulgent creature of the flesh who loves to womanize, party, spend money and wear the latest fashions."
"Digi Snax" follows RZA's two previous Bobby Digital albums, 1998's "Bobby Digital in Stereo" and 2001's "Digital Bullet."
Meanwhile, the rapper/producer continues to work on his "final" solo album under his own name, titled "The Cure," which the rapper has told several interviewers will be his last as an MC.
Tour details are listed below:
June 2008
10 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
11 - Austin, TX - Emo's
12 - Dallas, TX - Palladium Ballroom
14 - Denver, CO - Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom
15 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
17 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre
18 - Phoenix, AZ - Brickhouse
20 - Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theater
21 - San Francisco, CA - 1015 Folsom
23 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre
24 - Seattle, WA - ShowBox
25 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards
27 - Calgary, Alberta - Sled Island Music Festival 30 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
July 2008
1 - Chicago, IL - House of Blues
2 - Pontiac, MI - Crofoot Ballroom
4 - Ottawa, Ontario - New Capital Music Hall
5 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
7 - Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero
8 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
HERBIE HANCOCK TAKES 'JONI' ON THE ROAD: Grammy winner launches international tour to promote latest CD.
*Herbie Hancock will promote his Grammy-winning album, "River: The Joni Letters," with an international tour scheduled to launch next month, according to his Web site.
The keyboardist/composer will start the trek May 23 at the Sonoma, CA, International Jazz Festival and play gigs across the U.S. and Canada through mid-August. Stops include the Playboy Jazz Fest in Hollywood, CA, the Ottawa International Jazz Festival in Ontario and the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island.
A European leg is expected to follow, with another batch of U.S. dates on tap for later this year.
Hancock's touring band features bassist Dave Holland, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, saxophonist Chris Potter and guitarist Lionel Loueke, as well as guest vocalists including Sonya Kitchell and Amy Keys.
Here is the full tour itinerary:
May 2008
23 - Sonoma, CA - Field of Dreams Park/Sonoma International Jazz Festival
June 2008
14 - Temecula, CA - South Coast Winery Resort
15 - Hollywood, CA - Hollywood Bowl/Playboy Jazz Fest
18 - Seattle, WA - Benaroya Hall
20 - Vancouver, British Columbia - Orpheum Theatre
22 - Ottawa, Ontario - Confederation Park/Ottawa International Jazz Festival
23 - New York, NY - Carnegie Hall
August 2008
10 - Newport, RI - Newport Jazz Festival
11 - Vienna, VA - Wolf Trap at Filene Center
16 - Atlantic City, NJ - Borgata Spa & Resort
January 2009
25-31 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Playboy Jazz Cruise
February 2009
1 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Playboy Jazz Cruise
O.J. IS ONE OF CALI'S 'TOP TAX DEBTORS': Juice, state's 15th worst offender, may be shamed on FTB Web site.
*For the second year in a row, Orenthal James Simpson appears on a list of California's worst tax offenders.
The former NFL star owes $1.5 million in back taxes, which puts him at No. 15 out of the top 250 comprising the list this year. The state's Franchise Tax Board is required to post all 250 names on its Web site after notifying each person that they'll be publicly identified if they don't pay up on time.
Simpson's lawyer Yale Galanter claims his client wasn't informed of the debt, hasn't worked in California for 12 years and owns no property in the state. "It's a pretty well-known fact I am his lawyer. Nobody has ever contacted me from the state of California. We've never even gotten a letter."
In 2007, Simpson was No. 33 on the state's Top Tax Debtors list.
ITTY BITTY BITS: Donna Summer is No. 1; TV One to air Trumpet Awards; Fox411's Friedman reviews 'E=MC2.'
*Disco diva Donna Summer just scored her 13th No. 1 single with "I'm A Fire," which tops the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Charts this week. It's the singer's first No. 1 hit in nearly ten years, and she's the only artist to have had a No. 1 charting dance hit in every decade since the 1970's.
"I'm A Fire" is from Summer's upcoming album "Crayons," due on May 20.
*The 16th annual Trumpet Awards, honoring African American achievement and hosted by Samuel L. Jackson and his wife, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, will air on TV One Sunday, April 13 from 8 – 10 p.m. This year’s honorees include Halle Berry, Danny Glover, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Najee, Sheila C. Johnson and Dr T.B. Boyd III. An encore airing is scheduled for 2 a.m.
