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THE SARAH PALIN BACKLASH IS ON: Community organizers are livid; AP exposes lies in Wed's acceptance speech.
*Numerous lines in Gov. Sarah Palin's speech at the GOP convention Wednesday night have been exposed as lies by various media outlets. But one of her quips struck a nerve that has galvanized grassroots organizations across the country to respond en masse.
During the convention on Wednesday, the former mayor of Wasilla (population 7,000) took a jab at Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama with the line: “I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities.”
Her sentiments were reinforced in two earlier speeches on the convention floor Wednesday in St. Paul.
• Former Governor George Pataki said: “[Barack Obama] was a community organizer. What in God’s name is a community organizer? I don’t even know if that’s a job.”
• Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani said: “On the other hand, you have a resume from a gifted man with an Ivy League education. He worked as a community organizer. What? [Laughter]…I said, OK, OK, maybe this is the first problem on the resume.”
In the wee hours of the following morning, Obama's campaign sent an e-mail to supporters objecting – among other things – to the attacks against community organizers. It read:
Let's clarify something for them right now.
Community organizing is how ordinary people respond to out-of-touch politicians and their failed policies.
And it's no surprise that, after eight years of George Bush, millions of people have found that by coming together in their local communities they can change the course of history. That promise is what our campaign has been about from the beginning.
Throughout our history, ordinary people have made good on America's promise by organizing for change from the bottom up. Community organizing is the foundation of the civil rights movement, the women's suffrage movement, labor rights, and the 40-hour workweek. And it's happening today in church basements and community centers and living rooms across America.
Also on Thursday, a coalition of community organizers across the country launched the Web site OrganizersFightBack.
(http://organizersfightback.wordpress.com) to demand an apology from Gov.
Palin and to "defend their work organizing Americans who have been left behind by unemployment, lack of health insurance and the national housing crisis."
• “Community organizers work in neighborhoods that have been hit hardest by the failing economy,” said John Raskin, founder of Community Organizers of America and a community organizer on the West Side of Manhattan. “The last thing we need is for Republican officials to mock us on television when we’re trying to rebuild the neighborhoods they have destroyed. Maybe if everyone had more houses than they can count, we wouldn’t need community organizers. But I work with people who are getting evicted from their only home. If John McCain and the Republicans understood that, maybe they wouldn’t be so quick to make fun of community organizers like me.”
• David Gonzalez of the New York Times has posted a column, Bronx Organizers React to G.O.P. Punchlines (http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/south-bronx-organizers-react-t
o-gop-punchlines/), featuring the work of two past local community organizers still active in the neighborhoods.
• Also, this entry on the Huffington Post
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sally-kohn/defending-community-organ_b_123914
.html) features the Center for Community Change's official response to the remarks
Meanwhile, the Associated Press shed some truth to Palin's "dismissive attacks on Barack Obama and flattering praise on her credentials to be vice president," pointing out that "in some cases, the reproach and the praise stretched the truth." Some examples:
PALIN: "I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending ... and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. I told the Congress 'thanks but no thanks' for that Bridge to Nowhere."
THE FACTS: As mayor of Wasilla, Palin hired a lobbyist and traveled to Washington annually to support earmarks for the town totaling $27 million.
In her two years as governor, Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request in the nation. While Palin notes she rejected plans to build a $398 million bridge from Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport, that opposition came only after the plan was ridiculed nationally as a "bridge to nowhere."
PALIN: "There is much to like and admire about our opponent. But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform — not even in the state senate."
THE FACTS: Compared to McCain and his two decades in the Senate, Obama does have a more meager record. But he has worked with Republicans to pass legislation that expanded efforts to intercept illegal shipments of weapons of mass destruction and to help destroy conventional weapons stockpiles. The legislation became law last year. To demean that accomplishment would be to also demean the work of Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, a respected foreign policy voice in the Senate. In Illinois, he was the leader on two big, contentious measures in Illinois: studying racial profiling by police and requiring recordings of interrogations in potential death penalty cases. He also successfully co-sponsored major ethics reform legislation.
PALIN: "The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes, raise payroll taxes, raise investment income taxes, raise the death tax, raise business taxes, and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars."