*Fox411 columnist Roger Friedman has reviewed Mariah Carey's album "E=MC2," which will be released on Tuesday (April 15). He says it "might be an even bigger chart-topping monster" than her 2004 smash, "Emancipation of Mimi." Read his full review here:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,348468,00.html
EUR DVD REVIEW: Meeting David Wilson
MSNBC Special to Feature Reunion of Blacks and Whites Linked to Ancestors from Same Slave Plantation
Film Review by Kam Williams
*If you were descended from slaves, would you want to trace your ancestral roots back to the very soil where your forefathers had toiled for generations?
And if you did, how do you think you'd feel if you not only found the plantation but the kin of the white slave owners still living there?
This was precisely the project undertaken by David Wilson, a 28 year-old journalist from Newark, NJ when he ventured to Caswell County, North Carolina, which was where his great-grandfather was born in 1883.
Concerned about what sort of reception he might get, given the subject of his daring research, he took along a white cinematographer, Daniel Woolsey, who recorded his every encounter on videotape.
The upshot of their efforts is Meeting David Wilson, a fascinating documentary which starkly contrasts the divergent fortunes of the descendants of slaves with that of the heirs of those same slaves' masters.
Upon his arrival in the South, Wilson paid a visit to the local genealogist, and discovered, lo and behold, that the Wilson Estate was in the hands of a white man also named David Wilson.
With a combination of determination and trepidation, the black David Wilson approached his white namesake for an interview and a tour of the property. What ensues is an emotional-draining experience during which tough questions are posed and honest answers given about reparations, history and America's legacy while some personal skeletons are pulled out of a centuries-old closet.
After the Davids awkwardly erase the color line between them, they actually bond and opt to throw a family reunion. This is easier said than done, for we see one of black David's sisters say, "I'm already angry enough, I don't need to go down there and see somebody who owned my family."
Whites prove to be equally reluctant, such as the guy who concedes, "If I done you wrong, I wouldn't want to meet you."
Yet, in the end, over fifty African-American Wilsons do travel to Carolina and undergo a purification process, commiserating with their Caucasian counterparts on the plantation where interacting as equals was once unthinkable. The film also features DNA tests to determine whether the Davids are blood related, plus a trip to Ghana in search of African relations.
A heartwrenching bio-pic likely to inspire countless similar sojourns.
Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 82 minutes
Studi Official Pictures
Meeting David Wilson premieres on MSNBC on Friday, April 11th @ 9 PM EST/PST. (Check Local Listings)
THANDIE NEWTON: The Run, Fatboy, Run Interview with Kam Williams
Sweet as Thandie
*Born in London on November 6, 1972, Thandiwe Newton spent some of her formative years in Zambia with her Zimbabwean mother, Nyasha, and her British father, Nick.
However, political unrest would prompt the family to relocate to England where Thandiwe would attend the University of Cambridge.
After a back injury curtailed her plans for a career in dance, she dropped the "w" from her name when she turned her attention to acting.
In 1991, the regal beauty made her screen debut in Flirting, an Australian film featuring another then unknown, Nicole Kidman.
Thandie has since proven herself to be one of the most talented thespians around, delivering very memorable performances in such pictures as Crash, Beloved, Besieged, Jefferson in Paris, Mission: Impossible II and The Pursuit of Happyness.
Recently, the versatile actress has even mastered comedy, first as the object of Eddie Murphy's affection in the $100 million hit Norbit, and now as a pregnant woman left at the altar by Simon Pegg's character in Run, Fatboy, Run.
As for her private life, Thandie has been married for ten years to writer/director Ol Parker.
The couple lives in London where they are raising their two daughters, Ripley, 7, and Nico, 3. Here, she weighs in on everything from family life to her new movie to colorblind casting to the candidacy of Barack Obama.
Kam Williams: Hi Thandie, I'm honored to have this opportunity to speak with you.
Thandie Newton: Really? That's so lovely.
KW: Absolutely!
TN: Nice. Is Kam short for something?
KW: Funny you should ask. Yes, Kamau, it's an African name.
TN: Cool!
KW: I was given the name when I was a jazz musician back in the Seventies.