THE FACTS: The Tax Policy Center, a think tank run jointly by the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, concluded that Obama's plan would increase after-tax income for middle-income taxpayers by about 5 percent by 2012, or nearly $2,200 annually. McCain's plan, which cuts taxes across all income levels, would raise after tax-income for middle-income taxpayers by 3 percent, the center concluded.
Obama would provide $80 billion in tax breaks, mainly for poor workers and the elderly, including tripling the Earned Income Tax Credit for minimum-wage workers and higher credits for larger families.
He also would raise income taxes, capital gains and dividend taxes on the wealthiest. He would raise payroll taxes on taxpayers with incomes above $250,000, and he would raise corporate taxes. Small businesses that make more than $250,000 a year would see taxes rise.
MCCAIN: "She's been governor of our largest state, in charge of 20 percent of America's energy supply ... She's responsible for 20 percent of the nation's energy supply. I'm entertained by the comparison and I hope we can keep making that comparison that running a political campaign is somehow comparable to being the executive of the largest state in America," he said in an interview with ABC News' Charles Gibson.
THE FACTS: McCain's phrasing exaggerates both claims. Palin is governor of a state that ranks second nationally in crude oil production, but she's no more "responsible" for that resource than President Bush was when he was governor of Texas, another oil-producing state. In fact, her primary power is the ability to tax oil, which she did in concert with the Alaska Legislature. And where Alaska is the largest state in America, McCain could as easily have called it the 47th largest state — by population.
MCCAIN: "She's the commander of the Alaska National Guard. ... She has been in charge, and she has had national security as one of her primary responsibilities," he said on ABC.
THE FACTS: While governors are in charge of their state guard units, that authority ends whenever those units are called to actual military service.
When guard units are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, for example, they assume those duties under "federal status," which means they report to the Defense Department, not their governors. Alaska's national guard units have a total of about 4,200 personnel, among the smallest of state guard organizations.
FORMER ARKANSAS GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE: Palin "got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska than Joe Biden got running for president of the United States."
THE FACTS: A whopper. Palin got 616 votes in the 1996 mayor's election, and got 909 in her 1999 re-election race, for a total of 1,525. Biden dropped out of the race after the Iowa caucuses, but he still got 76,165 votes in 23 states and the District of Columbia where he was on the ballot during the
2008 presidential primaries.
FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOV. MITT ROMNEY: "We need change, all right — change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington! We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington — throw out the big-government liberals, and elect John McCain and Sarah Palin."
THE FACTS: A Back-to-the-Future moment. George W. Bush, a conservative Republican, has been president for nearly eight years. And until last year, Republicans controlled Congress. Only since January 2007 have Democrats have been in charge of the House and Senate.
KWAME KILPATRICK PLEADS GUILTY, RESIGNS: Detroit mayor will serve four months in jail to settle 10 felony counts in two criminal cases.
*After months of stubbornly holding onto his job amid an embarrassing sex scandal, Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to felony charges Thursday and has agreed to resign immediately and go to jail.
Kilpatrick admitted that he lied under oath when he and his former top aide Christine Beatty were accused of having an affair and denying their roles in the firing of a deputy police chief.
As part of his plea deal, the mayor will serve four months in jail and five years of probation. He was also fined $1 million to be paid over the five-year probationary period.
Kilpatrick had faced 10 felony counts in the two different criminal cases. During a separate hearing moments after Wayne County Circuit Court Judge David Groner accepted the mayor's plea, Kilpatrick offered a no contest plea in an assault case.
The judge also accepted that plea, which called for Kilpatrick to serve a four-month jail sentence that would run at the same time.
Groner asked Kilpatrick if he understood he was giving up the right to be innocent until proven guilty.
"I gave that up a long time ago," Kilpatrick replied.
The mayor will be sentenced on Oct. 28. He will report to jail that day, said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. Beatty did not plead guilty and next will appear in court on Sept. 11. Groner said a plea deal in Beatty's case appeared likely.
OPRAH'S MAMA SUED OVER BOUTIQUE TAB: Vernita Lee accused of owing Wisconsin store $156,000.
*Oprah Winfrey's mother is being sued by a high-end Wisconsin boutique for allegedly running up a $156,000 tab and refusing to make her monthly payments.
The clothing store Valentina claims Vernita Lee owes the money in purchases and interest as of July 1st and has failed to make the minimum monthly payment of $2,000.
Store attorney Joseph Niebler Sr. says the store attempted to resolve the matter with Lee before filing the lawsuit in Waukesha County Circuit Court, reports the Associated Press. The lawsuit says Lee told store officials she doesn't think she owes the money.
A nonbinding mediation session is set for Sept. 16th.
KANYE CHANGES TUNE REGARDING VMA: Artist to close ceremony on Sunday after vowing a year ago never to perform there again.
*Kanye West has agreed to close out the 25th annual MTV Video Music Awards this Sunday in Hollywood, despite vowing last year that he would never perform there again because of the way he was treated.
In 2007, West's performance was relegated to a small stage in the Las Vegas venue.
West joins a 2008 lineup that includes Christina Aguilera and the Jonas Brothers. Britney Spears, who made headlines for her lackluster performance to open last year's VMAs, will open the show this year, but will not perform.
"She will be ... doing something so mindbending, it'll probably make you want to start families with each other in a random, possibly Mormon, way," the show's host, English comedian Russell Brand, joked during a press preview at the Paramount Pictures lot where the ceremony will be held.
Katy Perry, the singer of the summer's biggest hit "I Kissed A Girl," will cover Madonna's "Like A Virgin" during the ceremony. Other previously announced performers include R&B singer Rihanna and Detroit rocker Kid Rock.
GEORGIA REPUBLICAN CALLS OBAMA 'UPPITY': Rep. Lynn Westmoreland uses offensive term Thursday to describe Dem nominee.
*The Huffington Post is reporting that Georgia Republican Rep. Lynn Westmoreland used the term "uppity" to describe Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama Thursday.
Westmoreland was discussing vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's speech with reporters outside the House chamber and was asked to compare her with Michelle Obama.
"Just from what little I’ve seen of her and Mr. Obama, Sen. Obama, they're a member of an elitist-class individual that thinks that they're uppity," Westmoreland said.
Asked to clarify that he used the word “uppity,” Westmoreland said, “Uppity, yeah.”
The Obama campaign, asked about the quote, did not note any racial context.
“Sounds like Rep. Westmoreland should be careful throwing stones from his candidate's eight glass houses,” said Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor.
JESSE JACKSON HOSPITALIZED FOR STOMACH PAINS: Rainbow Coalition head diagnosed with viral gastroenteritis.
*Rev. Jesse Jackson says he is on the mend after being hospitalized Thursday for complaints of severe stomach pains.
The civil rights leader entered Northwestern Memorial Hospital on Wednesday after falling ill earlier in the week. Doctors diagnosed the ailment as viral gastroenteritis but were conducting more tests as of press time, according to the Associated Press.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says gastroenteritis is an inflammation of the stomach and small and large intestines. The condition is not considered serious for most people.
Jackson said he was feeling much better Thursday morning but wasn't sure when he would be released.
The reverend was in Georgia campaigning and conducting voter registration for Sen. Barack Obama when he began to feel ill after apparently becoming dehydrated.
2PAC TOPS BLENDER'S 'OVERRATED' LIST: Late rapper leads poll in magazine's Oct. issue.
*Tupac Shakur tops a tongue-in-cheek poll in the October issue of Blender magazine that asks voters to rank the most overrated artists, places, trends and other staples in music.
The late rapper, who was murdered in Las Vegas in 1996, beats the likes of the Grammys at No. 7, encores at No. 12, Pink Floyd at No. 14 and "the music you loved as a teenager" at No. 23.
Blender notes Tupac was a good rapper with "insane rock-star charisma," but he also "larded records with self-mythologizing, mediocre filler."
These aren't the first hate darts the magazine has thrown at Tupac.
In its June issue, rapper Lil Wayne listed him among his top five rappers, but then admitted: "I can't front: I was never into Pac."
VENUS, SERENA STILL BOYCOTTING INDIAN WELLS: Sisters may face suspension. Plus, Serena plays tonight after beating sis.