We were getting ready to record an album and the leader of the group didn't want any slave names on the record cover.
TN: Wow!
KW: Over the years, people sort of Anglicized it by dropping the "au" off.
TN: How amazing! "Kam" is gorgeous. I love it. My name, Thandie, is an abbreviation, too, of Thandiwe.
KW: I knew that. And that it means "beloved." Ironically, Beloved might have been your breakout role.
TN: Yes, I think it probably was.
KW: I also thought you were terrific in your next picture, Besieged.
TN: I loved that film.
KW: Why did you decide to make your second comedy in a row with Run, Fatboy, Run?
TN: Well, I made Norbit, but I still felt that I hadn't really been involved in a comedy in terms of having the experience of just witnessing comedians at work. Norbit just felt a little claustrophobic. It didn't have the kind of freedom or camaraderie that I thought a comedy should have. And I was keen to work in England, as I always have been, because my children go to school there. Plus, I've been a fan of Simon Pegg's for a number of years. I love the work that he's done with Nick Frost, like Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. And I just got a sense of [director] David Schwimmer as a really well-rounded, decent guy from when he did a play with a friend of mine, Saffron Burrows. I like working with first-time directors because it's often a risk well worth taking. And I loved the material. So, it was fun!
KW: One of the things I love about this film is that it's hard to pigeonhole.
TN: I feel the same way. It's not a romantic comedy. It's not a straight drama. It feels much more true to life than a formulaic comedy. But I also think that Simon has great timing and a unique kind of humor, reminiscent of Peter Sellers or Jack Lemmon. He reminds me of those old school comedians whose brands of humor were much more authentically a part of their personality, not anything generic. Simon's is a combination of physical, creative and intelligent. His other gift is that he can move from a strongly comedic moment to one of complete earnestness which draws you in much more.
Ordinarily, comedy is a detachment from feeling where you turn something into a joke instead of express how you really feel. That kind of protects you from being the one with an opinion, if you know what I mean.
KW: Right.
TN: But Simon can get right into earnest emotion very easily, so the comedy almost allows for the sentiments to go deeper. I think he's unique in that respect. In England, it's been a while since we've found someone who could cross over and be an international success in movies. And I just think Simon's it.
KW: I think you're obviously "it" too. I felt that your performance in Crash was pivotal, and providing that Oscar-winning Best Picture with its most riveting and social significant moment by far. That's why I said you deserved an Oscar for it.
TN: Well, there were a large number of very strong performances that year. I don't know, ever since Beloved was snubbed by the industry, and not taken seriously in that respect, I don't feel impassioned with either joy or sadness by getting or not getting accolades. It's not part of the way that I value myself.
KW: I also think that many of the challenging, iconoclastic characters that you've played, in films like Beloved and Besieged and Crash, aren't the types of roles ordinarily recognized by the Oscars.
TN: The thing about all of those roles, and The Pursuit of Happyness, as well, is that they make people uncomfortable, because it goes right to the marrow of the truth. That is not a popular place to be. With Beloved, it wasn't popular to take the lid off denial. But I like to put myself in that area of discomfort, because that's what truly reveals the essence of what we really are, those areas that you'd rather ignore and get away from. They're the ones that I just want to stare at as long as I can. So, I don't mind, even though the Oscar has become the absolute benchmark for filmmaking talent. I think we can sort of promote ourselves as individuals. If we feel privileged to witness a great performance, then that in itself is enough to feel validated.
KW: I agree. Plus, the job that you do as a mother is far more important than acting.
TN: It is and it isn't though, Kam, because the truth is that if you want to be a movie star, you've got to work at it. But I've found that in order to ensure longevity, it's better to avoid the highs and lows of success. It's sort of like surfing where if you stay in the middle of a wave, you're going to stick around longer. But if you get into the dizzying heights, you've got to maintain, and that's a tough thing to do. I've got two kids, so I'm quite happy to stay on in the middle, burning my light a bit brighter here and there. But I love what I do.
KW: The Tao teaches that both the very heights and the very bottom are to be avoided.
TN: I think that's true, but I'll get the old Oscar for all of us one day.
KW: I'm sure. Given that you have a parent from Africa, and one who's white, I'd love to hear what you think of Barack Obama's candidacy.