*Under new 2009 Women's Tennis Association [WTA] rules announced Wednesday, both Venus Williams and her sister Serena face suspension for continuing to boycott the Indian Wells tournament, where they were booed in 2001.
Their boycott stems from a 2001 semi-final match at the tournament when the sisters were scheduled to play each other for the chance to face Belgian Kim Clijsters in the final. Venus pulled out with a knee injury five minutes before the match, causing many to question her motives for the exit. Serena was booed in the final, which she won 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
"I don't play that tournament," Serena told reporters at the U.S. Open Wednesday following her victory over Venus in a quarterfinal match. "I guess there are a lot of tournaments you have to play next year or you get suspended."
Venus said of their Indian Wells sidestep: "The WTA is a good place.
All of us live in a free country. We're able to make a choice whether we want to play or not. Players don't like suspensions. It's tough for the top players. It's a lot of give and not necessarily a ton coming back. If it's best for the sport I guess we all have to contribute."
The sisters told WTA chief executive Larry Scott that they'll continue to skip the event despite the suspensions. The boycott will cost them bonus money and precious ranking points starting next year as long as they remain in the world top 10.
Their refusal to appear would also lead to their suspension in 2010 for two premier events on the calendar following Indian Wells. That would drop them from Miami and Madrid events in 2010.
Meanwhile, Serena survived a pair of tie-breakers Wednesday night to defeat Venus 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (9/7) and advance to tonight's semi-final match against Russian Dinara Safina, who defeated Flavia Pennetta 6-2, 6-3 in the other quarter final on Wednesday.
"It felt like the final of U.S. Open. I can't believe I won. Wow," Serena said of her battle with Venus. "It was difficult because she is such a great player."
DWAYNE 'THE ROCK' JOHNSON IS THE 'TOOTH FAIRY': Actor plays title role in new comedy.
*Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Ashley Judd will star as a dating couple in the new 20th Century Fox comedy "Tooth Fairy," reports Variety.
Johnson plays a minor league hockey player nicknamed the Tooth Fairy. Judd plays his girlfriend, a single mother of two kids. Johnson's character is an ordinary man who's brought in to try to save the tooth fairy kingdom.
Michael Lembeck, who helmed the second and third installments of "The Santa Clause," will direct. Production gets underway next month in Vancouver.
FOREST WHITAKER IN 'LOVE' WITH ZELLWEGER: Actors star in upcoming indie drama set in South.
*Forest Whitaker and Renee Zellweger will topline "My Own Love Song," an indie drama that follows a roadtrip to Memphis undertaken by a wheelchair-bound former singer and her friend.
Both have faced tragedy in their lives, and each becomes the other's chief support, reports Variety.
Production will launch next month in Kansas and New Orleans on a script written and directed by Olivier Dahan ("La Vie en Rose"). Madeline Zima ("Californication") has also joined the cast.
Whitaker will next be seen in "Winged Creatures."
KEYS, J-HUD, LATIFAH HOST GOLF TOURNEY: 'Bees' stars behind charity event during Toronto Film Festival.
*Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson, and Queen Latifah – stars of Fox's upcoming film "The Secret Life of Bees" – are scheduled to host a charity golf tournament Sunday at the Toronto Film Festival, where their movie is being screened.
The all-day event at Magna Golf Club is being held to raise money for Malaria No More, a grassroots movement to control the preventable disease that kills more than one million people each year.
The golf tournament will also include a concert by veteran music producer David Foster. Other guests expected to attend include Debbie Harry and Chris Stein of Blondie, Kevin Costner, Bill Maher, Gene Simmons, co-founder of KISS, actor Colin Farrell and actress Sophia Bush of One Tree Hill.
ARRESTS, INJURIES FOLLOW THREE 6 MAFIA GIG: Brawl involving as many as 30 people erupts outside of Hollywood's House of Blues.
*A brawl erupted outside of a Three 6 Mafia concert at Hollywood's House of Blues Wednesday night that spilled out onto Sunset Blvd. and ended with three men arrested and one woman hospitalized.
According to KABC, police were forced to shut down Sunset Blvd. in both directions shortly after the fight started inside the venue at about 11:30 p.m. Most in the crowd of about 600 ran for the exit as the melee spilled onto the streets.
Some of the club's security guards got involved and dozens of police officers from several departments rushed to the scene to break it up. Sunset Blvd. was briefly shut down for an investigation.
One woman was trampled as the crowd rushed out of the venue. She was taken to a hospital with minor injuries to her leg. Three men were arrested, one of them for public drunkenness. Another man suffered some minor injuries in the brawl, but no officers were injured.
A witness says several factors led to the fight.
"Three 6 Mafia had some scantily clad dressed women on stage, so I'm sure that was probably helping fuel the situation," said the witness. "And then just one fight broke out and another fight broke out, and the next thing you know it was just nuts."
BOW WOW DISCUSES FIRST SEX SCENE: Rapper's moment comes in new season of HBO's 'Entourage.'
*Bow Wow, now 21 and preferring his birth name Shad Moss, will be seen in a brand new light when the new season of HBO's "Entourage" returns on Sunday (Sept. 7).
The rapper-turned-actor, who joins the cast as a struggling comedian, engages in the first sex scene of his career during an upcoming episode.
"It's with a porn star," he told People.com Wednesday night during the NYC premiere of the show's fifth season. "It was unreal because I didn't know that I had a sex scene until that day. When I saw a robe in my trailer, I thought, am I taking a bath?"
When asked if he will be completely nude in the scene, Moss said
coyly: "You have to watch it."
T.I. STILL TOPS SINGLES CHART: The Game debuts at No. 2 on Billboard's album tally.
*T.I.'s new single Whatever You Like" remains No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 due in large part to download sales of more than 176,000 units, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
A week after setting a new record with 71-1 jump, the track also climbs 8-2 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
Elsewhere on the Hot 100, Rihanna's "Disturbia" holds at No. 2, while Pink's "So What" jumps 9-3 in just its second week after selling 136,000 downloads. Chris Brown's "Forever" slips 3-4, while M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes"
rises 6-5 and Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" remains No. 7.
Ne-Yo's "Closer" stays put at No. 8, while Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours"rockets 24-9. Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" falls 4-10 to round out the top tier.
The chart's top debut is Ludacris' "What Them Girls Like" featuring Chris Brown and Sean Garrett at No. 59. Another T.I. song, "Swing Ya Rag," is new at No. 62. The cancer charity fund-raiser "Just Stand Up!," featuring Beyonce and Mary J. Blige among a dozen-plus top female vocalists, debuts at No. 78. The artists will perform the song tonight during the multi-network "Stand Up to Cancer" telethon.
Jazmine Sullivan's "Need U Bad" begins a second week at No. 1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, where the top debut is T.I.'s "Swagger" featuring Kanye West and Lil Wayne at No. 55.
Meanwhile, The Game's new album "L.A.X." tasted No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart before a SoundScan error dropped him down to No. 2 behind metal band Slipknot. Their album "All Hope is Gone" moved 239,516 copies in the United States, only 1,134 more than the rapper's Geffen album at 238,382.
ITTY BITTY BITS: Usher & Tameka separated?; Ciara naked on Vibe; Fela! Off Broadway; Slash's 'Movie.'
*Stella Foster, a columnist at the Chicago Sun-Times, wrote in her Thursday column: "Usher has reportedly separated from much older wife, Tameka Foster, who reportedly is expecting their second child in December."
No further details were given.
*R&B star Ciara, 22, appears nude (with parts of her body strategically covered) on the October cover of Vibe magazine. The issue, which hits newsstands on Sept. 16, also features the singer sans clothing in a photo spread. The article is in promotion of her upcoming third solo album "Fantasy Ride." In the interview, she talks about fame and her love life.
*Fela!, a new musical based on the life of groundbreaking African composer and activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti, officially opens Sept. 4 at Off-Broadway's 37 Arts (450 West 37th Street at Tenth Ave.). Previews began July 29. Bill T. Jones directs and choreographs the production, which will play a limited engagement through Sept. 21. In Fela!, press notes state, "Audiences are welcomed into the extravagant, decadent and rebellious world of Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Using his pioneering music (a blend of jazz, funk and African rhythm and harmonies), [the musical] explores Kuti's controversial life as artist, political activist and revolutionary musician." Tickets are available by visiting www.Ticketmaster.com or by calling (212) 560-8912. For more information go to www.FelaOffBroadway.com.