TN: I think that it's wonderful for America to have these rich choices in whom they vote for. It feels like there's evolution happening right in front of us. And I don't think it's just about America but an international vote for life to have these exciting choices available. Once a pick has been made, what's important is to commit to the changes that these people actually want to put in place. I think that how Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama or anyone else is going to benefit the country is far more complex than the color of their skin or their gender. So, in a way, it's been a distraction from what's truly necessary which is to get in there and make real changes.
KW: I've read that you were born in England, and also that you were born in Africa. Which is correct?
TN: I was born in London during a brief trip back from Africa which is where we all lived at the time.
KW: How do you think growing up in Africa and England, and having both a black and a white parent has shaped you?
TN: Oh, God, that would be an hour-long answer to your question. It provided challenges which have made me who I am.It provided great wealth in terms of having this great-colored skin, and looking exotic, and different. However, it also made for a very lonely disposition as a child, at times. Being an outsider has its good and its bad. There's a ying and yang to all of it. Having to negotiate that kind of winding road has made me much more inquisitive about psychology, and interested in investigating myself and the parameters that people set up around themselves and others. It's a privilege, in a way, to have had to question my identity. By virtue of being unconventional, I was exploring that from a very young age. And I feel glad about that. But by the same token, if I hadn't had the strength of character and some real pluses, like getting involved in the arts, for example, where differences can be celebrated, I could have been a very depressed, a very closeted, and a very unhappy person. But I see these challenges and negative experiences as gifts, at least I do now, anyway. [Laughs] So, I've been showered with gifts, and I'm glad of that. Life is about being uncomfortable and about how we deal with those areas of discomfort. I'm sorry I'm not answering your question, but it's such a gigantic question, and one that I can't answer briefly.
KW: No, this was an excellent answer, given our time constraints. Another thing I really liked about Run, Fatboy, Run was its colorblind casting.
TN: I love that not one journalist has questioned my son in the movie looking so light. In real life, I have one blonde child, and one dark-haired child. One of my daughters is olive-skinned, like me, and my other is very pale-skinned. Their faces are similar, but they have different coloring. 30 or 40 years ago, it would have been noted, and someone would've complained, saying, "She couldn't have a kid that color." So, I do love that the casting hasn't been questioned in England [where it opened last September] and I'm interested in seeing how it is accepted in the United States. I wonder whether black audiences will want to see the movie.
KW: I certainly hope so, not only because it's very funny, but to support colorblind casting and the idea that you can have you and Simon Pegg paired in a romantic comedy without skin color having to be the theme. So, I'm asking all my readers to support it.
TN: You do it, Kam!
KW: Bookworm Troy Johnson was wondering what's the last book you read?
TN: Oh my Lord! What was the last book I read? Oh, it was a book by my friend, Justine Picardie, called Daphne. It's about Daphne du Maurier and the Bronte family.
KW: Lastly. are you ever afraid?
TN: No.
KW: Well, thanks again for the interview, Thandie, and best of luck in the future.
TN: Thanks you so much. Take care, bye!
JOSEPH C. PHILLIPS: Filling Obama Part 2
*In the prologue of Barack Obama’s best selling book “The Audacity of Hope”, the senator writes: "I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views." He was referencing the fact that because his views, while decidedly liberal, were not dogmatic, there was a tendency for some to fill in the blanks at it were. Indeed, to read the book is to get a sense of a man convinced of America’s potential, of America’s greatness. You also understand that he is, at heart, a liberal Democrat, but hey, you can’t have everything.
Perhaps that is simply me projecting.
This image of being a blank screen is true of many politicians and I believe it is a testament to Barack Obama’s talent that he has managed to become the screen on which so many people choose to project. It is also true that at a certain point that unless a leader fills the screen, the projections of so many swallow him up; he becomes defined by others in effect becoming nothing at all.
The American people – that is all of the American people both liberal and conservative -- are hungry for new leadership and a new vision. And here lies the difficulty Obama has with the Reverend Jeremiah Wright and why his relationship with Wright will haunt him throughout the general election. The vision Americans crave is the one of American strength and goodness not one of American evil and despotism. The hope Americans project onto Obama is that he will lead the nation not to a new place, but restore her to a former (and I would argue rightful) place of respect and dignity in the world, that the principles upon which this nation was built will once again be our national pride. This is, of course, in stark contrast to what Americans have heard streaming from the pulpit of Reverend Jeremiah Wright and it is confusing for some as to how the man upon whom they have projected such hope to restore American pride could listen to such rhetoric and sit in silence.