*Slash, the former guitarist for Guns n' Roses and the current guitarist for Velvet Revolver, will compose the score for the Mexican film, "This is Not a Movie," the second production written and directed by Olallo Rubio. An English-language film, it was 100% independently financed with Mexican funds. "It's very cutting-edge, very artistic, and a little bit trippy," said Slash when discussing the film with the English-language magazine Mojo. "It's dark, and jagged and a bit surreal, in and out of reality, you know?" Rubio, said of the film: "The idea was to create a very eclectic psychedelic score with sounds generated by acoustic and electric guitars. I was looking for a guitarist with the ability to create very emotional music, but at the same time, the freedom to use any type of effects to explore different sounds. Slash was interested in the project, and so far he has composed the music for six segments, we're very excited with his work."
WA. COUNTY REMOVES MLK LOGO FROM TRASHBAGS: Civil rights leader's face is official logo; but county waste bags went too far.
*The Associated Press is reporting that King County in Washington, which has the profile of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as its official logo, has quietly removed his likeness from the county's trash bags – believing it's inappropriate.
Images of the late civil rights leader appear on voter ballot envelopes, on metro buses, at the county council chambers, and prominently displayed on the county’s Web site. But officials felt that King's likeness on trash bags went too far.
The pre-emptive move opened a window into the delicate decisions officials have made after King County adopted the face of the revered figure as its official emblem.
“It’s new territory,” said Carolyn Duncan, the county’s communications director. “Some of the things that people were concerned about were if the logo was on the floor, if the logo was on garbage cans or dumpsters,” Duncan said. “It seemed unseemly to have an icon like Dr. King, to have his image on something like a waste bin at a park.”
The logo was adopted by the county in 2006 and unveiled the next year, replacing its previous logo of a generic king's crown. The new image depicts a profile of King in a black and white silhouette.
King County had been originally christened after former U.S. Vice President William Rufus DeVane King, a slave owner.
OPENING THIS WEEK: Kam's Kapsules: Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun
For movies opening September 5, 2008
by Kam Williams
BIG BUDGET FILMS
Bangkok Dangerous (R for violence, profanity and sexuality) Action thriller about an anonymous assassin (Nicolas Cage) sent to Thailand to execute four contract killings who ends up both bonding with a local street urchin (Shahkrit Yamnarm) and being intoxicated by the beguiling beauty of a young deaf girl (Charlie Yeung).
Passengers (PG-13 for mature themes, sensuality and scary images) Horror flick starring Anne Hathaway as a grief counselor to survivors of a plane crash who falls in love with one (Patrick Wilson) of her patients just before the others start disappearing mysteriously, one by one. Ensemble cast includes Andre Braugher, David Morse, Clea DuVall and Dianne Wiest.
INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS
August Evening (PG-13 for brief profanity) Immigration drama about an aging, undocumented farm worker (Pedro Castaneda) from Mexico who finds himself forced to retire and increasingly dependent on his widowed daughter-in-law (Veronica Loren) for support after the sudden death of his wife.
Everybody Wants to Be Italian (R for sexuality) Romantic comedy, set in Boston’s North End, and revolving around a case of mistaken ethnicity where a Polish guy (Jay Jablonski) pretends to be Italian because he thinks that his blind date (Cerina Vincent) would otherwise never give him the time of day.
Mister Foe (R for nudity and sexuality) Dysfunctional family comedy, set in Scotland, about an anguished teenager (Jamie Bell) who runs away from home after being seduced by the stepmother (Claire Forlani) he comes to suspect of killing his birth mom. The lad then takes a job working in a hotel where he becomes obsessed with his boss (Sophia Myles) who resembles his dearly-departed mum.
Ping Pong Playa (PG-13 for profanity, sexual dialogue and drug references) Sports comedy about an irresponsible, Chinese-American slacker (Jimmy Tsai) who dreams of becoming an NBA star until he finds his true calling playing table tennis. Cast includes Roger Fan, Shelley Malil, Khary Payton and Andrew Vo.