The response of the faithful is that Wright’s words have been taken out of context. When viewed in context they are not so bad, they are prophetic; they are in fact true.
It must come as a shock then when during a television appearance, Barack Obama commented that if the Reverend Wright had not retired and had not acknowledged that some of the things he said offended people, he would not have felt comfortable staying at the church. No doubt Obama did not have the advantage of viewing the speeches in “context.” His supporters respond that he is a politician and will say what he has to in order to be elected. His proclamation, although dishonest, is savvy politics. Alas it reflects a deep cynicism on the part of Obama supporters that they would defend their candidate by proclaiming him a liar.
Also in the prologue of his book is a short story of the cynicism he encountered during his first run for political office. “Why would you want to get messed up in a dirty business like politics?” he is asked. Obama’s response is that there is a different kind of politics and he is a different kind of politician. If Obama’s supporters are correct then he is a politician in the same mold as all politicians and his lies are no different from Hillary’s lies, which are no different from McCain’s lies.
If on the other hand their projections of him are self-serving then perhaps others are correct to question the tenacity of a man that pledges to stand up to big oil, stand up to pharmaceutical companies, stand up to terrorists and yet when the pastor of his church repeatedly expressed opinions he felt in conflict with he did not walk out; he did not stand up.
There are advantages to being a blank screen, but at a certain point a politician must begin to be the author of his own story. The controversy over his years at Trinity United suggests to me that I am not the only one that senses reluctance on the part of Obama to do so. I am not the only one uncomfortable with the idea of a blank screen as president. Where I was once enthusiastic, I am now hesitant. Where I was once hopeful, I am now convinced that he may in fact be as empty as his critics accuse him of being. As he defines himself further, we will see if he is as slick as Willy or possessing of as much Teflon as Ronny. My fear is that at the end of the day he will still be a blank screen.
Cue music.
Roll credits.
Fade to black.
Joseph C. Phillips is the author of “He Talk Like A White Boy” available wherever books are sold.
REGGAE UPDATES FROM JAMAICA: Red Stripe pulls sponsorship; Mom Marley dies; Digicell kicks off
By Kevin Jackson
· Red Stripe pulls sponsorship from dancehall and reggae stage shows
*Diageo, the parent company for Red Stripe Beer has pulled its sponsorship from the staging of dancehall and reggae shows in Jamaica with immediate effect. Two of the more prominent stage shows held in Jamaica, Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest and Guinness Sting will be without the support of the Red Stripe and Guinness brands, when they are staged later this year.
In a carefully guided press release issued to the Jamaican media, Red Stripe said " Jamaica has a rich cultural and musical heritage that has earned the country much international acclaim through the years. Our Jamaican musicians are among the best and most talented in the world. The Jamaican music industry has contributed to building economic and social life in Jamaica, and for that we are very proud. It is for this very positive reason, that for decades Red Stripe has sought to associate its brands with Jamaican music. The Red Stripe Company has maintained a long and mutually beneficial relationship with the music industry and together we have worked very hard with promoters and artistes to uphold globally acceptable standards.
Over the years, however, a very negative trend of glorifying violence has crept into some of the music, causing much consternation among well thinking Jamaicans and others at home and abroad. This has far-reaching and damaging implications for the industry and for the country as a whole. While our most recent efforts through the Coalition of Corporate Sponsors have met with some measure of success, some performers continue to propagate, through their live performances, violent and anti-social lyrics. Red Stripe will not be party to this, and thus we have taken the very difficult decision of withdrawing sponsorship from live music events. Consequently, Red Stripe will not renew our contract for title sponsorship of Reggae Sumfest and Sting. We will, however, ensure that our brands are made available whenever and wherever our loyal consumers enjoy premium alcohol beverages.
It is our hope that our action will cause the proponents of this destructive trend in local music to stop and take stock of the negative impact of their actions on the society and seek to make a change. Red Stripe looks forward to the time when good sense will prevail and we can see a return to improved quality and standard of music that all Jamaica can be proud of. At that time we will review our position'.
Reggae Sumfest which will be held from July 13 to 19 in Montego Bay this year, is reportedly eyeing top guns including Akon, Chris Brown, Ne Yo and Keyshia Cole to perform at this year's festival. In the past, names including LL Cool J, Mary J Blige, Jay Z, Ludacris, Beyonce, Destinys Child, Shaggy, Sean Paul, and Ciara, have performed on the Reggae Sumfest stage.
· Bob Marley's mother dies in Florida
Cedella Marley Booker , the mother of reggae icon Bob Marley died at the age of 82 on April 8 in Miami, Florida. Booker was born Cedella Malcolm in Rhoden Hall, St. Ann. Booker married Norval Sinclair Marley, a white Jamaican of English ancestry, when she was 18.
Norval Marley was a Marine officer and captain, as well as a plantation overseer. He provided financial support for his wife and child but seldom saw them, as he was often away on trips. Bob was ten years old when Norval died of a heart attack in 1955 at age 60. Booker later remarried an American man and moved to Delaware, USA. She has written two books about her son.
Digicel Rising Stars kicks off this month
The 5th season of Jamaica's premiere talent competition, the Caribbean version to the US American Idol, Digicel Rising Stars will kick off later this month. The first audition will take place in St. Thomas at Paul Bogle High on April 26. On May 3 the Mandeville auditions will take place at Manchester High.
Club Inferno is the venue for the Montego Bay auditions on May 10. On May 17, the Portmore auditions will take place at Portmore Heart Academy. The next audition will take place at the Hibiscus Lodge Hotel in Ocho Rios on May 24.
The final auditions will be held on May 31 at the YWCA in Kingston. The prizes this year include a million dollars cash for the first place winner, a music video, a production deal and a high end Sony Ericcson cellular phone among other prizes.
VERONICA'S VIEW: Mission Possible
Veronica Hendrix
*Your mission, should you decide to take it, will be to assume the role of principal for a day at an inner city school. The school is New Designs Charter School, located in the heart of the Crenshaw district at 2303 S. Figueroa Way. It’s a relatively new school that came on-line in 2004. Dr. Yaw Adutwum, formerly a teacher of the Los Angeles Unified School District, is the founder.
About 430 students are enrolled at the Los Angeles Campus. The school is grades 6 through 11. Next year it will have its first 12th grade class. The population is approximately 65% African-American and 35% Latino, many who have over come numerous personal challenges some of which were beyond their control; some which were self induced. The word is that many of them have achieved incredible personal and academic success because of the standards of excellence set by the school; standard students have met with the unrelenting help of the facility and support staff.
You’ll gain access to the school through the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce “Principal for a Day” program. The objective of the program is foster long-term partnerships with local businesses and civic leaders that could result in resources and support for the school.
Your objective is twofold: (1) to find out first hand what students in that school are being taught and whether or not they are getting a education that will make them competitive champions; (2) to make a determination if this school would be a good candidate to invest resources and time into.
I eagerly took assignment. It’s been about five years since I’ve been on a high school campus and I wanted to know what was going on today.
When I arrived on campus, I was greeted by Principal Sata. He had an itinerary planned for me that included several visits to music, science and math classes. I learned that by the time a New Designs student enters 11th grade, they have successfully completed algebra I, II and are enrolled in calculus. I also learned that students are programmed into classes the prepare them to graduate with both a high school diploma and an Associate Arts degree so when they enter college they don’t have to spend their first years taking remedial classes to catch up.
Students are required to attend Saturday school. Parents are required to volunteer a minimum of 30-hours each year and they get daily report cards about their child’s academic performance and behavior.
However, there was something different about this campus. It was evident from the first moment I stepped on-site. While students were courteous and curious about my presence, they seemed focused and directed during the break between classes.
So I set out to find out why.
I stopped fifteen-year-old Chanell Morgan, who is in the 10th grade, I said asked her what is different about this school? She replied, “It doesn’t feel chaotic here.”
Thirteen-year-old Latara Cavitt who is in the 7th grade said, “This is a good environment, and it’s a safe environment. The teachers are committed to us.” I later found out that this young lady was one of the many success stories in terms of her turning around her academic performance, and changing her attitude and behavior.