The Pool (Unrated) Coming-of-age drama, set in the East Indian city of Panjim, and revolving around a boy (Venkatesh Chavan) working at a hotel who becomes obsessed with a nearby swimming pool never used by its wealthy owners. (In Hindi and English with subtitles)
Save Me (Unrated) Sexual-preference drama about a gay drug addict (Chad Allen) who falls in love with a male counselor (Robert Gant) at a Christian rehab where he was supposed to be cured of both his substance abusing and homosexuality.
A Secret (Unrated) Dysfunctional family drama, set in Paris in 1955, about a lonely 15 year-old boy (Quentin Dubuis) with a vivid imagination whose guilt-ridden Jewish parents (Patrick Bruel and Cecile de France) successfully spared their sickly son the details about how they survived the Holocaust until the day he starts to uncover their deep, dark secret while digging around in the attic. Cast includes Julie Depardieu, Mathieu Amalric and Ludivine Sagnier. (In French with subtitles)
EUR DVD REVIEW: Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis
Bio-Pic Revisiting Cinematic Career of Unrecognized Genius Released on DVD
DVD Review by Kam Williams
*Jack Smith (1932-1989) was an uncompromisingly experimental innovator in the field of cinema whose name might not be known to the general public despite the fact that he has been credited as an influence by such fellow avant garde filmmakers as Federico Fellini, Jean-Luc Godard, Jim Jarmusch, Andy Warhol and John Waters.
This unrecognized genius is finally receiving a measure of respect, even if belatedly, with the release of this uncritical bio-pic which mixes snippets of his flicks in with the reflections of colleagues, actors and friends who were fond of him and his work.
We learn that Smith was born in Columbus, Ohio where he passed a decidedly unhappy childhood, perhaps due to his being gay in the breadbasket of America.
As a young adult, he made his way to New York City’s Greenwich Village where he embarked on a career in the fields of photography, performance art and film.
There, the irreverent iconoclast made daring movies deemed pornographic in their day, such as Flaming Creatures which was banned in 22 states. Watching some of his censured scenes now, it is apparent that times have certainly changed. Yes there’s plenty of male and female nudity, especially homoerotica featuring flamboyant drag queens, but nothing hardcore that would warrant the implementation of drastic legal sanctions.
In fact, the most alarming aspect of the production might not be any of the images, but the intermittent voiceover of Jack Smith himself. In a rambling rasp, he can be heard railing against the mercenary nature of capitalism and bitterly raising a litany of other complaints about the state of American society.
Alternately bizarre and inspired, but an appropriate tribute to a visionary impossible to pigeonhole.
Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 95 minutes
Studi Arts Alliance America
DVD Extras: Nine interviews and two featurettes.
To see a trailer for Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis, visit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bwk7xoyjo1Q
EUR MOTIVATIONAL NOTE
"Do what you fear most and you control fear." — Tom Hopkins
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Sept. 5: Singer Terry Ellis of En Vogue is 42.
Sept. 6: Actor-comedian Michael Winslow ("Police Academy") is 50Actress Rosie Perez is 44. Singer CeCe Peniston is 39. Singer Darryl Anthony of Az Yet is 39. Singer Macy Gray is 38. Actress Anika Noni Rose
("Dreamgirls") is 36. Actress Naomie Harris ("Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest") is 32. Rapper Noreaga is 31. Rapper Foxy Brown is 29.
Sept. 7: Singer Gloria Gaynor is 58.
WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
Not just a bridal showcase, but www.BlackBridalGuide.com is a community where brides can chat with other brides about their pre and post-wedding experiences.
Submit your favorite Web site to us along with a 15-20 word (or less) description to info@eurweb.com.
BLACK HISTORY
Sept. 5, 1804: Absalom Jones ordained a priest in the Protestant Episcopal Church.
Sept. 6, 1960: Rafer Johnson won the Olympic Decathlon - the first for an African American.
Sept. 7, 1954: The start of integration for MD public schools, and Washington DC public schools. (Source: www.BlackFacts.com)
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