My final visit was to the student council meeting, a group of about 20 students elected to this body by their peers. Twenty-seven-year-old Arron Akwaboah, who also the school’s Director of Operation, leads the class. He challenges the students to be creative, critical and independent thinkers. The purpose of the student council is to build leadership and advocacy skills. Members serve as student mediators and faculty liaisons. Eleventh grade student council member Chelsey Griffin said, “I like the family connection we have. We know everyone on campus. We step in and help when students get off track.”
As the students went around the room they talked about their academic, career and leadership aspirations. It was clear I was sitting in a room with some of the best and brightest minds who will be ready to assume the reigns of leadership in due season.
Founder Dr. Adutwum has created an amazing, small learning community. He admits it is a rigorous environment but students succeed because, “We gain their trust, give them hope and lots of love,” Adutwum said. “We look at what we do here as a way of changing mindsets and changing families.”
Is New Designs Charter School preparing students to be competitive? Absolutely.
Is New Designs Charter School deserving of an investment of my resources and support? You better believe it.
How can you support them? By making a donation of your time and making a donation to their foundation. It’s one of the best investments you can make in the future of the next generation of young leaders. For more information on how you can get involved, call the school at (213) 765-9084 or visit their website at www.newdesignscharter.org. This mission is possible. I think this mission is complete. (If you have comments about Veronica’s View, email them to vsview@yahoo.com). ###
Veronica Hendrix is a syndicated journalist and columnist whose work has covered the span of the human continuum - from clinical trials of male contraceptives, to the gang violence. She is the producer of the highly acclaimed half hour talk show called "LA Woman," which airs on L.A. City View Channel 35, and is a Los Angeles Emmy nominated producer. Veronica's career as a journalist has included being a reporter for USA Today and a producer for a radio talk show in Los Angeles, which focused on issues impacting the African American Family. Veronica is a proud native of Southern California where she lives with her two sons.
AUDREY’S SOCIETY WHIRL: UNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND GALA
UNCF 64th Annual Awards Dinner Raises $2.7 Million; Stellar Entertainment Couple Denzel and Pauletta Washington Receives UNCF’s Highest Honor and Donates $1 Million; UNCF Dinner Presenting Sponsor PepsiCo Donates $1 Million
By Audrey J. Bernard, Lifestyles/Society Editor
*The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) is the largest minority education assistance program in America, supporting more than 55,000 students who attend its 39 member colleges and universities and receive UNCF scholarships, internships and fellowships. Each year, UNCF strut its stuff at a highly anticipated annual awards dinner in which UNCF honors people and corporations who exemplify commitment to minority education.
More than 1,500 UNCF supporters including board members, college presidents, corporate partners, students and alumni attended the UNCF 64th anniversary dinner on Friday, March 7 at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers that featured the signature introduction of the presidents of the 39 member institution by G. Keith Alexander.
During a luxurious black tie evening themed High Honors & Hope for New Generations mega superstar Denzel Washington and his lovely wife and actress/musician Pauletta Washington received UNCF’s prestigious Frederick D. Patterson Award for their outstanding philanthropic efforts to support minority education and Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). The award was presented by Dr. Michael L. Lomax, president & CEO, UNCF; Indra Nooyi, chairman & CEO, PepsiCo, Inc.; Dr. Henry N. Tisdale (Claflin University); Dr. Haywood Strickland (Wiley College); and Jack L. Stahl, chair of the board of directors and chair of the executive committee, UNCF.
Turnaround is fair play and the consummate entertainment couple and philanthropists announced their hefty donation of $1 million to UNCF-member Wiley College to revitalize the debate team that recently received critical acclaim in Washington's recent film, "The Great Debaters," about the history of the school’s awesome debate team.
Other award highlights included the presentation of UNCF’s distinguished President’s Award to Matthew D. Serra, chairman of the board, chief executive officer and president of Foot Locker, Inc., an athletic specialty retailer, for his and Foot Locker’s longtime support for UNCF, young people and higher education. The award was presented by Matthew Smith, Foot Locker scholar, Morehouse College; Dr. Michael L. Lomax; and Warren A. Williams, regional director, corporations, UNCF.
UNCF and its New York Inter-Alumni Council (IAC) presented the IAC/UNCF Distinguished Alumnus Award to Stennett Brooks, an alumnus of UNCF member Oakwood University, in recognition of his honorable service to the Greater New York Inter-Alumni Council and the National Alumni Council. The award was presented by Attorney Walter R. Dogan, president, Greater New York Inter-Alumni Council; Attorney David Miller, president, National Alumni Council; and Miss UNCF, Natasha Lawton, Wiley College.
"Our distinguished honorees have supported UNCF and its 39 member colleges and universities, enabling thousands of minority students to get the education they need to secure a bright future," said Lomax. "These individuals are extraordinary not only for their professional achievements but for their significant commitment to improving educational opportunities for our future leaders."
In another high moment, presenting sponsor PepsiCo, one of the world's largest food and beverage companies, announced their pledge of $1 million to UNCF to help provide financial support to UNCF's 39 member institutions and scholarships to students at over 900 colleges and universities around the country.
“PepsiCo is a proud supporter of UNCF and has been for 60 years. We are committed to expanding opportunities to help minority students secure higher education," said Nooyi. "That's why we're excited to present this gift of $1 million to UNCF to ensure that deserving young people continue to get a chance to go to college and earn degrees -- and have the opportunity to make their mark in the world."
Minority education has long been a funding priority for PepsiCo's Foundation. In 1981, PepsiCo donated $1 million, the largest multi-year corporate donation ever pledged to UNCF's Annual Campaign at that time. Last year alone, the PepsiCo Foundation provided grants for education programs in excess of $8 million dollars to fund education programs that promote academic excellence for all students.
Over and above the amount committed by the company, PepsiCo's African American employees also raised $75,000, creating a UNCF/PepsiCo African American Legacy Fund, which will be matched by the PepsiCo Foundation, for a total of $150,000. This new educational endowment fund will provide scholarship support for students at UNCF member schools.
"This fund honors the many African American employees who have made contributions at the company and most especially those who broke through barriers in the 1940s," said Ron Parker, PepsiCo senior vice president and chief global diversity officer, referring to corporate America's first all-black sales team at Pepsi.
"UNCF is grateful for PepsiCo's investment in young minority men and women," said Lomax. "PepsiCo's commitment will enable thousands of students to secure degrees that will help them to launch careers in fields like science, math, technology, business, medicine, law and education; and prepare them to become leaders in an ever-changing global economy."
UNCF is the nation's oldest and most successful minority education assistance organization. Its mission is to increase minority degree attainment by providing financial support to its 39 member institutions, reducing financial barriers to college and serving as a national advocate for minority education. UNCF institutions and other historically black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 18 percent of African American baccalaureate degrees.
UNCF administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at over 900 colleges and universities across the country. UNCF's recently redesigned logo and brand identity feature UNCF's torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized motto, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste."
Audrey J. Bernard is an established chronicler of Black society and Urban happenings based in the New York City area.
THE PULSE OF ENTERTAINMENT: VH1's 'Miss Rap Supreme" premiers April 14th, and African-American stunt woman hopes to be next female action hero
By Eunice Moseley
VH1 premiers new female rap competition, “Miss Rap Supreme,” on April 14th
*VH1 will give 10 contestants a chance to win $100,000 and the title of VH1’s Miss Rap Supreme in their new reality show which premiers April 14th 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. The competition of female MCs, “Miss Rap Supreme,” will be co-hosted by rappers Mc Serch (Michael Berrin) and Yo Yo (Yolanda Whitaker).
“I was talking to one of the creators (Sacha Jenkins) and he said my name came up and of course I was (like), ‘Yea!’” said Grammy nominated rapper Yo Yo about how she became co-host of the show this year.
Ms. Whitaker was at the time appearing on-air at KDAY 93.5 in Los Angeles and teaching Lyrics at her former high school.
“I am a mentor to kids, so this is perfect,” the female MC stated.
Last year VH1 Realty aired, “The White Rapper Show,” hosted by McSerch. This year they decided to focus on female rappers because the MCs have become an overlooked group. Female MCs were prevalent in the early to mid 90s with projects from MC Lyte, Lil’ Kim, Foxy Brown, Yo Yo, DaBrat and Eve. But things have gotten so bad for the rappers that in 2004 the Recording Academy had to take out Best Female Rappers due to the lack of eligible entries.
The 10 contestants will be given a variety of tasks to perform and by the end of the 8th episode the winner will be announced.
“Miss Rap Supreme,” is ex
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